ACROSS WATER
ALL TRADES
Arts & culture, C1
Sports, B1
PAJARONIAN Register
The paper you love The news you need Print • Online • Mobile
$1.50
151st Year — No. 17
June 28July 4, 2019 For daily news and updates, visit:
Register-Pajaronian.com /Pajaronian
News leader of the Pajaro Valley
@RegPaj
City
FIREWORKS
Watsonville passes bans on plastics Bans to roll out over 2 years By TONY NUNEZ OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian
Hunter Middlekuff drops off wood panels for a firework stand at the corner of Freedom Boulevard at Main Street Tuesday.
Gearing up for 4th
Keep fireworks ‘safe and sane’ and out of prohibited areas, officials say
See BANS, page A14
Fire in the Sky has moved from its usual July 4 date to July 3. For more on this and the Watsonville parade see our Spirit of Watsonville section on E1.
By TODD GUILD OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
WATSONVILLE — Fireworks booths are sprouting up throughout Watsonville, and Fourth of July revelers are preparing to set them off in that city and Capitola — the only places they are allowed in Santa Cruz County. Meanwhile, officials in the rest of the county are warning residents to stow the fireworks, or face serious fines. Anyone driving around Watsonville will soon see several booths selling “safe and sane” fireworks — those
Register-Pajaronian
See FIREWORKS, page A14
WATSONVILLE — The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed a pair of plastic reduction ordinances that will put the city at the forefront of a growing effort to dump single-use plastic products. The City Council repealed and replaced its existing Environmentally Acceptable Packaging and Products Ordinance with a new ordnance that will force the city’s food service industry to make the switch from plastics to biodegradable and compostable containers. It also passed a Hospitality Industry Plastic Reduction Ordinance that would prohibit the use of small, single-use bottles for personal care products and require hotels, motels and vacation rentals in city limits to switch over to large bottles, dispensers or other alternatives — a ban already in place in the unincorporated part of the county and recently introduced at the state level. The council also included an amendment in the first ordinance in which anyone can ask for a plastic straw without having to prove they have a disability, verbiage that was included in the city staff’s presentation that did not sit well with council members.
File
Community
Law enforcement
Police investigating Watsonville’s first homicide of 2019 By TODD GUILD OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
WATSONVILLE — The 27-year-old man who died Saturday after he was stabbed multiple times was identified as Salvador OchoaAvalos of Freedom. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner listed the cause of death as a stab wound to the chest. See HOMICIDE, page A11
Shortest Parade honors long career By TODD GUILD OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
APTOS — The World’s Shortest Parade in Aptos started with a small handful of floats cobbled together by residents hoping to put their own spin on a traditional summertime celebration. Years later, the event still retains its homespun roots and draws thousands of people from across the county – some of them grandparents who came to the event as children – to watch more than 100 groups participate. It has garnered national recognition as one of the top seven Fourth of July parades by the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler on the magazine’s daily traveler website. “It is the most wonderful parade
E - EDITION - ON LINE @ www.register-pajaronian.com
in the world,” said Karen Hibble, who shares the title of executive director of the Aptos Chamber of Commerce with her husband John. “It feels really like what people think of when they think of Fourth of July in America.” This year’s grand marshal is Aptos/La Selva Fire Captain, Greg Hansen, who has been with the department for more than three decades. Hibble praised Hansen for his years on the job, which included visiting classrooms as the H2O clown to talk about fire safety. “Greg has been in our fire department for over 37 years, and he has given so much to our community,” Hibble said. “I can’t tell you See SHORTEST, page A14
Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian
Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian
Aptos/La Selva Fire Capt. Greg Hansen talks about his upcoming retirement from the force.
Inside •Advice Columnist A9 •Calendar A2 •Classified B4 •Comics C9 •Crossword C10 •Editorial A6
•Movies •Obituaries •Police Reports •Sports •Arts & Culture •Weather
C3 A4 A5 B1 C1 A14
Watsonville Police detective Rudy Lopez Jr. on Monday searches for clues at Carnation Drive where a man was stabbed and killed late Saturday night on the 100 block.
Contact Us
Weather
EMAIL NEWS/EVENTS:
Mostly cloudy
EMAIL ADVERTISING:
Tonight will be clear Saturday will be sunny Tonight’s low: 52 Saturday’s high: 68 Details on page A14
newsroom@register-pajaronian.com tchavez@register-pajaronian.com
PHONE:
(831) 761-7300