16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 8-14, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com UPWARD WITH THE ARTS Art is the answer! (“Nonprofit Palenke Arts is on a path to building a 25,000-square-foot arts center in Seaside,” May 1-7.) Wonderful! Carolyn Swanson | Pacific Grove Love this! Makes such a difference for so many people. Lina Vital | via social media HOME TEAM Sara Rubin’s statement suggesting that public opposition in Pacific Grove unjustly stopped Homekey in 2022 misrepresents what truly happened (“Where leaders are willing to say yes, there are solutions to homelessness,” May 1-7). The project lacked the critical infrastructure and support systems necessary for success—systems that are essential when working with individuals experiencing homelessness due to addiction, mental illness, loss of job or increased rent, illness. Homeless solutions require more than a roof. They demand a coordinated, compassionate system involving accountability, case management, health services, transitional housing and workforce development. Pacific Grove wisely avoided disaster by not rushing into a project that lacked these fundamentals. We should be learning from models that work—like the structured programs run by Community Homeless Solutions and others who addressed problems in Chinatown with a full-service, rehabilitative approach. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work. Cities like Austin, Texas, and Aurora, Colorado, are now shifting toward navigation campuses operated in partnership with nonprofits—something we should consider if we want sustainable solutions, not just Band-Aids. Christie Italiano-Thomas | Pacific Grove Note: Homekey projects are required to offer supportive services. SCREEN TIME Maybe its time has come and gone (“Lighthouse Cinema in Pacific Grove is up for sale,” posted April 30). Let’s refocus efforts instead to reopen Osio. Johnny Pomatto | via social media Make it another live music venue! Christina Russo | via social media I see another eyesore in the future to match the one across the street… Joey Silveira | via social media DOWN IN THE DUMPS South County has a bigger problem with illegal dumping (“Think twice before dumping trash on the side of the road—the County of Monterey is watching,” posted April 30). Along Jolon Road and side roads we find not only trash, but boats, RVs and a lot of dogs and cats. County Supervisor Chris Lopez is quick to act on getting boats and RVs picked up, but I think the problem is that Waste Management is expensive! We pay $256 every three months for oncea-week pickup. Many people can’t afford this. [WM and Salinas Valley Recycles] had a free pickup of large items like appliances last weekend, and that was great! Once a month would be better. You are right, people are just too lazy to take their trash to the dump or their animals to the rescue. Your article might deter some, but most who dump illegally probably don’t read the news and don’t know they can go to the dump with mattresses. Patricia Ashe-Woodfil | Lockwood HEALTHY HOME Thank you for covering this (“Salinas led the region by implementing rent stabilization. Let’s give it a chance to work,” April 24-30). We need to keep the community aware and up to date, because it is so important. Housing is essential for healthy families. Rafael Chavez | Salinas POWER TO THE PEOPLE After reading Pam Marino’s article, I revisited the events of Jan. 20. I was left thinking: Doesn’t this arrangement mirror Putin’s deal with Russian oligarchs? (“Alarmed over the actions of President Trump and corporate support, people are using how they spend their money in protest,” April 24-30.) Inauguration Day shined a spotlight on the corrupt intentions of Trump and some American oligarchs. The people of the world who had experienced authoritarian rule watched with concern for the American people. The oil and tech billionaires looked on with smiles. The far right propagandists were in a festive mood. The crowd in the Capitol rotunda was not a gathering of the people. Instead, the guests reeked of wealth and white privilege. The scene was reminiscent of the North Korean elite bowing down to the “dear leader.” Thankfully, there are lots of people in Monterey County joining the fight to save American democracy. Nazario Martinez | Prunedale DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH Watching Robert Rivas wax poetic about “relationship building” while Sacramento crumbles under his watch would be laughable if it weren’t so costly (“Can a field trip to Sacramento help local leaders get more done?” April 17-23). As someone who ran against Rivas in 2018 I’m not surprised he now presides over the Assembly as the living embodiment of government waste. Just look at the Capitol Annex project: Under his so-called leadership, taxpayers are being forced to foot a $1.1 billion (and rising) bill for a legislative palace complete with private escape corridors shielding lawmakers from the very public they supposedly serve. This annex is a monument—not to California’s future, but to its political decay: a shiny mausoleum of arrogance, secrecy and fiscal abuse. Rivas wants you to believe he’s “bridging gaps,” but the only bridges he’s building are for insiders trying to dodge accountability—at your expense. Bill Lipe | Salinas How brilliant is the comment from Soledad City Councilmember Fernando Cabrera: “How does nature produce a diamond? Compression— we are in a compression time. Right now we are under a lot of pressure, but how many diamonds can we bring out of that?” Every important social change takes years and years; we are annealed in that process and learn to be activists for the long term. It is hard yet, it is the only way. Thank you for this column, and thank you Councilmember Cabrera. Kent Glazer | Monterey 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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