"Wait and See"

Today we were told by the Monterey County Elections Department that the Measure J race is still too close to call. Countywide, there are 8,500 ballots that have not yet been tallied. We do not know how many of those are ballots regarding Measure J. (We were told that information is not available.)

According to the official Schedule regulating the verification and tabultation of ballots, the Ballot Tabulation for vote-by-mail and provisional ballots will be on Friday, November 13th. After those ballots have been counted, the results will be posted on the Election Department's website .

Please note: the results posted on November 13th may not be the final count. The Elections Department has until November 23rd to submit the official election results.

So here at the Library, we continue to "wait and see." A win is still possible....

What Now?

Semi-Final Election Results for Measure J

YES 2142 votes 65.23%
NO 1,142 votes 34.77%

In yesterday's election, the residents of Pacific Grove came out in solid support for the Library. But according to the Semi-Final Election Results, posted on the Monterey County Election website, 65.23% voted in favor of the parcel tax and 34.77% voted against the tax. 66.7%, a two-thirds majority, is required to win.

Does that mean Measure J lost? Not necessarily.

At this point, the key factor is how many votes are left to be counted, e.g., remaining absentee ballots and provisional ballots. (A provisional ballot is a paper ballot used by a voter when there is some problem in establishing a voters eligibility. The ballot will be counted only if election officials determine that the person was in fact entitled to vote.)

According to Measure J volunteers who were calling registered voters over the weekend, there is still hope. Among absentee voters, there was strong support for Measure J.

We have not heard when the final results will be posted. But as Yogi Berra said, "It's not over until it's over."

HAUNTED HOUSE

There's a Haunted House in the Library!

If you're 4 years old or older come take a tour-

that is,if you're brave enough to enter......

Thursday, October 29th 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

Happy Halloween!

A New View

The view from the Children's Room is lighter and brighter these days. The three windows on the north side of the Library have been replaced with beautiful new windows which retain the historic shape AND don't leak! An added bonus is the new windows can be opened - sweet relief on those rare hot days in Pacific Grove.

Termite damage prompted the project. Monies from the Library's Building & Equipment Fund will be used to pay for it. And carpenters expect to finish the job by the end of the month.

Library Resolution

Dedicated Library Advisory Board members left the comfort of their homes Tuesday evening, (as the storm continued to howl), to draft a Resolution that will be presented to City Council on Wednesday, October 21st.

The Board is asking for A Resolution of the City of Pacific Grove Declaring the Intention of the City Council to Continue Its Efforts to Support the Library.

The Resolution presents the facts that:

• The Library is a department of the City.
• The City has already reduced Library funding by more than 50%.
• The City has proposed a special tax to provide funding for the Library.
• The tax, if approved by voters on November 3rd, would generate approximately $630,000 a year, (for 10 years), for the Library.

The Library Board is requesting the City Countil to:

• Encourage citizens to vote for Measure J.
• Acknowledge that the proposed tax, if approved by voters, can only partially fund the Library at the desired level of service.
• Continue its efforts to financially support the Library.
• Confirm the City's responsibility to maintain Library facilities.

What do you think?.... Attend the City Council meeting, and let us know.

Power Outages Close Library Tuesday & Wednesday

Wind and rain played havoc with trees and power lines causing a power outage shortly after 10 am today.

The Library did not open at 11 am, due to safety concerns (there were no lights in the building). However the staff remained, working by windows and flashlights, until the power came back on at 1:20 pm. The Library's doors were promptly opened.....but only for 20 minutes, when the power went out again.

At 2 pm, City Hall directed staff to close the building and go home. We hope all of you are staying warm and dry today, and that we'll see you later this week.

[photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gwen/2174957090/]

2nd Saturday Book Sale This Month

This month only, our Saturday book sale will be on the 2nd Saturday of the month, October 10th.

The storage area is overflowing with books... so there will be plenty to choose from!