 |
Help Get Santa Cruz County Moving
|
After years of conflict about which part of the transportation network would be built, the
Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission
(RTC) has developed a measure to strengthen and expand our transportation network for everyone. The RTC has worked to develop a Transportation Improvement Plan (TRIP) to get Santa Cruz County moving. They have placed Measure D on the ballot this November for the community to support this plan.
The TRIP looks at the critical elements of our transportation system and seeks to make major progress in all areas. The plan works to repair our local roads and improve safety for students by making its largest investment in our local road system. Loss of the gas tax revenue has blown a multi-million dollar hole in our local road repair budgets. This measure will double the money spent on local roads in the county. For these reasons, local government has strongly endorsed this measure with approval from the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, the Santa Cruz City Council, and the Capitola City Council.
In addition, funds for the TRIP bolster our budget for the Metro and expand travel options for seniors and the disabled. The Metro has faced deep cuts, but with the passage of this transportation measure, the Metro will not layoff any drivers, and work to rebuild the service that was recently cut. That's the reason the bus drivers, senior organizations and the Human Care Alliance have backed this measure.
The Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail (or Rail Trail) will see a big boost in funding to build this incredible trail. The RTC has already received funding for 25% of the length of the trail. The funding in the measure will greatly increase the number of miles completed on this long sought after project. Recognizing this commitment, Bike Santa Cruz County and the Friends of the Rail and Trail support this measure.
The measure also funds auxiliary lanes to State Park Drive on Highway One and provides funds to maintain the rail line for future use. Recognizing that these efforts will improve traffic flow on the highway and provide resources for the future of the rail corridor, the measure is supported by the Santa Cruz County Business Council, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, and the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council.
With the Federal government unwilling to support any additional investments in transportation and the State legislature gridlocked on providing any new funding for local roads, we have to join the long list of counties who seek to invest our own resources in support a transportation network that gets everyone moving. Whatever way you travel, you will benefit from this measure. I urge your support.
For a full list of the expenditures in this measure click
here.
For a Fact Sheet Click
here.
|
Protecting Against Expansion of Tobacco Products
|
Santa Cruz County has long been a leader in the fight to prevent the use of tobacco and keep it out of the hands of our youth. Six years ago the Board of Supervisors passed a Tobacco Retail Licensing ordinance that requires retail establishments that sell tobacco to get a license. The fees are then used to enhance enforcement of underage smoking prohibitions.
This effort has been successful and has led to
a decrease in the youth tobacco sales rate from 42% in 2010 to 12% in 2013. More recently, local cities have adopted prohibitions on smoking tobacco products in outdoor public locations throughout the county, including the downtown areas, parks and beaches, recreational trails, and outdoor dining areas. Additionally, these cities have placed distance requirements for tobacco retailers near schools and youth-focused facilities. These policy changes have been adopted over the past several years in order to address the harmful health effects that smoking poses to the individual smoker and the public through secondhand smoke, as well as the changing attitudes towards smoking in general.
While these efforts have been successful in reducing the use of tobacco products and the dangers of second hand smoke, these gains may be undercut by the growing trend of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use. E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices, often designed to resemble cigarettes, that turn highly addictive nicotine and other chemicals into an aerosol, which is inhaled by the user and those around them. First introduced in the U.S. in 2007, have recently skyrocketed in popularity, availability, and variety. There are over 400 brands of e-cigarettes which come in more than 7,000 flavors including candy and fruit flavors. E-cigarettes are typically marketed and packaged to appeal to young adults and are currently unregulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
These products are marketed as a safe and reliable alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes and are heavily marketed to those wanting to quit. There is no scientific evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers successfully quit smoking traditional cigarettes. Further, e-cigarettes are not FDA-approved cessation aids. In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of middle and high school students who have ever used e-cigarettes has tripled from 4.5% to 13.4% between 2013 and 2014.
I have worked with our Health Services Agency to re-write our tobacco regulations to include e-cigarettes and
prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in the same locations where traditional cigarettes are prohibited locally. Together, we are recommending that the list of where smoking is prohibited be updated to include indoor and outdoor public places, outdoor dining, and bars. Requirements for smoke-free hotel guest rooms would also expand from 75% to 90%. Lastly, we seek to add distance requirements for all new tobacco retailers near schools and youth facilities. The proposed buffer distances will limit the proximity of future tobacco retail locations/vape shops from children and youth. To read about these efforts please click here.
|
In the spring of this year, Congress Members Sam Farr, Anna Eshoo, and Jackie Speier appointed the Select Committee on SFO Arrivals to make recommendations to address the persistent and extraordinary complaints from residents affected by the changes in jet paths due to the FAA's NextGen operations. The Committee held three public meetings in three counties to hear from nearly 1,500 people about the need for changes in jet path procedures and flight paths. The FAA published a list of feasible alternatives, which included a revised jet path over Santa Cruz County. Since July, the Committee has been meeting twice a month in Palo Alto to review options with the FAA and to ultimately make recommendations to our members of Congress.
The FAA has identified a new flight procedure, known as DAVYJ, that would replace the existing path and procedure (SERFR), and mimic the path that came over our county for decades, generally without complaint. The Committee has received information about noise modeling, altitude adjustments and other questions to understand the consequences of changing the flight path. The new DAVYJ flight procedure would fly a route nearly identical to the old jet path. While it might be a couple of hundred feet lower, it would follow a descent path, known as Optimized Profile Descent (OPD), that would allow planes to come in with "idle power" (think of it more as a glide) than what happens under the current path -- a stairstep configuration that requires a lot of braking and increased thrusts. The FAA Regional Director has said that implementing a DAVYJ flight procedure to the current jet path would bring the planes in lower and with more noise. He added that the proposed new route should be "similar or better" than the old route.
The Committee will be continuing to discuss these issues at our meeting on September 29. On October 13 the Committee will vote on tentative recommendations. Most importantly, on October 27 the Committee will be taking testimony from the public. If you think that the new DAVYJ procedure should replace the existing jet path, I highly recommend that you attend the meeting on October 27th.
The meeting will be held in the
Palo Alto City Hall Chambers
250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto
1 pm.
If you want to watch the September 1st meeting, click
here
.
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, Sept 14
5:30-6:30 p.m.
People's Coffee
1200 17th Ave - Live Oak
Wednesday, Sept 21
Loma Prieta School Forum
23800 Summit Road
Wednesday, October 5
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Michael's on Main
2591 Main Street - Soquel
|
Brookwood
Lane
Closure
Neighborhood Meeting
Thursday, Sept 22,
6 to 7:30 p.m.
DeLaveaga Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room
1145 Morrissey Blvd,
Santa Cruz, CA
Soquel Village
Parking Meeting
3050 Porter St, Soquel, CA 95073
Betty's Burger
Neighborhood Meeting
Wednesday, September 28
7 to 8 p.m.
1000 41st Ave, Santa Cruz
The owner of Betty's Burgers has approached the County with a project proposal to expand some of the offerings at their business. Please join the owner in a neighborhood discussion about the development proposal. This meeting is being hosted by the business owner.
|
|
First District Office
Contact Info
|
| Phone: 454-2200
701 Ocean Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Staff
|
|
|
|
