Giving Birth ina COVID World By Jeanette Prather To avoid Covid-ravished American hospitals, multiple news outlets, medical professionals, and online databases have reported a surge in home births amid a questionable medical future, especially in the beginning of this pandemic. “Mostly the conversations [with expecting parents] have been limited to how to switch to home birth in order to avoid the hospital setting during Covid,” said one local furloughed doula, mother, and Childbirth Educator for Sutter Health, Kaili Reynolds. “They’re upset that doulas aren’t allowed at their births and they feel like more professionals can provide the continuous support they know they need in the home setting.” Reynolds, who mentioned…
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Empowering Our Kids
Empowering Our Kids When we’re having trouble empowering ourselves! By Suki Wessling These are tough times to be a human on earth. And parenting magnifies all of our challenges. Not only do we have to figure out how to get ourselves through pandemic, fire, and corrosive politics—we’ve got our kids to think of as well. If you’ve found yourself descending into despair for the future, you’re not alone. Santa Cruz County is a hard place to be right now if you aren’t the world’s most stubborn optimist. But parents have the responsibility to raise kids who will be ready to tackle the problems they’re faced with. And that means our…
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Organize Your Holiday Decorations
Organize Your Holiday Decorations by Jhoneé Fillmore It is that time of the year that we listen to the holiday spirit within us, put on our game faces and prepare to transform our homes both inside and outside with decorations of all kinds. Decorating can be so much fun for the family but lets also mention that it takes some work. Game Plan Make a list of any supplies that you need to purchase or maybe something you need to rearrange or prepare ahead of time. Prepare The Space For me, I like to have a clean and tidy space before upheaving the many items from storage. Any items in…
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Bree Karpavage
Bree Karpavage Local Artist Local artist, Bree Karpavage uses the timeless art form of cut and paste collage as a way to process life. She fondly calls it her “soul work” and uses collage as a way to empower, heal and express her personal growth. Using mostly magazines both vintage and new, she cuts images that resonate with her and later combines them to create simple yet powerful artwork. “When I collage, I get in a zone…it’s hard to describe, I’m able to check out for a bit and tap into a more spiritual, heart centered space. That for me is empowering.” Bree lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is…
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The New Downtown Library is a Win
The New Downtown Library is a Win For Children, Teens, and Students By Martín Gómez, Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries As a library professional, I’ve seen, (and have had a hand in helping), public libraries evolve into places that build and foster civic pride, support community engagement and serve as a safe place for children, teens, and families. On September 11, 2001, I was the director of the Brooklyn Public Library. That day brings back difficult, but also inspiring memories that affirmed my understanding about the important value public libraries play during difficult times. Those of us who ran public institutions in New York City were faced with…
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The State of the Santa Cruz Real Estate Market
The State of the Santa Cruz Real Estate Market BY seb frey 2020 has proven to be a year like none in living memory, and with a contentious presidential election right around the corner, you know it’s going to get stranger. Yet in the midst of a global pandemic, nationwide civil unrest, and the sudden loss of many millions of jobs…a strange thing has happened to the Santa Cruz real estate market. The year started off strong. The fourth quarter of 2019 saw a market that was flagging–homes were taking longer to sell, and many sellers were making painful price reductions to get their homes sold before the holidays. But…
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Save Money Keep Your Computer Humming
Save Money and Keep Your Computer Humming by Luigi Oppido School is back in but your machine’s not running right! What can you do? Let’s go over these few steps that you can take on both your Mac and your PC to make sure that things are in the right place! That way when you start your machine, it’ll be there when you need it. One of the first things you can do is make sure the machine has not been asleep. This goes for both Mac and PC. This includes closing the screen and opening the screen (1 sleep cycle) or not going to the shut down button on…
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Is Halloween Really Canceled?
Is Halloween Really Canceled? BY christy shults Online neighborhood groups are filled with Halloween protest post. Has Halloween really been canceled? It is not. Like everything else this year, Halloween will look different from usual. Large groups are still not allowed, and this will dramatically affect parties and trick-or-treating. We posed the question to our readers and received a wide range of responses, along with some great suggestions on how to keep the magic alive. I think this year is for decorations! Let people walk or drive by and enjoy whatever spooky or fun creations you can put together. I’m so sad, I love Halloween and I love trick-or-treating with…
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Build Your Classroom
Build Your Home Classroom BY Jhoneé Fillmore As we enter another school year, we may need to be prepared for full or partial distance learning. Do you need some ideas on how to physically set up your “home classroom” in order to make it a feel-good and efficient learning environment, even if this is a temporary setup? You know your child and home best so mix and match ideas that will best suit you and don’t forget that if something isn’t working… mix it up again. Set Up BaseWith some experience from the end of the school year, I suggest setting up a base location for your students. This is…
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Family Computing Bits
Family Computing Bits By Luigi Oppido Hello, Everyone! My name is Luigi Oppido, owner/operator of Pleasure Point Computers and the new host of the super-special tech column here in Growing Up in Santa Cruz! Every month we’re going to open up this section to questions that you have about your technology, your computer, your phone, and anything that has an on switch! We will discuss it! You can reach me by email at [email protected] for any of your tech questions! What kind of things are coming up in the new year that will help you with school? What are some of the pitfalls that you can fall into when being…
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Coping
Coping and Recovering After Traumatic Events BY Nicole M. Young, MSW When I started writing this month’s article, the biggest concern for many parents was starting the new school year with distance learning because of rising COVID-19 cases. Families and educators alike were worried about teaching and learning and working from home – or, for many families, wondering how to keep their kids safe during the virtual school day while they had to work outside of the home. It was a daunting challenge only a couple weeks ago, but now it’s been compounded by the devastating effects of the wildfires. My heart goes out to all those who lost their…
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Baby Photo Contest
Your baby could be on the cover of our October issue! Sponsored by Beth Lillienthal Postpartum Doula SantaCruzBabyDoula.com see contest rules below You know you have the cutest baby in the world and now you can let the world see. Enter by Sept. 14. We’ll have voting at here Sept. 15-18. One vote per person. Must be under 1 year old and born in Santa Cruz County. ENTER CONTEST
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September Coloring Page
September Coloring Page Skavenge Art BY Selena Zontos You can order Skavenge Art’s 43 page book of images to be colored and writings to be pondered. A collection of Selena’s works from the last years put together in the most intentionalal way. This is a book to now be completed by you! Hardwood cover bound together by hand. Heavy weight drawing paper.Order on her etsy shop etsy.com/shop/HealinginNature
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Selena Zontos
Selena Zontos Local Artist Santa Cruz Mountains. My work is has been an ever-evolving journey of learning and creating. I continue to be inspired by the mystic nature of the local landscapes and wildlife. The paintings tend to be about our connection to each other and the natural world. I received a Bachelor of Fine Art from San Jose State. My experience there was fundamental in me trusting myself as an artist. From there it took some time before I really found my path in what I call “Living a Life Uncommon.” Making a path where there isn’t one, and trusting the unfolding of it. I now have a gallery…
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COVID Update
COVID Program Updates By Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 2 As we continue to face health and economic challenges related to COVID-19 many in our community are looking into programs and services to provide assistance. While our community overall is faring better than many portions of the state and country, we’ve seen a significant increase in cases in the last month and also continued high levels of unemployment (or for those that are employed – reductions in hours and pay). Here are updates on some programs and information that might be of interest during this time. Rental Assistance Program Created The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to provide…
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Creative Distance Learning
Creative Distance Learning By Jeanette Prather As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage through communities and shuttering human gathering locations like schools, many families are finding themselves at a loss for how to juggle it all. Some parents have gotten creative with intended pod learning, pulling former teachers out of retirement, or even schooling in nature. “After struggling with all of the back-and-forth of what ‘school’ would look like this coming school year, I had decided that no matter what I wanted my son Mason to have, first, a break from me being as his teacher, and second, some kind of social interaction,” said local working mother of two, Devon…
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Left Behind
Think this Generation will be Left Behind? Think Again. By Suki Wessling I keep hearing the same thing over and over: Our kids are going to have “gaps.” They’re going to be “left behind.” Permanently scarred. Unable to have a “normal” college education. And it makes me wonder: are we really so entitled that we think a little pandemic can keep our kids down? Here’s a thought exercise:Remember the holocaust generation.Think about what it was like for Jewish kids in Europe. A few common experiences included being hounded by the police, hiding for months or years in basements and attics, being forced into concentration camps, fleeing in the trunks of…
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COVID Campers
“COVID Campers” and Bikes in High Demand By Jeanette Prather Maybe you’ve seen it for yourself on the road or read it in a newspaper, but if not, you’re about to be clued in. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a noticeable surge in RVs (the blanket term meaning ‘recreational vehicle’ and classifying all motorhomes, towable campers, fifth wheel campers, and truck campers) as well as bicycle sales around Santa Cruz and across the nation. “Without a doubt we’ve been feeling the recent surge in RV sales,” said Santa Cruz’s North Bay Ford RV manager Joe Punzi on his way to an RV showing. “It’s always been a challenge…
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Farm Workers
Who’s Picking Your Food by frances delgado-chavez Farmworkers face multiple issues: income inequality, hazardous work conditions, and racism. We must advocate for farmworkers to have a living wage, have protective equipment gear, and citizenship paths. All of these social justice issues have come to the forefront due to the global pandemic and wildfires. The first issue is income inequality. It is a known fact that farmworkers do not get paid what they deserve for their arduous labor. The average salary of a farmworker is $12.60 an hour, estimated $26,200 a year.(1) Farmworkers need three to four incomes to afford rent, meaning there are multi-family households. Rent and home prices keep…
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Trail Now
Forget the Rail, Trail is the Way to Go Now By Brian Peoples It has been a decade since the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission bought the Santa Cruz Branch Line. But reserving the rail corridor for a train is preventing the construction of a world-class Santa Cruz Coastal Trail. 10 reasons why the Santa Cruz Coastal Trail should be built NOW: Never-Ending Costly Studies. three train studies conducted over the last five years and costing $2.5 million have proven that a train would not reduce traffic, would cost over $1 billion and would increase adjacent surface-street traffic and congestion. Legal Restrictions. Federal guidelines require that any trail built…
