Opinion

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...

The worst wildfires in California’s history have burned more than 3 million acres, about 3 percent of the state’s total acreage, and included Santa Cruz County vineyards, orchards and tree farms. The fires scorched fields, destroyed barns, melted irrigation lines and disrupted power, water...

My name is Jose Antonio Nuñez, but many people know me as Tony — folks from a family full of Joses, Pepes, Juniors and Toñios will understand. For a little more than three months I’ve served as the Managing Editor of this publication. Some of you already know this and have texted, called, emailed or voiced your congratulations. To those people I say, thank you. To those who do not know me, or have yet to hear the news I say, I’m at your service.

Over the past year, the County has made significant investments in South Santa Cruz County. From the purchase of a new South County Service Center so residents of South County can have access to County services in a way never previously afforded, to setting...

Standing up for Asian Americans The Watsonville-Santa Cruz chapter of the National Japanese American Citizens League (W-SC JACL) is sincerely grateful for the support expressed in Theo Wierdsma’s column entitled, “Xenophobia erupting,” and to the Pajaronian for publishing it on Feb. 26. We thank Theo Wierdsma...

WATSONVILLE—Every year Farm Discovery at Live Earth aims to reach thousands of young people to teach them about farming, nutrition and health, environmental literacy and more. The organization is headquartered at Watsonville’s Live Earth Farm, which plants crops in the fall that are eventually...

By Christian Garcia Like many other communities, Watsonville has significant challenges. We have an ailing local economy, affordable housing needs, needs for better access to healthcare and education, aging infrastructure, funding needs for local parks and youth programs, and the list goes on.  Inspiring people to...

CENTRAL COAST—The Paycheck Protection Program helped save at least 17,000 agricultural jobs throughout the tri-county area, according to data released by the Small Business Administration on July 6. The program, a part of the more than $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES)...

By Jimmy Dutra, Watsonville Mayor This week my grandmother, Epi Tavarez, turned 100. Just seeing that number is surreal. She was born one year after the 19th Amendment was ratified and women got the right to vote. My grandma has been a lifelong voter who...

Ellie Dyt knows a lot more about the California Dairy Industry than most seventeen-year-old high schoolers. Dyt was raised on a dairy farm her whole life in the small town of Crows Landing, home to thousands of dairy cows, gaining first-hand experience by working there...