News

Before the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, roughly 18% of Santa Cruz County residents lacked health insurance. After it was signed into law, that number dropped to 6%. But as the Trump administration continues to make cuts at the federal level to myriad social...

Flames tore through one of several buildings on the property of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton Sunday night, but spared the famed museum building. Felton Fire officials said the fire broke out around 10pm and destroyed a small cabin situated between the museum that...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...