Christmas tree sellers optimistic despite national shortage
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, tree farms across the nation are thrust into the spotlight and sellers start their busiest time of year.
This year, the industry is holding steady, despite a nationwide shortage that is pushing up prices. Heatwaves and fires that...
Ag industries buoyed by federal loans
CENTRAL COAST—The Paycheck Protection Program helped save at least 17,000 agricultural jobs throughout the tri-county area, according to data released by the Small Business Administration on July 6.
The program, a part of the more than $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES)...
Heading east to The Dalles | Travel
With the first part of this story wrapping up in Fort Bragg on the Northern California Coast, Sarah and I continued our road trip north for a night in Klamath, the home of the Yurok Indigenous people.
A small museum there gave us a valuable...
District 4 Dairy Princess, alternates crowned
Ellie Dyt knows a lot more about the California Dairy Industry than most seventeen-year-old high schoolers.
Dyt was raised on a dairy farm her whole life in the small town of Crows Landing, home to thousands of dairy cows, gaining first-hand experience by working there...
Nonprofits, community groups celebrate farmworkers as lawmakers call for more support
WATSONVILLE—After working a long shift picking strawberries and greens, dozens of farmworkers and their families received the royal treatment thanks to a new program from El Pájaro Community Development Corporation.
Called the Farmworker’s Family Dinner, the initiative treated 38 families—roughly 230 people—to meals from El...
Sheriff’s Fentanyl Crisis Response Team uses education, enforcement
After 133 people died in Santa Cruz County in 2023 after overdosing on Fentanyl, the Sheriff’s Office has launched a new way to address the problem, with a special focus on the people who deal the dangerous drug.
The Fentanyl Crisis Response Team includes five...
Year of the Rat in S.F. | Travel
Editor’s note: This is the last entry of a two-part series on San Francisco. For the first, see the Feb. 7 edition of the Pajaronian.
I left off in the first half of this series about San Francisco as I departed North Beach, said goodbye to...
Moving upward with Adult school
Editor’s note: this story is a preview for the graduation section that will come out on Friday. We will do our best to highlight all the schools that held ceremonies.
Over 90 students crossed the stage in front of a full house at the Henry...
Agri-Culture graduates 30th class
WATSONVILLE—Fall brings graduation to the Watsonville-based, national award-winning Focus Agriculture program, created by the Agri-Culture organization.
A ceremony and reception was held at the Pajaro Valley Historical Association’s Bockius-Orr house on Beach Street in Watsonville for Class 30 of the Focus Agriculture program in early...
Showcasing the artwork of Yermo Aranda
A new art exhibit that spells out 55 years of work by local artist Yermo Aranda is now on exhibit at the Santa Cruz Art League, 526 Broadway.
With a lengthy history of working with area youths and organizations on a wealth of murals at...
Watsonville oversized vehicle ordinance takes effect
A new city ordinance restricting where oversized vehicles and trailers can park took effect on March 13.
The ordinance prohibits oversized vehicles and all types...






















