8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 2-8, 2024 www.montereycountyweekly.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH Former President Donald Trump loves to rant about the New York Times’ coverage of him, but he begrudgingly granted the publication several interviews. President Joe Biden, however, has not. On April 25, Politico published an article, titled “The Petty Feud Between the NYT and the White House,” stating “the relationship between the Democratic president and the country’s newspaper of record—for years the epitome of a liberal press in the eyes of conservatives—remains remarkably tense, beset by misunderstandings, grudges and a general lack of trust,” which reportedly stemmed from Biden’s campaign team not inviting Times staffers to Biden’s first public appearance after announcing his candidacy in 2019. The author, Eli Stokols, quotes an unnamed Times journalist, who claims publisher A.G. Sulzberger is so annoyed by Biden’s refusal to be interviewed that he “quietly encourages all the tough reporting on his age.” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander dismissed the claim, saying “The notion that any line of coverage has been ordered up or encouraged in retaliation for declining an interview, or any other reason, is outrageous and untrue.” It’s reportedly been more than 60 years since a sitting president has refused a formal interview with the Times. Good: Young people in South County will have a new place to hang out soon, because the City of Gonzales broke ground on its community center on Saturday, April 27. The Dennis & Janice Caprara Community Center Complex is a 23,000-square-foot project to be built at Gavilan Court and Fifth Street near Fairview Middle School. The space will include a teen innovation center and amphitheater, a Monterey County Free Libraries branch (the library will relocate from Gonzales Shopping Center) and more. The second phase of the project includes a community hall, meeting rooms, fitness center and commercial kitchen. The project has an estimated cost of $35 million. The city has enough funds for Phase 1, including $5 million from the state, $1.8 million from the county, and a $10 million capital campaign (the city has raised $6.6 million so far). Phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. GREAT: Nonprofit Big Sur Land Trust added another puzzle piece to its portfolio of land holdings with the recent acquisition of an 84-acre parcel south of Highway 68 and across from the Monterey Regional Airport, a deal the nonprofit announced April 23. The purchase, facilitated in part by a $2.75 million grant from the State Coastal Conservancy, protects a slice of oak woodlands and chaparral and is part of a larger patchwork of open space, including the Joyce Stevens Monterey Pine Preserve, Jacks Peak County Park and Palo Corona Regional Park that acts as a wildlife corridor connecting the Santa Lucia Range to the Fort Ord National Monument. The property includes two creeks and wetlands, and per a statement from the land trust, “proper management of this land will reduce wildfire risk for the surrounding wildland-urban interface of Monterey and Del Rey Oaks.” GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY Number of applications to the City of Monterey’s new rental assistance program when it opened for its debut eight-hour window on April 17. The City Council allocated $250,000 to the program in March, and those accepted can get up to $5,000 over a threemonth period for rental assistance and up to another $3,000 for other expenses. Source: City of Monterey 270 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “They brought some va-vavoom that was needed.” -Ashley Wolff of JeJu Kitchen, speaking about new restaurants reigniting the Carmel dining scene (see Best Of Monterey Bay® Eat+Drink magazine, inserted in this issue). Federally Insured by NCUA | Equal Housing Lender 831.479.6000 • www.bayfed.com • 888.4BAYFED Business Loans to Help You Grow Vehicle Loans Equipment Loans Lines of Credit Proudly serving the businesses that build our community. Visit a branch today! 1524 N. Main Street | Salinas
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