Quick Take:
Celebrating Watsonville’s multi-ethnic history, the mosaic installation titled Watsonville Brillante, graces...
Good Morning! It’s Monday, June 28 and it’s going to be a warm day with intermittent clouds and a high of 80. The National Weather Service forecasts that the rest of the week will be warm too, though we’ll likely see our highest temperatures tomorrow.
A man is in serious condition after he was bitten by a Great White shark while swimming off Gray Whale Beach near Pacifica over the weekend, officials said. Meanwhile, the highly contagious Delta variant has now become the third-most-common variant in California — a cause for concern for Californians who remain unvaccinated.
Here’s your news:
Community hub of the future: New Capitola Library a stunning step forward in design and utility
The design of the beautiful new Capitola Library sends a message: Libraries aren’t about storing old books, they are about communities coming together. It’s a lesson Santa Cruz should take to heart as plans for its new downtown library start to take shape. Read more about the new building from our Wallace Baine here.
‘We did what we came to do — we saved it’: Court of Mysteries owners at peace with moving on
The pandemic sank Artina Morton and Douglas Harr’s plans for an “ohana compound” at their historic Westside property/passion project and made them realize how much work it would be for the two of them to keep up. But they’re not second-guessing their decision to sell — and they’re aiming to stick around Santa Cruz. Read more from our Will McCahill here.
Coast Life
Great white shark bites swimmer off Gray Whale Beach near Pacifica; male victim in serious condition: A 6- to 8-feet-long great white shark bit a 35-year-old swimmer off Gray Whale Cove State Beach, just south of Pacifica, leaving the man in serious condition, officials said Saturday. “The male was able to swim to shore and medical aid was summoned,” officials tweeted. He was rushed to the hospital in serious condition. Read more here.
Welcome to Bitcoin Beach: How a California surfer brought cryptocurrency to a small village in El Salvador: A California surfer searching for the perfect wave and doing charity work in El Salvador received a gift of $100,000 from an anonymous donor — in bitcoin. Two years later, El Zonte is known as Bitcoin Beach — one of the only places where people can use a cryptocurrency for routine transactions. The country’s president has cited this town as inspiration as he makes bitcoin a legal tender in the country later this month. Read more here.
Around the state…
California’s yoga, wellness and spirituality community has a QAnon problem: More commonly associated with right-wing groups, QAnon is spreading through yoga, meditation and other wellness circles. Friends and colleagues have watched with alarm as Instagram influencers and their New Age peers embraced QAnon’s conspiratorial worldview and sprayed it across social media. Read more from the LA Times here.
Highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant spreading fast in California: Delta is now the third most often found variant of coronavirus identified in California, according to new data — underscoring that the variant is highly contagious, a danger to people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. There is no widespread scientific consensus on whether it is more likely to cause more serious illness than other conventional strains. Read more from the LA Times here.
READ ALSO: California’s drought and wildfire dangers rising at stunning pace (LA Times)
Around the county…
California wildfires: Fighting bigger blazes with Silicon Valley technology (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Santa Cruz firefighters put out small brush fire in Arana Gulch area (KION-TV)
Another PVUSD bond measure might be on the horizon (The Pajaronian)
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Have a great day!
Tulsi Kamath
Managing Editor