Opinion

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s (RTC) $9 million Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail project study (ZEPRT) has generated heated debate and confusion.  While the project promises to combine passenger rail and active transit in one sweeping vision, fundamental questions about its feasibility,...

Letters to the Editor, Aug. 3, 2018

Nearly 300 people marched the streets of downtown Santa Cruz May 18 to help end homelessness.  The second-annual gathering, organized by Housing Matters, reigned in a coalition of local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and public supporters in the March to End Homelessness. The event began outside Santa...

On Saturday the Pajaronian will celebrate 154 years of service to the community. It’s difficult to put into words the impact this newspaper has had on the Pajaro Valley since J.A. Cottle, the first owner, editor and publisher, established the Weekly Pajaronian in 1868....

By Rebecca J. Garcia, Watsonville Mayor Black Lives Matter. Consequently, Watsonville wants to assure that the police department provides the best services available for public safety and racial and social equity. Police Chief David Honda has shared the many successful programs provided to youth and...

In Watsonville, we see the human cost of California's housing crisis every day. As homelessness rises, we face a critical choice: continue with inadequate approaches or embrace innovative solutions reflecting our values of compassion and dignity for all.  As CEO of Community Action Board (CAB)...

At the moment, it seems that there is a very small number of Watsonville residents that have a grasp of the enormous question they will face in the November election. That is extremely troubling. Come Nov. 8, Watsonville voters will decide whether they would like to...

Letter to the Editor, Nov. 30, 2017

For seven years in the 1970s I taught elementary school at Hall District School in Las Lomas. My students were virtually identical to those massacred in Uvalde, Texas. Apparently, “my” children watched for almost an hour while their teachers and friends were being blown...

By Rebecca J. Garcia The role of a Mayor is to provide leadership in the adoption of policy. Policy is a law, regulation or procedure that provides direction to better serve the community. I was excited to provide leadership as Mayor of Watsonville. I identified...