Letters to the Editor

Pesticide use in the Santa Cruz county  Pesticides are not only harming farmworkers but also us. Pesticide use is a huge problem that is especially affecting us since we are surrounded by agriculture. It is very important to find new ways to control invasive pests,...

Local leaders should enact strong BESS rules Leaders of the County of Santa Cruz and City of Watsonville have a great responsibility to protect the health and safety of the Watsonville Community and all first responders by drafting and codifying a strong battery energy storage...

High standards needed for Minto Road BESS facility Battery energy storage may be part of California’s clean-energy future. I am not opposed to it. But clean energy should not become a shortcut around local accountability. The proposed Minto Road BESS project would place an industrial-scale battery...

Who Really Saved Watsonville Community Hospital Tony Nunez’s claim that he “saved” Watsonville Community Hospital is simply not credible. The hospital remains in a fragile financial position, with tens of millions in debt and ongoing concerns raised in a recent audit presented to the Pajaro Valley...

Keeping our eye on the Clock My father, an Air Force fighter pilot, and our family, were stationed in Yokohama Japan in 1947 as part of the post-World War II occupation force. Fortunately, I was too young to understand the magnitude of the complete obliteration...

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...

Lawmakers must restore Workforce Quality Incentive Program I started my career in a skilled nursing facility twenty years ago as a certified nursing assistant. Over time, I worked in admissions, earned my nursing license, became a nurse at the same facility my grandmother was a...

Medina should have notified about recording Several months ago PVUSD trustee Gabriel Medina wrote on his social media page that he had recorded a telephone conversation with school superintendent Heather Contreras and that she rudely hung up on him. She denied doing so, and I...

Regarding benefit caps The local teacher’s union, PVFT, has been loudly crying during negotiations with the school district, PVUSD, to not put a cap on their benefits. It is a great slogan but flies in the face of reality. From 2010 to today, benefits have...

The history behind the photo I thought it might be helpful for your readers to have some background on one of the pictures included in my friend Tarmo Hannula's article in the Feb. 27-March 5, 2026 issue of the Pajaronian ("Short drive, big rewards in...