The local nonprofit tasked with raising money to purchase Watsonville Community Hospital is about to receive $25 million from the state. If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the final budget including that allocation, the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project will still need more than $12 million to reach its goal, but organizers say most of that money should be raised before the Aug. 31 deadline.
Watsonville / Pajaro
Posted inGuides
Guide to food trucks and pop-ups in Santa Cruz County
Forty food trucks and pop-ups now dot the Santa Cruz County landscape. Call it global food tourism — within 30 minutes. Here’s where to find dumplings, Cubanos, yakitori, adobo, tapas and so much more.
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
‘A Renaissance woman’: Monarch Services’ Laura Segura passes
As women’s need for support multiplied during the COVID-19 pandemic, Laura Segura and her Monarch Services team met the profound challenges of helping those driven for help with sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking. The work crowned Segura’s contributions in helping the people of her native Watsonville.
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
Lookout Update: Driscoll’s donation drives $3.3 million toward purchase of Watsonville Community Hospital
The Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project is closer to its goal of raising about $63 million after announcing Driscoll’s fundraising match challenge this week. Driscoll’s is donating $1.75 million after the community raised $1.58 million.
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
Watsonville council will decide Tuesday whether to hire new city manager from Gonzales
Watsonville City Council will consider Rene Mendez for its vacant city manager role, following a three-month search that began after new Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker vacated the role.
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
‘Almost surreal’: South County native Jorge Zamora prepares for his new role as Watsonville’s top cop
The longtime Watsonville police officer will become the department’s 16th police chief on Jan. 10, bringing the city native to the forefront of a challenging time for policing and the community at large. Zamora said he aims to build the department based on “good people,” not “perfect people.”
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
‘Kids pretty much on their own’: Leaders grapple with Pajaro Valley’s pandemic-fueled youth violence crisis
Those who see it up close talk to Lookout about what they view as the biggest challenges to fixing the problems that ail so many kids growing up in Watsonville. But they are far from easy, and many rooted deeply in the systems that govern an area with a disproportionate population living below the poverty line.