May 4-10, 2023 montereycountyweekly.com LOCAL & INDEPENDENT A River Runs 14 | Beyond Books 36 | Race to win 40 | The perfect margarita 44 Despite a statewide composting expansion, a lot of what we throw away still goes into the trash. p. 22 By David Schmalz Q: Do these go in the trash, recycling or compost? A: It’s complicated.
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www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 3 june 2-10, 2023 Discover the Art of the Plate at more than restaurantsin Carmel-by-the-Sea with immersive food experiences, curated menus, special offers, and culinary events! culinary week kick-off party! Carmel Plaza, Mission & Ocean Ave Friday, June , | : –: pm | $ per person Enjoy amazing food, regional wines and awesome live music in this beautiful outdoor setting. “ratatouille” movie at forest theater Carmel’s Outdoor Theater, Mountain View Ave & Santa Rita St Sunday, June , an evening with ted allen celebrity chef & host of “chopped” Sunset Center, San Carlos & th Ave Thursday, June , | : pm | $–$ per person Ted Allen is the Emmy Award-Winning Host of hit shows “Chopped” and “Chopped Junior” — with a combined run of nearly , episodes so far. 30th annual monterey winemakers’ celebration Dolores Street between Ocean & th Ave Saturday, June , | : pm | $–$ per person Enjoy the incredible wines from one of the world’s premier wine regions in the quaint village of Carmel-by-the-Sea. For exclusive access, event calendar, and to purchase tickets, visit CarmelCulinaryWeek.com or scan for more details! Presented by: Thank you to our partners: th ar o th plat Carmel_Culinary_Week_2023_Weekly_Full Pg_Final.indd 1 5/2/23 3:15 PM
4 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY May 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com may 4-10, 2023 • ISSUE #1814 • Established in 1988 Don Blohowiak (Canon R7) Raindrops appear to defy gravity while suspended in s spiderweb in Garzas Canyon in Carmel Valley’s Garland Ranch Regional Park. Monterey County photo of the week Send Etc. submissions to etcphoto@mcweekly.com; please include caption and camera info. On the cover: In an effort to divert waste from landfills, there is an evolving market of “bioplastics”—plastic made from plants, and sometimes partially from actual plastic too—that is intended to be (or to look) compostable. In practice, little if any of it ends up as compost. Cover Photo by Shutterstock etc. Copyright © 2023 by Milestone Communications Inc. 668 Williams Ave., Seaside, California 93955 (telephone 831-394-5656). All rights reserved. Monterey County Weekly, the Best of Monterey County and the Best of Monterey Bay are registered trademarks. No person, without prior permission from the publisher, may take more than one copy of each issue. Additional copies and back issues may be purchased for $1, plus postage. Mailed subscriptions: $120 yearly, pre-paid. The Weekly is an adjudicated newspaper of Monterey County, court decree M21137. The Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Visit our website at http://www.montereycountyweekly.com. Audited by CVC. Founder & CEO Bradley Zeve bradley@mcweekly.com (x103) Publisher Erik Cushman erik@mcweekly.com (x125) Editorial editor Sara Rubin sara@mcweekly.com (x120) features editor Dave Faries dfaries@mcweekly.com (x110) associate editor Tajha Chappellet-Lanier tajha@mcweekly.com (x135) Staff Writer Celia Jiménez celia@mcweekly.com (x145) Staff Writer Pam Marino pam@mcweekly.com (x106) Staff Writer Rey Mashayekhi rey@mcweekly.com (x102) Staff Writer Agata Pope¸da (x138) aga@mcweekly.com Staff Writer David Schmalz david@mcweekly.com (x104) DIGITAL PRODUCER Kyarra Harris kyarra@mcweekly.com (x105) Staff photographer Daniel Dreifuss daniel@mcweekly.com (x140) contributors Nik Blaskovich, Rob Brezsny, Sloan Campi, Paul Fried, Jeff Mendelsohn, Jacqueline Weixel, Paul Wilner Cartoons Rob Rogers, Tom Tomorrow Production Art Director/Production Manager Karen Loutzenheiser karen@mcweekly.com (x108) Graphic Designer Kevin Jewell kevinj@mcweekly.com (x114) Graphic Designer Alexis Estrada alexis@mcweekly.com (x114) Graphic Designer Lani Headley lani@mcweekly.com (x114) SALES senior Sales Executive Diane Glim diane@mcweekly.com (x124) Senior Sales Executive George Kassal george@mcweekly.com (x122) Senior Sales Executive Keith Bruecker keith@mcweekly.com (x118) Classifieds business development director Keely Richter keely@mcweekly.com (x123) Digital Director of Digital Media Kevin Smith kevin@mcweekly.com (x119) Distribution Distribution AT Arts Co. atartsco@gmail.com Distribution Control Harry Neal Business/Front Office Office Manager Linda Maceira linda@mcweekly.com (x101) Bookkeeping Rochelle Trawick rochelle@mcweekly.com 668 Williams Ave., Seaside, CA 93955 831-394-5656, (FAX) 831-394-2909 www.montereycountyweekly.com We’d love to hear from you. Send us your tips at tipline.montereycountyweekly.com. We can tell you like the print edition of the Weekly. We bet you’ll love the daily newsletter, Monterey County NOW. Get fresh commentary, local news and sundry helpful distractions delivered to your inbox every day. There’s no charge, and if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe any time. DON’T MISS OUT Sign up today at montereycountyweekly.com/mcnow
www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 5 SalinasValleyHealth.com Thank you for your unwavering courage and dedication. You are part of a legacy of care, compassion and healing. Happy Nurses Day! Honoring Our Nurses
6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH The annual White House correspondents dinner, held on April 29, included a lot of the requisite roasting, but also some serious notes. Comedian Roy Wood Jr. of The Daily Show offered a few zingers directed both at President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump. As Biden left the podium, Wood referenced a scandal regarding hundreds of pages of classified documents: “Real quick, Mr. President. I think you left some of your classified documents up here.” As to Trump, Wood said: “Keeping up with Trump scandals is like watching Star Wars movies. You got to watch the third one to understand the first one, then you can’t miss the second one because it’s got Easter eggs for the fifth one.” Wood also had some quips about colleagues in the media, including Tucker Carlson, who was recently fired from Fox News: “To Tucker’s staff, I want you to note that I know what you’re feeling. I work at The Daily Show, so I too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of the host of a fake news program.” Besides a few jokes of his own, Biden also remarked on the role of a free press, calling it “the pillar of a free society, not the enemy.” Good: Global conquest has probably never been on the mind of Steven Wales and his team at Fog’s End Distillery in Gonzales. But last week they learned that the recently released 17 Mile Gin indeed stood at the pinnacle. The gin earned a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2023, one of the largest such events in the world and also one of the most respected, due to its strict judging protocols and sheer number of entries (more than 5,000 in this year’s contest). Wales received the news with due humility, thanking the community of gin drinkers and the staff of the small distillery. “We wanted to make something that tasted good to us,” he says. The gin is crafted from nine botanicals, with Buddha’s hand citrus giving it a unique pop. Fog’s End produces its gin and other spirits in small batches with an emphasis on technique and local ingredients. GREAT: New research by the American Medical Association points to what many already knew: Children and teens are experiencing mental health crises at much higher rates. One solution is better access to care at schools, which is why it’s a great week for local students because CSU Monterey Bay’s colleges of Education and Health Sciences and Human Services are the recipients of a five-year, $6 million grant to train school psychologists and social workers for grades K-12. The colleges will work with Monterey County Behavioral Health and AIM Youth Mental Health to implement the grant. In addition to training counselors, the colleges plan on offering training to teachers and community members, said Cathi Draper Rodriguez, chair of the Department of Education and Leadership. “With youth suicide on the rise, it could be life or death,” Draper Rodriguez said. GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY The projected amount in credit card merchant fees the city of Monterey could spend in fiscal year 2023-2024. The city is contemplating how to reduce that expense—passing on the fee to customers or capping how much can be charged to a card. Source: April 26 city budget report $806,174 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “It’s kind of like a family feud.” -Elena Loomis, of the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee, speaking about a divided membership. Opponents of the current chair exited a meeting rather than vote to remove the chair, whose position was unanimously upheld on April 25 (see story, posted at mcweekly.com).
www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 7 MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAISY AWARD WINNERS Blanca Parra-Aguila, ADN, RN Outpatient Surgical Services February 2023 Pretzelmae Ritter, BSN, RN Float Pool April 2023 Amanda Jordan, BSN, RN Acute Rehabilitation Center September 2022 Jenny Bispo, BSN, RN Medical Surgical Unit June 2022 Happy Nurses Week 2023 PARTNERS IN CARING AWARD WINNERS Kevin Pina-Romero Medical Unit Clerk Maternal Infant Unit Crystal Villanueva Medical Unit Clerk Intensive Care Unit Larissa Rodriquez Medical Unit Clerk Outpatient Surgical Services Vianette Villegas Patient Service Representative D'Arrigo Family Specialty Clinic E YOU
8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 There is a group of friends picking desperately for hints in a crazily appointed room. They need Tweedledum and Tweedledee to answer some questions and the pair are happy to oblige. What should be asked, however, is a mystery, as is the point of their repeated yes and no responses. The friends remain hopelessly stumped in an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole, unable to clear the room—until someone recalls an earlier clue and everything begins to fall into place. If all of that seems a bit unclear, Christina Riddoch understands. “It’s an experience, and experiences are hard to convey,” she explains. “You have to do it to understand it. But once you do it, you’re hooked.” Escape rooms—essentially a team effort to solve the mental challenges of a scenario in 60 minutes—are a relatively recent global phenomenon. Clues are everywhere. There are images and wordplay, equations and codes, even little tricks. One challenge is inspired by The Christmas Story. In another, a submarine has been captured and the crew must elude the enemy. Guests can also try to break from jail cells to prove their innocence to the warden. At no point, however, are participants actually trapped. “People are afraid of escape rooms because they’re afraid they’re locked in,” Riddoch acknowledges. “But you can always get out.” Riddoch brought the escape room phenomenon to Monterey in 2017 when she opened Escape Room 831 on Wave Street in what had been office space for Cannery Row Company (what had been Sardine Factory and company co-owner Ted Balestreri’s space is now a mummy’s crypt bearing a terrible curse). In 2018 she opened a second location, inside a former bank on Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. Last year Riddoch added to her empire of fun with Oscar’s Playground, a family arcade space on Cannery Row with three more escape rooms, offering a total of eight different scenarios. She also operates a mobile setup. “It’s a get-out-of-yourself fun,” she says, explaining the popularity of interactive amusement. “You’re immersed in a scenario with no time to think about anything else for an hour,” she continues. “You go through five different emotions.” A jubilant sense of accomplishment is the last—even if the clock gets the better of your team. Riddoch tells of the time a family including a grumpy teenager came in. It was clear the teen had no intention of spending quality time with her parents. An hour later, however, the girls’ demeanor had changed dramatically. “After they came out, she was a completely different person,” Riddoch recalls. She first encountered the mind-bending game on a visit to a grandchild in Kansas City. The family took Riddoch to an escape room. “I thought, ‘Why doesn’t Monterey have this?’” As a child, Riddoch traveled the world with her parents. She grew up in Germany, but considered Monterey her home base. Both her mother and father did stints at the Defense Language Institute, and Riddoch returned frequently. “I remember as a kid running through the old canneries,” she says. Another of her favorite memories of Cannery Row is of Oscar Hossenfelder’s Edgewater Packing Co., an amusement center with an aged carousel inside what is now a long-vacant building along the Rec Trail. Oscar’s Playground is an homage. Riddoch points out that she opened Oscar’s Playground as a service as much as a business. “I found there wasn’t a place for families to land. Maybe you’re waiting for dinner. You want to do something,” she explains. “I get a lot more locals than I expected.” Her fondness for Cannery Row runs even deeper. One evening 26 years ago, she chanced upon Barrie Riddoch while hanging out on the strip. Christina Riddoch likes to imagine that they crossed paths as kids on the carousel. Family amusement rings through both of their lives—then and now. “We’re grandparents,” she says. “We get what families need.” Riddoch is planning another escape room location—“because I’m crazy.” Play Time After opening two escape room locations and an arcade, fun is Christina Riddoch’s domain. By Dave Faries Christina Riddoch in Oscar’s Playground, which she opened last year on Cannery Row. It offers arcade games, but also a bar, a living room-type lounge for watching sports on television, as well as an event space. “It’s a get-out-ofyourself fun.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Local People, Local Bank Banking is better when it’s locally sourced. You receive personal attention from local experts, access to decision makers, and exceptional customer service. If you’d like some fresh ideas on how to grow your business, contact us. Our team is ready to serve you.
www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 9 july 20-23 2023 carodeo.com where the west comes alive! Photo by Phil Doyle Than Yo ! Sun - Thurs 12PM– 8PM Fri & Sat 11AM – 9PM 720 BROADWAY AVE. SEASIDE Call 831-899-1762 to order DINE IN / TAKEOUT / DELIVERY Using fresh, quality ingredients The Oven continues a tradition of New York style pizza, alongside signature San Francisco sourdough pizza. Come enjoy a slice today. Great Dough Great Pizza is Thin crust & Sourdough pizzas Salads & Calzones • Pasta • Subs Draft beer on tap • Wine • Dessert
10 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY may 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com news On July 6, 2016, Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez pulled over 32-year-old Philando Castile for a broken taillight near Minneapolis. The officer asked Castile for his license and registration; as he reached, Yanez shot and killed Castile. After that tragic, fatal confrontation, the board of a Minneapolis nonprofit called MicroGrants hatched an idea: What if they teamed up with police officers to pay for simple vehicle repairs, potentially minimizing deadly encounters on the streets? The Lights On! initiative launched and has since provided thousands of vouchers to partnering law enforcement agencies; those officers then distribute the vouchers, and people can turn them in at participating auto shops for fixes to lights—the auto shop then bills Lights On! directly. The next agency to join in, and the first in Northern California, is the Seaside Police Department, which will launch its Lights On! program May 19, paid for with $4,600 in state grant funds. Police Chief Nick Borges has partnered with five auto shops and counting that will accept the vouchers; he’s ordered 100 to start. Unlike a “fix-it ticket” that requires police officer signoff, these vouchers allow recipients to go directly to a shop. First on the priority list will be Seaside residents. “Although this really helps people of low income, it helps all people remain safe,” Borges says. “If your lighting equipment is working, you are going to be a safer vehicle on the roadway.” Borges will also pitch the idea to all Monterey County law enforcement chiefs at a meeting in late May. “It would be a great initiative if we went together as a county,” he says. Lights On Seaside Police Department will launch a program to pay for vehicle repairs in lieu of tickets. By Sara Rubin That there are military students at the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey who think about or attempt suicide was publicly acknowledged by U.S. Army command staff in October 2020, after an increase in suicide-related incidents that first year of the pandemic. It turns out students are not the only ones at risk. Last year, DLI experienced three deaths by suicide among its nearly 1,600 instructors. There was also an attempted suicide by an assistant professor at a DLI satellite campus. Death certificates signed by the Monterey County Coroner’s Office provide details on the three deaths, two in July less than two weeks apart and one in November. Two of the people were in their 50s and one was in their 30s. Two were military veterans. (The Weekly is not identifying them to protect family privacy.) Monterey County’s suicide rate from 2018-2020 was 9.6 deaths per 100,000 residents, according the California Department of Public Health; California’s rate was 10.5. Three in a community of DLI’s size is a rate of 187.5 per 100,000. What led to the educators deciding to end their lives is not exactly known. And while DLI cannot be directly blamed, current and former DLI colleagues say they are not entirely surprised. They describe the school as a high-pressure and toxic work environment, where instructors—most are from other countries with few local job opportunities beyond DLI—live in fear they will lose their limited-term employment contracts based on negative evaluations or if they raise objections to employment issues. (Sources asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.) “There is a lot of stress among the workforce writ large across the U.S.,” says DLI Chief of Staff Steven Collins. While workplace issues could play a role in suicides in general, he says, there are “cascading” issues—including relationships, finances, physical health and mental health—that could also play a role. Collins says the Department of Defense mandates annual training on suicide prevention and that DLI devotes the month of September to the issue with lectures and events. Collins also details a list of initiatives promoting physical and emotional wellness among civilian staff. “If you look at larger employers on the Peninsula, I don’t know of too many that are putting more of an effort into it than we are,” he says. The assistant professor who survived his attempt at the satellite location in March 2022 put the blame for his mental state on a “toxic and hostile work environment” and says he was not offered help. He resigned from his position. One source who knew one of the three who died says supervisors “aggressively suppressed” any reference to suicide. “It became a very touchy subject right away and there was a zero-tolerance policy of discussing the suicide,” they say. The result was a feeling that leadership didn’t care about the emotional health of employees: “We now understand pretty explicitly that they don’t care about our problems. They’re not going to address them.” Collins calls the accusation “ridiculous,” and suggests that supervisors may have been telling people to not speculate on a cause of death before a death certificate was issued. “We care deeply about each and every individual,” he says. “We don’t take these things lightly.” One DLI source says “morale was already in the gutter” before three separate suicides. A DLI official contends they offer numerous programs to help employees. Sad Farewell The Defense Language Institute saw three educators die by suicide in 2022. By Pam Marino In a typical year, Seaside PD gives out about 50 tickets for vehicle lights. (Additional related stops might end in arrests on other charges.) They will start with 100 vouchers worth up to $250. “They don’t care about our problems.” Daniel Dreifuss Daniel Dreifuss
www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 11 www.cfmco.org • 831.375.9712 Design your giving plan. We can help. Donor Advised Funds • Charitable Estate Planning (CGAs, CRTs) • IRA Charitable Distributions • Family Philanthropy Scholarships & More 831.375.9712 | cfmco.org | DOING GOOD The Brooks donated their rental property to create a CRT. They receive income for life and will leave a legacy through a planned gift. Read their story: cfmco.org/Brooks. “We are retired teachers with a modest estate, yet we can take part in doing good things in this world.” – Barbara Brooks Pebble Beach Company will be hosting our first U.S. Women’s Open: July 3-9, 2023 NOW HIRING SAVE THE DATE: U.S. Women’s Open Job Fairs Wednesday, May 10 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. & Thursday, May 11 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. Fairway One Complex 3304 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach (Across from The Hay Golf Course) Positions Available: Banquet Bartender, Banquet Server, Banquet Set-up, Busser, Cashier, Cook, Housekeeper, Purchasing Clerk, Restaurant Host, Retail Sales, Shuttle Driver, Steward, and more... Please complete the Special Event Employment Application online at www.pebblebeach.com/careers prior to attending the Job Fair.
12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY may 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com The city of Soledad is undergoing a transformation. One change is a 647-acre annexation, which includes the planned Miramonte project. This housing development could mean over 2,300 new homes to the north of the city’s current footprint. But in the core of Soledad’s existing downtown, city officials are working on a concept to create a village of shipping containers on Front Street. Soledad owns several parcels, totaling about three-quarters of an acre, that are long and narrow, which makes them unappealing for housing developers; however, these parcels, located along the commercial corridor near Cesar Chavez Park between Soledad and Kidder streets, are ideal for commercial use. This project aims to provide locals with more options and keep tax dollars within city limits. Many residents travel to Salinas or the Monterey Peninsula to purchase goods and services. “South Monterey County deserves a place to get a beer, a glass of wine, to go to a little concert,” says Bryan Swanson, Soledad’s community and economic development director. In recent years, the city has attracted new businesses including Premiere Cinemas and Grocery Outlet; now, they are focusing on the hospitality industry. The container village would host city-sponsored events and festivals, and planners hope it would attract new businesses, preferably local. (As one example of a successful container business, Fieldwork Brewing Company’s downtown Monterey location is made of shipping containers.) The spark for the container village started two years ago during an economic development workshop followed by surveys to determine what residents were looking for. On April 19, Soledad City Council and the Planning Commission reviewed three options for revitalizing city-owned downtown properties presented by ESL Architects. They chose the container village option. A village of about a dozen containers would cost up to $10 million and include space for restaurants, drinks, retail and an outdoor stage. Another component the city is considering is a community kitchen similar to El Pájaro Community Development Corporation’s commercial kitchen incubator for emerging food entrepreneurs. City staff are working on a dossier they will share with potential investors and tenants. They are looking for an anchor business, such as a brewery or winery. “There’s a ton of market here that’s being missed, that we feel would be advantageous for a brewery in our region to establish a second location,” Swanson says. Lawyers representing Monterey County Jail inmates in a settlement over conditions claim that the jail’s health care provider is in violation of the terms of the agreement—and they are requesting to unseal redacted reports detailing the alleged failures. In a motion filed April 26 in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, attorneys for the inmates asked a federal judge to find prison health care provider Wellpath “noncompliant with the settlement agreement,” which was reached in 2015 to resolve a class-action lawsuit that challenged “inadequate” medical and mental health care at the jail, as well as safety and security issues. The filing claims that nearly eight years after the settlement, Wellpath has “defied its court-ordered obligations” and continues to provide “systematically inadequate care to people incarcerated” at the jail— citing a death rate there that is “more than twice the national average” and a suicide rate “more than three times the average for California jails.” They also point to findings by court-appointed neutral monitors charged with overseeing services at the jail, whose reports are provided in the filing yet heavily redacted. The plaintiffs are seeking to have those reports unsealed “so that the public and people incarcerated at the Monterey County Jail can understand what the issues are,” according to Van Swearingen, partner at plaintiffs’ law firm Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld. The motion seeks fines of $25,000 against Wellpath for each noncompliant provision of the settlement agreement, with up to 44 such provisions alleged. A hearing is set for Aug. 24. In a statement, the Sheriff’s Office said it is “working diligently with Wellpath to comply with the terms of the settlement agreement” and is “focused on meeting the terms to ensure that our incarcerated population is cared for to meet their day-to-day needs and the expectations of the community.” Up Town Soledad seeks to transform Front Street to attract new businesses to downtown. By Celia Jiménez news Future of Marina Marina’s Planning Department hosts a virtual workshop related to the city’s general plan update for the next 20 years. Those interested in learning more about this project and the planning process are invited to join. Head to the website to register and read the meeting agenda. 6pm Thursday, May 4. Free. ahunter@ cityofmarina.org, marina2045.org. A River Runs This day-long Salinas River symposium brings together policy makers, scientists and other stakeholders to talk about issues like fire prevention, sustainability, climate change and water law that apply on this important river. The event takes place at the Atascadero Public Library, but is also available to attend virtually. 9am-3pm Friday, May 5. Register online for Zoom link. $10. 805-548-0597, stacey@ecologistics.org, ecologistics.org. Women Rock Rotary District 5230 and the Limitless Mentorship and Scholarship Program are inviting all women and girls to learn about local resources and opportunities available to help them succeed. Enjoy mental health workshops, a self-defense class, free school supplies and more. Free bus transportation is available and guests will be treated to a BBQ lunch. 11am Saturday, May 6. Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, 625 Division St., King City. Free. info@womenarelimitless.org, womenarelimitless.org. Park Identity Monterey’s Parks and Recreation Department hosts a charrette-style town hall with interactive activities to gather ideas and feedback on the future of Casanova Oak Knoll Park Center. The town hall will focus on hearing residents’ opinions on what programs and services are most in-demand. 6pm Monday, May 8. Casanova Oak Knoll Park Center, 735 Ramona Ave., Monterey. Free. 646-3866, haveyoursaymonterey.org/cokpc. Job Hunt This job fair offers an opportunity to network with employers from different industries in Monterey County and search for a new job or volunteer position where you can gain work experience and skills. 3pm Wednesday, May 10. Greenfield Civic Center, 599 El Camino Real, Greenfield. Free. 796-3335, bit.ly/ GreenfieldJobFair. Jail Fail Monterey County Jail is violating a settlement over living conditions, lawyers claim. By Rey Mashayekhi A rendering shows what Soledad’s concept for a container village downtown might look like. “It’s a vision,” says Bryan Swanson, noting the idea remains in the early stages. e-mail: publiccitizen@mcweekly.com TOOLBOX “South Monterey County deserves a place to get a beer.” Courtesy City of Soledad
www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 13 Making a Difference Together Children and teens in Monterey County are in need of a safe and stable home. Becoming a resource family gives youth the chance to become reunified with their family or adopted. Monterey County Family and Children’s Services works towards building healthy families and strong communities. Become a resource family today, and change a child’s life forever. JOIN US FOR FREE CONSERVATION WEBINARS Join us for free, interactive workshops in May, presented by Green Gardens Group via Zoom. The Monterey Peninsula is a leader in water conservation. Thank you for your commitment to being water wise! Learn more at: montereywaterinfo.org/events Thursday, May 11 Compost: Building the Soil Sponge 6 p.m.–7 p.m. Tuesday, May 23 Permeable Everywhere 6 p.m.–7 p.m. A FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM DEDICATED TO INDIVIDUALIZED REPRESENTATION. OFFICE 831-625-5193 | MOBILE 831-601-9376 WWW.JSRATTORNEYATLAW.COM
14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY May 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com In the wake of flood damage from this past winter’s storms, the Monterey County Farm Bureau is looking to leverage a new pathway to mitigate that damage going forward. That involves a streamlining of state and federal permits to conduct river channel maintenance projects on the Salinas River. The details of the plan aren’t clear, nor is it clear how that will play out with regulatory agencies, though it could certainly be the case that local elected officials lean on those agencies to carve out exceptions to the laws they are charged with enforcing. That seemed to be the intent behind a press conference the Farm Bureau held on April 19 on an approximately 200-acre Rincon Farms property in Chualar, just east of the river. On that property is a home that has been redtagged because floodwaters undermined its foundation; Rincon’s Jynel Gularte, whose family has long owned the farmland, says they’ve been renting the house out to families for 80 years. “This affordable home will never house a family again,” Gularte said. Norm Groot, the Farm Bureau’s executive director, said that the estimated damage to farmland from this past winter amounted to about $1 billion on 20,000 acres. And it’s not just the Farm Bureau asking for changes, it’s a coalition of growers in the Salinas Valley as well, and what was made clear was they’re a “unified voice.” Whatever the cost or river channel maintenance and clearance, they say they’ll pay for it, and they’ll do it themselves. There are a host of permitting agencies involved, including the state Department of Fish & Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries, the State Water Resources Control Board, among others. Representatives from those agencies, and those from local elected officials at the state and federal level, may or may not show up to a meeting May 5 at the Farm Bureau’s office in Salinas to discuss the concerns Groot, Gularte and others raised on April 19. Their argument is that, in 1995, the river reached around 90,000 cubic-feet-persecond of flow versus around 30,000 this past March, but the amount of damage is the same. “Something must have changed drastically for it to have caused the same amount of damage,” Gularte said at the press conference. What changed, Gularte and others said, is that farmers have been constrained by the onerous and expensive permitting process that has both reduced the quality of habitat for fish and the carrying capacity of the river due to overgrowth of vegetation. Currently, permits expire every five years; the Farm Bureau is looking for a more seamless, “continuation of work plans” without interruption. Groot said, in terms of the state of the riverbed, “We want to get back to where we were in 1995.” County Supervisor Chris Lopez, whose District 3 includes much of the Salinas Valley, added, “The farmer is losing, fish are losing, the general public is losing—nobody is winning.” The general public will not be able to attend the private May 5 meeting. Whether or not representatives from public agencies choose to attend remains to be seen. River Side After winter flooding, growers band together to seek streamlined channel maintenance permits. By David Schmalz Jynel Gularte at her family’s Rincon Farms property just east of the Salinas River in Chualar. This rental home was destroyed by floods this winter. NEWS “Nobody is winning.” DANIEL DREIFUSS ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES Stop By To Shop And Find Your Vintage Treasure OVER 100 DEALERS 21,000 SQUARE FEET The Largest Antiques and Collectibles Mall on the Central Coast 471 WAVE STREET MONTEREY (831) 655-0264 P M canneryrowantiquemall.com Open Daily 11am-6pm ’22 Voted Monterey County's Best Antique Shop ♦ 3 Card Poker ♠ Century 21st No Bust Black Jack ♣ Texas Hold’em ♥ Baccarat FULL BAR! BLACKJACK BONUS POINTS PAYS UP TO $20,000 SMALL TOWN BIG PAYOUTS! 1-800-Gambler • Gega-003846, Gega-Gega-003703, Gega-000889 Gega-000891 Gega-002838 The Marina Club Casino ensures the safety and security of all guests and team members at all times, while providing exceptional service. 204 Carmel Ave. Marina 831-384-0925 casinomonterey.com ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ Just minutes from Downtown Monterey Where Monterey Comes To Play
www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 15 Travelware crafted for life well-lived. Made to last for life. How to pick + pack the best bags for you PACK LIKE A PRO Join us for a special event GET TO KNOW PACKING EXPERT ANNSLIE BIGBEE The daughter of a diplomat and artist, Annslie found her passion for suitcases and packing when she began traveling at the age of five. Her global journeys include stops in Portugal, Nigeria, Morocco and Uganda. She has tapped into her passion through volunteer efforts with the Peace Corps and Habitat for Humanity and her 13 year career running a specialty luggage store in California. Annslie is the Regional Manager of South Pacific Sales for Briggs & Riley. Luggage expert Annslie Bigbee shares her packing tips and tricks to achieve lighter, easier and smarter business and leisure travels. TOPS N TRAVEL Saturday May 20th, 2023 11:30 am RSVP inside or call 831-622-7500 219 The Crossroads, Carmel Travelware crafted for life well-lived. Made to last for life. ANNSLIE BIGBEE TOPS N TRAVEL Saturday May 20th, 2023 11:30 am RSVP inside or call 831-622-7500 219 The Crossroads, Carmel JOIN US FOR A WINE FLIGHT & AN OVER-THE-TOP TASTY TREAT FROM CHEF DAVID HARDIE • $25 FOR WINE FLIGHT (PAY AT THE DOOR) • TASTY TREATS ARE AN ADDITIONAL COST • 10% OFF ALL BOTTLES OF WINE, SAKE & CIDER FOR ALL ATTENDEES @ELROYSFINEFOODS WWW.ELROYSFINEFOODS.COM 15 SOLEDAD DRIVE (831) 373-3737 MONTEREY, CA 93940 Hey Wine Trust Members! This is a great time to pick up your monthly drop! Plus, receive 50% off your ticket TO SIPS OF GLORY! WEDNESDAY, MAY 10th 5PM - 7PM at THE ELROY’S BAR SIPS OF GLORY ELROY’S FINE FOODS PRESENTS A monthly gathering of uncommon friends & uncommon wines.
16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com By passing a new agricultural preservation ordinance last month, Gonzales city officials and local developers believe they’re one step closer to annexing some 770 acres of surrounding farmland—potentially leading to more than 3,000 new housing units that would transform the Salinas Valley community. But land use officials and local advocacy groups have expressed concerns about Gonzales’ plans, warning that they fall short of the county’s agricultural land preservation standards and would fail to address the need for affordable housing in the area. On April 17, Gonzales City Council approved an ordinance requiring developers to take measures to preserve local farmland if they want to convert agricultural land to non-agricultural use. The ordinance is meant to keep Gonzales in compliance with Monterey County’s guidelines on ag-land mitigation as it looks to potentially annex up to 1,400 acres of adjacent farmland for residential development in the coming years. First up will likely be the Vista Lucia project, a development on roughly 770 acres to the north of the city where Morgan Hill-based Pembrook Development aims to build a master-planned community of up to 3,500 residential units. The annexation proposal could be brought before Monterey County’s Local Agency Formation Commission by year’s end. “We want to preserve agriculture as much as possible, but at the same time we know we need growth—we haven’t built a new house in over 15 years,” City Councilmember Scott Funk says. Yet the ordinance falls shy of recommendations made by LAFCO in a March 31 comment letter to Gonzales City Council. The agency warned that it lacked the county’s “more robust” standards, such as a higher 2-to-1 ratio of preserved ag-land to converted acreage. (The city’s ordinance allows a 1-to-1 ratio.) Gonzales is also providing developers the option to pay “in-lieu fees” to the city, whereas the county has identified conservation easements as its “preferred agricultural mitigation strategy.” LAFCO additionally flagged exemptions in the ordinance for low-income housing and other uses—noting that the “actual buildout of a site in the future…may differ from what is planned at the time a site is annexed.” Meanwhile, advocacy group LandWatch Monterey County has urged more high-density, affordable units at Vista Lucia that “reflect the housing Gonzales actually needs,” while warning that market-rate, single-family homes threaten to turn the city into a “bedroom community” for Bay Area commuters. Pembrook Development manager Glenn Pace says 30 percent of Vista Lucia’s units will qualify as affordable. Pace acknowledges that Pembrook would likely pay an in-lieu fee as its ag-land mitigation measure, and defends the ordinance. “It was the city’s decision [to] weigh the loss of agricultural land with the need for housing,” he says. “Why would you put up a roadblock, even if you lose a couple acres of lettuce? It’s a reasonable trade-off so that people can have a place to live.” Buying the Farm Gonzales lays a path to redeveloping surrounding farmland—but land-use officials have questions. By Rey Mashayekhi In annexing surrounding Salinas Valley farmland for residential development, Gonzales would significantly increase its population of around 9,000 people. NEWS “It’s a reasonable trade-off.” DANIEL DREIFUSS The time you decided not to hire movers. Smarter, faster urgent care. 8 a.m.–8 p.m. every day including holidays Walk in or make a reservation online MoGoUrgentCare.org Visit-related X-rays, lab work, and medications onsite and included in your co-pay or flat fee. LOCATIONS y CARMEL 26135 Carmel Rancho Blvd., Suite B-1 y MARINA 2930 2nd Avenue, Suite 120 y MONTEREY 2020 Del Monte Avenue, Suite B
www.montereycountyweekly.com MAY 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 47TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS NOMINATED COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS THANK YOU SPONSORS! Outstanding Community Service Francisca Arroyo Tama Bistrian Diana Carrillo Ivy English LyVesha Franklin Mirna Hills Trish Jackson George Jones Helene Lubben Joey Martinez Doug McKnight BJ Tempalski Honoree: The Honorable Albert Maldonado Human Services Bobbie Blakeney Honoree: Angela Goncalves Education and Youth Services Steve Duran Cynthia Reindl Lisette Tapia Honoree: Karen Brown Youth Volunteer Rasheeda Alkhaili Melissa Macias Chloe Yi Honoree: Jesus Sandoval Group Volunteer The Adventure Seeking Seniors Group Aera Energy Be the Change Club California Retired Teachers Association Monterey County Rape Crisis Center Teddy Bears with Heart Honoree: Foster Grandparent and Senior Council Program Lifetime of Service Diana Jimenez Doug Roberts George N. Somero Mark Verbonich, In Memoriam Honoree: Ken White 2023 LIVE UNITED AWARDS HONOREES THE HONORABLE ALBERT MALDONADO OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE ANGELA GONCALVES HUMAN SERVICES KAREN BROWN EDUCATION & YOUTH SERVICES JESUS SANDOVAL YOUTH VOLUNTEER FOSTER GRANDPARENT AND SENIOR COUNCIL PROGRAM GROUP VOLUNTEER KEN WHITE LIFETIME OF SERVICE Special Thanks for our Host Dann Cianca, Chief Meteorologist KION News, Channel 5/46
18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY may 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Cop to It All that nonsense for $8,000 and $8,000 to his lawyer (“Pacific Grove settles with former police officer at center of controversy,” posted April 24). Not exactly the big payout his defenders were predicting. Adam J. Lincoln | Monterey Pacific Grove was correct in negotiating Gonzalez’s release. I don’t have issue with his views re: Black Lives Matter, but having decals on his truck representing the Three Percenters and Molon Labe is extremely troublesome for anyone charged with enforcing laws fair and equitably. The Three Percenters are identified by the Anti-Defamation League as being associated with extremism, terrorism and bigotry and Molon Labe is an anti-government, pro-militia group. Members affiliated with both groups have been convicted in the Jan. 6 insurrection and are now making inroads in law enforcement and military. Robert Murray | Monterey I hope this hateful fool is not hired by another police department. Nancy McCullough | via social media Raising the Rent Solving a problem that does not exist. All of this will be passed on to the tenants (“Monterey City Council votes in favor of creating a rental registry and exploring rent stabilization,” posted April 25). Jeffery Olms | via social media Renters are the silent majority in many Monterey County cities that are finally turning out to vote (“As state lawmakers rethink tenants’ rights, renters get organized,” April 27-May 3). We flipped the Monterey City Council to the most progressive and diverse in its history. The year 2024 will lead to more of this, so all candidates beware when you say “support affordable housing”—you must specify that that includes more than just building more units. Rents cannot continue to increase 10-percent annually, while wages go up a mere fraction. #RentersVote Esther Malkin | Monterey Note: Malkin is a founder of Monterey County Renters United. Disconnected It’s not just internet that went out (“Why did the region’s internet go out on April 13 for nearly an entire day?” April 27-May 3). Comcast cable TV was out, too. So we were without TV all day. But we had internet, because we get that from AT&T. And that is why we will never bundle TV and internet services from a single company. James Toy | Monterey Big Birds Awww. Prayers that this flu passes by quickly and that all the condors are safe (“A new strain of bird flu appears to pose an existential threat to California condor flocks,” April 20-26). Caroline Jones-Mudd | via social media Cheer Squad Love supporting our local soccer team! (“Monterey Bay F.C. has the players, the stadium and the look. In year two, the question is whether the fans will follow,” April 27-May 3.) Chris Symons | via social media Play earlier on the weekends—maybe there would be more people in the stands. Sergio Gomez | via email Thanks, good article (“If you didn’t know—and there are plenty who still don’t—Monterey County has its very own pro soccer team, and they’re flying pretty high at the moment,” posted April 30). I’m one of the “I didn’t know we have a pro soccer team.” I’m thrilled about it and will start following them and go to games. Gerry Orton | Del Rey Oaks Art Rising What a wonderful addition to Sand City (“Sand City, known for its murals, will soon get a different kind of public art,” April 20-26). Nancy J. Sanders | via social media Great addition to the city! Aaron Blair | via social media Note: Blair is a former city manager of Sand City who coordinated the first we.Art Mural Festival. In Style It’s about time the fanny pack came back (“Two CSU Monterey Bay grads are making fanny packs fun and fashionable,” April 20-26). Emmett Booker | via social media Who would have thought! Casey Gahan | via social media Rules of Law Americans are losing faith in our Supreme Court, and it’s easy to see why. The nine justices on the Supreme Court are the only federal judges not bound by a code of ethics. It’s up to the justices to self-police on ethical issues, and they want to keep it that way. That’s why nothing happened when Clarence Thomas didn’t recuse himself from Jan. 6 cases that could have directly implicated his wife. That’s why nothing happened when America found out Samuel Alito more than likely leaked a decision about reproductive health care to anti-abortion activists. And that’s why nothing happened when it was revealed that Chief Justice Roberts’ wife has earned millions of dollars recruiting for law firms with business before the Supreme Court. The highest court in the land should be held to the highest standard. Peggy Di Mauro | Seaside The Supreme Court is run amok, and it’s time to get it under control. Congress has the ability—and responsibility—to act as a check and restore faith in our judicial system. It’s time they take the first step and pass a code of ethics for the Supreme Court. No one is above accountability, and that includes our justices on the Supreme Court. Cyndi Dorsey | Marina CORRECTION In reporting on a website that appears to be written by artificial intelligence, Squid misstated the odds that experts give to AI taking over humanity (“Squid Fry,” April 27-May 3). Those odds are 1-in-10, not the other way around. Letters • CommentsOPINION Submit letters to the editor to letters@mcweekly.com. Please keep your letter to 150 words or less; subject to editing for space. Please include your full name, contact information and city you live in.
www.montereycountyweekly.com may 4-10, 2023 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 19 The story of the last few years of Adnan Nijmeddin’s life—and they will be his last few years—is a story of tragedy. But its final days or weeks have a touch of grace, as Nijmeddin, a convicted murderer, was released early from prison on what’s known as “compassionate release” due to a terminal illness. The tragic downfall began on Jan. 17, 2012, when Nijmeddin got into an argument over a lost CalFresh card. The dispute drew a crowd of some 15 or 20 people, some of whom joined by throwing bottles and other objects at Nijmeddin’s Ford Explorer on Soledad Street in Chinatown. As the fight escalated, Nijmeddin drove toward the crowd, hitting Billy Rajah, dragging him 30 feet and killing him. The horrific scene was captured on a camera at Dorothy’s Kitchen, and Nijmeddin was charged with murder. In 2014 he was convicted, and in 2015 he was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years to life. Then on Jan. 18, 2023, Nijmeddin was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Doctors determined he would live less than a year, with or without treatment. His physical condition meant he would not be a threat to public safety. The California Department of Corrections recommended that a Monterey County Superior Court suspend his sentence so he could be released from Mule Creek State Prison. Instead of dying in prison, Nijmeddin, now 65, will die at his brother’s home in Fresno. None of this was automatic, despite a new state law, Assembly Bill 960, signed into law last year, that requires the Department of Corrections to make such sentencing recommendations when an inmate is terminally ill or medically incapacitated. Nijmeddin’s defense attorney, Don Landis, petitioned Monterey County Superior Court Judge Julie Culver to release Nijmeddin, arguing he met the criteria for compassionate release; she declined. On March 21, Nijmeddin appealed. On April 5, the Sixth District Court of Appeal came back with a decision: Nijmeddin should be released. They overrode Culver’s reasoning and wrote, “The record lacks any substantial evidence that Nijmeddin, who is severely physically incapacitated and getting worse by the day, ‘is an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.” (Specifically, Culver worried about “his ability to pick up a phone.”) The timing of the decision—15 days after the appeal was filed— may not sound significant, but in the slow-moving world of court, it is potentially the difference between life and death. In authoring AB 960, Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, determined that California’s previous compassionate release guidelines were ineffective. “The eligibility criteria for the compassionate release program remain too narrow and the process too cumbersome for a population that poses the lowest risk to public safety. As a result, very few people are granted relief and, consequently, many die while awaiting a referral to the court,” according to Ting’s analysis. From January 2015-April 2021, 306 people were referred for compassionate release, but only 53 were released; 95 died before the process could be completed. Part of the argument for compassionate release is morality, and doing what is humane; part of it is about public safety, and releasing people who no longer pose a threat; and part of it is about cold, hard dollars and cents. It is expensive for CDCR to treat end-of-life patients. It’s not yet known how common compassionate release cases will be—this is the first under AB 960 in Monterey County. CDCR must provide annual reports starting in 2024. The appellate decision in Nijmeddin’s case is published, meaning it will stand as a reference in other, similar cases across the state. “I am anticipating we will receive more of these,” says Assistant District Attorney Marisol Mendez. The DA’s Office opposed Nijmeddin’s release, partly on the basis of simple fairness: “Families have to continue to live knowing that the person who has created the darkest hole in their life is now out of prison,” she says. There are dark holes all around. Rajah’s family lost him to homicide; Nijmeddin’s family lost him to prison and now to cancer. A little bit more compassion may be just what the justice system needs. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@mcweekly.com. Prison Break A new law lets a terminally ill inmate out of prison to die at home. By Sara Rubin People’s Court…Fun fact: Squid once appeared on an episode of Judge Jellyfish as the plaintiff in a small claims case against Squid’s neighbor Montgomery Mola. Squid foolishly loaned Monty a few clams and the selfish sunfish wouldn’t pay Squid back. Squid had the receipts and won. So Squid empathizes with the city of Monterey, currently the plaintiff in a small claims case officials filed on April 20 against Ryan Murphy asking for $498.24 in fines after Murphy allegedly violated the city’s ordinance against advertising short-term rentals. In a court document, the city states Murphy was cited in October 2021 for advertising an apartment he owns on Lighthouse Avenue for a three-day rental. That comes with a $100 fine. The second violation is $150, the third is $200. Each day the rental was advertised was a separate fine, totaling $450, the city determined. They gave Murphy 30 days to appeal, which he did not. Fast forward to March of this year, when the city sent Murphy a letter demanding he pay the $450, plus a late penalty. When he didn’t pay, they took him to court. (Squid was unable to reach Murphy for comment.) Monterey officials apparently have a long memory and are not afraid of getting litigious even for a few hundred clams. When they face off against Murphy on June 22, Squid expects city officials will bring the receipts. Sinking In…When a sinkhole sinks, does it make a sound? Squid doesn’t know the answer to that question, because neither Squid, nor Squid’s colleagues, have been able to get any firsthand accounts of how things went down when a sinkhole sunk on March 23 in the Safeway parking lot in Del Rey Oaks. (Thankfully, there were no injuries.) The sinkhole happened around an underground drainage main where stormwater drainage pipes from three cities—Del Rey Oaks, Seaside and Monterey—converge, and then get channeled out to Laguna Grande. Squid has been trying to figure out: Which city was the sinkhole in? And whose leaky pipe is to blame? And who will have to pay for it? Monterey Peninsula Engineering did the emergency repair work in the immediate aftermath, before it was sorted out whose pipe was to blame, and whose land it was on. Del Rey Oaks City Manager John Guertin says DRO paid about $34,000 for that work, but his understanding from MPE workers is that the sinkhole was in Seaside, and that the problematic pipe was Monterey’s. But when Squid’s colleague talked to Monterey Acting City Engineer Tom Harty, he was unaware: “That’s all news to us. This is the first I’ve heard of anything about this.” So maybe sinkholes don’t make a sound. Maybe try email? the local spin SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “I am anticipating we will receive more of these.” Send Squid a tip: squid@mcweekly.com
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