Sunday Reads: Elkhorn Slough’s secret life; making sure your vote will count; watching the Olympics in terror

Through night drama, Elkhorn Slough reveals its salty secret life

A fresh look at North America’s coastal wetlands highlights the importance of the ecosystem in our own backyard: Elkhorn Slough. New camera-trap research and ongoing restoration offer rare insight and real optimism for the future of this landscape. Read more from Cassidy Beach.

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OPINION: Santa Cruz County votes early and often — our tradition could be in jeopardy this November

Michael Polhamus argues that Santa Cruz County’s strong tradition of high voter turnout — largely driven by vote-by-mail and same-day registration — is at risk due to proposed federal Republican legislation that would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to register and vote. He contends these measures, framed as election security, would disproportionately disenfranchise groups common in Santa Cruz County, including young voters, students, low-income residents and people without easy access to legal documents. He urges residents to prepare now by registering early and securing documents such as birth certificates, passports and state-issued photo ID to ensure their votes can still be counted in November. Read his Community Voices op-ed here.

OPINION: I love watching the Olympics — but the older I get the more terrifying it is

“There was a little compartment in my brain that thought if I pushed just a little harder, I could be one of them,” Tiffany Gee Lewis writes of watching Olympians compete. But as she nears 50, “where I used to see indomitable spirit, now I just see an emergency room.” Read her Community Voices op-ed here.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

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