COVID PM: Hop on the Lookout event train, then make plans for the Giant Dipper
Happy Monday, everyone — even if it was kind of a strange one on the pandemic front. While good news emerged via a Boardwalk reopening plan, cautionary statements bubbled forth from both the federal and state levels.
Before we get to any of that, though, a little housekeeping business. If you’ve waited to sign up for our event tomorrow night, there is no time quite like the present...
Free Lookout school reopenings event tomorrow
GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Two top Santa Cruz County Office of Education officials — Superintendent Faris Sabbah and Director of School Safety Jennifer Buesing — will join Lookout education correspondent Nick Ibarra tomorrow evening in talking all things education, as students are now returning to classrooms. The event will include simultaneous Spanish translation. Register to attend and submit your questions ahead of time here.
Among some of the questions attendees have submitted to date:
- With teachers now vaccinated and the transmission of the virus shown to be low among children, will social distancing remain in effect and for how long?
- What’s been the experience of your own family in the shutdown?
- What are the plans for school in the fall? What safety measures will there be? Is it a sure thing that in-school learning will happen?
When: 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE
Again, here’s the registration link.
And now on to this evening’s headlines...
Boardwalk rides will awaken from their slumber
COVID ECONOMY: Thursday the Giant Dipper will roll again at the Beach Boardwalk — and so too will return the joyous screams from above. “Everyone has been preparing for this important moment in our unique and storied history,” said Boardwalk spokesperson Kris Reyes, who has been itching for weeks to get the 1924 wooden roller coaster humming again. More on what we know about the partial ride reopening here.
Cabrillo College Website Redesign Drives a New Look for a New Generation of Students
Cabrillo College Website Redesign Drives a New Look for a New Generation of Students
Will there be enough vaccine to go around?
COVID TODAY: After months of constrained, and at times confusing, guidelines regarding who can roll up their sleeves and when, Californians who are at least 50 years old will be able to book appointments starting Thursday, and all residents age 16 and older will be eligible starting April 15. Here’s a closer look at the statewide and county situations.
No CDC reassurances: ‘Right now, I’m scared’
COVID TODAY: President Biden is facing a new surge in coronavirus cases on his watch, leading to fears of a deadly fourth wave of infections even as millions of Americans are being vaccinated every day. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she felt a sense of “impending doom” unless Americans maintained precautions. More from the LA Times on what this all means here.
➤ Biden calls on state and local officials to “please” reinstate the mask mandate (CNN)
➤ CDC reiterates that Americans should ‘please limit travel’ as US hits 30 million cases of COVID-19 (USA Today)
Quick Take
Wild Poppies – a small local olive oil business – was created by two sisters, Kim Null and Jamie de Sieyes. Their...
More from here & elsewhere
➤ WHO Report: Wildlife Farms, Not Market, Likely Source Of Pandemic (NPR)
➤ CDC: Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines found 90 percent effective in ‘real-world’ study (NBC News)
➤ Some parents won’t vaccinate their kids against COVID. Here are their reasons. (Washington Post)
➤ ‘Your vacation is my home’: Hawaii’s residents are speaking out against tourists behaving badly (SF Gate)
➤ Feuds, fibs and finger-pointing: Trump officials say coronavirus response was worse than known (Washington Post)
➤ Mitch McConnell: ‘I would encourage all Republican men’ to get vaccinated (CNN)
See you tomorrow!
Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor