Guru of New Urbanism Will Design Salinas' Future
The man who literally wrote the book on New Urbanism will write Salinas' new zoning code.

"We've hired Peter Calthorpe," says Salinas Councilmember Jyl Lutes. "It's so exciting."

Indeed, for land-use wonks--including Weekly scribes who get hot and bothered by words like "walkable communities" and "mixed-use development"--it is exciting.

The city of Salinas wants to build both walkable communities and mixed-use development into its new 20-year blueprint for growth. "So we need to do a lot of re-zoning, because when you think about new urbanism, there is no traditional zoning," Lutes says.

So the council hired Calthorpe, "the grand-daddy of New Urbanism," who has been named one of the 25 "innovators on the cutting edge" by Newsweek for his work in redefining the models of urban and suburban growth in the U.S.

Calthorpe, a planner and architect, has also published several articles for magazines and books, including Sustainable Communities, with Sim Van der Ryn, and The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community and the American Dream.

His latest book, with William Fulton, The Regional City, explains how regional-scale planning and design can help direct growth wisely and reverse current trends in land use, like sprawl.

Peace Groups Plan Protests
By the time this newspaper hits the streets, the U.S. may have already invaded Iraq. Here's what local peace groups have planned to respond:

o "The day war is declared, everyone will meet at Window on the Bay for a candlelight vigil," says Valori George, chair of the Peace Coalition of Monterey County. Meet at 5pm, Window on the Bay, Del Monte Avenue and Camino El Estero. Wear white for visibility.

o In Salinas, the day war starts, people will rally at 100 W. Alisal St. at 5pm, says Salinas Action League's MacGregor Eddy.

o George also recommends people stand on busy street corners, on overpasses, along the highway or in downtown area, "just pick where you think is most visible," and carry a No War sign. Contact George, 647-0152, or visit www.peacemonterey.org for more information.

o On Thursday, March 20--the end of the 48-hour deadline President Bush set for Saddam Hussein--Eddy will travel to Vandenberg Air Force Base "to bear peaceful witness and to educate about the horror of war. Anyone is welcome to join me." Call 754-5554.

Ongoing vigils will continue throughout Monterey County. Citizens with enough vacation days stored up can stand for peace almost seven days a week:

o Every Sunday, noon-2pm, peace gathering at Window on the Bay, Del Monte Avenue and Camino El Estero. The weekly vigils began in October, 2001, and have grown from a handful of peaceful protestors to much bigger crowds. "These last couple of weeks, we've had about 75 people," George says. "Two weeks ago, we had 145. And each week, it's new people."

o Every Sunday, 4:30-5:30pm, new Salinas silent vigil, South Main and Blanco Road in front to the Star Market parking lot. In the tradition of "Women in Black," black attire is welcome, but optional. Don't bring signs. One sign at each end of the line reads, "Silent Vigil for Peace."

o Every Monday, noon-1pm, peace vigil and leafleting at Griffin Park, Pearl and Washington streets, Monterey.

o Every Wednesday, noon-1pm, vigil for peace in Marina, Reservation Road at Del Monte, by Jack in the Box.

o Every Friday, noon-1pm, rally for peace in front of the Post Office at 110 W. Alisal, Salinas. "Every week we have been there, since Oct. 8, 2001, without missing a Friday," Eddy says. "People believe it to be the longest continuous peace vigil held in the county since the Vietnam War."

o Additionally, in the event of war, the Resource Center for Nonviolence in Santa Cruz will be open 24 hours, seven days a week, with up-to-date information about regional actions and non-violent training. George says the Peace Coalition will likely coordinate efforts with the Resource Center. For more information, call 423-1626 or visit http://www.rcnv.org">www.rcnv.org.

Shiny Happy Monterey People
A recent survey conducted by the city of Monterey showed that residents are generally pleased with the well-oiled municipal machine. Ninety-four percent of the 550 people who returned last winter's general survey said they are satisfied with city services. Krista Lemos, Community Education and Outreach coordinator for the city, is pleased with the results.

"In the surveys we have done over the past five years we see that most people are generally satisfied with city programs and services," Lemos says. "That's something we are happy to see and will continue to work on to maintain the quality of life that people depend on."

Jeff Haferman, a 2002 city council candidate and self-appointed municipal watchdog, agreed. Sort of.

"Overall, people are really happy," he says. "They're happy with the appearance of the city, city parks, and the Window on The Bay program."

Haferman, however, noted the omission of questions about the proposed $16 million public service center, which arrived on the city agenda amid budget cutbacks. "This was a great opportunity to get input on the proposal and I don't know why it wasn't on the survey," he says.

Lemos says the survey wasn't the best way to get feedback on the service center. "To do an appropriate job would have required more space than the general survey allowed," Lemos says.

One section of the survey asked community members to choose the three most important issues that the city should focus on. Topping the list were increasing the city's water supply (64 percent) and improving traffic management (61 percent). Affordable housing in one of the least affordable places to live in America, came in third at 47 percent.

Barbara Bass Evans, a persistent city council critic, feels the numbers don't give a true portrayal of community priorities.

"Affordable housing is not the major concern of those already living in Monterey," Evans said. "If you gave the survey to low-income people who commute in to work, you'd find 99 percent would say affordable housing is the highest priority."

Lemos attributed housing's position below water and traffic issues as a result of the flagging economy and the city's voluntary rental guidelines, measures designed to resolve rent increase conflicts.

Other concerns voiced by those surveyed were bottleneck issues arising from the closing of the Presidio to public traffic and safety concerns along the coastal recreation trail.

Carmel School District Starts Layoff Process
After three special board meetings in the past few weeks, which were scheduled in response to Gov. Gray Davis' proposed $10.8 million cut to the Carmel Unified School District's $27 million budget, the CUSD board met again March 10 to authorize sending layoff notices to teachers.

Although the state's budget isn't in, school district regulations required layoff notices to be given out by March 15.

Marvin Biasotti, CUSD superintendent, is hoping that the layoffs won't have to be realized. If they are, CSUD will be cutting 55 positions--including full-time and part-time employees--reducing its workforce by 70 people.

Biasotti says that a letter-writing campaign to legislators has brought positive feedback from Senator Bruce McPherson and Assemblymember John Laird, but has received little response from Davis.

"I can guess that well over 2,000 letters have been sent out," Biasotti says. "The feedback is very positive, and Laird and McPherson are very supportive. I am aware of a good number of legislators in other districts who are opposed as well, but at this point the issue is still in the hands of the governor, and we've received very little feedback from him to date."

While clearly distressed over the potential cuts to programs like counseling, school nurses, music and physical education, Biasotti says that the district will still provide a good quality program.

"It's not ideal for staffing, " he says. "But in the past the district was in that realm and we ran a good program. We've made every effort to keep class sizes reasonable."

Still, the numbers are grim. Among many other cuts, Captain Cooper school would see a class size increase from 14 students to 28; Carmel River School would lose its PE Tech assistant and Computer Tech Assistant; Tularcitos School would go from 22 teachers to 16; Carmel High School would go from 18 students in a class up to 29; Carmel Valley High School would lose its counselor; and Carmel Middle School would have a class size of 20 students jump to 29. The district office would lose four administrative support employees from its current 12.5 positions.

Biasotti is hoping that the local parents will continue to fight to save the school programs.

"I am hoping that they will turn to fundraising to build some of these important programs back," he says. "Whatever the mechanism is, if we turn to creative ways, we can retain some of these programs."

--Jessica Lyons, Andrew Scutro, Phil McKenna, Brett Wilbur