Motorcyclist killed in Highway 9 crash
A 30-year-old Martinez man died Sunday after his motorcycle crashed along Highway 9 north of Boulder Creek, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred at about 12:40pm on June 7 on northbound State Route 9 south of State Route 35. CHP said the man was riding a gray 2023 Ducati motorcycle at an unknown speed when, for reasons still under investigation, he traveled off the roadway and struck an embankment and a tree east of the highway.
The rider suffered major injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving efforts by medical personnel.
CHP said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. It is not yet known whether alcohol or drugs were factors.
Dairy Days event planned at fairgrounds
Agricultural History Project will host its monthly 2nd Saturday on the Farm event, “Dairy Days on the Farm,” on June 13 from 11am-2pm at the Agricultural History Project Center and Museum at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.
The free family event will feature dairy-themed crafts and activities, puppet shows, hay wagon rides, a kids’ drive-a-tractor activity and opportunities to see live farm animals. Visitors can also explore the organization’s collection of vintage tractors and farm equipment, along with exhibits highlighting the history of agriculture and technology in the Pajaro Valley.
Additional activities include milking a model cow, driving a vintage tractor and learning about local agricultural history through museum displays.
Guests are encouraged to bring a lunch and enjoy a picnic on the fairgrounds. Admission is free, and donations to support the nonprofit Agricultural History Project are welcome.
The event will take place at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave. in Watsonville.
Regional 9-1-1 center marks 30 years with open house
Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a community open house June 18 from 2-5pm at its dispatch center in Santa Cruz.
The agency, a joint powers authority established by Santa Cruz County and the cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz and Watsonville, opened its regional communications center on June 19, 1996. It now serves public safety agencies throughout Santa Cruz County and, since 2011, San Benito County.
Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 answers emergency and non-emergency calls and provides dispatch services for six law enforcement agencies, nine fire agencies and emergency medical services in the two counties. Since opening, the center has handled more than 14 million phone calls, including more than 3.3 million 9-1-1 calls, and managed nearly 10 million calls for service. The agency was the first dispatch center in California to receive accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies and became the state’s first cross-county consolidated dispatch center in 2011.
Over the years, the center has added emergency medical dispatch protocols, direct acceptance of cellphone 9-1-1 calls, text-to-911 capabilities and, most recently, an AI-assisted quality assurance system.
The anniversary event will include refreshments, tours of the dispatch center and a dedication ceremony for the agency’s conference room in honor of its first general manager, Michael J. McDougall. The dispatch center is located at 495 Upper Park Road in Santa Cruz.
Watsonville teen wins county fair poster art contest
A Watsonville High School student has been selected as the winner of the 2026 Santa Cruz County Fair Poster Art Contest.
The fair received more than 20 submissions after inviting community and youth artists to create artwork for the 2026 fair poster, organizers said. Following review by a panel of community judges, 17-year-old Alondra Jaramillo-Arreola was chosen as the winner.
Jaramillo-Arreola’s hand-drawn design reflects this year’s fair theme, “Apple Pies and Starry Skies,” and features a cow and pig picnicking on apple pie beneath a constellation-filled night sky.
“Thank you so much for this incredible opportunity. It was an honor being able to participate in this big and well-known community event,” Jaramillo-Arreola said. “Being able to put my work out in this community means so much to me. I was born here and my dream is to become an artist. I can’t thank you enough.”
Fair organizers said the final poster artwork will be officially revealed at a later date.
