Opinion

About 2,500 years ago the young prince Siddartha Gautama became what is known as the Buddha. Soon after his Enlightenment the Buddha shared with his fellow seekers what is known as the Four Noble Truths. The first of these truths is “Life is Dukkha.”...

Letters to the Editor, March 8, 2019

Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed! Every year on Easter Sunday, Christians begin the service with this proclamation. Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ who on the third day rose from the dead.  When I was attending seminary, the New Testament professor was teaching the...

Letters to the Editor, Oct. 26, 2018

“ called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” (Mark 8:34) What does that really mean anyway? I can tell you what it...

The 40 days of Lent observed in Christianity begins with the story of Jesus who fasted for 40 days in the wilderness immediately following his baptism. It is as if before Jesus began his ministry, he needed to go through a spiritual boot camp...

Both my great-grandfathers immigrated to Watsonville in the 1850s. Not long after they first arrived, they were introduced to one of our region’s greatest threats to lives and livelihoods: flooding from the Pajaro River and its tributaries. Soon after arriving, my great-grandfather Stephano Martinelli,...

I'm sick to my stomach as I watch helplessly the common recurrence of mass shootings and with the paralysis of our nation to do anything about it. I feel assaulted and traumatized by the sheer volume of violence I witness on television and mass...

Thankfully common sense prevailed and Measure D was defeated. However, those who support environmentally sound electric passenger rail service on the historic Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line must not rest on their laurels.  A concerted effort must be put forth to the Santa Cruz Regional...