A Letter to my Republican Friends
Our current president has launched what could very possibly become World War Three—a religious war that may even become nuclear. Is this really what you want for our children?
If not, please call your Congressional Representatives. We only need a few of the representatives that you elected to vote to stop the escalation.
Don Eggleston
Aptos
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BESS plays ‘vital role’
The battery facility proposed for Minto Road has been delayed. That’s a problem because it needs to be online as soon as possible if we are to stop burning fossil fuels. The delay is caused by resistance to the facility by some in the community. This resistance hurts my heart because a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) plays a vital role in fighting global warming. We must develop wind and solar energy. But the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine. We need batteries to store that energy. We experienced climate warming the third week of March when temperatures neared 100 degrees. It’s even worse for places like Africa where there are multiple regions stricken with drought and other places hit with catastrophic flooding.
A BESS facility must be regulated, but those regulations already exist. California Senate Bill 283 calls for the highest safety standards for fire and other dangers. It was authored by our own Sen. John Laird and signed into law. These regulations were prompted by the Moss Landing BESS fire. There were several serious design flaws in that facility. In the first place the batteries were all housed in one building. Once a fire started it could easily spread to the whole place. The BESS proposed for Minto Road will be made up of several buildings. At Moss Landing the batteries were stacked on top of each other At Minto Road they will be insulated from each other. At Moss Landing the fire protection system was inadequate. At Minto Road there will be a robust response to fires.
Emelyn Buskirk
Watsonville
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Tony Nuñez Leads with Integrity and Hard Work
As a mother raising my family here in Watsonville, I think a lot about the kind of community we’re building for our kids and who we can trust to lead it. This upcoming June 2 election for 4th District Supervisor feels especially important to me, because I’m looking for someone who truly understands our community’s needs. I believe Tony Nuñez is the right person for our district.
Tony went to Watsonville High, studied at Cabrillo College, and San Jose State, and has spent years telling our community’s stories as editor of the Pajaronian. Through his work with Community Bridges, he continues to stay connected to the people and families who call this place home. He lives here with his wife and son so he understands firsthand what it means to raise a family in South County right now.
What stands out to me most is that Tony shows up and he truly listens. And more importantly, he follows through. Tony’s leadership was invaluable in saving Watsonville Community Hospital, and then keeping it operating by working hard to get Measure N passed in 2024. That kind of leadership matters.
District 4 deserves someone who will do the work, stand up for our families, and fight for the future our kids deserve. Tony Nuñez has proven he will.
Joanne Sanchez
Watsonville
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Concerns about Valencia Elementary School closing
Community members who have spoken out, written in, or shared concerns about the possible closure of Valencia School have likely encountered the same dismissive responses: “take a breath,” “no decision has been made,” or “a Sustainable Schools Advisory is being formed.” While it is true that PVUSD has not formally announced a closure, it is important to clarify that these concerns are not based on rumor or speculation. Statements suggesting that Valencia is the school under consideration have come from individuals in positions of authority within the district, including an assistant superintendent, a principal at another site, and a board trustee. These are informed voices, not casual observers.
Many in our community have experienced similar situations before. We have participated in processes where input from staff and families was gathered, only to see it reshaped—or set aside—after the fact. Time and again, it has felt as though decisions were made before meaningful engagement ever began. Given this history, it is understandable that calls to “take a breath” or remain patient are met with skepticism.
This is about our children, our educators, and the integrity of our community. Trust is not built through reassurances—it is built through transparency and genuine engagement. Until that happens, we will continue to question and speak out.
Lily Gerrans
Aptos
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Farmworker rights movement still strong, despite Chavez scandal
As someone who has worked in and around the farmworker movement since 1970, I was devastated by the recent credible allegations of serious sexual misconduct by Cesar Chavez.
Many who fought for farmworker rights (an ongoing battle) have been stunned or angered by the sudden removal of Chavez’s name from streets, schools and celebrations and by the readiness of some who were never aligned with the goals of that movement to pile on. That anger was expressed in Charles Birimisa’s letter saying that the anti-immigrant forces behind ICE abuses are seeking to remove ethnic heroes. I don’t disagree with him there.
He goes on to opine that Dolores Huerta revealing rape by Cesar Chavez over 50 years ago represented her being manipulated “…by some nefarious power” to steal Cesar’s place in history and get her own holiday. This is where his letter goes off the rails.
In the late 1960s Dolores had very good reason to not speak publicly about what Cesar did to her. At the time, rape was viewed as something that happened in an alley with a knife, not by a coworker or family member. Had she spoken out at the time she would likely have been discredited and disbelieved. Believe it or not, that might well have killed the nascent movement struggling to survive, in which she and Cesar were key organizers.
Dolores only spoke out when she learned that there were other women who had been molested as children by Cesar Chavez. These were not strangers, but women whom she had known all of their lives. Dolores’ disclosure authenticated their stories at real emotional and reputational cost to herself.
I applaud Dolores’s courage in supporting those women. Her place in history is secure, and she gains nothing by this but pays a huge price of emotional disruption within her own family.
It is wrong to see the farmworkers movement as Dolores or Cesar or both, as they are only two of the literally thousands of farmworkers and their allies who devoted years of their lives to building that movement.
The reports of Cesar Chavez’s sexual abuse of women are disheartening, but this whole affair does nothing to diminish my respect for the movement that he and Dolores Huerta and those thousands of other built, nor my pride in the tiny role that I played in it.
Mike Johnston
Watsonville
