The Buzz 06.13.24

FREE SPEECH

The Prospector, a student-run newspaper at C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento, frequently runs a column titled “What Did You Say?” with quotes from students purportedly overheard on campus. Recently, the column published a quote allegedly spoken by a student in a government class: “Hitler’s got some good ideas.” The newspaper and its adviser, Samantha Archuleta, faced immediate backlash, with Archuleta being placed on administrative leave by the school district shortly thereafter. The First Amendment Coalition, among other journalism organizations, sent a letter to Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Lisa Allen, stating that Archuleta’s First Amendment rights were being violated and the state’s Education Code protects teachers from retaliation over defending students’ editorial control. “The kids did nothing wrong,” Archuleta wrote in a June 8 column in the Sacramento Bee. “They were brave to include this. They held up a mirror to their community, showing not only the innocence, humor and childishness of our kids, but also the plague of apathy and ignorance that creates fear and hatred on our campus.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“What you did, Mike, was really stupid, and I think you know it.” - Pacific Grove City Councilmember Luke Coletti, speaking to Economic Development Commissioner Mike Gibbs, who avoided removal from his post after sending an email disparaging the DEI Task Force (see story, montereycountynow.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Pacific Grove’s own inventor with 20 U.S. patents to his name, Dr. David C. Wright, is on his way to the International Vaccines Congress in Baltimore this October, after his paper detailing his and his team’s latest inventions – a modification of the SARS-CoV2, or Covid-19 virus, a Covid vaccine and a new way to deliver vaccines subcutaneously – was accepted to the IVC. The gathering of the world’s vaccine experts was first convened virtually in June 2020, and has evolved into a three-day event, providing an in-depth platform for scientists and researchers to share the latest vaccine research. Wright, with his team at D4 Labs, LLC, was awarded the latest patent on Feb. 24, only seven months after submitting it. The team worked for four years inside the small, downtown P.G. lab researching the Covid virus and conducting experiments to create the modified virus, vaccine and delivery system.

GREAT:

Great news for artists and aspiring artists in Seaside comes in the form of a 3,200-square-foot building, formerly a Salvation Army preschool and now the home of Palenke Arts. The nonprofit is still in the process of moving in with a grand opening set for August, but is already hosting a variety of classes, including mural-painting starting this week; the group’s canvas is the blank wall of one room that will become the center’s “loud room” for classes in hip-hop, jazz, baile folklórico and more. (There’s also a quieter meeting space, and an editing room.) Since launching in 2016, Palenke had been housed in Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, with the intent to develop a freestanding hub. “The issue of dignity is at the heart of what we do,” Executive Director Juan Sánchez says. “There is a continued search for dignity in our work.” Getting a dedicated space is a milestone in that search.