VETERANS NEED HELP
My name is Dave Ramos, a U.S. Army Veteran and Managing Director of the Santa Cruz County Veterans Memorial Building. I am reaching out on behalf of a coalition of local veterans and their families to bring immediate attention to a crisis severely jeopardizing the quality of service provided by the Santa Cruz County Veterans Service Office (VSO).
The VSO, which provides vital assistance for veterans navigating state and federal benefits, is suffering from crippling staff turnover, severe morale issues, and leadership challenges originating from County management above the Veteran Services Officer. These internal structural problems are directly eroding the VSO’s ability to serve our community effectively. Losing these highly trained professionals has a direct, detrimental impact on veterans’ access to earned benefits.
We are calling upon the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to take immediate and decisive action to return direct oversight of the Veterans Service Office to the Board as a standalone County department. This structural change is necessary to establish direct accountability for VSO operations and provide administrative protection for staff, allowing them to focus on service delivery free from toxic interference.
We are unified in our campaign, and we have a strong internal champion. Supervisor Justin Cummings (3rd District) is lending his full support to this mission and is ready to engage the public and the media on the necessity of this reform.
The entire veteran community and its supporters are mobilizing for a crucial demonstration of advocacy at the Board of Supervisors meeting: 9am Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 701 Ocean St – Room 500.
We urge the community to contact the Board of Supervisors immediately at Bo****************@***************ca.gov in support of this oversight change.
Dave Ramos | Santa Cruz
COVER BANDS VS ORIGINALS
As a commercial trumpeter, I’ve played all genres of music, which means playing other composers’ work. Classical, symphonic wind ensembles, jazz big bands, musicals, church services—it’s all about playing the ink. But I’ve also played in bands that perform a mixture of originals and cover songs, but those covers are usually obscure.
Straight cover bands just don’t do it for me, either playing with or listening to. I find great joy playing original music, supporting musicians who are searching for new sounds and new lyrics. I hope your readers step out and seek the various original bands.
Dan Young | Aptos
STOP SPRAYING
Driscoll’s, the largest berry producer in the WORLD, loves to give to nonprofits, school sports teams, and they are generous. During the Santa Cruz Gives drive, the Campaign for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture (CORA) is hoping that Miles Reiter and the entire Reiter family will consider giving the greatest gift of all for the kids in Watsonville: turning all fields near schools organic (filing for transition to organic) by the beginning of next year’s berry season.
According to the National Cancer Institute, Santa Cruz County has the second-highest pediatric cancer rate in all of California. One million pounds of pesticides are sprayed right here in this county and according to Ann Lopez, director of Farmworker Families, “98.5% of the pesticides associated with childhood leukemia and 95.2% of pesticides tied to childhood brain cancer were applied in 2019 in this zip code [95076] alone.”
Driscoll’s, this would be a lovely time to give the BEST GIFT of all to our children in the Pajaro Valley: no more pesticides in the 13 fields closest to schools starting in 2026.
Batya Kagan | Santa Cruz
TRUMP TIMES
I find it quite unappealing/distressing that Santa Cruz is going to spend the next three years hating Trump and throwing tantrums left and right, little else. While I suspect one party controlling all branches of government sure can lead to abuses of power, that is not Trump’s fault. The Dems just don’t offer much of anything and their ideas are dysfunctional. Imagine any state that was never a slave state paying reparations. Just an example of a Dem stupid idea. There are so many, like open borders, the Covid fiasco, an endless list.
People can sure protest all they want, but Trump is killing it in so many ways, and the media in Santa Cruz, and the people, just live in an empty echo chamber of TDS hate. I applaud Good Times for having somewhat uncensored online comments, unlike Sentinel, which has none, and the very judgy Nextdoor.
Garrett Philipp
CABRILLO COMPLAINT
As a parent of a freshman at Cabrillo Community College, I’m alarmed by the uneven curriculum in a required course—English C1000—and the chilling effect it’s having on free thought.
The course is supposed to teach college-level writing, research, and critical analysis. Yet in my son’s section, every paper demands a prescribed stance on race and social-justice topics, with little focus on grammar, thesis crafting, or source evaluation. Meanwhile, a friend in another section of the same course has seen zero assignments on race, gender, or LGBTQ issues—instead drilling on MLA formatting, argumentation, and expository writing.
Both groups must pass into English C1001, but they’re receiving wildly different preparation. My son now fears he’ll be behind—and that voicing concern in class could tank his grade. Students shouldn’t have to choose between honest inquiry and a passing mark.
Colleges promise consistency in core courses. When one section becomes an ideology seminar and another a writing boot camp, that promise breaks.
I urge the college to:
– Review all English C1000 syllabi against approved learning outcomes.
– Publish sample syllabi so students register knowingly.
– Guarantee no retaliation for good-faith dissent.
Parents and taxpayers deserve transparency. Students deserve equal preparation—no matter the instructor.
Katherine Rue | Aptos
KEEP THE TRAIN
Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail & Trail (FORT) today released the following statement by Board President Matt Farrell:
As reported in local media, Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC) Commissioners Keeley and Koenig have proposed a so-called “peace deal” to address a funding shortfall for the Coastal Rail Trail that stretches from the Wharf in Santa Cruz to State Park Drive in Aptos.
Friends of the Rail & Trail opposes the Keeley-Koenig vision for several reasons, chief among them is that this plan will result in the railroad tracks being ripped up and replaced with a trail. Once the tracks are removed, they will not come back.
Less than four years ago, Santa Cruz County voters rejected Greenway’s proposal to rip out the tracks, with a historic 74% voting no. And in 2016, voters approved funding to support the Coastal Rail Trail project. Voters did not approve what amounts to a permanent delay of rail service. The proposed “peace” violates the will and intent of the voters.
Commissioner Keeley has stated publicly there are “five major players” involved in the Keeley-Koenig deal: SCCRTC, Progressive Rail, Roaring Camp Railroads, Friends of the Rail & Trail and Greenway. It should be noted that among the five players, the only public support expressed has been by Greenway’s current and former leadership. This comes as no surprise, since this deal nearly exactly follows the Greenway trail-only and no-rail-ever vision they have promoted for many years, despite rejection by voters.
The Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line has recently been accepted into the federal Corridor ID program for passenger rail planning, sponsored by Caltrans. Participation in Corridor ID provides SCCRTC with professional rail design services, funded entirely by the state and federal governments.
FORT discovered that if the SCCRTC removes the railroad tracks to create a trail, SCCRTC participation in the Corridor ID program will be jeopardized—a fact previously unknown by SCCRTC staff and commissioners and brought to their attention by FORT.
Admission into Corridor ID was a huge step forward for passenger rail in Santa Cruz County. It is unacceptable to remove the tracks and risk the loss of rail grant federal funding in order to proceed with Greenway’s trail-only vision that local voters have rejected.
It is concerning that the Keeley-Koenig deal has not been published and made accessible to the public. The Coastal Rail Trail project has been in the making for well over a decade and has twice been the subject of local ballot measures. Its outcome should not be determined by a deal that has not been made accessible in detail to the community and without adequate time to learn more information. We ask that the SCCRTC not take action on the proposed deal until adequate public engagement has taken place.
Commissioners Keeley and Koenig should be commended for their focus on finding a solution to what is clearly a vexing situation. Their vision needs significant revision to find a way forward for the Coastal Rail and Trail project that honors the will of the voters: build the trail and keep the rail for future passenger service.
Sally Arnold | Outreach & Development | Friends of the Rail & Trail
