Watsonville Nursing Center Residents Die of COVID-19
Santa Cruz County officials confirmed this week that two people have died at the Watsonville Post Acute Center as a result of contracting the COVID-19 virus. The deceased were both residents at the facility. As of Thursday, three residents were hospitalized with COVID-19. Last week, the facility confirmed reports that 27 out of 73 residents and 6 employees at the center tested positive for the virus. According to a statement on the company website, “residents who tested positive are in isolation, meanwhile the employees who tested positive are at home in quarantine.” According to the Santa Cruz County Health Officer, there is more potential for additional cases and fatalities. The Watsonville Post Acute Center has not relaxed visitation policies and has taken precautions to prevent further spreading. The facility and its sister facility are not admitting new residents or discharging residents.
Santa Cruz County COVID Updates:
There have been 2,423 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Santa Cruz County, according to the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency. 12 people have died. 2,106 people have recovered from the disease. A total of 47,720 people have tested negative. 155 have been hospitalized in total. According to a state count, 23 people are currently hospitalized and four are in the ICU.
Save the Santa Cruz Rangers
I got word recently that the SCPD budget issue involving the elimination of the Santa Cruz Rangers program might come up to the city council at their next meeting. If you haven’t signed the petition supporting the Rangers, please go here and virtually sign. Your support could mean the difference between keeping them or losing them and all it takes is a virtual signature. Thanks! Andy Mills and the POA (the union) wants to throw them under the bus in order to preserve their precious (and overpaid) union members. Talk about family. Talk about shitty morale at SCPD. Talk about attrition at SCPD. Talk is cheap. We need the Rangers more than ever. They are the front line, social services and public safety crisis workers downtown, in our parks, and on our beaches.
If you doubt that, well read on…..and imagine what happens without them.
Local White Supremacist Bum Charged With Federal Hate Crime
A 44 year old transient bum from Santa Cruz has been charged with a federal hate crime after yelling racial slurs at a black man while attempting to stab him, according to police and a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California. The attack happened back in July near San Lorenzo Boulevard and Broadway. The suspect confronted a 29 year old black man crossing the street and stabbed him with a nine inch knife, slashing at his head, chest and stomach. As SCPD took him into custody, the suspect said he wanted a “white person to help” arrest him. The suspect spewed racial epithets toward police and jail staff as they booked him into jail, police said. This is the fourth time this derelict asshole has been accused locally of racially motivated assaults. He’s currently out on probation for state convictions involving a 2018 assault on a different black man, prosecutors said. He was also accused of committing at least two other similar assaults in 2018 and 2014. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Feed his ass up the feds! They might actually keep him in prison and rid us of his racist vagrant presence.
Felons With Lots of Guns Isn’t Newsworthy in Santa Cruz
Last Friday night around 11PM, deputies from the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s department picked up a 53 year old Aptos man somewhere along Soquel Avenue and charged him with a number of things, including resisting arrest, battery on a peace officer, bringing a weapon into prison, illegally carrying a concealed weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of an assault weapon, possession of armor penetrating ammunition, and more. A total of 59 charges with 55 of them felonies, mostly weapons charges. His bail was increased to $500,000. Last check he’s still in jail. Good thing this isn’t a “newsworthy” local story. I dug this up from arrest logs and jail records.
Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
Last Friday around midnight, deputies from the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s department responded to the 500 block of 7th avenue for a disturbance. They eventually arrested a 29 year old man from San Jose and charged him with resisting arrest, drunk in public, burglary, battery on a peace officer, and few other things. His bail was set at the criminally low amount of $5k, but surprisingly he’s still in jail as of Thursday.
A Costly Overdose
This Tuesday, Scotts Valley Police responded to report of a subject who was possibly overdosing from drugs. Officers arrived and were able to get the person safely to the hospital for medical treatment. While helping the victim, Officers observed paraphernalia and suspected controlled substances in the victim’s possession. Over $4,000 in cash, more than 30 cellphones and over 85 grams of methamphetamine was located and seized.
Tourist Takes Liberties Before Losing Some of Her Own
Last Saturday around 11PM, SCPD responded to the 600 block of Front Street where they arrested a 28 year old woman from Tracy for shoplifting and assault with a deadly weapon. She also had an outstanding warrant out of San Jose. Her bail was set at $25K and it appears she is no longer in jail.
He’s Driving His Life Away
Monday night, an officer with SCPD made a vehicle stop for expired registration. The driver was on felony probation with search terms for illegal controlled substances and paraphernalia. Guess what they found? No seriously, guess what they found? Illegal controlled substances and paraphernalia! Methamphetamine, heroin, and drug paraphernalia. Imagine that!
Local Bum Arrested For Beating on His Family
Last Saturday around 6PM, SCPD responded to the 100 block of Bixby Street in Santa Cruz for a domestic disturbance. They eventually arrested a 39 year old male and charged him with a number of domestic violence charges and violating protective orders. Last check he’s still sitting in jail on a $60K bond. Locally, he’s been arrested at least 10 times since 2013.
The Number One Public Safety Hazard in Santa Cruz
Let’s see what we’ve got here. “resisting arrest – $5K bail”. “battery on a peace officer – $5K bail”. “drunk and disorderly – $5K bail”. “PROBATION VIOLATION REARREST AND REVOKE! – $10K bail”. And what does Sheriff Jim Hart do? He lets him out of jail for FREE! “RELEASED”. “PTA” aka “Jim Hart’s Get Out of Jail Free Card”. Our own sheriff is the number one public safety hazard in Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz City Council Race
Ok, I was kidding about writing me in as a 4th. I just thought it might be funny if “Ben Dover” got enough write in votes to report it. I could never do that job. It requires the patience of a saint and the tolerance of a masochist. I have neither. So as an alternative….
Martine. Shebreh. Sonja. No fourth.
Here’s an update on how much the candidates have raised and spent so far. This info was found on their recent Form 460 updates which are required by law. Listed in order of most money raised (in dollars) to least.
Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson:
- Raised: 27,534
- Spent: 9470
Martine Watkins:
- Raised: 22,750
- Spent: 8667
Kayla Kumar:
- Raised: 22,395
- Spent: 8885
Sonja Brunner:
- Raised: 16,105
- Spent: 8102
Sandy Brown:
- Raised: 12,005
- Spent: 5665
Kelsey Hill:
- Raised: 11,995
- Spent: 4858
Maria Cadenas:
- Raised: 9024
- Spent: 6846
Elizabeth Conlan:
- Raised: 4480
- Spent: 2188
Bad Mom:
- Raised: 3296
- Spent: 2842
And did anyone else notice that Greg Larson, who ran two years ago and lost (ultimately) to Glover, is now endorsing Sandy Brown! WTF is up with that? Is there some quid pro quo going on here? Not that he’s particularly relevant anymore beyond NextDoor. I just did a double take when someone told me that recently. And Chris Krohn donated $100 to bad Mom’s campaign. Talk about pissing your cash away. Buy 10 $10 Safeway gift cards and hand them out to local homeless. You might get some respect for me for doing that.
How the Grinch Stole Halloween
No candy for the children downtown this year. Just another concession in the Year of the Endless Bummer.
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.
The Santa Mierda Podcast Network
Be sure to check out the Santa Mierda Podcast Network! You can find the Santa Mierda Podcast Network on SoundCloud. And Apple Music. And Spotify. It’s free so check it out and give it a listen!
Check Out Our Twitter Feed for More Mierda!
Be sure to check out and follow our Twitter feed for even more mierda! Even though the Dump only comes your way once a week, I try to post breaking news and updates on other days as well. So check us out and follow us on Twitter for even more updates about real time news in Santa Cruz you might not otherwise hear about.
Get The Dump Delivered Each Week!
Don’t forget you can sign up and have the Weekly Dump automatically delivered to your email each week! Just click that little box in the bottom right corner of any page that says “Follow the Weekly Dump!” and sign up! All we need is an email.
Ahh Sheriff Jim Hart…the one and only law enforcement leaders in the nation supporting Biden! What is wrong with you people?
WTF does Biden have to do with it? I support Biden. What’s wrong with me? Not a fucking thing is wrong with me.
Ben,
Since you asked, it’s a particularly miserable “choice” we have this time around.
You seem to object to the months-long BurnLootMurder riots. Biden clearly doesn’t, although when pressed he’ll utter an utterly disingenuous disclaimer.
“Our own sheriff is the number one public safety hazard in Santa Cruz.” This was your brilliant sentence Ben, and you have repeatedly made the point that Hart turnstyling is being “soft on crime”. Your readers are simply drawing an analogy to Biden as being “soft on crime” because he never mentions the riots and looting.
Your dear racist leader has Covid. Gosh if only there was something he could have done to prevent it. Wait , he could have worn a mask! Instead he makes fun of Biden for wearing one. Karma bitch!
Huh? It is my understanding that most folks who caught COVID (since maybe June) actually were wearing masks, if they could. What will you say if your political friends catch it? And did you notice that the group photo of the Rangers was taken at a time without masks? Was there no photo with masks? Remember that politicians, and most government workers, are not laid off their jobs when the economy tanks.
Bad Mom needs………you guessed it……….$$$$$
https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-with-rv-registration?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet
It occured to me that instead of “gofundme.com” there should be a site named “gof****yourself.com”. Lo and behold, it exists!
Greg Larson says he’s going to run again for City Council in the future. He is a political animal. He’ll take sides if it’s expedient to his agenda. Maybe he is planning something. We never got the story why he was terminated as City Manager for Los Gatos. He was still being paid for a year while “training” his replacement. Everyone involved had to sign an NDA about this. Will we ever find out?
I vote Not Guilty on that “federal hate crime.” Yelling slurs is not illegal (compare to other things that the progressives say is not illegal, despite any laws). Stabbing somebody, yes. If the perp specifically targeted a random person for that reason, that’s one thing. But yelling anything at all, while committing a targeted crime for (say, drugs or money), is a different thing. We have gone overboard with this whole “hate crime” thing. Diverts attention from the real problem: bums.
Let me know when they outlaw loud rap “music” from slow-moving cars with open windows, with the amplifier screaming slurs all over the neighborhood. Or is that “diversity”?
In other news: I see that the favored three city council candidates are frequently shown on political signs, at least on the lower west side. The other ones, not so much.
And in yet other news: Has this county had any COVID deaths, or required intensive care, among the otherwise-healthy population?
I am I the only one that thinks the “people claiming the clock tower” as an “altar” to whomever they proclaim as an injustice martyr worship altar is hastag “#crap-baloney” ??? I mean the clock tower is public property, a monument to the bi-centennial of the USA , and not available for just any jo-jo group with a grievance to claim as their own personal property. They most definitively are Provacatoures wanting a show down with police and I for one think we should oblige. Other wise, citizens may want to just take trash cans down there, and take out the trash and see how bad they want to “protect the alter”.
Otherwise, the city is just one big up for grabs , any leftist cause will do, public property means nothing, give the city away to however wants it cesspool of leftist dogma.
But unfortunately the city is already up for grabs. Did you happen to see the KSBW newscast last night which led off with the “homeless” situation in SC? Specifically Front St, with McHenry getting prime exposure. Disgusting and disgraceful as this group faces off with the police—and wins.
No I didn’t, and I can’t find it on their site, but I sure believe you. I see now (I was gone for 5 days)and took a walk from down town this morning and most of the “altar” is demolished, but also quite a bit is still there, and the brick graffiti names aren’t going to come off that easy. Now I was returning a rent-a car on Ocean and decided to walk home (I need the exercise). I was wearing a red “USA” flag hat and if you bet I could walk home without some leftist weirdos “ass”costing me with profanity you would have lost that bet. However, being 6′ 240 has it’s advantages and so does my mouth which also works pretty good if you have ever heard me speak. Hey, half the people are below average ya kno?