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Watsonville
July 25, 2026

Photo story: Sudden U-turn causes crash

Watsonville Police shove a Mazda pickup off of Freedom Boulevard Monday morning following a two-vehicle crash. Just before 11am a green Ford Ranger and a white Mazda pickup were traveling north on Freedom Boulevard. On the 1600 block, the male driver of the Mazda...

Grand jury takes aim at pedestrian safety

Santa Cruz County’s cities and the county government should move more quickly to improve pedestrian safety by adopting formal Vision Zero action plans and taking a more proactive approach to maintaining sidewalks, crosswalks and traffic infrastructure, according to a new Santa Cruz County Civil...

Supervisors restore most arts funding in budget

beloved bolton arts council santa cruz county open studios art tour
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a revised $20.9 million budget for the Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services Department, restoring several services that had been slated for cuts while preserving most county funding for local arts organizations. The spending...

PVUSD approves $2.86 million water project at Renaissance High

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Saturday approved a $2.857 million state funding agreement that will connect Renaissance High School to the Soquel Creek Water District, replacing the campus’s groundwater system that has been plagued by elevated levels of hexavalent...

Fairgrounds to demolish sheep and pig livestock barns

The upcoming Santa Cruz County Fair will look different this year, as the sheep and pig livestock barns are slated for demolition in July, nearly four years after the initial board vote on the plans, and only a few months before the county fair...

Japanese cultural school Kokoro no Gakko marks 37th year

Kokoro no Gakko, an annual one-week program dedicated to the culture and arts of Japan, wrapped up its 37th year Friday during an open house at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple.  Formed in 1989, the school, which translates to School with a Heart, welcomed 53 students,...

Meeting explores BESS facility objection process

Around 150 people gathered June 28 at Pinto Lake City Park to learn of the next steps on a proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Watsonville from Executive Director of the California Energy Commission, Drew Bohan. The public meeting, hosted by Stop Lithium BESS...

Local author shines light on notable California woman

For years, Rose Ann Woolpert heard stories from her mother-in-law about a remarkable woman in the family’s history. The woman was Mary Catherine “Molly” McIntyre Pacheco, a playwright and novelist who married Romualdo Pacheco, the only Latino to serve as governor of California. But while Romualdo...

PVUSD, teachers union enter fact-finding after mediation stalls

Contract negotiations between the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers have reached another impasse, with both sides now entering the formal fact-finding process after mediation failed to produce an agreement. Fact-finding is a dispute resolution process used after a...

Nuñez wins Santa Cruz County supervisor race 

Tony Nuñez will be the next Santa Cruz County Supervisor representing the 4th District after final election results certified Friday showed he secured an outright victory in the June primary. Final results released by Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber show Nuñez received 50.07% of...
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Photo story: Adding color at the fairgrounds with flowers

People pitch in their efforts Thursday in planting at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in preparation for the 2026 fair during its annual flower...

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