6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY NOVEMBER 9-15, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH Hateful Zoom-bombers have found a way to disrupt local government meetings all over the country. Many jurisdictions continued the pandemic-era practice of allowing virtual public comment, allowing members of the public to address government agencies like city councils and planning commissions without having to be physically present—a practice that encourages greater public participation by reducing barriers. But local cities are joining other jurisdictions in limiting the practice after their meetings were derailed by groups of hateful callers, who made antisemitic and anti-Black slurs. On Nov. 2, Seaside City Council voted to end Zoom comments, following a similar decision by Pacific Grove Mayor Bill Peake on Oct. 27. The Monterey City Council, on the other hand, directed staff on Oct. 11 to continue accepting virtual comments. “It is unfortunately easier for folks to spew hate speech online because they can be anonymous, they can use whatever name they want and there aren’t ways to restrict that,” Monterey Assistant City Manager Nat Rojanasathira said. Council opted to keep it, seeking to maximize public participation. Good: Military veterans were trained to doggedly pursue victory, and nowhere is that better illustrated than through the Veterans Transition Center in Marina, which despite many challenges is on the way to constructing a 71-unit complex of permanent supportive housing for veterans and their families on the site of former Fort Ord military housing. The nonprofit celebrated the accomplishment on Friday, Nov. 3 at the construction site, joined by Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado, Assemblymember Dawn Addis and County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew. “As a resident of Marina, as a former military child, as a leader in our community, my heart explodes with appreciation to each and every one of you and I can’t wait to get families in here,” Root Askew said to an audience that included members of VTC and the team from nonprofit EAH Housing which is constructing the project, scheduled to be done in 2025. GREAT: Cesarean sections to deliver babies are sometimes the safest way to go if either the baby or mother are in jeopardy. When overused they can lead to higher rates of surgical complications for moms and higher rates of infection and other issues for their children. In 2015 the California Health and Human Services Agency created the Maternity Care Honor Roll to recognize hospitals with a low rate of C-sections for low-risk, first-time births. The state target is 23.6 percent or less of all births. On Oct. 31, the state released the 2023 honor roll, showing that all three hospitals located in Monterey County that have maternity departments—Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Natividad and Salinas Valley Health—are on it. The great news is that Natividad, owned and operated by the County of Monterey, has been on the honor roll all eight years since the list was created. GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY Estimated annual revenue from a cannabis dispensary in Pacific Grove. On Nov. 1, City Council voted 6-0 to approve a draft ordinance after voters in 2022 passed ballot measures M and N, authorizing council to allow retail cannabis sales. Source: Pacific Grove City Council’s Nov. 1 meeting and agenda $300,000 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Poetry is both for the people and of the people.” -Daniel B. Summerhill, Monterey County’s poet laureate. The Arts Council for Monterey County is now seeking nominations (until Nov. 15) for the next two-year poet laureate (see story, mcweekly.com). The current agreement for Ambulance Services between the County of Monterey and American Medical Response is set to expire June 30, 2025. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency is developing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for ambulance service for the County of Monterey Exclusive Operating Area (EOA) to begin on July 1, 2025. The EMS Agency is seeking feedback from members of the community, city and county officials, and the EMS system as a whole on the Draft RFP Scope of Work (SOW). The draft of the RFP SOW and a form to submit feedback are available via the EMS Agency’s website at www.mocoems.org. Public meetings are being held to provide additional opportunities to hear from our community. These meeting will take place on the following days: Tuesday November 14, 2023, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM via Zoom All meetings can be accessed via Zoom. Link below: https://montereycty.zoom.us/j/95332162459? pwd=Zkd0RmdPZitZZDQ2VTNxSW1peHJOdz09 The public comment period closes on Friday, November 17, 2023. The EMS Agency looks forward to hearing from you. RELEASE OF DRAFT RFP SCOPE OF WORK (SOW) FOR PUBLIC COMMENT HAPPY HOUR SUNDAY BREAKFAST 4PM TO 6PM LATE NIGHT 9PM TO 10PM 9:30AM TO 11AM Catch all your favorite teams on 18 HDTV’s LOCATED BEHIND THE PORTOLA HOTEL & SPA | COMPLIMENTARY PARKING (831) 649-2699 | PETERBSBREWPUB.COM VOTED BEST SPORTS BAR BY MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY READERS!
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