The Buzz 06.06.24

FREE SPEECH

There is no shortage of governmental bodies that review everything from street naming to police oversight. There is, however, a shortage of people able to put in the time required of such a commitment. That’s the issue Assembly Bill 817, authored by Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, D-Downey, hopes to resolve by allowing advisory boards to conduct meetings purely virtually without complying with certain requirements of the Brown Act, a set of rules governing public meetings. Board members would no longer have to post their location or make it available to the public. The First Amendment Coalition opposes the bill, saying it would weaken open-meetings protections. “AB 817 doesn’t increase public access,” FAC Advocacy Director Ginny LaRoe wrote. “It offers an unfair trade-off: Let officials avoid appearing in-person in order for the public to have a right to a livestream. When public meetings go entirely online, how can a reporter approach an official to get comment or connect with community members who have views on issues being considered?” The bill, currently in committee review, would sunset on Jan. 1, 2026.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We didn’t do a thing wrong. I’m a very innocent man.” - Former President Donald Trump, after a jury on Thursday, May 30 found him guilty on 34 felony counts in a hush money case (see Forum article, Opinion section).

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Businesses looking to start up, grow or just seek out advice now have more options. The Monterey County Business Council opened the Central Coast Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at 123 Capitol St. in Salinas on Wednesday, June 5. Additional outreach centers will celebrate their grand openings in Monterey at 353 Camino El Estero on Monday, June 10 and in Soledad at 502 Front St. on June 28. The centers provide free business advisory services, such as preparing a strategic plan, creating marketing strategies or guidance on accessing capital. They are also a source of training programs and resources to business owners. The Monterey County Business Council also heads up the Monterey Bay APEX Accelerator, which helps small businesses grab often-lucrative government contracts.

GREAT:

It’s literally a GREAT week for Greenfield. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, announced $793,856 in federal funding for the Greenfield Reconnecting Everyone Across Town (GREAT) project on Monday, June 3. The funds will go toward developing plans to construct a bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing across Highway 101. Plans also call for widening the two narrow overcrossings on Walnut Avenue and Oak Avenue. According to the City of Greenfield’s funding application, the two-lane overcrossings are inadequate to accommodate the city’s growing population, and create a chokepoint for people traveling between the west and east sides. “In Greenfield, specifically, bridges received ‘D’ service ratings and are worsening, so a cash infusion to plan and make improvements is desperately needed,” Lofgren said in a press release.