I covered a fire Saturday night in Santa Cruz where flames tore through the roof of an occupied shed. By the time firefighters arrived at the home, at the corner of San Juan Avenue at Roxas Street just before 9pm, flames were gushing about 20-feet out the roof of the wood structure. Santa Cruz City Fire Battalion Chief Robert Davis said his crew got a quick knock down on the blaze. Residents of the home managed to haul an elderly man out of the burning building. He was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to Dominican Hospital. He remains in the hospital with significant burns. Santa Cruz City Fire was aided by Central Fire and Santa Cruz Police in the incident.
•
My wife Sarah and I drove through Watsonville Monday to get a slice of the Pajaro Valley as things start to reopen in the time of Covid-19. While I was refreshed to see more businesses switching on their lights, I am still apprehensive about jumping in full weight to society’s offerings. For one, mask use seems to be up for interpretation to many folks, except when entering businesses, especially restaurants and cafes. It’s still iron-clad that you have to wear a mask on any METRO bus. More and more restaurants are opting to set up outside seating, opening the doors to sit-down dining, something that had disappeared for more than three months. Freedom Meat Lockers has outdoor picnic benches where customers can sit down to enjoy their deli meals. Ellas at the Airport also has patio dining. Jalisco’s restaurant on Main Street is now offering dine-in meals.
•
Santa Cruz County currently has 296 Covid-19 cases. Monterey County has 1,291 cases and San Benito has 181. In California there are more than 184,000 cases with 20,299 in the Bay Area. The U.S. has 2,209,700 cases. Dr. Ashish Jha of Cambridge still plainly states that the best defense anyone can maintain is to wear a mask and avoid crowded areas.
•
Four people have died following a powerful 7.5 earthquake early Tuesday along the Pacific Coast state of Oaxaca, Mexico. There are reports of buildings swaying in places as far away as Mexico City. The quake was centered in the Pacific Ocean about 14 miles off the coast, according to Mexico’s national seismological service. It struck around 10:30am. Oaxaca is no stranger to huge quakes: In 1992 an 8.4 struck there and killed 90 people.
