News

WATSONVILLE—Two people, including a 16-year-old Watsonville boy, were killed on March 19 in a three-vehicle collision at the intersection of Green Valley Road and Pennsylvania Drive. Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said the 20-year-old driver, identified by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office as...

WATSONVILLE—Since 1983, Pajaro Valley Shelter Services (PVSS) has aimed to address the needs of women and children affected by homelessness in the greater Watsonville area. Founded by Sister Susan Olson and Sister Marie Veronica through Catholic Charities, the organization eventually broke off and became...

WATSONVILLE—The city of Watsonville will likely ask its residents to approve a half-cent sales tax increase in the November election that would raise the city’s sales tax to 9.75%—the most the municipality is allowed to tax its residents. The Watsonville City Council did not place...

The Watsonville Planning Commission approved a drive-thru Starbucks in the Watsonville Square Shopping Center Tuesday, one of two such coffee shops in the works for the city.

Dr. Leonor Xóchitl Pérez was 12 years old when she first played mariachi. It was 1973, and her school in Southern California had just created the first school-based mariachi program in the state’s history.  The music stuck with Perez. When she was 18, she was accepted...

WATSONVILLE—The company that purchased Watsonville Community Hospital two years ago—Los Angeles-based Halsen Healthcare—has been removed from a leadership role as of Jan. 18. Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings will now run the hospital on an interim basis. The announcement came Monday via an email to...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Watsonville man arrested last month for allegedly killing his stepdaughter 16 years ago in Florida has died after severing the femoral artery in his leg while in jail and suffering hemorrhagic shock, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said Tuesday. Raul...

WATSONVILLE—After 18 years at the helm of the Lutheran Community Church of Watsonville, and 40 years total as an ordained minister, Rev. Susan Birkelo will soon retire. Born in Minnesota, Birkelo’s family moved to San Diego when she was still in kindergarten. After school, she...

For the past 16 years, Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA) has partnered with Sierra Azul Nursery and Gardens for an annual art exhibit. Artists install sculptures throughout Sierra Azul’s two-acre demonstration garden, creating an open-air gallery surrounded by native trees and plants. For this year’s Sculpture...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) lifted its mandatory face mask mandate for vaccinated staff and riders effective Tuesday.  The move came a day after the Transportation Security Administration advised public transport operators that they no longer need to enforce the federal...