This Week on the Central Coast…
Salinas students played a concert, dogs and cats need to be adopted, Santa Cruz will improve their rec trails, and a UCSC professor enters the reading hall of fame
Salinas
YOSAL students played their winter concert
The students of the Youth Orchestra Salinas performed their big winter concert. The nonprofit group consists of nearly 200 students all learning classical music. Whether they are playing an instrument or singing, everything is free.
YOSAL aims to do much more than just teach music, though. Students say they learn to interact and cooperate with one another. The instruments give even the shyest kids a voice. “We learn how to interact with each other, we listen to each other, we let somebody talk basically through playing an instrument.”
Students performed at Sherwood Hall on North Main Street to a nearly sold out crowd.
Salinas animal shelter is at 110% capacity
Hitchcock Road Animal Services says they are fully staffed, but at 110% capacity. They say they have 75 dogs and 36 cats as of last week.
“What we are finding is that dogs are still coming in, but adoptions, fosters, and owners coming to reclaim their animals is reducing.” The staff say they have 90 kennels for dogs but don’t have the staffing to adequately care for the animals. For now, they can only give each dog up to 15 minutes of exercise.
Sadly, the shelter will eventually have to euthanize if people don’t adopt them. The shelter also mentioned that they are always looking for volunteers to help take care of the animals. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and be able to commit at least 8 hours per month.
More information is available at the shelter’s Facebook page.
“You can also text them for information as follows:
Text the word “foster” to 1-833-664-0513 for information on how to foster a shelter animal.
Text the word “volunteer” to 1-833-664-0513 (same #) for information on volunteering and to sign up.
Text the word “adopt” to 1-833-664-0513(same #) for information on adoption and our adoptable pets.
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz County received a grant to improve its rec trails
Santa Cruz County received just under $116 million in grant money to improve its 32 miles of recreational trails. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission said the county received the grant due to it meeting the states requirements of an active transportation community.
Cost, as always, is an issue for the project. However, some believe that cost should never be an issue when it comes to safety. The project would provide trails independent of motor traffic, allowing commuters a safe route to get to and from work or school while on a bike or other means of transportation.
The project is currently undergoing environmental review, but the County Supervisor believes groundbreaking could happen as soon as 2025.
The plans for the project can be found on the Coastal Rail Trail website.
UCSC professor enters the Reading Hall of Fame
The Reading Hall of Fame is an independent organization which consists of 147 members. Only five people are picked to enter the hall of fame each year. This year Judith Scott, a local UCSC professor, was selected.
In a press release, UCSC spoke about Scott’s influence on local teachers’ methods of teaching vocabulary to “help students become aware of the power of language.”
Scott will be the first indigenous scholar in the Reading Hall of Fame, being a member of the Cherokee Nation.