The Buzz 11.07.24

FREE SPEECH

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo agreed to a settlement on Nov. 1 with a student journalist who filed a Public Records Act lawsuit earlier this year. In 2022, Elizabeth Wilson, a journalist at Cal Poly’s student paper, Mustang News, was researching stories about sexual assault and labor violations alleged by student employees. She filed three public records requests for emails and other documents from administrators, but when she followed up after months of no communication, Cal Poly officials “assured” her that they were processing her request, according to the suit, which she filed in April 2024. Cal Poly released 236 emails to Wilson in July. The settlement requires Cal Poly to hold a training session for staff who process public records requests, as well as gives Mustang News reporters the opportunity to meet with records staff every academic term for the next three years. “I’m so pleased Cal Poly has agreed to a settlement, but it shouldn’t have required a lawsuit to assert my – and the Cal Poly community’s – right to this information,” Wilson said in a press release.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Even if we cry a little bit or feel sad, we also are feeling that our loved ones are at peace.” - Esmeralda Montenegro of Salinas, reflecting on Día de los Muertos (see story, montereycountynow.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

On Oct. 23, the board of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County voted unanimously to approve funding a pilot study with Caltrans to install adaptive AI technology to all nine traffic signals along Highway 68 between Josselyn Canyon and San Benancio roads. TAMC staff had proposed to the board to start with just four signals in order to expedite the launch of the study. The cost, which will come from Measure X funds, is estimated to be less than $500,000, while doing just four would have cost up to $300,000. The idea behind the initiative is to see how much of a substantive impact the AI signals will have on mitigating traffic – reducing travel times and greenhouse gas emissions – and how it would compare to TAMC’s proposal to add nine roundabouts to those intersections, which is estimated to cost at least $210 million.

GREAT:

More than $6.2 million is on its way to the region for housing and homelessness programs through the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program, part of $827 million heading to 37 grantees across the state, the Governor’s Office announced on Oct. 29. The County of Monterey was awarded $2.5 million; Coalition of Homeless Services Providers, which coordinates services in Monterey and San Benito counties, was awarded $3.1 million; and San Benito County is set to receive over $496,000. The funds will be used for rapid rehousing, subsidized housing, shelter services, street outreach, service coordination and administrative costs. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the money is tied to stronger accountability and reporting requirements. “These new funds represent the hard work, accountability and strategic planning needed to address homelessness with real, long-lasting results,” Newsom said.