PROTECT AMESTI SCHOOL
I recently heard that a PVUSD Board member mentioned that Amesti Elementary School was one of the schools that would be considered to close in her mind.
I strongly disagree with that opinion.
I joined the Tree Planting Event at Amesti Elementary School on January 31st.
The event was coordinated beautifully by Watsonville Wetlands Watch, Amesti Elementary School and Expanded Learning of PVUSD. I heard before the event that 69 families signed up and that about 180 students, parents, staff and volunteers participated under the warm sunshine. We planted trees along the two fields. It was very much fun. I volunteered to make name cards in Japanese Hiragana writing for the students and their parents. It was really popular. The trees will become very beautiful in several years.
I have volunteered to help the gardening program at Amesti Elementary School for almost one year and a half. The principal said to us the other day that the garden looked amazing. I have observed that the garden has become a place for not only learning but also healing for the students, especially the students with mental health issues. I have received positive energies every time I go to the garden.
I also recently learned that Amesti Elementary School was established in 1879. I think that the School was established to educate the surviving children after many children in Santa Cruz County died with diphtheria between 1876 and 1878.
Furthermore, I learned that local American Indian children went to Amesti Elementary School in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
PVUSD Board and administration should respect the history and people of Amesti Elementary School. We should protect Amesti Elementary School from being closed.
Takashi Mizuno | Watsonville
SAVE THE TRACKS
Public projects are not supposed to be a return on investment opportunity. They are for the public good. If public projects were to have an ROI every time they were built, we would not continue to increase our road size, reconstruct bridges for safety or even re-stripe our crosswalks.
Keeping the rails that we have in Santa Cruz County makes sense. Having a rail transportation system makes sense. Not to make a profit but to assist in moving people who do not want to own cars or can’t afford a car, for people who want to connect to the larger transportation network that is currently being built out within the state, without driving, and also for emergency transportation in case of a natural disaster within our county.
At this time, when any one of our major arteries comes to a standstill due to construction or an accident, our side roads are burdened with the drivers trying to find a way around. This only adds to the issues for residents trying to run simple errands or emergency responders trying to save a life. Metro is not the answer. Examine the expensive bus on shoulder experiment on Highway 1. Buses have to merge back into traffic and certain drivers take advantage of this “bus zone” to try and move ahead. This was a failed experiment before it was even built.
Our transportation corridors are narrow. We can’t add lanes to Soquel or Water without removing businesses or homes. Our county roads are narrow and suffer from geological issues frequently during winter events. We need an option that may not be perfect but it is viable. There is currently funding available and we should take advantage of it and any future grants that become available from state or federal agencies.
Vicki Miller | District One Resident
ONLINE COMMENTS
MELANIA, THE MOVIE
This is probably the best (ahem) movie review I’ve read. Well done Good Times!
Laura Larson | Good Times Facebook page
NEW CLUB ABOVE CATALYST
I do miss the Karaoke on Fridays at the Catalyst, but I’m pretty glad there’s a place for goths like me to hang out.
AM | Good Times.sc
WHAT ABOUT LOVE, COVER STORY
First and foremost: LOVE YOURSELF, Love our endangered Mother Earth and then dare to send Love out to the haters…especially in these crazy times, Love is stronger than hate.
Dee | GoodTimes.sc
MORE WHAT ABOUT LOVE
Love the article, Richard! You always give us something to think about that’s meaningful and interesting! Happy Valentine’s Day❣️
Jane Reyes | GoodTimes.sc
DINING COMMENT
The two sisters (Nicole AND Natalie) that started and operate Santa Cruz Cider Co. are ‘fantabulousness’ personified. Their tasting room, with limited open hours, is well worth a visit. (be warned, though, their website is often out of date…but don’t let that stop you from going, ok ?!!)
Dee | GoodTimes.sc
LA BOTTEGA DEL LAGO
I tried their pasta salad – delicous, fresh and you can tell the pasta is made from scratch. Convenient grab-and-go from their take-out fridge. Great spot for gifts too. I bought some Italian cookies for Christmas gifts and they were a big hit.
C. Walton | Goodtimes.sc
EVENTBRITE FOUNDER
What’s the difference between Eventbrite and Ticketmaster? Size. What’s wrong with venues selling their own tickets?
Prices to see even local talent are crazy high. These “fees” we pay for the privilege of buying a ticket push access to even simple local talent out of reach and seeing big names out of the question.
I saw a hearing on TV the other day and the Feds are zeroing in on these outrageous prices, ticket resale and scalping .
It’s about time.
Rick O’Shea | GoodTimes.sc
EVENTBRITE FOUNDER
I always enjoy DNA’s cover stories. These should be a book…or a series. Great interviews and great writing. More, please!
Karen Babbitt | GoodTimes.sc
MORE EVENTBRITE
Well, let me say this – while it is terrific to read of a local’s success, I agree that the fees often (not always) attached to a purchase on her site are unreasonable (how about making the fees based on the purchase itself rather than each ticket ??!??), I am WAY TOO OFTEN GETTING SPAM from the site getting hacked. No thanks to that…!!!
Dee | GoodTimes.sc
FLIPPING THE FOOD PYRAMID
When it comes to food and health questions, everyone has a dog in the fight, not just the “Good Guys”.
Big Meat and Big Pharma, of course. But also Big Supplement, Big Agriculture and Health Educators of every stripe and size have real financial stakes behind their preferred narratives. Not to mention Big Ego behind the various academic food fight fashions. One prominent researcher delayed publishing a major study for 16 years, until he retired, because the study failed to back up the conventional wisdom about the hazards of saturated fat consumption. No one likes to admit they were wrong, especially in the face of vocal tribes insisting they weren’t wrong, but were the victim of a conspiracy.
Mark Twain’s words were never more appropriate: “He who doesn’t read is uninformed, he who does read is misinformed.”
I would never counsel anyone to give up trying to weigh the most accurate information on lifestyle from a variety of sources. This is not an easy task, and our educational system’s general insistence on blind belief of authoritative sources does not make it any easier. Even received wisdom like the existence of healthy Blue Zones can be challenged by statistics about infant mortality and anomalous population demographics in those areas.
“If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” might be justified for religion. But we’re not talking about religion, are we?
Jozseph Schultz | Goodtimes.sc
