The santa cruz city school board passed a resolution yesterday to urge increased gun control measures at the national level, as well as additional state funding for mental health programs.  The unanimous resolution also shut down the idea of hiring armed guards to be on campuses, (as the National Rifle Association has suggested).  However, the board left open the possibility of having another uniformed santa cruz police officer as an additional school resources officer.    School leaders plan to take the resolution to the county office of education and other local school districts for consideration.

A 21-year-old man was found dead last night in watsonville, from what authorities believe to be carbon monoxide poisoning.    First responders were called to the 1^st block of jeanette way, after receiving reports of an unconscious man.  Paramedics declared the victim dead at the scene.  A 2^nd 21-year-old man survived, but was taken to a local hospital to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.  The 2 had brought a small charcoal burning barbeque into a detached bedroom, to try to keep warm.  An autopsy is expected to be preformed to confirm the man’s cause of death.  Authorities warn against bringing any heater designed for outdoor use into an enclosed space.

A contingent of salinas students is set to travel to washington d.c. this weekend, to see president obama inaugurated for a 2^nd term.    61-students from alisal high school are preparing to head east tomorrow, ahead of Sunday’s ceremony.   The students are members of the high school’s “dreams of d-c club;” they raised about 75-thousand dollars to fund the trip.   Members of the club also attended president obama’s first inauguration in 2009.

Authorities have identified a “person of interest” in the case that caused the 1^st ever silver alert to be issued in California.  The new silver alert system is deployed when an at-risk adult is reported missing, and is modeled after the amber alert system.    67-year-old marina resident Raymond smith was reported missing December 30^th, and still has not been located.  41-year-old michelle love, (who is smith’s former caregiver), has been named a “person of interest,” but she is not considered a suspect.  Marina police believe love might have had contact with smith shortly before (or even after) he was reported missing.