Who runs it
Coastlight is made by Coastlight Labs, a small company in Monterey County, California. It also publishes Faro Costero, the Spanish edition.
James R. MyersFounder & Editor
Mailing address: Coastlight Labs (test address, not for publication), Monterey, CA 93940
Written with AI, reviewed by an editor
Coastlight is written with AI from public sources, and a human editor reviews anything that needs a human. In practice:
- Every item links to its source. You can always check what we wrote against the original.
- A fact check runs on every blurb. After each edition is written, a separate check compares every summary with its source, in English and in Spanish. Anything it cannot confirm is cut or held back.
- Sensitive stories wait for the editor. Crime involving private people, anything about minors, elections, health or legal claims, and serious claims from a single source all go to James before they can run.
- Other newsrooms get credit. When a story comes from another outlet, we summarize it in our own words, name the outlet and link to its story. We never copy articles or get around paywalls.
- Mistakes are fixed in the open. When we get something wrong, we correct it and list it on our corrections page.
Two languages, written separately
Coastlight is written in English and Faro Costero in Spanish, each on its own, from the same sources. Faro Costero is not a machine translation of Coastlight.
Where the news comes from
We read public sources across the county: city and county websites, school districts, public meeting agendas and minutes, government data such as weather and road conditions, and local news outlets. Our collector, CoastlightBot, follows each website’s rules.
Send us a tip
Know something we should look into? Tips are welcome. For now, email Email address coming soon. We check every tip against public records or other sources before anything runs.
Free to read
Coastlight is free. Local businesses may sponsor it one day; sponsors will never decide what we cover.