Business

For the past 30 years, Bargetto Winery, one of California’s oldest wineries, has grown grapes at Regan Estate Vineyards, a plot in Corralitos overlooking the Pajaro Valley. With 40 of the property’s 53 acres planted, Regan is one of the largest and most diverse of...

Labor Day Weekend is fast approaching, and many are looking to stock up on foods for barbecues and other outdoor gatherings. But this year is different, for both consumers and suppliers alike, and it has a lot to do with the current high price of...

Two weeks ago, Amelia Loftus, owner of Hidden Fortress Coffee Roasting, was on the brink of closing her cafe in Watsonville just shy of its five-year anniversary. The shop, located at the end of a sleepy business complex on Hangar Way, had been struggling to...

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a multistep strategy aimed at rapidly shifting Americans from gasoline-powered cars and trucks toward electric vehicles—a central part of his plan to reduce the pollution that is heating the planet. Biden is first restoring and slightly strengthening auto mileage...

WATSONVILLE—Swift efforts are underway to open a new Habitat for Humanity ReStore in downtown Watsonville.  The national second-hand retail store is aiming for a mid-August soft opening in the behemoth 9,700-square-foot building at 555 Main St. that once served as a grocery store, a furniture...

WATSONVILLE—More than 100 people gathered in front of the newly rebuilt McDonald’s restaurant on Freedom Boulevard Tuesday for a grand reopening celebration. The business, located at 1598 Freedom Blvd., replaces the one originally built in 1974, which had remained at the same location until demolition...

WATSONVILLE—When the nonprofit Defend Our Health tested bottle caps from 141 beverage brands, they found potentially harmful chemicals in more than a third of them. Two Martinelli’s products were among these brands, but the Watsonville-based apple juice and cider company says it is now...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville Community Hospital has a new chief executive officer.  Steven Salyer, who has 14 years of leadership experience in hospitals throughout the U.S., started the position on July 6. The hospital announced the move on July 14. Salyer previously served as chief operating officer at UP...

WATSONVILLE—A new bakery that offers a dazzling and colorful line of pastries, cakes, fancy cookies, cupcakes and more has recently opened in downtown Watsonville. Ricarmi Panaderia y Pasteleria at 11 East Fifth St. is the realization of a longtime dream for Ricardo Lopez and Armida...

WATSONVILLE—A group of about 25 farmers, environmentalists and community leaders gathered at the Watsonville Nature Center on July 8 to officially kick off a campaign to renew a landmark Watsonville ballot measure passed in 2002. The Committee for Planned Growth and Farmland Protection recently filed...