RACIAL PROBLEM
Regarding the recent racial incident caused by Trustee Steve Trujillo’s insensitive actions against African Americans in the Board meetings of Cabrillo College, I think that he did not pay enough attention to the negative impacts caused by his actions, while he tried to defend his actions by saying that he did not have any harmful intentions. I am saying this as a person who took training about racial issues. Cabrillo College is a public community educational institution. I do not know what action the Board might have taken in this case, but I believe that he is required to pay deep attention to the negative impacts caused by his insensitive actions as an elected official, a Trustee, who has represented Trustee Area 7.
Takashi Mizuno | Watsonville
DON’T GIVE UP ON BESS
The battery facility proposed for Minto Road has been delayed. That’s a problem because it needs to be online as soon as possible if we are to stop burning fossil fuels. The delay is caused by resistance to the facility by some in the community.
This resistance hurts my heart because a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) plays a vital role in fighting global warming. We must develop wind and solar energy. But the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine.
We need batteries to store that energy. We experienced climate warming in the third week of March when temperatures neared 100 degrees. It’s even worse for places like Africa where there are multiple regions stricken with drought and other places hit with catastrophic flooding.
A BESS facility must be regulated, but those regulations already exist. California Senate Bill 283 calls for the highest safety standards for fire and other dangers. It was authored by our own Senator John Laird and signed into law.
These regulations were prompted by the Moss Landing BESS fire. There were several serious design flaws in that facility. In the first place, the batteries were all housed in one building. Once a fire started, it could easily spread to the whole place.
The BESS proposed for Minto Road will be made up of several buildings. At Moss Landing, the batteries were stacked on top of each other. At Minto Road they will be insulated from each other. At Moss Landing, the fire protection system was inadequate. At Minto Road there will be a robust response to fires.
The danger of climate change is greater than the danger of a battery facility. We have already experienced the flood of the winter of 2022-2023 when the Pajaro River broke its levee and flooded the town of Pajaro and nearby fields. We need a battery facility to prevent a worse weather disaster.
Emelyn Buskirk | Watsonville
ONLINE COMMENTS
YOUR VOTE COUNTS
Your editor’s note about the Sphere really resonated with me. Santa Cruz has always been ahead of the curve and this story is no different.
Silva Injury Law is a personal injury firm with a location right here in Santa Cruz and they just received their first-ever Webby nomination in Scripted Entertainment.Out of 13,000+ entries from over 70 countries, they’re now competing in the same category as Jimmy Kimmel and Keke Palmer at the 30th Annual Webby Awards.
They didn’t wait for an opportunity to find them. Instead, they launched Silva Studios, a full cinematic production arm, and built something entirely their own: 36 million views. 296,000 subscribers. 125% year-over-year revenue growth. This is a story of a small-town attorney who stopped marketing like a law firm and started thinking like a media company.
Here’s where Santa Cruz comes in: the People’s Voice Award is decided by public vote, open through April 16. If Santa Cruz rallies, a local firm could actually win this thing. Voting link:wbby.co/57602N
Julin Jean |Goodtimes.sc
