Local Health Officials Are Concerned About Hospital Capacity

••• “Santa Barbara County hospitals are reaching their capacity for treating Covid-19 patients, according to County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg.” —KEYT

••• “Skilled nursing facilities have locked down their residents—voluntarily on the residents’ part—to protect them from Covid-19. […] But employees, caregivers, and staff hired from third parties must arrive daily to take care of the residents, the premises, and the grounds. New Covid-19 infections have sprung up in both residents and employees among eight facilities in Santa Maria, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara.” —Independent

••• “UC Santa Barbara plans to offer most undergraduate classes remotely when the fall quarter starts. […] Students who will be living on-campus will need to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test. The university is also asking students to limit social interactions during the first two weeks back and not to travel away during the quarter.” —KEYT

••• Noozhawk has a nifty photo of the temporary bridge being installed on E. Mountain Drive. According to the release the county sent out earlier this month, “This bridge will remain in place for about three years until a permanent bridge can be built. CalPortland Construction is the contractor for this project and construction is expected to finish by mid-July.”

••• “The Montecito Water District board, promising to ‘drought-proof’ Montecito and banish rationing—if not forever, at least for the foreseeable future—on Thursday is poised to approve the purchase of a multi-million-dollar supply of water from the City of Santa Barbara. Under the proposed ‘Water Supply Agreement’ with Santa Barbara, the district would buy water every year for the next 50 years, signing off on a five-year schedule of rate increases to help pay for it.” —Newsmakers

••• “Residents on Santa Barbara’s Westside are among the locations where complaints have been coming in from residents who say the nightly blasts [of illegal fireworks] are a nuisance if not more.” —KEYT

••• “Santa Barbara’s historic El Centro Building [19-31 E. Canon Perdido] is open for business. Built in 1927, the Spanish-style building was purchased in 2017 by a group of investors, who embarked on a multimillion-dollar renovation. The first floor will be occupied by a Board & Brush Creative Studio, and Sevtap Winery, which is currently in the valley, and the upper floors will have commercial tenants.” —Noozhawk (photo courtesy Jaeger Partners, and this is from Board & Brush’s website: “Woodworking techniques combined with the latest trends and custom graphics is what created the DIY Board & Brush Creative Studio concept. […] Distressing, sanding with the grain, and staining are a few of the important steps we will guide you through to make your personalized wood sign look as though it has been with you for years.”)

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