CAPITOLA BOUNCES BACK CAPITOLA BOUNCES BACK

By Olivia Ma

Capitola Village, CA - On January 4th, a natural disaster struck the town of Capitola. The once vibrant area known for its community beach and colorful strip of hotel rooms had been flooded. Once popular businesses overflowing with customers were now all fenced or shut down. The once joyous beach filled with families and dogs was now filled with stray logs and branches. The once busy wharf filled with fishers was now cut in half, guarded by a large white fence and caution tape.

“When there’s big storms there’s always one on the beach,” said a local, accompanying his son to surfing practice, “but that storm was the biggest one that I’ve seen since I’ve lived here.” done it without every single volunteer. a village to rebuild and we need everybody’s help…we’re happy that everyone’s working together and the community’s coming together.”

Sheil & Vincent: What caused you to build up a branch of KAH in Basis; which of the ideals of the organization resonated with you?

Allyson: My first exposure to KAH was in 6th grade, when our school had a KAH event. I still remember how excited all my classmates were at the idea of being able to directly make a difference! The idea of giving back to both the local community and those around the world really resonated with me, so I decided to start a KAH club at Basis.

Sheil & Vincent: What motivates you to organize these events?

Allyson: My motivation is twofold: the more obvious reason is to provide food to those in need, but the often more overlooked one is to plant the love of serving others into our local community members. By instilling kindness in our local community, we make the world a happier and better place.

Sheil & Vincent: Wow, that’s quite the experience! It’s great to see our generation getting more involved with the world as a whole.

Allyson: Of course, any slight difference will have a long term impact.

Sheil & Vincent: Well, thanks for joining us.

Allyson: Yep. Thanks for interviewing me.

Kids Against Hunger is a nonprofit organization that makes a positive impact on the lives of many all around the world. By providing millions of meals to those in need, the team has made it their mission to fight hunger and those with food insecurity. One of the key factors that make Kids Against Hunger so significant is their focus on involving local youth in their mission, as demonstrated by the recent meal-packing event. Allyson’s story is a prime example of how you can be involved in this mission as well.

Holiday Photography Contest Results Holiday Photography Contest Results

By

Sachit and the Student Advisors

The results of our first ever holiday photography contest are in! Over twenty students submitted some amazing photos, and choosing a winner was very difficult. We would all like to sincerely thank everyone for the amazing submissions.

We divided the submissions into two categories - Middle School and High school, with one winner each. However, there were some other amazing photos that also deserve an honorable mention.

HIGH SCHOOL WINNER: JUSTIN ELY, 10TH GRADE

MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNER: MAYA CHITOR, 8TH GRADE

Normally, Miami’s beaches are flooded with people, but this shot by Maya gives us a new perspective about the beach, invoking a sense of loneliness.

HONORABLE MENTION: KATHERINE GENG, 11TH GRADE

Although the state of the town may appear to have been subject to merciless destruction at first look, the people of Capitola tell a different tale. A small, tight-knit community of just around 9000 people, the community of Capitola has quickly returned to normalcy, most notably by supporting local businesses and their iconic beach. As a wave of storms and natural disasters has swept across not just the nation but also the world, Capitola’s story of recovery and resiliency illustrate a story of love and support during a great struggle.“As soon as you can get to the beach people will come,” the local said, gesturing to the families walking on the beach as he handed his dog a treat.

Tucked away from across the beach, Left Coast Sausage Worx attracts a multitude of customers. Some buy hot dogs to-go while others catch up with friends as they admire the ocean view. The well-known eatery lost power on January 4 and was shuttered for eleven days. Afterwards, it took almost another two weeks for the store to recover and open up, all thanks to the selfless locals.

“It’s a lot of hard work,” said Josh, the owner of Left Coast Sausage Worx, “It takes

Along with returning to help clean up the beach as the recovery process got underway, people also discovered ways to reuse storm debris and make the most of it. Several tentlike structures stand defiantly on the sand, almost as if proving their resilience against the harsh storm, while children run around playing with logs and seaweed.

Alongside the community spirit of civilians, local organizations have also stepped in to help. Up to $2 million for each business in catastrophe loans were made available by the SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration and the California Small Business Development Center), which is located at Capitola City Hall, to help relieve any damage to real estate, equipment, or other assets. Just this month, Capitola Wine Bar owner, Doug Conrad, created the Sip and Stroll event, a project in which 30 businesses worked together to bring the community back to life by attracting old and new customers, an estimated crowd of 500 locals and visitors.

Despite record-breaking flood levels, property destruction, and a power outage that lasted for days, Capitola’s small businesses and civilians have bounced back nonetheless, assisting one another through the tough recovery process while still managing to make the best of it.

“The pier and everything was bad,” Josh remarked as he expertly prepared a customer’s hot dog with shredded cheese and relish, “but they’ll rebuild.”

HONORABLE MENTION: ISABELLA LIU, 8TH GRADE

Justin’s tranquil and ethereal long-exposure shot of a waterfall in a Hawai’i botanical garden captivated our judges. The silky flow of the water invokes a sense of calmness, and is something that one could look at for hours and not get tired.

Microplastics Microplastics

By Kaitlyn Liu

Last weekend, I stood indecisive in the snack aisle of the grocery store. My gaze shifted from a large carton of my favorite cheesy crackers to a convenient but wasteful box of the same crackers, but packaged individually. Though the taste of the snack was the same on my tastebuds, one was easier to bring to school. The other forced me to spend more time in the morning transferring it into my lunchbox. Then it hit me. How much of my life had I chosen convenience over the very planet that had brought me life?

Individual packaging, when broken down, creates tiny fragments of plastic called microplastics. Microplastics pose a variety of risks to not only the environment but also humankind.

These microplastics are created by a variety of daily human activities. Katie Okamoto, the lead sustainability editor at Wirecutter, notes that microplastics are frequently released during the washing process due to friction between the detergents and clothes, allowing its “filaments to shed.” Although microplastics aren’t visible, there are likely thousands if not millions of microplastic fragments floating in the air around us. In a research study, scientists identified 39 microplastics within 11 out of 13 lung tissue samples, emphasizing the prevalence of microplastics and the potential role they may play in lung diseases.

STAFF: STAFF:

Editors-in-Chief: Christopher Chen, Julee Jiang and Olivia Ma

Editors: Vera Lin, Alicia Peng, Anjali Prabhu, and Alan Xiao

Staff Writers: Aarna Kamath, Ada Costiniano, Alan Xiao, Alicia Peng, Amanda Wu, Amber Wong , Anjali Prabhu, Ariana Yi, Esha Bansiya, Heeya Das, Jay Thanki, Joleen Pan, Kaitlyn Liu, Katherine He, Kevin Weng, Krish Mangrolia, Oriana Deng, Ryan Li, Ryan Liu, Sachit Parekh, Sarah Wu, Sheil Mody, Shirley Fan, Thanisha Thambidurai, Vera Lin, Vincent Yang

Graphic Designers: Christopher Chen, Ada Costiniano

Additionally, by just eating food, one can consume hundreds if not thousands of microplastics in a meal. In ecosystems, there are food chains in which prey get consumed by their predators. Thus, if a prey consumed microplastics, every animal that higher up in the food chain did as well. Humans, sitting at the top of the food chain, consume all of the microplastics from every link in the food chain.

However, there are a few solutions to this ever-growing microplastic issue. As time goes on, more technology is becoming available to solve issues like these. Fionn Ferreira, a teen scientist, utilized his knowledge in science to create an invention to remove microplastics from the oceans. Reverse osmosis (RO) filters have been installed on taps to reduce the amount of microplastics that slip into our drinking water and eventually spread into the environment. All of these developments are incredibly beneficial to preventing the spread of microplastics, and it is these incremental steps that will add up to a comprehensive solution to the issue. However, if we fail to take action, microplastics will plague every part of the environment, and finding a cure will become increasingly more difficult.

On the consumer side, we need to question the price of convenience and the notion that plastic is a necessity in our daily lives. The next time you want to buy anything, whether it be your favorite snack or a pretty piece of clothing, truly consider the environment-friendly alternatives.

Thank you for reading the fourth issue of the second volume of The Yellow Pages! We hope you enjoyed reading the issue as much as we enjoyed the process of creating it! If you have any comments, suggestions, questions, or notice any mistakes in our newspaper, please contact bifyellowpages@gmail.com . We will include corrections for our errors and typos in the following issue.