The Buzz 11.30.17

WHO’S IN TOWN?

savants when it comes to mathematical equations, and some of us – let’s just say some of us had to stay after school for extra help. The people who believe all students are capable of becoming “mathematically competent and confident” belong to the California Mathematics Council. More than 6,000 teachers, administrators, parents and teacher-educators are members. This week, hundreds of them are in town to learn the latest in math education. Topics include using students’ love of superheroes to inspire learning. The keynote speaker is Jo Boaler, a math professor at Stanford University and director of the teacher training organization YouCubed.

Fri-Sun Dec. 1-3. Asilomar Conference Grounds, 800 Asilomar Ave., Pacific Grove. $145-$235. cmc-math.org.

FREE SPEECH

Remember the days you could have a separate professional and personal presence on social media accounts? If it wasn’t already an official platform for government communications, President Donald Trump has certainly made it so. Gov. Jerry Brown long maintained that his Facebook and Twitter accounts were personal accounts, and therefore exempt from the California Public Records Act. But back in June, the nonprofit First Amendment Coalition filed a PRA request seeking Brown’s list of blocked users. The governor’s office for months declined to turn over those records, until FAC threatened to sue. The eventual response includes a list of more than 1,500 blocked individuals on Facebook and Twitter. (You can see the complete “block lists” on firstamendmentcoalition.org.) “Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become the town square of 21st-century America and, as such, all Americans have a First Amendment right to participate in that forum,” FAC Executive Director David Snyder said in a statement.

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD:

Not all mall Santas are created equal. While various garden-variety Santa Clauses and their elfin assistants are busy at tree-lighting ceremonies at Fisherman’s Wharf, Del Monte Shopping Center and various city squares this week, Northridge Mall is bringing Soothing Santa for a select audience: children with autism or with other special needs. The mall partners with the autism advocacy and research nonprofit Autism Speaks for two Sundays, Nov. 26 and again this week on Dec. 3. It’s like any family photo-op visit to Santa, except the whole experience is “sensory-friendly.” That means visuals, like rapidly flashing lights, and auditory levels, are controlled to prevent over-stimulation. Santa also stops in before the mall’s usual hours, from 8:30-10:30am, to avoid the usual hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers. Space is limited and registration required; visit shop-northridge-mall.com to RSVP.

BAD:

The gloves are off in the tenuous relationship between U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and 29 jurisdictions, including Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey; Jackson, Mississippi; and Monterey County. What they all have in common is that they have until Dec. 8 to respond to a U.S. Department of Justice threat to withdraw federal funding. “Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” Sessions said. What’s ironic – especially for a law-and-order administration – is that what’s at stake for Monterey County and the city of Salinas, which applied in tandem for DOJ funds, is $98,000 for police cars and bulletproof vests. “The disagreements people have over immigration should be separated from law enforcement [funds],” County Counsel Charles McKee says.