The council felt it was important because of the public vote that every legal means should be exhausted. Now that the courts have made the decision, we'll have to follow it.

We would like to have the event stay downtown if at all possible. It helps downtown merchants, and it does help people get to know Watsonville. But if it doesn't work out, we're willing to cooperate, and we're just thankful the event is able to carry on.

This is a hard time for the fire department and, in fact, the city as a whole.

That kind of leadership is what I was looking for in a chief.

When we made the initial decision on the election date we hadn't really thought about the extra cost and confusion.

This is great news. We've made it very clear we want job-creating businesses there, and from what I understand the prospective purchaser is planning industrial condominiums.

We've worked hard with every department to minimize cuts to services. But there's no way around it. These are major cuts, and they are going to be felt throughout the community.

A lot is going to be determined by the market. We?re hoping to be a catalyst.

We have a lot less money to spend on fire and police and other direct services.