Opinion

I want to talk about a few pieces of music that have been life-changers for me. As I’ve mentioned in a few columns in the R-P, I studied music at the university, which gave me a running start into the world of classical music, meaning Mozart, Bach, Beetho

The tragic deaths of seven farmworkers in Half Moon Bay in January revealed an ugly, persistent truth: there are parts of our state where our essential, agricultural workers still live in deplorable conditions. There are no permits, no inspections and conditions are substandard. But...

Editor's note: This column was submitted in December and should have run earlier in January. As we enter the new year, I’m reflecting on our achievements in 2024—progress made possible through collaboration with community members, colleagues, county staff, and you. Together, we’ve worked to ensure Santa...

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...

The start of the New Year greeted all of us with more water than any of us, including meteorologists, had anticipated. And again, this past week our neighbors in Pajaro were devastatingly flooded. Although Pajaro isn’t technically a part of Watsonville or Santa Cruz...

Memo from Pastor Rene In my last column I wrote about how a constant focus on grim news actually changes the way your brain works, because you’re in constant threat analysis mode. Higher reasoning is diminished. You’re more prone to emotional instability.  Yet there is a...

The Meyer Farm Worker Housing held its grand opening on April 20, and in the coming weeks will house 216 workers in the space on north First Street and Broadway.

Saturday will mark 50 years since the first person set foot on the Moon. That was the same year that the Beatles last performed live together on the rooftop of Apple Records in England. That year also marked the first Concorde jet’s test flight in France and the Boeing 747 jumbo jet made its debut. It was also the year 350,000 rock-n-roll fans poured into the Woodstock outdoor concert in New York.

For many of us, November is the month of Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season. It is a time when people gather with family and friends to express gratitude and appreciation for the good things in their lives. Families celebrate Thanksgiving as...

Every year around this time, choirs perform Handel’s Messiah (including in my own congregation). What is it about a piece of music written 260 years ago that still captures hearts today––in fact, especially today, as we endure our long, strange journey through the pandemic...