49.5 F
Watsonville
April 20, 2026

On My Mind: In the line of fire

CZU August Lightning Complex Fires
Last week my wife Sarah and I took our first short vacation since the pandemic and lockdown took over. We drove north to Lassen National Volcanic Park and stayed in an old logger’s cabin at the Mill Creek Resort. The night before we left...

Traditional international alignments are shifting

The initial response to the disastrous Oval Office encounter between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump and his vice president was that the resulting confrontation became a horrendously shameful moment for our country.  The sentiment expressed by many was that the objective...

Zach Friend and Greg Caput, Oct. 5: Progress on the Pajaro River

As we move into the rainy season, we know that many share our concerns about the Pajaro River and the stability of the levee system.

Youth offenders must be housed locally

letter to the editor pajaronian
As part of the Governor’s “commitment to providing more treatment and rehabilitative services for youth closer to home” under SB 823, the state is closing the juvenile prison in Stockton (DJJ). This means that Santa Cruz County will soon be tasked with housing and...

Movie Review: 'American Assassin' wastes Keaton, O'Brien performances

“American Assassin” does absolutely nothing new. That would be fine if it did any of the recycled action-thriller elements well but it doesn’t. The performances from Keaton and O’Brien make it enjoyable in spurts but I wish they had more to do than bicker with each other like a damn scene of “Friday Night Lights.”

Letters to the Editor, Aug. 21

Let’s not get railroaded by special interests While most of us agree upon the ideals, the reality of trying to squeeze in a viable Rail-Trail within a limited 30-mile corridor, will sacrifice well-being and even safety. I am not a writer or a salesman. As...

Levee reconstruction project needs your support

Pajaro River levee
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,...

This Week in Pajaro Valley’s Past, Aug. 13

pajaro valley past
25 years ago on Aug. 12, 1996 Thousands of farm workers and their families marched through Watsonville, waving flags and banners to protest the United Farm Workers organizing efforts. In March, the UFW announced plans to organize the 15,000 berry workers in the Pajaro and...

Letters to the editor Oct. 24-30

Teachers are educators, not activists In a recent opinion piece, the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers expressed concern on being silenced in the classroom. PVUSD teachers need to be reminded that they have a civic role to be educators. The concept that they are change...

Guest View: Measure D opens a vital corridor

The following is Trail Now Executive Director Brian Peoples’ rebuttal to the column by Felipe Hernandez and Greg Caput, originally published on the Pajaronian website on May 27 and in this week’s print edition. Measure D benefits our community by reducing tax dollars spent and...
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Conveyor belts are used to heap up various sizes of aggregate.

Graniterock polluted the Pajaro River, lawsuit alleges

Two environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday accusing Granite Rock Company of violating the Clean Water Act for more than 1,000 days at...

Steaming Artichokes