The Buzz 05.26.22

FREE SPEECH

For months, a dispute had been building on social media and in the pages of the Pacific Grove Press between columnist Dan Miller and Pacific Grove City Councilmember Jenny McAdams. Claiming his columns and emails had left her “in a state of fear,” McAdams in February filed a request for a restraining order against Miller. At a hearing immediately thereafter, a judge denied a temporary order; at subsequent hearing on May 19, Judge Julie Culver again denied McAdams’ request. Culver also ruled in Miller’s favor on what is known as an anti-SLAPP motion – the concept is that if a defendant shows a legal action against them is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, the case is tossed and the defendant can also collect attorney’s fees. Culver determined McAdams’ case against a newspaper columnist constituted anti-SLAPP behavior, with the intended effect of silencing Miller’s First Amendment rights, including writing critically about an elected official. A hearing on Miller’s request to collect attorney fees from McAdams is scheduled for June 16.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Without becoming an expensive restaurant, how do we allow staff to have quality of life?” - -Restaurateur Klaus Georis on the plan to include a 20-percent service charge on every bill at his forthcoming Seaside restaurant, Maligne (story at mcweekly.com, posted May 20).

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD: <h4>

On May 20, the California Transportation Commission allocated $10 million toward two local infrastructure projects: $7.7 million will go to improving the northbound onramp to Highway 101 in Salinas on East Market Street by adding a retaining wall and extending it to create safer merging conditions. Another $2.3 million will go to repair drainage infrastructure damaged in the 2022 Colorado Fire in Big Sur between Rocky Creek Bridge and Palo Colorado Road; Caltrans spokesperson Kevin Drabinski reports that while no bridges were impacted by the fire, a number of culverts providing drainage under the highway from the burn scar were compromised, and that Caltrans will also be doing erosion control work. “Culvert repair and erosion control are critical to accommodate post-fire debris flows,” he writes by email. The project is expected to be completed this summer.

GREAT:

It’s been a tough two years for college students who have had to navigate the seesaw world of online learning and hybrid learning, followed by a tenuous return to in-person instruction. Despite the challenges, Hartnell College reported a record number of credentials awarded this year: 1,241 associate degrees and 1,006 certificates of achievement. In addition there were over 625 honor graduates who earned a 3.25 GPA or better, and 33 valedictorians with a perfect 4.0. On May 20, more than 700 graduates participated in the first in-person commencement ceremony since 2019 at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas, with nearly 5,000 spectators. Another 1,400 people watched a livestream of the ceremony. Cheryl O’Donnell, president of the Academic Senate, told graduates: “You have shown us what you are made of – grit, determination, the ability to adapt, stay positive and, in the end, succeed.”