Apr 27, 2021
[Editor’s note: This article contains strong language that readers might find offensive or disturbing.]
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. Dr. Gail Newel looks back on the past year and struggles to articulate exactly when the public bellows of frustration around her covid-related health orders morphed into something darker and more menacing.
Certainly, there was that Sunday afternoon in May, when protesters broke through the gates to her private hillside neighborhood, took up positions around her home, and sang “Gail to Jail,” a ritual they would repeat every Sunday for weeks.
Or the county Board of Supervisors meeting not long after, where a visibly agitated man waiting for his turn at the microphone suddenly lunged at her over a small partition, staring her down even as sheriff’s deputies flanked him and authorities cleared the room.
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Full coverage of QAnon’s rise in California.
Over the course of a year, Newel and her boss, Santa Cruz County’s health services director, Mimi Hall, have seen their lives upended for reasons well beyond the exhausting workload that comes with battling a devastating pandemic. Their daily routines now incorporate security patrols, surveillance cameras and, in some cases, personal firearms.
They are public servants who no longer feel safe in public.
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“When I do have days off, I don’t want to be out in the community. I’m intimidated to be out in the community,” Newel said. “I’m looking to see who might be close to me or to my car, who might be following me looking to see if there’s any kind of situation that I might not be able to get out of or that might be dangerous to me in some way.”
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Shudder Snags THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR for July Release
Shudder has acquired the terrifying horror movie THE BOY BEHIND THE DOOR for release this summer! By Josh Millican
Shudder is AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural. And they have acquired exclusive rights to
The Boy Behind the Door. They will release it in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and also New Zealand on Thursday, July 29th.
The first feature is from co-writers and directors Justin Powell and David Charbonier. The suspense thriller tells a gripping, powerful tale of survival and friendship in the face of evil.