The Buzz 04.05.18

WHO’S IN TOWN?

Someone in the U.S. has a stroke every 40 seconds, and every four minutes someone dies, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The good news: The faster someone gets treatment, the better their chances of surviving. Even better news: Researchers are zeroing in on drugs that could reverse the debilitating effects if administered within a few hours. This week Kaiser Permanente is presenting its 2018 Inter-Regional Stroke Conference, featuring workshops in vascular medicine, stroke nursing and systems of care, and other related topics. The keynote speaker is Dr. Walter J. Koroshetz, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a leading nonprofit that supports brain and nervous system research.

Fri-Sat April 6-7. Embassy Suites, 1441 Canyon Del Rey Blvd., Seaside. $220-$260. kaiserstrokeconference.weebly.com.

FREE SPEECH

Whether or not elected officials return phone calls to journalists (or members of the public at large), there’s a chance to speak to them face to face at public meetings. California’s Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act establishes the rules for how city councils, water boards, transit boards, etc. hold meetings – and allow public comment. Assemblymember Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, has introduced AB 2958, which would significantly broaden the ability to meet via teleconference (requiring at least one member of the governing body to physically attend). Nikki Moore, general counsel for the California News Publishers Association (of which the Weekly is a member) sent Quirk a letter opposing the bill before its first committee hearing on April 4. “In participatory democracy, there are intangible benefits in requiring public officials to literally face the crowd,” Moore wrote. “The current teleconference rule was crafted to maintain the integrity of the democratic process by mandating that officials are publicly present when doing public business.”

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD:

Seaside is finally giving its lakefront property a much-needed facelift. At 11am on April 6, Mayor Ralph Rubio, Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Ernie Suber, Recreation Superintendent Daniel Meewis and Cal Am’s Director of Operations Eric Sabolsice will appear in a groundbreaking for Robert’s Lake. The lake, a habitat for various bird species, will get the addition of a new “eco-recreation” station with a nature-play area for kids and an outdoor classroom promoting the surrounding wildlife. The playground is funded from a $150,000 Building Better Communities grant from the American Water Charitable Foundation and National Recreation and Park Association. Aside from the ceremonious shoveling of dirt, the city is also holding a Name the Coot contest, in which members of the community can help name the official logo of the new eco-rec station.

BAD:

California American Water sent out a bizarre mailer to Peninsula households a few weeks ago, attempting to get residents to ask the Monterey County Elections Department to remove their names from a petition for Public Water Now’s proposed ballot measure. It appears to have backfired: PWN received about 1,700 additional signatures turned in by volunteers. PWN co-founder George Riley says a lot of those came from residents who were put off by Cal Am’s mailer, but says they are just a bonus – they had already exceeded the 6,058 required to get a measure on the Nov. 6 ballot, and the number volunteers counted over the weekend exceeded 11,400. The measure would require the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to conduct a feasibility study for a public buyout of Cal Am’s Monterey system and, if feasible, to initiate a buyout.