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Before we dwell on the fact that we’re still working through last week’s news, let us take a moment to dwell on the fact that we actually followed a story from start to finish. Put another way, there was a topic that didn’t disgust us halfway through — those are the stories, you know, that lead to us making up endings. Anything to avoid the inevitable train wreck.

The fine people of Salinas, with a little help from their friends (no really, it’s going to be one of those days; we only hope our brain is distracted), have managed to raise enough money to keep their libraries open on a part-time basis. This reflects a major change in the community: they shifted from a position of undervaluing the importance of their local libraries to understanding how the facilities benefitted the entire community. We won’t pretend that this solves the bigger problems, but we believe the city understands what’s at stake.

• Steinbeck hometown libraries won’t shut: $500,000 raised to keep 3 facilities open part-time