The Buzz 08.31.17

WHO’S IN TOWN?

Three Salinas motorcycle riders – Rick Phinney, Steve Culver and Hy Libby, also known as the “Black Sheep” – are in town until Sept. 3, when they set off on a 10,000-mile, month-long road trip across the country. The two veterans (Phinney and Culver) and son of a World War II veteran (Libby) are on a civilian mission to raise money for the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery, which now accommodates cremated remains, but not in-ground burials until they raise the funds. The group, from Chapter 31 of Post 31 of the American Legion, will ask for $25 contributions from other American Legion chapters and veterans motorcycle club members as they ride along. Their goal: $100K.

2pm Sunday Sept. 3 sendoff at Veterans Cemetery, 2900 Parker Flat Road, Seaside. Free; donations accepted. epicride2017.org.

FREE SPEECH

While the nation grapples with the aftermath of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned violent, the media is grappling with how to cover issues around racism, and how to be specific about who represents what. The Associated Press sets standards for the industry on how to use language, and offers this guidance on how to use the term “alt-right”: “Avoid using the term generically and without definition, because it is not well-known globally and the term may exist primarily as a public relations device to make its supporters’ actual beliefs less clear and more acceptable to a broader audience. In AP stories discussing what the movement says about itself, the term ‘alt-right’ may be used in quotes or modified as in the self-described ‘alt-right’ or so-called alt-right. Depending on the specifics of the situation, such beliefs might be termed racist, white supremacist or neo-Nazi; be sure to describe the specifics.”

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD:

t’s a good week for health care services, with the opening of a new $4 million Diabetes and Endocrine Center at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System on Aug. 30. It’s in line with thinking about how to shift the medical system not just to catch patients when they need urgent attention in the ER, but to manage symptoms and improve health on a regular basis. Besides doctor’s appointments, patients will be able to watch cooking demos at a custom-built kitchen, or hop onto kiosks and get customized healthy recipes and workout ideas – based on what they like or don’t like. “If we can keep someone healthier, and provide them with the skills to stay healthier, we’ve impacted our community,” says Dana Armstrong, director of diabetes services. In a county where 57 percent of the population is diabetic or pre-diabetic, and 255 new diabetes patients visited SVMH’s old clinic in July alone, that mission is especially important.

BAD:

Prepare for the first bad week of several for traffic on Lighthouse Avenue in New Monterey. The city is closing the exit ramp around the tunnel from Sept. 6-Oct. 6 as part of street improvements funded by Measure P, a voter-approved 1-percent sales tax. That means vehicles heading southbound will have to drive through the tunnel to reach the Washington Street exit on the other side of the tunnel to access downtown Monterey. The work includes new paving, enhanced street markings, ADA ramps, a crosswalk at Artillery Street, and new sidewalks, extending northward onto Lighthouse Avenue, which will be reduced to one lane during sidewalk construction hours at night. It’ll be a rough four weeks­ – southbound motorists should expect a delay – but there will be a payoff. In a statement, Acting Public Works Director Steve Wittry said, “The end product will be worth the temporary inconvenience.”