Videos

Videos

Videotapes of past events sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Santa Cruz County.

CURRENT VIDEOS

Santa Cruz County Elections Clerk Tricia Webber speaks about how elections are managed and explains the intricacies of the March 2024 ballot.  

California State Senator John Laird was the keynote speaker at the 56th annual meeting of the League of Women Voters of Santa Cruz County in June, 2021, which was held virtually via Zoom. Senator Laird's talk, titled “California coming out of the Pandemic: What Challenges do we Face?”, included many legislative updates on issues of interest to Santa Cruz County. Topics included budget issues, funds for housing the homeless, fire prevention, and climate change.

Cannabis Impacts and Opportunities in Santa Cruz County  Cannabis attorney Robin Bolster-Grant leads a panel discussion on cannabis issues in Santa Cruz County, California, including licensing, enforcement, taxation, environmental concerns, and prevention of youth access to cannabis. The League-sponsored event, which took place virtually in March 2021, included: Bryce Berryessa: cannabis industry advocate, founder of the TreeHouse cannabis dispensary and co-founder of La Vida Verde (cannabis products); Sam LoForti, current cannabis licensing manager for the county; Darren Story, CFO for local cannabis cultivator Coastal Sun; Steve Carney, Chief Deputy, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

Meeting the Public Education Challenge  Scott Turnbull, superintendent at Soquel Union Elementary School District, discusses the status of public education in Santa Cruz County, including the impact of charter schools and plans to confront the many challenges facing our education system. Turnbull spoke at a meeting at the Capitola City Hall on November 2, 2019.

Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Connolly, an elected county official, talks about why she became a lawyer, how she became a judge, her experiences on the bench, and her role as presiding judge of juvenile court in Santa Cruz County from 2017-2019. Judge Connolly discusses her important work implementing the Continuum of Care Reform, which strives to reduce group home placements for foster youth and provide alternatives to detention for youth involved in the criminal justice system with the goal of improving outcomes through engaging youth and families. This event was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Santa Cruz County and the Women Lawyers of Santa Cruz County, and took place in the Capitola City Hall council chambers on September 21, 2019.
 

Cabrillo College President Matthew Wetstein was the featured speaker at our local League's annual meeting on June 8, 2019. Dr. Wetstein described the college's successes, recent changes and future challenges as it continues to serve as the county's public community college offering associate degrees and certification in more than seventy fields of study.

Mid-County Water Plans: solutions for a reliable and sustainable water supplySolutions to prevent seawater intrusion into the critically overdrafted mid-Santa-Cruz-county groundwater basin were discussed at an April 27, 2019 community forum in Capitola, California. Groundwater replenishment with purified water (the Pure Water Soquel Project), river water transfers, desalination, and storm water capture were topics covered by the speakers, who included Darcy Pruitt, senior planner for groundwater sustainability for the Regional Water Management Foundation, Heidi Luckenbach, City of Santa Cruz deputy water director, and Melanie Mow Schumacher, special projects and communications manager for Soquel Creek Water District. The following are links to slides that accompanied the presentations: PDF icon Pruitt - RWMF; PDF icon Luckenbach - Santa Cruz; PDF icon Schumacher - SqCWD.

Confronting the Rich-Poor Gap: When a Rising Tide Doesn't Lift All Boats, February 9, 2019. UCSC Professor Heather Bullock discusses the deepening economic inequality and its consequences throughout society. Dr. Bullock spoke about how popular beliefs about poverty, wealth, and socioeconomic mobility legitimize economic inequality and how creating a more equitable society benefits everyone.

Robin Musitelli, retired political analyst and journalist, talks about her career and the intersection between community reporting and democracy, September 22, 2018.

Carlos Palacios, CAO, on Vision Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios speaks about Vision Santa Cruz County, the county's first-ever strategic planning process to establish a defined vision and mission for county government, at the League of Women Voters of Santa Cruz County's annual meeting, June 9, 2018.

A Voter's Guide to News Sources, Geek Speak host Lyle Troxell discusses bias in the media and how a handful of mega-corporations have come to own 90% of US news and entertainment media, April 14, 2018.

Make It Fair - Prop 13 Reform, Helen Hutchison, League of Women Voters of California president, explains the proposed ballot initiative that will fairly assess commercial property while continuing protections for homeowners, agricultural land, renters, and small business at a meeting in Scotts Valley, CA, February 10, 2018.
 
Juvenile Justice: Balancing the Scales, November 4, 2017. A panel discusses juvenile justice in Santa Cruz County: how best practices have changed in the last 20 years, decreasing ethnic disparity and increasing equity through policy changes, and youth and gang violence prevention efforts on November 4, 2017. Panelists include moderator Sarah Emmert, director of community organizing at United Way of Santa Cruz County; Fernando Giraldo, Santa Cruz County probation chief; Julie Burr, Youth Violence Prevention Task coordinator; Irene O'Connell, program manager for FoodWhat; and two youth representatives. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Santa Cruz County and United Way of Santa Cruz County.

Video of Dr. William Morris, Medical Director of the Janus Community Clinic, speaking at the SafeRX community event October 1, 2017 about opioid safety and how individuals who are negatively affected by opioid use can improve their outcomes. PDF icon Presentation images.
 
Video of Narcan kit training: Opioid overdose recognition and response. PDF icon Presentation images.
 
Santa Cruz Public Libraries in the 21st Century, a presentation by Susan Nemitz, Director of Santa Cruz Public Libraries, June 10, 2017.

Understanding Substance Use Disorders, April 20, 2017 The video of a presentation about how the Talk About It campaign fosters an informed and compassionate county-wide response to substance use disorders.
Printable information sheets:
1. PDF icon Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders 
2. PDF icon A Look at Drug and Alcohol Use in Our Community
3. PDF icon Overview and List of Resources 
 
Climate Change and Sea Level Rise: A presentation by Ross Clark, Director of the Central Coast Wetlands Group, March 18, 2017.
The video presentation
The digital slide presentation

 

PAST VIDEOS

To view videos from prior fiscal years, please use the link below.

Past Fiscal Years Videos