Community

On Saturday morning, 48-year-old Gerardo Gutierrez was one of about a dozen men sitting in the day room at Salvation Army’s Watsonville location, quietly watching an old Vicente Fernández film playing silently on a television mounted to the ceiling. The men—most of them homeless—had stayed...

Water surges through the asphalt along the 300-block of Ford Street Monday afternoon where a man reportedly ran into a fire hydrant with his Chevy Silverado pickup. Watsonville Police said the man struck the hydrant just after 5pm, triggering a water main break beneath...

Fourth grade students from Mar Vista Elementary School get an up-close view of a Robinson 22 helicopter Tuesday during a tour of the Watsonville Municipal Airport. Now in its third year, the community outreach program by the Municipal Airport exposed kids to various aspects...

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a three-year contract for its new superintendent. Heather Contreras’ contract shows her start date of May 1. Her base pay will be $242,000 per year, with a 2% raise after one year,...

In a little more than a year, Ramsay Park in Watsonville will boast a new dog park, a new multi-use synthetic sports field, a new state-of-the-art nature center and new lights for its pathways, parking lots and athletic fields. Plans also include an all-inclusive playground,...

Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board (PVHCD) Chair and former Watsonville Community Hospital CEO John Friel, who took the lead of the fledgling agency at its outset in 2022, died March 21 after battling an undisclosed illness.  Friel resigned from his position on March 19,...

The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday voted to close the crosswind runway at the airport, a move city officials say will open up more of the city for development of housing and commercial space. Airport Director Rayvon Williams told the council that closing the shorter...

Watsonville City Manager Rene Mendez has been named as the new City Manager for the City of Salinas, just two years after starting his position. The Salinas City Council on March 19 approved his contract. He will begin on May 28 and receive a base salary...

Pajaro Valley Unified School District on Friday named its new superintendent. The district’s Board of Trustees appointed Heather Contreras in closed session during its March 13 board meeting.  “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Heather Contreras as our new Superintendent,” Board President Georgia Acosta stated in...

A 29-year-old Watsonville man died Thursday evening when he lost control of his motorcycle and smashed into a fence. California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said officers responded to a report of a crash on Buena Vista Drive west of Bradford Road. The man, identified as...