The Buzz 04.01.21

FREE SPEECH

Here’s a pro tip to a public agency that decides to withhold records from public release: Make sure the requester didn’t write the records, or they’ll know exactly what you’re hiding. So it goes in the ongoing legal battle for a group called Taxpayers for MPUSD Accountability, which in October sued Monterey Peninsula Unified School District over its failure to release records connected to its plan for a new football stadium with lights, plus seating and a new weight room. Plaintiffs’ attorney Molly Erickson filed a California Public Records Act request; after suing, she got some, but she also got a list of 1,945 documents that MPUSD’s attorney, Sloan R. Simmons of the firm Lozano Smith, is withholding. That list includes some communications regarding things like legal strategy that MPUSD lawfully withheld, but Erickson believes about 1,200 records should be turned over – including five letters Erickson herself wrote to MPUSD. A court trial in Monterey County Superior Court is scheduled on April 26.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I just want them to do the right thing.” - Former Monterey County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Mitchell on the report involving Sheriff Steve Bernal’s use of
on-the-clock deputies to staff a private event (see News story).

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

The resurrection of publicly sponsored adult recreational sports is upon us. Sign-ups have begun for the city of Monterey’s adult spring softball leagues. Spring softball, the pandemic’s first recreational sport to go, will be the first league in Monterey to start up again in the Covid era. As usual, the spring recreational softball season will include a men’s slow pitch league and a co-ed, pitch-to-your-own-team league. The 2021 season for the leagues will feature fewer games and about half the number of teams, from 24 to about 12, according to Shannon Leon, Monterey’s recreational sports manager. Leon says teams are typically 14-15 people. Those without a team who want to play can sign up as a “free agent.” Opening Day for slow pitch will be April 10, with champions decided by May 22; the co-ed league starts April 11, champs decided by May 23. The deadline to sign up is Monday, April 5.

GREAT:

Seaside’s Broadway Avenue is in the midst of a major makeover. On March 24, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County announced that it would receive a $12 million grant from the California Transportation Commission, plus $1 million from TAMC and $940,000 in local Measure X funds. The 1.3-mile stretch of road was highlighted through various community workshops in a Safe Routes to Schools plan, a partnership between TAMC, Monterey County Health Department, Ecology Action, and the cities of Seaside and Marina to encourage pedestrian-friendly commutes. Improvements include protected bike infrastructure, curb extensions and roundabouts. The project will build upon the newly revamped downtown area, the West Broadway Urban Village, and seamlessly connect the two with more infrastructure including an east-west bike path.