When it’s 44 degrees and raining, as it was Saturday morning, the Albany Farmers’ Market is not exactly overrun, but it’s still a good place to shop.
Next Saturday will be the last regular market day of the year for the organization, and the organizers probably don’t have to worry much about exceeding the capacity limit imposed by Governor Brown’s two-week “freeze,” which starts Wednesday.
Among other things, the governor’s latest order to slow the spread of Covid-19 says that markets must not admit more people than 75 percent of their capacity. That apparently applies to open-air markets as well.
But as Rebecca Landis, farmers’ market director, says, “We were probably there or below already, and weather has taken us lower.”
So the farmers’ market should not be affected by the governor’s latest edict.
While attendance is clearly down, it’s still worth a trip no matter how nasty the November weather gets next Saturday.
You can get get all kinds of locally grown produce available late in the season, not to mention other stuff ranging from honey to bread, cakes and pastries, mushrooms, and meat, all locally produced or prepared. And Nov. 21 will be your last chance until next spring. (hh)
The Albany Farmers’ Market on Saturday. One more regular Saturday market is on the schedule for the year.
Regarding the govs freeze. 5 counties produced 72% of the new cases last week and she shuts down the whole state? Doesn’t make sense.
Also, where in those counties? What are the age groups? Are they asymptotic or have any been hospitalized? Are there any clusters ? Gyms, restaurants, churches? More information would certainly help.
The increase of COVID infections is going EXPONENTIAL. That should scare the hell out of everyone.
This is not about politics. This is about public health. Staying away from mass gatherings is an inconvenience. It doesn’t ruin your life. If there was an “atmospheric river” storm dumping inches of rain/snow as we have had in the past, you wouldn’t think twice about staying home rather than driving across the state.
Health care workers are at the breaking point trying to deal with just normal disease problems PLUS COVID. OHSU is near 100% capacity. From OPB:
“Last week, Oregon Health & Science University received a warning sign about the rising transmission of COVID-19.
The hospital has four intensive care units. Three are specialty units that generally serve people coming out of surgery. The fourth is a medical ICU that serves everyone else.
Last week, more than half the patients in that 16-bed medical ICU were admitted for COVID-19 illness.
That was the trigger for the hospital to begin enacting the first steps of its COVID-19 contingency planning. The medical ICU has now been converted to a COVID-19-only unit.
“The volume we had — we had to trigger this last week, and we maintained it because of all these other indicating triggers that this is a climbing patient load,” says Dr. Matthias Merkel, the senior associate medical officer for capacity at OHSU.
One of the ripple effects for OHSU is that now, non-COVID patients are being sent to the hospital’s cardiovascular ICU instead of the medical ICU.”
Get a grip folks. This is not about presidential politics. This is about lives, Remember the words of John F Kennedy:
“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”
Stay home. Isolate. Wait it out for everyone’s sake. When the vaccine is available, get it. Make sure all in your family get it. If we all work together, “This too shall pass.”
The big missing – public trust in government.
Allowing government to use a blunt axe again, as you propose, will only weaken compliance. We learned this last spring with the shutdowns.
And now we read that one of Biden’s Covid “experts” wants to give or sell the vaccine to other countries before it’s available to every citizen in the U.S.
Don’t be surprised next January when most of the population gives local, state, and federal government the middle finger on mask mandates and shutdowns.
Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us.
And by your twisted logic, many more folks will die… Bob is spot on!
Do we? Do we read that? My BS detector just wailed. Please provide link.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-coronavirus-adviser-emanuel-vaccine-distribution
Good and interesting article. Inflammatory, manipulative headline — something that writers often complain about, since they often (usually?) don’t write the headline.
LOL …source considered!
We always go to the Albany Saturday Farmer’s Market. Many of the vendors have become friends and we enjoy getting the fresh produce from their stands.
We also have the Dec. 12 holiday farmers’ market in our regular space. Outside. We will be much larger on that day but will spread out.
Way too bad that this Farmers Market can’t use the Linn Co Fair grounds as a venue during lousy weather. It is covered, dry, ample room to stay apart. There is now enough participation to warrant it’s use. Ya, I know…spitting in the wind.
Nope James, good idea!
Hopefully something that would work year round is in the plan for the waterfront?