4 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY February 23-March 1, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH When Elon Musk completed his buyout of Twitter last October for $44 billion, he said in a statement, “I did it to try to help humanity.” Shortly after his takeover, thousands of Twitter employees were fired, including content moderators, and several formerly suspended accounts were reinstated. Fast forward to Feb. 12, when Musk, while watching the Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, fired off a tweet in support of the Eagles, which he later deleted. According to a Feb. 14 report from tech journalism website Platformer, Musk was frustrated his tweet only had about 9.1 million impressions, while President Joe Biden’s tweet supporting the Eagles had nearly 29 million impressions. Musk, early the next morning, instructed a team of Twitter engineers to boost impressions for his tweets—and only his—which they did, by a factor of 1,000. Musk tweeted Feb. 17 that the report was “bogus,” and sourced from a disgruntled former employee. Platformer reporter Casey Newton, who co-wrote the piece, responded on Twitter, writing, ”This is completely false. We stand by our reporting.” Good: The race is on in California to build much-needed housing, and to that end, the state Department of Housing and Community Development awarded over $825 million to 58 communities as part of a new funding process that eliminates the need for a developer to submit separate applications for grants for multifamily units. The new process is the result of 2020’s Assembly Bill 434, and this round of funding will support development of 9,500 affordable homes, including 35 units in the 110-unit Greenfield Commons II in Greenfield. Developer EAH Inc. received $9.2 million. “The [new multifamily funding process] transformed a once burdensome and lengthy funding application process into an accessible and smart one-stop shop that will get more housing built faster,” California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez said in a statement. GREAT: It’s been a great week for the Academic WorldQuest team at Monterey High School, which took first place in a countywide competition Feb. 11 in Salinas where teams from local high schools fielded trivia questions about global affairs (Seaside High’s team took second). Hosted by the nonprofit World Affairs Council of the Monterey Bay, the competition was one of several nationwide, and WACMB will be funding the MHS team’s trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in a national WorldQuest contest April 28-29. MHS coach William Pace wrote afterward that the competition exposed his students to new subject matter, and “allowed them to engage in a collaborative effort that built teamwork and camaraderie.” MHS senior River Valdivia wrote that his “favorite part was when we could all sit down and watch each other strive to be our best academic selves.” GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY Size of a grant from the California Department of Water Resources’ Urban Community Drought Relief Program to the city of Soledad to build a recycled water pipeline across the city. It will irrigate parks and athletic fields, replacing 59 million gallons of groundwater per year. Source: City of Soledad $16 million QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Our common ground is our students.” -Former Carmel Unified School District president Tess Arthur reflecting on her resignation on Feb. 15, during a divisive time for the district (see story, posted Feb. 16 at mcweekly.com). ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES Stop By To Shop And Find Your Vintage Treasure OVER 100 DEALERS 21,000 SQUARE FEET The Largest Antiques and Collectibles Mall on the Central Coast 471 WAVE STREET MONTEREY (831) 655-0264 P M canneryrowantiquemall.com Open Daily 11am-6pm ’22 Voted Monterey County's Best Antique Shop ♦ 3 Card Poker ♠ Century 21st No Bust Black Jack ♣ Texas Hold’em ♥ Baccarat FULL BAR! BLACKJACK BONUS POINTS PAYS UP TO $20,000 SMALL TOWN BIG PAYOUTS! 1-800-Gambler • Gega-003846, Gega-Gega-003703, Gega-000889 Gega-000891 Gega-002838 The Marina Club Casino ensures the safety and security of all guests and team members at all times, while providing exceptional service. 204 Carmel Ave. Marina 831-384-0925 casinomonterey.com ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ Just minutes from Downtown Monterey Where Monterey Comes To Play
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