Evacuation warnings issued for Santa Cruz Mountains residents
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Cal Fire CZU on Sunday evening issued evacuation warnings for swaths of the San Lorenzo Valley, including most of Boulder Creek and various areas of Ben Lomond and Felton that just a few months ago were scorched by the CZU August Lightning...
Ag History Project looks ahead
WATSONVILLE—A buggy that once transported people along the streets of San Jose in the 1880s and ‘90s is now on display at the Agricultural History Project, restored and with a fresh coat of paint.
Hassan Zamani, who has volunteered with the AHP for two years,...
Watsonville man arrested in Jan. 22 homicide
WATSONVILLE—A Watsonville man has been arrested for fatally shooting Armando Saldana on Jan. 22 in an apartment complex on the 200 block of Sunnyhills Drive.
The suspect, 29-year-old Felipe Jimenez, was tracked down by detectives in San Jose and arrested on murder charges Monday night,...
City reopens rebuilt Muzzio playground, all parks citywide
WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville celebrated two reopenings Friday, hosting a socially-distanced ribbon-cutting ceremony for the rebuilt Muzzio Park playground and removing some Covid-19 restrictions from its 26 parks.
A handful of community members joined City staff and Watsonville City Councilman Felipe Hernandez at Muzzio Park...
Pajaro Valley Chamber names honorees for 2023
WATSONVILLE—Guy George, whose roots in Pajaro Valley agriculture stretch back to his immigrant parents, has earned this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture.
George joins Trina Coffman-Gomez and Dana Sales as Woman and Man of the Year, along...
Farms to open doors to the public
Starr Linden and Andy Griffin stand on a gentle slope overlooking part of their sprawling Watsonville farm, each of them taking turns describing the process of creating the property’s centerpiece—a hand-built labyrinth of 3,000 fragrant lavender plants.
“This was a Covid project,” Griffin said proudly.
Using...
Pajaro River levee project on track for summer start
On Jan. 22, as heavy overnight rains drenched the region, Pajaro Regional Flood Control Management Agency (PRFMA) Manager Mark Strudley got up in the middle of the night to make sure that the rivers and streams could handle the surge of water.
They did, and...
Demolishing the past for a new Starbucks
A piece of Watsonville’s history was torn to the ground Monday as a wrecking crew demolished the Taqueria Mi Tierra restaurant on Freedom Boulevard.
The building was once a popular A&W drive-in restaurant, Rosa’s Mexican restaurant and Mi Tierra until they closed last year.
Plans now...
Bay Federal awards scholarships to local students
Bay Federal Credit Union on Tuesday doled out $7,500 worth of scholarships to local students.
Surfers celebrate Juneteenth in Santa Cruz
About 150 people plunged into the Pacific Saturday at Cowell’s Beach for the third annual Liberation Paddle Out celebration of Juneteenth.
With the aid of around two dozen experienced surfers and other supporters, the crowd fitted themselves with wetsuits, took in a brief surf lesson...
Jim Barsi—owner of Barsi’s Liquor Store—dies
James Joseph “Jim” Barsi, who ran his eponymous liquor store on East Lake Avenue for a half-century before selling the business and retiring in...























