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.…
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Coloring Winners Jan
Arabella Cece Niklas | Age 9 Ryan | Age 5 Find More Coloring Pages
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The Voice Saver 3000
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Tooth Fairy
Tooth Fairy Submit your coloring page for a chance to be in our paper [email protected] More Coloring Pages
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Valentine Picks
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Preschool UPK TK
What’s the Difference Between Preschool, UPK and TK? By Jeanette Prather Many opinions and options surround early childhood education and pre-kindergarten. With the new roll-out of the universal pre-kindergarten program easing strict TK regulations, there will be even more. Between preschool, transitional kindergarten (TK), and as of last year, universal pre-kindergarten (UPK), California parents have – and will have even more in the coming years – a myriad of pre-kindergarten educational options. And, what the heck is UPK? UPK is a 2021 early childhood education legislation and pandemic response by Governor Gavin Newsom to make pre-kindergarten more accessible to California parents. Experts are hailing the new $2.7 billion universal transitional…
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Otis Drew Kuhn
Otis Drew-Kuhn February Local Artist A couple of years back, when things got quiet around here, we used to fear the worst. Maybe Otis emptied the cookie jar? Did he give himself a haircut? Worse yet, did he give the cat a haircut?? Thankfully, these days the silence (usually) means he’s found some art supplies and is whipping up his next masterpiece. He used to be all about watercolor rainbows and really perfecting that arch; then came “Race Cars in Crayon. A story of life in 2020 from a 5-year-old perspective”. What followed was a (thankfully) short-lived “expression through stickers” phase. Lately, Otis eats, breathes, draws, and paints dinosaurs exclusively!…
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Youth Bill of Rights
City of Santa Cruz Children & Youth Bill of Rights By Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson and Renee Golder If passed, the Bill of Rights will help us promote youth-adult partnership, amplify youth voice and integrate youth voice in City decision making, and foster youth leadership development. Children and youth well-being is a topic that we can all get behind, right? Each of us has some relationship with children – we have our own grandchildren, aunts and uncles, and caretakers. Yet repeatedly, we as adults, organizations, and the government fails to prioritize youth in our decisions and actions. Case in point-In 2019, the federal government spent only about nine percent of the federal…
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Fave part of Preschool
By Mikayla Shults This month, I spoke to kids from Green Acres preschool and Natural Bridges Children’s Center. Because of COVID, I was worried schools would never be swarming with happy children again. I was pleasantly surprised to see the kids at Green Acres filling the air with laughter. Immersing yourself in little kids’ lives is the best way to get to know them. It’s also a way to get some perspective when your communication methods need to be adjusted. While visiting Green Acres preschool, I helped build castles and learned the names of a few dinosaurs, and it did help me connect with these kids. Something was missing, though.…
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Pillows more than fluff
Pillows: More Than Fluff By Laura Maxson LM Pillows and relaxation go hand in hand; in fact, a pregnant couple arriving at their first childbirth class with pillows in hand is a classic image of pregnancy. Pillows can make the difference between a few hours of sleep, or tossing and turning all night. So, let’s see… turn on the left side, one pillow under the head, a small flat one under the belly, a nice fat one between the knees, and a firm one for the back – with any luck there’s even one left over for your bed partner. Many swear by a long snake-like body pillow instead of…
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Yvette Brooks
Yvette Brooks, Mom and Problem-Solver Suki Wessling Welcome back to our monthly feature of moms who give back to our community while also raising their children. Research shows that even in families where both spouses are involved, women face more obstacles while attempting to juggle parenting and work. We love to celebrate you, moms! Before the start of the pandemic, Yvette Lopez Brooks “had it all.” Not only was she married and mom of a kindergartener, but she worked for the County Office of Education, had successfully run for Capitola City Council, and was starting her term as Mayor. Suddenly adding teacher and full-time caregiver to her list of duties…
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Black History Month 2022
Black Artists Aaron DouglasAaron Douglas was born in 1899 and made art during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a frenzy of art and cultural expression that happened in Harlem, New York that produced new art, music and literature. While the explosion of all this new art took place in the 1920s, Harlem continues to be a center of African-American art and culture today. Alma Thomas Alma Thomas was an expressionist painter who was born in 1891. Her early work was representational, but she evolved into her signature of work on canvas that is characterized by shapes, color, rhythm and powerful emotions. Thomas was a black woman in a…
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The World is Knocking
The World is Knocking By Lisa Catterall He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.– Friedrich Nietzsche This week I had the pleasure of teaching in a true N95 mask for the first time. Due to the current escapades of our favorite evil little spike protein, my school thoughtfully gave the teachers each a precious, high-grade mask. I feel cared for and protected, and I also feel as if an anvil is smashing my face all day long.The mask muffles my voice. Many years ago, I got laryngitis but wasn’t ill, and I came to school and taught in silence. It worked oddly well; I can…
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Everyday Acts of Love
Everyday Acts of Love By Nicole M. Young, MSW Dr. Gary Chapman says that everyone expresses and experiences love in the same five ways – physical touch, receiving gifts, words of affirmation (praise, positive feedback), acts of service, and quality time – but each person has a primary love language that is most meaningful to them. Almost every Saturday morning, my husband cooks breakfast for both of us. He serves me first, bringing a plate (and often a coffee refill) into my home office, where I’ve usually been working for a couple of hours already (yes, even on weekends). We say very few words besides, “Here you go,” and “Yum!…
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Art in Schools
Studying the Masters so Young? By Brad Kava When I asked my 5-year-old son what he did in his afterschool program the other day, he said he learned about Monet. “Money?” I ask. “No, Monet, he’s a painter,” he replies. I sent him to the Apple Afterschool program, thinking it was just a place for him to play after school, where they even walked him from his half-day kindergarten class to the nearby center and did the usual crafts, games, and child projects. The next day, a different conversation.“Do you think Frida Kahlo was friends with Monet?” he asks me.I was pretty much stumped on that one but knew they…
