Scotts Valley Staying Strong

Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson is supporting small businesses in his community during the COVID-19 emergency through a 4-minute video he created on YouTube titled “Scotts Valley Staying Strong.”

The video features Vice Mayor Derek Timm, who owns a local real estate company, answering the question of what Scotts Valley residents can do to support businesses, some of which have been closed as non-essential on March 16 and some of which have made big changes in order to operate safely.

Timm suggests going to a newly created website called rideoutthewave.org to buy gift certificates.

That website was created by Santa Cruz Works, a nonprofit supporting the business community in Santa Cruz County. When the website went live, more than $100,000 in purchases were made in 15 minutes.

Among the businesses in the Scotts Valley video are restaurants Jia Tella’s, Togo’s and Erik’s DeliCafe.

Local residents such as the Sangha family, the Bridges-Smith family, the Hartman family, and the Deblocks, who are now living in San Diego, are shown joining the campaign.

Council member Jim Reed suggests people spread the word about which restaurants are open by posting a photo showing their takeout meal.

“These are our neighbors who are depending on their neighbors to stay in business,” Reed says.

You can find “Scotts Valley Staying Strong” at youtu.be/2oIK3_Fg-8k.

To buy a gift certificate, go to rideoutthewave.org.