HOMELESS PROBLEM
No one likes to see homeless people camping in public places, not even those of us who are sympathetic to their plight. It’s time to try a solution that would benefit us all: a campground, with sanitation and hygiene, social services and basic employment, in the little-used Sycamore Grove area of city-owned Pogonip at the bottom of Highway 9. With easy access to homeless services on Coral Street, they would have an incentive to keep it clean and safe or risk losing it. We should get state and federal money to support it, and it could be a national model.
This problem is not going away. Let’s do something realistic to deal with it.
Steven Robins | Felton
NOT A MONARCH
Hi, your photo contest caption last week is incorrect. This is not a monarch butterfly.
Laura Woliczko
OR WAS IT A TRICK?
This week’s photo is a trick question! There is no Monarch in the photo…
It is a Gulf fritillary, Agraulis vanillae!
However, the Monarchs are beginning to arrive for another spectacular migration season.
Welcome Monarchs!
Fiona Fairchild | Monarch Activist
PRESCHOOL FUNDING
I’m writing to thank our state representatives for their support of childcare legislation and increased funding. I urge them to continue this vital work by supporting Assembly Bill 2292 and related provisions in the California State Budget Act 2024. AB 2292 would establish the Classroom Planning and Implementation Grant Program, providing crucial funding for new childcare centers and state preschool classrooms.
This addresses the urgent need for high-quality childcare, especially for infants and toddlers. The proposed enhancements will benefit spa-poor families and ensure more children access to early education.
The California State Budget Act 2024 includes provisions to set new subsidy payment rates and continue funding for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children. Investing in childcare infrastructure is essential for our children’s well-being and families’ economic stability.
I urge our representatives to support these measures, ensuring all California children have access to quality care and early education.
Doreen O’Donovan | AAUW Santa Cruz County President
