The Weekly Dump 7.17.20

Spike in Local COVID-19 Cases Prompts More Restrictions

 

We were at 503 last week. We’re at 706 this week. So we picked up more than 200 new cases in Santa Cruz County in the past week. Which was about 40% of our total from last week. That’s a spike folks. One step forward and two steps back. This is what happens when you refuse to govern people.

“Bars, both indoor and outdoor, will be forced to close down statewide. Restaurants are being told to cease indoor operations. Outdoor dining and takeout are still allowed. All counties also have to close indoor operations at wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums and cardrooms. In counties on the state’s watch list, even more businesses are being required to close their doors. That includes gyms, hair salons, barbershops, other personal care services, indoor malls, offices in non-critical sectors, and places of worship.”

Santa Cruz leadership shows what it’s really good at. An inability to get out of their own way.

Violent and Angry Woman Arrested on Pacific Avenue

Last Saturday around 2:30AM, SCPD responded to the 300 block of Pacific Avenue for some kind of reported disturbance. Apparently, a woman shot a handgun inside a vehicle during an argument with her boyfriend. She also reportedly pistol whipped him with the gun and pointed it at his head as he was driving. The boyfriend managed to escape this lunatic and called SCPD.

Officers detained the woman and recovered a pistol hidden in a trash can outside a hotel on Pacific Avenue. She was arrested and charged her with domestic violence, assault with a deadly weapon (a gun), willful negligent discharge of a firearm, and carrying a loaded gun into a public place. She bailed out of jail on a $25K bond. All that mayhem and she gets a $25K bond. She’s already out of jail!

Downtown Robbery Suspect Arrested

Last Friday night around 5PM, SCPD responded to the 1500 block of Pacific Avenue for a report of a robbery. They later arrested a 29 year old man on the 600 block of Riverside Avenue and charged him for the suspected robbery, as well as theft and being drunk in public. Last check he was still sitting in jail on a $50K bond.

Assault With a Deadly Weapon To Go!

Monday afternoon around noon, SCPD responded to a disturbance of some kind on the 900 block of Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. They eventually arrested a 31 year old male for assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and having a leaded baton. Last check he’s still in county jail on a $25K bond.

Having Guns and Heroin Might Get You Arrested!

Wednesday morning,  the Special Enforcement Team with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s department served a search warrant at a home on the 2000 Block of 7th Avenue. They ended up confiscating more than 3 pounds of heroin packaged for sale, as well as multiple firearms. The convicted felon who was arrested was charged with unlawful possession of narcotics for sale, possession of a controlled substance with a loaded firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Last check he’s still sitting in county jail on a $150K bond.

Man Suspected of Downtown Santa Cruz Shooting Arrested

This past week, Santa Cruz Police arrested a 28 year old man in Scotts Valley for his suspected involvement in a shooting that took place in downtown Santa Cruz back on the third of June on the 400 block of Cedar Street. After Santa Cruz Police detectives were able to identify the man as being directly involved in the shooting, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He’s been arrested at least 5 times locally since 2015.

San Jose Man Arrested For Recent Murder in Santa Cruz Mountains

Last Thursday afternoon, detectives arrested a 30 year old man near his home in San Jose for the murder of a 27 year old San Jose man in the Santa Cruz mountains.  On June 14th around 8PM, Santa Cruz Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a man with a gun on the 1700 block of Laurel Rd and Highway 17. After the arrived, they found a male victim who was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound. Detectives also determined there were at least two other victims the suspect had attempted to shoot. The suspect is being held in the Santa Cruz County main jail on $1,000,000 bond for charges including murder and attempted murder.

Defunding SCPD Come Hell or High Water

City manager Martin Bernal seems to REALLY want to defund SCPD. In a recent story in the Senile, it was reported that six Santa Cruz Police Department sergeants could lose their jobs, and four of those sergeants could take a demotion to avoid a layoff. Another three vacant sergeant positions could be eliminated for a total of nine positions. Because the Santa Cruz Police Officers’ Association (the rank and file union) has not renegotiated its contract to cut costs by 10 percent, City Manager Martín Bernal said the city has no choice but to issue layoff notices. Can we just lay off Martin Bernal and Andy Mills? That should cover the deficit. They aren’t worth the money we pay them.

Another One Bites the Dust

Pour one out for the Poet and the Patriot. I’d call it arguably the best neighborhood bar in Santa Cruz but fans of Brady’s might debate me. But it was a really terrific local neighborhood bar, kind of hidden downtown which was good and kept it mostly local, and they had Guinness Stout on draft. It’s sad to see downtown dying a slow and painful death. It started before the COVID and now it’s going to get much worse I fear. Pono is gone from downtown. 99 Bottles is gone from downtown. Alderwood is closed and I doubt they re-open any time soon if at all.

Maybe it’s time to do something BIG with downtown. Like turn it into a pedestrian mall. The pilot program is on right now. I see people filling those tables on that block. But that block itself still looks UGLY AS FUCK. Come on Santa Cruz, bring in some planters and more tables and chairs to fill the space better and make it more attractive. Right now it just looks half assed and ugly on the city’s part.

Santa Cruz City Council Race Updates

The candidate filing period is officially open! You can track the list of “official” candidates here.

Who’s officially running?

These are people who have at least filed a 501 form with the city.

  • Martine Watkins
  • Sonja Brunner
  • Kayla Kumar
  • Maria Cadenas
  • Kelsey Hill
  • Richelle Noroyan
  • “Bad Mom”

At some point soon I’ll probably start reviewing the candidates as I usually do.

Get Your Swagger On!

 

I have swag! I’m working with Spreadshirt and have my own shop. I just put some basic products up to start with for now with the new logo. You can also click “Customize” and “Products” and pick from other products not currently available in my store. Contact me with any questions or issues. Nothing would make me happier than to see people out and about with my swag. I want photos! I’ve never asked for money, and I still plan to continue to do the Weekly Dump each week and make it available for free, without any paywall or ads or spam (or salary). Think of this as a way of donating to the effort and getting something back for your donation (I only make a few bucks on each item sold). I’d love to do more with Santa Mierda if I had the means to do so. This will help provide the means to do so. And it helps get the word out. The hell with the coronavirus, let’s make this viral. Being stuck inside is the perfect time for online shopping! I’ll love you long time if you buy my swag.

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28 Comments

  1. Cant help bur wonder if the covid “spike” is because more ppl are getting tested… not to mention were still only at 3 deaths. Not sure as can really trust any numbers they tell us anyway.
    I’m sure Newsom is making every winery close except his. I think the small business death will spike much higher than covid death this summer.

    • Please don’t mimic Trump’s dangerous illogic. Keep in mind that while the deaths are tragic (and unnecessary) it’s the long term physical harm that will be with us for generations.

      • Pablo Cruz

        I think that while its fashionable to hate Trump its also fashionable to pretend that the spike has NOTHING to do with thousands of people jamming together in the streets chanting their mindless slogans. Please note that Newsome has banned singing in church because it would increase the chances of spreading the virus. Yelling or chanting in close quarters has the same effect. So let’s all keep pretending the spike is because people went to the beach or were allowed to see their families again and were allowed to open their businesses so their families could survive.

        The right to protest is like the right to free speech. You can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater and you can’t ignore the virus safety guidelines because you’re upset and want to have a public tantrum by demonstrating. It was NOT the time for protests and now we’re all paying the price. But hey – now even science if political. I would also urge those of you who have a guaranteed income or are otherwise not affected by the economic disaster of the lockdown refrain from demanding that everyone else suffer in silence under the guise of being “good citizens”. Good citizens would not have participated, supported or allowed large public gatherings during the lockdown but our elected officials and the media gave the BLM protests and inevitable riots a pass. Now we have a city that has become totally lawless and yet we’re going to shrink the police force so we can “feel good” about fighting racism. What we need to fight is stupidity.

        • Pat Kittle

          Exactly!

          And the media did not merely give the rioting mobs “a pass” — the media blatantly fanned the flames.

          The media are not simply “incompetent” or “clueless.” They have an agenda.

          • Thank you for keeping race out of the discussion. You’re doing fine so far. It’s a fine line so everyone (not just Pat) keep race out of the comments and discussion. Plenty of other places to argue that.

    • The number of tests have gone up, true, but the ratio of positive to negative results have gone up – which means we are having a real increase in cases. Also the number of hospitalizations are going up. Santa Cruz County has been relatively lucky so far; we don’t want to be the next New York City or Houston, TX.

      • The other interesting data observation is the majority of new cases in the county spike involve young people. Probably the demographic that takes this the least seriously. And UCSC is not in session.

    • MuyDeplorable

      Looking at other recent data, I see that the Watsonville-area COVID rate is much higher than elsewhere in this county. Are they all beachgoers, or might there be another factor?

      • The Watsonville percentages are interesting. Hard to explain that one. More family gatherings? More service workers live in Watsonville? I doubt it’s the beach being open, although many do obviously go to local beaches.

        • I think it’s a combination of more essential workers (agriculture and custodial), family gatherings, and more people living under one roof in multi-generational families. If UCSC were fully open in the Fall, I imagine Santa Cruz would catch up with the number of students who live in cramped quarters – on campus and off.

    • I wonder, do we care about cases or an increase in deaths? I was speaking to an older dude that lived through the Asian flu in the late fifties. Over 1mm people died globally. He said nobody really paid attention, more worried about polio. I’ve asked other people about the Hong Kong flu starting in 67. Again, over 1mm people died globally. You can see old videos from the UK about it. They largely didn’t remember and we’re like, oh yeah. The death rate is low, why are we ruining people financially? 50,000 deaths so far are from nursing homes and long term care facilities, a large portion of that due directly from Cuomo sending them there on purpose.

  2. Thanks for your Blog. Didn’t see to many turnstiles this week but last week I saw some and wondered how much it cost taxpayers every time these people are booked and released. I’ll bet it’s pretty staggering. Also wondered if there could be a poll on what to do about it. Do you think the problem is only here? I doubt it. Maybe somewhere they have somewhat solved or at least working toward that. By in large it’s people that don’t give a shit about anything. Purpose is a huge tool. I wonder how that can come into play.

    Thanks
    Mike.

  3. The Grand Jury has made it perfectly clear we need a NEW City Manager !! The discord at City Hall has been apparent for the last two plus years. With all the Mierda going on at City Hall, it definitely boils over to all things city related. County Sheriff has a huge part in this mess also. Just read the Grand Jury report. It is very validating to some of us, who yelled and screamed about our community and the Mierda we keep rolling around in and putting up with.
    I can’t wait to hear about your take on some of the folks running for City Council. I can’t wait until district elections !!! Thanks for sharing what we never find out about.

  4. MuyDeplorable

    Yep, a nice pedestrian mall, with yuppie bars on the street-level floor of ten-story mini-condos, is just what Santa Cruz needs. No need to worry about getting a sunburn while we sip our artisan brews and teas at sidewalk cafes, what with the buildings blocking the sunlight. Now if only we could ban surfing, we could ask Detroit or Cleveland to be our sister city.

  5. Ben… not to criticize but you cite only the number of covid19 cases. In my opinion the case numbers are a useless and in fact a number that causes fright in the healthy population. To understand the effects of the virus “cases” need to be broken down further. How many are asymptotic, how many are mild cases, flu like, severe flu like, hospitalized and deaths without underlying illnesses. I have done a very small study on my own by questioning people that work at places that have publicly announced positive covid19 tests. Never have I found someone from these places that knows a person that has gotten “really” sick. The people only got flu like symptoms. I your ability to ferret out information on many items of interest perhaps You can find out illness and severity of illness numbers. Thank You for your weekly emails !

  6. Keep it coming, you’re the only source for this news that ALL SC County residents need to hear.

  7. Theodora Kerry

    Does anyone know if the “Contact Tracers” who track the contacts of someone who tests positive, are counting the contacts as “positive” cases even though they haven’t been tested, as they were caught doing in other states. Apparently the CDC was encouraging this premature over-count, but once discovered, some counties and states have stopped the practice. The same kind of over-counting could be happening here, falsely raising the #’s, and allowing Newsom to keep our communities shut down. There’s also still the problem w/ false positives on the tests being used, since most, in the rush to market, were exempted from being fully tested and certified, and social media is full of accounts of people who signed up for the tests but left before being tested due to long waits, only to receive notification days later that they had tested positive. Like many, I am afraid…..not of catching COVID, but of an out-of-control Gov. Newsom who’s rulings are trampling our civil liberties, our livlihoods, and our community’s economic survival. No wonder he wants us all to wear muzzles.

  8. wtfsantacruz

    What’s with mugshotssantacruzcom being off-line?

    So much for transparency.

    • It’s a good question. The site is still up and running, it’s just not pulling any new feeds from the jail because Lord Hart told them to stop posting mugshots publicly. San Francisco did it and he used that as a precedent to validate doing the same thing here. But the site will still pull up old shots and at least give me an idea about the level of recidivism (up until Hart decided to hide it and as you say, make it less transparent).

  9. Is “bad mom” Sandy Brown because if not you left her off the list of those running for council? The preliminary look at the candidates tells me we’re in for more progressive garbage on the council than anyone should ever deserve, but I can hope not for awhile anyway.
    Ms Brown has defied the people more times than I can list, is as close to a closet Marxist as one can be without calling everyone Comrade and taking money from the SDP.
    I put Watkins up there as even more of a problem since she doesn’t acknowledge her ideas are as far left as can be (i.e. Health in All Policies or We define “potential” and “health” however we want and use force to achieve whatever she wants using it as justification). Her cancerous infection of city council policy will be felt for decades.
    And these two actually went to school and have government related degrees, but apparently those must not have involved civics or Constitutional theory.
    The city desperately needs conservative voices that can balance a checkbook and understand the role of city government. Fat chance of that.
    I’m sure the pitchforks and torches will come out for saying this, but isn’t June over and it’s time to take down the rainbow flags on the civic center? Last I checked they were still up. Are the BLM flags on back order such is the demand? (‘pardon my lil joke)
    I appreciate the police observing well back up Water on both sides the usual Bolsheviks throwing tantrums around and slightly defacing the clock tower. No need to give them any more attention if they aren’t misbehaving too much, but keeping an eye on them is prudent.

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