COVID-19

By Jane Sellen SALINAS—On May 27 dozens gathered at the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s office in Salinas, calling on the state and county governments to web-post advance warning of agricultural pesticide use. The event was one of several by farmworking communities across California who joined together...

At midnight, it became official: California is open. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t over, and life isn’t back to the way it was before most of us had heard of the mysterious, deadly illness we now call Covid-19. But the lifting of nearly all of...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Masks, capacity limits and several other mandates imposed by the state to slow the spread of Covid-19 will all become a thing of the past on Tuesday. And while Santa Cruz County health officials in their first press conference since May called...

CALIFORNIA—A total of 675 leaders from across California convened on Zoom June 3 in an effort to urge California Gov. Gavin Newsom to extend and expand Senate Bill 91. SB91, which went into effect in January, was the follow-up to Assembly Bill 3088’s eviction moratorium....

WATSONVILLE—In the days after California began to offer Covid-19 vaccines for children 12 and older, thousands across the state lined up for their turn. In Santa Cruz County, a total of 1,200 young people got their vaccines at Scotts Valley High School, Dominican Hospital’s Employee...

The June 15 reopening date set by California Gov. Gavin Newsom will now mark another pandemic milestone: the day many Californians can go without masks in most settings. California’s Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly on Monday told reporters the state will continue...

Surprised that federal health officials would this quickly recommend fully-vaccinated people can ditch their masks, Santa Cruz County health officials at a Thursday press conference said unvaccinated county residents will have to eventually walk a “tightrope” when deciding when it is safe to leave...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Over the past few weeks, monolith displays urging residents to get vaccinated against Covid-19 have popped up across Santa Cruz County. The installations were organized by Crush Covid, a local group of volunteers made up of retired women (many with backgrounds in health...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Community Bridges and Salud Para La Gente are joining forces in order to help individuals looking to get an appointment for the Covid-19 vaccine.  Through Community Bridges’ (CB) bilingual Bridges to Access Vaccine Helpline and Salud Para La Gente’s vaccination clinics, the agencies...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Santa Cruz County health officials’ prediction that residents would be frustrated over not being able to find a Covid-19 vaccine after the state expanded its eligibility to most Californians earlier this month has not come true. Instead, the demand for the inoculation has...