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Police Step Up DUI Patrols for New Years

Submitted by New Santa Cruz Co. Sheriff's Office Facebook Page
Monday, December 31st, 2012, 6:39pm
WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- Multiple law enforcement agencies are gearing up for maximum enforcement DUI patrols for New Years.   Watsonville Police said they would be out in full force throughout the night and into the early hours of Tuesday morning. Officers said they're looking to arrest more people for DUI rather than find them in a collision later on.   Police have not given specifics on how many more officers will be out patrolling or what areas they will focus on. This is part of several holiday DUI campaigns going on. Most police agencies kicked off extra patrols before Christmas day. Police said most additional patrols will end after New Years.
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Great Tool on Finding the Cheapest Gas

Submitted by Michelle Pulido on Thursday, October 4th, 7:00 am

Thanks Watsonville Patch for having a great tool on finding the cheapest gas in Watsonville.

Check out this handy article by Maria Grusauskas.

http://watsonville.patch.com/articles/top-five-cheapest-gas-stations-in-watsonville

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Q: What's the Origin of the Name "Freedom Boulevard" in Watsonville?

Submitted by Marc Cota-Robles
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011, 12:31pm

A: Our KION Question came from Martha in Aromas.  She asked us, "What is the origin of the name of Freedom Blvd in Watsonville?"

For the answer, Central Coast News spoke to the Pajaro Valley Historical Association.  Here's what we learned:

Some of the earliest maps show the road as the "Santa Cruz Watsonville Road".

It was the main stage road between the towns.  In the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, it was called the "Santa Cruz Watsonville Highway".

Later, the freeway by-passed the section called Freedom Blvd.

The name was changed in the late 1940s to Freedom Boulevard because it was still the main road from Watsonville to the town of Freedom.  Early on, Green Valley Road did connect the town of Freedom to Main Street, as it does now.

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Airport, Highway 101 Road Closures

Submitted by Jasmine Viel
Friday, June 17th, 2011, 2:57pm
Airport, Highway 101 Road Closures

 ROAD AND LANE CLOSURES SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 18 – 24

 

Here are the major scheduled road and lane closures for the areas between Salinas and North Monterey County from Saturday, June 18, to Friday, June 24:

 

Airport Blvd. Project: June 21 – June 23

  • Caltrans will close Hwy 101 at Airport Blvd. from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.one night next week to work on the overcrossing. The work will most likely take place on Wednesday, June 22, but the schedule may shift. Detours through the area will be clearly marked.

 

 

 

Prunedale Improvement Project: June 18 – June 24

  • Granite Construction will be hauling materials in and out of Reese Circle June 20 - 24.
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Traffic Alert: More Railroad Work Expected

Submitted by Jasmine Viel
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011, 7:46pm

Union Pacific Railroad Track Work in Aromas: May 31 – June 1

  • Beginning Tuesday, May 31, at 8:00 a.m., Union Pacific Railroad (UP) will close San Juan Road just north of Aromas Road to repair the railroad crossing at that location.  According to UP, the repairs are needed as the crossing has been damaged by truck and rail traffic and the road must be closed to complete the work.  Railroad repairs will last until Wednesday, June 1, at 4:00 PM, weather permitting.

 

During this closure period, all traffic wishing to travel on San Juan Road will have to find alternate routes either via San Miguel Canyon Road or Highway 129.  Truck drivers and commuters should be prepared for delays and congestion on nearby Highway 101 not only because of increased traffic from the detour, but because of on-going Prunedale Improvement Project road construction.  Drivers should be alert and watch for detour signage.

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Can CHP Really Tell if You are Speeding from the Sky

Submitted by Kiki Jones on Friday, April 1st, 2:06 pm

If you've ever been driving and saw one of the "patrolled by aircraft" signs and thought the signs were just a scare tactic to slow drivers down, think again. 

It's not a bird, it's a plane and most likely your next speeding ticket from the California Highway Patrol's friendly skies.

"It's not a bluff," said flight officer Chris Werner.

Two planes patrol state highways from LA county to San Jose county.   CHP officers say they write about 1,000 tickets per plane, per year, just from the eye in the sky.

Basically, it's a stopwatch that does it.

"Basically I use the aircraft to pace the vehicle for a one mile mark, and then I use the stopwatch to convert the aircraft speed to ground speed," said Werner.

Then the flight officer radios to a partol car on the ground.

"I bring the patrol officer up to the car say that is the vehicle to the left of you and then he'll position behind the vehicle, and I'll say 'you'r

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New Safety Guidelines for Child Car Seats

Submitted by Ali Pfauser on Monday, March 21st, 5:27 am

New child safety seat guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics urge parents to keep their infants in rear-facing car seats until they're 2 years old.

The academy's previous guidelines, last updated in 2002, recommended rear-facing car seats for infants until they reached the maximum weight or height allowed by the seat's manufacturer, or were at least 1 year old and weighed 20 pounds.

As a result, many parents switch their children to a forward-facing car seat as soon as they celebrate their first birthday.

But a 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention found that children under age 2 were 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they rode in a rear-facing seat rather than a forward-facing one.

The new guidelines, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, are meant to encourage parents not to rush transitions from one type of car seat or restraint to the next, said Dr.

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