Tarmo Hannula
Last week fellow reporter, Johanna Miller and I drove out along San Andreas Road to get a few photos and a feel of the current agricultural scene. The strawberry fields were abuzz with harvesters. From what I could see everyone was wearing a mask and gloves. A huge Brussels sprouts farm was being doused from a sprinkler system. Some fields were being disced under. I have to remind myself often of the hard work that goes on nearly everyday in those fields. It must be even a greater chore with a mask on.
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I followed a bank robbery on my police radio the other day. Someone apparently walked into the Wells Fargo Bank on River Street in downtown Santa Cruz and handed the teller a note. After grabbing a bunch of cash the man was spotted driving off in an older model Mercedes Benz. A short while later police found it abandoned on Glenwood Drive just off of Highway 17 north of Scotts Valley. Then police found the suspect and arrested him. The car turned out to be stolen. Now the suspect is in Santa Cruz County Jail.
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Monterey County is reporting 5,293 cases of Covid-19 with 35 deaths. Santa Cruz has 1,243 cases with six deaths and San Benito County 718 cases and four deaths.
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Johanna Miller
The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) is currently screening “No Place to Grow,” originally slated to be shown at the organization’s March event, for free as part of its ongoing Virtual Film Festival. The documentary film features a group of Latino farmers who lead a movement to save green spaces in Santa Cruz’s Beach Flats neighborhood. On Thursday (August 13) WFF will host a Virtual Q&A with Director Michelle Aguilar and other special guests. Visit watsonvillefilmfest.org for information.
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The City of Watsonville is continuing its push to promote the 2020 Census through the hashtag #shapeyourfuture. The census determines a community’s federal funding amounts for the next ten years. You can still fill out the census online at my2020census.gov or by phone at 1-844-330-2020, and by mail if you’ve received the proper form.
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The Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau will be holding its 12th Annual Testicle Festival on Saturday from 3-5pm. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the event has been reformatted as a take-out BBQ chicken dinner. The price of $50 for adults and $30 for children includes the rocky mountain oysters and full chicken barbeque dinner. An online raffle will be held for those who pre-purchased tickets, as well as online auctions and a Cow Pie Bingo contest. For more information visit Agri-Culture.us.
