Good News for Crime Fighting in SC The Sheriff’s office has hired a host of new deputies, including many women. That’s good news for our county, where current response times can be as slow as a kid finishing a plate of broccoli.  We talked to Sheriff Jim Hart, who says crime is actually way down in the county, despite the feeling that it is worse. We’ll have a story about that in GUISC soon. Meanwhile, here’s the good news in the Sentinel: https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2015/07/21/six-rookie-sheriffs-deputies-hit-the-pavement-in-santa-cruz-county/

Santa Cruz Gets New Local Radio Station It’s been years since KUSP went bankrupt, but thanks to the hard work of many of the community programmers there, Santa Cruz is about to get a great new radio station that is really local and reflects the community….and, oh yeah, there will be shows aimed at families and kids. We are so excited about this and have to salute Rachel Goodman for chairing the effort.  Have a look at www.ksqd.org for some of the programs. Growing Up’s Brad Kava will have a show there. More details coming. Here’s an article in the Sentinel announcing the station: https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2019/01/11/ksqd-radio-for-the-people-by-the-people-of-santa-cruz/

Cabrillo College Has Added a Sustainable Agriculture Degree Cabrillo College has added a sustainable agriculture degree, something that fits right in with the values of Santa Cruz County. Sustainable Agriculture Technology students study horticulture and plant science curriculum and develop their skills in a broad range of agriculture technology topics including: data management, GIS mapping, networking technology tools on farm, producing plants in nutrient film technique, deep raft, ebb and flood, and substrate hydroponic production systems, electrical and hydraulic engineering basics, soil moisture sensing, and energy and water conservation. For more information, check http://www.cabrillo.edu/academics/horticulture/agtech.html  

Film Maker’s Video: What Pregnancy Did to My Body New mothers will definitely want to check out this film by Bronwen-Parker Rhodes. New York Times article

“Expired” Medicine May Still Be Good Here’s something we’ve always wondered about and we’re glad the folks at ProPublica did an investigation. Are those drugs in your medicine cabinet with expired dates useless or dangerous? Not so, says this investigation, which found just the opposite. https://www.propublica.org/article/the-myth-of-drug-expiration-dates Please tell us your experience and opinion in the comments section.

Study Shows Why Kids Need Outdoor Time Kids spend at most 7 minutes a day outdoors and 7 hours a day in front of electronics. Here’s an article about a book suggesting kids need to be saved from “nature-deficit disorder.” It’s well worth a read! Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature

Tips for Shelter in the Stock Market Meltdown Is the stock market meltdown messing with your kids’ college funds: here’s what to do. This article on the Fatherly website suggests parents using 529 accounts to save for college should put the money in funds that adjust and get more conservative as the children get closer to college age. Or they can borrow the money when the market is down and pay themselves back from the account when it goes up.   Here’s a good advice story

Dominican Hospital Welcomed Santa Cruz County’s First Baby Born in 2019 Little baby boy Alexander Joseph Rodriguez was born at 1:03 a.m. this morning to proud parents Veronikka Velez and Alejandro Rodriguez-Duarte of Watsonville. He was the first baby born in the new year in Santa Cruz County. Members of his extended family arrived at the hospital soon after and were delighted to meet him.

Some of the Worst Children’s Toy Directions Ever… This spaceship tent is a great thing, but as fun as it is, the directions are a parent’s nightmare. Check step three, which, after you’ve taken the tent poles out of the bag, tells you to put them back in the bag.  Unfortunately, if you do that, the tent will never get built. Send us some of your worst directions and we’ll start a collection of  failures.

Women’s Adventure Film Tour January 26 at the Rio Theatre The WOMEN’S ADVENTURE FILM TOUR has arrived in the USA for the first time ever and will be in Santa Cruz for ONE NIGHT ONLY on 26 January 2019! This tour is a celebration of the fantastic women around us who are doing extraordinary things. The films are to be enjoyed by women and men of all ages! The event features an all new set of short films including the premiere of Katie Walsh’s film, Surfing to Cope about American Brianna Cope. You’ll also experience climbing, skiing, mountaineering, snowboarding and travel films from all over the world.Locally Presented by Patagonia Santa Cruz and…

New Transformer Movie (Bumblebee) includes Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk FYI on this… our part is small, but still fun.   Photos:  Bumblebeecrew at theSanta Cruz Beach Boardwalkwith actors in 1980s attire. Photo credit: Paramount Pictures SANTA CRUZ, CA (December 20, 2018) – The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park will be seen in Paramount Picture’s new Transformers spin-off movieBumblebee, opening in theaters December 21. On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.  When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no…

Who Owns These Holiday Houses? Does anyone know the story about these two houses, across the Rio Del Mar, from each other. One is about the most lit up house in town…the other, the Grinch. We are dying to know and will go interview them, if you don’t already know the story.

Choose Your Ride this Holiday Season Santa Cruz County Friday Night Live Partnership is proud to partner with 98 local restaurants and bars in our collective effort to reduce impaired driving crashes this holiday season. Businesses participating in the CHOOSE YOUR RIDE campaign are committed to a safe and healthy Santa Cruz County. CHOOSE YOUR RIDE coasters and cards are available at participating businesses to remind patrons to plan before they drink, to ensure getting home safely, by designating a driver, taking a cab, or using a rideshare service. The following businesses are offering a holiday special with a free non-alcoholic beverage to patrons with designated drivers: Bay Bar &…

January is Positive Parenting Awareness Month First 5 Santa Cruz County, which manages the Triple P — Positive Parenting Program, today announced that January 2019 has been proclaimed Positive Parenting Awareness Month by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Triple P offers proven strategies that strengthen relationships with children and prevent and/or manage a full range of parenting challenges.  The proclamation marks the seventh annual Positive Parenting Awareness Month in Santa Cruz County and highlights the importance for parents and caregivers to develop warm, nurturing relationships with their children and teens and become more confident as parents.  Other California counties also are joining the movement. Inspired by Santa Cruz County, the Boards of…

They Danced the Hula at the Capitola Mall Kids at Capitola Mall Saturday were greeted with a Holiday Hula celebration that included music and toys presented by the Hawaiian Cultural Hula School called Kuhai Halau O Mehana Pa ʻOlapa Kahiko It was formed in 1998 and celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.  

Santa Cruz City Council Bans Flavored Tobacco to Protect Kids The Santa Cruz City Council voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products in the city during its November 27 meeting.  The ban covers products with any “characterizing flavor” other than tobacco, including candy and fruit-flavored electronic smoking devices such as Juul.  Santa Cruz joins two dozen other California jurisdictions who have placed restrictions on the sale of these products. “I’m grateful to city council members for their leadership,” said Mimi Hall, Director of the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency. “This is an important step in protecting our youth from a lifetime of nicotine addiction and I look forward to…

All Wrapped Up for the Holidays Today, newborn Shalynn Ashley Don Schaeffer got an extra dose of holiday cheer. A group of retired Dominican Hospital Birth Center nurses called The Grateful Thread delivered a large batch of hand-sewn, oversized holiday stockings to new parents at Dominican Hospital, including Shalynn’s mom and dad, Erica Dawn Owens and Nicholas Schaeffer. The Grateful Thread members—who include Teresa Dareau, Georgia Magnabosco, Kathy Ruiz, and Annie Tokarz—have been sewing and donating the cozy stockings for more than 20 years, and all babies born at Dominican Hospital in December go home in one.  

What should they put in the old Sears space at Capitola Mall? What would best serve the community and replace a retail mainstay?

Santa Cruz Lighted Boat Parade Some of our favorites from the lighted boat parade Saturday… Were you there? Send us yours…

Santa Cruz County Schools Come Together to Help Paradise Students Impacted by the Camp Fire What: The Camp Fire School Drive is focused on helping the nearly 3,800 students in the Paradise Unified School District who lost their homes to the Camp Fire. Many of these students lost all of their personal belongings, including clothes, backpacks and school supplies, to the fire. These students are now faced with attending schools in different districts, and the schools welcoming them are faced with school supply shortages. Santa Cruz County families and schools are joining forces to help these students by donating and collecting backpacks, paper, pens, binders and other school supplies. When: People can…