OLD DREAM, NEW HOPE… After four Oldtown developers in six years, the Salinas City Council is hoping Carmel’s Robert Leidig can deliver. On Jan. 13 the council approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with Leidig’s Salinas Renaissance Partners to redevelop more than 20 acres of downtown. Leidig is leading the ambitious project after he and Widewaters Group couldn’t strike a joint business deal. New urbanist-minded Urban Design Associates will host a public meeting Jan. 28 at the National Steinbeck Center. [ZS]

THE “FUN” IN FUNDING… Like a shark attacking a surfer, the recession is taking ever-deeper bites out of local government. In October it tore six-figure hunks off county redevelopment funds. By mid-December it had moved onto social programs for gang prevention, drug treatment and children’s health care. Now it’s eyeing the bones of Seaside’s recreation programs. At its Jan. 15 meeting, the Seaside City Council considered reductions to a spectrum of kids’ education, arts and sports programs. Under the staff recommendation, the city would also cancel its own birthday party, suspend plans to revive the International Festival and reduce the number of Blues in the Park events. Coupled with a rec department hiring freeze, the reductions could save about $406,000. The council took no action, continuing the item to a future meeting. [KA]

LABOR CAMP TRANSFORMATION… A former prison and labor camp in Soledad officially opened as affordable housing to farmworkers Jan. 21. The Monterey County Housing Authority developed the Benito Street Affordable Apartments, a 70-unit housing complex equipped with solar panels. The site was once home to World War II detainees and Mexican field workers here under the Bracero program. [ZS]

P.G. TIGHTENS PERS STRINGS… Last month we reported on Pacific Grove’s high-profile decision to pull out of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System – a move that could cost the cash-strapped little city around $20 million. At its Jan. 14 meeting, the P.G. City Council approved spending $40,000 on a consultant to help navigate CalPERS termination and its replacement with a defined-contribution retirement plan. The council also added $25,000 to the P.G. library budget, which will allow the library to maintain its current operating hours through June 30. [KA]