Opinion

25 years ago on Aug. 12, 1996 Thousands of farm workers and their families marched through Watsonville, waving flags and banners to protest the United Farm Workers organizing efforts. In March, the UFW announced plans to organize the 15,000 berry workers in the Pajaro and...

In a roomful of elected officials and non-profit agencies from all corners of Santa Cruz County, Second Harvest Food Bank revealed San Juan Bautista-based True Leaf Farms as its choice for 2019 Food Industry Donor of the Year. The ceremony served as the lunch event...

Watsonville city officials on Monday began clearing a sprawling unsanctioned homeless encampment along the Pajaro River that runs from Sakata Lane to Loughead Avenue. The work, which includes mowing tall grasses and removing some trees, is expected to last through Aug. 2, Watsonville City spokeswoman...

C&N Tractors on Salinas Road just finished repairing my Kubota tractor in February when the levee burst. Suddenly it was under six feet of water. After the mud and flood receded, the tractor needed serious help.  I want to express my gratitude to Nigel Mallison,...

Letter to the Editor, April 10, 2018

“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.

By GREG CAPUT The Santa Cruz County Fair was facing bankruptcy when Dave Kegebein entered his position to save our county fairgrounds. The state had pulled back funding and thus threatened the existence of the fair. Many county fairgrounds have shut down in California due to...

Memo from Pastor Rene As I write this, the outcome of the presidential election is still unclear. Or should I say, the winner is unclear. What’s very clear is how deeply polarized our nation has become. The red went blood-red, the blue ice-blue, and the...

June 14 is a significant date in our country's history. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted the United States Flag Act resolution. This resolution stipulated that the official American flag should have 13 stripes, alternating between red and white, 13 stars to...

WATSONVILLE—When Santa Cruz-based natural foods store Staff of Life opened its second location in Watsonville in March, employees from Sambrailo were pleased to see their products featured front and center. Fresh, organic vegetables and fruit in the store’s produce aisle were nestled inside Sambrailo’s sustainable...