www.montereycountynow.com JULY 3-9, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 One of the first things the government of the United States of America did, back in 1791, was to ratify the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment laid out a vision for a public and a government that could freely disagree: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Two-hundred-thirty-four years later, as this Fourth of July approaches, people are still embodying these principles, which are as important as ever because they are under threat. In June, President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to quell protests in Los Angeles, and that action prompted more protesters, by the thousands, to come out to oppose the federal government’s actions. This is patriotism in action— not only recognizing but exercising our First Amendment right. Like any muscle, it gets stronger with repetition. The good news is that local organizers are also flexing their First Amendment muscles. On June 14, thousands of people protested locally under the banner of No Kings (a message that’s as patriotic as it gets). It was an unprecedented turnout for protests in recent memory. Among the protesters in Monterey I spoke with that day was Page McDonald of Carmel, who’d been to protests before, but that day—with a gathering just hours after a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were assassinated—felt different, she said. “Everything feels much more dire,” she told me. Whatever your politics and whether or not you agree, there is something energizing about seeing a throng of people crowd both sides of a street, spanning a half-a-mile, to make themselves heard—this is America, where people can do that. That alone is something to celebrate this Independence Day. But some protesters I spoke to were also left wondering: What next? Showing up on the street with a sign is one thing. But who’s reading that sign, and do they care? The president, it seems, surely does not. I was particularly curious about a sign that urged people to call U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, and listed his office phone number. I asked Rosmarie Heinz of Carmel Valley what she wanted Panetta to hear. “I know he’s been verbal but I wish he put more emotion into it,” she told me. I asked what she thought people should say to Panetta if they take her up on her suggestion to call—her answer is, really anything. She’s pushing for reengagement with democratic governance as much as a specific issue. She’s taken lately to calling higher-ups, specifically House Speaker Mike Johnson, thinking it’s time to “go to the top.” “I called once and told him he has no backbone,” Heinz says. Next up, she’ll be calling Johnson to let him know what she thinks of the One Big, Beautiful Bill (in short: not beautiful at all). As Heinz was describing her strategy to me as we stood on the sidewalk, a man approached, seemingly ready to engage her, but instead just launched into a litany of grievances about Panetta and the federal government in general. “That guy, Panetta, he really ignored the disaster in Moss Landing,” he said. “The people are being gaslit. Same with vaccines. People have Stockholm Syndrome…Kamala Harris wasn’t voted for. [Panetta] is not my representative.” Before Heinz had a moment to respond, he walked away, lecture complete. It seemed to encapsulate perfectly the split-screen reality in America—one in which everything is a conspiracy, another in which the old-fashioned democratic process of direct engagement still works. Perhaps even more elemental, it seems the old-fashioned art of conversation barely works these days in a divided America. So I was intrigued when debriefing with Salinas activist and teacher Heidi Towne about No Kings. Her call to action is talking to regular people in regular places, like neighbors at the store—hers is less a message for people in power than just people. “I want people to be informed and not be scared,” she says. “I am concerned about the apathy out there.” The remedy for apathy is engagement. And that means keeping our First Amendment muscles in shape. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com. Happy Birthday, America Even in divided times, we have a lot to celebrate. By Sara Rubin OFF COURSE…Cephalopods have a keen sense of direction, in case you didn’t know, thanks to a combination of superb vision, specialized organs that control balance and orientation, and highly sensitive hair cells. Humans, on the other hand, sometimes struggle to that end, as evidenced by the latest marketing effort from See Monterey called “How 2 Highway 1.” The initiative was announced June 11, a way to let travelers know that Big Sur—despite being bisected by the Regent’s Slide since February 2024 and not expected to open until after summer—is open for business. The “How 2 Highway 1” webpage includes info on how to get around the road closure, plus itineraries for Carmel Valley Road or Highway 101 as part of the adventure, highlighting points of interest like Carmel Village, Monterey Wine Trail, National Steinbeck Center and Pinnacles National Park. A little farther down is the headline, “Highway 1 in Gilroy.” Huh? Highway 1 hugs the coast, and passes through Santa Cruz about 30 miles west of Gilroy. Turns out See Monterey is stretching the definition of Highway 1—in collaboration with other tourism bureaus to the north—by creating a route that loops over to Highway 101 and rejoining with Highway 1 in San Francisco. Seems like a highway bridge too far—why not just rope in Yosemite too?—but maybe Squid doesn’t know how 2 do marketing. SURF! BREAKING…Unlike Squid, who has the work ethic of a house cat, Squid’s colleagues roam the county seven days a week. Saturday, June 28, aside from covering the Pride parade in downtown Monterey, that included the groundbreaking for Monterey-Salinas Transit’s SURF! busway project, a six-mile, bus-only road that will pave over the old Monterey Branch line from Marina to Sand City at a some $100 million price tag. The project was initially rejected wholesale by the staff of the California Coastal Commission when the plan was to build the busway adjacent to the tracks—not over them—but after State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, called a closed-door meeting with Coastal Commission and MST staff, the plan changed and the Coastal Commission later approved it. Laird also attended the groundbreaking, and other dignitaries sung his praises when making their remarks, including U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, but he couldn’t make it in person— he was stuck in D.C. as the GOP’s disastrous budget bill was being tweaked. So instead, Panetta spoke in a pre-recorded video, Capitol Hill behind him, which played from a TV setup brought by MST—there was even a shade structure to cover it. “This really is what it takes to get something done at a local level,” Panetta said. So, backroom deals, just like in D.C.? Wheee! THE LOCAL SPIN SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “I want people to be informed and not be scared.” SEND SQUID A TIP: squid@montereycountynow.com
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