The Buzz 04.30.20

WHO’S IN TOWN?

What started almost 40 years ago as two frustrated moms of schizophrenic sons talking around a kitchen table is now a movement named the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. NAMI has 1,000 chapters in all 50 states, advocating on behalf of families grappling with mental illness. NAMI’s annual California conference, called United Voices, a Stronger California, is in town this week with speakers and workshops on advocacy, public policy and scientific topics. One keynote speaker is Chamique Holdsclaw, a former Olympic and WNBA basketball player, and author of Breaking Through: Beating the Odds Shot After Shot, which details how she battled depression and survived a suicide attempt.

Fri-Sat June 1-2. Hyatt Regency, 1 Old Golf Course Road, Monterey. $180-$235/both days; $140-$210/single day. namica.org.

FREE SPEECH

For years now, the local media landscape has contracted and contracted again as the local dailies have been consumed by hedge funds and national media outlets, resulting in jobs across the board – production, sales, editorial and printing – going elsewhere or going away altogether. The thing about that: Some of those choices may be about to bite some outlets in the ass. According to a Wall Street Journal report, newspapers that employ less than 1,000 people qualify for the federal Payroll Protection Program. For example, that means the Seattle Times, which employs 700, received a $10 million loan, helping it bridge the gap between revenue and expenses as ad sales plummet during the pandemic. Gannett, owner of the Salinas Californian, doesn’t qualify for the program; the company has already enacted furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs. It’s unclear if the Monterey Herald’s parent, Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that gobbles up “distressed assets” and bleeds them dry, applied or would even qualify.

OVERHEARD

“There’s no music on this radio, just coronavirus.”
– A homeless man on Cannery Row complaining about the lack of listening options to a passerby

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

School might be happening remotely, but school campuses themselves are still relevant. Especially Carmel Unified School District, which is leading the way on sustainability and was notified on April 22 that they became one of just 11 districts in the nation to receive a 2020 Green Ribbon School District Sustainability award from the U.S. Department of Education. (Another 39 individual schools made the cut.) The award recognizes district-wide improvements. A partial list of those achievements: Energy and water usage are down, by 15 percent and 31 percent, respectively; water, temperature and electricity are monitored from a centralized location to improve quick detection (and correction) of potential leaks right away; local fruits and vegetables are part of the cafeteria purchasing; the Carmel High School Environmental Club partnered with Elkhorn Slough Foundation to raise money for wetlands restoration at the reserve.

GREAT:

The federal government was supposed to save us from economic ruin, but there are a lot of holes in the CARES Act relief programs. Luckily, we have local government and local advocates to step up in a big way. On April 21 Marina City Council approved a Covid-19 stimulus plan, putting up $200,000 for small residential loans (up to $2,000 each) and small business loans (up to $10,000). The applications are already live at cityofmarina.org. The same night, Monterey City Council approved $1.6 million for Covid-19 relief, with $1 million for small businesses and $600,000 for residential assistance – for people who either live or work in Monterey. On April 28, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors allocated $50,000 to close the gap on a $1 million loan program from El Pajaro Community Development Corporation for the Fondo Empresarial Emergency Loan Program, which will focus on Salinas-area businesses the CARES Act leaves behind.