Christmas tree sellers optimistic despite national shortage
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, tree farms across the nation are thrust into the spotlight and sellers start their busiest time of year.
This year, the industry is holding steady, despite a nationwide shortage that is pushing up prices. Heatwaves and fires that...
Faith sees obstacles as opportunities
The surprising success this season of the San Francisco Giants had me thinking the other day of Dave Dravecky. Beloved by Giants fans, Dravecky was a popular pitcher until a tumor invaded his throwing arm. After surgery he forged a surprising comeback—until the cancer...
From the editor's desk, June 20: A surprising meeting
A seemingly routine item on the Watsonville Planning Commission’s agenda has turned out to be full of surprises.
For the Love of Flicks: ‘A Star is Born’ marks the start of Oscar season
“A Star is Born,” a fourth remake of the 1937 film, forgets the fluff of summer popcorn flicks, and brings the human experience to the forefront. Cooper, who also stars alongside singer-turned-actress Lady Gaga, isn’t afraid to go wherever the story needs to, and that freewheeling approach produces some of the most uncomfortable and organic moments in cinema this year.
December Update: 2025 A Year of Delivering Results
As we close out the year, I want to provide District 4 with a clear update on the work we’ve advanced together. My priorities have remained steady: deliver improvements, protect our families, and bring long-overdue investment to South County. This year was defined by...
Is the Electoral College still appropriate?
We are again just weeks away from another presidential election. An election that won't be decided by a plurality of the popular vote, but by what even our Supreme Court has referred to as the “anachronism of the Electoral College.”
A perpetual majority of voters...
Is freedom more than an illusion?
A recent visit to a very moving, emotionally taxing Japanese-American Exclusion Memorial on Bainbridge Island in Washington State's Puget Sound generated some disturbing thoughts about the concept of freedom.
The exhibition memorialized one of the darker episodes in our country's history. After the attack on...
Support public education, vote yes on Measure R
Support public education
Cabrillo College didn’t exist in 1953. Santa Cruz County taxpayers paid Monterey County for my 1955 Associate Arts degree from Monterey Peninsula College, for which I am eternally grateful. The older generations, many of them World War II and Korean War veterans,...
Letter to the Editor, Nov. 30: American Legion thanks K&D Landscaping
Letter to the Editor, Nov. 30, 2017
Gun found at Aptos High tied to ‘off-campus incident,’ authorities say
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s investigators believe a firearm found on the Aptos High School campus this week is likely tied to an incident that...


















