4 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 19-25, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court gave more power to local governments to clear homeless encampments, Gov. Gavin Newsom followed suit, issuing an order on July 25 requiring all state agencies to remove encampments from state-owned properties. As crews continue to dismantle the camps, some journalists covering these actions have reported that they have been threatened with arrest. Lexis-Olivier Ray, a reporter with L.A. Taco, was attempting to cover a camp cleanup in Los Angeles when officers told him he wasn’t allowed in a “secure work zone,” despite standing on the sidewalk across the street. Reporters at the Sacramento Bee described a similar situation, where police had cordoned off an entire city block and prevented them from entering, threatening arrest. Twenty press rights and civil liberties organizations wrote a letter Sept. 10, calling on California officials to “respect First Amendment rights and ensure transparency.” “Journalists should be able to do their jobs while government workers do theirs,” the letter stated. Good: The City of Soledad is looking at ways to transform its downtown and encourage residents to spend their dollars there, and those efforts got a boost thanks to a $50,000 federal grant it received on Sept. 5. The funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program will be matched by the city, providing $100,000 for a feasibility study and economic impact report for a container village project. The “village,” proposed on city-owned properties on Front Street between Soledad and Kidder streets, could include spaces for restaurants, retail and an outdoor stage. “The Soledad Container Village Project aims to bring energy and vibrancy to our downtown corridor, stimulate economic growth, and create new jobs to boost the city’s economic vitality,” said Tencia Vargas, Soledad’s economic development and housing program coordinator. GREAT: There is great news for our collective well-being and the encouragement to take a deep breath courtesy of Meditate Monterey County. The initiative launches Thursday, Sept. 19 on the heels of Meditate America. The concept is to reduce barriers to entry to learn transcendental meditation, or TM, especially amid election-related anxiety. Until Nov. 12, the Monterey TM Center, led by Jo Ann Gesner, is expanding its free info sessions and offering up to 50-percent off on four-day introductory classes, meant to make students self-sufficient so they can practice meditation independently thereafter. “Because everyone is so stressed out, and we want to provide TM for as many people as possible, fees are reduced,” Gesner says. The next step is expanding offerings to teach groups of first responders in public safety and medical fields. “The goal,” Gesner says, “is to make it available to everyone.” GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY That’s how many times more likely the Carmel Police Department is to stop Black people compared to white people based on stops per 10,000 residents, according to a survey of California Department of Justice data. Officers stopped people 931 times in 2023. Source: San Francisco Chronicle, via California Department of Justice 13.1 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “They are losing another lot that’s not going to be available to them.” -Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church, voting against a Pajaro housing project approved 3-2 on Sept. 10 that would only be open to seasonal farmworkers, not general residents (see story, montereycountynow.com). Our 65+ Bay Area locations let us peek at a lot more boos. In-person or virtual visits at Pediatrics – Monterey genpeds.stanfordchildrens.org
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