Driscoll’s to build first commercial vertical strawberry farm
One year after announcing a new research and development partnership to grow strawberries indoors, Watsonville-based Driscoll’s and Plenty Unlimited Inc. are building a new indoor vertical strawberry farm.Â
Together, the companies aim to accelerate the growth of Driscoll’s top crop by using Plenty’s growing platform.
According...
Pilot program weighs notification of pesticide use
WATSONVILLE—A new pilot program to inform residents of hazardous pesticide applications at area farmlands, under the umbrella of the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, will go into motion in August.
The program was outlined by Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo at a community meeting at...
Letters to the Editor, May 6
Responding to levee assessment concerns
In response to Sandra Haven’s letter about things people should consider prior to voting on the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency’s proposed assessment for levee maintenance, I’d like to add the following considerations:
The proposed assessment is for current and ongoing...
Karma on the diamond
Congratulations St. Francis baseball! I hardly recognize you now. You are proof that the karmic wheel does turn, sometimes slowly, but it does turn. Just to remind, there’s been an orphanage or school on that hilltop since 1869, longer than most things around here.
During...
Letters to the Editor, May 27
Hospital rating is unacceptable
This is the type of news that does us no good. This is not the only article that has placed Watsonville Community Hospital in a less than positive view for the general public.
What is to be done about this current...
Letters to the Editor, June 3
Dutra is the most qualified, hands down
The time has come to make the choice for our next District 4 County Supervisor.
Jimmy Dutra is the only one with an impeccable track record from his six-plus years as a city councilman and a year serving as...
Farm, biotech company secures more grants for education programs
In 2021, biotech company Blume Industries (BI) and Whiskey Hill Farms (WHF) became recipients of The Farmer Rancher Grant, a major grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Western Division of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).
The grant aims to support farmers and...
It’s time to honor Fermin Tobera
Fermin Tobera should be a household name in Watsonville. It should be a name that is remembered and celebrated by all who have ever lived in the Pajaro Valley, and believe in justice, equality and progress. Sadly, it’s not, and that needs to change.
Tobera...
What Makes Watsonville Community Hospital—and America—Great
Thirty-three years ago, while my family was preparing for a birthday party, I decided to arrive early. My mother was shopping for a cake...
