This Week on the Central Coast
The Aquarium receives a grant, Carmel argues about fire pits, and the county plans ahead for rising sea levels.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute was awarded a $53 million grant by the National Science Foundation.
The grant will allow the aquarium to continue researching the ocean through robotic fleets. The aquarium’s research is not only important for the Central Coast, but also provides important information for researchers throughout the world. The article includes an interview with MBARI’s president, Chris Scholin.
The Beach Fire Pilot Program in Carmel was extended until 2022.
On Monday, the City Council of Carmel discussed the long-debated topic of beach fires. The city decided to extend the current Beach Fire Pilot Program, which allows for five cauldrons for wood-burning fires. If no decision had been reached, it would have allowed for unlimited wood-burning fires on the beach. Those against the fires argue it creates too much waste and pollution on our local beaches. Those for the fires viewed it as a great way to provide entertainment and a way to bring the community together (once it is safe to do so).
Monterey Transportation plans ahead for rising sea levels.
The city of Monterey is hosting an online community meeting to consider possible adaptations for rising sea levels. A few strategies have already been suggested, which include raising the recreational trail into a sea wall, elevating Del Monte Avenue into a viaduct to allow ocean water to flow underneath, or moving Del Monte Avenue traffic to North Fremont. All Monterey residents are welcome to watch (link) or participate (link) in the meeting on Monday, December 8th, at 7 PM.
CSUMB launched a new agricultural sciences major.
The new degree is focused on Monterey County’s largest industry. It focuses on subjects such as pest control and farm management as well as fruit and vegetable crops of the Salinas valley. The purpose is to prepare students to make a direct impact on the local agricultural industry without having to travel to Fresno to work towards the degree.
The City of Monterey has partnered with ParkMobile to upgrade Cannery Row’s parking meters.
The new meters would allow visitors to pay for parking contact-free through the ParkMobile app. They can also add time through the app without having to walk back to their parking space. The city decided to make the move while they are discouraging physical forms of payment. It is meant to help reduce the spread of COVID while also providing a more convenient way to pay for parking. The ParkMobile app is already used in larger cities, such as Oakland and San Francisco, and also at CSUMB and SJSU.
For more information on Monterey County’s COVID-19 numbers, check out this Reddit user’s graphs on Imgur. They update every week and cover a variety of statistics, including case counts by city. Here is the original Reddit post, which gives greater detail of their sources, including the state of California and CHOMP.