The San Lorenzo Valley Water District announced the District is seeking applications for interested members of the community to participate as Public Members of the SLVWD committees.
At its November 5 meeting, the Board of Directors established roles for Public Members on committees. The Board also consolidated the District’s committees from seven to three: Finance; Administrative; and Environmental, Engineering & Planning.
Each committee may seat one Public Member for a term of up to one year, in addition to two board members. All Public Member committee positions are voluntary. Applicants must be residents of the SLVWD service area and/or customers of the SLVWD. The commitment includes preparing for and attending one meeting per month, on average.
Any person interested in filling a position on a committee as a Public Member must complete an application. Applications are available at: 13060 Hwy. 9, Boulder Creek, CA95006 or http://slvwd.com/admin/Public%20Member%20Announcement12-2015.pdf
The Board of Directors will make committee appointments based on applications received. Applications are due by January 2 and Board appointments will be made on January 21, 2016.
“Scratchers® Are Not Toys” – California’s Holiday Lottery Message.
As we approach the holiday season, the California Lottery reminds players and its retail partners to gift responsibly by discouraging the sale or gifting of lottery products to minors.
“Scratchers® Are Not Toys” is this year’s responsible gaming holiday message from the California Lottery to discourage the gifting of lottery products to minors during the holiday season.
Every year the California Lottery joins the National Council on Problem Gambling in the national Holiday Campaign to increase public awareness about the serious issue of youth gambling.
Research shows that youth gambling can lead to more severe gambling disorders later in life, and has been shown to be linked to other addictive behaviors such as smoking, drinking and drug use.
The national Holiday Campaign is one of many endeavors the California Lottery has undertaken to strengthen and continuously improve its responsible gaming record. The California Lottery is the only U.S. lottery to hold a level four certification from the World Lottery Association, the highest international certification for responsible gaming programs.
The Lottery recently introduced its new 18+ Play Responsibly logo (pictured below) to prevent and stop the illegal play and sale of Lottery games to minors.
By Staff
The Santa Cruz County Planning Department will hold a series of public meetings to finalize its Housing Element, a plan to assure the adequate supply of housing to meet the needs of county residents.
Housing is an issue that impacts all county residents as local housing prices continue to rise. The public meetings provide an opportunity to contribute to the plan, which is scheduled to be finalized in mid-January.
The plan is available on line online at: www.sccoplanning.com.
It includes the following topics:
– an analysis of the current housing stock and housing trends,
– a discussion of the constraints in providing new and replacing aging housing,
– an outline of the challenges to increasing the supply of affordable and below-market housing.
– Planning Commission on Wednesday, December 9, at 9:00 a.m. at 701 Ocean St., 5th floor, Santa Cruz
– Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 9 a.m. at 701 Ocean St., 5th floor, Santa Cruz.
By Edita McQuary
Mount Hermon’s Guy Routley has been actively involved with Cowboy Church International and Coy Huffman Ministries playing at sale barns and rodeos throughout the West Coast for more than 15 years.
Two years ago he launched Country Cowboy Church Gathering which meets Friday evenings, 7:00 p.m. at ChristLutheranChurch located at 10707 Soquel Drive, Aptos, above the California Highway Patrol facility.
Due to his striking resemblance to Santa Claus, Guy is often asked to participate in local Christmas activities. Friday, December 11th between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., you can see him in action in Santa Cruz at the Christmas Tree Lighting at the boat harbor by the Crow’s Nest Restaurant.
On Friday, December 18th at 7:00 p.m., Coy Huffman & Company will join Big Guy and his “Pickin’ for Jesus” band for a country celebration of Christmas at ChristLutheranChurch in Aptos. There will be cookies and hot cocoa afterwards. Everyone is welcome.
For more information: [email protected].
More Mothers Breastfeeding in the Hospital
Dr. Karen Smith, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer, announced on November 6, that in-hospital breastfeeding initiation rates are on the rise according to their annual report.
Dr. Smith said, “Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life is the most important nutrition practice a mother can embrace to improve the immediate and long-term health of her infant. Hospital maternity care practices play an important role in ensuring new mothers can meet their personal goals for breastfeeding.
According to the CDPH, in-hospital breastfeeding rates have increased from 90.8 percent in 2010 to 93.5 percent in 2014. Even out-of-hospital exclusive breastfeeding rates increased from 56.6 to 66.6 percent across all racial/ethnic groups. However, only three out of five African-American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic women exclusively breastfed their infants while in the hospital, compared to four out of five Caucasian women.
Factors that may have contributed to the rise in in-hospital breastfeeding rates is the work that CDPH, along with its many partners, have done to promote public health and healthcare policies that support a mother’s choice to breastfeed.
The CDPH states that “The Hospital Infant Feeding Act (California Health & Safety Code Statute 123366) required that by January 1, 2014, all California hospitals with a perinatal unit have a comprehensive infant feeding policy that supports breastfeeding.” This law also requires that by 2025 all maternity hospitals adopt the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” program.
For more information, go to “Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Program,” “Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program,” “California Department of Public Health Breastfeeding Web Page,” and “Breastfeeding Data.”
