Opinion

We usually discuss issues occurring within the district. However, for this month’s column, we decided to take a different approach and shed some light on our roles as trustees and the process of decision-making. What is it like to take on a publicly elected...

“I’m tired of hoping.” That sentence, spoken to me by a member of our congregation last week, summarizes the mood of many. Tired of hoping. Tired of waiting, tired of trying, tired of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel grow dimmer. At the start...

Ethic studies bill is discriminatory  On Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk is the ethnic studies bill. I must note that he doesn’t need to sign it. Surprise? The California State Board of Education already approved, in 2016, the Around the Horn & Inland Waterways content for...

We are living in an unprecedented time of change and upheaval. Every night when I turn on the evening news, you would think the world is going to hell in a handbasket. In the backdrop of global pandemic that is not abating, wildfires are...

When Dick Peixoto decided in 1996 to convert his 55-acre farm in Watsonville to an organic production, he wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision.  Peixoto had been farming conventionally for years, and back then, organic produce was a specialty—something only smaller farms tended...

We are all lifelong learners committed to growing and understanding more about our world. Humanity’s great strength is in its ability to adapt. A little over a year ago, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees decided to end our contracts with...

SRO reversal is disappointing We are upset, but not surprised, to hear that the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees has voted to bring School Resource Officers (SROs) back to campus  A pilot program using education money, funding that was meant to go...

Looking over the suffering of his people, the prophet Jeremiah cries out in grief and dismay, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” (Jeremiah 8:22) That is, is there no comfort for the suffering? Is there no relief for the...

Soon the “Name Exploration Subcommittee” of Cabrillo College's Governing Board will transition into the next phase of the process adopted to consider potentially changing our community college’s name and identity. This controversial issue resurfaced mid-2020, and has continued as a topic of discussion of...

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...