What difference will the new water treatment facility in Davenport, which is officially underway, make for the community?

First, the good news. The new water treatment plant improvements will provide a number of important benefits to the Davenport community:

1. The facility will meet the latest state water quality standards, thus assuring a high level of safe water to drink.

2. An enlarged water tank will be constructed, enhancing the level of fire protection in the community.

3. Due to the increased federal funding for the project's construction, the impact on the community's water rates for the $1.5 million plus project will be significantly less than expected.

How a local nonprofit plans to put an end to stress

Whether it’s taking a test, preparing for work or dealing with relationships, stress is a dominant emotion in today’s busy society. Unfortunately, the tools for managing these ever-present stressors are not taught in school and are not often readily available at home—but one local nonprofit is on a mission to change this.

The Institute of HeartMath (IHM) has been researching the physiological implications of stress since its inception in 1991. With the help of its researchers, IHM has been able to connect stress to the heartbeat and brain activity, creating tools and techniques that assist in minimizing stress.

Community addresses recent crimes, struggles to cope

On the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 21, Santa Cruz Police Department officers addressed a packed auditorium at Santa Cruz High School. The meeting, filled mainly with Santa Cruz High parents and their children, was intended to educate the public about gangs in the wake of the death of Tyler Tenorio, 16, who was stabbed on Oct. 16 on Laurel Street near Chestnut Street, during an apparent argument between the boy and his friends and a group of gang members. On Oct. 19, Daniel Onesto, 19, was taken into custody and charged with murder, gang enhancement, and assault with a deadly weapon; police have also issued an arrest warrant for Paulo Luna, 23, and are seeking one for a third man, whose name was not publicly available at the time of print. The incident followed the rape and beating of a 69-year-old woman in her home on the Westside the Wednesday before. The last two months have also seen four reports of sexual battery in the downtown area. All of these sexual assault cases remain unsolved.

Land Trust of Santa Cruz County goes forward with 20-year conservation plan

Stephen Slade can remember a time just three decades ago when Campbell was a tiny rural community, reachable only by rough dirt roads. Terry Corwin grew up in Southern California, surrounded by orange groves that have almost entirely vanished.

“Most people that are growing up in California,” Slade says, “will have a memory of a landscape that is going to be completely altered. I grew up in Modesto and when I go back there now it’s like, ‘Where am I?’ The Central Valley is rapidly changing.”

There were 700 bills awaiting Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signature or veto by Sunday, Oct, 11.  Were there any vetoed bills that you believe should have been upheld, or bills passed that you believe should not have been?  Why?

I was disappointed to learn that the Governor vetoed:  Senate Bill (SB) 14, which would have made programmatic changes to implement an increase in California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard’s goal to 33 percent by 2020; SB 14, along with Assembly Bill (AB) 21 and AB 64, would have combined to provide a clear and enforceable timeframe for investing in new renewable energy resources in order to meet the greenhouse gas emission reductions mandated under AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

AB 1401 would have enacted the California Transition to Organics Act of 2009 and would have established the Transition to Organics Fund (TTOF) with federal, industry and private citizen funding.  TTOF monies would have provided financial assistance to individuals who transition their uncertified farms to certified organic farms.

Online market lends power and convenience to Cruzans who want to buy and sell local

“It’s no secret that the Internet has become something of a disconnecting factor in our society—a simulated world of convenience and entertainment that is all too easy to be sucked into. And, in the midst of the over-stimulation, two enterprising young Santa Cruzans have found a way to use the Internet’s omnipotence and convenience to get people to eat healthy, be involved in the local community, and support the local economy.

Santa Cruz Local Foods (SCLF), created by Noah Pinck and Eleanor Taylor just over three months ago, is a year-round online local foods market dedicated to bringing people fresh foods (picked that day in most cases) from within a 100-mile radius of Santa Cruz. “Our intent is to really paint a picture that you can eat local, and it’s not hard, and there’s a great abundance here,” says Taylor.

Thursday, Oct. 15 The Great California Shake Out—A statewide simulation at 10:15 a.m. to help Californians prepare.  It will be the largest earthquake preparedness activity in U.S. history.  Anyone and any organization can register to participate.

Saturday, Oct. 17  Dangers in Paradise: Preparedness Fair and CERT Muster—Aptos Village Park, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free.  This promises to be a veritable smorgasbord of exhibits and demonstration for residents about earthquake and other disaster preparedness.  There will be a visit by the Shake Cottage with its simulation of a large earthquake, and a full-fledged CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) competition.

An Evening of Commemoration and Reflection

Where were YOU at 5:04?

At 5:04 p.m. on Oct. 17, 1989 the Loma Prieta Earthquake ripped through the forested canyon of Aptos Creek, snapping trees, throwing boulders and opening fissures across the landscape.  This wasn’t the first time the Aptos canyon had been torn loose by an earthquake.  On April 18, 1906, the north side of the canyon wall collapsed, hurling trees down the mountainside and blocking the creek for weeks. 1906 and then 1989.  Have we learned anything?  Did the 1989 earthquake modify our behavior in any significant way?   Do you do anything differently because of that earthquake?  Are we any closer to being able to predict earthquakes here in California?  And what about the scars scratched into our psyches?  Have they healed?  From this lofty perspective 20 years later, knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently before Oct. 17, 1989?  And after?  See all Loma Prieta earthquake articles in the Santa Cruz History section >