Opinion

It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of three important friends, who I believe played a huge role in shaping the fabric of Watsonville: Jim Rector, master home builder, Peggy Avalos, site manager at the Watsonville Senior Center through Community Bridges, and Lorraine Stucki, community activist and former Couch Distributing worker.

On Wednesday, Sept. 13 the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds will open its gates once again for five days of family-friendly fun.

Every Friday locals pick up their allocated farm share boxes outside a small brown barn up Climbing Tree Lane. Rows and rows of laid back, suntanning sunflowers line the fence at the CCOF certified organic, sustainable Templeton Valley Farms, and it’s quiet – other than some purple berry-stained-faced children coming back from the new U-pick berry tents, and neighbors chatting with Angela, who mans the farm stand, who will describe with her Berlin accent, how to cook any vegetable the healthy way.

Tickets are now on sale for "Hot Cuban Nights!", a fundraiser dinner dance to benefit Open Farm Tours in Corralitos.

Celebrate the “Summer of Love” at the 81st Annual Monterey County Fair, Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, in Monterey, where more than 75,000 fairgoers are expected to come together for fun activities and events at the fairgrounds nestled on 22 oak-studded acres in the city.

Members and staff of the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County came together at Watsonville Slough Farm on Aug. 5 to commemorate the work they've accomplished.

The second movie of a spinoff series in “The Conjuring” universe about a killer demonic doll, “Annabelle: Creation” is far and away better than the first entry, which debuted in 2014 and gave me one of the best 1-hour-and-40-minute, movie-theater naps I’ve ever taken. The scares are OK, the writing is better and — thank God — tighter than the first and the overall story is good enough to keep you guessing at least for the first third.