Opinion

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake significantly damaged a hospital that had served the community of Watsonville for decades. Devastated by the earthquake, the nonprofit Watsonville Community Hospital (WCH) had to be sold to a for-profit corporation. In 2022, it returned to community ownership.  Still,...

During the winter of 2006-2007, beekeepers across the country began noticing a steep decline in bee populations.

MONTEREY COUNTY—Monterey County agriculture’s gross production value bounced back by 4.8% in 2021 to just over $4.1 billion, despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that also resulted in supply chain shortages. This increase represents a $190 million rise from 2020, when the gross production value was...

When a call comes in for a medical emergency, every second counts.  While an ambulance may be on its way from other parts of the county, it is often the Watsonville Fire Department that arrives first. What many people may not know is that every...

Orin Martin says his favorite thing about the Alan Chadwick Garden at UC Santa Cruz is its diversity.

I'm not a regular reader of the Pajaronian, but I am so glad to have caught the article “The Porter Family Legacy” (Pajaronian, March 10-16) and learn of the family’s link to the Chinese community in Watsonville. My father Henry G. Wong leased the...

Vote Yes on Measure Y  My family has lived and farmed in Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley since the 1900s. Forty-five years ago I started our first farm growing green beans in Watsonville. I have converted that to be organic and we now are the...

With most people staying close to home during the pandemic, looking for things to do and ways to stay safe, local nurseries have seen an uptick in customers. Stay-at-home orders have prompted many to find new hobbies—and gardening has been a popular choice. Sierra Azul...

Thanks to the staff at the fairgrounds  My husband and I received our second Covid-19 vaccination at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. As with our first vaccination, the entire staff, from those giving directions to the nurses injecting the vaccine, was very polite, friendly and...