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Watsonville
September 18, 2025

New charter school is hurting our community

Navigator Schools, which runs Watsonville Prep on the grounds of E.A. Hall Middle School—and will soon expand to Ann Soldo Elementary School—should find its own space as soon as possible. In the meantime, the organization should immediately pay back the hundreds of thousands of...

Preserving our library

I read my first novel at the age of 10. The novel was the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I checked the book out from a satellite library that was across the street from where I lived. That book is relevant today in the...

Supervisors delay decision on animal rules

santa cruz county animal rules
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday tabled a motion to make changes to the county’s animal welfare rules after organizations that run animal-based events expressed concern about the rules’ effects. The new rules would, among other things, have prohibited using live...

Nonprofits, community groups celebrate farmworkers as lawmakers call for more support

watsonville farmworkers covid-19
WATSONVILLE—After working a long shift picking strawberries and greens, dozens of farmworkers and their families received the royal treatment thanks to a new program from El Pájaro Community Development Corporation. Called the Farmworker’s Family Dinner, the initiative treated 38 families—roughly 230 people—to meals from El...

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...

Serving Nuestra Ciudad

The Pajaronian
The COVID-19 crisis has without a doubt been a challenging ordeal. Our businesses are suffering, our neighbors are struggling to make ends meet and there do not seem to be many quick solutions to the problems created by this tricky, highly-infectious virus. Yet, the...

Assemblymember Rivas urges Gov. Newsom for more farmworker relief

Watsonville farmworkers
By Jazmine Juarez, Special to the Pajaronian WATSONVILLE—Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) is calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to take urgent steps to protect farmworkers and the food supply chain in the wake of COVID-19.  Following reports of 41 agricultural workers being diagnosed with COVID-19 in...

Serving the nation

Serving the nation The United States Postal Service is committed to delivering your mail and packages throughout the current pandemic. We are proud of our role in providing an essential service to every community. The one constant throughout this crisis has been our commitment to...

National Agriculture Day scholarship, contest winners announced

WATSONVILLE—For years the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau (SCCFB) and the Agri-Culture organization have hosted the National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon. However, due to the current COVID- 19 pandemic, the March 18 event was postponed, and its future remains uncertain. Despite this, the two groups...

Support California’s essential workers

Safety nets for California farmworkers Like health care workers on the front lines of coronavirus battle,  California farmworkers are on the front lines of our state’s $54 billion food supply chain, yet have few safety nets and protections. Governor Newsom has rightly designated them as...
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County unveils “transformative” youth crisis center

For years, Santa Cruz County lacked a youth crisis center, meaning that young people experiencing a mental health crisis were taken to overloaded emergency...