Meeting provides update on levee project
WATSONVILLE — The public is invited to a community meeting to learn about the latest update in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ flood protection efforts to the Pajaro River levees.
The meeting will be held Oct. 19 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Watsonville Civic Plaza, 275 Main St., fourth floor.
Spurred by several events over the past year, advocacy by both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties and Congressman Jimmy Panetta, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has ramped up efforts on the Federal Flood Risk Reduction Project for the Pajaro River. The Corps plan to release a Draft Feasibility Study and environmental documentation in late October.
The goal is to move into the initial stages of levee design and project construction as soon as July 2018. The draft reports include a description of the Corps’ recommended improvements for levees along the Pajaro River and its feeder creeks.
For information about the Pajaro Flood Risk Management Project, contact Mark Strudley at 454-2160 or [email protected].
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Warriors’ trophies heading to Aptos
APTOS — The Santa Cruz Warriors are bringing the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 and 2017 golden championship trophies to the Seascape Beach Resort on Oct. 18.
Guests are invited to enjoy lunch, take a selfie or purchase a professional photo of themselves with the trophies, and listen to NBA G League President Malcolm Turner, who will speak about the league, including Gatorade’s partnership, the growth in the number of teams, the relationship with the NBA, global expansion, and Santa Cruz County becoming the model community in the league.
The presentation is hosted by the Aptos Chamber of Commerce from 11:50 a.m.–1 p.m. Admission is $30 per person and includes lunch.
Reservations are required. For information, call 688-1467 or email [email protected].
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Profile of Santa Cruz hosts open house
CAPITOLA — Profile of Santa Cruz, a chapter of Experience Unlimited, will be holding an open house celebrating its relaunch on Oct. 13 from 1-3 p.m.
Profile of Santa Cruz is a professional job search and networking club providing job search assistance to unemployed and underemployed professionals and recent college grads. Members have expertise in administration, management, finance, personnel, education, engineering, marketing, accounting, computer technology and various scientific fields
Profile’s benefits include access to the internet, use of a printer/scanner, job listings from local employers, and guest speakers. It also provides job search workshops on resume writing, job search techniques, PSR writing, negotiation skills and LinkedIn.
The public is invited to meet staff and tour the facilities at the Capitola Career Center, 2045 40th Ave., Suite B, Capitola on Oct. 13 from 1-3 p.m.
For information, call 479-0393 or email [email protected].
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Astronaut to give talk in Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ — Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space and the former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will give a talk on Oct. 11 — the 33rd anniversary of her spacewalk — as a benefit for the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.
Sullivan, who served as a member of three NASA space shuttle missions and travelled to the East Pacific Rise in the deep-sea submersible Alvin, is a geologist and oceanographer who graduated from UC Santa Cruz with honors in 1973. She served as NOAA administrator from March 2014 to January 2017.
The talk, titled “From the Sea to the Stars,” is part of the museum’s Rio Theatre Speaker Series. It will take place at 7 p.m. at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz. Admission is $18 general, and $12 for museum members. For information, visit santacruzmuseum.org.
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Workshop focuses on how to start a business
SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz County SCORE will hold a workshop on how to start a business on Oct. 19 from 2-4 p.m. at Simpkins Family Swim Center, 979 17th Ave. in Santa Cruz.
The presenter is Patricia Bottero St-Jean, an international business coach, and SCORE mentor. She has decades of experience as an entrepreneur and is founder of Open For Business Co., a business ownership lab that provides workshops, training and resources for those wishing to explore business ownership.
The cost of the workshop is $35. To register, visit santacruz.score.org/take-workshop-11 or call 621-3735.
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Free tire recycling to be offered
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — Tires will be accepted for recycling at no charge under a Tire Amnesty Program in Santa Cruz County.
Residents can to bring up to five waste tires per day at no charge to disposal sites from Oct. 14 through Oct. 21. Fees will be waived on passenger car and light truck tires under 36 inches in diameter. Tires on rims will be accepted. Waste tires from businesses are not eligible for the Tire Amnesty Program.
These participating sites will accept tires. All facilities are open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., except as noted, and are closed on Sundays.
• County Buena Vista Landfill, 1231 Buena Vista Drive, Watsonville
• County Ben Lomond Transfer Station, 9835 Newell Creek Road, Ben Lomond
• City of Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Facility, 605 Dimeo Lane, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz City residents only)
• Watsonville Waste and Recycling Drop Off, 320 Harvest Drive, Watsonville (Hours: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Watsonville City residents only)
Santa Cruz County Public Works and Mosquito and Vector Control, along with the cities of Santa Cruz and Watsonville, are joining forces to offer the Tire Amnesty Program, which is supported by a state grant from CalRecycle to reduce soil contamination, mosquito breeding sites, and fire hazards associated with improperly stored or discarded tires.
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County health officer appointed to state cannabis board
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — The California Department of Consumer Affairs has appointed County Health Officer Dr. Arnold Leff to the statewide Cannabis Advisory Committee.
The newly created 22-member Cannabis Advisory Committee is tasked with providing expertise and advice to the Bureau of Cannabis Control, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Public Health on cannabis regulations to help protect public health and safety and reduce the illegal market for cannabis.
“It’s a great honor to be part of the inaugural Cannabis Advisory Committee as California ventures forward toward the creation and oversight of a responsible and responsive framework of cannabis regulations,” Leff said. “Along with my fellow Board members, I look forward to the challenges ahead.”
Leff holds a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, and has more than a decade of public health experience in Cincinnati and Contra Costa County, where he served as Public Health Commissioner and Public Health Director, respectively.
He was an original plaintiff in Conant v. Walters, a case before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals which affirmed the right of doctors to provide information and recommendations about cannabis to their patients.
