Teen Kitchen Project Fundraiser: Virtual Celebration Takes Place Oct. 18

COMMUNITY NEWS Teen Kitchen Project Fundraiser Virtual Celebration Takes Place Oct. 18

By Angela Farley

Historically, Teen Kitchen Project and our supporters gather together to celebrate accomplishments of the year. This year, we will again celebrate together — virtually!

TKP will share our impact, which has been especially vital during this time of pandemic and health crisis, and illustrate areas where you, our friends and supporters, are invited to be a part of continuing to build healthier communities through food.

Since the start of the pandemic in March, Teen Kitchen Project has been

on the front lines, providing meals to those who cannot shop or cook meals, due to illness. Over the past six months, the need for meal service has continued to grow, and, thanks to the generous support of our community, we have not had to turn anyone away. However, we need you to help TKP to meet the continued demand for free, nutritious, delicious meals for individuals and their families dealing with life-threatening illness during this especially challenging time.

Join us on Sunday, Oct. 18, for our Virtual Gathering, “Far Apart but Close at Heart.” Learn about Teen Kitchen Project’s latest activities, hear first-hand stories from As more people are cooking at home due to COVID-19, Fire Protection Districts are offering

our clients and volunteers, and donate to help those in our community who need it most.

The fundraising goal is $100,000.

If you donate $128 or more, and live in Santa Cruz County, you will receive a brunch box. The brunch box, made by our own teen chefs with guidance from Santa Cruz’s own Stephany Buswell, of The Food Network fame, will include a vegetarian seasonal frittata, homemade cinnamon rolls, berries, orange juice, champagne and 2 Verve Coffee drip kits.

If you’re not able to attend, we will be sorry to miss you. However, you can still participate through making a donation or becoming an event sponsor. n

Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen

Aptos/La Selva and Central https://www.teenkitchenproject.org

timely tips to “Serve Up Fire Safety In The Kitchen.”

Cooking caused an average of 172,900 reported home fires per year, about half of all home fires in the U.S., according to a 2020 report by the National Fire Protection Association that reviewed data from 2014 through 2018.

Unattended cooking was the leading cause of cooking fires and casualties. One-fourth of the people who died in a cooking fire were asleep.

In 2018, fire departments responded to an average of 470 home cooking fires per day.

Home fires caused by cooking peak at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Local firefighters advise: 1. Never leave food cooking unattended. 2. Keep cooking areas clear of clutter. 3. Have a “kid free zone” of at least 3 feet in cooking areas. 4. Never put water on a grease fire – use the appropriate lid, for that pot or pan, to cover and smother the fire. 5. Turn pot and pan handles away from the edge of the stove to prevent spills and burn injuries. 6. Make sure that you have working smoke alarms in your home. 7. Call 911 if you have a kitchen fire – even if you extinguish it yourself. n

For information, visit the Aptos/La Selva and Central Fire District websites at www. centralfpd.com and www.aptosfire.com. For fire safety/prevention questions, call the Community Risk Reduction staff at 831-685-6698.

“Be The Difference” from page 19

Their current collaborations extend to 20+ organizations to provide additional interventions, classes, activities and volunteer opportunities.

University of California, Santa Cruz Molecular Diagnostic Lab

This team of scientists, lab technicians and researchers used their expertise to develop processes, procedures, and administration protocol for local COVID-19 testing.

In only four months they initiated the process for licensing, received approval from federal and state agencies, and developed the capacity to test 400 people per day in a lab they built from scratch.

Once established, the lab received a grant from the Santa Cruz Community Foundation to partner up with health-care nonprofits Salud Para La Gente and Santa Cruz Community Health Centers to provide testing for low-income and vulnerable residents.

Thanks to an additional partnership with the County of Santa Cruz to purchase more lab equipment, they are now capable of processioning 800 tests per day.

This team created this lab outside of their normal work responsibilities and burned the midnight oil to offer more testing to our community. n •••

Visit scvolunteercenter.org/events-2/ be-the-difference-awards/2020-nominees/ or email events@scvolunteercenter.org.

“SqCWD Q&A” from page 21

Our expert team works hard to keep it that way.

Many people don’t realize that bottled water quality is not monitored or regulated by law like water from our Water District. They prefer a brand’s taste or convenience.

Groundwater contains natural minerals that aren’t bad for you but do affect the flavor and leave residues on household surfaces. That’s why some people favor personal water filtration systems that soften the water by removing minerals.

It would be unfair to make the whole community pay for what is a personal taste issue, not a public health issue.

Our District’s water surpasses all standards because we’ve been willing to invest in infrastructure. Nature doesn’t do it by herself.

For example, when the District detected naturally-occurring arsenic in a well, the Board quickly approved adding a new treatment station to fix that problem.

Seawater intrusion is the big future threat. We cannot fix that without new alternative supply infrastructure.

Corrie Kates: The Soquel Creek Water District provides a report to the rate-payers that states that the water is safe to drink.

People can choose to drink bottled water, use an osmosis device, and filter the water or just drink from the tap. The water at times may smell chlorinated and for some that maybe a concern.

As a future Board Member, it is my charge to review the reports with professionals of the water content and making sure the delivery of domestic water is safe for consumption by the rate-payers.

Tom LaHue: We are fortunate to have safe, clean, high quality tap water, though we certainly work hard to keep it that way.

The water in our District is indeed safe, is tested regularly and rigorously, and meets all regulatory requirements. Our complete water quality report is published annually and made available to all customers. People may choose bottled water for convenience, but over 50% of bottled water is from tap water.

Throughout the country, many people filter their water through a refrigerator filter for taste. Groundwater is often naturally high in various minerals which can impact taste and can cause mineral deposits.

For public safety, we are required to add chlorine to the water for disinfection and that can sometimes have a slight odor. Water quality is important to all of us, and we treat water beyond federal and state requirements.

The PureWater Soquel facility will actually produce water from recycled water that will be more pure than most groundwater and bottled water (similar to that of distilled water) and thus could improve the overall water quality.

Maria Marsilio: Soquel Creek Water District drinking water meets the required standards. The Pure Water Project involves injecting into the aquifer recycled waste water that has been cleaned up through a reverse osmosis process. That water is not safe to drink, but the state allows it to be injected into the aquifer.

It will be up to the rate-payers to decide if this will affect the quality of their drinking water. Bear in mind that there are compounds that are unregulated and various others that are not tested.

According to the Center for Disease Control, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are unregulated in drinking water, and the CDC web site states, “There is evidence that exposure to PFAS chemicals can lead to adverse human health effects. Some, but not all, studies have shown that certain PFAS may: affect growth, learning, and behavior of infants and older children, lower a woman’s chance of getting pregnant, interfere with the body’s natural hormones, increase cholesterol levels, affect the immune system, and increase the risk of cancer.”

I propose using recycled water for irrigation instead. In that way, the water will percolate through the ground and be filtered naturally, and there is potential for collaborating with neighboring districts that have a larger agricultural need for water. •••

Voters have a choice of retaining incumbent board members with experience or opting for candidates with new perspectives. How do you make your case to the voters?

Bruce Daniels: This election is about one question: Whom do you trust with your health and safety?

Congressman Jimmy Panetta trusts LaHue and myself:

He has publicly said: “I have been impressed with [Daniels and LaHue’s] expertise and concern for the well being of their community.”

I earned my Ph.D. in Hydroclimatology studying local water, so when climate change causes a serious drought shortage, I can act quickly.

You may have lost your electricity in the last year, but you were never without water because people with specialized experience were in charge at the other end of your water pipes.

Our Board’s experience inspires trust, so outside agencies funded our planned solutions ($176 Million so far).

Just being new is not qualification enough. Our challengers haven’t added a single new perspective.

Many of their “new ideas” were implemented more than a decade ago; some are planned. However, some of their extremist notions are dangerous, even illegal.

The lesson I learned from my years leading the State’s Regional Water Quality Control Board is how to prevent pollution. Our District is in a climate-change crisis, but we’re nearing the end of a 20-year process to fix it.

I ask for your trust to take it across the finish line.

Corrie Kates: Fresh eyes and new ideas to collaborate the common need that is water and listening to the rate-payers and being transparent.

Our goal as Board members is to reduce water rates. We will work to return Tier 1 level to 7.99 units and stop penalizing families.

Develop an action plan for completing infrastructure projects.

Work with cities and other water agencies on projects for the betterment of the whole.

Consider alternate projects such as recycled water for irrigation in medians and parks (County parks had to stop irrigating this year as a result of Soquel Creek Water District rate increases).

Develop the 160-acre Glenwood Drive reservoir property the District owns and create an opportunity for water storage and percolation ponds.

Develop a multi-year and long-range Capital Improvement Project Plan (the District until recently did not have one at all) and designate funding goals.

Tom LaHue: I see knowledge and experience in coastal water issues and a scientific background as valuable to our district.

I also provide a strong voice for protection of water quality and have a reputation for serving with integrity, studying each issue carefully, being fiscally responsible, and thoughtfully considering the best choice for the long term in a fair manner.

While it is accurate that the challenging candidates do not have water board experience, it is not necessarily correct to assume that as incumbent board members, we do not bring new perspectives.

We bring new perspectives by listening to our customers, seeing issues from the perspectives of others, and constantly learning to improve. The fact that we both served on the California Regional Water Quality Board also has helped.

Maybe one of our strongest attributes is our ability to bring people of different views together to collaborate and find solutions.

This is demonstrated by the fact that we are endorsed by groups ranging from the Sierra Club, to the Democratic Party, to Santa Cruz County Business Council. Our job is to represent all of our customers’ perspectives, while also keeping our future generations in mind.

Maria Marsilio: The incumbents have been with the board over 17 years. According to the 1980 UC Santa Cruz survey, saltwater intrusion was present then, and the problem still exists meanwhile district water rates have increased.

New ideas and solutions are needed to reduce water rates and provide a sustainable water source.

The rate-payers consistently complain about significant increases in their water bills.

A more collaborative relationship with neighboring water districts is needed. Water transfers from the City of Santa Cruz is one of the solutions will be encouraged because the infrastructure exists, and the Santa Cruz City Water Treatment Plant now has more capacity to process water.

This provides water to the district at a less expensive rate because the City cannot charge more than it costs to produce the water.

According to the district 2019-2020 Community Report, 148 feet of water main pipe was replaced. This is a small amount.

As a new board member, I will put greater effort into fixing leaks in the infrastructure utilizing the $50 million in bond money that the voters approved and that has been under-utilized. Thus, saving water and pumping less.

Other sustainable solutions are percolation ponds, rainwater harvesting, and use of recycled water for irrigation. n