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Writing

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2017 - 2023

California State

La Paz, Baja California Peninsula, Mexico

Madson Winery

Clips Continued

Radiation Rundown

Radiation released into the environment following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant meltdown has many people around the world worried, prompting regional groups such as S.O.S. Fukushima Response Santa Cruz to rally for international action in the ongoing cleanup process.

Sanctuary Camps

Brent Adams, a local homeless advocate and champion of the Santa Cruz Sanctuary Camp housing concept, recently returned home from a multi-state tour researching and documenting more than a half dozen citizen-organized, community-sanctioned homeless communities.

War Zone

From the bustling entrance hall of a newly renovated Santa Cruz County Veterans Memorial Building, where dozens of veterans spent the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 15 filling out paperwork for medical benefits and support services, the faint sound of piano music and singing came floating up from the basement—or as it is known among veterans, “the bunker.”

A Black Sheep from the Street

By the time Willie Stokes was 14 years old, living in East Salinas with his aunt and three sisters, he was deeply entrenched in gang life. Stokes was addicted to hard drugs, and would not think twice about robbing someone or breaking into a home. He spent much of his childhood in and out of juvenile hall, spent the subsequent 17 years in and out of penitentiary, and ultimately served 10 years at the maximum security Pelican Bay State Prison.

Homegrown Issue

Last month, the Watsonville-based research organization Applied Survey Research (ASR) released its biennial census of the Santa Cruz County homeless population. While the numbers represent an alarming increase, the percentage of respondents who indicated they lived locally before becoming homeless falls inside of the normal spectrum for other surveyed counties, says ASR Vice President Peter Connery.

Confronting the Future

Many of the critical threats to the California coast and the ocean environment—such as sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and toxic run-off—are causing harm incrementally over the course of decades. Meanwhile, large-scale response and prevention initiatives by the government to these accumulating, long-term hazards—called “adaptation”—are substantially hindered, largely due to the relatively shorter time frames in which government and politics operate.

Halfway There

The keynote speaker at a celebration this week marking the halfway goal for the 180/180 campaign, a multi-agency initiative to house the county’s most vulnerable 180 homeless individuals, was Becky Kanis, director for the 100,000 Homes national campaign.

Citizens 2.0

If the new online startup Civinomics, which is based in Downtown Santa Cruz, is making one distinct impact on the community’s civic dialogue so far, it is with organization.

Moving the Needle

Providing intravenous drug users with clean syringes is like making condoms available for young people, says Dr. Lisa Hernandez, medical services director for the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency (HSA).

Off the Streets

Two years ago, Vietnam War veteran Wayne Wyman went to sleep on a beach in Monterey. He was drunk and had no place else to go. He had already been living on the streets for six years, jobless and debilitated by alcoholism.

The Bold Woman and the Sea

Military veteran and paraplegic Angela Madsen finds life at sea liberating. What others call her disabilities melt away when she is rowing to far-off destinations, and all that remain are her capabilities—what she can or cannot do is determined by the tasks at hand and what the ocean will allow.

Pain Management

Medications that contain hydrocodone—an extremely addictive opioid found in commonly prescribed painkillers such as Vicodin—are causing more lethal overdoses in the United States than heroin and cocaine combined, according to Bill Morris, a local palliative care doctor for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF).

Community Fund

A team of resilient individuals assists young men with avoiding gang life and re-identifying themselves as athletes. One man, in an effort to protect kids, works closely with local teachers, parents and youth to make certain that school is a safe place for students that may be struggling with identity or suffering abuse.

Eyes on the Courts

Bryan Matthew Martin—a local recidivist whose rap sheet, dating back to 2003, includes check fraud, meth possession, and felony auto theft—is a name that, for the Public Safety Citizen Task Force, reflects possible negligence in sentencing by the Santa Cruz County Superior Court system.

Numbers Game

As the Santa Cruz Warriors approaches the start of its second season of NBA Development League basketball—operating as the affiliate team to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland—both sports fans and the business community, alike, are eagerly re-investing for more of what they got with season one.

A Tarplant Tale

In the middle of Arana Gulch, a 63-acre greenbelt of rolling meadow and oak woodland nestled between Live Oak and Santa Cruz’s Eastside neighborhood, there are about a dozen tiny yellow flowers, each about the size of a nickel. And while they are small, mostly dried out this time of year, and aesthetically quite simple, the plants tell a much bigger story than their appearance suggests.

Should the Rain Not Fall

When it comes to solving and engaging the public on Santa Cruz’s water supply problems, it’s becoming increasingly clear to local leaders that the way to begin is not by spearheading solutions, such as transfers with other districts, new conservation tactics, or the highly contentious desalination plant, but rather to start with the basics: what are the city’s water sources, and what are the problems it faces?

Burial Grounds

For the tens of thousands of veterans who have lived and passed away in recent years in the Monterey Bay Area, as well as their families, the nearest national veterans cemetery is almost a two-hour drive away in the San Joaquin Valley.

Bait, Trawl, Switch

Bottom trawling is a traditional but controversial means of fishing that drags heavy nets along the seafloor, churning up and scooping in sand-dwelling fish like sand dab and halibut, along with everything else in its path. It has been described in some studies as being similar to a farmer plowing his fields.

Pledge of Cleanliness

Tucked away in the nooks and crannies of Santa Cruz County, there are perhaps dozens of homeless camps, ranging in size and occupancy, and migrating frequently following busts by authorities. One trait that is invariably associated with these secluded habitats is major biohazard—piles of trash, human waste, and syringes are commonplace.

Blood Sport

Sixty-one caged gamecocks, 26 vehicles, and some boxes of beer and doughnuts. That’s all that remained at a cockfighting venue in rural Watsonville after 60 to 80 suspects fled as authorities approached on the morning of Sunday, July 14.

The Price of Safety

The City of Santa Cruz’s pocketbook has come a long way since 2009, when an $8 million shortfall loomed. According to City Manager Martin Bernal, the proposed general fund budget for 2013-2014 is healthier than it has been since the beginning of The Great Recession in 2008. Armed with this returning stability, the proposal puts one of the community’s top concerns—public safety—front and center.