COVID PM: Homeless shelter to close, what local school districts will get for reopening

By Mark Conley

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Good evening, everyone — it’s time to run through your pandemic news for Monday:

➤ SHELTER TO CLOSE: As relief funds wind down, the county’s behavorial health department has decided to close the River Street Shelter on the Housing Matters campus.
➤ SCHOOLS MONEY: A Lookout breakdown of how much individual districts are earmarked to receive for opening by May 15.
➤ OUR NEXT EVENT: As Santa Cruz begins to reopen, we sit down with some of the local tourist industry’s top experts to talk about what to expect.

More on each of those headlines and more...

Budget woes will force shutdown of River Street homeless shelter

The River Street Shelter will close down May 1.

COVID ECONOMY: The River Street facility is the only homeless shelter run under the county’s behavioral health branch. It’s located on the campus of Housing Matters. Despite the closure on May 1, its occupants will be moved into permanent housing or to other shelters. More from Isa Cueto and Patrick Riley here.

How much aid is your district getting?

A child learns in person at a Santa Cruz Montessori school.

COVID K-12: Santa Cruz County schools can expect to get about $166 million in combined pandemic aid from federal and state sources, according to a Lookout analysis of countywide data. The amount of funds flowing into each district on a per student basis ranges significantly because of funding formulas that prioritize districts with low-income and high-need students. Nick Ibarra with more on how it breaks down.

The return of live art ahead

PANDEMIC LIFE, REOPENING STYLE: Combining art and science, the Museum of Natural History will open its doors in mid-April for its 33rd annual Art of Nature exhibit, showcasing local artists inspired by California’s natural beauty. There will be a virtual component that kicks off this week, too. More from Cypress Hansen here.

More from Lookout parnters ...

➤ VACCINE WATCH: California nears COVID-19 vaccine target that would ease more reopening rules: (LA Times)
➤ COVID TODAY: Have you seen a doctor lately? Delays likely to trigger deaths, poor health (CalMatters)
➤ COVID K-12: In an unusual admissions year, California’s selective universities more closely evaluate students (EdSource)

More from here & elsewhere

➤ Working age Hispanic immigrants were 11 times more likely to die of Covid in California, study says (SF Gate)
➤ After the pandemic ends, will the Bay Area get to keep to-go cocktails? (SF Gate)
➤ CDC updates guidance for cleaning surfaces to protect against Covid-19 (CNN)
➤ How safe is it to go to the beach now? What you should know (CNN)
➤ ‘An experience that I’ll remember forever’: People share emotional responses to getting COVID-19 vaccine (USA Today)
➤ Office buildings are opening back up. Not all employees want to return. (NBC News)
➤ Illinois bar linked to 46 COVID-19 cases, school closure: CDC (ABC News)

Freshly eligible 50-plus crowd: Got some feedback on your vaccine hunt? Hit reply and tell me how it’s going.

Last but not least, our next big event...

‘Santa Cruz is open’

In the next free event in Lookout’s COVID 2021 series, we explore how local tourism, amusement, museum and other reopenings are shaping up — and what that means for you, your family and the region’s economy.

➤ WHEN: Wednesday, April 14 at 6 p.m.
➤ WHO: We will talk to Visit Santa Cruz County Communications Director Christina Glynn, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk communications chief Kris Reyes, Coast Redwoods Hospitality CEO Bijal Patel and Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History Executive Director Robb Woulfe.
➤ REGISTER: Sign up now for this free Zoom event

See you tomorrow!

Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor