Finding that there is an imminent threat to public health and welfare from novel coronavirus (COVID19), Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel has issued a Declaration of Local Health Emergency.

This Monday Laurie Bruton, Superintendent of the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, sent an email to the community addressing the district's response to the Coronavirus.  The email also contained several superintendents' responses as well. We felt it important to share as it contains relevant information on how to prevent the virus.  As of now, no cases of the virus have been reported in Santa Cruz County. 

Nearly a quarter of a million Californians were born between March 3 and Nov. 3, 2002. That includes the majority of my high school graduating class of 2020, and it places a record number of soon-to-be 18-year-olds in an electoral gray zone: we’ll be old enough to vote in the November general election, but too young to vote in next week’s March primary.

The third and final entry into the recent “Politics In Play” coverage of the Candidates’ Forum has arrived. Read on for a peek into the policies of our candidates for State Senate: Democrats John Nevill, John Laird and Maria Cadenas. (Republican Vicki Nohrden is also running for the seat, but didn’t participate in the forum.) According to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection, John Nevill is a Respiratory Therapist in Healthcare Administration, with experience working in acute care, home health services and legal compliance policy. He’s a former Mental Health Commissioner in Monterey County, and Owner/Operator of Triple LLL Sheep Ranch in King City. Nevill’s prior businesses include Lost Arts Kayaks in Moss Landing, and South County Medical Supply and Service in Monterey/San Luis Obispo Counties.John Laird boasts a long career in Santa Cruz County public service and policy. Laird served on the Library Board in Santa Cruz County, the Transit Board, as a Santa Cruz City Council member from 1981-1990, and as the Mayor of Santa Cruz from 1983-1984, and again from 1987-1988. He has served on the Transportation Commission and was an elected member of the Cabrillo College Board from 1994 until his election to the California State Assembly in 2002. He was re-elected to the assembly in 2004 and 2006 before being termed out in 2008. While serving the maximum three terms in the Assembly, Laird authored 82 bills that were signed into law. For the past eight years, Laird has been the Secretary of Resources, and has dedicated himself to understanding local issues that have become statewide issues. He is passionate about the affordable housing crisis and is looking for solutions.Maria Cadenas is the Executive Director of Santa Cruz Community Ventures. Born in Mexico City, raised in Southern California and schooled at Beloit College in Wisconsin, Cadenas was named associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin shortly after 9/11, and later became the executive director of the Cream City Foundation in Milwaukee. There, Cadenas focused on LGBT issues and initiatives, and returned to California to work with Driscoll’s in 2011. Cadenas has never run for public office, but believes that this is “a crucial time for all of us.” She has worked on social justice issues and rural development of communities, and isn’t looking to add taxes or bond measures. She’s eager to create “a new model of doing things,” and is willing to think outside the box to get there.On the question of protecting natural resources, Laird focused on the sustainability of oceans and forests, and the water crisis facing California. Laird feels we “need to do prescribed forest cleaning around urban areas. With 154 million dead trees in California alone,” said Laird, the state’s leadership needs to take this issue seriously.Cadenas knows that California “is a leader in protecting natural resources, but we need to balance care with community.” Cadenas says we need to “look at our housing and transportation models that address conservation. People and the planet go hand in hand,” she said.When it comes to protecting women against violence, Cadenas reminded forum attendees that she’s been “working on women’s issues” all her life. “Issues of rape and sexual assault are issues of priorities and values,” said Cadenas. “Latino women earn 43 cents on the dollar compared to Caucasian men, and out of 40 State Senate seats, women hold only 14. Those voices are missing,” said Cadenas. “It’s time for the Senate to reflect the makeup of California’s population.”Laird feels well-versed on this topic. He is currently “developing protocols to create a commission for the prevention of violence against women,” he says, because “it’s everyone’s issue.”Nevill call himself an “advocate” for protecting women against violence, and says that more “must be done” to ensure women’s safety.One the question of improving mass transportation in our neighborhoods, Nevill is seeking a“private public partnership.” He asked, “How are we using mass transportation? Populations are growing, and everyone still wants to drive. We need alternative transportation solutions.”Laird believes we have reached “critical mass to fund transportation in large areas.” He suggested a 1/2 cent sales tax dedicated to public transit. “How do you bring money to the table to make it free?” he asked. “We need to levy that sales tax, and seek more state and federal support. We need to advocate for that goal,” Laird said, “in order to better serve our neighbors’ needs.”Cadenas says that “free public transportation is an issue of economics, housing and climate. We need to reduce our carbon footprint,” she says, but that’s made more difficult because we “have small clusters of urban areas in rural communities. If we align it to jobs and housing,” says Cadenas, the impacts will be greater for all.When queried about their three most pressing issues, there was some overlap between the candidates. Laird cited housing, climate and education as his top three priorities. “California is in the bottom of per-pupil funding out of 50 states. We need funding sources,” said Laird, in order to provide our state’s children better opportunities. “We have individuals that have monumental issues,” said Laird, “and as your senator, I will fight to improve conditions for us all.” With 82 bills signed into law, said Laird, voters can count on him to keep fighting.Cadenas’ concern is “how you address issues, and to whose voices you listen.” She believes in “housing that’s affordable for everyone with subsidies.” In addition, she said “climate is about the economy—how do we conceptually redesign our communities to make them accessible to us all? We need to be creative about the intersection between economic development and climate,” Cadenas said. “It’s about values and heart. We are no different than our neighbors around the world.”Candidate Nevill believes housing is a top concern, and that California “puts out four times the housing permits needed.” He added, “The immigration population needs to be addressed,” and cited the state’s water supply as a major issue. Nevill says we need to develop an inter-lake tunnel to transfer water to areas” where it’s critically needed. He also believes we should “develop health care coverage for everyone. We need to talk to hospitals, and determine where their handicaps and hurdles are.”Perhaps the biggest moment of the night came following Cadenas’ deeply passionate closing statement about why she wants your vote. As the associate director of the ACLU, she said, she understands the fight for justice. “I’ve worked in the agriculture industry, and I know what it is to be a Latina, and to be the only out woman in the room. All of that has prepared me to fight,” said Cadenas, and as her voice rose, the room rose with her.In response to Cadenas pouring her heart out, Nevill reminded attendees that he’ll never be “the emotional one in the room.” He said he would “monitor legislation,” and that he would work to serve the district fairly.For information on these three Senate candidates, visit:lairdforcasenate.commaria2020.comballotpedia.org/John_M._Nevill

Last week, “Politics in Play” focused on the three candidates for judge who participated in the Candidates Forum at San Lorenzo Valley High School on Thursday, February 6th. In this edition, we cover the candidates who are vying for the position of California State Assemblyperson: incumbent Mark Stone (D), and Shomir Banerjee, M.D. (R).Mark Stone is a familiar face to residents of both Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley. He began his work in public life by being first a trustee for, and then President of, Scotts Valley Unified School District. Following that, Stone was twice elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, where he served his District 29 constituents until he ascended to the California State Assembly in 2012. As Chair of the Select Committee on Coastal Protection and Access to Natural Resources, he is deeply committed to the health of the Monterey Bay; his other passions include reforming the California State Bar, and ensuring that our judicial system is working as best it can. In Stone’s words, he “works for those who have no voice.”Shomir Banerjee is a practicing Family Medicine Physician in Salinas, and an Electronic Engineer, actively involved in developing medical informatics and medical electronics. The focus of his campaign is to raise more awareness around our impending health care crisis. According to Banerjee, we have resources in the state that are available but not being delivered adequately. He wants us to become good stewards of our resources. Specifically on the topic of water, Banerjee says it’s “a complicated question,” and believes we need to have a civil dialogue to meet the needs of all communities.The first question posed to the two candidates at the forum was inquiring about their position on Pacific Gas & Electric’s tree removal method.Banerjee answered that he is “a Monterey guy, and not aware of local issues.”Stone has long taken issue with PG&E’s strategy of removing trees, and called it “unnecessary.” While he agreed that some vegetation management is necessary, he noted that the agency should be doing infrastructure upgrades. According to Stone, the counties of San Diego and Los Angeles have done the work to insulate wires and install fast fault systems, but those efforts haven’t materialized in this part of the state. Stone believes the utility’s “public safety record is abysmal; we need to find a way to municipalize the transmission system.” On the question of local housing, Stone acknowledged that there is a significant deficit of housing. He believes it’s a “good thing for cities to take a look at their development strategy,” and acknowledged that there is a push to build market rate housing. Stone feels that “the state needs to take on affordable housing obligations,” and believes that “housing decisions made at the local level must ensure that we have housing for all.” (Indeed, just looking at the spate of new housing options in Scotts Valley leaves local families wondering where the affordable housing options are when new townhomes are selling for $750,000 and up.)Shomir Banerjee is concerned about the housing and homelessness crisis. “We have a housing shortage in the state for tens of millions of residents,” said Banerjee. His solution? “We need to incentivize the process of building housing in a way that the market will support. Larger cities will benefit from incentives to build more dense housing,” Banerjee stated. He also noted that Silicon Valley has created sprawl, and that’s an issue that affects local residents. On the subject of criminal justice reform, Banerjee called it a “crisis with redistribution of criminals,” and he believes it’s a disservice to communities that have to support that. Furthering his idea, Banerjee advocated for “the reversal of Propositions 57 and 47.” (Proposition 57, The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016, passed with overwhelming public support; Proposition 47, The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, changed certain low-level crimes from potential felonies to misdemeanors.)Stone countered by saying that California has “the highest rate of incarceration [compared to] any other state. These ballot measures are hard on crime,” Stone said, “and they send more people to prison.” It’s time to reverse that, according to Stone. “We need to close prisons and reduce recidivism.” Stone says we can do that by continuing to support Propositions 47 and 57. “Jails and prisons have become a de facto mental health system for the incarcerated,” said Stone. “We can do better.” In addressing the financial health of California, Stone noted that the General Fund carries the burden of financing education, prison, health and human services. “We need to protect our local governments—we don’t want to pull money from their reserves. It’s essential that we keep providing the revenue streams and fix our broken taxation system. The state needs to be a bigger player in issues like climate change and resource protection.” Stone advocates for leveraging the money individual communities have, and supporting decisions locally.Banerjee believes the answer to strengthening California’s fiscal health lies in “better investments of resources. Some communities are grossly underfunded, but we need to use the larger funds at the state level to fund infrastructure.” On the issue of AB5, also known as the “Gig Workers Law,” Banerjee decried its passage, stating that it was a “disaster for the health care industry. It forcibly converted physicians into employees, and placed a strain on smaller health clinics.”In contrast, Stone explained that the California Supreme Court ruled on worker classification in the late 80s; in turn, the California Supreme Court adopted the Dynamex decision. “We need to look at each industry and determine what the effect of the new test is. The goal is to protect employees and their ability to work as they please.”In reference to a few other topics of consideration: AB 2682, the bill to remove physician supervision of nurse-midwives.Assemblymember Stone was a co-author on this bill. “If someone is qualified and trained to do a job in our health care system, they should be doing that job. Everyone should do what they’re trained to do.”Banerjee: “When you have no access to care, anything will do. Nurse-midwives fill that gap, but they are not capable of handling more complicated deliveries. I ask for voters to support us in finding ways to provide care to more people who have no other option.” On the dearth of recycling options for local residents:Banerjee: “Recycling has become cost prohibitive. We need to find other options.”Stone: “The manufacturers and distributors have put the problem on us. We’ve long shipped our plastics to Asia, and they’ve stopped taking it in. We need to take responsibility on reducing the amount of plastic we throw away. We’ve put several bills on the governor’s desk, and they’ve all been vetoed. We need to come up with a plan for strong recycling systems in our communities.” And in closing:Banerjee’s passion and experience is in health care, and that’s directly tied in with homelessness. He believes that both problems can be solved with strong leadership.Stone: “We have a lot left to do, like improving our child welfare system and prison welfare. It’s time to reform the state bar, and make California the beacon it is worldwide. That will take leadership, technology, innovation.”To learn more about these two candidates, visit their websites:Mark Stone: https://a29.asmdc.orgShomir Banerjee: http://sb4assembly.org

Across the country, the newest health phenomenon is picking up speed.  People are learning more about flexible seating, allowing students to pick their own seats, and it has found its way into the Scotts Valley Unified School District.  I stopped by Vine Hill Elementary and Scotts Valley High School to visit the classrooms of Kelly Shulman, a first-grade teacher, Anna Hipsley, a fourth-grade teacher, and Megan Laws, an English and journalism teacher, to hear more about their flexible seating practices.