Arts & Culture

WATSONVILLE—A group of 21 community leaders have been selected for Class 31 of the Focus Agriculture program.   The “first-in-the-nation” program, created by Watsonville’ Agri-Culture organization, is designed to teach community leaders about agriculture in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley.  After receiving a number...

WATSONVILLE—Heavy-duty earth-moving equipment rumbled into gear at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds over the past week, reshaping a chunk of land at the Agricultural History Project to make way for the expansion of the Living History Farm. Situated near the entrance of the fairgrounds, the...

Anglers crowd the deck of SS Palo Alto concrete ship at Seacliff State Beach on May 31, 1954.

  In 1983, a group of local farmers looking for ways to manage the Pajaro Valley’s groundwater basin formed the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA). A year later, the agency was officially recognized by the state legislature, who tasked them to stop groundwater overdraft...

Since 2009, Blume Industries (BI) and Whiskey Hill Farms (WHF) have jointly operated a research and development incubator in Watsonville, aiming to find regenerative solutions for food, fuel and waste management. And now they will have the opportunity to expand their reach, sharing what they...

Short trip to German capital offers glimpse into famous city Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a series about England, Germany and the Netherlands. From 1970 to 1971, my father lived in Germany. He was a student for a few months of the year,...

WATSONVILLE—Every year Farm Discovery at Live Earth aims to reach thousands of young people to teach them about farming, nutrition and health, environmental literacy and more. The organization is headquartered at Watsonville’s Live Earth Farm, which plants crops in the fall that are eventually...

Focus on Agriculture will soon be two years old.

These men examine the damage in a plane crash at the Watsonville Airport on Sept. 25, 1954. According to aviation history buff Gary Plomp, the plane is a Grumman TBF-5 Avenger Carrier, which was used in WWII as torpedo bombers and level bombers. TBFs...

SACRAMENTO—Earlier this month, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), Representatives Billy Long (R-MO), Mike Levin (D-CA), and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced bipartisan legislation aiming to help preserve agricultural fairs across the country and offset the devastating financial losses they have experienced due to Covid-19. The Agricultural...