Monterey College of Law Makes A Move

The Monterey College of Law (MCL) has waited ten years to go ten miles away. This past Tuesday at Fort Ord, MCL held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for its new campus.

The campus will be built on former Army office space that has taken ten years to transfer.  

To administrators, this isn’t just an opportunity to expand, it’s an opportunity to modernize and drastically improve the quality of education provided at MCL. This hope will be embodied by a 3.2-acre campus with 18,000 square-feet of classrooms, administrative offices, and an auditorium capable of seating 150 people. The construction will be focused in two remodeled buildings worth more than $3 million.

The move will triple the size of the campus and make it more accessible to students commuting from different areas. The new campus is anticipated to be ready for action by May 2005. (FP)

See Jane Talk

Jane Parker, candidate for Monterey County Supervisors’ District 4 seat, will attend several community coffees on Aug. 14 to discuss issues including healthcare, education and affordable housing. The events will be held at 10am at a home in Seaside; 11:30am at a home in Marina; and 2pm at a home in Salinas.

Parker, an executive at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and the past president of the Monterey Peninsula College Board of Trustees, faces Seaside Mayor Jerry Smith in the November election to represent the 4th District, which includes Marina, Seaside, Sand City, Del Rey Oaks and the south end of Salinas.

There are stark differences between the two, especially when it comes to land-use issues.

For one, Parker opposes Rancho San Juan, a development of 4,000 homes planned between Salinas and Prunedale that the city of Salinas doesn’t want Monterey County to build. City officials worry that the massive development will have a huge impact on traffic, and other city services.

Smith hasn’t taken a position on Rancho San Juan.

And in May, shortly before County Supervisors voted to scrap the General Plan Update process, Parker asked the Board not to kill the growth document. Smith, on the other hand, said that he would have voted to stop the process.

For more information on the community coffees, call Amy Allard at 594-9936. (JL)