The Weekly Buzz 05.12.16

WHO’S IN TOWN?

When about 300 community members from 24 institutions, mostly churches, convene in Seaside this week, they’ll be meeting not to worship but to strategize. Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (COPA) is the local arm of the national Industrial Areas Foundation, launched in 1940 by legendary Chicago organizer Saul Alinsky. Guests include Monterey County Supervisor Jane Parker and Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold. COPA members will launch new issues, and also seek firm commitments from those decisionmakers on existing efforts, like expanding health coverage for undocumented immigrants.

3-5pm Sunday May 15. St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 1475 La Salle Ave., Seaside. Free; members only. 728-3210, www.copa-iaf.org.

WHAT’S UP WITH THAT

A reader asks: What’s the story with the orange architectural profile staked out at Coe Avenue and Monterey Road in Seaside? Deputy City Manager Diana Ingersoll reports it’s a project the city has been working on with a developer to build an assisted living facility called Seaside Senior Living. The proposed project occupies 5.5 acres on the former Fort Ord, intended for a 144-bed residential care facility and a 13-unit co-housing facility on a former Army Shopette site (that’s a gas station and convenience store).

OVERHEARD

“You never know what people throw out their car window. Once I was hit by a cheeseburger walking on Highway 1.”
– A bather in the hot springs at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur

GOOD WEEK / BAD WEEK

GOOD: “Trifecta of awesome” is how we describe the Monterey County Weekly’s showing last week at the annual California Newspaper Publishers Association awards. In three categories, the Weekly came out on top. Managing Editor Mark C. Anderson took first place in sports feature writing for his haunting look at boxer and former Pacific Grove resident Jamie Mitchell as she battled from a tortured foster-child youth all the way to Olympic contention. Staff Writer David Schmalz took first in educational reporting for his story titled “Meet the Class of 2028,” about a year spent tracking a transitional kindergarten class at Seaside’s Del Rey Woods Elementary. And Art Director Karen Loutzenheiser took first for best single self-promotion ad or series. Enough back-slapping: back to work!

BAD: May is the Transportation Agency for Monterey County’s “Bike Month,” with more than a dozen bike-centric events planned across the county, including bike safety trainings at King City High, Hartnell College and CSU Monterey Bay, “Bike to Work Week” from May 16-20, and at Laguna Seca May 18, the AMGEN Tour of California, followed by a twilight ride on the racetrack from 5:30pm-7:30pm. “Free Helmet Day/Bike Rodeo” is May 15, from 9-11am at the Monterey Youth Center. None of this may seem like a bad thing – unless you’re a combustion engine. That’s right, this is a month where two wheels, powered by two legs, get the respect they deserve. And with more than 16,000 signatures filed May 4 to ban fracking in Monterey County, it’s shaping up to be a very bad month for fossil fuel.