'Like' Watsonville on Facebook

The city tweets, staff told city council members.

Yes, you can be a "fan"of the City of Watsonville on Facebook or follow it on Twitter.

For those less tech savvy, that will inform residents about emergency situations in Watsonville.

The aim of the social media programs is to reach more residents with city news, especially when time is of the essence.

The city continues to send newsletters to homes and publishes a blog with the same information as the newsletter.

Also at the city council meeting, , the Watsonville City Council decided Tuesday night.

Joe Martinez has lived at 21 Arthur Rd. for more than two decades. But illness and financial difficulties had left the property uncared for. At the city's latest count, four inoperable vehicles were on the land and blackberry bushes were overtaking the backyard, which was full of debris.

He told the city council that he's been working with Victory Outreach to clean up the land and has removed one of the old cars.

Marcela Tavantzis, interim community development director and assistant city manager, said there's been some effort to improve the situation.

“It just needs to be safe to be acceptable to us and to neighbors," she said. "This is about making it better."

Technically, he has 10 business days to finish, but officials will be flexible so long as he keeps making progress, the city council decided. If the city does chose to hire crews for the job, the bill would be added to the property tax.

And on a happier note, Toy For Tots gave out 11,165 toys, books and stocking stuffers locally during the 2011 holiday season, program coordinator Delilah Valadez reported.

That's a 50 percent increase from years past, according to Watsonville Fire Chief Mark Bisbee (Toys For Tots partners with fire departments).