Community Corner

Dispatches: A New Look at the American Dream

How does Santa Cruz fit into the new America? What stories about local personalities really show the state of our city?

We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch Readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."

Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.

At Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us.

We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams which a multitude of people are working toward.

Looking out across nearly almost 900 Patch sites, we see businesses holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs; and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.

At the purely local level, we want to know where we, as Santa Cruz neighbors, fit along these fault lines.

Nationally, there's a debate about which government-building efforts are "shovel-ready." Locally, we struggle constantly with preservation versus economics; stimulating growth and containing the down home feel of our city.

Are we healthily rooted in the past or creating a model that is unprepared to deal with a rapidly changing future?

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Last week we watched as a city with a reputation for being anti-growth and anti-business, made a big step in the other direction supporting a plan to bring in a $76 million hotel project that would have added $100,000 a year in revenue and more than 100 jobs.by a state agency and some locals who thought a rotting 90-year-old historical building was more in character with a neighborhood across from a roller coaster.

Some would argue this showed a city much of which has faded in the wake of redevelopment.

Nationally, there's a debate about the education system, which is at the center of our dreams of a better life for our children. Locally, we watch as budgets get cut and our classrooms lack the tools to bring students into the modern era. Surviving in this new economy requires learning new skill sets, but every time we turn around, our

We've looked at some of the people who have adapted to the new American Dream, such as Eric Wick, a budding entrepreneur who realized that selling other people's products wasn't as inspiring as selling

We saw a homeless man who made himself an advertising job

We've seen small-timeto buy rare sneakers and resell them to pay for school, books and clothes.

"Dispatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all of our Patch sites.

And, of course, we want your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Santa Cruz go to the heart of your American Dream.




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