WHO’S IN TOWN?
In his 50-year career as a mechanical engineering professor at UC Berkeley, Robert Sawyer authored or co-authored more than 360 publications and did research on topics from rocket propulsion and energy conversion to combustion and air pollution. He left in 2006 when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to head the California Air Resources Board, a position he held for just a year and a half – but long enough to get to know the regulatory side of transitioning to alternative fuels. Sawyer speaks about the rise of alternative vehicles.
1pm Friday Sept. 9. Mechanical Engineering Lecture Hall, Naval Postgraduate School, Sloat Avenue, Monterey. Free; not open to the public. 656-2387, www.nps.edu.
WHAT’S UP WITH THAT
A reader asked what was up with the small red crustaceans washing ashore last week. Pelagic red crabs have made recent visits to Monterey Bay during the El Niño season that helps create conditions for their beaching. They’re popular prey for skipjack, yellowfin and albacore tuna, hence they’re are also known as “tuna crabs.” Since they also eat tiny plankton, the crabs provide a key link in the food web.
OVERHEARD
“I was running late, so I didn’t have time to shower. I dusted instead.”
- A woman speaking to friends at the Cherry Bean in Salinas
GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK
GOOD:
On Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs awarded $5.4 million to Central Coast organizations that provide housing assistance services to low-income veteran families. Two agencies serving Monterey County residents – the Housing Resource Center for Monterey County and the Vietnam Veterans of California – received a combined $4.5 million. When Congressman Sam Farr made the announcement, he said the federal funding, which comes from the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, has already helped local organizations like the Veterans Transition Center over the last couple of years by helping them enroll and house hundreds of veterans. “[This funding] support has been a phenomenal tool to enable us to find and house deserving veterans,” Farr said. “We’re able to take them directly from the street or shelters into transitional housing programs and provide immediate assistance.”BAD:
It’s been a bad few weeks for former employees of Full Steam Marketing in Salinas, which closed down suddenly Aug. 8 after 30-plus years in business doing design work for clients like Ocean Mist Farms, Fresh Express, Church Brothers and the Food Bank for Monterey County. The company was established as a pioneer in “merchandising” produce, the packaging and concepts that are now commonplace for packaged salads and vegetables in grocery store aisles. Full Steam filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Aug. 16, reporting $145,000 in debt, including bills owed to dozens of entitities including Fed Ex, the Monterey Herald and Granary Associates in Salinas. (The web hosting side of the business will be sold off in bankruptcy proceedings to help pay off that debt.) At least Full Steam President Craig Kaufman paid the 10 or so employees what they were owed on the company’s last day in business – and reportedly told them to cash their checks right away.
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