Beginning the week of July 20th through August 14th, black youth throughout the county can take part in an empowerment workshop put on by Chloe Gentile-Montgomery, a 2017 Santa Cruz High School graduate.  The program will give black youth the opportunity to learn about black history, building community, and meet other community members over Zoom for four weeks.  

Walking through the grounds of Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, one is met with the sights and sounds of a family-friendly environment. Youngsters blow wooden train whistles as they chase each other through the grass. Families enjoy a picnic lunch at the wooden tables, and couples walk hand-in-hand over the bridge past the pond. And yet…and yet. Masks are in abundance,  and are now a requirement to visit the historical site that began carrying tourists to the top of Bear Mountain, and down to Santa Cruz, in 1875. Hand sanitizer dispensers dot the area, and present-day signage (made with an appealing rustic look) reminds visitors of social distancing protocols.It’s been a struggle to reinvent this tourist attraction in the Covid-19 era. It was necessary to cancel events, reduce train ride bookings to allow for social distancing, and disallow vendors whose livelihoods depend on barbecuing lunches, painting faces or turning visitors into cartoon works of art.  Roaring Camp finally opened up about a month ago, and the tourists started to return.Leatha Brown is a sales coordinator and events manager for Roaring Camp. She’s been with the company for seven years,  and sees the impact of Covid-19 on the business. “Everything’s been canceled—all of our weddings, corporate, group and team building events—you name it. Some weddings have been tentatively rescheduled for the fall, but we’re still in a holding pattern. We have legacy events that happen here—Day Out with Thomas, the Redwood Mountain Fair, the Sol Fest, the Food Truck Challenge, the Saw Music Festival—that have all been canceled.” So how does a business that relies on so many large-scale events remain solvent in a pandemic economy? “We just recently started running our steam trains again, and our beach train on the weekends. We can’t operate at full capacity; we’re down from 200 seats per train to 70 seats to allow for social distancing. 2021 will be our 60th year of operation, and we’re hoping we can celebrate that anniversary with the community.” Brown says staff was furloughed when the virus first appeared in Santa Cruz County, but with the PPP loan (Paycheck Protection Program from the Small Business Administration), there haven’t been any layoffs. The other saving grace for Roaring Camp employees has been the awarding of the Great Plates program by the County of Santa Cruz. A total of five local businesses (Back Nine Grill and Bar, Johnny’s Harborside, Pearl of the Ocean, Swing Time Catering and Roaring Camp) were selected by a committee to deliver over 1,000 healthy meals to seniors each day, and employees are paid through a federal economic stimulus. “There are a lot of seniors who haven’t left the house since the pandemic took hold, and some say it’s the only meal they have all day,” says Brown.As we meander through the grounds, Brown points out the number of precautions that staff are taking to protect visitors and employees alike. “We have signage everywhere, and we wipe down every part of the train between each departure. You’ll also find staff regularly disinfecting bathrooms, picnic tables and all touchable surfaces.” I mention the additional expense that the business must have incurred from the virus; Brown nods. “We have literally spent thousands of dollars on signage, masks, gloves and cleaning supplies. We also have a check-in station at the entrance by the bridge where staff ask a series of questions before guests are allowed in. It’s been a major transition for all of us.”Phil Reader, engineer and steam engine fireman (note: not firefighter), has been working on the railroad for 40 years, and became part of the Roaring Camp family in 1979. He’s seen the impact of coronavirus on his beloved hometown railroad. “We used to see a lot of people out here recreating, and now they can’t. It’s been kind of depressing,” he says.Donnie Sage has been a Roaring Camp conductor and fireman for six years, and is rolling with the changes brought on by pandemic. “Most people are just happy to be out of the house and on the train,” says Sage, in between announcements aboard the Bear Mountain steam train such as:      • “Redwood trees get 40% of their annual moisture from coastal fog.”         • “The traditional whistle signal for approaching a crossing is Morse Code for “Q” which was commonly used in the UK to announce the approach of the queen.”         • “Redwood root systems are as long as the tree is tall.”While steaming our way up the 8.5% grade to the top of the mountain, Sage asks how many people are from out of town. Some hands go up, with the majority belonging to a group of eight people from Ft. Lauderdale. “We’d had this trip booked for two years, and we weren’t about to miss it,” says Lori Freeman. Aware that Florida has had skyrocketing infection rates of 10,000 - 15,000 new cases per day, the railroad’s efforts at social distancing and disinfecting are particularly welcome.“We don’t know when things will open back up again, but we can’t wait,” says Brown. “We’re aware that it depends on the governor and the county, and we’ll be relieved when we can get back on track.”She took the words right out of my mouth. 

On July 9th, the Santa Cruz METRO received a 20.6-million-dollar grant from the Federal Transit Administration, as a part of the CARES Act. Throughout the COVID crisis, METRO has provided vital and safe transportation for essential workers that otherwise would struggle to reach work.  Despite their great contributions to our community, a lack of funds has pushed the bus service into a perilous financial state.  Alex Clifford, the CEO of METRO, was greatly relieved for the funds, “First and foremost, we’re really grateful to Congress for providing economic relief to METRO early on with COVID.  It was incredible foresight.  So often you wait until it’s a problem to come up with a fix, but they have already provided a bridge to sustain service as much as we can throughout this crisis.  For now, this will help us stave off service reductions and layoffs.”

Santa Cruz County Friday Night Live (FNL) invites all youth entering grades 6-12 to join us at our Youth In Action Summit of 2020; a FREE, interactive networking and skill building event led by the youth of Friday Night Live. This two-day virtual event will take place on the Zoom platform on Tuesday July 21st and 22nd from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Space is limited, and registration is required. https://forms.gle/4Wa9yrJ8LLyLWr39A.

On 07/16/2020, at approximately 9:44 , the California Highway Patrol (CHP) was requested to respond to Bear Creek Road east of View Dr. for a potential hit and run traffic collision. Upon arrival, CHP personnel located a 73 year old Boulder Creek woman identified as Sara Youhas who had been pronounced deceased at the scene. It appeared Youhas had been struck by a vehicle while walking on the road and was knocked down the embankment next to the roadway. Youhas had previously been reported missing as of 07/14/2020, at 6:30 PM. The cause of the collision is under investigation.

Our community has been under a Shelter-in-Place Order, of varying scopes, for four months—one third of 2020 so far.  It’s been a roller coaster of regulatory changes and we’ve all had to adapt and re-adapt. This week we had another change: the Governor announced a statewide re-closure of certain sectors of our economy (indoor dining, bars, wineries, movie theaters, zoos and museums, and entertainment centers). In the weeks ahead, more closures may occur given the rising COVID-19 numbers across the state.

After years of community discussion and hard work, the Scotts Valley Community Theater Guild (SVCTG) is almost ready to unveil its new Performing Arts Center (PAC)!  Ray Gorski, the Guild Secretary and member in charge of volunteer coordination, estimated more than 50,000 hours of volunteer work has made the one-time roller rink into a promising PAC.  Sharing the building with the Scotts Valley Library, the high ceilings, vast concrete floors, and newly painted walls lend great potential to any performance art piece.

 In response to Santa Cruz County’s ongoing Shelter in Place Orders, Cabrillo College Extension has moved many of its popular workshops and summer camps to a virtual format with live instruction. Classes in creative arts, culinary, health & wellness, home & garden, as well as Extension’s summer youth camps are offered via live instruction that can be enjoyed from home. Students can interact with instructors and fellow students to complete projects and learn new skills, and classes are full of instructor-led demonstrations, social interaction, and expert guidance.

St. Philip the Apostle announces the Call of Rev. Katherine B. Doar as their Priest-in -Charge.  Katherine’s first day of ministry was Tuesday 9th June and she led her first worship service during St. Philip’s virtual service on Sunday 14th June.