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Watsonville
December 21, 2025

New landfill ‘a major milestone’ for city

Watsonville city on Tuesday reopened its landfill after a seven-year closure, unveiling two new areas that will give the city its own waste facility for about 75 years.  City officials hailed the opening of Cell 4—located at 730 San Andreas Road—as “a major milestone in...

Aptos High to stage “Peter Pan and Wendy”

Students at Aptos High Drama Production will present “Peter Pan and Wendy!” April 24-26 at their campus theater. The play features Jake Semb as Peter Pan and Lemoni Anastasopoulos as Tinkerbell in this reimagined take on a classic children’s tale. “This show is different from the...

Sex offender arrested for stalking, touching girl

Watsonville Police on Tuesday arrested a registered sex offender after he allegedly followed and inappropriately touched a 17-year-old girl. Kenneth Wilder, 31, has been charged with assault with intent to commit rape, stalking, annoying or molesting a minor and sexual battery.  As a registered sex offender,...

PVUSD superintendent looks back on first year

Nearly one year after she took the helm of the county’s largest school district, Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Heather Contreras sat down with The Pajaronian to talk about her accomplishments, and the ongoing challenges facing the district. “It’s been a long year, but...

Community rallies against proposed battery storage facility in Watsonville

A grassroots movement of citizens concerned about the construction of a new battery storage facility in Watsonville held a public meeting on Monday evening to discuss the dangers of such a project and rally local residents by passing around petitions and encouraging citizens to...

Update: Dead body found buried along Pajaro River identified

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a body that was found along the Pajaro River levee west of the Main Street Bridge that connects the community of Pajaro to Watsonville. On Monday the Sheriff's Office identified the man as 36-year-old Jesus Alfonso Duarte Figueroa...

Photo story: annual Business Expo hits fairgrounds

John Kegebein demonstrates an early day, hand-pump vacuum at the Agricultural History Project's table during the annual Business Expo at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Thursday. “The businesses and people of the Pajaro Valley came together at the Expo to show what a fabulous...

Santa Cruz County Fair seeking a new CEO

The Santa Cruz County Fair is seeking a new leader. The 14th District Agricultural Association and Santa Cruz County Fair is accepting applications for its Fair Manager, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of our 105-acre fairgrounds in Watsonville, including planning and managing the...

$12 million campaign aims to secure Elkhorn Slough

The Elkhorn Slough Foundation (ESF) launched a new “Elkhorn Forever” campaign with a kick-off celebration Tuesday, with the goal of raising $12 million. Held at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Visitor Center, the effort aims to ensure the long-term health of Elkhorn Slough’s ...

Esperanza del Valle celebrates 45 years

Forty five years of performances, instruction and celebration of Mexican folkloric dance culture was splashed across the Crocker Theater stage at Cabrillo College in three electrifying performances by Watsonville’s Esperanza del Valle on April 4, 5 and 6 in Aptos. The nearly three-hour program, “Espirítu...
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PVUSD Trustees to revisit teacher layoff vote

A little more than one week after voting to eliminate roughly 80 teacher positions, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will...

Mixing Bowl: Sweet Pralines

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