LOOKOUT PM: New variants driving surge, date night for parents, and breastfeeding struggles
Good day, folks,
Hope the weekend treated you well, and you got some well-deserved rest.
As Mark mentioned this morning, the weather is going to be gorgeous for the foreseeable future. Sunny with temperatures in the 70s dominate the forecast for the next two weeks.
Anyways, enough small talk. Let’s get going...
New variants, particularly BA.5, pushing a surge; but cases seem to be less serious
COVID Dashboard: New omicron subvariants appear to be driving yet another surge, but cases continue to be less severe as a whole than previously in the pandemic. See the latest numbers here.
➤ COVID: Are widespread layoffs coming? How the pandemic has changed employers’ recession strategy
On self-care — and date night! — for Santa Cruz parents
Local tips: More than ever, COVID-beleaguered parents need “Waves of Self Care: It Takes a Village,” the new book by Capitola’s Jaime McFaden. And Lookout parenting columnist Liza Monroy helps out with a half-dozen tips on how to arrange a date night around Santa Cruz County. Read Liza’s latest here.
➤ THE OMICRON EXPERIENCE: Families with young children — including mine — still face pandemic purgatories
Why do some women struggle to breastfeed?
Local researcher weighs in: UC Santa Cruz stem cell biologist Lindsay Hinck wants to solve a global and deeply personal problem: Why do some women struggle to make enough milk for their babies? The former breast cancer researcher switched her research focus after she struggled to breastfeed her daughter 22 years ago. As the nationwide baby formula shortage drags on, Guananí Gómez-Van Cortright spoke to Hinck about what we do and don’t know about why breastfeeding can be so difficult. Read the whole thing here.
ICYMI: The saga of Sleepy John’s retirement send-off
A shoot for the ages: A historic group photo of luminary Santa Cruz musicians, brought together to honor the retiring “Sleepy John” Sandidge, almost didn’t happen … until our photographer, Kevin Painchaud, figured out the solution. Read Wallace’s recount here.
➤ WEEKENDER: A return to Boomeria, cozying up with Nick Offerman & a Cement Ship earworm
First image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals thousands of galaxies in stunning detail
A new look: NASA reveals the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, its $10-billion successor to Hubble. The LA Times with the details.
- Director of Finance and Human Resources at Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay
- Senior Health Services Manager at The County of Santa Cruz
- Bus Operator (Driver) at Santa Cruz METRO
- Student Outreach and Wellness Coordinator at Cabrillo College
- Business Development Residency at Lookout Santa Cruz
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More from here & elsewhere
➤ Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park grows as crews protect iconic sequoias (KSBW)
➤ Many hands helped to stop drilling threat (Sentinel)
➤ Aptos all-star squad wins District 39 Majors title (Pajaronian)
➤ Court orders California to pause denying pandemic rent aid (Mercury)
➤ NBA 7-footers are having a renaissance ... or are they? (FiveThirtyEight)
That’ll do it for another Monday here in the newsroom. Sleep well tonight, and check back with us tomorrow.
Max Chun
Correspondent
