GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD:

So often, the really innovative humanitarian and environmental projects come out of affluent schools like Carmel High (see story, p. 10). But special kudos go to blue-collar schools doing extraordinarily green things, like Los Arboles Middle in Marina. Our March 26 cover story highlighted some of LAMS’ awesome strides, including a school garden. One student launched an Eagle Scout project to take it a step further, according to teacher Anna Munoz. “His friends with mobility issues couldn’t walk all the way to the garden,” she writes. “So he wanted raised beds by his special-needs class. How cute is that?” You can help build them noon-4pm, Saturday, May 2. Another chance to support comes May 17, when LAMS is part of the Marina Garden Tour. Students are selling plants and food to raise funds.

BAD:

While you’re deciding what to spend your tax return on, beleaguered King City just took another financial blow. More than a year after a third of the police department was arrested, City Council voted to rebuild the King City PD instead of extending a temporary contract with the sheriff’s office for patrol services. That decision is partly what got the city booted from the Monterey Bay Area Self Insurance Authority, comprising 10 small cities that pool their premiums. But one high-risk member can undermine that calculus. The authority board voted April 27 to keep King City through June 30, 2016, giving them time to calculate exactly what they owe the insurance authority – ballpark $2 million. Until then, the MBASIA also hiked King City’s police-related deductible from $20,000 to $250,000 per occurrence.