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Watsonville
January 22, 2026

Levee reconstruction project needs your support

Pajaro River levee
Both my great-grandfathers immigrated to Watsonville in the 1850s. Not long after they first arrived, they were introduced to one of our region’s greatest threats to lives and livelihoods: flooding from the Pajaro River and its tributaries. Soon after arriving, my great-grandfather Stephano Martinelli,...

Embrace yourself

Rev. John Song
“Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.” - Ephesians 1:4 This is a Yiddish story of “Mr. Goldberg the Tailor.” There once lived Mr. Goldberg,...

How Farmworkers Outlawed ‘El Cortito’ 50 Years Ago

Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo
For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as “El Cortito,” was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept farmworkers stooped over for long hours each day. Workers were only able to stand and stretch when they reached the...

Group calls on Driscoll’s, Reiter, others to cease pesticide use near schools

Several community leaders and community members gathered at MacQuiddy Elementary School Tuesday evening to call on Driscoll’s, Reiter and other companies to stop using toxic pesticides around schools. “Choosing to farm organically is a decision based on hope and a deep understanding of our interdependence...

Letters to the Editor, Feb. 8, 2019

Letters to the Editor, Feb. 8, 2019

The Best of the Pajaro Valley, decided by you

Mid-January is one of my favorite times of the year. The NFL playoffs are just getting started, and my San Francisco 49ers don’t stink this year, which is a plus. The weather is starting to heat up to the perfect temperature in which I...

Letters to the Editor, May 11, 2023

letter to the editor pajaronian
Mother’s Day tribute Among the residents of the Central Coast exists a mother whom I remain in awe of and hold deep reverence and respect for. Her capacity to “mother” far exceeds what any normal person is capable of.  Since 1989, she has tirelessly both mothered...

Guest View: Sacramento leadership needs to prioritize language access in elections

pedro hernandez
In the 2020 election, my Watsonville family was energized and held its very first voting party. Local candidates competing for the same office visited, my cousins and I offered to translate and research for our elders, and many drove together to City Hall to...

It’s an old story

Rev. Robin Mathews-Johnson
It’s an old story. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad. A young soldier fighting in Italy during World War II managed to jump into a foxhole just ahead of a spray of bullets. He immediately attempted to deepen the hole for more...

Guest View: Flooding lessons have not been learned

letters to the editor
How quickly we forget. Recent activity centers around the levee system on the Pajaro River. Yet, the first flooding in 2023 was in Watsonville, when the Salsipuedes and Corralitos Creeks overflowed. There are lessons from that flooding that need to be applied to those...
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St. Francis boys’ hoops rebounds with league win over NMC |...

St. Francis senior Jacob Jimenez put up a game-best 22 points as the Sharks cruised to a 79-37 victory over North Monterey County in...