The Buzz 08.19.21

FREE SPEECH

Facebook made news on Aug. 3 when it shut down the accounts of two academic researchers, Laura Edelson and Damon McCoy, who are affiliated with NYU’s Cybersecurity for Democracy project and are studying political ads and misinformation on the social network. The dispute stems from the researchers use of Ad Observer, a browser tool that allows them to see how Facebook targets its ads. The use of that tool, Facebook claims, violates its terms of service. On Twitter, Edelson said, “Over the last several years, we’ve used this access to uncover systemic flaws in the Facebook Ad Library, identify misinformation in political ads including many sowing distrust in our election system, and to study Facebook’s apparent amplification of partisan misinformation.” The move prompted an Aug. 6 letter from three U.S. senators – Amy Klobuchar, Chris Coons and Mark Warner – which, along with asking several questions, took the company to task: “The opaque and unregulated online advertising platforms that social media companies maintain have allowed a hotbed of disinformation and consumer scams to proliferate, and we need to find solutions to those problems.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You have to be fit, you have to be strong, mentally and physically.” - Seaside Fire Chief Mary Gutierrez, the only woman in the department, on what it takes to be a firefighter (see Face to Face).

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD

In 2021, the Monterey Fuel Company – which essentially serves as the gas station at Monterey Regional Airport – has become the nation’s leader in pumping sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is derived from renewable sources like used cooking oil. And not surprisingly, Car Week was its best week yet: According to Matt Wright, the company’s vice president and general manager, the company pumped about 28,000 gallons of SAF (which currently consists of about 30-percent renewable fuel and 70-percent conventional). This was made possible, in part, due to a promotional partnership with 4Air, which covered the premium of SAF over regular fuel for any customers who wanted it. “If I had enough SAF, I could’ve pumped more,” Wright says. (One reason he didn’t have more is current bottlenecks in sustainable fuel refining capacity.) “My hope is that we’re making a difference.”

GREAT:

It’s a great week to be an Otter at CSU Monterey Bay: the shiny, new 70,000-square-foot, three-story Otter Student Union is open after over three-and-a-half years of construction, in time for the 2021-22 school year. The central hub of campus life features lounge areas, restaurants, a campus store and campus organization offices. There are meeting and event rooms, also available for public rentals, as well as a 900-square-foot ballroom. The grand opening is noon-2pm Tuesday, Aug. 24, with an open house. (Masks required.) President Eduardo Ochoa will speak, along with Associated Students President Victoria Bartindale-Guffey. In 2014, CSUMB students voted to raise fees to help finance the building; the total cost was $71 million. It’s also a great week for CSUMB since students are moving back into the dorms on Aug. 20, after being shut out since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.