This Week on the Central Coast…
Plenty of giving across our counties, plus a new way for kids to enjoy stories and a classic fire truck gets refurbished.
Monterey
Imaginable Uses AI to Bring Stories to Life
Imaginable started when Everett was a kid. He said his mom was a creative writer and would craft stories where he and his friends were the main characters. In college, he envisioned the beginnings of a company for his entrepreneurship class: customized stories that use a child’s name, where they live, and other details, are used to make the story sound unique.
Now, forty years later, the technology has progressed enough for the Pacific Grove native to achieve the product he imagined.
A parent can upload a picture of their child and the AI creates images of the story’s hero based on that picture. The parent then selects which picture they want to use and selects an AI-generated voice to go with it. Imagineable then creates a video-story with a watermark that users can view for free. There is also an option to purchase the video-story via download for $30, which removes the watermarks.
Peter Everett and his co-creator, Jane Haines, believe that allowing children to actually see themselves as the main character will help build self-confidence.
Seaside Giving Away Sandbags Ahead of the Rainy Season
The Seaside Fire Department and the City of Seaside have set up self-service sandbag-filling stations for the stormy season. “People living in Seaside can go to the back of the fire station on 1635 Broadway Avenue to grab sandbags.” Some sandbags are pre-filled and ready to be taken. If anyone needs help filling or carrying them, the fire department is happy to help.
Over the weekend, over 1600 sandbags were taken. Sandbags are limited to ten per household.
Montage Forgiving Medical Debt for Some Patients
This holiday season, the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula is giving the gift of forgiveness to thousands of former patients. The hospital is forgiving 100% of patient-responsible debt for care received during the pandemic years - 2020 to 2022. "We sincerely hope this debt relief provides our neighbors with peace of mind and brings an extra helping of joy to you and your families this holiday season. It is our gift, from the Community Hospital family, to yours."
Over 29,000 people will benefit from the forgiveness.
Salinas
One Brotherhood Motorcycle Club Delivers Christmas Gifts to Needy Families
One Brotherhood is a local motorcycle club in Salinas. Every year, the bikers hold their Adopt a Fam Jam, where they donate toys and gift cards to families who need help purchasing gifts during the holiday season.
But it’s not just kids who get gifts. “We like to give the adults gift cards so they can go and use some you know, wherever they like,” said the daughter of one of the organizers. “We give them gift cards to Target, Safeway, you know, things like essentials that they need to help them out, get them through the holidays.”
The club says that despite the leather and skulls, they want to show people that they’re all actually really nice.
If you would like to help contribute, One Brotherhood is already accepting donations for next year’s Adopt a Fam Jam.
Salinas Fire Department Revived a Classic Fire Engine
This week, the Salinas Fire Department announced it revived a 1917 American La France fire engine. Salinas Fire Chief, Sam Klemek, said “This engine is a part of Salinas’s firefighting legacy,"
The classic fire engine will be up and running just in time for the department's 50th anniversary. The 1917 American La France fire engine will be used in parades and displays around Monterey County.