Yesterday I walked past a man reading a book on the sidewalk in downtown Watsonville. Curious, I stopped and asked him what he was reading. Annoyed, he looked up and yelled a bunch of things at me in a foreign language and then showed me the book cover: “Jack the Ripper.”
•
The 17th annual egg drop competition was held Wednesday afternoon as part of National Engineers Week in Watsonville. More than 100 contraptions built by area youths were shoved off a fourth floor ledge onto a target below to test young engineers skills in protecting a raw egg from such a flight and crash landing. A team of the city’s engineers was on hand, along with a crew from the Watsonville Public Library and others to promote the event and to share in the fun. The Library offered a display of books on engineering, mostly for young people, on top of serving refreshments.
•
A fiery Democratic debate unfolded last night in Las Vegas. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, at his first showing in a long string of debates over the past several months, came under fire from the other five candidates about his record. Amy Klobuchar, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Bloomberg wrestled with a host of questions from a panel in front of a live audience.
•
A blood drive will be held Friday in honor of 35-year veteran of the Watsonville Fire Department, Captain Danny Lucas. On Nov. 20 Lucas was seriously injured in a hunting accident in Montana when a large caliber bullet tore through his left leg, shattering the femur bone just above the kneecap. Bleeding profusely and in a very remote location with limited cell phone reception, Lucas was in danger of dying during the roughly two-hour drive to the nearest medical facility. Lucas ended up needing 24 units of blood while in Montana. The drive is Friday from 12:30 – 5:30 p.m. at the Pajaro Valley Health Trust, 85 Nielson St. To make an appointment to donate in honor of Lucas, use “sponsor code” WATSONVILLE on the Red Cross Blood Donor app, online at RedCrossBlood.org, or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
•
I see that a new business, Rivas Party Rental, is planning to open in the former building of A Touch of Elegance, on the corner of Brennan Street and East Lake Ave.Daily Quote: “Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
— Mark Twain
