🌱 Watsonville Mom Fights Burglar + Man Charged With Sex Crimes

Happy Friday, neighbors! Here's everything you need to know to get this day started off right. Here's everything you need to know about what's happening today in Watsonville.

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First, today's weather:

Mainly cloudy. High: 70 Low: 43.

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Here are the top stories in Watsonville today:

1. Watsonville mom fights off armed man who broke into her home (KSBW Monterey)
2. Watsonville man facing child sex crime allegations (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
3. Scotts Valley 2nd Suspect Arrested: CHP (Watsonville Patch)
4. UC Santa Cruz: History Professor Earns 2021 National Jewish Book Award For Look At New York Hasidic Jewish Community (Press Release Desk)
5. Watsonville Weekend Weather Forecast (Watsonville Patch)
6. Kakani Katija is a modern-day explorer with a big dream: to help find every underwater life form. (Monterey County Weekly)

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Today in Watsonville:

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From my notebook:

• Watsonville Police Department: "A brave mother managed to fight off and disarm a man who broke into her home in broad daylight Wednesday afternoon. The mother and her teen children had just gotten to their Holly Drive home when they noticed their window had been tamp..." (Instagram)
• City of Watsonville - City Gov't: "Our Community Development Department is gearing up to receive approximately $750,000 in federal grant funding this year that will benefit low to moderate-income households in Watsonville. Last night, their Housing Division held a virtual..." (Facebook)
• City of Watsonville - City Gov't: "Need help ordering your free COVID tests? Our Staff can help! Please call (831) 768-3279. If you have any questions, send us a direct message. 𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗔Ñ𝗢𝗟 ¿Necesita ayuda para ordenar sus pruebas del COVID gratuitas? ¡Nuestro personal ..." (Facebook)
• Watsonville Rec: "Ready to take your swimming to the next level? Click the link in our bio to register for Competitive Swim Lessons, Swim Team and Masters Swim 🌊 🏊‍♀️ 🏊🏻🏊🏻‍♂️ #watsonvillerec #watsonvilleparksandrec #parksmakelifebetter" (Instagram)
• City of Watsonville Parks and Community Services Department: "Ready to take your swimming to the next level? Visit watsonvillerec.com to register for Competitive Swim Lessons, Swim Team and Masters Swim 🌊 🏊‍♀️ 🏊🏻🏊🏻‍♂️ #watsonvillerec #watsonvilleparksandrec #parksmakelifebetter" (Facebook)
• Nextdoor Neighbor, Holohan: "Mountain Lion Spotted Near Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds - We live near the fairgrounds and the security cameras at our property picked up a mountain lion at around 7:30pm this evening. Keep your pets safe." (Nextdoor)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Friday. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Michael Wittner

About me: I am excited to be returning to Patch as a Roving Editor, a job that will allow me to find out what's going on in communities all over the country. I worked as a Patch Field Editor from April 2020 to June 2021, covering Agoura Hills, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, and Northridge-Chatsworth. Before then I was the Associate Editor of the Jewish Journal, a biweekly paper covering the Jewish community north of Boston. I grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a small, seaside town north of Boston, and graduated from Bard College in New York, and then got my masters in teaching from New York University. Feel free to send any story ideas to michael.wittner@patch.com.