A new Starbucks is taking shape on Lee Road in front of the new Hampton Inn & Suites in Watsonville. —Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian

On Thursday I drove by the new Starbucks on Lee Road which is still under construction, as is the towering Hampton Inn & Suites behind it. The new Starbucks, with a drive-thru, will mark the fifth Starbucks in Watsonville. The coffee chain started in Seattle in 1971. They are the world’s largest coffeehouse chain with more than 30,000 businesses in 70 countries.

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There will be a rare full moon, known as a Blue Moon, tomorrow on Halloween. If you notice the moon over the next few days you’ll also see Mars next to it in the night sky.

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Today is National Candy Corn Day. Wunderlee Candy Co. started producing Candy Corn in the 1880s and now produces around 30 million pounds of the popular Halloween candy each year.

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There was a massive 7.0 earthquake between Turkey and Greece early today. Thus far there have been 19 deaths reported and scores on injuries as well as widespread structural damage. One of the deaths was caused by drowning because a tsunami sloshed through some streets in Turkey.

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Several cities in Europe are going into another lockdown, including Paris, due to surging numbers in Covid-19. Some cities are ordering curfews. In Germany there were violent protests against the lockdowns.  The first case of the virus was reported in the US 283 days ago. There are now 9,000,660 cases reported and 228,300 deaths in the US. There are 928,000 cases in California with 17,671 deaths. The San Francisco Bay Area reports 117,147 cases and 1,772 deaths. A new death was added with the count in Santa Cruz County Friday, bringing the total to 26, with 2,861 cases. There are 11,705 cases in Monterey County and 95 deaths. San Benito County has 1,449 cases and 15 deaths.

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Tarmo Hannula has been the lead photographer with The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville since 1997. More recently Good Times & Press Banner. He also reports on a wide range of topics, including police, fire, environment, schools, the arts and events. A fifth generation Californian, Tarmo was born in the Mother Lode of the Sierra (Columbia) and has lived in Santa Cruz County since the late 1970s. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and has traveled to 33 countries.

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