Why enacting Prop. 4 would protect clean air

No matter our politics, there is one thing upon which we can all agree: We all want to breathe clean air that doesn’t put our health at risk. That’s why we should support Proposition 4 in the coming election. It invests in proven solutions that will help to prevent and contain the massive wildfires that have regularly filled our air with toxic smoke and ash. As a result of the hotter climate, we can’t breathe easy.

The eight largest wildfires in state history have all burned since 2018. In the worst of those years, every single California county was covered by smoke plumes for at least 46 days. Things will only get worse unless we act now. Proposition 4 will fast-track projects to improve forest health and increase resilience to prevent wildfires, protecting our health and communities. Please vote to protect our clean air. Vote Yes on Proposition 4.

— Lynda Marin, Santa Cruz

Special districts should change views of LAFCOs

Santa Cruz LAFCO, the commission overseeing the county’s special districts, has a reputation – and it’s not entirely positive. Sometimes viewed as the Death Eaters of special districts, LAFCOs across the state play an important role in local governance. Still, despite prevailing sentiment, many common misconceptions about LAFCOs are undeserved. While some clear opportunities to improve LAFCOs exist, local agencies themselves are in part responsible for the dissonance between LAFCOs and the districts they oversee.

A healthier dynamic can be fostered if special districts use LAFCOs like service providers. In business, those who work with expert consultants understand that the quality of support correlates directly to the sincerity of client engagement. That logic extends well to local district administration.

LAFCO actions will appear less capricious if considered and consistent engagement with local agencies precede any action. Concurrently, LAFCOs must be held accountable, their effectiveness measured in the value they add directly to their local districts’ constituents. If local districts treated LAFCO more like McKinsey (Ed. note: a multinational strategy and management consulting firm) and less like the local butcher, a more effective relationship would result.

— Philip Hover-Smoot, Santa Cruz

Memorial brought a late wife back, for a moment

On Sept. 12th, 25 years after Fran Crane’s death, her husband Walt Andrews honored her life with a full page memorial (published in the Sentinel). I didn’t know Fran and but I would have liked her. He brought her back just for a moment for us to admire her accomplishments. Thank you Walt.

— Jan Olafsson, Soquel

Trump’s rhetoric is encouraging violence

The Sentinel’s Saturday headline “Trump won’t speak ill of Loomer” should have been “Trump won’t speak ill of School Bombing Threats.” In his own press conference, he was asked if had concerns about the bomb threats to Springfield, OH, schools. He had none! Instead he said what mattered was the threat of immigrants. This is staggering news and shows what we can expect from the MAGA-Republican party led by Trump - acts of violence and intimidation, demonizing minorities, and destroying the integrity of whole communities, are justified campaigning tactics.

Apparently this is needed to double down on and further distract from the disinformation and lies Trump panders to his base. Please country, let’s turn the page on this evil chaos and vote out every Trump=supporting Republican from office!

— Tony Sloss, Santa Cruz

If a story sounds ‘weird,’ then fact check it out

The other day I was in a conversation with another human and she started referring to kids in classrooms who were identifying as cats and using kitty litter boxes for relieving themselves. This was an easily fact-checked story that spun out of control when teachers, in response to active shooter warnings and school shut downs, provided an in classroom facility for relief.

Please, if a story sounds that weird, take a breath and check it out with a reliable news source. We need to ramp down quick the quick reactionary faux cultural outrage and start acting like adults who are role models for our youth.

— Kevin Kelem, Santa Cruz