An upcoming public safety meeting aims to improve coordination between local agencies

There has been a surge in community concern over public safety and the environment due to drug dens—like one among the rocks at Cowell Beach that was documented by surf instructor Dylan Greiner and aired on television news several weeks ago—where used syringes and human waste litter the area and wash onto the beach and into the surf.

Michael Becker, co-president of the community action group Take Back Santa Cruz, says photos and videos of the problem zones being shared on social media sites and the local news have prompted a significant increase in the number of community members voicing concerns and getting involved.

Local shelter and treatment center looks to the community for donations this holiday season

Forty years ago, a local church ministry group began reaching out to homeless people struggling with addiction and taking them into their homes. But they soon realized that the need was larger (and that taking people into your home wasn’t the best idea), and the effort soon grew into a state-licensed, non-religious family shelter and addiction treatment facility known as New Life Community Services. The center has been operating on the Westside for 38 years, says volunteer Mike O’Brien.

Reponses to the Latino-White statistical divide detailed in the 2012 CAP Report

In the Nov. 29 issue, GT reported on several glaring differences between Latinos and Whites in “quality of life” indicators as revealed in the 2012 Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project (CAP) Report. This annual survey of everything from local economic data to social and health indicators showed that the county has seen modest economic recovery over the last year, but that Latinos are behind when it comes to several indicators of serious social distress. For instance, Latinos experience twice the unemployment rate of White residents, higher high school drop out and juvenile arrest rates, a higher incidence of “lacking basic needs,” and widespread lack of health insurance.

Homelessness summit promotes brainstorming and action

Los Angeles attorney Jerry Neuman, the keynote speaker at the “Creating Smart Solutions to Homelessness” summit held on Saturday, Dec. 1 at Cabrillo College, presented a flow chart to illustrate the current system for helping homeless people as a maze—a confusing jumble of arrows leading every which way to access services.

The summit, organized by a variety of local groups, hosted about 230 people and aimed to start a dialogue within the community about smarter ways to solve the problem, review methods employed by other communities and develop a more logical, results-driven system.

Pointing out the presence of contaminated needles

At the Nov. 27 Santa Cruz City Council meeting, residents fed up with local drug use, homelessness and crime flooded into the meeting just in time for the public comment period, hauling trash they had collected during their group walk to City Hall. One participant told the council that they had found dozens of syringes on their way to the meeting.

The momentum led to the creation of a Facebook group called The Clean Team!!, which was created on Monday, Dec. 3 as "a place for community members to document locations of garbage and hazardous waste so that others may find the locations and help with cleanup efforts," according to the page. As of press time Tuesday morning, the group had 124 members and several posts about needles found in various locations around town. One member posted that he found 15 dirty needles on a walk from the San Lorenzo River Mouth to Cowell's Beach. Talk of finding needles in parks, beaches and even private yards has also been prominent on the Take Back Santa Cruz Facebook page. Concerned citizens planned to visit the Tuesday, Dec. 4 Board of Supervisors meeting to request something be done about the problem.

Countywide community assessment report documents continued hardship for many Latinos

When comparing the trend lines of scores of interesting social and economic indictors in the recently released Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project (CAP) 2012 Report, the data suggests many of the worst impacts of the Great Recession are beginning to wane and the county is on the mend. That is, unless you are Latino.

Dr. Amy Cooper invites women to discuss sex openly at an upcoming workshop

Starting in high school, Amy Cooper, who now holds a doctorate in clinical sexology, says she has fostered open conversations about sex.

She took to impersonating Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famous media personality sex therapist, so that her girlfriends could “call in” to share issues they faced regarding sexual arousal, orgasm, eroticism—all the giggly topics they were normally too timid to discuss.

What message do you think American voters sent Congress on Nov. 6, and do you think the new composition of Congress will at all change its ability to get things done?

The voters sent a clear message that they want Washington to work together to solve our national problems. They want to see real bipartisan solutions forged in the middle; not more partisan bickering designed to appeal to the extreme wings of either party.

For its supporters, Proposition 37’s failure does not signal the end for the GMO labeling movement

Despite concerns about implications of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, the recent election proved, in many cases, that pouring mysterious millions into a campaign doesn’t necessarily guarantee the desired effect.

President Barack Obama saw significant success in battleground states, despite the fact that candidate Mitt Romney and his allies outspent him in almost all of them. In California, Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 won, and Proposition 32 lost, much to the chagrin of billionaires like Charles Munger Jr. and the Koch brothers, who spent millions to produce the opposite outcome.

The Santa Cruz Fruit Tree Project’s urban gleaning effort grows

It’s impossible to gauge the exact amount of fruit and vegetables that go to waste every year in California, but a 2010 University of Southern California study estimated it to be millions of tons. Most of our rotting fruit lies on the floors of orchards and fields, but plenty also goes unused in yards and public spaces in urban areas.