News

Tarmo Hannula: When my friend Noel, a family attorney, dropped me off in downtown Watsonville early Wednesday I walked into the Second Street Café for a coffee. For years I’ve carried my own reusable thermos to save on throw-away cups. In line I got...

WATSONVILLE—Drive-thrus got the green light at Tuesday night’s Watsonville City Council meeting. By a 5-2 vote the council rejected a 45-day ban on new drive-thrus, stating there is no current and immediate threat to public health, safety or welfare and that their approval should be...

WATSONVILLE—Annrae Angel received an endorsement from the Pajaro Valley Cesar Chavez Democratic Club for Superior Court Judge at Monday night’s meeting in Watsonville. The club, which includes five Watsonville City Council members, also endorsed Measures R and Y, as well as Zach Friend for Supervisor,...

By ERIK CHALHOUB, special to the Pajaronian AROMAS—With San Benito County officials eyeing potential development along Highway 101 as a way to capture much-needed sales tax revenue, many residents feel it would further impact traffic, water and other issues in the county. Such is the debate...

SANTA CRUZ—Hundreds of people filled the streets of downtown Santa Cruz Monday to participate in the third-annual Martin Luther King march, an event co-sponsored by the NAACP and the Santa Cruz Police Department. “This is a business model of the Santa Cruz Police Department,” said...

APTOS—Since Caroline’s Nonprofit Thrift Shop opened its doors in 2010, owner Christy Licker has given tens of thousands of dollars to local organizations that support children. In 2017, Licker handed out $275,000 to 26 organizations, which at the time was a record-breaking amount for the...

LIVE OAK—Santa Cruz County’s first-ever inclusive playground officially opened Jan. 18 at Chanticleer Park in Live Oak.  LEO’s Haven, a playground designed to welcome children with disabilities such as blindness, mobility impairment and autism, is the centerpiece of the $4 million rebuild of the 4.5-acre...

Tarmo Hannula: Reporter Todd Guild and I covered the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march in downtown Santa Cruz this morning. I was glad to see more than 1,500 people participating in the march, waving signs, chanting and glad-handing bystanders. • Three men are in...

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at its Tuesday meeting will weigh a 45-day ban on the approval of new drive-thrus. The ban will need ⅘ approval, meaning six of the seven council members will need to vote yes in order for it to pass. If passed, the...

APTOS—A man was taken to a Bay Area trauma center Sunday afternoon after the car he was in crashed into a ditch along Valencia Road, causing a collision that drove a large branch through the windshield. According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver of...