September 2020
Growing up in Santa Cruz wants to help focus families on current issues and debates. We have plenty of them on the table in Santa Cruz County and we want input from experts and you.
This month we are looking at the debate between those who want to build a rail and trail corridor and those who just want a trail. It’s a huge issue for families and will shape the county for years and years to come.
Take a look through the arguments and let us know which you prefer and why. We’ll print your letters.
In future months we’ll look at the Downtown Library plans, funding for schools, changing the name of our community college from Cabrillo, how and where should we build more housing, what can we do about people with no homes, how shall we rebuild after the fires and what should we do about schools and COVID-19, to name a few.
Growing up Santa Cruz just keeps getting better and better. Thank you for a stellar job.
I am a retired teacher but still stay up with as much as I can. My students would be in their 40’s and into 50’s and 60’s now, it’s hard to believe. And yes, I was but a child when I began!
Kari Byron was one of my students and I was delighted to see the cover photo of her and a wonderful story about her. It is no surprise she is doing what she is doing as, as a teenager, she excelled. We are all very proud of her.
You asked for reader feedback on some issues:
No, I think we should continue with distance learning and not have in person teaching. As a teacher, it’s too hard to make sure all the details of this puzzle are put in place and can continue that way. One sector I think is often missing are the difficulties that families have in teaching special education kids. It’s a full-time job at best and this on top of everything else parents are doing. I would like to see schools support them more at home now and going forward.
Private schools are no guarantee that things will be better.
Yes, we should be wearing masks. I personally think children should start to wear masks as they are getting sick, too.
Absolutely no on renaming Cabrillo College. Not only is it a waste of money, funds that really are needed by the community but history is history. We can’t just click the “delete” button to erase things. We are the result of history and it can’t be erased. There is still a lot of good going on in the world and in our ourselves and that’s no answer. Can we educate others about the past and what we have learned from it, yes.
A railroad line from Watsonville to Santa Cruz would be terrific and making it a bike and walking path sounds terrific. I don’t know how that would happen though. I myself would not want to walk that close alongside the fumes of a train or traffic and I would not want to be dodging bicycles. Sharing is good but spacing is important.
So that’s how I feel and I’m going to stick with it, ha, ha!
Jane Parks-McKay, Santa Cruz
