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November Contest Winners
Adalyn | Age 7 Amelia | Age 3 Edith | Age 7 Harlow | Age 4 Harper Ivy | Age 5 Levi | Age 7 Marion Presley | Age 6 Ramona | Age 6 Riley | Age 9 Wren | Age 8 Find More Coloring Pages
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Patty Draws Dec 2021
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Gingerbread Person
Gingerbread Person Submit your coloring page for a chance to be in our paper! [email protected] More Coloring Pages
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WTKS Travis Scott
By Mikayla Shults Friday, November 5, 2021 Travis Scott was preparing for his Astroworld concert in Houston. He had encouraged reckless behavior from his fans before, and did the same that night. According to CNN, about 50,000 people attended the concert. People brought their friends and spouses and children. When the crowd broke past the barriers and ran toward the stage, everyone in front of them was pushed, trampled, or crushed. Eight people died; two of which were minors. There were countless injuries and video evidence of people in the crowd trying to get attention from anyone who could help. This went on for 30-40 minutes before the concert was…
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YFTB
Teens: Your Future Is Their Business By Suki Wessling We live in a world that tells teens they need to prepare now for college or a career—but according to Morgan Matthias, who’s now a product manager at Roku, many of them have no clue. “Most students start with ‘I don’t know what I want to do but I kinda like this’,” Morgan says. She would know. As a Cabrillo student with a firm plan for her own future, she became the first intern with local nonprofit Your Future Is Our Business. She and then-director Mary Gaukel Forster took a 20-year-old organization and pulled it into 21st-century expectations. Just in time…
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apple container
By Lisa Catterall The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. If we cannot sustain the environment we cannot sustain ourselves. -Wangari Maathai The time of year has come again when I feel pulled apart by my love of holiday patterns, papers, sparkles and wrappers, and my grief over the impact western lifestyles are having on the natural environment. I want to run out and buy more twinkling reindeer for my front lawn, beautiful wrap and bows that allow me to artistically show my love for people in my life, and of course, a cascade of toys to pour over my darling children. It’s…
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Tony Hernandez
Tony Hernandez Local Artist Tony is a teen who enjoys the simple things in life. In his short life, he’s experienced quite a bit; however, you wouldn’t be able to tell, given his lighthearted spirit and humor. Tony’s overcome many obstacles, one of those has been learning how to navigate life as an individual diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. Although this diagnosis can be quite scary for many, we’ve learned to help Tony find ways to navigate its complexities. One of those ways has been exploring new hobbies. Over the past couple of years, he’s acquired a passion for the arts. Thanks to his aid, Lou, Tony is now excited…
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Home for the Holidays
Home for the Holidays Why December is the Best Time to Buy a Home By Seb Frey That pain in my neck must be whiplash, because here we are, staring once again at the end of the year, with a new year beckoning right around the corner. It has been one bonkers year for the real estate market, characterized more than anything else by exceedingly strong home price appreciation. I’m not sure if we’re in record territory for a single year’s home price increases, but if not, we must be very close. The market was strong going into December 2020, unusually so for so late in the year, but the…
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Give a Gift Give a Class
The Best Gift This Holiday Season is a Class by brad kava Maybe all those ships stacked up from San Diego to Los Angeles is a good thing. Perhaps it’s time to wake up and realize there’s something more valuable than all that plastic junk manufactured in China. The ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus counseled. “Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” We seem to have forgotten that the joy of celebrating the holidays is the joy of being together—for a good time—but there’s something else we suggest this season. What about giving your loved ones time to learn something new. There are so many great classes in…
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Celebrate the Holidays
Holiday By Religion Christian4 SundaysAdvent During the season of Advent, Christians across the world prepare for the celebration of the arrival of the Lord into the world through the birth of his Son Jesus Christ. Advent is a time to celebrate light in the midst of darkness. It is also a time to look forward to when Jesus will come a second time.December 6Saint Nicholas Day recognizes the third-century saint who became an inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus. St. Nicholas is known for selling all his possessions and giving his money to the poor.December 25Christmas Day a day for spending time with family, observing observing the birth of Jesus,…
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Tech Gifts
TechGifts: Whats Great for 2021? by Luigi Oppidoi One of the hardest things about the holiday season is buying for someone who is tech-minded. There are so many items and things that exist in the tech world right now, it’s hard to keep up! They say we are innovating at 3x the speed. Meaning if you love a technology, and want to stay on top with the latest and greatest, you’ll only catch every 3rd iteration of your product! Let us dive into what 2021 has to offer! Not your Grandma’s TypewriterIf you know someone who spends time building or tweaking PC’s, ask them about mechanical keyboards. An entire art form has been…
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Cruzin in a Santa Cruz
Cruzin’ in a Santa Cruz By Brad Kava You may have seen some of the commercials for it, which feature locals, including skateboard artist Jimbo Phillips, surfer Matt Rockhold, and the Lady Lurkers skate crew If you are going to name a car for our beloved surf city, it sure as heck better be cool. Hyundai’s new adventure vehicle, the Santa Cruz, really is. I got to spend a week with one, the high-end model that lists for $38,000, and I fell in love. (The base model is a more affordable $24,000.) They call it an SAV, Sports Adventure Vehicle, rather than a Sport Utility Vehicle. It’s got a pickup…
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Accessibility in gaming
It’s the Small Things That Matter by zach livinston Let’s talk about Minecraft. Whether you play it, your kids play it, you know some people who play it, you’ve somehow never even heard of it; I think we can all agree that it’s nice when a community in some way or another contributes to a good cause. Making Minecraft as suitable as possible to as many people as possible is what user StitchyYYT decided was needed. He made a texture pack dedicated to making Minecraft suitable for those with Protan Color Blindness, Deutan Color Blindness, Tritan Color Blindness, Monochrome Color Blindness, Dyslexia, Moderate Arachnophobia, and Tryphobia. In order to understand…
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Mrs Victory
Mrs. Victory, Kinder Superhero Suki Wessling Welcome back to our monthly feature of moms who have faced the task of pandemic parenting while also continuing their work in our community. Research has shown that women have suffered greater economic and personal fallout from the pandemic, losing jobs or having to work while also caring for children. Robin Victory is one of the rare teachers in Santa Cruz County who shepherded three of her own children through the school where she teaches.“I wanted to be here at Rio del Mar Elementary with my kids,” she explains. “I live in the community and I got [the job teaching kindergarten] when my oldest…
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Season of the Coaster
‘Tis the Season for Coasters Holiday events are back and more festive than ever By Erik Chalhoub For most of November, theme parks are a strange hodgepodge of jack-o-lanterns, zombie heads, colorful ornaments and twinkling lights. The transition from Halloween to the holiday season doesn’t happen overnight. It takes many months of planning, and weeks of hands-on labor, to transform the parks from spooky nightmares to festive wonderlands. Let’s check out what our local parks have planned for 2021.Santa Cruz Beach BoardwalkThe Boardwalk’s Winter Wonderland returns select days through Jan. 2. The seaside amusement park will be decked out with holiday flair in this annual tradition, featuring lights and decorations…
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Support Local
Supporting Local Businesses This Holiday Season by Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County Supervisor The holiday season is traditionally one of the largest sales times for many retailers. Over the last year and a half, local businesses have been facing additional pressures as a result of the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn. Many have faced declines in sales as online retailing has increased and others are having staffing challenges that have required hours to change or owners to work multiple shifts. As a community we have a unique opportunity to show support for our small, locally-owned businesses as they compete with national online retailers – especially during the holiday season. In…
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Supporting Mental Wellness
Supporting Mental Wellness by Nicole M. Young, MSW I’m grateful for the little moments that start to feel like pre-pandemic life. Before 2020, I never thought that going to a grocery store or a friend’s house without being afraid to touch things or breathe air was cause for a celebration. But after nearly two years of the pandemic, these “small” things make a big difference. While I’m hopeful that the worst of the pandemic is over, I’m deeply concerned about the extent of the pandemic-related emotional and behavioral health challenges faced by many children, youth, and adults. The holidays can be a challenging time anyway for mental health, so it’s…
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Editor Note Dec 2021
Editor’s Note by brad kava We’re about to flip the page on 2021 and while it’s been a tough year for many, there are some good things to celebrate. We love those little libraries sprouting up all over town outside people’s homes. It’s such a great way to give back. We also love the food libraries we’ve seen at places such as Leo’s Haven. Left to their own devices people will do good works and that’s reason to celebrate. Over in Scotts Valley we caught a plant library! “Need a plant? Take a Plant. Have a Plant? Leaf a Plant,” it says. “Sharing is caring,” my kindergartner says.The holidays are…
