A nurse processes a COVID-19 test at the SALUD Para La Gente testing facility in Watsonville on Nov. 19, 2020.

LOOKOUT PM: COVID cases high, but potentially plateauing; remembering Buck Noe

By Max Chun

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Happy Monday, everyone,

I hope the weekend treated you all well and you had a chance to slow down and enjoy your time off before the start of another work week. With the weather being as nice as it’s been, days off are seeming even better than usual!

This week, we’ll be emphasizing all the reasons you should become a Lookout member. Today, we share our mission.

We’re all about making Santa Cruz County a better place, and producing high-quality, accurate news and information is our main goal each and every day.

This week, you get 20% off your membership with the offer code spring, or by clicking the image below!

And again, a quick reminder about Wednesday’s event:

From 7 p.m. to 8:25 p.m., we will be co-hosting a discussion on affordable housing with Housing Santa Cruz County. Learn how each community is grappling with housing issues and hear from Santa Cruz County leaders on their plans for the present and future. Click the image to register!

Click to register for the Housing Straight talk event

Now, for Monday’s news ...

Call it a ‘swell’, not a ‘surge’: Proms, graduations and out-and-about Santa Cruzans drive increased, but flattening COVID numbers

College Ten students Cheru Robinson and Ray Diaz start the John R. Lewis dedication ceremony at the Quarry Amphitheater

Cautious optimism: Though hospitalizations and deaths remain relatively low, the recent swell of COVID cases has health officials stressing the importance of masking and vaccinations once again — even if the official guidelines won’t change anytime soon. Get the details here.

➤ THE NUMBERS: COVID Dashboard: County Health says cases are plateauing, but diligence still necessary

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Inside Lookout: Events! Elections! ICYMI... and the NEXTies

A visiting nurse prepares a syringe to be used for the vaccine.

From the founder: Our own Ken Doctor highlights some of the best work Lookout has published over the past month, and exciting additions currently in the works. Read it all here.

CLICK HERE FOR STUDENT ACCESS

‘We love you, Bucky’: Surf community mourns iconic board shaper swallowed up by addiction at 41

Aptos resident Kelly Spellman at the Blossom's Farmstore & Coffeeshop.

“It’s hard to get help”: Tyrone “Buck” Noe was a second-generation surfboard shaper in Santa Cruz who followed in the footsteps of his father, for both good and bad. Like his father 18 years earlier, he was memorialized at Lighthouse Field and Steamer Lane on Saturday. His sister, Meara, tells his story achingly well. Read Mark’s story here.

➤ PREVIOUSLY: ‘We’re here for you’: In wake of tragedy, Santa Cruz surfing community doubles down on generation next

Newsom urges aggressive water conservation and warns of statewide restrictions

Low on resources: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has voiced concerns that the state’s approach toward drought conservation needs to be more aggressive.
More from the L.A. Times here.

ICYMI: Gonzo for Sheriff: MAH tells story of Hunter S. Thompson’s bid for office

Art by Ralph Steadman and photography by David Hiser - Courtesy of Freak Power Art Collection

“Freak Power”: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has voiced concerns that the state’s approach toward drought conservation needs to be more aggressive. Wallace has the story.

➤ PREVIOUSLY: Bob Dylan bringing ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’ to Santa Cruz Civic in June