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Watsonville
January 21, 2026

Luis Alejo, March 20: The voting rights gladiator who changed California politics forever

California’s Latino community has lost its greatest voting rights gladiator. Last Friday, the legendary civil rights lawyer Joaquin G. Avila lost his battle to cancer after previously suffering from a stroke. No one was more accomplished than him when it came to fighting for Latino political empowerment and representation.

From the editor's desk, Feb. 13: Bearing the brunt of jury duty

In July, I received a dreaded piece of mail: a summons for jury duty.

Letters to the Editor, April 9

letter to the editor pajaronian
Censure is a distraction from real issues While in no way defending the recent behavior of Georgia Acosta, I have to call out those Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees members now involved in the censure pile-on. Following the Brown Act is the responsibility...

Gas pipeline rupture stalls city

Riverside Drive was closed to traffic and two homes were evacuated Wednesday afternoon between Union  Street and Marchant Street after construction crews ruptured a natural gas line. Watsonville Fire officials said the pipeline break was reported at 2:29pm in a section of the road that...

Letters to the Editor, Feb. 19

letter to the editor pajaronian
Helping to feed the community It felt so good to read the article about the San Jose nonprofit organization called Martha’s Kitchen that is now offering free food distribution to the Pajaro Valley, as reported on, in the Pajaro Valley magazine. They will be handing...

Guest View: Transportation gap widens

letter to the editor pajaronian
It is widely accepted that our dependency on automobiles is a potent contributor to the climate crisis. What is not so well understood is how auto dependency initiated a new phenomenon: transportation poverty.  Prior to the automobile revolution, walking was how both rich and poor...

Irrigation enhancement project helps farmers regulate water usage

A new irrigation enhancement project has seen positive results for farmers in the San Joaquin Valley.

Opening 2020 together | On My Mind

On New Year’s Eve my neighbor Jan invited me to join her and a bunch of our neighbors for a bonfire in her front yard to help close out 2019 and usher in a warm beginning to 2020. By 7 p.m. she had an...

Movie Review: McDormand, Rockwell carry bleak 'Three Billboards'

For one reason or another, every single character is ugly and unlikeable, but nearly all manage to bring some heart into a film that is so bleak and gray you’ll want to watch “The Road” as a palate cleanser. This is a compliment to writer-director Martin McDonagh, but an even bigger thumbs-up to Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.
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Body discovered during search for 73-year-old hiker

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office announced the discovery of a body in a densely-wooded area off of Ice Cream Grade on the north...