Tiburcio Vasquez lands Salinas in the L.A. Times

Ah, the media. How we love conflict. One day, Salinas may land on the front pages of a national publication because of local, amazing efforts to promote science and technology education in schools.

Until then, we have Tiburcio Vásquez to thank for the honor.

Check out the front page, Column One article the L.A. Times did on our rambunctious little town and its imbroglio featuring Jose Castañeda, Joe Gunter, and the outlaw KSBW loves to hate. It's actually a nice piece of writing (publication gets minus points for not using accents and tildes. Alas, it's the mainstream media).

Ah, if only I were given a month to work on a piece. I'd take a week, really.

I know folks in Salinas hate it when they get bad press, and national coverage about our local troubles is as bad as it gets for some. But last week, when I was covering the latest dust up on the naming of the Alisal school, it occurred to me there's a bright side to the controversy.  As I was trying to interview Councilman Tony Barrera, I met José Córdoba, an Alisal resident who had never heard of Tiburcio Vásquez. So he decided to do some research, and now he's practically a doctor in the life and times of Vásquez and California's founding.

Anything that inspires people to learn should be a good thing, in the end. So here's to learning, to finding out on your own what really happened two centuries ago. Good luck!

And if you need any guidance, check out the classes David Serena, MPC lecturer on Chicano Studies, is offering on Mexican American history in California. The classes take place every Saturday at the Cesar Chavez Library from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Here's another gem I dug out from last week's meeting. Debora Long, a life-long resident of the Alisal of Irish ancestry, said we all belong to the human race, and as such we should try to get along.

I'm with you, Ms. Long.  Here's to learning. And healing.

And a six-minute video from last week's meeting. Enjoy.