Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor: Lookout’s article about the state of downtown retail space was good — informative, detailed, well-researched and well-written — up to a point. The elephant in the room in any article that talks about downtown Santa […]
Community Voices
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
‘Remember the butterflies?’ The monarchs are on their way — let’s plan a welcome feast
For decades, Natural Bridges State Beach has attracted monarch butterflies and crowds eager to glimpse their delicate beauty. Their numbers are now dwindling — down 99.9% since the 1980s — and the iconic orange and black insects are coming in smaller numbers to Santa Cruz. Longtime resident and writer Claudia Sternbach remembers trips with her in-laws, her Montessori class and the day the Loma Prieta earthquake solidified her love for the colorful, winged visitors. She also helps us think about what small acts we can do to help them survive.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley must help buy Watsonville hospital
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor: We need to buy Watsonville Hospital. The Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley was created through proceeds from the sale of Watsonville Community Hospital to a private entity in 1998. Over $13 million was placed […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Lookout needs to write about downtown homeless problem
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor, It is not just COVID-19 and online shopping that is leading to empty storefronts downtown. It would be benefitting to the readers if Lookout would detail how hard it is for retailers to deal with […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I’m 17 and had a pregnancy scare; here’s my take on Roe
Autumn Gafforio is entering her senior year this week at Santa Cruz High School, has a serious boyfriend, uses contraceptives and in June worried she might be pregnant. She missed her period just as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The timing and the way her life suddenly mirrored a national issue stunned her and made her realize the strong feelings she has about abortion. She feels compelled to tell her story.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Cocaine ruined my last year as a teen; UCSC and my family saved me
Madison Barneaux spent their last year as a teen addicted to cocaine. The electric rush they felt after their first line rapidly turned dark. Cocaine caused them to lose 40 pounds and their connection to themselves and their family. Coming to UC Santa Cruz saved them. So did their family. Madison details their journey here and explains why we should all be talking about addiction.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
We’re so close to saving Watsonville hospital; your help is crucial now
A group trying to save Watsonville Community Hospital has raised slightly more than $59 million in the past six months to acquire the bankrupt institution — one of only two hospitals in Santa Cruz County. The group still needs $7.8 million more and is looking for additional community help. Here, 19 local business leaders outline why the hospital is worth saving and why the business plan is solid.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I think microdosing should be legal: Let’s fight depression and anxiety with ancient medicine
LeTa Jussila believes “magic” mushrooms could be key to helping us escape depression, alleviate anxiety and migraines and overcome trauma and PTSD. Standing among the redwoods in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, she explains in this video what psilocybin is and how Santa Cruz and our nation are moving toward decriminalizing it for medicinal purposes. She thinks our country made a mistake by making plants illegal in the late 1960s and that many of us could benefit from taking small doses of mushrooms (microdosing) regularly.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Teenagers regularly get manipulated into sex work — ‘even in beautiful places like Santa Cruz’
A team of 11 young women is spreading awareness about sex trafficking by pedaling 1,700 miles down the West Coast — from Seattle to San Diego — and has a special fondness for Santa Cruz, where the team recently spent three days. Pedal the Pacific co-founder Savannah Lovelace and her teammates want communities to know that trafficking is not a “developing nation” problem. It’s happening across California and the Pacific Coast, Lovelace writes, even right here in Santa Cruz.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Finding the rainbow in the COVID cloud: How one Santa Cruz artist stitched herself happy
The pandemic left Santa Cruz County artist Marie Cameron feeling despondent and lost. She longed for relief and healing, she writes, and unexpectedly found it arcing across the sky at Pajaro Dunes beach: a rainbow. She spent two years exploring rainbows and stitching them onto vintage photos to remind herself of her own light, the goodness in others and the beauty still left in our world.