In The News
DeHart honored for lifetime of service
86-year-old's energy amazes admirers
Saturday August 22, 2009
"Everyone knows Rhea is the hardest-working elected or appointed official in the Pajaro Valley," Alejo said. "Her dedication to the students and young people of the Pajaro Valley exemplifies public service."
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Alejo kicks off State Assembly campaign
Council member raising money for run
Saturday August 15, 2009
"He's our Obama. He's on his way to higher drama," sang Bernie Feldman at Luis Alejo's campaign kickoff event held at Jalisco Restaurant in Watsonville Thursday evening.
Alejo, born and raised in Watsonville , is running for state Assembly for the 28th District, an oddly shaped district stretching from south San Jose all the way down to King City.
And Feldman wasn't the only one singing the young City Council member's praises. More than 50 people - not only from Watsonville, but from all over the tri-county region - were at the event to hear what Alejo had to say.
"Luis is one of the most intelligent , hardworking young men I've met in years," said Todd McFarren, a former Watsonville mayor. "He's got fire in his belly."
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National Night Out unites communities against crime
Thursday August 06, 2009
The chain-link fence surrounding Muzzio Park in the Mona Lisa neighborhood was festooned with streamers and balloons Tuesday night as dozens of neighbors gathered for the National Night Out.
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Watsonville Mayor Pro Tem Luis Alejo, who attended the event, said he helped organize the city’s first event in 1998, before Muzzio Park had been built.
“It’s good to see the changes in the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s a dramatic improvement.”
Alejo was referring to the dramatic upgrade in 2007 of Riverside Mobile Home Park, an area once known for ramshackle dwellings and high crime. It now boasts a row of gleaming, well-maintained mobile homes.
“It shows how collaboration between police, community members and neighbors can help,” he said.
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Boxer pledges support for new Pajaro River levee
Senator holds short press conference in Watsonville
Tuesday August 04, 2009
Sen. Barbara Boxer was in Watsonville on Saturday to pledge her support for a new Pajaro Valley River levee while announcing the inclusion of $425,000 in the Senate Energy and Water appropriations bill passed last week on an 85-9 vote.
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Supervisors Tony Campos and Ellen Pirie talked about the valley's importance to the nation's agriculture, state Assemblymember Anna Cabellero talked about the $5 million in funding the levee project received from the state on Tuesday , and Watsonville city councilmembers were on hand to support the points made.
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"Our community is economically disadvantaged and we don't have the resources to do what needs to be done," Councilmember Luis Alejo said.
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King City to get court self-help services
Thursday June 25, 2009
The Monterey County Superior Court will be expanding its Self-Help Center services to the King City courthouse on the second Friday starting on July 10. Currently, the Self-Help Center services are only located at the Monterey courthouse.
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"It takes someone over one hour to drive to the Monterey Courthouse from King City or Greenfield, and an hour to return," said Luis Alejo, staff attorney of the Self-Help Center. "This expansion will make it much easier for south county residents to obtain access to the courts."
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Monterey County attorney reappointed to California civil rights panel
Friday June 19, 2009
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has appointed 18 people to its California Advisory Committee, including Monterey County attorney Luis Alejo.
Luis Alejo is a staff attorney with the Monterey County Superior Court at the Monterey Courthouse. He has served on the California Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights since 2004. He was nominated by former Commission Vice-Chairman and Former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso.
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Two from Central Valley named to California Civil Rights Panel
Central Valley Business News
Wednesday June 17, 2009
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Lawsuit seeks closer monitoring of targeted education dollars
Saturday June 13, 2009
WATSONVILLE - A coalition of California education advocates has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a state official's decision to suspend school-site monitoring of programs aimed at disadvantaged youth.
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The lawsuit, filed Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges by halting school visits, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell is failing to ensure millions of federal dollars are properly spent to give homeless, migrant, English learners and other disadvantaged youth a better chance at academic success.
"It is during times like these when we especially need to make sure the state is meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged students," said Watsonville Mayor Pro Tempore Luis Alejo, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "The state of California ... has turned its back on that obligation."
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LUIS ALEJO HONORED FOR LEGAL WORK
Saturday June 13, 2009
Luis Alejo, Watsonville's mayor pro tem, was honored Wednesday with a 2009 Award of Merit from the Legal Aid Association of California and the California Commission on Access to Justice. He received his award at the California Endowment center in Los Angeles.
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Lawsuit filed over funding for underserved students
Money for disadvantaged students could be redistributed, activist says
Friday June 12, 2009
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's decision to temporarily stop site monitoring of school programs that provide for underserved students means that it could be easier for cash-strapped districts to use state and federal money for other purposes, said Shelly Spiegel-Coleman , executive director of Californians Together, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is led by Watsonville Mayor Pro Tempore Luis Alejo, who is an attorney.