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From the Editor

Wednesday, 15 February 2012 10:10 Greg Archer Columns - Editors Note
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greg archerPlus letters to the Editor

When the New Year hits, we inevitably find ourselves filling out numerous forms of some kind. Get ready to fill out a few more when you visit us online at goodtimessantacruz.com. For starters, the Best of Santa Cruz Readers Poll is up. Once again, we’re asking readers to vote for their favorites in Santa Cruz County—from restaurants and nightlife portals to admired professionals and other locals making a difference. Voting runs through early March so get going and have your vote count. Winners will be announced in April. Good luck to all.

Also online, you may have noticed the “All You Need Is Love” contest. The Museum of Art & History wants to hear from you, specifically about your stories of “desperate proposals” or outrageous displays of affection. How about the risks you've taken to show your lovers, friends, or family members how you feel about them? That too. Submit your true story online and the best of the bunch will be showcased on our site and the MAH's spring exhibition, “All You Need Is Love,” which runs from March 31–July 8.

In the meantime, you might be intrigued with one of this week’s News stories (page 6), where writer Dan Woo takes a deeper look at the 20-year plan for Ocean Street in Santa Cruz and why that plan may be in a state of flux. There are other redevelopment matters Woo discusses, too. Also in News, writer April Short updates us on Watsonville’s fluoride issues. And be sure to read Sam Farr’s Town Hall column, where the congressman responds to President Obama’s State of the Union address, and more.

From politics, we move into passions of the heart. And if there is one local that seems to have mastered the art of following her bliss, even when life throws in a number of major obstacles, it’s Tess Dunn. This week, GT’s Jenna Brogan illuminates the singer’s precipitous life journey (thus far), giving us an inside glimpse into her power, perseverance, humility and, perhaps most importantly, grace. (We could all use a little of that, right?)  

Thanks for reading. Have a terrific week.

Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief
Letters to the Editor

Troubled UCSC?
Regarding the “Heart Surgery For UC Santa Cruz” article, I think most people are fed up with hearing about any money woes, especially from UCSC. They want to sprawl into the forest for 3,000 new students. Where is that money coming from? And this will help force the issue of building a desal plant for water that costs four to five times more. They raised rates 32 percent, and again last year, plus have plenty of more than 200K salaries. I think they have been over-subsidized and need to exist within their means from the money they get from tuition and hospitals and cancel the expansion. We don't have the water, and we don't want to pay for desal water. Bill Smallman Santa Cruz Best Online Comments On ‘Bill Veltrop’ ... It is so inspiring to see Bill Veltrop profiled here. Santa Cruz resident Michael Ray told me about this article and I enjoyed reading about Bill, a longtime friend and colleague. Looking forward to watching the video.
—John Renesch

On ‘Predictive Policing’ ...
Regarding, "Santa Cruz does not have enough violent crime data for the system to predict those ...” The mathematical model used by their software does not model violent crimes nor drug crimes. Potentially officers will be diverted from areas where drug and violent crimes occur to respond to potential property crimes. Also, police officers may become lazy and not learn, nor exercise, good policing skills. Anecdotal examples like this are just anecdotal. I predict that predictive policing will become another hi tech boondoggle.
— John Colby

On ‘Chris Rene’ ...
I am so excited for Chris. He is in my prayers to continue the fight against life's temptations, especially in the music business. I am a 61-year-old white woman, not much into rap music, but he touched my heart and soul with his words, his smile, and his joy. I knew when I heard him the first time that he was going to go far. I agreed with Simon Cowell, he wasn't the best singer, but he has something that just made you want to listen and then want more. God bless you, Chris. I'm on disability, suffer from depression and other things, but you make me want to Love Life! —Sheryl Leigh

I am from Brazil and watched "The X Factor” by chance. I was flipping channels when I got Chris sitting with his brother Mike telling it was time to entertain America and show who he was ... From his touching life history to the mind-blowing "Young Homie" performance, he got me as a fan since audition one. For me, Chris Rene is the winner, because he's 100 percent authentic, the real deal. He doesn't sound like anybody else and doesn’t want to imitate the style of anyone else. As original as one can be. SC guys rock! Definitively lightining struck Santa Cruz twice! I CAN’T WAIT FOR CHRIS' ALBUM!
—Zenólia

On ‘Town Hall with Supervisor Mark Stone...’
I respect the right for people not to have their meters making "cell phone calls' emitting EMFS. I also know that many people believe the fear of these EMF having health effects is overblown. The fact is nobody really knows for sure if there are health effects. Even so, thinking it does, or creating a "negative placebo" clearly would be unhealthy. Obviously, PG&E spent a boatload on R & D on these meters, but they got it wrong in my opinion. I'm not an electronic engineer, but why go wireless when they could be designed to use existing land telephone lines? I've even been told that they could possibly send a signal on the power line itself. It would be win-win. Not only would it eliminate physical meter reading, but meters in rural, non cell phone areas would work. Suggest this idea to CPUC and PG&E. As an aside, there is a benefit to having physical meter reads, as often these people discover problems like gas leaks, bad connections, fire hazards, etc. And, why do meter reads once a month on established accounts? Charge an average fixed amount each month, read the meter once or twice a year, and bill the balance.
—Bill Smallman
Comments (1)Add Comment
...
written by Alicia Neyer , March 15, 2012
Just opened the the 3/8 goodtimes, opening page is an American outfitters ad with a topless child with her bottom hanging out her shorts. Inside is a Marilyn Monroe look alike contest article. Really? Can't you show the tiniest concern for the women of the community trained to believe their looks are everything and to feel inadequate because of the barrage of images that daily tell them they don't measure up?

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