An open letter to City Manager Matt Huffaker, Watsonville staff
In 2015, developer Kamalesh Patel proposed to replace the National 9 motel across from St. Patrick’s church with a four-story La Quinta. The proposed hotel did not comply with Watsonville ordinances intended to control development of downtown properties. In a 2016 public meeting, the...
A new perspective on National Night Out
I was invited to sit in on a ride-along with Watsonville Police Capt. Michael McKinley and City Councilwoman Trina Coffman-Gomez as they visited a number of National Night Out celebrations throughout the city Tuesday.
Andrew Mills: Marching for justice
This Monday, at 11 a.m., Santa Cruz Police and the Santa Cruz chapter of the NAACP will march shoulder-to-shoulder as we honor Dr. King — the man who inspired that Selma march and ignited a transformation of American society.
Supervisor’s Update: Year-end reflections
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...
It’s not too late to file your taxes
Thousands of families are leaving money on the table in Santa Cruz County. That’s cash that could pay for much-needed food, rent and more. The latest numbers show that 19,343 Santa Cruz County residents have claimed $5,496,402 from the cashback tax credits like the...
Sepi Taghvaei and Zach Friend, June 29: Dental care crisis continues in SC County
We see it daily … the effects of limited access to dental care in our community: adults with abscessed teeth and swollen faces that end up in emergency rooms and county clinics, children who are missing school because of dental pain, seniors who are losing weight due to poor dental health, teenagers who have low self-esteem because of dental decay.
Sesario Escoto, Nov. 30: Be the bridge for children in foster care
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) exists because children in the foster care system need a voice. These young people experience great loss and trauma, and CASA of Santa Cruz County provides a light in the darkness that can fall upon this time in their lives; that light being the CASA volunteers.
The joy of Easter
All around the world this weekend, Christians are celebrating Good Friday and Easter.
Good Friday is sorrow remembered. Easter is joy experienced.
Several years ago while travelling through Israel I had a chance to go inside a first-century tomb that had been discovered when road crews...
Cultural Shift
MEMO FROM REV. SHINSEKI
“There are causes for all human suffering, and there is a way by which they may be ended, because everything in the world is the result of a vast concurrence of causes and conditions, and everything disappears as these causes and...
Answering the lingering questions about Watsonville Community Hospital sale
As the clock ticks down until Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust votes on whether to exercise its right of first refusal to take over the Watsonville Community Hospital, the nurses who organized the town hall want to make sure they address the questions raised by the public. While there were many question cards turned in on Sunday, three main themes emerged.
Students learn the power of the vote at Civics Summit
On Friday, about 150 high school juniors from across Santa Cruz County cast their first ballots on three issues that, if passed, would dramatically...

















