Photo: At least 200 call for peace, justice after deadly shooting
People take part in an anti-violence rally Sunday in Watsonville's City Plaza as part of a memorial for Feliciano Martinez Perea, 18, who was shot and killed on April 2 at his home on Riverside Drive.
Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said officers...
Watsonville oversized vehicle ordinance takes effect
A new city ordinance restricting where oversized vehicles and trailers can park took effect on March 13.
The ordinance prohibits oversized vehicles and all types of trailers—regardless of size—from parking on city streets, alleys, city-owned or maintained parking lots, and other public property. City officials...
New Leaf Energy to seek state approval for Minto Road BESS facility
New Leaf Energy will bypass Santa Cruz County’s permitting process and instead seek state approval for its proposed battery energy storage system near Watsonville, a move county officials long anticipated as local regulations tightened.
In a May 1 letter to County Executive Officer Nicole Coburn,...
DA looking into PVUSD Brown Act allegation
The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office is looking into an allegation that five members of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees violated open meeting laws by gathering informally late last year.
Community teams up to update field, push for soccer complex
WATSONVILLE—The aging sports field at Freedom Elementary School is so cratered by gopher holes and waterlogged by winter weather that some students don’t bother playing on it.
Those that do risk sodden shoes and twisted ankles.
This is set to change soon.
Under an agreement forged Jan....
County changes rules for vacation rentals
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved placing a moratorium on new vacation rentals countywide, along with several other rules meant to limit the growing industry.
The trustees will consider on June 30 whether to extend the 45-day moratorium.
Supervisor John...
Honoring a leader
On the steps of the dilapidated jailhouse in which Cesar Chavez was held 47 years ago, a group of pesticide activists held a rally Friday to both celebrate his birthday and to draw attention to an issue that was close to the labor leader’s heart.
Police seeking driver in fatal hit-and-run
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police are looking for a driver that struck a pedestrian May 5 and then fled on the 1900 block of Main Street.
Ashley Keehn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Victor Gonzalez Jr., 24, of Watsonville. He was taken...
State of play: County, PVUSD lending aid to solve city’s parks shortfall
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Parks and Community Services Director Nick Calubaquib says since he was hired in 2018 that he has seen county officials make a stronger effort to reinvest in South County’s parks. That same year, the County of Santa Cruz finalized its parks strategic plan,...
Supervisors approve plan to purchase 38 acres for South County park
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday meeting unanimously approved a plan to purchase a parcel of land in Watsonville, with the hopes of one day converting it into a public park.
The 38.5-acre parcel at 188 Whiting Road—located adjacent to...
Si Se Puede opens new 30-bed facility
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday in Watsonville, Encompass Community Services celebrated the opening of a new Si Se Puede behavioral health campus on Miles...
