The halls of Sacramento are replete with South County natives.
According to state Assemblyman Luis Alejo, Watsonville is unique in the number of people currently serving in public service in the Capitol, with 10 people currently serving various roles.
"No other city of our size has so many people working in the Capitol at the same time," he said.
...more
Modified: Friday, Feb 3rd, 2012
The Eureka man accused of killing a Watsonville store clerk during an October 2010 robbery will spend at least 50 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the crimes Friday morning.
Christian Speaker, 18, wore yellow jail clothes, which indicate a high-risk prisoner. He pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, first-degree murder and special allegations that could earn ...more
Modified: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2012
The California Dental Association Foundation announced Thursday that it has nullified its agreement with the city of Watsonville to install fluoride facilities.
The announcement stated that the city's "planned fluoridation facilities are too costly to be accomplished within the required time frame."
The engineering firm hired by the city estimated that the Watsonville facility would cost $1.6 million, ...more
Posted: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2012
School districts across California could have an easier time getting their students to school after state lawmakers on Thursday approved Senate Bill 81, which changes the way transportation programs are funded.
The bill is currently on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk awaiting approval.
In December, Brown announced $248 million in trigger cuts when state revenues came in lower than ...more
Posted: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2012
Pacific Coast Charter School teacher Dawn Binder had no idea that she would walk into school Thursday and discover that she was awarded The Crystal Apple Award.
"They did an amazing job keeping this a surprise," Binder said. "I was definitely caught off guard."
The Crystal Apple Award, presented by KSBW-TV, is given to nine teachers every school ...more
Posted: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2012
The 32nd annual EcoFarm Conference began Wednesday with about 60 workshops scheduled along with tours of local farms. This year's theme is Raising EcoFarmers' Voices.
Deemed by organizers the West's leading sustainable farm conference, the four-day event offers a comprehensive array of educational and networking sessions for 1,500 farmers, marketers, activists, consumers, students and educators.
Held at ...more
Posted: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2012
Two Sacramento men were arrested early Wednesday after they allegedly stole a vehicle and attempted to remove the catalytic converter.
Seng Her, 29, and Thai Vue, 27, were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail and charged with vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools and possession of a controlled substance.
About 12:20 a.m., Watsonville police ...more
Posted: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2012
To help fund an estimated $242 million in repairs needed throughout the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the board of trustees should consider several financing options, including asking voters to approve a bond measure, according to report discussed Wednesday night at the trustees' meeting.
The total includes a variety of repairs and upgrades at the district's nearly 40 facilities, ...more
Posted: Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2012
Michele Stevison, a three-year veteran at the Santa Cruz Regional 911 Center, was honored Tuesday in San Diego as a California "dispatch hero" for her role as a dispatcher during the June 7 shooting inside Big 5 Sporting Goods in Watsonville.
The 911 Heroes Awards are presented each year to dispatchers and youths around the nation who have ...more
Modified: Wednesday, Feb 1st, 2012
Two Sacramento men were arrested early Wednesday after they allegedly stole a vehicle and attempted to remove the catalytic converter.
Seng Her, 29, and Thai Vue, 27, were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail and charged with vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools and possession of a controlled substance.
About 12:20 a.m., Watsonville police ...more
Modified: Tuesday, Jan 31st, 2012
Do you want to know where alcohol outlets are located around Santa Cruz County, and how those might correspond to documented cases of alcohol abuse? Wondering about the gang concentration in your neighborhood or where the hospitals in your area are in relation to the violent crime that occurs there?
What about a search of the nonprofit organizations that ...more
Posted: Monday, Jan 30th, 2012
The long-running Freedom Boulevard upgrade construction between Broadis and West High streets is in its final phases. The project, which includes new curbs, sidewalks and gutters, some street realignment, and new crosswalks could wrap up in two to three months, said Murray Fontes, principal engineer for the city of Watsonville.
"The project is taking longer than anticipated because of ...more
Posted: Monday, Jan 30th, 2012
From the verdant forests of Nisene Marks State Park to the sweeping ocean views of Wilder Ranch State Park, Watsonville-based Trips for Kids Santa Cruz has been leading underserved South County kids on mountain bike trips in Santa Cruz County since it was launched in April.
Now, after nine months of operating out of a space so small that ...more
Posted: Monday, Jan 30th, 2012
Ron Tyler, a founding member of the Agricultural History Project, died Friday from heart surgery complications. He was 78.
Born in Oakland, Tyler attended Mount Diablo High School in Concord and obtained a degree in pomology from UC Davis in 1955. He was commission a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served two years active duty before ...more
Posted: Monday, Jan 30th, 2012
The 50th annual awards ceremony was presented Saturday by the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.
More than 400 people enjoyed the awards presentations, auctions, a catered banquet dinner and live music at the J.J. Crosetti building, which was dressed up Hollywood-style, like an Oscars evening.
Gary Smith, president of Ammonia ...more
Posted: Saturday, Jan 28th, 2012
Architect and television personality Danny Forster is passionate about his job, and has made it his mission to inspire kids to get excited about math, science and engineering.
The hope, he said, is that they will use those disciplines to build a career path.
Forster, who hosts Discovery Channel's "Build It Bigger," was at Pajaro Middle School ...more
Posted: Saturday, Jan 28th, 2012
Two Watsonville men were arrested Thursday at a trailer park on the 500 block of Green Valley Road after officers conducting a search found heroin for sale and methadone pills, according to the Santa Cruz County Gang Task Force.
Additionally, a Watsonville woman was arrested when she went to the residence looking to buy drugs, police said.
Antonio ...more
Posted: Friday, Jan 27th, 2012
A new retaining wall is under construction on Green Valley Road at Main Street. The 220-foot-long by 4-foot-high masonry block and concrete wall, which will run from the corner of Green Valley and Main toward Melwood Way, is designed to stabilize an existing embankment, said Murray Fontes, principal engineer for the city of Watsonville.
"This area has been known ...more
Posted: Friday, Jan 27th, 2012
For Farmers Insurance agent and broker Rafael Suarez, business is personal, and he wants to make sure each client understands their coverage.
Suarez, who has lived in the area for 17 years, worked at Marty Franich for six years before he decided to become an insurance agent for Farmers. He said he attended the University of Farmers and ...more
Posted: Wednesday, Jan 25th, 2012
John Martinelli, president of S. Martinelli & Co., has big plans for the company's sprawling new facility at 345 Harvest Drive.
Those plans, he said, center on attracting other businesses to the building.
In June, Martinelli purchased the former Birds Eye Foods plant, a 210,000-square-foot facility that has sat dormant since Birds Eye closed in 2006.
But ...more
Posted: Wednesday, Jan 25th, 2012
Watsonville City Councilman Daniel Dodge has a plan he thinks could bring in tax revenue and help reduce the city's high unemployment rate.
Dodge said that city staff are currently looking into the feasibility of annexing the 80-acre Sakata-Kett property, located east of Highway 1 between West Beach Street and Riverside Drive.
Plans to annex the property ...more
Posted: Wednesday, Jan 25th, 2012
The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday set the stage for the elimination of the Redevelopment and Housing Agency by approving a 25 percent pay cut for three employees, two layoffs and a reshuffling of funds to pay others.
The vote was 6-1, with Councilwoman Nancy Bilicich dissenting.
The Redevelopment and Housing Agency director and a senior administrative analyst ...more
Modified: Wednesday, Jan 25th, 2012
Three small earthquakes shook Watsonville Wednesday evening.
The first temblor rolled through town about 6:20 p.m. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it was centered about 4 miles northeast of Pajaro. The second quake, registered as a 2.8, occurred about a minute later and was centered 13 miles northeast of Morgan Hill, USGS reported. A third, magnitude-1.8 earthquake ...more
Posted: Tuesday, Jan 24th, 2012
The Santa Cruz man who escaped the custody of a Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputy in November 2010 and went on an hours-long crime spree did so to avoid prosecution for a 2009 home invasion burglary prosecutors said Monday, which convinced Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick to consolidate the two cases.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Mark Garver said he ...more
Posted: Tuesday, Jan 24th, 2012
For 15 years, Watsonville's Environmental Science Workshop has provided a place for students who love hands-on science, but find it missing from their everyday curriculum.
Now, a $73,000 grant from the Community Science Workshop will help the workshop further that mission.
The grant, which came from the Moore Foundation and the Bechtel Foundation, was meant to help the ...more
Posted: Tuesday, Jan 24th, 2012
Dominican Hospital's parent organization, Catholic Healthcare West, announced Monday that is has changed its name to Dignity Health.
According to Dignity Health spokeswoman Tricia Griffin, the change will not affect employees or patient care at any of the company's 40 facilities, 25 of which are Catholic and 15 of which are not.
Catholic Healthcare West, the fifth-largest health ...more
Posted: Tuesday, Jan 24th, 2012
Police are looking for three men who allegedly fled from a head-on crash that injured a woman Monday afternoon on San Andreas Road.
The two-vehicle crash occurred at 2:25 p.m. in front of 295 San Andreas Road, where the driver of a 1994 Toyota Camry was passing another vehicle over double-yellow lines at a high speed southbound and slammed ...more
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