Not in Our Town… Sand City Council members are expected to vote in December to extend a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries. City Councilman Jerry Blackwelder is among those who suggest Ryan Ranch would make a good home for a pot shop.  [RU]

More Gunfire…A 13-year-old boy was shot twice in the stomach on Saturday, Nov. 21 while walking near a Salinas park on East Bolivar Street. The boy is expected to recover. The shooting follows another attempted murder on Nov. 19, when a 17-year-old boy was shot at but not injured. [ZS]

Postal Picketing… The American Postal Workers Union on Nov. 21 protested the possible move of the Salinas mail processing facility to San Jose. The United States Postal Service announced in September that it was going to study consolidating the Salinas Processing and Distribution Facility. [ZS]

Chinatown Grant… CSU Monterey Bay's Service Learning Institute has been awarded $600,000 to fund an Asian Cultural Center in Salinas' Chinatown and continue redevelopment work on the city's Skid Row. The three-year federal grant will be used to renovate the historic Republic Cafe on Soledad Street into the cultural center. [ZS]

Foam Ban Spreads… Unincorporated Monterey County and the city of Del Rey Oaks are now considering ordinances banning take-out polystyrene packaging. The cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pacific Grove and Monterey (along with the Oldtown Monterey Farmers Market) have already adopted similar bans; Marina and Seaside may not be far behind. [KA]

Full Circle… A brief resurfacing at Carl Cherry Center with Falling; A Wake was received with faithful adulation last winter. Now, Magic Circle Theater founder Elsa Con confirms the theater company is moving back into its former Carmel Valley building and auditioning for a new season that begins next February. [WR]

Been There, Done That… According to a new study by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, tourists who’ve visited the area in the past two years say there is “nothing new to see or do.” Not true, say Monterey city officials, who are scrambling to spruce up the Peninsula’s public image. [RU]