The Buzz 12.07.23

FREE SPEECH

How to cover the president’s press conferences when the president is lying? It seems the TV news finally figured it out, as the American electorate gave him the boot. In the uncertain days between the Nov. 3 election and determining an outcome on Nov. 7, Joe Biden delivered a message encouraging patience and trusting in the vote count. President Donald Trump took a different tack, first falsely claiming that he had won. Then in a Nov. 5 press conference, Trump said, “If you count the legal votes, I easily win. This is a case where they’re trying to steal an election.” Four major networks – ABC, CBS, NBC and MSNBC – cut away to instead tell viewers Trump’s claims had no basis in reality. Fox and CNN stuck with Trump for his full remarks, but CNN included a caption on the screen that read, “Without any evidence, Trump says he’s being cheated.” CNBC’s Shepard Smith had the most pointed live takedown: “We’re interrupting this, because what the president is saying, in large part, is absolutely untrue. And we’re not going to allow it to keep going, because it’s not true. There is not a scintilla of evidence this is true, none. There are only words here, no truth.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Behavior change has its limits.”

- Genevieve LeBlanc, Blue Zones policy lead, speaking about the launch of Double Up Food Bucks at two La Princesa Market locations in Salinas, giving a 50-percent discount on fresh produce at the register to shoppers using CalFresh, a benefit of up to $15 a day, meant to incentivize healthy eating (see story, mcweekly.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Happy 100th birthday, Monterey County Health Department. Nearly a century before it became the local agency at the forefront of leading the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Health Department was founded in 1923, just after insulin was discovered (1922) and before penicillin (1928). “We didn’t understand viruses. We didn’t understand bacteria that well,” Health Department Public Information Officer Karen Smith says. The agency celebrated the centennial milestone with an exhibit that opened on Friday, Dec. 1 (in its headquarters at 1270 Natividad Road, Salinas) featuring a timeline of history and changes to public health and the local department administering it in the past century. It includes stories and photos from former employees and residents, and is viewable to the public. “If you’re interested in history, it’s a good walk down memory lane,” Smith adds.

GREAT:

The Educational Theatre Foundation announced that five U.S. high schools have been selected for the 2023-24 Pathway grant program, an initiative fostering racial equity through school theater. Among the lucky schools is Alisal High School in Salinas, which will receive a $10,000 grant to put together a play, La Cortina de la Lechuga (The Lettuce Curtain), written by Cristal González. This contemporary play is about homelessness in California. The school will hire at least two professionals, both people of color, who will serve as mentors to students during the production. The Pathway program, inspired by the late producer Craig Zadan, aims to create opportunities for students in communities of color to work with industry professionals while performing works that address issues of diversity and racial equity. ETF is the fundraising arm of the Educational Theatre Association.