As of August 3rd, 36 percent of Coronavirus cases in Santa Cruz County were contracted by 18-34 year olds, by far the largest age group of virus carriers.  In response to this sudden and large case increase amongst the County’s younger population, the Santa Cruz County Business Council, Santa Cruz Works, and the Small Business Development Center of Cabrillo College put together a town hall on July 29th.  For a little less than two hours, Dr. Gail Newell, the Santa Cruz County Health Official, and Dr. Marm Kilpatrick, UCSC Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, advised youth to “#dontkillgrandma.”

Childcare has proven a vital resource these past few months.  It’s also been constantly evolving with health mandates, forcing parents into difficult decisions and some services to close entirely.  The eternal favorite summer childcare, camp, which is generally bountiful in our beautiful valleys, has become a scarce commodity. As summer wears on, summer camps have finally stabilized their protocols and found a small patch of certainty.  I checked up on several camps to learn more about their struggles and accomplishments throughout this strange summer.

Sandy Oppenheim, a Ben Lomond resident since 1995, always enjoys a game of tennis in Highlands Park, her “home court.”   She plays every week and gushes, “My Ben Lomond life is so lucky, I couldn’t be happier than here, in this beautiful spot.”  Before her penchant for Highlands’ courts, she won championships in the United States Tennis Association (USTA), coached at Soquel High School, and played at the La Madrona courts for several years.  However, she’s “never played a game in a more beautiful place than Highlands.”

                                 “A wonderful bird is the Pelican,

I interviewed Jennifer Hardwick at the end of June. She is the owner of Perfect Union Wellness, a fitness & nutrition studio where she offers Mental Health & Addiction Coaching.  

On July 23rd, the City Council of Scotts Valley held a Town Hall dedicated to supporting local business through the latest string of closures, which they predicted would be enforced within a week.  The meeting took place just in time, as five days later, Santa Cruz County was placed on the COVID state monitoring list for three days.  As of July 28th, for three weeks, indoor activities taking place in gyms, worship centers, hair and nail salons, non-essential offices, shopping malls, and protests are canceled.  Throughout the meeting, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Danny Reber, City Manager Tina Friend, Vice Mayor Derek Timm, and Mayor Randy Johnson spoke of ways to support our community through these next trying weeks, and also answered questions from small business owners.