I passed through miles of Watsonville’s agricultural fields today under gray, overcast skies. The strawberry harvest seemed to be going full blast, with loaded up flatbed trucks packing the fruit off to warehouses. Scores of workers dotted the fields on either side of San Andreas Road, mostly at strawberry fields. Lettuce was going gangbusters as well.
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The Neowise comet is putting on a dramatic show at dawn and dusk—when the fog doesn’t come in and ruin the performance. Starting in July it has been bright enough to be visible to the naked eye, and under dark skies, it can be clearly seen. For observers in the northern hemisphere, predawn, the comet appears low above the north-eastern horizon. At dusk, it can be seen in the north-western sky. In the second half of this month, the comet will appear to pass through the constellation of the Big Dipper.
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I read in the news today that more than 27 percent of Americans are using withdrawals from their retirement savings accounts as the coronavirus continues to seep into society and ways of life. More than 30 million Americans applied for unemployment at the end of April, or 23 percent of the American workforce — a level last seen during the Great Depression in the 1930s.
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President Trump is getting some harsh feedback for retweeting a post by game show host Chuck Woolery that said “everyone is lying” about the coronavirus pandemic, in that it is a possible effort to thwart his reelection. Woolery said that the “purported lies about Covid-19” are by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the media, Democrats, and some doctors. It’s strange because Trump’s message comes as the U.S. hit records of new coronavirus cases.
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In Monterey County there are 2,835 cases, 1,595 recoveries and 18 deaths.
Santa Cruz County now has 600 cases, 311 recoveries and three deaths while San Benito County has 382 cases, 309 recoveries and two deaths.
