Newsbriefs

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Seaside Candidates to Debate
With Seaside Mayor Jerry Smith vying to move up to the Board of Supervisors, he leaves what will be a contentious fight for his seat and a seat on the city council. There are two candidate forums scheduled so you can hear the candidates have it out in public.

The first forum will be Saturday, Sept. 25 at 6pm at the Oldemeyer Center at 986 Hilby Avenue. It will be sponsored by the Seaside Neighbors Network and the Seaside/Sand City Chamber of Commerce. It will be moderated by the League of Women Voters and televised on Oct. 3 on Access Monterey Peninsula, channel 24.

The second forum, also slated for the Oldemeyer Center, will be held on Sept. 30 at 6:30pm. It is sponsored by the Seaside Police Officers Association, the Seaside City Employees Association, Seaside Prevention Coalition and the League of Women Voters.

Running for mayor are Lloyd Humes and Sylvia Quarles as well as councilmembers Darryl Choates, Tom Mancini and Ralph Rubio. Choates and Mancini run from safe seats.

Candidates for one open council seat are incumbent Steve Bloomer, former mayor Don Jordan, and planning commissioner Paul Mugan. [AS]

Former Weekly Writer Wins International Contest
C. Kevin Smith, local writer and musician, has won a 2004 Power of Purpose Award for his short story “The Stone Bird.”

The award is for pieces inspired by nature and written about inner strength and resolve, directed towards creating a better world.

“The Stone Bird” uses eloquent but simple imagery that creates a setting suspended in time and place. The main character is a stone sculptor who uses his art to reach the outside, modern world. His interaction with a troubled young girl unlocks powerful and painful memories from his past, through which Smith explores ideas a masculinity and the contrast between physical and emotional weakness.

Smith was born in Los Angeles and raised in Topanga. He graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in French Literature and has a Ph.D from Princeton. He was a contributing writer with the Weekly for two years.

The Power of Purpose contest comes with a $10,000 award. “The Stone Bird” can be seen (and downloaded free) at powerofpurpose.org. [BG]