Opinion

By Rebecca J. Garcia, Watsonville Mayor Soon after I was elected to the Watsonville City Council I had the opportunity to visit several farmworkers’ housing conditions. What I found was five adults and four children living in a 2-bedroom duplex, eight adults living in a...

Memo from Rev. Mathews-Johnson I’ve read that Mark Twain once categorized people into three groups: commonplace, remarkable and lunatics. I don’t know about you, but I can think of people who belong in all three groups. Of course, that’s a put-down, so three compliments are in...

I’ve thought a lot about my New Year’s resolutions this year. Somehow it seems there’s more at stake than usual. The way you and I approach 2021 will impact not only our own experience, but also the lives of those around us, at a...

A response to Frank Anderson I was appalled upon reading Mr. Frank Anderson’s letter in the Pajaronian. He erroneously states that the Watsonville-Santa Cruz rail corridor has not been used in “decades.” Not so. As recently as 2016, Iowa Pacific trains were traversing the Santa Cruz...

With great sadness and anger, I am reading in the news about a surge in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) around the U.S. From the man that opened fire in Georgia on March 16, killing eight people, including six women of Asian...

Our council passed a rate increase this week on water, wastewater and solid waste utilities. It was a 6-1 vote. I was the sole vote against the rate hike. This was a difficult decision for all of us. Here is my explanation on why...

Rainbow flags are flying at PVUSD schools this month. The colored bars represent different aspects of our LGBTQ+ community, that we come from all races and backgrounds, and that—despite differences in how those aspects intersect—we are all together. The Progress Flag, as it is...

San Luis Obispo 1st District Supervisor John Peschong said May 9 that the local farm stand that has been the centerpiece of a large grassroots rescue effort has been given until Oct. 1, the end of the growing season, to find a new and lawful location.

Like many agricultural businesses in the Pajaro Valley, Sambrailo Packaging, the Watsonville-based packaging company that has been involved in the agricultural industry for the past 94 years, got its start in apples.