Santa Cruz therapist Lisa Herendeen is stunned by the harsh rhetoric and blame game circling the Los Angeles fires. What we need is empathy, she writes, and leaders who understand the merits of nonviolent communication. She just finished a training on this and she applies nonviolent communication skills to the political moment – and to the angry language she hears coming from Donald Trump, Elon Musk and others. Where are our leaders, she wonders. She longs for public rhetoric that raises us all up. She is even nostalgic for the Terminator.
Wildfires
Posted inLatest News
Want to support fire victims in Southern California? Here are some ways to give.
As devastating wildfires continue to rage in the Los Angeles area, Santa Cruz County residents are searching for opportunities to help. Lookout compiled a variety of ways locals can support the thousands of displaced Southern Californians, along with animals, firefighters and other emergency personnel.
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Los Angeles, I love you, and I mourn for you
In the wake of the ruinous fires in Southern California, it’s appropriate to acknowledge the unique charm of Los Angeles, a world-class city too often dissed and overlooked.
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Misinformation spreads like wildfire on the internet while L.A. neighborhoods burn
Misleading claims and falsehoods about water and firefighting resources – including from President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire backer Elon Musk – distracted from the unprecedented conditions that left Los Angeles primed for the most destructive fire in its history.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
L.A. fires underscore how much California has to lose if Trump withholds disaster aid
The federal government typically covers 75% of rebuilding costs after a major disaster. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to withhold firefighting money from California.
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Santa Cruz County firefighters help battle raging Palisades blaze
Cal Fire firefighters from the San Mateo-Santa Cruz and Santa Clara units have traveled to Los Angeles County to fight the Palisades fire, which started Tuesday morning and had burned nearly 16,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon. Cal Fire CZU Unit Chief Jed Wilson said local fire risk is currently low, and that the personnel remaining at area stations should be adequate with the current risk level.
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Too wet and too dry: The enormous north-south gap in California’s rain
Some Northern California cities have been soaked with almost twice their average rainfall, while southern cities are bone-dry. This season’s huge — possibly unprecedented — disparity works in favor of the state’s water supplies.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
In departing from 4Leaf, county thinks it’s ready to handle next phase of CZU recovery
More than four years after the CZU wildfire, Santa Cruz County plans to phase out its partnership with 4Leaf, the firm praised for streamlining rebuild permits for fire victims. While officials promise continuity, residents fear a return to bureaucratic delays.
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Prescribed burn in Soquel Demonstration State Forest rescheduled for Tuesday
Cal Fire is planning a 5-acre prescribed burn in the Soquel Demonstration State Forest on Tuesday. It is scheduled to occur between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and will take place near the upper helipad within the forest. The agency said smoke could “linger in the area for several days afterward.”
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Central, Scotts Valley fire district bond measures fail; fire district races conclude with narrow wins
Both Central Fire’s Measure R and Scotts Valley Fire District’s Measure S failed to reach the two-thirds of the vote required to pass. Zayante’s Measure T, a parcel tax, passed with 72%.