Opinion

One of my best friends is a university professor of chemistry. Last Saturday, he took his youngest down to Walgreens to receive her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination. Never one to miss the opportunity to pick a scientist’s brain, I asked how he...

The Japanese love cherry blossoms both for their beauty and as harbingers of spring, but also because their short life reminds us of the transience of life. Sweet but sad.  In the 1920s the Pajaro Valley Japanese community donated and planted hundreds of cherry blossom trees...

As the clock ticks down until Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust votes on whether to exercise its right of first refusal to take over the Watsonville Community Hospital, the nurses who organized the town hall want to make sure they address the questions raised by the public. While there were many question cards turned in on Sunday, three main themes emerged.

Memo from Pastor Rene “Mind your head.” When visiting our daughter in England I noticed those words posted over the many tiny doors in old buildings (were people that much shorter in those days?). Even with those warnings I constantly brained myself on the low...

Murals express culture Murals are about community and freedom of expression. In Watsonville, mural artist Jessica Evanjelista from the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County led Empower Watsonville, a youth-led group that focuses on expanding youth advocacy to implement more equitable policies, on a mural...

In light of the alarming spread of the novel coronavirus that is hammering our beloved nation, we must do our part to keep this invisible yet hellish enemy, this silent Godzilla, from doing even more harm to our fellow Americans. All of us are...

Memo from Pastor Rene This summer our nation is reeling at the horrific police brutality on display in the death of George Floyd and others, and grappling with the difficult task of criminal justice reform––and the broader plague of systemic racism. But while the country’s focus...

President Donald Trump's recent struggle to pronounce the word “acetaminophen” during a press conference in which he advised pregnant women against using Tylenol, elicited mockery across social media.  Acetaminophen is the primary ingredient in Tylenol, widely used for pain relief, which the administration alleges is...

A question we often hear from constituents is, “I don’t have kids at PVUSD. Why should I invest my time, energy, and tax dollars in schools?” However, a study in The Journal of Urban Affairs noted a strong correlation between community satisfaction and school...

By Denise Elerick, of the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County Substance use disorder is now widely recognized in the medical community as a chronic illness which responds to treatment. Similar to other chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease, remission and recurrence...