Erica Padilla-Chavez: We are the Food Bank
What is normal? I thought things would return to normal following the three-year Covid pandemic and devastating Santa Cruz Mountain fires. I thought we’d survived the worst. But nothing could have prepared me for the first three months of 2023 and the meteorological disasters...
No greater love
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...
Bill Monning, Jan. 6: January is Blood Donor Month
It is the beginning of a new year and it is time for us to remember how we can help our friends, neighbors, and community through the simple act of giving blood. January has been known as National Blood Donor Month since 1970 because people are busy with their post-holiday schedules, trying to get back into their work and/or school routines, and forget about making time to donate blood.
PVUSD Trustees should reconsider layoff decision
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Dec. 11 school board meeting was truly dysfunctional, and represents an extreme deviation from sound governance based on community input.
The state of California gives school districts until March 15 to issue initial layoff notices. According to the California...
Commemorating 75th of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
MEMO FROM REV. SHINSEKI
Blood stains cannot be removed by more blood; resentment cannot be removed by more resentment; resentment can only be removed by letting it go.
—Teachings of the Buddha
This month will mark the 75th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nakasaki...
Sesario Escoto, Nov. 30: Be the bridge for children in foster care
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) exists because children in the foster care system need a voice. These young people experience great loss and trauma, and CASA of Santa Cruz County provides a light in the darkness that can fall upon this time in their lives; that light being the CASA volunteers.
100 year flood protection is within grasp for Pajaro, Watsonville
Now, let’s say the levees that protect your home from flooding are old and deficient. They could fail during the next big storm, causing a major flood. The federal and state government offer to pay $400 million for new and improved levees. The only...
Supervisor’s Update: Paving the way for progress
There are various opportunities for community engagement and multiple projects starting this month—from arts to roads to housing. There are also multiple projects starting this summer. My hopes are that these capital investment projects will improve the lives of everyone.
I will be having open...
Movie Review: 'Moonlight' lives up to lofty expectations
“Moonlight,” which is based off Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” does not come without flaws but I think that’s the purpose of this film.
Walgreen to pay $6 million in price scanner and expired products...
Walgreens has agreed to pay $6 million to settle allegations it overcharged customers and sold expired products in California, including violations identified in Santa...
















