Off Course

OFF COURSE… Cephalopods have a keen sense of direction, in case you didn’t know, thanks to a combination of superb vision, specialized organs that control balance and orientation, and highly sensitive hair cells. Humans, on the other hand, sometimes struggle to that end, as evidenced by the latest marketing effort from See Monterey called “How 2 Highway 1.”

The initiative was announced June 11, a way to let travelers know that Big Sur – despite being bisected by the Regent’s Slide since February 2024 and not expected to open until after summer – is open for business. The “How 2 Highway 1” webpage includes info on how to get around the road closure, plus itineraries for Carmel Valley Road or Highway 101 as part of the adventure, highlighting points of interest like Carmel Village, Monterey Wine Trail, National Steinbeck Center and Pinnacles National Park. A little farther down is the headline, “Highway 1 in Gilroy.” Huh? Highway 1 hugs the coast, and passes through Santa Cruz about 30 miles west of Gilroy. Turns out See Monterey is stretching the definition of Highway 1 – in collaboration with other tourism bureaus to the north – by creating a route that loops over to Highway 101 and rejoining with Highway 1 in San Francisco.

Seems like a highway bridge too far – why not just rope in Yosemite too? – but maybe Squid doesn’t know how 2 do marketing.

SURF! Breaking… Unlike Squid, who has the work ethic of a house cat, Squid’s colleagues roam the county seven days a week. Saturday, June 28, aside from covering the Pride parade in downtown Monterey, that included the groundbreaking for Monterey-Salinas Transit’s SURF! busway project, a six-mile, bus-only road that will pave over the old Monterey Branch line from Marina to Sand City at a some $100 million price tag.

The project was initially rejected wholesale by the staff of the California Coastal Commission when the plan was to build the busway adjacent to the tracks – not over them – but after State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, called a closed-door meeting with Coastal Commission and MST staff, the plan changed and the Coastal Commission later approved it. Laird also attended the groundbreaking, and other dignitaries sung his praises when making their remarks, including U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, but he couldn’t make it in person – he was stuck in D.C. as the GOP’s disastrous budget bill was being tweaked.

So instead, Panetta spoke in a pre-recorded video, Capitol Hill behind him, which played from a TV setup brought by MST – there was even a shade structure to cover it. “This really is what it takes to get something done at a local level,” Panetta said.

So, backroom deals, just like in D.C.? Wheee!