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Watsonville
June 18, 2026

Watsonville High grad, filmmaker runs for PVUSD trustee seat: would create student bill of rights

Editor’s note This is the second of three stories featuring the challengers running for seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees. ••• Gabriel Medina graduated from Watsonville High school in 2010 and went to UC Los Angeles to study filmmaking. He returned to...

About Town, Week of March 4

Observations from around the Pajaro Valley.

Library launches reading program

The six-week Deanne Pernell Reading Mentors Program — also known as Reading Buddies — pairs small groups with a mentor, whose task will be to read to their young charges and encourage them to read out loud. The program kicks off on Oct. 12.

Strawberry Festival fills downtown

Thousands of people filled downtown Watsonville Saturday on day two of the three-day Strawberry Festival.  As the fog broke apart and blue sky took over, people were treated to live music, scads of strawberry-theme food and drinks, carnival rides, arts and crafts, an open-air beer...

RTC publicly discusses railbanking Santa Cruz Branch

roaring camp rtc
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) on Thursday discussed the future of the county’s rail line, and possibly setting it aside for future use while first focusing on building a bicycle and pedestrian path. In a report to the commission, RTC...

Pajaronian consolidates offices

Pajaronian logo
Effective Nov. 30, The Pajaronian will close its rented office on Brennan Street and join the company’s other Santa Cruz County publications at its Santa Cruz office at 107 Dakota St. But Pajaronian writers and advertising personnel will continue to work in Watsonville in the...

Hundreds of evacuated animals held at Fairgrounds; room still available

CZU Complex fires animals
WATSONVILLE—While the fire evacuation center at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds is reaching capacity for humans—only single cots and limited tent camping space are available—there is still room for pets and other animals. Hundreds of animals have been evacuated to the fairgrounds since the CZU...

Starlight Elementary unveils community teaching kitchen

WATSONVILLE—After years of cooking lessons conducted from push-carts wheeled into its classrooms, Starlight Elementary School on Wednesday unveiled a professional, state-of-the-art teaching kitchen created to imbue a knowledge of—and possibly a passion for—the culinary arts.  The facility is located adjacent to a garden, designed to...

Briefs 9/11/25

Mexican Independence Day celebration The annual Mexican Independence Day Festival will take place in  downtown Watsonville Sunday from 11:30am-5pm Hosted by Fiestas Patrias, the festival will be opened by a traditional grito from the Consul General Neftali Said Perez Gonzalez, representing the Mexican Consulate in San...

Santa Cruz County asks visitors to leave as fires spread down mountains

Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Emergency Operations Center is requesting that all tourists and visitors occupying local overnight accommodations such as hotels, motels and vacation rentals leave immediately to free up shelter capacity. Local shelters are near capacity. The Emergency Operations Center is working...
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Photo story: Anti-fascism march

Members of Indivisible Pajaro Valley stage their Signs of Fascism protest on Main Street in Watsonville on June 16. The one-hour event drew over...

Speaking of cults