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After a hard lesson in public versus private social media posts, Seaside Police Chief Robert Jackson tendered his resignation. City officials placed Jackson on administrative leave on Sept. 15, the day after a column ran in the Weekly revealing Jackson had publicly shared content on Facebook which disseminated racist conspiracies.

Bar None

Former Salinas city councilman Jose Castañeda is appealing his May 24 felony conviction for stalking, kidnapping and battering an ex-girlfriend. He’s set to appear in Monterey County Superior Court on Sept. 21 for a restitution hearing. After that, he’s expected to be transferred from the county jail to state prison.

Community relations

The Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) abruptly cancelled its collaboration with the Salinas Police Department on Sept. 15, based on an order by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. COPS consultants had been working with SPD on a list of recommendations to improve the department in the wake of five officer-involved deaths—four shootings and one Taser incident—that left five Latino men dead in 2014. Chief Adele Fresé said the SPD remains committed to improving relations with residents even without DOJ engagement.

Hit the road

Developer Brian Clark was sent packing by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. They rejected a proposed 31-unit housing development in Carmel Valley near the Crossroads Shopping Center, after rejecting a 42-unit version of the project in 2012. Despite adding affordable housing, the supes said the project was too dense and not consistent with the area’s rural character.

Campaign count

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors delayed voting on an ordinance to create campaign finance limits. The proposed rule would cap contributions at 2 percent of the county’s median income, or $1,175. That’s except in cases of self-funded candidates who give over $10,000 to their own campaigns; donors could give their opponents up to $5,878.

Free Speech

It’s officially fall, and the end of another legislative season in Sacramento. The California News Publishers Association (of which the Weekly is a member) closely tracks bills affecting the business of newspapers and the flow of information and lobbies in the industry’s interest. These two bills in particular affect access to public information; they passed in the Legislature and are now waiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature.

CNPA withdrew its support for AB 1479 after it was weakened; the version that passed will require every state and local agency to designate a person to be responsible for answering Public Records Act requests, but the watered-down version no longer imposes fines on agencies that fail to comply with PRA requests.

CNPA supported SB 345, which requires law enforcement agencies to “conspicuously post” online their current standards, policies, practices, operating procedures, and training materials. It will take effect in 2019.

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

Good

Good news for democracy, and good news for youth: Kids in Gonzales are literally writing the rules. Members of the Gonzales Youth Council worked for about a year crafting a social host ordinance—a regulation that holds adults responsible when youth under 21 party, and specifically drink alcohol, in their home—and on Sept. 18, Gonzales City Council voted 5-0 to approve the ordinance. It sets $350 as the fine for a first offense, and up to $750 per offensive party. “They want to know how to protect their friends,” Public Works Director/Youth Council adviser Harold Wolgamott says. “It doesn’t mean less parties—it means less underage drinking at parties.” The new council picked up on the unfinished idea of former youth commissioner Anthony Avila, who graduated last year. “The entire Gonzales Youth Council learned the legislative process and how to influence the community’s future,” Wolgamott adds.

Bad

Maybe you’ve been surreptitiously renting out a room to visitors, via platforms like Airbnb or VRBO. If you’re in the city of Monterey, those days are no more. While Monterey property owners and residents who are used to making an extra buck on short-term rentals have technically been in violation of city code since the early ’90s, and subject to a $1,000 penalty, it’s only now that a crackdown is about to begin—effective Oct. 1—on hosts who advertise (on platforms like Airbnb) for rentals that are shorter than 30 days. The new fines are $100-$200 a day, and spell doom for hosts who’ve been paying their rent or mortgage with that income. “Keeping our neighborhoods united, strong, and safe was the ultimate goal,” City Manager Mike McCarthy said in a statement about the new rule.