Opinion: Crime and Punishment
After being incarcerated on death row for 35 years, and after surviving a multiple hours-long botched lethal injection attempt 16 months earlier, on Jan. 25 Kenneth Smith became the first person in the world to be executed with nitrogen gas.
Alabama state officials described his...
Supervisors delay decision on animal rules
SANTA CRUZ—The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday tabled a motion to make changes to the county’s animal welfare rules after organizations that run animal-based events expressed concern about the rules’ effects.
The new rules would, among other things, have prohibited using live...
Erica Padilla-Chavez: We are the Food Bank
What is normal? I thought things would return to normal following the three-year Covid pandemic and devastating Santa Cruz Mountain fires. I thought we’d survived the worst. But nothing could have prepared me for the first three months of 2023 and the meteorological disasters...
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...
Watsonville Mayor's Update, December 2018
The holidays are a festive time of year when we share special moments with our family, friends and loved ones, and look ahead to a new year filled with promise and opportunity.
Wrapping up my tenure as Mayor
By Rebecca J. Garcia
The role of a Mayor is to provide leadership in the adoption of policy. Policy is a law, regulation or procedure that provides direction to better serve the community. I was excited to provide leadership as Mayor of Watsonville. I identified...
Balancing the Pajaronian and the PV Health Care District
On Tuesday, I was appointed to the inaugural board of directors of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District.
I’m honored that the selection committee of supervisors Greg Caput and Zach Friend, County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios, Health Services Agency Director Mónica Morales and Salud Para...
Paso Robles Lavender Festival returns for ninth year
About 3,000 people with lavender shopping bags in-hand converged on the Paso Robles Downtown City Park to enjoy the Ninth Annual Paso Robles Lavender Festival, July 8, hosted by the Central Coast Lavender Growers Association and the Paso Robles Main Stree
Kangi-e ‘A Gathering of Joy’
The month of July and August is what Buddhists call Obon season. For many, the Obon is a Buddhist festival of food, cultural arts, displays and folk dancing. The religious aspect of Obon comes from the sutra called the Ullambana Sutra. The sutra is...
Watsonville nurses rally against ICU closure
Several dozen Watsonville Community Hospital nurses and staff warned Wednesday that closing the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit—an idea they said officials have floated amid...
