Eco Farm keynote addresses food sovereignty for Indigenous communities
In 2014 Elizabeth Hoover, associate professor in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, set out on a road trip across the U.S.
Hoover covered 20,000 miles over four months, visiting 29 different Indigenous communities and asking everyone she met one question: How do...
This Week in Pajaro Valley’s Past, July 2
25 years ago on July 1, 1996
Watsonville’s Spirit of Watsonville Committee organized a full schedule of fun across the Pajaro Valley leading up to the annual Grand Parade on the Fourth of July. The weekend prior had live banda music and dancing in the...
Tanya Ridino, Doug Keegan and Miriam Stombler, Oct. 12: Protecting our community’s children
No matter how you feel about immigration policy, we can all agree that we want all children to be and feel safe. As a team of community leaders and activists, we are working to make sure all children have a secure place to live should something happen to their parents.
Letter: Pajaro Valley soil is the best in the world
I grew up in Watsonville and have lived and worked in the Pajaro Valley all my life. I have been an agronomist, scientifically analyzing agricultural soils in California and throughout the United States. I have studied thousands of different soils, and I can say...
Thanksgiving 2020: The commonplace, remarkable & lunatics
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...
Curbing cancel culture
Soon the “Name Exploration Subcommittee” of Cabrillo College's Governing Board will transition into the next phase of the process adopted to consider potentially changing our community college’s name and identity. This controversial issue resurfaced mid-2020, and has continued as a topic of discussion of...
Students’ academic careers are adding up
Brianna Vasquez is a 13-year-old about to begin her 8th-grade year at Rolling Hills Middle School.
As the days of her summer vacation wane and the academic year looms, many of her friends are enjoying their break.
But on Thursday, Brianna was taking a different path....
Letters to the Editor, May 6
Responding to levee assessment concerns
In response to Sandra Haven’s letter about things people should consider prior to voting on the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency’s proposed assessment for levee maintenance, I’d like to add the following considerations:
The proposed assessment is for current and ongoing...
An open letter to the Pajaro Valley Health Trust Board of Directors
We would like to begin by stating that as Watsonville City Council Members and as citizens of Watsonville, we were extremely concerned when we learned on June 6, 2019, of the intended sale of Watsonville Community Hospital (WCH) to yet another for-profit entity. Our concerns, like many other elected officials and community members, were even intensified because of the long history of our hospital under 21 years of outside, corporate and for-profit ownership by first Community Health Systems (CHS), and then their spin-off, Quorum Health Corporation (QHC).
81st Annual Monterey County Fair celebrates ‘Summer of Love’
Celebrate the “Summer of Love” at the 81st Annual Monterey County Fair, Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, in Monterey, where more than 75,000 fairgoers are expected to come together for fun activities and events at the fairgrounds nestled on 22 oak-studded acres in the city.
Letters to the Editor Dec. 5-11
Suggestions for PVUSD
My recommendations regarding the Recommended Realignments of PVUSD:
1. Regarding school closure, I have advocated for an idea to sell the District Office...




















