The Local Buzz 09.11.14

WHO’S IN TOWN?

Look closely, and you’ll see more detail than has been visible to the human eye than ever before. The International Society for Optics and Photonics brings two separate conferences to Monterey this week, one on scanning microscopes and another on photomasks, micro-electronic technology that makes your smartphone, flat-screen TV and solar panels work. An R&D exhibit shows the latest, most affordable tools, with manufacturers hailing from places like Germany, Japan, Florida and of course, Silicon Valley.

Sept. 16-18. Monterey Conference Center, 1 Portola Plaza. Microscope conference is $715/SPIE members, $775/non-members; Photomask conference is $930/members, $990/non-members; student discounts available. (360) 676 3290, www.spie.org.

LOCAL TRIVIA

Pacific Grove was first settled as

• a. Fancy group lodges for Del Monte Hotel overflow.
• b. A Jesuit-run nature preserve.
• c. Catholic missionary lodging.
• d. A pet-free Methodist retreat association.

(Last week’s answer: Local late-1800s harpooners also were responsible for: a. Cutting up the whale.)

OVERHEARD

“Look alive!”
- Handler of Dolly the captive California condor, who appeared interested in nibbling a nearby human at Ventana Wildlife Society’s Sept. 6 benefit at Rancho Grande in Big Sur. (Condors only eat dead things.)

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD: This bit of news makes it a good week for women, golfers and Quail Lodge all at once, as Quail Lodge Golf club has named Wendy Stuart director of golf. That’s an official first for Quail, and an unofficial first for Monterey County, long recognized as the Mecca for the sport thanks to the 27 courses, many of them world-class, that call the area home, and make golf news here golf news everywhere. Stuart will manage the entire golf operation, including golf staff. At Quail that includes celebrated Professional Golf Association teacher Katherine Marren, director of instruction and one of the highest ranking instructors in the country. Stuart also will assist with a course renovation project that starts later this fall. “This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a club where a lot of great things are going to happen,” Stuart says. “I think this is a time when Quail Lodge is really going to shine brighter than ever.”

BAD: Good news hasn’t come out of the Monterey Herald in awhile. (To recap: ad production outsourced to India, copy desk gone to Chico, building sold, printing press dismantled, veteran reporters gone, baby, gone.) And the Herald mothership, Digital First Media (owned by a hedge fund specializing in distressed assets) won’t negotiate with the media guild for raises or better health care. Two weeks ago, writers undertook a byline strike, refusing to allow their names appear with their stories. This week, the guild placed a wanted ad. What’s wanted? A new owner. Guild spokesman and Herald writer Julia Reynolds says while the paper isn’t officially for sale, industry experts predict DFM will sell all its papers in one lump. “It would be another possibility to gut us more than we’ve already been gutted,” she says. In response to the ad, placed Monday, the guild has received a few inquiries, Reynolds says. Here’s hoping for a deep-pocketed hero.