Farmworker activist and organizer Yanely Martinez says the Department of Pesticide Regulation is “environmentally racist” and not following science in its latest draft of pesticide regulations. The draft, released July 25, allows farm owners to spray the carcinogenic pesticide Telone at levels state scientists have determined are dangerous, she says. The impact of the guidelines will “establish a standard of protection for Latino and Indigenous farmworker communities that is 14 times weaker than for other communities,” she writes. Here, she pens an open letter asking the DPR director to reduce Telone use in Santa Cruz County. DPR is scheduled to make a final decision on Telone regulations on Nov. 7.
Community Voices
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I didn’t get divine inspiration from the CZU fire — until I saw Mother Mary standing in the ashes
Landscaper Laura Leroy got jolted awake during a lightning storm that started the CZU fire on Aug. 16, 2020. She then spent 10 terrifying days wondering if her house was among the 900 that burned. She has read that lighting brings revelation, but she felt nothing divine about the tragedy until she returned to her intact home and started to help her 97-year-old client and friend resuscitate her parched garden and fruit trees. Amid the charred remains, she found something extraordinary.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Santa Cruz County Asian Americans support Cabrillo College name change: Let’s empower the next generation
Local Asian American activists write that they believe changing the name “Cabrillo” to one of Indigenous origins is a positive step toward a stronger, more inclusive future. “Standing in solidarity with the Indigenous community,” they write, “we state that this name change is a small but crucial step toward righting a grievous historical wrong.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Time for a Prop 13 haircut — we need to better support K-12 schools in California
California’s public schools are in trouble and the key problem is inadequate funding, writes Lookout political columnist Mike Rotkin. Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color feel the sting most acutely, he says. His answer? Reform of Proposition 13, the 1978 property-tax relief law. He says increased revenue could bolster school funding and not harm homeowners who receive Proposition 13 tax relief.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Why do other communities have better transportation options than Santa Cruz?
An equitable transportation system is a matter of political will; other communities have better transit and safer streets, writes Rick Longinotti of the Campaign for Sustainable Transportation. In a Community Voices opinion piece, he outlines how the likes of Boulder and San Francisco have succeeded and invites Santa Cruz County residents to the Transportation Justice Conference on Aug. 26 in Aptos.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Let’s please maintain respectful tone on Cabrillo name change, ex-state Sen. Monning writes
New Leaf Community Markets brand manager Lindsay Gizdich said the store is moving from Pacific Avenue in order to have…
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: I support Cabrillo name change — Sentinel has it all wrong
New Leaf Community Markets brand manager Lindsay Gizdich said the store is moving from Pacific Avenue in order to have…
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Can we in Santa Cruz please get a grip on the Cabrillo name change issue?
Everyone needs to relax about the Cabrillo issue, says former Santa Cruz mayor and longtime housing activist Don Lane. “While there are some very real concerns on both sides when it comes to the name change, it feels like many folks in the community have exaggerated these issues,” Lane says. He dismisses the “history” argument, unpacks “whataboutism” and evokes dead Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. He also begs us to listen to each others’ pain and, in true Santa Cruz spirit, act “differently.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Bonny Doon is rising up from the CZU ashes with art – come visit 23 artists’ studios this weekend
Three years after the devastating CZU fire that destroyed 400 homes, the artists of Bonny Doon are opening their studios to the public. Thirty artists, including the author, mixed-media artist Linda Levy, who has lived in Bonny Doon for 40 years. Here, Levy remembers the devastation of the fire, “those terrible August days,” discusses her frustration over the minimal rebuilds and celebrates her community, which she insists is rising from the ashes.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: There was no way contractors could confuse our seedlings with rodent holes
Make your voice heard in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion forum with a letter to the editor.