Cabrillo College Name Exploration Dialogues • Child Safety In Cars

Cabrillo College Name Exploration Dialogues

The last of three discussions taking place this month on Zoom is Thursday, Sept. 30, from 6-7:30 p.m. To join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https:// cccconfer.zoom.us/j/99977129453

Meeting ID: 999 7712 945

Join the conversation. Listen and learn. For information see: www. cabrillo.edu/governing-board/ name-exploration-subcommittee/ •••

Child Safety In Cars

Child Passenger Safety Week focused on educating parents and caregivers about the importance of choosing, installing, and using the correct car seat.

“Your plate is always full as a parent, but the goal … is to offer parents and caregivers the time to make sure their child is as safe as possible in the car,” Santa Cruz Police Department Sgt. Mike Hedley said.

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children, and nearly half of car seats are misused, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

California law requires a child to be properly secured in a safety seat until they are at least 8. Children 8 and older, who are at least 4 feet, 9 inches in height, may ride in the back seat of a vehicle in a properly fitted safety belt. Children under the age of 2 must ride rear-facing or until they reach 40 pounds or 40 inches in height.

To search for car seat programs in your county, the California Office of Traffic Safety has a dropdown menu on the OTS website (www.ots.ca.gov). You may also contact your local CHP Area Office to schedule a free safety seat inspection. •••

Cabrillo Football Returns Next Year

Cabrillo College trustees voted unanimously in May to reinstate football after a two–year suspension for a rules violation.

Here is a football update from Mark Ramsey, Cabrillo College associate dean of athletics, kinesiology, & health science: “We are currently in the process of hiring for the Head Football Coach/Kinesiology Instructor position and hope to have the position filled in the next couple of months.

We have football classes scheduled for the spring 2022 semester and look forward to having football student-athletes back on campus! Cabrillo football will return to competition fall 2022.”

The violation was an assistant under former head coach Darren Arbet signing multiple apartment leases to help secure housing for players coming from out of the area. Local rentals have been reported to be expensive, rivaling rates in San Jose, but such aid is not allowed under college rules.

••• Santa Cruz Elks Honors Veterans on Sept. 11

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, two teams of volunteers from the Santa Cruz Elks Lodge created a special tribute to local veterans at the Santa Cruz Memorial Cemetery on Ocean Street.

The morning crew raised dozens of American flags at 6:30 a.m. and the afternoon crew lowered and folded the flags at 3:30 p.m. The volunteers included Boy Scout Troop 674. Santa Cruz Elks Lodge volunteers pay tribute to veterans on the afternoon of Sept. 11, from left, Aaron Romanowsky, Sawyer and Isaac.

The Lodge shows its support for area veterans by raising and lowering the flags several times of year, including Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day.

To learn more about Santa Cruz Elks Lodge, visit www.santacruzelks.org. •••

Donnelly-Greenan Named

Executive Director of Save Our Shores

Erica Donnelly-Greenan is new executive director of Save Our Shores, as of Sept,13, replacing Katherine O’Dea.

Michael Jones, who chairs Save Our Shores Board of Directors, cited her background as a marine conservation scientist and experience with organizations focused on threats to the regional environment make her an exceptionally qualified leader.

She was a research collaborator at Oikonos and supervisor wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Fremont for the 2020 field season. She also oversaw citizen scientists doing beach surveys at Moss Landing for three years.

Director Jane Silberstein summed up the board’s enthusiasm: “…I am very excited about having an Erica Donnelly-Greenan executive director with such passion for ocean conservation, marine science and social equity and inclusion focus.” •••

Santa Cruz County Jobs

Report posted Sept. 17 August unemployment 6.3%

August 2021 Change from a year ago

Leisure & hospitality 11,500 Up 1,900 Other services 4,800 Up 500 Private education 17,100 Up 300 & health Professional/business 10,600 Up 300 services Manufacturing 7,000 Up 200 Construction 4,600 0 Information 500 0 Financial 3,100 Down 100 Trade/transportation/ 15,600 Down 200 utilities Government 18,100 Down 700 Farm 12,200 Up 1,000 Nonfarm 92,900 Up 2,200

Total 105,100 Up 3,200

Labor force 134,400 Up 1.7%

Employed*

126,000 Up 5% Unemployed 8,500 Down 30%

Count is on the 12 of each month *Includes commuting to jobs outside county

Source: California Employment Development Department n

“COVID Update” from page 7

Hours are Wednesday-Sunday from 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m., and closed from 11 a.m.noon and 4-5 p.m. Make an appointments at https://lhi.care/covidtesting/

On Sept. 10, County Public Health opened a mobile testing bus which can handle 84 tests per day, at Community Bridges’ Mountain Community Resource Center in Felton. Hours are Friday-Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the foreseeable future.

For information on rapid-turnaround tests see www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus under “Get Tested” link. Some sites may charge a fee.

For local information on COVID-19, call (831) 454-4242 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The OptumServe mass vaccination site at 250 Main St., Watsonville, transitioned operations to County Public Health and reopened Sept. 9, providing Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Hours are Thursdays, 9 a.m. –1 p.m., Fridays, 2–6 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m. –1 p.m. and Sundays. Appointments should be made at www.MyTurn.ca.gov. For more locations, see www.santacruzhealth.org/ coronavirusvaccine

The state reports more than 68,000 COVID-19 deaths, a number that has been rising, with 83.4 percent of Californians receiving at least one dose of vaccine and 23.7 million fully vaccinated.

Local Classrooms Stay Open

The state’s mandate for full vaccination or weekly testing of all teachers and support staff is to be fully implemented by Oct. 15.

The Santa Cruz County Office of Education is handling testing with Inspire Service and reporting a handful of cases at https://santacruzcoe.org/.

Superintendent of Education Faris Sabbah said all unvaccinated school employees are being tested at least weekly in compliance with the statewide order.

Two outdoor drive-through PCR testing sites are open to the entire school community for symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, with most test results available within 24-hours — faster than most alternatives. The first site is open at Cabrillo College in Aptos, parking lot K, from 3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. The second location is at the PVUSD District Office parking lot, open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays. Students and their families, and staff and their families are welcome to use this free service. Those needing a test simply fill out the registration one time at http://sccoe.link/inspiresc and go to either site. No appointment is required.

In a Sept. 10 letter to the community, Sabbah said: “We have yet to close a single classroom across Santa Cruz County this fall — a sign of success for which all students, parents, and staff members share credit.“

A recording of a town hall on the testing process is at https://www.youtube. com/user/santacruzcoe n •••

COVID Cases by Town

As of Sept. 23

Aptos: 1,042 • Ben Lomond: 216

Boulder Creek: 271 • Capitola: 577 Felton: 235 • Freedom: 1,087

Santa Cruz: 5,111 • Scotts Valley: 628

Soquel: 488 • Watsonville: 8,911 Unincorporated: 330 Under investigation: 330 Total: 19,226 ••• COVID Deaths: 213 As of Sept. 24