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Watsonville
December 9, 2025

Mind your head

Memo from Pastor Rene Schlaepfer
Memo from Pastor Rene “Mind your head.” When visiting our daughter in England I noticed those words posted over the many tiny doors in old buildings (were people that much shorter in those days?). Even with those warnings I constantly brained myself on the low...

Answering the lingering questions about Watsonville Community Hospital sale

As the clock ticks down until Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust votes on whether to exercise its right of first refusal to take over the Watsonville Community Hospital, the nurses who organized the town hall want to make sure they address the questions raised by the public. While there were many question cards turned in on Sunday, three main themes emerged.

Movie Review: 'Blockers' is a nice surprise — butt-chugging and all

“Blockers” is a sometimes raunchy, overly slapstick comedy in the vain of “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Superbad” and “American Pie.” And like those classic comedies, director Kay Cannon’s coming-of-age story not only has plenty of a laughs, but it also oozes heart and asks several interesting questions, including an extremely timely challenge to the double standard placed on women. It’s fun and funny — yes, they are different things — while also not being too preachy.

No greater love

Memo from Pastor Rene Schlaepfer
Memo from Pastor Rene This summer our nation is reeling at the horrific police brutality on display in the death of George Floyd and others, and grappling with the difficult task of criminal justice reform––and the broader plague of systemic racism. But while the country’s focus...

We must persist

letters to the editor
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...

Movie Review: 'Baywatch' a bad, flat watch

...the characters are paper thin, the visual effects look like a 1990s video game, the action set pieces are only passable and there are several scenes that have no purpose and bog down the pace. But its biggest flaw is that it is not funny. Not belly-lau

Guest View: Salinas Valley sets the standard on farmworker housing

Tanimura & Antle spreckels farmworker housing
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...

Dutra: Democracy is on the ballot

jimmy dutra
By JIMMY DUTRA We have seen politics hit an all-time low in our community. Behavior that has been more common at the national and state level has arrived in our local politics. It has moved from “what I can do for the people” into “how...

Strong schools, strong communities

PVUSD
A question we often hear from constituents is, “I don’t have kids at PVUSD. Why should I invest my time, energy, and tax dollars in schools?” However, a study in The Journal of Urban Affairs noted a strong correlation between community satisfaction and school...

Words matter: From stigma and apathy to empathy and action

letters to the editor
By Denise Elerick, of the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County Substance use disorder is now widely recognized in the medical community as a chronic illness which responds to treatment. Similar to other chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease, remission and recurrence...
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K9 helps nab suspect, find drugs, cash, gun

A man was arrested Dec. 4 after Monterey County Sheriff's deputies found drugs, cash and a loaded gun in a vehicle. Around 3:15pm, detectives with...

Obey or defy superior orders