The Buzz 11.09.23

FREE SPEECH

Hateful Zoom-bombers have found a way to disrupt local government meetings all over the country. Many jurisdictions continued the pandemic-era practice of allowing virtual public comment, allowing members of the public to address government agencies like city councils and planning commissions without having to be physically present – a practice that encourages greater public participation by reducing barriers. But local cities are joining other jurisdictions in limiting the practice after their meetings were derailed by groups of hateful callers, who made antisemitic and anti-Black slurs. On Nov. 2, Seaside City Council voted to end Zoom comments, following a similar decision by Pacific Grove Mayor Bill Peake on Oct. 27. The Monterey City Council, on the other hand, directed staff on Oct. 11 to continue accepting virtual comments. “It is unfortunately easier for folks to spew hate speech online because they can be anonymous, they can use whatever name they want and there aren’t ways to restrict that,” Monterey Assistant City Manager Nat Rojanasathira said. Council opted to keep it, seeking to maximize public participation.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Poetry is both for the people and of the people.” - Daniel B. Summerhill, Monterey County’s poet laureate. The Arts Council for Monterey County is now seeking nominations (until Nov. 15) for the next two-year poet laureate (see story, mcweekly.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Military veterans were trained to doggedly pursue victory, and nowhere is that better illustrated than through the Veterans Transition Center in Marina, which despite many challenges is on the way to constructing a 71-unit complex of permanent supportive housing for veterans and their families on the site of former Fort Ord military housing. The nonprofit celebrated the accomplishment on Friday, Nov. 3 at the construction site, joined by Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado, Assemblymember Dawn Addis and County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew. “As a resident of Marina, as a former military child, as a leader in our community, my heart explodes with appreciation to each and every one of you and I can’t wait to get families in here,” Root Askew said to an audience that included members of VTC and the team from nonprofit EAH Housing which is constructing the project, scheduled to be done in 2025.

GREAT:

Cesarean sections to deliver babies are sometimes the safest way to go if either the baby or mother are in jeopardy. When overused they can lead to higher rates of surgical complications for moms and higher rates of infection and other issues for their children. In 2015 the California Health and Human Services Agency created the Maternity Care Honor Roll to recognize hospitals with a low rate of C-sections for low-risk, first-time births. The state target is 23.6 percent or less of all births. On Oct. 31, the state released the 2023 honor roll, showing that all three hospitals located in Monterey County that have maternity departments – Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Natividad and Salinas Valley Health – are on it. The great news is that Natividad, owned and operated by the County of Monterey, has been on the honor roll all eight years since the list was created.