California is an outlier. It’s always been.
Our state has led the nation in protecting the environment—with higher standards for clean air, clean water and environmental protection than in much of the rest of the nation. We know what we have here is sacred and we aren’t willing to sacrifice our pristine coastline for the almighty dollar.
It’s not always a popular position in the rest of the nation—especially for those in industries that profit from extracting the earth’s non-renewable resources.
Let’s not forget that one of the first things the Republican administration did in 2020—on behalf of deep-pocketed donors—was to roll back 2015 regulations aimed at protecting rivers, lakes and streams from waste from coal-burning power plants. They brag about cutting regulations to help the economy, but they forget the ultimate price of forever losing safe, clean water and air.
It’s a never-ending battle, and luckily there are some local people who are prepared to fight for the environment, which is why you aren’t looking out at oil rigs along our coast.
Our cover story salutes some of those locals, including Dan Haifley and John Laird, who found ways to turn the tide away from corporate greed and save our tides.
The article looks at the impending threat from others who chant “Drill, Baby, Drill” like it’s a football game, not a code for “Pollute, Baby, Pollute” and “Profit, Baby, Profit.”
Luckily, these folks tipped their hand with Project 2025, which pushes a “drill, baby” mentality that is now out there for all to see. If you want crude oil on your beaches, you can vote that way. If you don’t, this article shows a path to fight for the environment.
On other positive fronts, Mark C. Anderson’s Dining column leads the way to healthy foods for all. Taking that to the people who matter most, Elizabeth Borelli covers a project to make lunch ladies cool again by teaching them to cook locally sourced, healthy foods in schools. Little is more important than that, right? No more hot dogs and potato chips?
Our arts stories run the gamut from Hamlet to Talking Heads and include an inclusive poetry circle that lets other voices be heard.
We also cover a literary journal that takes an axe to the frozen sea of other hard-to-access journals and creates a place for oppressed writers to speak out, or write out.
We’ve got high brow, we’ve got low brow, we’ve got it all this week. I hope you love it as much as I do.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava
PHOTO CONTEST
COTTON CANDY CLOUDS A puffy sunset sky shot downtown. Photograph by Jennifer Kelly.
GOOD IDEA
Silicon Valley Community Foundation has hired Marie D’Costa as its new executive vice president of philanthropic partnerships and Moses Zapien as its new executive vice president of community action, initiatives and policy.
Most recently serving as the vice president and chief development officer at the New York Community Trust, D’Costa brings expertise in philanthropy and fundraising. She will oversee development, donor engagement and corporate responsibility.
Zapien comes from the San Joaquin Community Foundation, where he served as CEO. He will be responsible for honing and developing strategies for SVCF’s discretionary grantmaking programs and creating a public policy program to advance equity for residents of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
GOOD WORK
The County of Santa Cruz and its Pitch In Initiative was recently recognized by Caltrans, Clean California and Keep America Beautiful as one of 22 California communities that are the first to pledge to be a part of the Clean California Community Designation Program.
The statewide program encourages local engagement in a statewide effort to make communities cleaner, more sustainable and to foster community pride, and is part of Governor Newsom’s Clean California initiative, a $1.2 billion, multiyear project led by Caltrans to clean up, reclaim, transform, and beautify public spaces. Since the program’s inception three years ago, 50,000 tires, 12,000 mattresses and mountains of trash have been hauled away.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“When I looked into space, there was no majestic awe to behold. All I saw was death.”
–William Shatner
CORRECTION
An article in the Home and Garden section misreported that Professor Emeritus Rich Merrill of Cabrillo College had passed away. He hasn’t! The beloved founder of the Horticulture Department at Cabrillo College is alive and well and living in Santa Barbara.
