-February 12,2021-
Local & state COVID cases fall
The latest COVID-19 numbers for the state of California are showing new cases falling dramatically from a month earlier – from the holiday season. California had 8,390 new virus cases as of February 9 – down from 52,000 on January 8.
The drop in new cases is even more significant in Kings County. The latest numbers for Kings County list new cases of COVID-19 at just 24 as of February 7 compared to 411 on January 16.
Corcoran State Prison has seen a similar drop among the prisoners from 208 on Jan 4 to 47 as of Feb 9.
Likewise in San Luis Obispo County new cases have dropped to 136 from 505 over the same time period.
In Tulare County, Kaweah Delta hospital reports 93 cases in the hospital (Feb 9) compared to around 160 a month earlier. Only 9 are in the ICU compared to 20 in mid-January. Tulare County’s new cases are 145 on Feb 4 vs 738 on Jan 9.
KART Transit Center makes progress
After years of study, work to build a new $35 million transit center in Downtown Hanford has reached a milestone. The agency has purchased all the property needed and demolition of the site is expected next month says KART director Angie Dow.
The KART Transit Center will be located on several parcels in a four-acre project site adding up to 174,240 sf. The site is bounded by 7th Street to the south, Harris Street to the west, Brown Street to the east, and the alley between 8th Street and 9th Street. Construction would consist of a Transit Center, Transit Administration Offices, Regional Planning Agency office space, 20 bus bay, bike lockers, bike rental, car share space, vanpool space, TNC’s space, pickup/drop off area, commercial retail, and a public plaza.
“We’re now in the design phase” says Dow, expecting construction to be complete in 2024.
Dow says the single story center will include commercial space to be leased that should help finance maintenance of the complex as well as enhance visitor use. The center will include a plaza with an eatery and other vendors. Already the agency has commitments for 8000sf of space in the new complex. Among the tenants – Kings County Association of Governments will take some 4,000 sf.
COVID has hurt transit ridership and one goal of the project is to help raise ridership by making better connections and reducing wait time. Ridership was down 48% in August.
Another goal of the new transit site is to revitalize this part of town along with creating jobs, provide employment access, and stimulate commerce.
The KART Transit Center will be a safe and welcoming facility enhanced by restrooms, food, retail, shade, meeting rooms, public plaza, and transportation, says a report.
The project will have a clean air component.The California Air Resource Board has mandated all transit agencies transition from Gas, diesel, and CNG Buses to Electric Buses. To meet that goal and help keep the electric buses in use, the bus bays design will include bus-charging stations to recharge while waiting to embark on their next route. Providing these charging stations will eliminate travel times to the bus maintenance facility for charging and saves vehicle mileage. Dow says the agency will convert its fleet of 36 vehicles to all electric.
California auto industry looks for recovery
California new car dealers are hoping for a better year in 2021 after a decrease in sales last year to 1.64 mil units That compares to 2.12 million new vehicle registrations a few years ago. The dealers are projecting 1.77 mil unit sales in 2021.
California’s light vehicle registrations declined 21.7% in 2020 vs a drop of 14.4 % in the US market.
California’s light truck registration fell 14.2% in 2020 compared to 2019 while passenger car sales dropped by 32.3%.
Truck wars
The battle for top spot in truck sales in California continues with the Ford-F series enjoying a 31% market share that compares to Chevrolet’s Silverado at 27%. Still,GM claims the top spot if you add the GMC Sierra and Chevy sales together. The best selling compact car was Honda Civic and midsize was Toyota Camry. Toyota RAV4 was the top selling small SUV,
By brand,Toyota was top seller in the state with a 17.2% market share followed by Honda at 11.5% and Ford with 8.9% Across the US, Toyota and Honda had a smaller share while Ford claimed the top spot with 11.8%.
In the used car market, sales also declined last year but less than new cars falling by 8.5% vs 21.7% for new cars.
Electric car market
Like all cars, electric and hybrid vehicle sales were down in 2020 but the market share of electric/hybrid cars climbed in 2020 to 15 percent of all new vehicle registrations.Electric-only sales are now 6.2% of all sales compared to 5.1% in 2019.
Valentine’s Day flower demand increases
People may not be able to take their sweethearts on a date as readily this Valentine’s Day, but they can still buy flowers—and that has been a boon for California flower growers. Demand for flowers has risen prior to the holiday, and supply may be constricted. Some growers went out of business earlier in the pandemic, and air transportation of imported roses has been disrupted. California leads the nation in production of flowers and nursery crops according to the California Farm Bureau.
Costco closing store photo department
The photo department at all Costco locations will close on
Sunday, February 14, 2021. Yup, that’s Valentine’s Day.
The following products will remain available on the Costco Photo Center website for delivery to home or business:
• Prints, Enlargements & Posters
• Stationery & Photo Greeting Cards
• Canvas, Metal & Acrylic Prints
• Photo Books & Calendars
• Photo Blankets & Other Photo Gifts
• Business Printing Products
YesVideo Home Movie Transfer service will remain available on CostcoDVD.com for delivery to home or business.
The following services will not be available after Sunday, February 14, 2021:
• Ink Refill
• Passport Photos
• Photo Restoration