Watsonville High graduate makes national FFA competition
WATSONVILLE—Juan Herrera has been keeping busy since he graduated from Watsonville High School (WHS) in 2021.
After landing a job with K&D Landscaping while still in school, Herrera rose up through the ranks, starting in the maintenance crew and finally working on larger residential and...
Ag History Project works on newest restoration
In a barn tucked away in a corner of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, volunteers from the Agricultural History Project are hard at work restoring a piece of the past.
On My Mind: In the line of fire
Last week my wife Sarah and I took our first short vacation since the pandemic and lockdown took over. We drove north to Lassen National Volcanic Park and stayed in an old logger’s cabin at the Mill Creek Resort. The night before we left...
Letters to the Editor, March 6: Happy 150th, Pajaronian
Letters to the Editor, March 6, 2018
Letters to the Editor, Oct. 18, 2019
We need impeachment now — not later
Donald Trump’s recent attempts to pressure Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election demonstrate that he is a danger to our democracy and our election security. Thanks to complaints by multiple whistleblowers, information released by the White House,...
Watsonville gains a centenarian
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...
Giving thanks
There is a unique term in Japanese that is used by Buddhists as they sit down to partake of a meal. The term in itadakimasu 頂きます. Before someone begins to eat they place their palms together and say the words itadakimasu. In a simple...
Preserving our library
I read my first novel at the age of 10. The novel was the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I checked the book out from a satellite library that was across the street from where I lived. That book is relevant today in the...
Modeling accountability: Relational, cultural and restorative safety
The Pajaro Valley community recently learned about the tragic death of an Aptos High School teen on the school’s campus. This has led to outrage, grief and racialized commentary. During this critical time, trauma-fueled responses, reactionary behavior and near-sighted solutions can lead to collateral...
Gazing skyward to the eclipse
Thousands of people across Santa Cruz County—and millions more throughout the U.S.—took a pause late Monday morning to look to the skies for a phenomenon that will not happen again for two decades.
Californians saw only 30% of the sun being blotted out by the...
Letters to the Editor, Jan. 23–29
Passenger rail price estimates too high
One can never convince me that restoring the Santa Cruz Branch rail line for passenger rail would cost an...




















