Dozens of high-ranking gang members arrested
Posted: Wednesday, Sep 1st, 2010
A high-ranking Watsonville gang member was among dozens arrested Tuesday in an operation aimed at tackling drug sales, weapons distribution and the collection of "taxes" from other gang members by the Nuestra Familia gang.
Armando Valle, 36, was arrested Tuesday afternoon at his place of employment, Home Depot in Watsonville. He was reportedly in charge of the Watsonville contingent ...more

Anti-gang program reports success
Posted: Wednesday, Sep 1st, 2010
Together in Peace, a Watsonville program designed to stop young people from joining gangs that ended in June, has helped keep middle schoolers out of trouble and prompted organizers to apply for an additional grant that will allow the work to continue.
The $589,653 Together in Peace grant, which lasted from April 2007 through June 2010, allowed organizers to ...more

Rancho del Mar managers set to retire
Posted: Wednesday, Sep 1st, 2010
APTOS -- Since the early 1960s, the Rancho del Mar Shopping Center has been a beacon at the crossroads of Soquel Drive and Highway 1 in Aptos. During much of that time, Greg Schmitt has acted as the stalwart of the popular center, making it a convenient spot to grab a cup of coffee, see a movie or shop for ...more

Fire rips through Soquel Hills home
Posted: Wednesday, Sep 1st, 2010
SOQUEL HILLS -- Two people were displaced Tuesday after an early-evening fire tore through their upscale home.
The 5:57 p.m. blaze, at 3595 Chardonnay Drive, destroyed about half of the three-story, split-level home and exposed an extensive indoor marijuana-growing operation, according to Mike DeMars of Central Fire.
When firefighters first arrived at the property, which is located at ...more

Cabrillo College welcomes back students
Posted: Tuesday, Aug 31st, 2010
Thousands of students poured onto Cabrillo College's two campuses Monday morning facing a rough budget, fewer available classes and a growing need for financial aid.
According to Director of Marketing and Communications Kristin Fabos, 7,483 students have applied for financial aid so far this year, up more than 1,100 from last year.
Fabos pointed to the ...more

Vicious murder on levee detailed
Posted: Tuesday, Aug 31st, 2010
The 44-year-old man who was murdered on the Pajaro River levee in April 2009 had been robbed earlier that day and was savagely beaten to death after he reported the robbery and provided a suspect description to police, according to Assistant District Attorney Celia Rowland who is prosecuting the case.
Jose Marie Barajas, a homeless day laborer who ...more

Fluoridation pact ready for approval
Posted: Tuesday, Aug 31st, 2010
By JON CHOWN
OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
The language of a proposed contract between the City of Watsonville and the California Dental Association Foundation to fluoridate the city's water was completed Monday by the City Council's ad hoc committee on fluoridation.
The committee met to finalize the contract that will now go before the City Council for approval. The ...more

Aromas Day draws thousands to little town to shop, eat and play
Posted: Tuesday, Aug 31st, 2010
AROMAS -- If an Aromas resident didn't have a yard sale on Sunday, they probably had a garage sale; it's the tradition for the town's annual Aromas Day and at the corner of Carpenteria Road and Rose Avenue, Greg Dean and his daughter Kelly Barreto were right in the middle of it.
With loads of toys, furniture, home ...more

Two arrested in gang assault
Posted: Saturday, Aug 28th, 2010
Watsonville police arrested two youths Thursday following a strong-armed robbery and assault.
Sgt. Eric Montalbo said a teen male was confronted by an 18-year-old male and a 16-year-old male and an unknown suspect at 7:15 p.m. near the corner of Maple and Union streets. The victim was able to direct officer Fernando Lopez to the suspects who fled toward Watsonville ...more

Big-rig flips, kills driver on Hwy. 101
Posted: Saturday, Aug 28th, 2010
A truck driver was killed early Friday after his big-rig crashed through a guardrail in the center median of Highway 101 near San Juan Bautista and flipped onto its side.
California Highway Patrol officer Jaime Rios said the crash occurred just after midnight on northbound Highway 101 north of Betabel Road and south of Highway 25.
The ...more

County residents protest SmartMeters
Posted: Saturday, Aug 28th, 2010
LIVE OAK -- A small group of protesters gathered at a Live Oak street corner Thursday morning, holding signs and banners and proclaiming their opposition to the ongoing installation by Pacific Gas & Electric of thousands of controversial gas and electricity meters called SmartMeters.
The location at the corner of 38th Avenue and Portola Drive was chosen ...more

Man gunned down at home in Royal Oaks
Posted: Saturday, Aug 28th, 2010
ROYAL OAKS -- A 29-year-old man died from gunshot wounds on Maher Road in Las Lomas Wednesday night.
Monterey County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to a report of gunfire at 421 Maher Road at 9:32 p.m., according to a press release from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies found Fernando Aguilar Cazares at the scene with multiple gunshot ...more

Fracas near school prompts strong response
Posted: Friday, Aug 27th, 2010
Reports of a fight between several young men drew about 10 police officers to a home on East Beach Street Friday afternoon, an incident that ended with six people being ordered out of a home at gunpoint and three people detained.
The call came at approximately 3:30 p.m. when a resident of 400 block of East Beach Street ...more

PV schools on tap for federal funds
Posted: Friday, Aug 27th, 2010
Pajaro Valley Unified School District is likely to receive more than $3 million in one-time money from the U.S. government, funds intended to help ailing school districts rehire former and new employees and retain existing employees.
The Federal Education Jobs Fund, approved by President Barack Obama earlier this month, is a $10 billion package expected to be ...more

Cooler temps on the way
Posted: Thursday, Aug 26th, 2010
After days of hot, sunny skies that briefly broke the funk of weeks of gloomy weather, the temperatures are predicted to drop over the next few days, with a light soaking possible for the Monterey Bay area, according to National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson.
The heat, which topped out at 104 degrees in Watsonville on Tuesday, was seen ...more

More students passing state high school exit exam
Posted: Thursday, Aug 26th, 2010
An estimated 82 percent of Santa Cruz County high school sophomores passed the English-language portion of the California High School Exit Exam last year, a modest increase from previous years. About 81 percent of those same students passed the math portion.
The information released Tuesday by the California Department of Education shows that high schools in the Pajaro Valley ...more

Moratorium passed against SmartMeters
Posted: Thursday, Aug 26th, 2010
WATSONVILLE -- It may be unenforceable, but Watsonville has passed a moratorium on the installation of remote-controlled utility meters, called SmartMeters, by Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
The City Council unanimously passed the moratorium at the end of long council meeting Tuesday night on the fourth floor of the Civic Plaza. It was passed as an emergency order in ...more

City Council approves tobacco license fees
Posted: Thursday, Aug 26th, 2010
WATSONVILLE -- Watsonville will start charging retailers who sell cigarettes and tobacco products a $255 annual licensing fee in order to pay for an enforcement program to stem the sales of tobacco to minors.
The City Council unanimously approved the new tobacco retailer license fees at Tuesday night's City Council meeting, held on the fourth floor of the Civic ...more

Task force focuses on Highway 129 safety
Posted: Thursday, Aug 26th, 2010
A new task force has been formed to help reduce traffic collisions that result in fatalities or serious injuries on Highway 129.
The task force, which includes officials from the California Highway Patrol, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, Watsonville Police Department, American Medical Response and Community Bridges, is funded by a grant for a yearlong Traffic Safety Corridor ...more

Minority rules vote on PVWMA rates
Modified: Wednesday, Aug 25th, 2010
It took just five votes to out-tally the vote of hundreds of people in the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency's recent mail-in election that established new, higher water rates, and some of those voters are hopping mad about it and plan to file suit.
The PVWMA conducted its count of the ballots on Aug. 13 with the votes weighted ...more

Students begin new school year
Posted: Tuesday, Aug 24th, 2010
The kindergartners at Calabasas Elementary School spent part of the morning on the first day of school practicing how to walk in lines, and learning the ins and outs of being in a classroom.
At their first-ever recess, however, they took a break and spent their time Monday monkeying on the jungle gym and dashing around the playground, many ...more

Local fishermen, scientists assist in sardine study
Posted: Tuesday, Aug 24th, 2010
In an effort to give scientists and the fishing industry a comprehensive picture of sardine populations along the West Coast, two fishing boats from Moss Landing and one small plane from Watsonville are taking part in a large-scale study of the small fish that once powered the Monterey Bay's economy.
Since July, a team of scientists has been plying ...more

Watsonville Pride marches through downtown
Posted: Tuesday, Aug 24th, 2010
About 200 people marched through downtown Watsonville Sunday during the third annual Watsonville Pride celebration.
Put on by the Watsonville organization SOMOS LGBT, Watsonville Pride is a public event designed to recognize and celebrate the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
The march started at Watsonville Plaza and worked its way around downtown surface roads and back to ...more

City receives citation for not fluoridating water
Posted: Saturday, Aug 21st, 2010
The City of Watsonville has been cited by the California Department of Public Health for failure to comply with an order by the state to fluoridate the water supply.
The citation was received by the city Thursday and demands written assurance from the city by Aug. 29 that it will comply, and plan and schedule for fluoridation submitted by ...more

Law officials seize $100 million in meth and cocaine
Posted: Saturday, Aug 21st, 2010
Three men were arrested and more than $100 million worth of drugs was rounded up Thursday following a year-long investigation that focused on a key distribution center in Gilroy.
Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said multiagency drug task forces concluded an investigation into a major Mexico-based drug trafficking organization operating in Sacramento and throughout California's Central Valley. ...more

Aromas teen dies, in early-morning collision
Posted: Saturday, Aug 21st, 2010
An 18-year-old Aromas man died early Thursday in a two-vehicle crash on San Juan Road.
The collision took place at 7:47 a.m. when the victim, Gregory Robert Arnold, was driving a 1996 Toyota Camry westbound on San Juan Road just east of San Miguel Canyon Road. California Highway Patrol officer Robert Lehman said that, for an unknown reason, Arnold ...more

Results show PVWMA water rate is unpopular
Posted: Saturday, Aug 21st, 2010
The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency easily won a vote on increasing rates last week, but a review of the cast ballots reveals the agency would have suffered a devastating loss had the vote not been weighted by water use.
Of the ballots cast by mail in the election, 608 were in opposition and 321 were in favor, while ...more

Alfredo D. Ortega
Modified: Friday, Aug 20th, 2010
"Farming was in his blood"
Alfredo D. Ortega parted for greener pastures Saturday, August 14, 2010 at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. He was 75 years of age. Alfredo was born in Huandacareo, Michoacan, Mexico and lived in Watsonville for 36 years. He enjoyed agriculture and had a passion for growing strawberries. His innovation, perseverance and leadership abilities are the ...more

William David Blevins
Posted: Friday, Aug 20th, 2010
William "Papa Dave" Blevins passed away in Owasso, Oklahoma at the age of 69.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Elige and Vurtal (Montgomery) Blevins, as well as two brothers, Tommy and J.D. Dave was born in Bakersfield,
California in 1941. After graduating from Watsonville High School in 1959, he served four years in the U.S. Air Force. ...more

Watsonville Strawberry Festival at Monterey Bay 2010
Posted: Thursday, Aug 5th, 2010
Scenes from this year's strawberry festival ...more