Morning Lookout: Wildfires burning hotter & wilder; honoring Pedro Gomez

By Tulsi Kamath

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, July 13 and another mild day on the cards with intermittent clouds and a high of 68.

Fires are devastating large swathes of California but officials are noticing something different this year: the fires are burning faster and hotter and are getting harder to fight. While Santa Cruz County has largely been spared so far, last year’s CZU trauma is still fresh. If you and your family need help to get ready in the event of a fire, you should check out Lookout’s full wildfire resource center that has everything you need to prepare for a wildfire.

And before we get to the headlines, one last thing: Last week, we launched a super cool BOLO (Be On The Lookout) events calendar, which you should check out here and bookmark so you can always find it. However, it can be tall task to set up weekend plans sometimes so you should definitely sign up for Team BOLO’s weekly Best Bets newsletter and text alerts here. The weekly newsletter will be your curated guide to the biggest and best things happening in town that you should not miss.

Now, to your news:

California fires are burning faster, hotter, more intensely — and getting harder to fight

The fires have burned more than 140,000 acres, from soaring mountains along the California-Nevada border to forest north of Mt. Shasta and the gateway to Yosemite. But many of 2021’s biggest blazes have one thing in common: They are burning faster and hotter than some firefighters have seen this early in the year. Read more here.

BE PREPARED: Checkout Lookout’s Wildfire Resource Center

Part 1: Everything you need to get ready for wildfire season

Part 2: What to do during the dry season, when fire risk is high

Part 3: What to do during a wildfire

Missing his pal, Pedro: Local author produces a stirring memorial to his good friend and iconic ESPN voice

Sixty-two voices on Pedro Gomez, one for each year of his life.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Steve Kettmann lost his closest friend. Pedro Gomez was a celebrated journalist and a famous name in the world of baseball, largely for his reporting for ESPN and as a writer for the Sacramento Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, and other newspapers. Kettmann has now gathered together 62 notable figures to pay tribute to Gomez in a book titled “Remember Who You Are: What Pedro Gomez Showed Us About Baseball and Life.” Read more here.

Pair of Scotts Valley businesses partner to bring coffee, community together at Cruise Coffee Cafe

The Cruise Coffee Company bicycle and nitro coffee stand sits inside the new Cruise Coffee Cafe at 246 Kings Village Road

The owners of Cruise Coffee Company and Hot Pink Dessert Co. have opened the new cafe inside the Cavallaro Transit Center. The space features Cruise Coffee, bread and bagels from Sourdough Mama’s, a Ben Lomond-based bakery, deli sandwiches and a litany of pastries, cakes, and sweets from Hot Pink Box Dessert Co. Read more here.

COVID 2021 Updates

Eight priests and brothers died of COVID-19 in less than one month at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos

Teachers, scholars, mentors: Eight priests died of COVID-19 in Los Gatos Jesuit retirement home: They were teachers, scholars, mentors, ministers to the troubled. They devoted their lives to God and helping others. On the secluded campus in the hills of the Santa Clara Valley, they spent the rest of their days in quiet contemplation. Then, in the span of a month, beginning in early December, eight residents of Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos died. Read more here.

Zuly Gomez, 42, right, comforts her son Dean, 13, center, after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine

‘The virus will find you’: Unvaccinated people face growing danger as Delta variant stalls herd immunity: Recent spikes in coronavirus cases in California underscore a pandemic divergence, in which the unvaccinated face growing danger, while the vaccinated are able to move back to regular activities without fear of getting sick. Read more here.

FAQ: Are COVID-19 symptoms different if I’m infected with the Delta variant? (LA Times)

Around the state...

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press during a visit to Ruby Bridges Elementary School in Alameda on March 16, 2021.

No ‘D’ on the ballot for Newsom during recall election: Gov. Gavin Newsom cannot identify himself as a Democrat on the September recall ballot because he missed the deadline to designate his party affiliation, a superior court judge in Sacramento ruled Monday. “No one is above the law, and this ruling makes clear, that includes Gavin Newsom,” said an attorney for the recall proponents. Read more here.

The cost of fighting COVID in California? At least $12.3 billion: Fighting COVID-19 in California has cost taxpayers at least $12.3 billion since the start of the pandemic. And that doesn’t include $110 billion from the feds to boost unemployment checks, and billions more in federal stimulus money, rent aid and loans to businesses shuttered for much of last year. So what did our tax dollars buy? Read more here.

Around the county...

Child Tax Credit payments will start hitting Central Coast bank accounts this week (KION-TV)

Grand Jury reports call for jail oversight, praise PVUSD’s covid response (The Pajaronian)

Couple opening ballroom studio in Scotts Valley as dance community emerges from lockdown (The Good Times)

That’s it for today. If you’re enjoying our coverage, please tell your family and friends about our Lookout Newsletter & Text Center, where they can sign up for all the newsletters and alerts we offer. You can also keep tabs on everything we’re publishing through the day by bookmarking our website and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Have a great day!

Tulsi Kamath
Managing Editor