Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. Santa Crua County is in the process of designing, funding and building a “main trail” spanning the county south to north as part of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail. From time to time, the route of this […]
Community Voices
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Finger-pointing at Coral Street – here’s why a homeless encampment lasted for so long in Santa Cruz
An encampment of about 40 to 60 people popped up on Coral Street in the spring and lasted for months before Santa Cruz police cleared it. Why did it take so long? Housing activist and former Santa Cruz mayor Don Lane unpacks the complex reasons.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Santa Cruz development is less SoLA than so L.A.
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. Seems Lookout’s name for the redevelopment area in downtown Santa Cruz south of Laurel Street, “SoLa,” is accurately pronounced “so L.A.” The presumptuousness in naming part of our community – as a fait accompli without soliciting community input – is consonant with […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
The College Lake Water Supply Project is essential for the water security of all who call the Pajaro Valley home
A $68 million Pajaro Valley Water project will help protect our groundwater supply from the threat of seawater intrusion, preserve bird habitat and protect the endangered South-Central California Coast steelhead. It’s been causing some neighborhood disruption, writes PV Water board chair Amy Newell, but she insists it will be worth it.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: MLK march should bring the torn community together to celebrate peace
In a letter to the editor, Elaine Johnson, president of NAACP Santa Cruz County, invites county residents divided by recent events to come together to march in peace to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Santa Cruz leaders should vote for a cease-fire
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. I write as a Santa Cruz County mother raising conscientious children in a nation whose leaders are morally bankrupt. I am asking the Santa Cruz City Council, the Watsonville City Council and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz doesn’t need taller buildings; it needs a vision for sustainable affordable housing
Longtime Santa Cruz resident Laura Lee believes the Santa Cruz downtown expansion plan “moves us in the wrong direction.” She thinks the boom will impair views, cause traffic congestion, overwhelm public services and detract from the small-town way of life she cherishes. The expansion plan, she writes, has caused “a substantial portion of city residents” to lose confidence in city leaders: “We see them placing corporate profits above resident priorities.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter remains committed to community’s shared values, even in challenging times
The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is indeed experiencing a 50% rise in animals since two years ago and is overburdened, say shelter board members Jon Bush and Emily Chung. But that is mainly because the shelter won’t give up its open-door policy and refuses to turn needy pets and families away. It’s one of the few shelters in the region to hold these values and to practice socially conscious sheltering, they write: “Even in these difficult times, we will not waver from these values.” Shelter workers and volunteers wrote a Nov. 9 Lookout op-ed complaining about the conditions for animals and a shortage of staff. The board members say they have made four hires since 2020 and have hired a full-time veterinarian to start Nov. 28.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
We can end unsheltered houselessness quickly and cheaply — here’s our five-step plan
With one-time funds that are unlikely to be replenished running out for the City of Santa Cruz’s homeless services, Reggie Meisler and Jasmeen Miah advocate for a five-step solution that will stop the up-and-down funding cycle and avoid a return to criminalization as a primary policy tool. The first step, they write in a Community Voices opinion piece: Purchase 900 to 1,000 recreational vehicles and give them to unsheltered people to live in.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
We have to do more to tighten pesticide regulation in Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County holds an unwanted and embarrassing title, says organic agriculture activist Woody Rehanek: “No other county in California has such a high proportion of fumigant gases to overall pesticides applied.” In short, we continue to use far too many pesticides, he writes. And the state Department of Pesticide Regulation’s draft plan for the use of pesticides for 2024-28 falls short of what we need to protect farmworkers and ourselves.