Opinion

SRO reversal is disappointing We are upset, but not surprised, to hear that the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees has voted to bring School Resource Officers (SROs) back to campus  A pilot program using education money, funding that was meant to go...

Do you feel confident in the direction Watsonville is heading? Yes: 84 | No: 122 Public comment Steven Diaz: You mean the direction of keeping things status quo, right? Watsonville needs to get with the times, enough living in the past. Time to...

The 2021-22 school year starts next week. Beginnings are an opportunity to reflect on lessons from the past and build upon them for a new future. Our motto for this year is PVUSD C.A.R.E.S! The “C.A.R.E.S.” portion stands for: Connect, Accelerate, Recover, Enrich and...

In light of the alarming spread of the novel coronavirus that is hammering our beloved nation, we must do our part to keep this invisible yet hellish enemy, this silent Godzilla, from doing even more harm to our fellow Americans. All of us are...

Last week my wife Sarah and I took our first short vacation since the pandemic and lockdown took over. We drove north to Lassen National Volcanic Park and stayed in an old logger’s cabin at the Mill Creek Resort. The night before we left...

We celebrate National Health Center Week (NHCW) by honoring the amazing people who create lasting oral health for those most disadvantaged.  In Santa Cruz County, only one in three of our low-income neighbors with Medi-Cal can access the dentist. As the largest dental provider in...

Recently, we learned of a hunger strike in the Santa Cruz County main jail. Due to intolerable conditions, nine men awaiting trial started a hunger strike on Nov. 8. Five remained on hunger strike for nearly a month. Their demands?  • That jail staff treat...

Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part Supervisor’s Update. As the year draws to a close, I want to take a moment to extend my warmest Happy Holiday wishes to each and every one of you and to also wish you all...

Many believed 2021 was supposed to be a year of recovery. I remember attending a press conference during the late spring in which county health officials said that they expected the pandemic would largely be winding down as we reached the final quarter of...

First Lady was sincere, dazzling  I felt that First Lady Melania Trump’s speech at the Republican National Convention was completely sincere and her words were bursting with dazzling light. She strikes me as being a person who truly and deeply cares about the wellbeing of...