TARMO HANNULA
I got off of the METRO 69A bus Thursday morning at the corner of Green Valley Road at Main Street to check out an incident where five Watsonville Police cars and a fire engine were present at the edge of the Crossroads Center. They were dealing with a homeless man who was being resistant. The police told me they had been dealing with him for a number of days. He was taken to the emergency room for evaluation.
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Two more people died from Covid-19 in Santa Cruz County recently, bringing the death toll to six. There are now 1,213 cases in SC County. Monterey County has 5,156 cases with 35 deaths and San Benito County has 699 cases and four deaths. California now has 541,339 cases with 10,021 deaths. On Monday Governor Gavin Newsom was cautiously optimistic as recent Coronavirus numbers statewide were showing signs of improvement in battling the virus.
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The Apple Fire in Riverside County has now grown to 29,267 acres and is 30 percent contained. Thus far 12 structures have been destroyed and one injury was reported in the blaze that started July 31. It was caused by a malfunctioning diesel motor, according to Cal Fire. A crew from Watsonville Fire is part of a strike team currently at the Apple Fire.
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The Wells Fargo Bank on River Street in Santa Cruz was robbed today at 3 pm, according to radio reports from 911 dispatchers. A Be On The Lookout broadcast described the suspect as an Hispanic male around 30 years old with a lot of tattoos, wearing a red shirt and shorts. He reportedly sped off in an older model maroon Mercedes Benz.
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A towboat crew struggled to haul a dead humpback whale out to sea today from Rio Del Mar State Beach. The 13-year-old male whale washed ashore earlier this week. By 1 pm today the crew was hard at work trying to budge to 40-ton beast.
