Making new friends after 50 is tough, writes Lida Berliner, especially in a beautiful place like Santa Cruz County, socially rich. But loneliness is real, particularly, she says, for women who, like her, have divorced, raised kids, cared for an aging parent and started over more than once. Berliner has a life partner, but is missing strong connections with female friends. That is why she is launching a local chapter of the national group Finding Female Friends Over 50. If you’re craving a lunch buddy, a biking partner or simply someone to share life’s foibles with, she hopes you’ll join.
Opinion from Community Voices
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I grew up in an education desert but made it to UCSC – rural California needs funding so students can thrive
Ava Thornock grew up in Amador County, an education desert three hours from Santa Cruz that has no local college and limited internet access. She saw firsthand how rural students are cut off from opportunity. She is now a second-year student studying biochemistry at UC Santa Cruz, where academic access reshaped her future and career goals. Here, Thornock details how distance, poverty, staffing shortages and transportation barriers keep many rural students from higher education. With looming state and federal cuts, she argues that California must invest more in rural schools and community colleges so more students can succeed.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: A persisting bike dream
In a letter to the editor, a Soquel resident writes about his hopes for a bike trail from Watsonville to Santa Cruz’s Westside.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Let’s keep the tracks
In a letter to the editor, a Santa Cruz resident urges Mayor Fred Keeley to support a rail trail option that doesn’t involve removing the existing train tracks.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Cabrillo College board must address racist incident involving trustee
In a letter to the editor, an Aptos resident gives her view of a recent incident at a meeting of Cabrillo College’s governing board.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
The facts on Housing Matters day services don’t match the narrative
Housing Matters board chair Ray Bramson’s recent Lookout op-ed twists the narrative on homeless day services at the Santa Cruz nonprofit, writes advocate David Davis. Davis has worked at the Homeless Persons Health Project for 10 years and at the Coral Street campus for 15 years, and believes Housing Matters’ claims about reach and housing placements significantly overstate the facts. Bramson wrote his piece in response to Davis’ critical Lookout letters to the editor. Davis writes that Housing Matters’ decision to stop offering day services, including showers and mail access, at its Coral Street campus in March is short-sighted and more about optics on Coral Street than residents’ well-being.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Offshore oil threatens Santa Cruz County’s coastal economy — we must act now
Local business and fishing leaders Kristen Brown, Terrence Concannon and Melissa Mahoney warn that proposed offshore oil and gas leasing would endanger local tourism, fisheries and the region’s coastal identity. They urge the public to submit “negative nominations” to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management by Feb. 26 to protect federal waters off Central California from drilling.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Housing Matters has helped thousands; let’s argue about homelessness and day services honestly
OPINION: A recent letter to the editor echoes real frustration about homelessness in our community, but relies on factual inaccuracies about Housing Matters, writes Ray Bramson, president of the nonprofit’s board of directors.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Berry growers should pay to restore special ed in Pajaro Valley schools; it’s the right answer
Retired special needs teacher Woody Rehanek believes Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s unusually high rates of special needs students are linked to decades of pesticide exposure near schools and homes. He’s shocked by the district’s December decision to cut 160 positions, including 40 serving special needs students. He cites research showing organophosphates and related chemicals can impair brain development, contributing to learning disabilities. He calls on berry growers to go organic near schools and make large donations to make up the budget gaps. The PVUSD cuts, he warns, could trigger lawsuits and cause lifelong harm to kids and our community.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I saw a body on my morning walk and did nothing: What kind of place is Santa Cruz County becoming?
Writer Gabriel Kittle-Cervine saw a person passed out on a Santa Cruz County sidewalk and gave them a wide berth. The encounter made him realize how desensitized we’ve all become to suffering. From houselessness at home to violence nationwide, oppression has become normalized, even among those who care deeply. Amid ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, local protests and growing calls for accountability, he challenges Santa Cruz County residents to confront the human cost of complacency and asks whether the county’s values truly align with the community it claims to be.