12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY november 23-29, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com news Until recently, it’s been a tough few years for California condors. The Dolan Fire, which burned over 128,000 acres in Big Sur in 2020, caused the death of 12 condors. This spring saw the emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, aka HPAI, which spread rapidly among the Arizona-Utah flock, killing more than 20. But the Central Coast flock has thus far dodged the virus, and vaccines are being administered to condors raised in captivity. The nonprofit Ventana Wildlife Society is set to release 10 of them in the coming weeks—five on Nov. 28 and another five on Dec. 12—which will bring the flock’s total number to 101, which is where it was at when the Dolan Fire was ignited. The releases can be viewed by registering on the nonprofit’s website (ventanaws.org), and they offer anyone with an internet connection and time to spare the opportunity to see the moment a baby condor finds its wings. Of the 10 condors soon to be released, three are from the Los Angeles Zoo and seven are from the Oregon Zoo. Joe Burnett, VWS’ senior biologist, says which birds fly on Nov. 28 will be the first five to walk into the release chamber, and they’ll take flight of their own volition. None of the condors are yet named, he adds—their personalities are only just starting to show. This year has also seen four condor nests on the Central Coast—two in Pinnacles, two in Big Sur—and four chicks have fledged. The highest number of fledges in the flock since VWS has been tracking it is five. The release will start with an hour-long presentation, and the condors will start taking flight around 10am, weather permitting. Taking Flight Ventana Wildlife Society’s condor releases are a window into a species’ resurgence. By David Schmalz The floodwaters in Pajaro have long since receded, and state and federal officials gathered in Watsonville on Nov. 21 to announce progress on infrastructure improvements to the Pajaro River levee to prevent future flooding. But the impacts are still being felt by some residents. Farmworkers found their income diminished due to flooded fields. “The season was really bad—the biggest check was $600,” Fabiana, a Pajaro resident and farmworker who declined to give her last name, says in Spanish, noting many workdays were under eight hours. She is part of a close-knit community of about 80 people, many of them multigenerational families, living in apartments at 29 San Juan Road, who received tenancy termination notices on Oct. 20 from landlord Rose Rental LLC, giving them 60 days to vacate. On Sept. 28, the property owners (Joseph, Maria de Luz and Edward J. Nunez) received an administrative citation from the Monterey County Department of Housing and Community Development for violations in all 15 units, including lack of heating, non-operational windows, missing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and a roach infestation. They red-tagged one unit, Apartment P. Most of the units are office spaces converted into housing units without permits, county officials say. The landlords have options to either bring the units up to code or demolish them. If the Nunezes don’t fix the violations by Dec. 7, fines will pile up starting with $100 the first day, $500 the second, and $1,000 on each additional day. “We don’t have much control over the tenant-landlord relationships. We’re just out there making sure that housing is safe to live in,” says Craig Spencer, interim director of HCD. The situation leaves tenants in a bind. The notices indicate the last day to vacate is Dec. 20, but if they leave by Nov. 20, they will receive two months’ rent. Still, residents say finding a place to live is challenging and prices for available units are at least $1,000 more than what they currently pay. “I was cleaning my car to sleep there,” says Rocio Morando, a mother of three. Estela García lives in a two-bedroom apartment with her dad, her brother and his family (five total), and her son. They pay $2,350 per month and have lived there for a decade. “We don’t have resources to pay a deposit and pay rent,” she says, noting they’ve found homes for $3,500/month, but don’t have the $7,000 needed for first month’s rent and a deposit. García says with strawberry season over, only her brother is working part-time. A coalition of nonprofits has stepped in to assist, including Community Bridges, Raíces y Cariño, Legal Services for Seniors and more. “[The Nunezes] have knowingly been renting uninhabitable units to low-income farmworkers and have been exploiting the realities of how hard it is to find affordable housing in our community,” says Raymon Cancino, CEO of Community Bridges. In a statement, the Nunezes said: “Rose Rentals and the Nunez Family are committed to helping the families at 29 San Juan Road transition.” Community Bridges has raised $63,000 to help the tenants with rent, deposits or hotels. That includes a $50,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Monterey County, and $13,000 from over 100 donors via a GoFundMe campaign. A committee of tenants in the apartments on San Juan Road working with nonprofits has pledged to split money raised equally among all 15 apartments. On the Street Dozens of Pajaro residents facing eviction during the holiday season organize and fundraise. By Celia Jiménez Jade, seen here along the coast of Big Sur, hatched in the wild this past March and took its first flight in September. “I was cleaning my car to sleep there.” celia jiménez Joe Burnett
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