Opinion

For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as “El Cortito,” was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept farmworkers stooped over for long hours each day. Workers were only able to stand and stretch when they reached the...

Since the 1960s, the U.S. has become a more inclusive country. This necessarily meant that white men lost some part of their privileged positions in education, employment and entertainment. By the 2000s, in the wake of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, anti-racism books were on...

There’s something powerful about a fresh start—especially when it’s backed by real progress, deep community roots, and a bold vision for the future.  At our April 18 State of the Hospital event, Watsonville Community Hospital unveiled a new logo symbolizing its transition back to community...

If there was any doubt that the inmates are running the asylum in our administration right now, the group chat on the Signal messaging app about the attack on Yemen should have erased it for all but the most diehard MAGA supporters.  The conversation intended...

Editor’s note: Zen Weaver is a junior at Aptos High School. This is his second story for The Pajaronian. We welcome contributions from aspiring young journalists. Email [email protected] In an era where headlines spread faster than facts, Santa Cruz County residents, politicians, and community leaders...

Spring into Action Spring is here, bringing with it a season of exciting community events, important updates, and opportunities to get involved! From a family-friendly bike ride this weekend to the return of the Young Supervisors Academy. Here’s a look at what’s happening in our...

Over the past five years, we’ve learned how to navigate successive disasters in Santa Cruz County.  We fill sandbags, dig ditches, clear fallen trees, clean up debris, distribute food and help folks cover critical expenses when they are out of work due to shutdowns, floods,...

Over 30,000 under-resourced adults and children in Santa Cruz County rely on affordable dental care to live full, healthy, pain-free lives.  Across the State, 10 million adults, seniors, and people with disabilities depend on the Medicaid program (known as Medi-Cal in California) for their oral...

The initial response to the disastrous Oval Office encounter between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump and his vice president was that the resulting confrontation became a horrendously shameful moment for our country.  The sentiment expressed by many was that the objective...