Lucky: No Debris Flow After Rain But Winter is Ahead, By Bruce

FEATURED COLUMNIST Lucky: No Debris Flow After Rain But Winter is Ahead

By Bruce McPherson, Supervisor, Fifth District

The storm that drenched Santa Cruz County on the evening of Oct. 24, while much needed in terms of rainfall, thankfully came and went without a debris flow event in the burn scar of last year’s CZU Lightning Complex Fire.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Sheriff’s Office increased by ten-fold the number of households covered under the order based on forecasts from the National Weather Service.

Luckily, the speed with which the rain came down was slower than anticipated and, therefore, the risk of debris flows lessened.

This should not, however, reduce our community’s concern about the potential for debris flows to occur as we head into the winter season. We recognize the challenges posed by evacuations and appreciate the cooperation of our residents as we work through the first couple of years after the fire and the heightened risk for these dangerous slides.

Many thanks go to our County emergency response team, the Red Cross, the City of Scotts Valley, San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, and other community organizations that coordinated the response to the storm. We learn more and improve our operations each time we have such an event.

Speaking of vital community organizations, this is a great opportunity to thank

Community Bridges for all its support of the San Lorenzo Valley through its fantastic Mountain Community Resources center in Felton. MCR has provided important safety-net services in the Valley for many years, including the recent establishment of a COVID-19 testing site. MCR was also responsible for distributing almost half of the more than 500,000 pounds of food provided by Community Bridges in 2020, a year that brought the dual challenges of the fire and the pandemic.

On Oct. 29, during MCR’s “Mountain Affair” fundraiser in Ben Lomond, I had the privilege of being invited to present the Mary Hammer Green Hart Award to volunteer Suzie Schwilk, who was honored for her support of MCR’s food pantry program. Suzie’s efforts certainly personify

Bruce McPherson with Suzie Schwilk the life’s work of Mary Hammer, who helped to establish the Valley Women’s Club and has worked tirelessly to support the San Lorenzo Valley. We congratulate Suzie and thank her for her dedication to our mountain residents.

Lastly, the County is undergoing the redistricting process related to supervisorial districts, which occurs every 10 years after the federal census. While there are no major changes recommended for District 5 by our redistricting commission, there are boundary shifts suggested around the Santa Cruz harbor and in South County. However, the current proposal will not dramatically change the districts as they have existed during the past 10 years. I want to thank Jim Mosher of Felton, who has been a critical figure in maintaining local control of our water systems during recent years, for representing District 5 on the redistricting commission.

The community has two upcoming opportunities to participate in the process during public hearings at 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 9 and 16 during the Board of Supervisors meetings. Two hearings have already been held, as well as an informational meeting at the Felton Library for North County residents in September. n •••

As always, please contact my office at FifthDistrict@santacruzcounty.us or 831-4542200 if we can assist you with anything. •••

Editor’s note: It’s true no major changes are recommended for the Fifth District. However, a major change was suggested by Ben Lomond Jim Coffis, who explained that mountain residents have shared interests as do coastal residents. Would it be possible to draw district boundaries in a horizontal fashion rather than vertical to create five districts each with the target population of 54,270? If it’s possible, would this result in better representation? Let me know at info@cyber-times.com.

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Snuggling Into Your Heart

Mr. Snuggles is ready to snuggle his way into your heart!

This sweet guy came into the Shelter when his previous owner was unable to keep caring for him.

Mr. Snuggles was with his previous owner all the time so he doesn’t like being left alone. Mr. Snuggles is 10 years young and ready to find a family to settle down with. Mr. Snuggles is the definition of a “Good Boy” and he has joined small dog playgroup at the Shelter and likes to coexist with the other pups.

A home with another mellow dog may be a fit provided they meet at the Shelter first. This good boy even visited Santa Cruz Subaru for a special adoption event, and he was a social butterfly and made tons of friends.

Mr. Snuggles has not lived with cats but with a slow introduction and management — we are thinking he could coexist nicely. He has enjoyed spending time with volunteers and staff while at the Shelter, but he is ready to find his forever home!

So, what are you waiting for? Come meet this handsome guy today at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter!

Adoptions are first come, first served! Please view available animals on our website and then visit the Shelter to turn in your application. All adoptions require proof of home ownership or landlord approval. Please have this information prepared. If an animal is in Foster Care, please bring in your adoption application and schedule an appointment to meet the animal. Call 831-454-7200 x0 during business hours or visit www.scanimalshelter.org for more information! n •••

Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter’s full-service, open-admission shelter:

Santa Cruz Location (Public Entrance): 1001 Rodriguez St., Santa Cruz, 95062 Hours: Daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Watsonville Location: CURRENTLY CLOSED 580 Airport Blvd, Watsonville, CA 95076 SCCAS Main line: 831-454-7200. Animal Control: 831-454-7227. After-Hours Emergency: 831-471-1182 • After Hours: jillian.ganley@santacruzcounty.us

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On an Old Map

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Ditye recommends parents avoid rice cereal for their infants because of the contamination and choose oats or barley instead. Happy Baby also makes an oats and quinoa mix. Her review covers vegetable puree, fruit puree and formula.

By the way, all of the packaging makes the baby food product appear to be a good choice.

The coalition’s 37-page letter was addressed to Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner of FDA and Dr. Susan Mayne, director, FDA, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition.

The petition was filed by attorneys general of 22 states: California, New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. n •••

Read the petition at: https://tinyurl.com/ baby-food-toxins. (Full URL: https://oag.ca.gov/system/ files/attachments/press-docs/NYOAG%20 et%20al%20-%20Baby%20Food%20 Petition%20to%20FDA%20%2810-212021%29-with%20appendices.pdf)

Read the blog with https://mommyhood101. com/nontoxic-baby-foods-and-formulas

“SF vs. LA” from page 5

Sharing a Passion

That National League Division Series between the Dodgers and Giants ended up being one of the most fun weeks of my life. In my dorm hall, several of us huddled around a tiny computer screen watching every game, Giants and Dodgers fans alike. During that week, we became friends not because of the team we supported, but rather for the love of baseball we collectively shared. I discovered we could bond regardless of our affiliations over this shared passion.

Even my cousin, a Los Angeles native who attended the game with me, said, “Going with Giants fans was fun, especially because of the banter between us. It made it a high-stakes game because the fans of the winning team would be able to trash talk on the ride home. Even if the Dodgers had lost, it still would have been fun … the experience of being in the ballpark, especially during a playoff game, and having great seats with some great people was an experience I’ll never forget.”

I felt that fun and friendly competition when we left Dodger Stadium after the game, walking the same parking lots where Brian Stow was attacked. My dad and brother and I were lightheartedly heckled by Dodger fans because the Giants lost — but I wasn’t afraid. It was friendly and jovial (some hilarious insults, I might add). We were all laughing and having the time of our lives.

Nobody truly cared who won or lost; it was about each other, the interactions fellow fans shared. It was about unity.

Sports have the capacity to lift up the world.

Track star Jesse Owens blew superior race theory out of the water and unified the world, winning four gold medals in the face of Adolf Hitler and the 1936 “Nazi” Olympics in Berlin. Jackie Robinson set the stage for black liberation in America by demonstrating his determination, breaking the color line on Major League Baseball in 1947. Home run king Babe Ruth, with his eminently quotable wisdom, inspired fans who saw him do what no others had done before and pointed out baseball is a team sport.

Today, Bryan Stow remains an avid baseball fan. He founded the Bryan Stow Foundation, whose online mission statement states that people should “live kinder lives.” Stow speaks at schools about bullying and fan violence. He serves as a symbol of bravery and joy, a reminder of the capacity sports have to change lives, to unify; the same unity that beamed from Dodger Stadium, that lit up the faces of fans of all sorts of affiliations.

Baseball is home. It elicits life’s goodness and pure togetherness, uplifting the world through pure fun and joy. In the world of sports, we are one. n

•••

Willa Reed, who graduated from Scotts Valley High School in 2021, is a freshman at UCLA. This is her first column for the Scotts Valley Times.

Cover Photo: Willa Reed (right) with dad Jim center and brother Jimmy at left, outside Dodger Stadium share the joy of baseball.