Maria T. Cadenas: Including undocumented families in safety nets is the only way forward
Thousands of Monterey and Santa Cruz County families were forced to evacuate March 11 after the Pajaro and Soledad rivers flooded this rural agricultural area. The storms arrived at the beginning of the growing season, just as farmworkers were going back to work and...
Letter: Pitching the valley
I’m here today to give you a pitch,
A burning desire,
It’s more than an itch,
Underscoring the fact
that this valley’s so rich
Painting a picture
imagine this course
Make a reality
Our place mighty force.
The nature, the earth, the sea, and the sloughs
The farms, and the people,
so good and so...
Letters to the Editor, Feb. 17: Thank you, Robert Avila-Arce
Letters to the Editor, Feb. 17, 2018
Sandy Lydon: The legacy of the county boundary in the river
Back in three successive Pajaronian columns (July 1, Aug. 5 and Sept. 2), I laid out the convoluted story of how a group of Yankee (white) residents in and around Santa Cruz seceded from Monterey County and the two were born side-by-side in 1850.
Monterey...
From the editor's desk: Palm trees represent ‘baby step’ for downtown
Last week, crews planted palm trees in the recently-constructed medians along Main Street in downtown Watsonville. Immediately, people took to Facebook to express their disapproval.
The story behind the Washington bust
To some, George Washington represents patriarchy and oppression. To Lloyd Alaga, the person who commissioned the bust of George Washington for Watsonville’s Plaza, Washington represented the opportunity in America for immigrants who have come, and continue to come, to this country.
Lloyd Alaga’s uncle was...
Letters to the Editor, Aug. 28
A novel idea for the rail
A friend and fellow rail advocate came up with the following idea:
Following the terrible and tragic wildfires that have devastated North Santa Cruz County, there will be a need to bring in materials such as lumber as the rebuilding...
Religion: Bodhi Day
Once again we find ourselves at the year’s end. It is hard to believe that another year has gone by. December is a time for families to gather to celebrate the holidays. We celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the Winter Solstice, Christmas and Bodhi Day, the...
Cultural Shift
MEMO FROM REV. SHINSEKI
“There are causes for all human suffering, and there is a way by which they may be ended, because everything in the world is the result of a vast concurrence of causes and conditions, and everything disappears as these causes and...
Letter to the Editor, Oct. 7: Tragic incident needs full investigation
Letter to the Editor, Oct. 7, 2017
City Council to consider utility rate increases
The Watsonville City Council on Tuesday will consider a series of utility rate increases over the next five years to fund infrastructure upgrades they...



















