The Weekly Buzz 12.24.15

WHO’S IN TOWN?

They don’t know if you’ve been naughty or nice, but they’re doing everything they can to find out: California Highway Patrol officers will be out in force this week, anticipating more traffic than normal and more drinking than usual. “People go celebrate, and have one or two drinks more than normal,” CHP spokesman Oscar Loza says. CHP’s Monterey Area covers most of Monterey County (except part of South County), and they plan to provide maximum enforcement – up to 45 officers – on New Year’s Eve, thanks to a year-long DUI enforcement program that kicked off Oct. 1 with a $5.7 million grant to CHP.

Enforcement activity countywide; CHP Monterey Area office, 960 E. Blanco Road, Salinas. 796-2100, www.chp.ca.gov, www.facebook.com/CHPMontereyArea.

WHAT’S UP WITH THAT

A reader asks if Lake El Estero in Monterey is natural or man made. Turns out it was originally a lagoon that connected to streams and the Pacific Ocean. When Monterey and Salinas Valley Railroad was constructed in 1874 the lagoon was disconnected from the ocean, which halted flooding and turned the lagoon into the freshwater lake it is today.

Email whatsupwiththat@mcweekly.com.

OVERHEARD

“They let him fly? He should be on the no-fly list.” 
- A guest at a grand opening party at the Taylor building in Oldtown Salinas, speaking about former congressional candidate Jeff Taylor.

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD: It’s a good week when any nascent organization can send out a list of impressive accomplishments in its first year. And that’s what came this week from the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, a consortium of regional business, civic groups and government interests trying build the regional economy and improve the quality of life for residents, and not just the rich ones. MBEP closes out 2015 with 50 members (including CSU Monterey Bay, UC Santa Cruzthe cities of Salinas, Marina and Monterey and a host of ag companies and health care operations). MBEP prioritized workforce development and construction of a tech ecosystem of successful companies and startups, and hosted its first economic summit and state-of-the-region conference. It promises next year holds more of the same, plus new members and increased programs. Here’s to collaboration done in a smart, meaningful way.

BAD: The unusually warm water in the North Pacific Ocean this year – aka “the blob” – may as well be called The Grinch. It’s led to a toxic algal bloom that stretches from Santa Barbara to Canada, and which creates domoic acid, a potent neurotoxin that builds up in marine life, particularly shellfish. Dangerously high levels of domoic acid have shut down crab season – which was supposed to open Nov. 15 – indefinitely, and there’s no telling when or if it will open. That means no crab for Christmas, and quite possibly New Year’s as well. Local fisherman Mike Ricketts, who fishes out of the Monterey Harbor, says that because salmon fishing was so bad this year, the crab closure is particularly hard, because crab fishermen depend on holiday sales. “Most [crab fishermen] in this area make 80 to 90 percent of their yearly income by the middle of January,” he says. “It’s just a tough situation.”