Movie Review: 'Lady Bird' is a real, funny, moving coming-of-age story
“Lady Bird” is a story about people, about finding one’s self and about being comfortable in one’s skin. There are no real villains, there’s hardly any fluff and there are no end-of-the-world stakes here — even if the titular character feels as if everything happening to her might as well mark the end of times. This film is real. It doesn’t pander to its audience and it takes its time to build up its characters, which carry it from start to credits.
Bill Monning, Aug. 5: Purple Heart Day
On July 20, 2017, the California State Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 55 declaring Aug. 7 as Purple Heart Day in California. I am proud to be a coauthor of this resolution that honors Purple Heart recipients and those who serve in the Armed Fo
This Week in Pajaro Valley’s Past, May 14
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...
Changing course
We are all lifelong learners committed to growing and understanding more about our world. Humanity’s great strength is in its ability to adapt. A little over a year ago, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees decided to end our contracts with...
Letters to the Editor, March 26
Time for a change
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees rightfully denied a bill for legal services hired solely, against Board Policy, by Georgia Acosta. Knowing the board has its own attorney (separate from PVUSD), she hired outside attorneys without authority to...
Letters to the Editor, March 13-19
The history behind the photo
I thought it might be helpful for your readers to have some background on one of the pictures included in my friend Tarmo Hannula's article in the Feb. 27-March 5, 2026 issue of the Pajaronian ("Short drive, big rewards in...
Letters to the Editor
Time for Watsonville to work together
The passage of Measure Q by voters shows that Watsonville citizens want to see the city grow in an orderly manner, which does not involve willy-nilly searching around for nice flat pieces of farmland, to put up a Costco...
Addressing crime from all angles
I didn’t know Feliciano Martinez Perea but his story is not foreign to me. It’s a story that many Watsonville residents know. It’s the immigrant’s story. Martinez Perea hailed from the small town of San Martín Peras, Oaxaca, Mexico. He came to Watsonville to...
Hollywood’s harmful fixation on fashion
When I walked into work on Monday morning, a fellow reporter asked me if I’d tuned in to the Hollywood award show known as the Golden Globes, which was broadcasted the previous night. I had not—in fact, I didn’t even know it had aired.
I...
Armed man arrested after standoff
A man was taken into custody after a shooting Saturday night near Riverside Drive and Marchant Street.
Just before 7pm, Watsonville Police responded to reports...




















