Santa Cruz County has just a handful of available ICU beds remaining. Local hospitals are planning to expand their capacity, but it won’t be easy.
Recovery & Reopening
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Santa Cruz County homeless deaths hit all-time high in 2020
The number of deaths in the county also went up by about 13% compared to last year, but homeless people died at more than five times the rate of the rest of the county population.
Posted inCOVID 2022
Vaccine watch: Santa Cruz County’s first batches to be administered on Thursday
COVID-19 vaccinations will begin with emergency health care workers Thursday morning, followed by other health care personnel. Nursing homes will be served by a separate federal pharmacy program.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
‘I was dead’: How a quick-rising swell at Pleasure Point nearly cost one experienced surfer his life
Wayne Kiba was lucky to end up floating on his back in the water, he was lucky to have quick help from first responders and he was lucky to have the fortune of good karma on his side.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
21 for ’21: Bonnie Lipscomb helping city’s economy adapt and change amid pandemic
Bonnie Lipscomb and her team at the City of Santa Cruz’s Economic Development office had to set aside business-as-usual and create new models to help businesses survive 2020.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Santa Cruz County Bank announces new president/CEO
Krista Snelling is a veteran community-bank executive from the Sacramento area who says of her opportunity in Santa Cruz, “I plan to do a lot of listening at the beginning.”
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Local stars headline ‘Seedfolks,’ an event to benefit Homeless Garden Project
Dec. 12 virtual reading of Paul Fleischman’s classic community gardening book will feature such star readers as Justin Cummings, Donna Meyers, Mike Ryan, and Jonathan Franzen.
Posted inCOVID 2022
1,590 COVID-19 vaccine doses headed to Santa Cruz County. How will they get distributed?
Drive-thru vaccinations? That’s entirely possible under the county’s vaccine distribution plan.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
21 for ’21: Ruby Vasquez pays homage to — and fights for — Pajaro Valley’s essential workers
Educator Ruby Vasquez and her friends regularly visit the agricultural workers of the Pajaro Valley with a message of gratitude and information on how to stay safe. Those community connections will continue to be essential in the new year, she says.
Posted inCoast Life
The Golden State’s future? Most Californians are pessimistic
In a wide-ranging new survey of attitudes toward the economy, six in 10 residents said they expect California’s children to be worse off financially than their parents.