The Pajaronian welcomes letters. Letters and columns may be dropped off or mailed to the Pajaronian, 21 Brennan St., Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076.
Letters and columns may also be sent via email to [email protected].
All letters and columns must be signed and have an address and phone number for confirmation purposes. We reserve the right to edit and condense all submissions.
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‘Draining the swamp’ — what happened?
To the Editor,
When I think of “draining the swamp,” I include putting a stop to any unscrupulous billionaire repeatedly exploiting the system by declaring multiple bankruptcies in order to maintain billionaire status. You would think that our present “leadership” so experienced in such deceptive bankruptcies, would make efforts to eliminate these loopholes. Instead, this “leadership” continually goes on tangents trying to make life miserable for others not born like them with a silver spoon in their mouth.
Bob Fifield
Aptos
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Birding Festival puts Watsonville on the map
To the Editor,
On behalf of the Monterey Bay Birding Festival Board of Directors, I’d like to express my appreciation to the Pajaronian for once again sponsoring the Monterey Bay Birding Festival.
During the weekend of Sept. 28-30, some 300 people attended festival events. Registrants included people from the East Coast, South West, Pacific North West and Midwest as well as throughout California and of course, our own region and the greater San Francisco Bay area.
Offerings included 43 field trips, 15 workshops and presentations, and a first-time Free Family Day on Saturday, featuring educational workshops with live birds and activities presented by various local nonprofit organizations.
The festival brings a very special group of people to Watsonville and increases awareness of the area’s riches to folks from Santa Cruz and its surroundings as well. The festival places Watsonville on the map for those who will make return trips and those who will come to experience our wetlands and beaches in the future.
Thank you again for all you do to support the birding festival and our community.
Sonia Deetz
President, Monterey Bay Birding Festival Association
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Thank you for supporting the Health Trust
To the Editor,
On Nov. 2, we continued a decades-long tradition of celebrating the harvest with two dozen of Santa Cruz County’s talented vintners and brewers, brilliant local chefs and culinary entrepreneurs, a brilliant local band, and a few hundred local residents. Collectively, we uplifted the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust’s vision of a community in which every person has access to the resources and opportunities they need to live a healthy life.
Ken Schwan graced the stage to kick off the live auction, acknowledging the power of community as a therapeutic influence in his ongoing recovery from a devastating motorcycle accident. “I heard this phrase on KPIG yesterday morning, and it’s stuck with me: ‘Keep your gratitude ahead of your expectations.’”
Ken’s encouragement to gratitude motivated a tremendous response; event guests contributed $16,700 in Fund A Need donations alone! Altogether, we raised more than $70,000 that we will return to the Pajaro Valley community in small grants to local nonprofits that provide oral and mental healthcare and connect residents to other well-being resources. We’ll invest in families and children-focused and youth empowerment programming, because we want to grow a healthy next generation of Pajaro Valley residents. Through our Diabetes Health Center, we will continue to support community members to prevent the onset of diabetes and learn and use strategies to realize good quality of life despite living with the disease. And we will use our own King Community Room and other spaces to facilitate collaborative efforts that drive toward a community where every resident flourishes.
We are wholeheartedly grateful to the participating flower growers and floral artists, fermentation masters, culinary greats, generous sponsors, hardworking volunteers and exuberant guests. Together, in community, you demonstrated how unity + creativity + regionally crafted food and drink + love yields a powerful blend of assets to invest in good health and quality of life for all local residents. Thank you for supporting the Health Trust’s first two decades of work, in which 15,000 local individuals benefitted from services through our Diabetes Health Center and 174,000 community members participated in programs or accessed healthcare provided by one of our grantee-partner organizations. Together, we are a mighty force for fostering a healthy community.
Caitlin M. Brune, MPH
CEO, Pajaro Valley
Community Health Trust
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Thanks to the Watsonville voters of District 3
To the Editor,
I would like to thank the Watsonville voters of District 3 for returning me to the City Council for the fifth time. Not many people get to do this or enjoy the experience as much as I do, and I want to thank the voters directly and say what an honor it is to serve as your mayor three times in more than 20 years.
It is not always easy to perform public service, there’s plenty of controversy, and I can’t always make everyone happy, but know I do appreciate the constructive input of the public and the support I receive from my constituents.
I say thank you to all, and know of my sincere gratitude.
Lowell Hurst
Mayor of Watsonville
City Council Member District 3
