News

A new art exhibit, which includes workshops and a public tree planting, is set to open at Studio Judy G on Main Street in Watsonville on Jan. 21. “Trees to Be” features works by more than 50 artists and local organizations who deal with the...

APTOS—Expecting a large crowd for a beach cleanup at Seacliff State Beach on Saturday, Save Our Shores printed 250 waivers for volunteers to sign before they got to work. While that may have been enough for a run-of-the-mill beach cleanup, this was no ordinary event....

WATSONVILLE—Three men are facing felony vandalism charges for allegedly defacing more than a half-dozen businesses in downtown Watsonville with graffiti early Saturday. Richard Betancourt, 40, Javier Alvarado, 29, and Juan Bautista, 23, all of Watsonville, were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of...

WATSONVILLE—Longtime Watsonville resident Masako Miura celebrated her 105th birthday in June in Valley Heights Senior Community where she now resides. “I didn’t realize I was that old,” she quipped. Her advice for younger people hoping to have a similarly long life is, “don’t be an old...

WATSONVILLE—An inmate at the Rountree Medium Facility on the outskirts of Watsonville escaped Friday afternoon, leading to an intensive search that ended with his capture later the same day. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Ashley Keehn said Christopher Dicochea escaped around 3:45pm from the correctional center on...

WATSONVILLE—Former Watsonville Fire Assistant Chief Gene Friend, a household name for many in the Pajaro Valley, died March 25 at Valley Convalescent in Watsonville.  Watsonville Fire Station 1 is emblazoned with his name in large letters as the namesake of the Chief Gene Friend Watsonville...

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees late Friday night tabled an effort to appoint an interim superintendent after a trustee reconsidered an earlier vote to fire district Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez.

WATSONVILLE—On April 7, businesses from across the region will come together for the first time in three years at the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture’s annual Business Expo and Job Fair. This year’s theme is “Spring Fling,” celebrating the return of not only...

WATSONVILLE—For the first time in 10 years, Watsonville’s Esperanza del Valle (EDV) will be returning to the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts for a weekend of dancing, music and cultural celebration. The nonprofit folklórico dance group was founded in Watsonville in 1980...