Opinion from Community Voices

Megan Kalomiris, a science writer and 2022 UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program graduate, has autism and struggles with social interaction. For her, in-person meetings, small talk and socializing feel like “exams I could never study for or pass.” COVID-19 gave her a break, a chance to feel more “normal.” “For the first time, neurotypical people were feeling a bit of what I regularly experience: a world not built for your needs,” she writes. Now, with restrictions mostly lifted, she makes a plea to keep the inclusivity she so cherished.

Pamela Davis, CEO of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance of California, is a bit of an anomaly — a woman atop an insurance company. Her leadership style involves compassion and humility and she founded the nonprofit when everyone said she would fail. She is also passionate about the environment — about “caring as deeply about other living things as you do about yourself” — and, with the NIA board, helped build a three-story, net-zero building on Santa Cruz’s Westside. Now, NIA is opening the building’s community room — a large conference room with an outdoor, landscaped terrace — to any local nonprofit that needs a space to meet. It even has turtles.

Seis educadores — cuatro de los cuales son padres — están preocupados por la seguridad y bienestar general de los niños en nuestras escuelas. El tiroteo en Uvalde, Texas, en mayo, y el apuñalamiento fatal en la escuela secundaria de Aptos hace un año han aumentado los temores en todo el país y el condado. Pero, este grupo propone que avancemos más allá del miedo a través de discusiones francas y profundas sobre cómo son la seguridad y bienestar, y cómo lograrlos. Les gustaría que la comunidad considerara tres temas: salud mental, justicia restaurativa, y la práctica contenciosa de poner policías armados en la escuela.

Six educators — four of whom are parents — are concerned about the safety and overall well-being of kids in our schools. The shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May and the fatal stabbing at Aptos High School just over one year ago have heightened fears across the country and county. But, they write, the authors want us to move beyond fear by initiating frank and in-depth discussions about what safety and well-being look like and how to achieve them. They’d like the community to consider three topics: mental health, restorative justice and the contentious practice of putting armed police officers in schools.

Ten-year-old Grace Scherer’s biggest gripe is that her parents think she is too young for a phone. She wrote Lookout’s Community Voices editor, Jody K. Biehl, a letter explaining why she should have one. What do you think? At what age should Santa Cruz County kids get phones?