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Watsonville
February 3, 2026

Eclipse to occur Saturday morning

If you notice the sunlight dimming Saturday well before sunrise, around 8:05am, it’s an eclipse that will be visible throughout the state, including the Monterey Bay Area. The Space Science Institute says the moon will pass between the sun and earth, causing an “annular solar...

PVUSD bans balloons, creates ‘Green Team’ to address environmental concerns

pvusd trustees
WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a trio of resolutions geared to guide PVUSD’s environmental policies, including banning the use of balloons districtwide and creating a “Green Team” that will further shape practices. Wednesday’s discussion came after two student-led...

Annual community fundraisers move online

Wine and roses
WATSONVILLE—An Evening of Wine and Roses and the Farm to Fork Gala, two annual community fundraisers for local organizations, have moved online. Wine and Roses, a fundraiser for the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust, will be a virtual event on Nov. 6 at 6pm. Tickets...

Supervisors approve Soquel Drive bike lane project

SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday opened the bidding process for a project that will add bike lanes and make pedestrian and traffic improvements along a 5.6-mile stretch of Soquel Drive in Mid-County. Construction is expected to start in the summer...

Neighborhood Courts looking for volunteer panelists

District attorney office
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Since its inception last year, more than 100 people have gone through Santa Cruz County’s Neighborhood Courts program, with 90 completing the requirements set out in their agreements and avoiding a permanent criminal record. Now, the program is looking for a team of...

Watsonville artist’s sculpture heads to Burning Man

Every year, tens of thousands of people from across the globe gather in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for Burning Man, an experimental festival focused on art, self-expression and community.  The week-long event has participants arrive with their own shelter, food and water, and supplies to...

CHP arrests man in Prunedale projectile attacks case

SALINAS–Law enforcement officials have arrested a man suspected of using a slingshot to shoot glass marbles at dozens of vehicles traveling on highways 156 and 101 in Prunedale and San Benito County since February. Charles Kenneth Lafferty, 52, has been charged with 21 felony counts,...

Project increases recycled water supply

Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency celebrated the completion of a project Thursday that significantly increases the amount of recycled water used on crops throughout the area.

Two seriously injured in major 3-car crash

WATSONVILLE—Two people were seriously injured in a dramatic three-vehicle crash early Thursday on Freedom Boulevard. Watsonville Police Sgt. Donny Thul said the male driver of a white SUV was traveling north on Freedom Boulevard north of Stanford Street around 6:30 a.m. when he attempted a...

Riverside Road homeless camp dismantled

watsonville homeless camp
WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deputies dismantled a homeless encampment on Riverside Road set up by a group that last month battled with the city of Watsonville over another camp on Bridge Street. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn said that the department posted a 72-hour...
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Jim Barsi talks about the sale of Barsi's Liquor Store in 2019.

Jim Barsi—owner of Barsi’s Liquor Store—dies

James Joseph “Jim” Barsi, who ran his eponymous liquor store on East Lake Avenue for a half-century before selling the business and retiring in...