County Supervisors get two new members
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors reached a milestone Thursday when the first African American person in its 172-year history was sworn in to the District 3 seat before a large audience that packed the chambers.
During the same ceremony, Felipe Hernandez...
Dozens sound off on food trucks in community forum
WATSONVILLE—Dozens attended Tuesday night’s Watsonville City Council meeting to rebuke reported complaints lodged to the City Manager’s office about mobile food vendors.
This included about a half-dozen food truck operators gathered on one device that took turns grilling the City Council and staff holding the...
Japanese culture highlighted at Hanamatsuri
The annual Hanamatsuri at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple included a raffle, food sales, vendors of various goods, a bonsai tree display, live music and other events in hopes of bringing the community up to speed with Japanese culture.
Watsonville gets head start on holiday season
WATSONVILLE—Jolly old St. Nicholas won’t be squeezing down the chimney and bringing gifts and holiday cheer for weeks.
But he made an early visit to Watsonville on Sunday for the city’s Holiday in the Plaza celebration, an annual event that kicks off the city’s end-of-year...
Bienvenidos, youkoso, and welcome, Japan
Fourteen middle school students from the small agricultural community of Kawakami, Japan, arrived with their chaperones Wednesday in Watsonville, their sister city.
Briefs: Aldridge Lane park cleanup; Class of 1953 reunion
Help clean up Aldridge Lane County Park
A volunteer beautification day will be held at Aldridge Lane County Park, 20 Aldridge Lane in Corralitos, on Saturday from 10am to 1pm.
Participants will be served refreshments and hot dogs donated by Corralitos Market. Come ready to paint...
PVUSD quiere escuchar opiniones, preguntas sobre su plan para reabrir escuelas
WATSONVILLE—Estudiantes que no pueden regresar a clases cuando la escuela comienza el 14 de Agosto debido a restricciones de Covid-19 asistirán a una academia virtual, una opción totalmente en línea creada por el Distrito Escolar Unificado de Pajaro Valley (PVUSD, por sus siglas en...
Watsonville’s Portuguese community celebrates sister city designation
WATSONVILLE—Situated along the western coast of São Jorge Island in Portugal is Velas, a historic port town with a population of just over 5,580 people. Located in the Azores, the city is one of the oldest settlements on the island, boasting incredible ocean views...
Honoring the homeless who died this year
About seven years ago, Marie Riggs was living in a homeless shelter and addicted to alcohol, wondering how she would survive this low point in her life.
“I was a hopeless mess,” she said. “I had no idea how to live, I didn’t know how...
Local syringe distribution group receives state authorization
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The California Department of Public Health has approved a plan for a local group to operate a syringe services program in Santa Cruz County.
Organizers for Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County (HRCSCC) have said they plan to provide syringes to drug...
Students learn the power of the vote at Civics Summit
On Friday, about 150 high school juniors from across Santa Cruz County cast their first ballots on three issues that, if passed, would dramatically...




















