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Watsonville
January 24, 2026

County agriculture copes with heat, fires

The worst wildfires in California’s history have burned more than 3 million acres, about 3 percent of the state’s total acreage, and included Santa Cruz County vineyards, orchards and tree farms. The fires scorched fields, destroyed barns, melted irrigation lines and disrupted power, water...

Letters to the Editor, Aug. 5

letter to the editor pajaronian
Extreme gratitude, but we aren’t done yet I am extremely grateful to the voters of the Pajaro Valley for supporting our campaign for Santa Cruz County Supervisor. We are headed into the November runoff in a strong position. With over 46% of the vote, a...

Watsonville clearing homeless camps along Pajaro River Levee

Watsonville city officials on Monday began clearing a sprawling unsanctioned homeless encampment along the Pajaro River that runs from Sakata Lane to Loughead Avenue. The work, which includes mowing tall grasses and removing some trees, is expected to last through Aug. 2, Watsonville City spokeswoman...

Guest View: Measures Q and S are flawed

letter to the editor pajaronian
By Kathleen Kilpatrick Twenty years ago my family and I supported Measure U. Measure U was a compromise measure that came from Action Pajaro Valley, a robust stakeholder process that created the Watsonville Urban Limit line to allow for some growth and protection of farmland...

Damaris Arciga, Dec. 21: How an ATM stole my Christmas

On Nov. 23, I went to my local Watsonville Chase Bank to deposit $2,000.

Photo story: Open at last

Barricades were recently taken down where Atkinson Lane meets Freedom Boulevard during construction of the new Tabasas Gardens homes (shown here). The lane had been closed to allow for construction for more than a year.

Veterans commissaries will open to more Veterans | Letters to the Editor

Veterans commissaries will open to more Veterans As many of you already know, Commissaries are basically your neighborhood grocery store that happens to be located on a military base anywhere worldwide. Like a grocery store, they sell everything that you would need for your household....

Guest View: Fairgrounds future looks fraught

santa cruz county fair board of directors
As a news reporter, I attended Santa Cruz County Fair Board of Directors meetings for years, sometimes covering scandalous fair managers and scarce finances. What I saw recently at the Feb. 28 fair board meeting was disturbing on a level I’d never before have...

Letters to the Editor

Secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing Sometimes people tend to believe they have a “right” to smoke, but in reality, there is no constitutional right to smoke. Everyone does have the right to breathe, and a right to clean air.  Therefore, multi-unit housing complexes should regulate...

An open letter to City Manager Matt Huffaker, Watsonville staff

In 2015, developer Kamalesh Patel proposed to replace the National 9 motel across from St. Patrick’s church with a four-story La Quinta. The proposed hotel did not comply with Watsonville ordinances intended to control development of downtown properties. In a 2016 public meeting, the...
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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...

Alliances in turmoil

Boys To Men