Guest View: Sacramento leadership needs to prioritize language access in elections
In the 2020 election, my Watsonville family was energized and held its very first voting party. Local candidates competing for the same office visited, my cousins and I offered to translate and research for our elders, and many drove together to City Hall to...
This Week in Pajaro Valley’s Past, June 25
25 years ago on June 24, 1996
For the first time in its 15 years of existence, the Monterey Bay Strawberry Festival has awarded its title of Strawberry Queen to two contestants: North Monterey County High junior Nikki Gillot and Watsonville High graduate Norma Fabian....
Letters to the editor, Aug. 1–7
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Reflections on the July 16 PVUSD Board Meeting
The July 16 PVUSD Board meeting exposed deep divisions in our community and the urgent need for respectful, reasoned civic engagement—especially concerning student safety. I spoke in strong support of...
Parks and recreation update
By Rebecca J. Garcia, Watsonville Mayor
All my grandchildren learned to swim through the Watsonville summer aquatics program. They went underwater, they floated, they played and they swam. So much fun. However, there will be no summer aquatics program this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic....
Question of the Week
Do you feel safe in Watsonville?
Yes: 338 | No: 126
Public comment
Jennifer Banchero Olds: I don't feel particularly unsafe, but I would say I'm definitely wary. I moved out of Watsonville in 1997, and I will say I did NOT feel safe living there. But...
Noah and the Climate Crisis
Once when I was a youth pastor, a sixth-grade boy came up to me and asked, “Robby, where’s the rules part in the Bible?” Not sure exactly what he meant, I asked if he was looking for the Ten Commandments. “No, the rules part!”...
Guest View: Working for a common good
It was 1995 the last time the Pajaro River flooded this badly. Local clergy responded, organizing charitable efforts to help those affected. But when we showed up to meetings where key decisions would be made, we were dismissed and sent back to our places...
A call for voice of reason
There are always two sides to every story, and Trustee Georgia Acosta and the three other trustees who voted to terminate Pajaro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez need to tell us why they took that drastic action. Unfortunately, they cannot do so...
Photo story: One injured in 3-vehicle crash
Watsonville Police respond to a three-vehicle crash Wednesday on Green Valley Road at Freedom Boulevard. Watsonville Police said that around 2:50pm a man driving...





















