Local and national elections display the power of media and bias on politics
Editor’s note: Zen Weaver is a junior at Aptos High School. This is his second story for The Pajaronian. We welcome contributions from aspiring young journalists. Email [email protected]
In an era where headlines spread faster than facts, Santa Cruz County residents, politicians, and community leaders...
Mayor’s Update: Watsonville’s resilience
The start of 2023 was far from what anyone expected it to be. Our region was battered by an unprecedented atmospheric river that brought heavy rains, flooding and evacuations for our residents.
While this was unexpected and severely impacted thousands in our community, I was...
City should not be taking Covid-19 funding
City should not be taking Covid-19 funding
I was delighted to see that the Watsonville City Council approved “a little more than a half-million dollars of federal funding to bolster the community’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.”
I was very disappointed, however, to note that of...
Holiday hopes, gratitude from Mayor Jimmy Dutra
By Jimmy Dutra, Watsonville Mayor
The holidays are typically the happiest time of the year. However, this has not been a typical year. Our businesses have taken a financial hit. Food insecurity is at an all-time high. Stimulus checks are not cutting it. Restless nights...
Letters to the Editor, July 15
Have your say in downtown’s future
The Watsonville Downtown plan needs attention. Watsonville is an agricultural town. Walker Street, running through a busy industrial area, is its backbone. Please do not reimagine the Walker Street area. We do need good, safe access from the train...
Luis Alejo, March 20: The voting rights gladiator who changed California politics forever
California’s Latino community has lost its greatest voting rights gladiator. Last Friday, the legendary civil rights lawyer Joaquin G. Avila lost his battle to cancer after previously suffering from a stroke. No one was more accomplished than him when it came to fighting for Latino political empowerment and representation.
What Makes Watsonville Community Hospital—and America—Great
Thirty-three years ago, while my family was preparing for a birthday party, I decided to arrive early. My mother was shopping for a cake for my sister’s second birthday in our small hometown of Cuerámaro, Guanajuato, Mexico—a rural town of at the time just...
Rick Longinotti and Mireya Gomez-Contreras, Dec. 7: Real alternatives for Watsonville commuters
Anyone over a certain age who has driven the freeways of the Bay Area or Southern California knows that widening highways doesn’t work to reduce congestion beyond the short-term.
Watsonville, Santa Cruz oppose sexually violent predator placement
Editor's note: This story was updated on April 8 at 10:10am with additional information.
The cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz are opposing the proposed...



















