EDITOR’S NOTE
For all the talk about Silicon Beach over the last couple of decades, agriculture is what built this area, and continues to be one of its biggest economic engines. In fact, Santa Cruz County’s neighbor to the south, Monterey County, is still one of the top 10 agricultural counties in the U.S. There’s a letter in this very issue from an agronomist who calls Pajaro Valley soil “the best in the world.” And yet, the workings of the ag industry are invisible to most people here.
Maybe that’s why we love farming cover stories so much here at GT. There are so many interesting ag and land-use related stories that don’t get the attention they deserve in this county; our historical cover story last week on the Bracero Program is one example. This week’s piece by Mark C. Anderson is a very different kind of ag story, but it also has deeper cultural and political implications. If you’ve never heard of David Blume or Whiskey Hill Farms, I think you’ll be surprised to discover the kind of innovation that’s being engineered right here on our local farmland. The ecological impact of what’s being pioneered there could be huge not just for Santa Cruz County, but also for the planet.
STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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GOOD IDEA
TALKING THROUGH IT
The Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV) has officially opened registration for its antiracism book circles. RCNV started these book circles in response to the social justice protests happening around the country, and as a way to foster interconnectedness. Register at rcnv.org
GOOD WORK
BEACH COMBING
With the help of 1,361 volunteers, Save Our Shores tackled 64 beach cleanup sites during its Annual Coastal Cleanup Day last Saturday. In the largest beach cleanup of the year, 896 community volunteers came out in support of Santa Cruz County oceans. They removed over 3,506 pounds of trash and 326 pounds of recycling from beaches and waterways.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Here’s to alcohol, the cause of—and solution to—all of life’s problems.”
— Homer Simpson
