Land Trust conserves 178-acre farmland
WATSONVILLE—The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County recently announced that it secured a conservation easement for the 178-acre Tynan Ranch, located one-half mile from the current urban growth line of the City of Watsonville off of Lakeview Road.
Tynan Ranch has been in production for...
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,...
Irrigation enhancement project helps farmers regulate water usage
A new irrigation enhancement project has seen positive results for farmers in the San Joaquin Valley.
Why I support renewing Watsonville’s Measure U
As a longtime elected official representing the people of Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley, I know how essential and important the agricultural industry is to the region and the rest of Santa Cruz County. In two elections, the voters of Watsonville have overwhelmingly affirmed...
Religion: Accept the adjustments in life
One of the basic teachings of the Buddha is the truth of change. This is an undeniable reality that we are all aware of. However, we resist change and cling to the illusion that we are always in control of our lives. When life...
Guest View: Prop. 28 boosts schools
Proposition 28 is an initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot that funds school-based arts and music education throughout the state. It's estimated to provide an annual $900 million across California PK-12 public schools without raising taxes. For kids, this means more joy, opportunities to...
Addressing our local housing crisis
Our state and local housing crisis can be measured in many ways: From the more than $70,000 one has to earn to afford the rent of a two-bedroom apartment locally to our state’s 78,000 unsheltered homeless (nearly half of the nation’s total), to county med
Mordechai Ben-Menachem, Aug. 17: Woe to exigencies of false scholarship
Free speech is one of the most basic articles-of-faith for existence of a democracy; vigorous debate of public polices is an integral part of free speech. Both of these values lie at the core of everything “Western Values” stand for and need to be guarded assiduously by us all.
Guest view: Call for a compromise
By Abel Sanchez, Chair of Parks & Recreation Commission
The Aug. 7 deadline has passed and Congress could not come up with an agreement on the next stimulus package. This is despite wide support amongst many lawmakers that Americans desperately need assistance during these tough...
Letters to the Editor Dec. 5-11
Suggestions for PVUSD
My recommendations regarding the Recommended Realignments of PVUSD:
1. Regarding school closure, I have advocated for an idea to sell the District Office...




















