From the Editors: July 2019

Dear Readers,

We’re here to help. That could be Growing Up in Santa Cruz’s motto. We want to be a resource for local families to find the things they need to improve life for their kids right on up to adulthood—not just toddlers and below.

Take a look at Suki Wessling’s heavily researched story about how to get into great colleges without breaking the law and resorting to bribery. This is the third part of a series Suki has written about the best ways to get your kids into the colleges they want. She will continue to focus on higher education and training programs for teens.

Monthly columnist Mary Gaukel isn’t just a writer—she’s one of the top authorities in the county for devising career-training programs for teens. Her monthly column is filled with advice and resources for teens looking to break out of the mold, or to create their own mold. She works for the nonprofit called Your Future is Our Business that has been successfully steering teens to career pathways. Her advice is precious and when you see the results of her work in teens starting careers, it’s simply mind blowing. She will answer your questions here too.

For our pets issue we have some serious advice from Dr. Nichole Brooks about lepto virus which not only attacks sea lions but also dogs. If you have a pet, you’d better read it. Fire season is upon us and there are important things you can do to keep yourself safe. Check out our regular column by Fire Safe Santa Cruz County representatives. They are a must read.

Plastics, plastics everywhere. We’ve dumped hundreds of tons of it into the oceans and it’s really depressing. Meredith Keet talks the talk and walks the way with a store that sells reusable items designed to prevent plastic dumping. Her column this month leads families on the path to stopping plastic addiction.

Of course we have important information for the youngest set. In Birth Matters, Dana Wagner introduces parents to the WIC program, which helps them learn about healthy food choices.

Speaking of food choices, Kris Holden doesn’t just weed out unhealthy energy bars for kids, she gives you a recipe to make your own. We tried her last month’s recipe for healthy shakes and it worked. The kid didn’t detect the vegetables we snuck in!

We’ve also got the area’s biggest calendar directing you to family activities around the county and ads from every great school and after school activity in Santa Cruz County.

We hope you’ll enjoy and find things that make your lives better. And if you want to contribute ideas, articles, letters, ads, please contact us at [email protected]

Thanks for reading!

Brad Kava
Jennifer Ford