The Buzz 06.03.21

FREE SPEECH

The media company Axios, known for its email newsletters and bullet-point reporting style, is getting into the local news game. The company was founded in 2017 by alumni of the inside-the-beltway juggernaut Politico, and initially focused on policy and political news. Since then it has expanded its focus to include sports (Axios Sports), science (Axios Science), health (Axios Vitals) and much more. The latest frontier is local news. The company currently sends newsletters focused on the goings on in five cities across America – Charlotte, Denver, Des Moines, the Twin Cities in Minnesota and Tampa Bay – and reportedly plans to add eight more within the year. The newsletters rely on two or three on-the-ground reporters writing about local politics, business and culture, while operations and ad sales all happen centrally at the Axios headquarters in Arlington, Virgina. Succeeding in local news has proven a difficult path for other digital news companies, but Axios cofounder Jim VandeHei is confident this model will succeed. The venture’s tagline? “Get smarter, faster about your hometown.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“He was a good prisoner.” -Ted Brown, a retired Monterey County lieutenant sheriff, recalling the time in 1970 when UFW leader Cesar Chavez was jailed in Salinas (see 831 article).

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Free (of contamination) at last. Well, at least partially. The Environmental Protection Agency has removed about 43 percent of Fort Ord from its Superfund list, according to EPA spokesperson Mike Alpern. The EPA’s Superfund is essentially a priority list of the nation’s most contaminated land. Built in 1917, Fort Ord served as a U.S. Army post until its closure in 1994. During its life as a military installation, the roughly 28,000-acre site was subject to contamination from petroleum leaks, a 150-acre landfill, military motor vehicle maintenance, firing range sites and unexploded artillery. About 12,000 acres of Fort Ord in Marina has been cleared of military munitions and soil pollution. Although groundwater contamination remains an issue the Army is working to address, the area is clear enough for the EPA to drop it from the Superfund list. Now, only 16,000 more acres to go.

GREAT:

It’s a great week for communities served by the VIDA Project, a $4.9 million program funded by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in December that resulted in the hiring of over 125 community health care workers to provide much needed Covid-19 information. From February to April, workers logged 74,000 contacts with residents in the zip codes most impacted by the virus. Besides directing people to testing and vaccinations, workers also helped point people to food, financial and health resources. Some of the 10 agencies that hired the workers organized vaccination clinics resulting in over 4,000 residents receiving vaccines. VIDA was set to end June 30 but not all the money has been spent. The board voted unanimously on May 25 to continue VIDA at least through Sept. 30; they will assess the program again in July and decide whether to extend it further to the end of 2021.