Kirk Schmidt: Fire in the Sky a spectacular time
Fourth of July fireworks are, by definition, spectacular. Spectacular is what 9,000 (est.) people, who came to the Watsonville Municipal Airport, and many more in surrounding neighborhoods, said on Tuesday night, a fabulous pyrotechnic display to celebrat
Pajaro Valley Health Care Board Chair John Friel Dies
Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board (PVHCD) Chair and former Watsonville Community Hospital CEO John Friel, who took the lead of the fledgling agency at its outset in 2022, died March 21 after battling an undisclosed illness.
Friel resigned from his position on March 19,...
Photo story: Pajaro fire displaces two families
Photo by Tarmo Hannula of The Pajaronian - An early-morning fire tore through a home at 41 San Juan Road in Pajaro Wednesday. North Monterey County Fire Division Chief Jess Cortez said no-one was injured in the blaze at the corner of Gonda Street....
This week in Pajaro Valley’s Past, April 16
25 years ago on April 9, 1996
Watsonville High graduates chosen as recipients of this year’s Hall of Fame awards include Burton LeRoy Gordon, Class of 1936, who earned a Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, and researched at the Moss Landing Marine Lab where he received...
Letters to the Editor, Nov. 4: Attempt to remove rail line is misguided
Letters to the Editor, Nov. 4, 2017
Panetta hoping to continue his mission
Editor’s note: this is the final installment of our pre-election coverage, as voters mull their mail-in ballot and make their decisions. A story on Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s Green Party opponent ran on Feb. 8. Republican challenger Jason Michael Anderson did not respond to a...
Looking within during trying times
MEMO FROM REV. SHINSEKI
“It is wrong to think that misfortunes come from the east or from the west; they originate within one’s own mind. Therefore, it is foolish to guard against misfortunes from the external world and leave the inner mind uncontrolled.”
Teachings of the...
Year In Review: Highlighting the good in a challenging year
Around this time last year, I wrote that 2020 was “a year that changed the world.” And I stand by that. But in my opinion, 2021 was just as challenging, if not harder. Sure, we got to see friends and family again, maybe go...
From the editor's desk, Sept. 5: Record-breaking weather
As the calendar turned to September, our seemingly extended spring weather finally gave into summer. And it was a record-breaker.
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...
K9 officer helps find loaded handgun; man arrested
A man was arrested late last month on multiple felony charges after he ditched a loaded gun and ran from Capitola Police.
The incident began...


















