Community teams up to update field, push for soccer complex
WATSONVILLE—The aging sports field at Freedom Elementary School is so cratered by gopher holes and waterlogged by winter weather that some students don’t bother playing on it.
Those that do risk sodden shoes and twisted ankles.
This is set to change soon.
Under an agreement forged Jan....
Santa Cruz Symphony looks ahead to 2020 with concerts, outreach
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Last weekend the Santa Cruz Symphony (SCS) brought two powerful performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and the Henry J. Mello Center in Watsonville.
The concerts marked the Symphony’s mid-season point. Two more are planned: On March...
WPD’s top mental health advocate retires after 25 years
WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Police bade farewell to Master Officer Angel Calderon last week, capping his two-and-a-half decades of service.
At an informal upbeat going-away ceremony, scores of officers, staff and retirees offered plenty of words of praise and thanks—laced with a few quips about ‘where did that...
The flight of a lifetime
Watsonville resident Don Spence, a Korean War veteran, added another chapter to his own story in April, when he went on an Honor Flight with 25 other veterans.
Cabrillo ceramics students to throw sale
Several dozen students in the ceramics program at Cabrillo College are busy at the Kathryn McBride Ceramics Studio at the Aptos campus making clay goods for their upcoming Build and Throw-a-thon sale.
Instructor Sylvia Rios said students have been in high gear creating a wide...
Pair arrested for commercial burglary
WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man was arrested for burglary after he was caught on a security camera worming his way through a small window of a local business.
Raul Diaz, 41, allegedly stole a small amount of cash from the business. He was caught, along with accomplice...
PVPSA CEO Padilla-Chavez named Woman of the Year by Robert Rivas
WATSONVILLE—Assemblymember Robert Rivas has named Erica Padilla-Chavez, the CEO of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, as Woman of the Year for Assembly District 30.
The March 30 announcement came as part of an annual Women’s History Month observance by the Legislative Women’s Caucus.
“Erica has...
New downtown exhibit highlights SF Art Institute alumni
WATSONVILLE—A new exhibit will soon open at Studio Judy G in Downtown Watsonville, featuring alumni and former instructors of the recently shuttered San Francisco Arts Institute.
“Foment: An exhibition of artwork by San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) alumni and staff” opens next week, with an...
Two deaths, one fire in same day at homeless encampment
Santa Cruz Police officers and firefighters on Tuesday responded to two deaths and one fire at the Gateway Camp, the sprawling amassment of makeshift tents, shanties and lean-tos at Highway 1 and River Street along the San Lorenzo River Levee.
Freedom to create
Cabrillo College’s Fall 2019 semester begins Monday, and with it comes the school’s first art exhibition of the school year.
Reinstate Barrios Unidos at Pajaro Valley High School!
A month and a half ago, Principal Todd Wilson of Pajaro Valley High School decided against renewing a contract with Barrios Unidos, a grassroots...