September 2018 Editor’s Note
Soquel High football players are thrilled to have former NFL player Dwight Lowery coaching them. How could they not be?
It’s a trend we’d like to see at all levels of education – people who have been successful in their fields coming back to share their knowledge with the community.
We see it at both local colleges, where teachers who have been successful in their industries are mentoring students with what they learned in the worlds of business, science, film making and computer tech, to name a few.
We see it in the art students are pro- ducing in schools around the county, something we will feature more of in the printed paper and online.
We see it in the high school theater presentations we’ve attended where performances were not that far from what people are seeing from profes- sional theater companies.
One of the goals of Growing Up in Santa Cruz is to highlight the best of what Santa Cruz students are learning from pre-school through college. Send in your nominations for best teachers and classes and we will write about them in future issues.
You should also check out information in this issue on dangerous websites being frequented by teens, how to best pay for college, with the state’s help and how to properly put on a car seat.
Big Box Extinction
Despite living in a community that once fought against big box stores, we are saddened by the loss of three big ones the past weeks. Sears and Orchard Supply are leaving and Toys R Us is gone.
We bought a lot in those places and it’s hard to look at the holes they may leave in the community for jobs and customer service. Nothing on the Internet will beat the pleasure for kids of trying out an unimaginable amount of toys at Toys R Us. Is that business mov- ing over to smaller, local stores? We hope so.
Remember when Santa Cruzans fought against Costco? You’d be hardpressed to find someone now who wishes it wasn’t here.
We are nervous about the Capitola Mall, which is more than just a retail site, but a place for the community to gather, stroll and celebrate holidays on an indoor main street. Yes, people are getting deals shopping on line, but where can they walk around safely with their kids and find cheap eats and free places to play in good or bad weather? What should they do with that space? See their request on the letters page.
That said, we take some hope in the dawning of a new era of smaller retail areas. The new downtown Aptos will boast local chains, such as the Penny Ice Creamery, Sockshop & Shoe Company, Cat & Cloud Coffee, New Leaf and a top-rate restaurant by David Kinch. We see similar revivals in Midtown and Pleasure Point.
Some say that’s the future. A lot of big shopping will be done online, but there will still be great places for unique community-based business.
What do you think?
-Brad Kava
