58 F
Watsonville
March 31, 2026

Photo: Dancing for Pride

Members of Ensamble Folclórico Colibrí perform at Pajaro Valley Pride's annual celebration Sunday at the Watsonville YWCA. The event, held in-person for the first time since 2019, began with a Pride march around the block before moving the YWCA for live drag and dance...

Five local elected seats to go unopposed

Watsonville city council
WATSONVILLE—Kristal Salcido says that she had for months planned to spend the final weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 election walking door-to-door throughout Watsonville’s Fourth District to drum up support for her city council run. On Wednesday, Salcido received the news that whether or...

Two killed in 3-vehicle crash on Green Valley Road

Watsonville crash
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...

PRFMA advances plan to fund gaps in levee protection

Later this year, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency (PRFMA) will start construction of its $600 million Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project, a long overdue effort to improve levees along the Pajaro River and Corralitos...

College Lake water right approved

college lake
In a unanimous decision, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) approved Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency’s (PV Water) water right application for the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project. The approval, coming nearly four years after application submittal, means that PV Water will have...

Santa Cruz County supervisors approve emergency declaration for storm damages

capitola village high surf flooding
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an emergency declaration for the damages sustained in the storm surges on Dec. 28 and 30. County officials estimate that the waves, which inundated Capitola Village, slammed Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and wreaked havoc...

Veterans Day ceremony returns after pandemic hiatus

*Note: Erik Chalhoub contributed to this report Watsonville’s Veterans Day Celebration returns to downtown after last year’s in-person event was cancelled due to Covid-19. Veterans and others will begin gathering at 9:30am on Nov. 11 in the parking lot of St. Patrick’s Church, 721 Main St....

Esperanza de Valle celebrates 40 years

Four decades ago, Janet Johns came to Watsonville as a new teacher, hoping to start a dance company with her former roommate from San Jose State, Frances Urbina.  It wasn’t long before Johns’ fellow teachers in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District expressed interest in...

City’s youth art contest still open for submissions

Watsonville
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is currently holding a special art contest for local youth, and there is still a week left for pieces to be submitted. The “Thankful Youth Art Contest” aims to inspire young people in the Pajaro Valley to share their creativity through...

Candidates set for Watsonville City Council special election

Watsonville city council
WATSONVILLE—Two relative newcomers to Watsonville politics will face off for the vacant District 2 seat in a special election slated for Dec. 7. Francisco “Frank” Barba and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter turned in the paperwork required to run for office just before the deadline on Monday evening....
7,695FansLike
4,949FollowersFollow
2,895FollowersFollow

Letters to the Editor, March 27-April 2

Regarding benefit caps The local teacher’s union, PVFT, has been loudly crying during negotiations with the school district, PVUSD, to not put a cap on...