Submit your coloring entry to [email protected] for a chance to be in our next issue! You can also mail them to Box 3505, Santa Cruz, 95063 Submissions due by March 15.
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Local Artist
Linda Cover Happy Spring! My name is Linda Cover, I am a teaching artist, living and working at the Tannery Arts Center. Because I love exploring new ideas and ways of creating, it is hard to define what kind of art I do. Most of my work involves photography and traditional and digital playfulness. My Images frequently capture nature and local icons from which I make prints, bags, shirts and pillows for everyday use. What is in our lives every day is part of who we are, it should offer beauty and inspiration. In addition to my personal art, I take great joy in working with young artists. I have…
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Online Quizzes
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What the Kids Are Saying
By Mikayla Shults Are you in high school and want to take Cabrillo courses? Maybe you didn’t even know that was an option. I spoke to people in high school and college to see if they knew what was being offered to them. The people included in this page were less than half of the originally interviewed people. So many high schoolers have no idea that they could be taking college courses or don’t understand how they could benefit from it. The good thing is everyone knew that they could attend Cabrillo for FREE after high school. So let’s get this straight. If you are in any high school in…
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Parenting
Summer Jobs for High Schoolers By Jeanette Prather There are the classic high school summer jobs that might include a smaller retail position, tutoring, babysitting and the food industry. However, in the questionable times we’re living in with ongoing employee shortages, less willing capable workers and more ample excuses, creative options are a must… for everyone. Most summer jobs for teens range between $10 and $25 per hour, according to Indeed.com. Indeed suggests grocery store cart attendant, movie clerk, cashier, lifeguard, housekeeper, automotive detailer, stocking associate, delivery person, lawn care specialist, dog walker and swim instructor as plausible high school summer jobs. Conventional-ish Santa Cruz Jobs Almost everyone from Santa…
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Parenting
PRINT ME!
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Teacher’s Desk
Roots and Wings By Lisa Catterall Children make your life important. — Erma Bombeck I’m staring at a dresser covered with dirty glasses. They have rings of dried and yellowed milk, encrusted smoothie droplets, and they are sitting on top of a stack of plates, some with pizza crusts hanging out. All that goes through my mind this time is a meme my best friend sent me. It said “If you don’t like their messy room, wait until their room is empty…” My best friend has always been one academic year ahead of me in the parenting game, from the time our kids met at age nine months (mine) and…
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Education
Schools Look at New Forms of Discipline By Suki Wessling Once they looked through the lens of equity, they realized that school discipline had to be reformed—now. When you say “discipline,” most people imagine punishment. When you say “suspension,” people imagine kids being sent home. When you say “behavior,” people imagine bad behavior rather than behavioral health. Santa Cruz’s County Office of Education is trying to turn all these suppositions on their heads, and it all started with the numbers. “We started asking the question, are we treating students differently based on their ethnicity?” said County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah. “We have been gathering data from a variety of…
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Local News
The Fentanyl Epidemic Hits Santa Cruz by suki wessling “My son did not want to die, I know that,” Véniel says. “Most of the people who take it don’t want to die. They’re being murdered.” The Fentanyl Epidemic Hits Santa Cruz Fentanyl overdoses mainly happen to homeless drug addicts Fentanyl overdoses happen to people who knew they were taking a dangerous substance Opioid abuse isn’t as big a problem in Santa Cruz County as methamphetamines If you answered “true” to any of those myths, it’s not surprising. Most parents in Santa Cruz have no idea of the crisis that has been happening quietly behind the front doors of homes from…
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Always Amused
Santa Cruz Natives Find Success at Boardwalk Seaside Park Promotes Two Long-Time Employees By Erik Chalhoub Jessica Alfaro: Assistant General Manager/Director of Operations. Karley Pope: Director of Marketing and Sales The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk recently shared two success stories within its organization, highlighting the opportunities available for those who grow up in Santa Cruz. Two Santa Cruz natives and longtime Boardwalk leaders, Jessica Alfaro and Karley Pope, were promoted to new positions at the end of January. Alfaro was named Assistant General Manager/Director of Operations, while Pope was promoted to Director of Marketing and Sales. Alfaro, a graduate of Santa Cruz High School and Cabrillo College, began her career…
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Youth Opinion
Should I Buy My Kid Drugs? Cabrillo Students Voice Their Opinion We asked Cabrillo journalism students to weigh in on whether parents should provide drugs for their kids in the wake of recent deaths from fentanyl overdoses caused by drugs bought on the street. Here are their answers. Send your comments to [email protected] Ally GoetzAs a young adult myself, I’ve seen plenty of instances where people have done drugs irresponsibly. Whether on school property or at a job, students and teens alike smoked weed or hit a Juul in the bathrooms of several different areas. The smell alone made me decide never to do drugs, and to this day, I…
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Ask Nicole
Healthy Screen Time Habits by Nicole M. Young, MSW My family had one TV but no video games, Beta Max player, or VCR when I was young. When we weren’t doing chores, my siblings and I spent hours reading books, playing games, dancing to records, and building forts—always with lots of teasing, bickering, and laughter. Sometimes I wished my family could be more like my friends’ with fewer TV restrictions and more cool gadgets, but my younger self didn’t know I’d have plenty of time to get hooked on screens as an adult. Now, I’m thrilled when my kids—who don’t know life without screens—initiate a conversation, a family game night,…
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March 2022 Editor’s Note
Fentanyl Epidemic Hits Home By Brad KAva We had a tragedy in the Growing Up in Santa Cruz family—the son of one of our longtime sales executives, Sophie Véniel, died of a fentanyl overdose. The incredibly dangerous and increasingly popular drug was secretly put on what looked like prescription medicine. It’s devastated us all. But in the tradition of journalism, it got us asking questions. Why is this happening? How often is it happening? What can we do about it? Writer Suki Wessling got answers and suggestions for help and you can read them in this issue. As a stepparent to two teens, it got me thinking. What should I…
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Unique Preschools
Creating New Ideas for Preschools By Jeanette Prather Thinking outside of the box in education has become a super norm as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Outdoor schooling becoming more popular, more accessibility to personalized learning and governmental funding supplementing early education, to name a few of the scholastic pivots. Some preschools are taking these opportunities to continue developing their own new and alternative curriculums. “This year, I’ve set up a classroom outside so that we can safely be together,” said Westside Parent Education Nursery School (WPENS) director and teacher Cory Cherk, who is also a 25-year veteran of the preschool co-op scene and a current parent education…
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The Year of New Rides
New Ride in Monterey Leads 2022 Offerings By Erik Chalhoub 2020, as we all know, was an awful year. 2021 was mediocre for theme parks, but still better than the previous year. But 2022? We’re in for quite a treat. Between the new rides, returning events and a (hopefully) well-vaccinated state, there is a lot to look forward to as theme park junkies. Locally, the biggest surprise announcement in our region in years dropped recently, and I couldn’t be more excited. Are you a fan of the fantastical world of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Haunted Castle, and love the thrill of chasing the high score in Justice League: Battle…
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Tips on Saving Water
2 Tips for Saving (Lots of) Water Here in California, we’re facing water shortages and severe drought. Local municipalities now have strict water restrictions and neighbors are “drought shaming“, i.e. reporting others’ misuse of water (washing cars, sprinkling lawns). Consumers are even going after commercial growers who export crops like almonds to foreign countries or bottled water companies (like Nestle) for selling our precious water reserves for profits. So what can you do? Tip #1: Set up a water catchment system to collect 1000s of gallons of rainwater I didn’t realize I could capture almost 8,000 gallons of water from just one storm until we tested out our new rain catchment…
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Oral Health During Pregnancy
Dental Care During Pregnancy Good for Pregnant Parent and Good for Baby by Dr. Sepideh Taghvaei, Chief Dental Officer and Co-Chair of Oral Health Access Santa Cruz February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Usually, promotion is focused on children’s dental health. This article will instead focus on the dental health of the pregnant parent. But why? The pregnant parent is the most common source of transmission of cavity causing bacteria to their infants. A decision to keep the mouth of the pregnant parent healthy and treat cavities (decay) is also a decision to help protect your baby’s oral health. Going to the dentist and even getting dental x-rays is…
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February Open Houses
Gateway School K-8TUE & WED | FEB 1 & 2 | 9AM – 12PM SAT| FEB 5 | 10am – 1pmTUE & WED | MAR 1 & 2 | 9AM – 12PM 255 Swift Street, Santa Cruz(831) 423-0341 | [email protected] www.gatewaysc.org and schedule a tour to experience all that Gateway has to offer! Spring Hill SchoolTHUR | FEB 10 & 24 | 6 PM250 California Street, Santa Cruzspringhillschool.org/open-house-calendarJoin Spring Hill School for an interactive, virtual open house event! You will have the opportunity to meet teachers, ask questions, and experience our approach to education. To attend, register online through our website. Mount Madonna SchoolFRI | Feb 11 | 10:30AM-12:30PM491 Summit…
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Solar vs Big energy
Is California Attacking Local Solar Customers? by Casey Beyer, CEO, Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce For more than two decades, California solar energy companies, installers and customers have benefited from an incentive program known as Net Metering. What is Net Metering? It is a billing mechanism that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid. For example, if a residential customer has a PV system on their roof, it may generate more electricity than the home uses during daylight hours. If the home is net-metered, the electricity meter will run backward to provide a credit against what electricity is consumed at night or other periods…
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Girl Scout Cookies
Sweetest Time of Year By steve Dinnen It’s cookie time again! Girl Scouts have just now launched their 2022 campaign to blanket America with Thin Mints and S’Mores. This year’s crop sees a new addition, the Adventureful, described as a brownie-inspired treat that features a caramel-flavored crème and a dash of sea salt. “I was a Girl Scout for nine years, and this is the one I’m going for,” said Eileen Ringwald. She’s director of marketing for the Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast, which supports the nearly 400 girls in Santa Cruz County who belong to local troops. Ringwald said you won’t have to look far for your fill of cookies.…
