The Buzz: Sept. 1-7, 2022

FREE SPEECH

It’s funny how “getting canceled” works sometimes. Maybe you never heard of Andrew Tate, a self-help personality with a history as a kickboxer – and an advocate for a particular brand of misogyny – until just last week. That’s when Tate became something of a right-wing media darling after getting banned from numerous social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram (where he had over 4.5 million followers), TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Tate first soared to fame in 2016 on a British reality show, which booted him after video showed him beating a woman with a belt. He went on to build a public personality with comments about how to hit a woman with a weapon, claiming rape victims need to “bear some responsibility” for being raped and arguing men and women are not equal. While he’s been booted from these mainstream platforms, it appears Tate has already transitioned to alternative platforms that tolerate hate speech, like GETTR. He’s also been featured in outlets like Fox News, claiming platforms unfairly banned him when they were upholding their terms of use.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The kids are our secret weapon.” - Former pro skateboarder Alex White, talking about influential voices of support to build a skatepark in Pacific Grove (see story, p. 18)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

The federal government on Aug. 23 gave a generous head nod to local wastewater agency Monterey One Water and its expansion of the Pure Water Monterey recycled drinking water project, with a $10.3 million Bureau of Reclamation grant to help subsidize construction. The grant means the Pure Water Monterey project received the maximum $30 million available through the Bureau of Reclamation’s grant program, as it received roughly $20 million from the agency for the original facility. Dave Stoldt, general manager of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, says the expansion is estimated to cost about $60 million, although exact numbers are elusive until the project goes out to bid, which will not happen until the California Public Utilities Commission approves the project. A pair of CPUC votes on Pure Water Monterey are expected this fall.

GREAT:

Visual art does more than just beautify an area – it improves quality of life and makes a community more connected and resilient. That’s the premise of the California Creative Corps, a state agency that granted $4.75 million to arts organizations in a six-county Central Coast region: the Arts Council for Monterey County and its counterparts in Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The grant program, developed by the state legislature and the California Arts Council, is modeled on the Works Progress Administration. The funds will support collaborative artistic efforts designed to spread awareness around Covid-19, conservation, emergency preparedness, election participation and other issues. Funds will go to local artists, with priority to artists in the least healthy zip codes. An application process will be begin this fall.