Opinion

By John Gallagher, Grand Jury Supervising Judge  We need the Grand Jury and the Grand Jury needs you. In this time of political polarization at all levels of government, the need for a neutral Grand Jury to investigate, report on government performance and offer solutions...

By Mercedes Garcia These are the messages I received from Geraldine Ridgway’s op-ed published in Nov. 20 edition of the Pajaronian: “Why can’t you Mexicans be like all the other ethnic groups that were mistreated in the past? Why don’t you just grin and bear it...

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...

25 years ago on May 14, 1996 The program “Home Independent Study” is open in the PV School District at Alianza Elementary School. The 90-plus students enrolled in it are free to explore their own learning styles, interests and ideas while keeping within state and...

As the year comes to end, I want to take a moment to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season. I also want to share some of the county’s major initiatives we’ve been working on during the past year.

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission’s (RTC) $9 million Zero Emission Passenger Rail and Trail project study (ZEPRT) has generated heated debate and confusion.  While the project promises to combine passenger rail and active transit in one sweeping vision, fundamental questions about its feasibility,...

Memo from Rev. Mathews-Johnson: Doors. We use them every day. We open them. We close them. We lock them. We knock on them. We stand outside them. We stand inside them. They lock us in. They lock us out. They keep us safe. They keep...

June 10 marked the 17th annual release of Bargetto Winery’s “La Vita” wine.

As election results continued to roll in Tuesday night, Measure N came out swinging, with 69.9% of voters approving it. That number had dipped to 68.5% early Wednesday morning just barely making the required two-thirds supermajority. Measure N would provide $116 million for Watsonville Community Hospital...