The Buzz 10.25.18

WHO’S IN TOWN?

Overfishing, a mushrooming amount of plastics, toxic dumping – it’s all taking a toll on marine life. One grim statistic states the marine life population has decreased worldwide by nearly 50 percent in the last 40 years. WildAid, a San Francisco-based nonprofit with offices in China and Ecuador, uses celebrities like Richard Branson, Yao Ming and Leonardo Dicaprio to raise awareness about wildlife poaching and other issues. The director of the group’s Marine Program, Meaghan Brosnan, is in town this week to talk about the benefits of Marine Protected Areas which, when done right, can restore previously threatened areas, in some cases quadrupling fish biomass in a decade.

6-7:30pm, Tue Oct. 30. Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Room 102, McGowan Building, 411 Pacific St., Monterey. Free. middlebury.edu/institute/events.

FREE SPEECH

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders does a host of projects. They gather data on frightening statistics – like the fact that at least 58 journalists have died so far this year, already more than all of 2017. They also advocate for change, like submitting a brief this month to theUnited Nations Human Rights Council asking for changes to a 1996 law in the Democratic Republic of Congo that makes defamation and insult punishable by prison. Now the group is turning its focus toward the U.S., with a campaign called #DefendPressFreedom, asking Americans – regardless of their political views – to unify around the nonpartisan issue of press freedom. “As the U.S. midterm elections approach, we must remind our congressional candidates that journalists play a crucial role in our democracy by keeping us informed and holding those in power accountable,” according to the RWB website (rsf.org). The website helps visitors find their representatives, and provides a sample letter urging electeds to defend the First Amendment.

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD:

On Oct. 18, Seaside City Council approved a $3,061,427 contract for Graniterock to begin renovating Cutino Park to build a skate park and multi-use athletic field that – come late spring or early summer – promises to become a gem. The playing field, which will be synthetic, will be striped for football, soccer. and lacrosse. The park’s location, Noche Buena Street and San Pablo Avenue, is adjacent to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County, where it’s sure to see plenty of action right out of the gate. The city has hopes to one day see more extensive playing fields on former Fort Ord property known as Seaside East, east of Gen. Jim Moore Boulevard, but Cutino Park will remain the city’s premier park until then. After the Oct. 18 City Council meeting, City Manager Craig Malin posted a photo of the conceptual designs of the new Cutino Park, writing just one word: “Forward.”

BAD:

There’s a dark side to a fun tradition: As children are trick-or-treating on Halloween, the California Department of Corrections uses the occasion to crack down on sex offenders. About 12 percent of sex offenders in California are on parole, and parole agents will be out on Halloween for the 25th annual “Operation Boo.” (There are 543 reported sex offenders living in Monterey County, according to the Megan’s Law database.) On Halloween, CDCR imposes special conditions on sex offenders on parole: They must be indoors from 5pm-5am; all exterior lights must be off to make it look like no one is home; they may not offer candy or hang decorations; and they may answer the door only for law enforcement. The good news is it seems to be working: “Instances of sexual abuse have not been prevalent on Halloween night during the two decades since Operation Boo started,” CDCR reports.