This Week on the Central Coast
A pathway for schools to reopen, the Central Coast gets vaccinated, Sand City considers retail cannabis, MRY to SEA, and great whites come to visit!
*edit: incorrectly stated that Monterey County was shifting sixth grade to elementary school. It is only MPUSD that is making the change.
This week, the Monterey Public Library announced a chocolate and wine event fundraiser. The event includes a behind-the-scenes look at the library as well as a presentation from an expert chef. Tickets are available for purchase now and the digital event will be on February 27 from 7 - 8 PM. $40 will give you access to the event. $75 will include a basic chocolate and wine gift bag with savories. $100 will include premium chocolate and wine with savories, a commemorative wine glass, and a face mask. There are a limited number of gift bags available so be sure to get your tickets soon!
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District plans to shift sixth grade to elementary as schools plan to reopen.
In a unanimous vote, MPUSD decided to shift sixth grade to elementary school starting in the 2021-2022 year. The decision was made based on research that showed that attendance in the county dropped from fifth to sixth grade. In addition to that, the pandemic caused fifth graders of 2020 to miss in-person classes. That would mean fifth graders would move to middle school without a final year of in-person activities in elementary school. The shift to K-6 makes sense, especially in the COVID-era.
This also might help students return to classes sooner in Monterey. The CDC released guidelines for returning to in-person schooling. Among all the detailed guidelines for distancing and masking, the guidelines reported that color-coded zones would be used to determine schools’ reopening options. Both Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties are in the red zone (over 100 cases per 100k in the past 7 days), which means only elementary schools should be considered for reopening while middle and high schools should remain digital.
In light of all this, Pajaro Valley Unified School District announced it would not return to in-person classes on March 1 as it had planned. Instead, it will wait until April 5 to return due to local COVID data not being adequate enough to return at the earlier date. Within its district, “250 staff members have already been vaccinated and an additional 310 will get vaccinated this weekend. That will include bus drivers, teachers working in Safe Spaces, as well as other vital staff.” They will also implement other safety measures to get students back to class faster and safer, including improved ventilation, physical barriers, and thermal scanners.
New vaccine events announced in the area with extra assistance for older adults.
A new vaccine event has been scheduled for February 25th at the Veteran’s Administration Gourley Clinic in Marina. In order to receive the vaccine, patients must be a medically compromised veteran, a homeless veteran, or a veteran over 70 years old. All qualifying patients must make an appointment. No walk-ins will be permitted.
In Santa Cruz county, an OptumServe vaccine site is opening at 250 Main St. in Watsonville. The site will offer vaccines to eligible patients, which includes “people in Phase 1A, all county residents age 75 and older, and residents 65 and older who reside in the 95019, 95076 and 95077 zip codes.” Patients will need an I.D. to prove their age and those who are 65 or older will need a proof of address.
In addition to increasing vaccinations, a program called “Senior Center Without Limits” began offering free virtual classes and workshops last summer. The program says one of their main goals is to help seniors overcome the difficulties of technology. This has become even more important as the pandemic has dragged on. By utilizing technology, the group hopes to help battle depression in older adults as they become more isolated due to the need to shelter-in-place. Some lower-income residents may even be eligible for a free tablet to help achieve this goal.
Sand City seeks community feedback regarding commercial cannabis.
Anyone interesting in voicing their opinion can do so via survey. The survey covers topics such as whether storefront retail should be allowed, delivery, how you think a retail location would affect the area, and, if allowed, how many licenses should be allowed within the city. The survey takes about 5 minutes. The survey period will end on March 12, 2021.
Direct flight from Monterey to Seattle began on Thursday.
The flight was originally planned eight months ago, but was delayed in part due to the pandemic. Daily flights leave Seattle at 11:10 AM, then fly from Monterey to Seattle at 2:15 PM. In a quick search on Alaska Airlines, I found that a one-way flight from Monterey is about $250 and round trip averages about $650.
More great white sharks are showing up in Monterey Bay.
Younger great white sharks are moving up to the Monterey Bay more often. Usually, the juvenile sharks stay in warmer climates near northern Mexico and southern California, but as water temperatures rise, the sharks are finding their way up to the bay. Younger great white sharks feed on fish, rays, and squid and, the study notes, usually avoid people and when they do bite, it’s usually a one-time bite. As the sharks grow older, they move to cooler climates and eat larger sea creatures, such as sea lions. It will be interesting to see in the coming years how this affects our local ecosystem with squid boats, surfers, and otters all sharing the bay.
