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Watsonville
February 19, 2026

Santa Cruz County Court moves outdoors

Santa Cruz County courthouse
SANTA CRUZ—On a normal day in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, hundreds of people filter in and out of four courtrooms as their criminal cases wind their way through the system. That changed on Mar. 17, when court officials delayed all jury trials and severely...

Santa Cruz Symphony hosts Outreach Concerts for students

Children gasped and called out excitedly as the Santa Cruz Symphony played the first notes of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 at the Henry J. Mello Center on Tuesday morning.

International Night deemed a success

Terry Medina leads the live auction during Watsonville Rotary Club's International Night at the Portuguese Hall on Wednesday.

Freedom Bakery celebrates a half-century

Watsonville’s Freedom Bakery—the oldest family-owned bakery in the Monterey Bay region—is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer, marking five decades of providing the community with cakes and other desserts.  The bakery was founded in 1975 by Tony Liu, a Taiwanese immigrant who came to the...

Judy Doering Nielsen, a former Mayor and prolific volunteer, dies

Judy Doering Nielsen
WATSONVILLE—Judy Doering Nielsen’s love for the Watsonville community led her to become thoroughly entrenched in its inner workings, from its history to its politics to its people. She served as Watsonville Mayor and President of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association (PVHA), in addition to a...

County moves to oppose all sexual predator placements

Santa Cruz County predator
After a significant portion of the Bonny Doon community mobilized to try to keep a man who raped a 21-year-old woman in the 1980s from moving to town, Santa Cruz County is now seeking changes to California law, so it can have additional tools...

Boulder Creek shooting victim ID’d

sirens
BOULDER CREEK—The 18-year-old who was killed Saturday at a party at a Boulder Creek residence—Rowan Parham—was described as a man who loved his friends and family, a sentiment that was returned by the people who knew him. “Anyone that knew Rowan, knew that he was...

Masked music | About Town

Musician Eric Schowacherg was out performing a string of popular Holiday tunes on his violin in downtown Santa Cruz, over the weekend. • A Watsonville man died early Friday morning in a solo-vehicle crash on Amesti Road. California Highway Patrol officer Sam Courtney said, however, that the...

Photo: Watsonville Airport welcomes extra-large guest

watsonville airport jet
A Bombardier Global Express 600 corporate jet sits on the tarmac at Watsonville Municipal Airport on May 21. Airplane aficionados said it is the largest aircraft to land at the airport since 2007 when a C-17 military transport jet touched down during an air...

PVUSD receives $4.1M from feds for internet connectivity improvements

pvusd trustees
WATSONVILLE—Pajaro Valley Unified School District is set to receive roughly $4.1 million from the federal government to help its students connect to the internet. The district is one of 18 institutions throughout the Central Coast that received a portion of the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency...
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Pajaro Valley secures PCAL Cypress Division crown | Girls basketball

If someone would’ve told Pajaro Valley High senior Monique Ayala back in November they’d be Pacific Coast Athletic League champions come the end of...