Opinion

Donations greatly appreciated  On behalf of the Watsonville High School Performing Arts Department, I would like to thank several individuals who have recently donated instruments to our school. The first being the family of Jim and Marion Rector for their recent donation of a beautiful...

Support public education  Cabrillo College didn’t exist in 1953. Santa Cruz County taxpayers paid Monterey County for my 1955 Associate Arts degree from Monterey Peninsula College, for which I am eternally grateful. The older generations, many of them World War II and Korean War veterans,...

NOTE: This article was contributed by the King City Rustler SALINAS—The Salinas Valley Ag Tech Summit returns to Hartnell College on March 17-18, promising another deep dive into the latest tactics, equipment and thinking to maximize profit and consumer satisfaction in the fresh produce industry. The...

WATSONVILLE—A group of 21 community leaders have been selected for Class 31 of the Focus Agriculture program.   The “first-in-the-nation” program, created by Watsonville’ Agri-Culture organization, is designed to teach community leaders about agriculture in Santa Cruz County and the Pajaro Valley.  After receiving a number...

In 2014, two-thirds of Watsonville’s voters approved the Measure G one-half percent sales tax to fund police, fire and youth violence prevention services for five years. This year, it will provide almost $5 million in funding to the police and fire departments—more than 10...

AROMAS—The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County plans to protect nearly all of the 2,640-acre Rocks Ranch in Aromas from development, the organization announced Feb. 11. The ranch has been in the spotlight recently following the San Benito County Supervisors’ intent to rezone a portion...

Let’s set the record straight. There are no confirmed Coronavirus cases in Watsonville and we did not report that absolute falsehood. I can say that with 100 percent certainty.  For those that do not know, someone on the internet was playing a game earlier this...

Vote Yes on Measure Y  My family has lived and farmed in Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley since the 1900s. Forty-five years ago I started our first farm growing green beans in Watsonville. I have converted that to be organic and we now are the...

Zach Friend is effective, responsive I’ve worked with many elected officials over the last 30 years and I can easily say Zach Friend is one of the best. As a constituent, I’ve found that Zach and his staff are responsive as well as effective when...

WATSONVILLE—A buggy that once transported people along the streets of San Jose in the 1880s and ‘90s is now on display at the Agricultural History Project, restored and with a fresh coat of paint. Hassan Zamani, who has volunteered with the AHP for two years,...