This Week in Pajaro Valley’s Past, Feb. 12-18
Compiled by Steve Bankhead
25 years ago on Feb. 6, 1996
Some workers from the closing Norcal-Crosetti plant at Ford & Walker streets will be hired by Dean Foods (former Richard Shaw Frozen Foods) which purchased Norcal Crosetti when it failed last August. Dean Foods plans...
Photo Story: Coffee with a Cop
MEET AND GREET - Watsonville Police officer Sergio Bañuelos converses with Micaela Henson, David Hernadez and their chill Melissa Friday outside the Police Department during the first Coffee With a Cop. The free, informal gathering serves as an arena for the community to engage...
Guest View: Working for a common good
It was 1995 the last time the Pajaro River flooded this badly. Local clergy responded, organizing charitable efforts to help those affected. But when we showed up to meetings where key decisions would be made, we were dismissed and sent back to our places...
Movie Review: 'Annabelle: Creation' fine for what it is
The second movie of a spinoff series in “The Conjuring” universe about a killer demonic doll, “Annabelle: Creation” is far and away better than the first entry, which debuted in 2014 and gave me one of the best 1-hour-and-40-minute, movie-theater naps I’ve ever taken. The scares are OK, the writing is better and — thank God — tighter than the first and the overall story is good enough to keep you guessing at least for the first third.
Damaris Arciga, Dec. 21: How an ATM stole my Christmas
On Nov. 23, I went to my local Watsonville Chase Bank to deposit $2,000.
Woody Rehanek: Science proves pesticide’s destructive nature
For the last 18 years, I taught a special education class in the Pajaro Valley. Many of my students were farmworker children with learning disabilities: problems paying attention, reading difficulties, hyperactivity, autism, lower IQ and struggles with self-control. I was shocked to discover that one of the most widely used pesticides in the world — chlorpyrifos — has, after over 20 years of solid research at UC Davis, Berkeley, Columbia University and elsewhere, been linked to these difficulties in learning and behavior.
December Update: 2025 A Year of Delivering Results
As we close out the year, I want to provide District 4 with a clear update on the work we’ve advanced together. My priorities have remained steady: deliver improvements, protect our families, and bring long-overdue investment to South County. This year was defined by...
On My Mind: In the line of fire
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...
Letter to the Editor, Nov. 7: You’ve got that haunted feeling
Letter to the Editor, Nov. 7, 2017
Letters to the editor Oct. 3 – 9
Bring tennis back to Callaghan Park
There are many American legends of men’s professional tennis. And from its beginnings, the United States has produced the finest players the world over. In recent decades that has not been the case. Why? The decline of interest in...
New leadership, shared priorities: Investing in the future of public safety
As we begin a new year, I want to reflect on the direction of public safety in Watsonville and the leadership helping guide that...



















