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The former owners of Watsonville Community Hospital are facing a lawsuit alleging that they took more than $3.9 million for their own use, and that their mismanagement led the hospital  to bankruptcy and to the brink of financial ruin. Halsen Healthcare was removed from its...

Watsonville Community Hospital seeks community input Watsonville Community Hospital is hosting a town-hall-style event for area residents to hear what’s happening at the hospital and give their input about their hopes and wishes for the hospital, now that it is community-owned.  The event takes place July...

A new 200-foot mural has gone up across the front of Hotel Paradox on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz.  Artist Jeremiah Kille, who has completed scores of large-scale murals around town, Sacramento and elsewhere, finished the work in November. The mural spans the front of the...

The City of Watsonville is looking to make its first update to its retail cannabis business ordinance in four years. On Oct. 10, the City Council considered 16 tweaks to the ordinance. Proposed changes include allowing a new establishment, opening more of the city to new...

The new 80-unit housing development at 78 Atkinson Lane in Watsonville by MidPen Housing is moving skyward. Situated between Atkinson Lane and Brewington Avenue, the development is the second phase of the nearby Pippin Orchards. The project, part of a multiphase development plan approved some two...

Traffic is channeled into one lane in each direction in what once was both southbound lanes of Freedom Boulevard Thursday as major improvement work continues. Joshua Nol of McKim Corporation said all traffic has been shifted to the west side of the road, while...

Since June, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees has been considering a plan to retool its Visual and Performing Arts program at its 16 elementary schools, a proposal that includes splitting art teachers between most schools. The shift would be part of...

If Pajaro Valley Unified School District performed all the upgrades, repairs and construction projects that are needed at its 33 schools, it would cost more than $1.2 billion. A large part of that estimate is $400 million to replace the district’s array of portable classrooms  That’s...

In late September, Watsonville Municipal Airport Director Rayvon Williams was named as this year’s Michael A. Shutt Award recipient. Then on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will distribute $83,575 to the airport for a zero-emissions vehicle and infrastructure...

A major upgrade on a section of Freedom Boulevard, between Alta Vista Avenue and Green Valley Road, is in its final stage. The months-long job included fresh asphalt, multi-modal bike lanes, new curbs, sidewalks and gutters (in places), new ADA ramps, a bus pullout at...