14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 23-29, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com DEEP BREATHS We need answers, not nonsense! Our health and environment were compromised (“As lithium ion batteries at Moss Landing Power Plant burn, road closures and evacuation orders remain in effect,” posted Jan. 17). Alejandra Raya | via social media Let me get this straight. There’s been a massive lithium battery fire pouring columns of toxic smoke into the sky for over 24 hours, it’s still actively burning, and our government has determined that we have nothing to be concerned about as it pertains to our health and safety? (“Evacuation order lifted in Moss Landing, but Highway 1 closure remains as fire continues to burn,” posted Jan. 17.) I’d love to know how they reached that conclusion and what their confidence level is. Clayton Philip | via social media Time for them to kick rocks and move out of our marine sanctuary. Fool me once, twice, three times you’re out. Come on, Monterey County supervisors and staff, time to evict. This habitat is too precious to risk something this stupid or worse. Loren Morse | via social media Thank you for reporting this data! (“Officials say air quality from Vistra fire is safe,” posted Jan. 18.) I am not confident in a Vistra contractor who has a vested interest in showing the air is clean. Is there a place we can get the EPA data? Better yet a third-party contractor? Tom Lubowe | via social media Note: The County of Monterey is posting raw data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air monitors online at readymontereycounty.org/emergency/2025-moss-landing-vistra-powerplant-fire. WORK FORCE This country would starve if it wasn’t for the hard work of the immigrant community (“County rolls out resources for immigrants, and prepares a welcoming resolution,” Jan. 9-15). The status quo is a situation where only stupid people/suckers follow the law. When laws are unjust or unenforced it breeds disrespect for the government. There needs to be a legal path for immigrants to live and work here. Tyler Everett | via social media ART’S SAKE I think it’s a great idea and would bring a really cool vibe to that area (“Marina explores turning derelict former Fort Ord building into an arts village,” Jan. 16-22). The cost to renovate seems considerably cheaper than building something new that has no history or character. The city could allow various artsy types to participate in the renovation/restoration project to really make it an art hub for the people by the people. Part of the six acres could be used for a sculptural exhibit with native plants and paths to enjoy. Tiffinie Painter Meyer | via social media Great idea! Gretchen Allinson Walker | via social media I’ve been calling out Marina for not having a theater or stage venue, for performances or live music, in town for over 15 years. If all the world’s a stage, let’s build one! Kelly Brandenburg Pelton | via social media Finally they are looking into this but doing it…will they? That would be nice. Great building. Kat Deering | via social media GLASS HALF FULL When I bought my first home in Carmel Valley, a little 900-square-foot A-frame, there was a diverse mix of small businesses prospering in the Village (“A small business in Carmel Valley contends with rigorous regulations and one neighbor,” posted Jan. 18). From clothing and home goods to business supplies and a garden shop, I could find anything I needed. I knew most of the shop owners and their employees by name. Many were my neighbors. I also could walk my dog across the road in the Village without worrying about becoming roadkill. During the time I lived there (moved away in 2014), wineries had begun pushing out mom and pop shops at a furious rate. Today, the Village is over-saturated with wine tasting rooms. And as drivers return to their quaint hotels after throwing back a flight of local wine, Carmel Valley Road has become a game of Frogger. Gone is the diversity of shops which makes it difficult for businesses like Carmel Valley Creamery to survive without adding alcohol sales to their ledger. The consumer of goods has shifted to the Rosé-all-day crowd. One lone voice blocking a liquor license may seem inequitable to the writer. But I have to ask, where’s the equity in the wine industry destroying the texture of a charming little village where business diversity once thrived? Karen Strickland | Carmel Valley HOME BUILD Doesn’t sound like the state cares about Monterey NIMBY-ism (“Builder’s remedy proposals stack up as the county strives to complete a housing plan,” Jan. 16-22). Cliff Pilcher | via social media LISTEN IN You brought back so many great memories for me like seeing Joan Baez (for free!) at Cal Berkeley when I was a student from 1963-66 during the Free Speech Movement, like listening to Bob Dylan sing “Like a Rolling Stone” in its first radio performance of the complete version, not the reduced two-and-a-half-minute standard of the time (“Finding beauty in the world, with some help from Bob Dylan,” posted Jan. 13). I too can’t wait to see the movie. Joyce Newell | Monterey CUDDLE UP Good to see this news (“Monterey County organizations take in shelter animals from Los Angeles as fires rage,” posted Jan. 16). Mary Jane Ulrich | via social media CORRECTION The photograph for a story about the potential creation of an arts village in Marina featured a different building than the building under consideration (“Marina explores turning derelict former Fort Ord building into an arts village,” Jan. 16-22). The building pictured is another former Fort Ord building nearby. LETTERS • COMMENTSOPINION Submit letters to the editor to letters@montereycountynow.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.
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