Exchange students say goodbye
Posted: Thursday, Sep 9th, 2010
Sixteen Japanese exchange students bid farewell to their host families early Wednesday morning as they wrapped up a visit to Watsonville.
The students arrived a little more than a week ago, stepping off the plane after a 5,000-mile trip that transported them into new culture as part of Watsonville's Sister City exchange program with Kawakami, Japan. Now in its ...more

Santa Cruz man dies in plane crash
Posted: Thursday, Sep 9th, 2010
A Watsonville business owner and Santa Cruz resident, along with his son, died Tuesday when his small plane crashed in a rural part of northern Arkansas.
Bob Ross, 62, who owned United Flight Services at the Watsonville Municipal Airport, and his 32-year-old son, Michael Ross, of Austin, Texas, were on their way to Georgetown, Texas, according to Federal Aviation ...more

Caesar’s Club to be purchased by casino operator
Posted: Thursday, Sep 9th, 2010
A deal is in the works to create a new casino/poker room in downtown Watsonville to replace Caesar's Club, which has lost its liquor license and will be closing.
On Tuesday, the Watsonville Planning Commission revoked a special-use permit for the sale of beer and wine at the club, located at 184 Main St. The decision followed the revocation ...more

Planning Commission stalls installation of AT&T cell tower
Posted: Thursday, Sep 9th, 2010
AT&T's plans to install a 68-foot, 12-panel telecommunications antennae on the 1400 block of Freedom Boulevard were put on hold Tuesday night as the Watsonville Planning Commission balked at approving the project, instead passing it on to the City Council without a recommendation.
The antennae would be designed to resemble a tree and be placed at the rear of ...more

Woman injured in alleged carjacking at library
Posted: Thursday, Sep 9th, 2010
A Watsonville woman was injured Monday when she tried to intervene with a man's alleged attempt to carjack her Honda Civic.
The 2:15 p.m. incident began in the parking lot of the Freedom branch of the Watsonville Public Library when a 40-year-old victim pulled up to the library in her Honda to drop her kids off, Watsonville police ...more

Planes go sky high during fly-in
Posted: Monday, Sep 6th, 2010
Sitting in a tiny spot of shade under the wing of his little home-built airplane, Steve Fisher watched the crowd at the 46th annual Watsonville Fly-In and Air Show on Saturday as he ate lunch.
Fisher, who said he has been a regular at the fly-in for the past dozen years, said he missed last year's event due to ...more

PVHA bids on historic home
Posted: Monday, Sep 6th, 2010
The Pajaro Valley Historical Association has taken advantage of the flailing housing market and has made a short-bid offer on a home to house its archives.
The PVHA had been raising funds to construct an archive building, but with the historic Porter-Pista home right next door and on the market, the nonprofit made a bid and is now hoping ...more

Flower power takes over Soquel Creek
Posted: Monday, Sep 6th, 2010
CAPITOLA -- The Friends of the Windmill gather every year along Soquel Creek in Capitola and, after picking hundreds of begonias, begin two days of feverish work on a float that culminates when they board their creation, launch it into the creek and hope for the best.
"We always have a surprise of some kind," Capitola City Councilman Dennis ...more

Roaring fighter jets open fly-in
Posted: Saturday, Sep 4th, 2010
J.B. Cox claimed a seat on the main runway at the Watsonville Fly-In and Air Show soon after it opened Friday afternoon and sat astride his electric scooter watching a handful of vintage, custom and military planes taking off and landing.
Cox, 78, said he has been taking the trip from Sacramento to see the air show for the ...more

Grocery Outlet to open in October
Posted: Saturday, Sep 4th, 2010
Construction is on schedule for the late-October opening of a new grocery store in Watsonville that will fill a vacant building on Main Street, and add a business to a county that has seen several ventures close over the past few years.
Nate and Dawn Harrell, who own a Grocery Outlet in Salinas, will open another store at Main ...more

Capitola will not host Amgen tour
Posted: Saturday, Sep 4th, 2010
The City of Capitola has declined to host next year's Amgen Tour of California, citing staffing issues, budget concerns and the logistics of planning the event, which last year drew 20,000 people to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
"The City of Capitola was not able to pull together the partners necessary to pull off the event," Mayor Sam Storey said. ...more

Capitola will not host Amgen tour
Posted: Saturday, Sep 4th, 2010
The City of Capitola has declined to host next year's Amgen Tour of California, citing staffing issues, budget concerns and the logistics of planning the event, which last year drew 20,000 people to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
"The City of Capitola was not able to pull together the partners necessary to pull off the event," Mayor Sam Storey said. ...more

Trouble brews in crash on Highway 17
Posted: Saturday, Sep 4th, 2010
The morning commute from San Jose to Santa Cruz came to an abrupt halt early Thursday on Highway 17 when a big rig hauling a load of beer crashed and flipped over, blocking both southbound lanes.
The 6:09 a.m. incident occurred just north of Glenwood Drive on a curving section of highway. California Highway Patrol officer Jeff Hatcher said ...more

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

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