Opinion

For one reason or another, every single character is ugly and unlikeable, but nearly all manage to bring some heart into a film that is so bleak and gray you’ll want to watch “The Road” as a palate cleanser. This is a compliment to writer-director Martin McDonagh, but an even bigger thumbs-up to Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.

In the decade between 2013-23, volunteers and nonprofits picked up 439,358 cigarette butts from Santa Cruz County’s beaches and natural areas, accounting for a quarter of all litter found here. That’s according to Save Our Shores (SOS), a Santa Cruz-based nonprofit that works to support...

The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau (SCCFB) was honored with five County Activities of Excellence Awards, and was a finalist in the statewide Innovator Awards at the California Farm Bureau’s 104th meeting in early December. A local delegation of five attended the annual meeting in...

Hats off to the multitude of volunteers that have pulled off the Holiday Lights display at our Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. My understanding is that with the state’s intervention in the leadership at the fairgrounds, staff hours were cut from 48 hours to just...

The fifth annual Templeton Wine Festival, hosted by the Templeton Chamber of Commerce, is set to return Saturday, May 6. Held at Templeton Park, located at 550 Crocker St., from 1-5 p.m., the festival is one of the area’s biggest celebrations and has beco

As a pilot based at Watsonville since 1980, I am shocked at the Watsonville council’s decision to close the crosswind runway. The dissenting four council members (Montesino, Salcido, Quiroz-Carter and Orozco) voted against a compromise that would have retained the cross wind runway AND...

It is to my dismay upon reading that yet another breach in the Pajaro River Levee has occurred. This has happened numerous times through the years resulting in floods that have inundated the area. The repairs amounted to nothing more than a band-aid.   Following the...

If you are looking for destructive beast-vs-beast action you won’t be disappointed. If you’re looking for story, character development or good pacing and dialogue, you will be left wanting your money back.