1. New Workshop: Property Crime in Santa Cruz
2. Desalination Update
3. In-person Workshop: From Framing to Flagging
4. New Features And Bug Fixes
5. Updates from The Gov2.0 Space
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1. New Workshop: Property Crime in Santa Cruz
You may have heard recently that Santa Cruz County tops the state in property crime rates. We’ve all heard about the bike theft problem, and home burglaries are happening at a high rate too. How did we get here, and more importantly, how do we get out of this position? Share your ideas in our new workshop Reducing Property Crime in Santa Cruz County.
2. Desalination Update: Review Public Comments for Draft EIR
In case you missed last Monday’s public hearing on the proposed desalination plant, fret not. Civinomics was there to record the fireworks. The lively meeting hosted by the two agencies proposing the plant, Santa Cruz Water Department and the Soquel Creek Water District, was a chance for the public to weigh in on the draft Environmental Impact Report for the project. And weigh in the public did. A complete list of comments is available for voting here. Additionally, our members have been hard at work, brainstorming unique ideas about how to address our water shortage, all of which can be seen and voted on here.
Why not add your own ideas to the mix? Everybody's doing it. Since launch, Civinomics members have generated 221 fresh ideas, listed 236 helpful resources and started 147 discussions.
3. In-person Workshop: From Framing to Flagging
Civinomics will be hosting another facilitator meetup in our continuing series “From Framing to Flagging.” Two weeks ago we got some great feedback from one of our facilitators about his experience using the site, but we want to hear from everybody! The next meetup is scheduled for Tuesday, July 9 from 6:00 to 7:30pm at CruzioWorks. To learn more and RSVP, visit: http://www.meetup.com/Santa-Cruz-Community-Connection/events/125824732/.
Beer and snacks shall be provided.
Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
4. New Features And Bug Fixes
The coding team has donned superhero costumes and accomplished the following since our last newsletter:
- Major UI overhaul
- Facebook signup and login
- Email notifications when a comment is added to one of your items
- Bug fixes
Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Upcoming new features:
- Bug fixes and expanded functionality with Facebook login to include sharing
- Major upgrade to Listeners: "Tell Your Rep,” in which you, o Civinomics member,invite your elected representatives or other functionaries to workshops and make sure they listen and join in
5. Updates From The Gov 2.0 Space
It’s like Coachella for Civinomics and our civic-minded brethren: the Civic Media Conference, which took place two weeks ago. Hosted by the Knight Foundation and MIT’s Center for Civic Media, the conference brought together individuals and perspectives from many different professional fields and regions, all with an eye toward improving participatory democracy online. The conference also awarded a $400,000 dollar grant to former City of Santa Cruz Economic Development Coordinator Peter Koht for his local project OpenCounter, which makes it easier for businesses to register with the city. To learn more about what happened, visit the homepage for a complete recap: http://civic.mit.edu/conference2013
That's all for today. Have a great week!
Your Civinomics Team
Manu, Robert, Chris, Todd and Traci
