News

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Mayor Jimmy Dutra says he clearly remembers the light displays that once lined downtown every holiday season.  As a kid, Dutra would see the sparkling candy canes, snowflakes and more that adorned the street lights, poles and storefronts as he and his family walked...

WATSONVILLE—Santa Cruz METRO has taken a big step in combating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the launch of two new electric buses, which will operate on a new route through the city of Watsonville. On Tuesday METRO staff, along with city officials, representatives from electric...

WATSONVILLE—Matt Huffaker will leave his position as Watsonville City Manager for the same job in Santa Cruz, Watsonville city leaders confirmed with the Pajaronian Thursday afternoon.  The Santa Cruz City Council, in a press release, said it made a unanimous recommendation for Huffaker to take...

The four mayors in Santa Cruz County – Francisco Estrada of Watsonville, Martine Watkins of Santa Cruz, Jack Dilles of Scotts Valley and Jacques Bertrand of Capitola – joined Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chair Ryan Coonerty at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Cruz to rally the community to stand up and be heard during the 2020 Census count.

California commercial crab fisheries will close their season on April 15 as an influx of whales have begun feeding off the coast. The move is designed to help prevent Dungeness crab pots and their lengthy ropes from getting tangled up with whales, officials with the Center for Biological Diversity said.

CALIFORNIA—Nineteen people were shot and killed in three separate mass shootings in California in three days. On Monday around 2:20pm four people were killed at the Mountain Mushroom Co. on Highway 92 in the surf-side city of Half Moon Bay. A short while later the...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday meeting overhauled its tax rates on cannabis businesses, a move the majority of council members said would make the city's businesses more competitive with those in neighboring jurisdictions. The changes will cut taxes on retail cannabis businesses in...

Alex Sandoval oversees a project Tuesday to breach the Pajaro River where it meets the sea. Sandoval said his crew fears upcoming storms might send water levels over Beach Road and over roadways within the Pajaro Dunes community. The County Of Santa Cruz is issuing...

MONTEREY COUNTY—Monterey County agriculture’s gross production value bounced back by 4.8% in 2021 to just over $4.1 billion, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that also resulted in supply chain shortages. This increase represents a $190 million rise from 2020, when the gross production value was...