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Hey everyone! Welcome to another episode of Local Turlock Podcast for the week of March 26th, giving you some of Turlock’s latest scoops, news & stories, with 2 business highlights for the week. Let’s start with our first story, Stanislaus County was finally given the green light on Tuesday to move into red tier. Moving on, most Stanislaus County libraries will open for browsing and checking on Monday with limited capacities, in keeping with California’s current guidance for opening. Next on our list, new downtown shop makes edible art accessible as Turlock resident Amy Navarra celebrates grand opening of Savor’s on March 27th! For sports update, the Turlock High School Bulldogs bulldozed Downey High School’s Knights in season opener with a dominant 56-24 victory. Give some love and show our support to our local businesses especially during this pandemic as I give the spotlight two 2 businesses this week. Also sharing the latest updates bout COVID 19 in Stanislaus County. All that and more today in this week's Local Turlock podcast.
Stanislaus County finally moves into red tier
Stanislaus County was finally given the green light on Tuesday to move into the less restrictive red tier as part of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Stanislaus County’s daily case rate average was still higher than the metric for the red tier, but the continued low test positivity rate allowed for the move. The California Department of Public Health allows for a county to move down when the testing positivity rate meets the metrics of two tiers down, which in this case would be the orange tier. Moving into the red tier allows for:
- Restaurants, movie theaters, zoos, museums, higher education indoor lectures can resume at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is less.
- Retail stores and shopping centers can operate at 50% capacity. Grocery stores can operate at full capacity.
- Gym and fitness center indoor capacity is limited to 10%.
Public Health asks community members to continue following safety guidelines such as getting tested because it remains a vital surveillance tool in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and helps advance to the next tier and wearing a mask when in public or around those who are not a part of your household to help stop the spread. Let’s keep the entire community safe and protected from COVID-19.
Libraries to open for browsing, checkout at limited capacities
Most Stanislaus County libraries will open for browsing and checkout of materials starting Monday. Capacities will be limited, in keeping with California’s current guidance for opening. Masks and social distancing will be required. In order to maintain capacity limits, libraries are not equipped for group or extended visits at this time. Libraries in Modesto and Salida will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. These two branches will be closed on Fridays and Sundays. Book returns, which have remained closed in Modesto and Salida, will also reopen on Monday. Library branches in Ceres, Denair, Empire, Hughson, Keyes, Newman, Oakdale, Patterson, Riverbank and Waterford will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. These branches will be closed Saturday and Sunday. Libraries in Denair and Keyes will continue to offer no-contact pick-up of materials only. The Turlock Library remains closed for expansion and renovation, which is expected to be completed sometime this spring. Library programs such as Story Time and book discussions will continue to be offered in a virtual format at this time. For more information, please see the library website, www.stanislauslibrary.org or call your library branch.
New downtown shop makes edible art accessible
Name of business: Savor
Type of business: Gourmet grazing shop
Location: 138 S. Center St. in Turlock
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
Contact information: 209-638-2763, savor@savorcharcuterie.com
Specialty: Charcuterie boards and boxes, grocery items, pantry staples and home goods
When Turlock resident Amy Navarra hosted a backyard charcuterie party in 2018, it was to simply gauge the community’s interest in the artistically-arranged appetizer. She couldn’t have imagined that just three years later, her business endeavor would grow from the confines of a small, commercial kitchen to a one-stop grazing shop in the heart of her home’s downtown. Navarra celebrated the soft opening of Savor’s brand-new brick-and-mortar storefront last March 16, and with its doors opened a world of opportunity for Turlockers to either assemble their own grazing boards or order one from the experts behind the counter. When the pandemic hit, Navarra was forced to pivot her business model and scale down the operation. She began offering to-go charcuterie boxes in different sizes for individuals and families, and even got creative by offering handheld charcuterie “cones.” Rather than experiencing great loss due to COVID, as has been the case with so many kitchen-based businesses, Savor was met with an outpouring of support and Navarra decided to expand the business last May. It’s Navarra’s goal to cultivate “togetherness” through charcuterie and her new storefront will give customers a tasty, simple way to do so. As Navarra prepares to celebrate Savor’s grand opening on March 27, she’s overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to operate a business in historic downtown Turlock.
Bulldogs bulldoze Knights in season opener
The Turlock High School Bulldogs made their highly-anticipated return to Joe Debely Stadium Friday night, kicking off the shortened COVID season with a dominant 56-24 victory over Downey High School. The team came out strong with an eight-play scoring drive on their first possession, capped by a seven-yard touchdown from senior running back Josiah Gonzales to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead. Following a punt by the Knights and an ensuing interception by Turlock quarterback Cole Gilbert, Downey answered back with a touchdown of their own to tie the game 7-7. The referees called a tight game and Turlock’s lack of practice led to 10 penalties called on the Bulldogs in the first half. The second half saw the Bulldogs come out firing, forcing a Knights punt to get the ball back in their hands and let Gonzales rush in for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 35-17. At the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, Turlock tacked on three more scores on three consecutive possessions — a six-yard pass from Cole Gilbert to wide receiver Logan Smith, a five-yard rushing touchdown by Foreman and a four-yard touchdown run by Gilbert. While Downey was able to notch a touchdown with just two minutes left in the game, the Bulldogs had already pounded the nail into the coffin against the Central California Athletic League rival. Cole Gilbert finished the game with 217 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. His QB counterpart Evans also had two passing touchdowns on the night. Gonzales also dazzled on Friday, contributing on defense, special teams and offense with 98 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, including his exciting 50-yard touchdown run. For the entire team, the win was the cherry on top of the real prize: playing football again. Next week, they’ll be away against Modesto High School. Turlock will next travel to take on Modesto High at Gregori High on March 26.
State warns farmers to prepare for dry summer
Despite some recent rainfall, state officials issued bleak warnings to farmers this week which caution them to prepare for water shortages this summer. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly 91% of California is currently experiencing moderate to exceptional drought. While some may have been hoping for a “March miracle” to bring some much-needed rainfall, there wasn’t nearly enough precipitation this month to make a difference. As of March 10, the state’s snowpack was only 58% of average. Reservoir and groundwater levels throughout California are significantly below average; Don Pedro Reservoir currently has about 250,000 fewer acre feet in storage than it did last year at this time. Though a drought has not officially been announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (former Gov. Jerry Brown declared an end to the most recent drought in 2017), U.S. Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack designated 50 California counties, including Stanislaus, as primary natural disaster areas earlier this month due to the drought. This gives farmers the next eight months to apply for assistance through the Farm Service Agency, including emergency loans. Your early efforts can help minimize the potential impact of water management actions on businesses, homes, farms, and California’s public trust resources. Start planning now for potential water supply shortages later this year and identify practical actions you can take to increase drought resilience, such as increasing water conservation measures, reducing irrigated acreage, managing herd size, using innovative irrigation and monitoring technologies, or diversifying your water supply portfolio.” For more information on the current drought statistics, visit https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA.
Business Highlights:
Hands On Spa & Salon
Location: 2857 Geer Rd Ste D Turlock
Phone Number: (209) 656-9916
Operational Hours: Monday & Sunday (Closed) Tuesday – Saturday (10am-6pm)
Indulge and escape to an upscale, professional and friendly day spa and salon, discreetly nestled in the heart of Turlock. Established in 2003, Hands On Spa and Salon is a cozy elegant setting. The "Hands On" approach that blends casual elegance and style with refreshing warmth and sincerity is what they are known for.
Cotta's Kitchen
Location: 833 E Main St Turlock
Phone Number: (209) 664-2004
Operational Hours: Monday, Saturday & Sunday (Closed) Tuesday – Friday (11am-3pm)
Cotta's Kitchen is a restaurant focusing on homemade family recipes using fresh, seasonal ingredients. Get your fill of their salmon salads, salmon tacos (these pair great with an ice cold beer!) & salmon sandwiches, as well as our carved baked ham & cheese paninis, root beer floats, and lemony white chocolate delights…their limited time seasonal cookie!
For COVID 19 Updates, contact the business for more information about recent service changes.
Coronavirus update, March 25: Stanislaus adds 3 deaths, 44 cases on 1st red tier day
Stanislaus County announced three deaths to COVID-19 and 44 new cases Wednesday, as a relaxed set of rules took effect. The death toll now stands at 985 residents since the first was reported on April 10, 2020, the Health Services Agency said. The new positive tests raised the total to 52,241. Stanislaus also has 495,932 negative tests results and 50,716 people who are presumed recovered. The county emerged Wednesday from the state’s purple tier, the most restrictive of the four for business and gatherings. It is now in red, with fewer limits but still concern about the state of the virus. According to the Los Angeles Times daily tracker showed, the county is 14th among the 58 counties when it comes to new cases over the past seven days. It ranks 26th in deaths over the past seven days. Geographically: Modesto has 19,428 positive cases, Turlock has 7,071, Ceres has 5,355.
Outro:
Thank you for tuning in to this week’s episode. Don’t forget to visit our website, localturlock.com, to stay up-to-date on our local news. You can always email me at turlock@localturlock.com and visit our Facebook at Facebook.com/localturlock and leave us some comments! Stay tuned for next week’s exciting episode! Have a great weekend and always stay safe!
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