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Watsonville
April 6, 2026

Watsonville Mayor's Update, December 2018

The holidays are a festive time of year when we share special moments with our family, friends and loved ones, and look ahead to a new year filled with promise and opportunity.

Sandy Lydon: The Porter family legacy

The myth about how Watsonville’s original Chinatown (1870-1888) moved from the corner of Maple and Union to a new site across the river in Monterey County began even before the move was completed in September 1888.  The story of the delicate negotiations and the Chinese...

Sandy Lydon: The false myth that Watsonville drove its Chinese community across the river in 1888

I first heard the story in the 1970s when beginning my research on the history of the Chinese in the region. I read it in community histories, newspaper history columns, and both Chinese and non-Chinese old-timers told me the story with conviction.  It was true...

A year without stages

Johanna Miller mug
Last month we observed the one-year anniversary of when Covid-19 brought all of our lives to a sudden halt.  Personally, this year has been a challenge not only health wise and financially, but emotionally and creatively as well. Like many of you, I lost so...

Movie Review: 'Baby Driver' hits the right notes

Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver” is a stylized, musical romp through the action film genre that not only banks on the visual flair of whimsical and intense car chases but a standout cast of characters. The narrative is tight, the action, for the most part, do

Loving past the division

Memo from Pastor Rene Schlaepfer
Memo from Pastor Rene: There they were, side by side, helping to feed evacuees in our church parking lot last week: A true red-state conservative and a deep blue Democrat. I knew this about the two men from previous conversations, but as I watched them...

Tony's Thoughts: I’m at your service

My name is Jose Antonio Nuñez, but many people know me as Tony — folks from a family full of Joses, Pepes, Juniors and Toñios will understand. For a little more than three months I’ve served as the Managing Editor of this publication. Some of you already know this and have texted, called, emailed or voiced your congratulations. To those people I say, thank you. To those who do not know me, or have yet to hear the news I say, I’m at your service.

Supervisor’s Update: Year-end reflections

santa cruz county supervisor felipe hernandez
Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part Supervisor’s Update. As the year draws to a close, I want to take a moment to extend my warmest Happy Holiday wishes to each and every one of you and to also wish you all...

Year In Review: A year of change and progress

santa cruz county vaccines
Many believed 2021 was supposed to be a year of recovery. I remember attending a press conference during the late spring in which county health officials said that they expected the pandemic would largely be winding down as we reached the final quarter of...

The drive-through discussion is disappointing for many reasons

In the days leading up to Tuesday’s Watsonville Planning Commission meeting I did several hours of background research on the proposed project at 975-1075 Main St. The more research I did, the more disappointed I became. The project is straightforward: 20,000 square feet over three commercial...
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