SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREYCOUNTYNOW.COM LOCAL & INDEPENDENT MAKE YOUR OWN CLASS 8 | END OF AN INSTITUTE 17 | CUP COMES AROUND 32 | GO CAMBODIAN 38 FIRST PLACE GENERAL EXCELLENCE • 2025 CA JOURNALISM AWARDS • JOBY IS SCALING UP ITS MARINA FACILITY AND HITTING MILESTONES WITH ITS FUTURE AIR TAXIS. WILL IT BE COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL? p. 20 By Erik Chalhoub SUPER FLY
2 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com All year long! PROGRAMS FOR ALL AGES THE CITY OF MONTEREY Scan QR code for more info + registration MONTEREY.GOV/REC (831) 646-3866 play! MONTEREY • Preschool Programs • Youth Sports Leagues & Camps • School Break & Summer Camps • Gymnastics & Dance • Art Classes • Adult Sports Leagues • Adult & Senior Programs And much more! FUNDED BY A GRANT FROM sortwithheart.org Put food scraps in your green cart
NOW HIRING AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM LEADERS Whether you are looking for a role that is part-time and purposeful or you’re passionate about helping kids learn and grow, this is the perfect fit. Various School Sites Openings at: • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School of the Arts • Monte Vista TK-8 • Ord Terrace Elementary WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: Inspire and Mentor: Be a positive role model and guide for students. Fun and Engaging: Lead games, activities and enrichment programs. Serve Your Community: Make an impact right here at home. Competitive Pay: $23 - $27/hour to mentor and engage with kids. Great Hours: Work only 12:30-6 p.m. $23-$27/HOUR Competitive pay range APPLY NOW BE THE DIFFERENCE OUR STUDENTS NEED the.mpusd.net/programleadermcw 831-645-1283 www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 3
4 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 • ISSUE #1936 • ESTABLISHED IN 1988 Jay Edelman (Canon EOS R; 6-second exposure; ISO 100; f/29; 400mm lens) A long camera exposure captures the carnival scene at the Monterey County Fair, which wrapped up its five-day run on Monday, Sept. 1. MONTEREY COUNTY PHOTO OF THE WEEK Send Etc. submissions to etcphoto@montereycountynow.com; please include caption and camera info. On the cover: A Joby aircraft takes flight at the Marina Municipal Airport. The Santa Cruz-based company is manufacturing electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) at its facilities in Marina, and hopes to launch commercial service in 2026. Cover image: Daniel Dreifuss etc. Copyright © 2025 by Milestone Communications Inc. 668 Williams Ave., Seaside, California 93955 (telephone 831-394-5656). All rights reserved. Monterey County Weekly, the Best of Monterey County and the Best of Monterey Bay are registered trademarks. No person, without prior permission from the publisher, may take more than one copy of each issue. Additional copies and back issues may be purchased for $1, plus postage. Mailed subscriptions: $300 yearly, prepaid. The Weekly is an adjudicated newspaper of Monterey County, court decree M21137. The Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Visit our website at http://www.montereycountynow. com. Audited by CVC. FOUNDER & CEO Bradley Zeve bradley@montereycountynow.com (x103) PUBLISHER Erik Cushman erik@montereycountynow.com (x125) EDITORIAL EDITOR Sara Rubin sara@montereycountynow.com (x120) ASSOCIATE EDITOR Erik Chalhoub ec@montereycountynow.com (x135) FEATURES EDITOR Dave Faries dfaries@montereycountynow.com (x110) STAFF WRITER Celia Jiménez celia@montereycountynow.com (x145) STAFF WRITER Pam Marino pam@montereycountynow.com (x106) STAFF WRITER Agata Pope¸da (x138) aga@montereycountynow.com STAFF WRITER Katie Rodriguez (California Local News Fellow) katie@montereycountynow.com (x102) STAFF WRITER David Schmalz david@montereycountynow.com (x104) STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Daniel Dreifuss daniel@montereycountynow.com (x140) DIGITAL PRODUCER Sloan Campi sloan@montereycountynow.com (x105) CONTRIBUTORS Nik Blaskovich, Rob Brezsny, Robert Daniels, Tonia Eaton, Paul Fried, Jesse Herwitz, Jacqueline Weixel, Paul Wilner CARTOONS Rob Rogers, Tom Tomorrow PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR/PRODUCTION MANAGER Karen Loutzenheiser karen@montereycountynow.com (x108) GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kevin Jewell kevinj@montereycountynow.com (x114) GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alexis Estrada alexis@montereycountynow.com (x114) GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lani Headley lani@montereycountynow.com (x114) SALES SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Diane Glim diane@montereycountynow.com (x124) SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE George Kassal george@montereycountynow.com (x122) SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Keith Bruecker keith@montereycountynow.com (x118) CLASSIFIEDS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Keely Richter keely@montereycountynow.com (x123) DIGITAL DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA Kevin Smith kevin@montereycountynow.com (x119) DISTRIBUTION DISTRIBUTION AT Arts Co. atartsco@gmail.com DISTRIBUTION CONTROL Harry Neal BUSINESS/FRONT OFFICE OFFICE MANAGER Linda Maceira linda@montereycountynow.com (x101) BOOKKEEPING Rochelle Trawick 668 Williams Ave., Seaside, CA 93955 831-394-5656, (FAX) 831-394-2909 www.montereycountynow.com We’d love to hear from you. Send us your tips at tipline.montereycountynow.com. Subscribe to the newsletter @ montereycountynow.com/subscribe Go to montereycountynow.com We Deliver… NEWS • ARTS • ENTERTAINMENT FOOD • DRINK • CALENDAR Local news everyday
www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 5 We’re proud to be ranked among the top-performing banks in the nation by American Banker, Newsweek, S&P Global and the Independent Community Bankers of America. Now that’s strength you can bank on when you put your money where your life is. 300 Bonifacio Place | Monterey 480 S. Main Street | Salinas 831.457.5000 | wccb.com Local Strength. National Recognition. From the Central Coast to Silicon Valley, businesses trust West Coast Community Bank because we deliver. Oscar Avalos VP Relationship Manager Lillian Mulvey AVP Loan Portfolio Manager Clay Larson Client Relations Manager Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender
6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH Atlanta is now the largest metro area in the United States without a printed daily newspaper. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Publisher Andrew Morse announced Aug. 28 that the newspaper, which was founded in 1868, will go fully digital at the end of the year. “The fact is, many more people engage with our digital platforms and products today than with our print edition, and that shift is only accelerating,” Morse wrote in a letter. Of the paper’s 115,000 subscribers, 75,000 are online-only. In 2021, company executives said the print edition remained profitable, according to the Associated Press, while Morse paused a plan to stop printing when he joined the company in 2023. But a little more than two years later, he reversed course. At its last count, the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University found 1,033 daily newspapers in the U.S. in 2024, a decrease by 439 since 2005. Smaller newspapers still cover the Atlanta area. Good: Drug treatment for teens is not readily available locally, so nonprofit Community Human Services is filling the gap by offering a new outpatient program for people ages 13-17. The program offers a comprehensive approach to recovery, including group and individual counseling, recreational therapy and family education and support. The goal is to foster healthier communication and to help teens receive long-term recovery for themselves and their families, according to a press release. “Substance use deeply affects young people, and families struggle to find them appropriate resources. This program will give them a safe place to heal, build resilience and create a brighter future for themselves,” said Marta Sullivan, senior program officer for CHS’ Substance Abuse Services. The program is accepting Medi-Cal and is sliding scale for private pay clients. A grand opening takes place from 4:306pm Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 2511 Garden Road, Suite A165, Monterey. GREAT: There was much to celebrate at the 55-unit Hope Housing open house celebration on Aug. 28 in Marina. Since launching a year ago, the transitional housing community has served more than 140 formerly unhoused people, some with children, being treated for serious mental illness or substance use disorder. Seven households are now in permanent housing. The former Pueblo Del Mar sober living community was transformed through a $11.3 million state grant awarded to Monterey County Behavioral Health in 2023. The money was used to rehabilitate the townhomes and a community center, which serves as a place for treatment, case management, group meetings and activities. The center operates in collaboration between Behavioral Health, Housing Authority of the County of Monterey, Sun Street Centers and others. “It’s like having a family for anything we need,” said Brad, a resident who gave his testimony, joined by his partner Andrea and their 7-week-old son. GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY The number of cases of Valley fever reported in Monterey County so far in 2025, up from 144 in 2024 and 47 in 2023. The disease, caused by breathing in a fungus present in the soil in some agricultural regions, is on the rise in California, with the largest percentage jump in Monterey County—it was up 264 percent between 2023 to 2024. Source: California Department of Public Health 348 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Everywhere she went, I went.” -Bea Kun, co-owner of Conga Go! in Seaside with her sister Thea, on how she and her sibling have worked together over the years (see story, page 38). Voted Monterey County’s Best Antique Shop ’24 ♦ 3 Card Poker ♠ Century 21st No Bust Black Jack ♣ Texas Hold’em ♥ FULL BAR! BLACKJACK BONUS POINTS PAYS UP TO $20,000 SMALL TOWN BIG PAYOUTS! 1-800-Gambler • GEAR-000383, GEAR-000376, GEAR-000375 The Marina Club Casino ensures the safety and security of all guests and team members at all times, while providing exceptional service. 204 Carmel Ave. Marina 831-384-0925 casinomonterey.com ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ Just minutes from Downtown Monterey Where Monterey Comes To Play
www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 7 FUEL CYCLING | MONTEREY BEST BOUTIQUE FITNESS STUDIO 2022 + 2024 2 WEEK ALL ACCESS PASS $69 With our 2 week all access pass, you receive unlimited cycling and strength classes. No commitment - just a chance to see if you love it (spoiler: you will). Fuel Cycling is a women owned and operated independent indoor cycling and strength training studio with an inclusive community of members who want no frills and a workout that kills. Purchase via our website or app. @fuel_cycling || www.fuelcyclingmonterey.com New to us? Start here to redeem a complimentary cycling credit. Prioritize doing something fulfilling. Become a CASA volunteer
8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com 831 From arts and fitness to cooking and phlebotomy, Monterey Peninsula College has a diverse 40-class lineup for its continuing education program this fall. Anyone can submit a proposal for a class and teach it themselves, leading to some varied options in the schedule. The best part? It doesn’t require a teaching degree, and any skill could be turned into a class. “The program is designed to provide community members with learning opportunities,” says Alexis Bollin, MPC’s director of continuing and professional education. For proposals, applicants need to describe the topic they want to teach, how they will teach it and if it will be in person or online (along with a résumé). Then, a committee of college faculty, staff and administration evaluates them and makes recommendations to the board for approval. Continuing education has a “holistic approach” so most class suggestions come from current instructors or community members. Others are through partnerships with local organizations such as Loaves, Fishes and Computers to offer computer literacy classes for seniors or bring Lego camps for kids to the Marina campus. Instructors are of all ages and levels of experience. Khadijah El-Ayoubi, 24, who teaches crochet, is a former MPC student who is studying at CSU Monterey Bay. El-Ayoubi started crocheting after learning from YouTube videos during the pandemic. Her hobby marked her future in different ways. She switched her career path from biology to marketing, and now has a crocheting business called By the Bay Crochet. She has taught crochet at MPC since 2023. El-Ayoubi says having the idea of creating something perfect could hinder learning, so she encourages her students to keep going. “There’s nothing perfect about how we handmake things,” El-Ayoubi says. Amy Ferguson is an experienced culinary instructor who teaches at MPC’s culinary program and Monterey Adult School, as well as holding private classes. She’s teaching several classes where people will learn how to make sourdough bread, bagels and more. Ferguson says these classes are a fun way to meet new people, learn a new skill and get a glimpse of what MPC has to offer. “I try to make my continuing ed classes something that is incredibly hands-on, and people can go home and do right away,” Ferguson says. One of the classes in August was about teaching her students the secrets of sourdough. “It’s popular here in Monterey; people spend 10 or 12 bucks for a big sourdough [loaf]. How cool is it that now they can make their own for $2, right?” Ferguson says. For the first time, continuing education will offer knitting in its rotation, a class that has been sought after by many community members (classes will be held at the Oldemeyer Center in Seaside). “We were really pleased to see that we had an instructor in the area who was interested in teaching,” Bollin says. Joan Yu has been knitting consistently for more than 25 years. Her mother taught her when she was 10, noting she didn’t want her children in front of the TV empty-handed. “We were all taught how to embroider, needlepoint and knit, and we all took up different crafts,” Yu says. Yu began teaching her first class in late August at MPC. Her interest sparked after reading a newsletter from MPC. As she learned about teaching classes at continuing education, she was inspired to fill out her class proposals. Bollin later contacted her and told her she had been waiting for a knitting teacher to show up, Yu recalls. “It was just really good timing,” she adds. Bollin says that some classes they would like to offer in the future include those on financial planning and artificial intelligence. “We have an aging workforce in the area who need to gain skills so that they can remain employed or gain employment,” Bollin says. Class proposals are accepted yearround, and instructors can submit a class to be included in the 2026 spring catalog as late as October. To learn more about continuing education classes at MPC, visit mpc.edu/academics/continuing-professional-education/index.html. Got Skills Anyone can teach a class in Monterey Peninsula College’s continuing education program—only passion is required. By Celia Jiménez “I try to make my classes incredibly hands-on.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Monterey Peninsula College instructor Amy Ferguson helps student Stephen Gutierrez learn how to make sourdough during a community class at the college. Many of the college’s continuing education classes have been designed by the public. SAVE THE DATE Friday, September 12 • Annual Leadership Luncheon presented by California Resources Corporation Portola Hotel & Spa Thursday, October 16 • Monterey Bay Business Expo presented by Rayne Technology Solutions Del Monte Shopping Center SAVE THE DATE UPCOMING EVENTS See the full schedule of events and register today at montereychamber.com REGISTER TODAY!
www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 9 465 Russell Way, Marina 6 beds, 4 baths • $1,698,000 • www.465Russell.com 10 Wyndemere Vale, Monterey 3 beds, 2 baths • $1,295,000 • www.10WyndemereVale.com 11 Skyline Crest, Monterey 3 beds, 2 baths • $1,249,000 • www.11SkylineCrest.com 1360 Josselyn Canyon Road #40, Monterey 3 beds, 2.5 bath • $925,000 • www.1360JosselynCanyon40.com Interested in a property? Contact us to schedule a showing! 831.624.2300 MontereyCoastRealty.com CalDRE #01871677 Locally Owned. Globally Connected. View all available listings by scanning the code PREVENTION•EDUCATION TREATMENT•RECOVERY NARCAN (NALOXONE) CAN SAVE LIVES! NARCAN AND FENTANYL TEST STRIPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR FREE AT OUR DIFFERENT OFFICE LOCATIONS. WWW.SUNSTREETCENTERS.ORG Insured by NCUA 1The dividend rate and Annual Percentage Yield (APY) accurate as of 08/01/2025. The dividend rate and APY may change at any time. 4.40% APY, 8-month Term Savings Certificate must be opened by phone or in-branch with new money. New money is defined as funds not on deposit at Golden 1 in the 30 days prior to the certificate account opening. There is no minimum balance required to earn the stated APY. The minimum opening deposit for this 8-month certificate is $500. The APY is based on an assumption that dividends will remain in the account until maturity. Any fee, withdrawal or transfer reduces earnings and there may be penalties for early withdrawal. Call 1-877-465-3361 for current rates. We reserve the right to change or discontinue this program at any time. Rates and term are subject to change without notice. 0825-MTW 4.40% APY1 for 8 months Visit a branch, call 1-877-465-3361 or scan to learn more Limited time offer Earn more with a Term Savings Certificate
10 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS Sixteen years ago, Taylor Farms began installing rooftop solar panels at its largest facilities. Back then, they saw an opportunity to showcase a commitment to sustainability, but also to cut energy costs and reduce reliance on the grid. Now, at the company’s production facility in San Juan Bautista, they’ve built their first parking structure solar project with the aim of being fully energy independent. While many farms offset energy costs using solar, Wyatt Maysey, director of sustainability with Taylor Fresh Foods, says it’s rare for specialty crop operations to build full microgrids. Taylor Farms has entered Phase 2 of the project, planning to “cut the cord” with a year-long test to see if they can efficiently manage the facility’s energy needs in real time. “Rooftop [solar] is becoming more challenging because of installation processes, insurance, or how your roof warranty is managed,” Maysey says. “Parking structures turned out to be a pretty great installation concept, and employees like it, especially in hot weather.” The parking structure functions as a raised canopy supporting 4,500 panels and generating 1.3 megawatts of power. In order to support the baseline amount of power needed for operations that run 24/7—like refrigeration and extrusion—the solar panels are used in conjunction with roughly 200 fuel cells generating 6 megawatts of power, and 1,300 ground-mounted solar panels which generate 0.6 megawatts of power. “The major play here was primarily energy resiliency and understanding the long term,” Maysey says. “How do we plan for the next 20 years when we know energy prices are escalating and the grid becomes less reliable?” Goodbye, Grid Taylor Farms is close to making its San Juan Bautista facility energy independent. By Katie Rodriguez The entire Monterey Peninsula was drenched in sunshine on Friday, Aug. 29, a postcard perfect-day as thousands of tourists arrived for the Labor Day weekend. It was the kind of quintessential California coastal day that will play well to people in snowy or steamy weather—the very people See Monterey, the county’s convention and visitor’s bureau, are pinning their hopes on to make up for international travelers staying away this past year. Carmel was already buzzing with visitors that day, when over 350 hospitality professionals, elected officials and others gathered for See Monterey’s annual meeting at the Sunset Cultural Center. Janine Chicourrat, chair of the See Monterey board and manager of the Portola Hotel in Monterey, pointed to “big challenges” ahead for the industry. Recently back from a national hospitality conference, she said one takeaway was that “the decisions being made on a federal level are hurting us drastically.” Uncertainty caused by tariffs and the doubling of the price of visas for international travelers was keeping people from visiting the U.S., she said. Before President Donald Trump took office, predictions were for continued growth in tourism, as the industry continues to recover post-pandemic. In February, predictions of 8-percent growth in 2025 flipped to a 16-percent decline nationally, according to See Monterey’s 2025-2026 business plan. California is expecting a 9.2-percent drop in international visits and flat visitor spending in the coming year. CEO Rob O’Keefe presented a future plan focused on increasing group package bookings, as well as conferences, which are already increasing. For leisure travelers, See Monterey is looking eastward. “We’ve got to continue to develop new markets and find those travelers, many of whom, some of them at least, may never even have heard of us before,” he said. Those new markets include Austin and Chicago—progress is being made in bringing airline service to Chicago from Monterey Regional Airport, where a new terminal is currently under construction. See Monterey also introduced a new initiative, “Encuentra Tu Monterey,” the Spanish version of the bureau’s English tagline, “Find your way here,” citing the importance of courting the growing market of Latino travelers, including from Mexico. Bringing in new travelers is key, especially with 1,000 new hotel rooms to fill in the next decade. The Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn with 215 rooms is expected to open in Sand City by January. The 99-room Kimpton Mirador Hotel in Pacific Grove is targeted to open by December. Also coming is the 330room Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seaside, yet to start construction. The one bright spot of 2025 so far was Car Week, with over $130 million in estimated visitor spending and around 85 percent hotel occupancy over the 10-day period, with some nights up to 95 percent, Lindsey Stevens, vice president of marketing, reported in a county news briefing on Aug. 27. Although occupancy was around 85 percent last year, revenues were up by 5 percent. They estimate Car Week visitors at over 100,000. “With revenue up and occupancy flat, we see that people understand that’s a premium time to be in Monterey County,” Stevens said. See Monterey is marketing to potential visitors in Austin and Chicago to entice them to visit Monterey County and its popular locations, including Carmel Beach (above). Eastward Ho Monterey County’s visitor’s bureau pins its hopes on new travelers amid lagging numbers. By Pam Marino The solar panels at Taylor Farms’ production facility in San Juan Bautista, one of 33 production facilities the Salinas-based company operates across North America. “We’ve got to continue to develop new markets.” PARKER SEIBOLD DANIEL DREIFUSS
www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 11 “I brought my Subaru to Hartzel on advice of a friend and I was so pleased with the service & attention I got from them. Not only finished on time, but under the estimate I was given. Very rare these days. So pleased with the whole experience & great peace of mind knowing it was done correctly. Highly recommend this guy.” —David F., Seaside 2/14/19 510 California Avenue | Sand City | 394.6002 hartzelautomotive.com EXPERT SERVICE WHEN YOU NEED IT. Subaru Mazda Lexus Infiniti Saab vintage MG SCHEDULE YOUR NEXT SERVICE ONLINE TODAY Landscape • Hardscape • Irrigation 831-624-4991 insideout1design@outlook.com f InsideOut Landscape Design CA LIC# 960809 w Landscape Design From An Interior Perspective Eliza DeCiantis believes that your landscape should be an extension of your interior space. Having received her Master Gardener’s Certification over 28 years ago, Eliza combines her 22 year career in television set design with her life-long passion for gardening to create beautiful custom landscape. Eliza is conscientious of our water management issues while creating a drought tolerant, deer resistant environment custom to your personal taste and budget. With a keen sense of attention to detail, Eliza will spruce up your existing landscape for a special event or create a new landscape to enjoy for years to come. InsideOut Landscape Design, Inc. can increase the value of your home, while enhancing the natural potential and beauty of your exterior space for your home or business.
12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com With five loud and definitive “ayes,” the Gonzales City Council unanimously approved the 3,498-unit Vista Lucia project on Tuesday, Sept. 2, before a packed council chamber. During the meeting a number of residents shared their excitement for a housing development that’s been a dream of the community for 24 years. “This has been a labor of love for all of us because we know how hard it is for people right now not to have a home, and we want people to have a home,” Councilmember Lorraine Worthy said before the vote to approve the master plan for a community that is slated to be developed over a 30-year period on 771 acres of agricultural land. The project includes 995 traditional single-family homes, 1,239 smaller lot single-family homes, 504 apartments and townhomes in medium-high density zones, 104 mixed-use units in commercial zones and 620 apartments in high-density areas. Nonprofit developer CHISPA has been selected by the developer Pembrook Development Group to build 211 low-income units. Pembrook donated eight acres for an elementary school and the plan includes 79 acres of parks, playing fields, trails, plazas and community gardens. It also includes a “pedestrian promenade system” of walkways, as well as bikeways, to connect neighborhoods and commercial areas. LandWatch Deputy Director Laura Davis urged the council to adopt a higher-density alternative laid out in the environmental impact report, arguing it would provide more affordable housing by design for working families. “Given that only a tiny percentage of Gonzales residents could afford the large-lot units projected to cost $650,000, increasing the number of denser, lower priced units would increase the actual purchase opportunities for the vast majority of Gonzales’ residents and workers,” she said. Residents and councilmembers rejected that idea. “The premise that outsiders believe that Gonzales should maintain its socioeconomic footprint is crap,” Councilmember Scott Funk said. “Why shouldn’t our local community have opportunities for growth?” The council approved the EIR, an amendment to the city’s general plan and a tentative map, as well as ordinances approving pre-zoning and a development agreement with Pembrook. The city still must pursue an annexation request with the Local Agency Formation Commission of Monterey County (LAFCO) before the project can move forward. Since the opening of Greenfield High School in 1999, residents have expressed their desire for a unified school district. An effort to achieve this failed in 2018 after the Monterey County Committee on School District Organization rejected the idea, citing financial challenges. Sandra Jo Galvan, superintendent of the Greenfield Union School District at the time (now at Salinas Unified), told Greenfield News that the district could revisit unification efforts as early as 2020. Now, a second effort toward unification is underway. Greenfield has two school districts within its boundaries, GUSD and the South Monterey County Joint Union School District. Greenfield High is part of the latter, but the district’s offices are located in King City. GUSD is spearheading the current unification drive. If the consolidation proceeds, it could leave SMCJUSD with a single school, King City High School. To address this, the current plan aims to merge three school districts into two, resulting in a K-12 district for both Greenfield and King City. MCOE officials have approached the three school districts and presented the reunification proposal to the boards of GUSD and SMCJUSD, with a meeting scheduled with the King City Union Elementary School District on Sept. 15. “Two unifications would save taxpayer dollars,” says Deneen Guss, superintendent of MCOE. “Parents in both communities would have a K-12 school system, and you’d not have three different boards and three different superintendents, you’d just have two.” The State Board of Education was set to hear the proposal in November 2024. That meeting was moved to July of this year, only to be postponed once again. A new date has not been finalized. If the plan moves forward, MCOE’s superintendent would call for a unification election 35 days after receiving the approval from the State Board of Education. Big Build Gonzales City Council votes 5-0 to approve long-delayed 3,500-home development. By Pam Marino NEWS WHARF WORKS The City of Monterey seeks input on how the public uses Municipal Wharf 2, whether it’s for recreation or work. The survey is part of a federal grant application to receive funding for wharf repairs and upgrades. Survey ends Friday, Sept. 5. surveymonkey.com/r/BKNSZMX. BE PREPARED Learn how to prepare for a disaster in a workshop presented by the Carmel Police Department, Carmel Community Emergency Response Team and Carmel Public Library. The event offers guidance on building a disaster kit and first aid skills. 10-11am Saturday, Sept. 6. Sunset Center, Carpenter Hall, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. Free. 620-2020, ci.carmel. ca.us/carmel-prepares. HEALTHY ZONE Monterey County is the first county in California to be certified as a Blue Zones Community. Celebrate with events throughout the week. 5:30pm Monday, Sept. 8, zumba at Salinas Regional Soccer Complex, 1440 Constitution Blvd., Salinas. 5pm Monday, Sept. 8, cleanup at Del Monte Beach, Monterey. 9am Tuesday, Sept. 9, walking group at Village Green Park, 98 S. El Camino Real, Greenfield. 10am Tuesday, Sept. 9, walking group at Fort Ord Dunes State Park, Marina. 11am Wednesday, Sept. 10, senior walk at Central Park, 207 Fifth St., Gonzales. Free. montereycounty.bluezonesproject.com. FINANCE FOCUS Learn the basics of financial planning in a workshop hosted by Ken Cranstone of Three Sheep Wealth Management. The event is presented by the County of Monterey and Monterey County Business Council. Noon Tuesday, Sept. 9. The Pearl Works, 288 Pearl St., Monterey. Free. mcbc.biz/events. PUBLIC FACING Salinas City Council meets and accepts public comment. Items on the agenda include responding to a petition for a referendum seeking to overturn council’s reversal on four renter protection ordinances. 4pm Tuesday, Sept. 9. Salinas Rotunda, 200 Lincoln Ave., Salinas. Free. 7587381, cityofsalinas.org. HOME BUILD Hear speakers from LandWatch and the Highway 68 Conservation Consortium present on pros and cons of a housing proposal on seven acres off Olmsted Road at Tarpy Flats in Monterey. 11:30am doors, 12:30pm program Wednesday, Sept. 10. Unitarian Universalist Church, 490 Aguajito Road, Carmel. $25/lunch; free/program. 236-1611, lwvmryco.org. Three Into Two South Monterey County school districts reexplore consolidation effort that failed in 2018. By Celia Jiménez A plan to control traffic includes further development of Fanoe Road to the west to connect with Highway 101, eventually being renamed to Vista Lucia Parkway. E-MAIL: toolbox@montereycountynow.com TOOLBOX “Why shouldn’t our local community have growth?” CITY OF GONZALES
www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 13 A brand-new experience awaits at Monterey Pines Golf Club! Monterey.NavyLifeSW.com/golf Monterey Pines Golf Club is located at 1250 Garden Rd., Monterey. For more information regarding private party bookings, call (831) 656-1957 or email mwrcatering@nps.edu Come experience the Commander’s Lounge Simulator Room at Monterey Pines! We are open to the general public & are now booking for individual tee times and private parties! Scan the QR Code to reserve your simulator tee time! DO YOU WANT TO GO INSIDE PRISON AND LEARN WITH THE INCARCERATED? Members from the public engage in weekly discussions with inmates, sharing life stories related to empathy-building topics. Anyone over 18 is welcome to join! Come by the Transformative Justice Center! 439 Tyler Street, Monterey Offered Mondays from 4pm-6pm over 8-week cycles at CTF Soledad Prison - a voluntary commitment is required. Contact Program Director – Megan McDrew for more information and to sign up. Space is very limited! mmcdrew@transformativejusticecenter.org TransformativeJusticeCenter.org
14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Quite unexpectedly, the Monterey County chapter of nonprofit Guitars Not Guns has been disbanded. In mid-August, the $26,000 in its bank account was drained by the nonprofit’s national leadership. The same fate also befell three other chapters. Steve Vagnini, who founded the local chapter in 2009 and was the national board president for six-and-ahalf years before resigning in February, still doesn’t understand why things went down the way they did, but he knows how they went down. The nonprofit was founded by Ray and Louise Nelson 25 years ago, with Ray being the musician and visionary, Vagnini says, and Louise the administrator. Ray died in January 2024, and toward the end of last year, Vagnini says there were some internal board squabbles he wanted no part of—disagreements about sharing swag from a conference he didn’t attend, among others—so he resigned to focus on the local chapter. Donna Hammond, a board member who’d been managing the website and doing annual census reports of chapter activity and enrollment, became board president. On June 3, Vagnini says, Hammond sent an email to all eight chapter directors informing them of a new branding policy, but more importantly, a 20-percent retroactive assessment of all donations made in 2025. The local chapter had received $45,000 through Monterey County Gives! and already spent it on 250 electric guitars and amps to distribute to kids. In the email, Hammond wrote there would be a June 25 board meeting, and requested all the chapters’ questions and feedback beforehand. Then on June 23, that board meeting was canceled. Hammond sent another email June 29 answering many of the questions, but in Vagnini’s mind, not the most important one: How much money was in the national account? (In 2021, the most recent year publicly available, the organization reported $49,226 in total assets to the IRS.) Hammond also included an attachment each chapter was to sign by July 10, agreeing to the retroactive fee. Vagnini—along with chapter directors in Marin, San Benito and Contra Costa counties—didn’t sign it, and on July 17, were issued a cease-and-desist order. Hammond and Guitars Not Guns national representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment, but an “important update” was posted on its website “regarding the closure of four chapters whose leadership refused to contribute to administrative costs critical to fulfilling Guitars Not Guns’ mission.” Regarding concerns the four chapters had about time to discuss the new policy, it states, “we provided ample opportunity for dialogue and feedback…However, nothing we did was enough for these four chapters. At bottom, they wanted a free ride…” Vagnini doesn’t want to disparage the national organization—he loves the mission. He says he’s already started the paperwork to create a new nonprofit to fill its void locally, under a new name, “Guitars United/Guitarras Unidas of Monterey County.” Broken Strings Nonprofit Guitars Not Guns disbands four regional chapters, including Monterey County’s. By David Schmalz Upward Bound at CSUMB includes Guitars Not Guns (above). While a local chapter relaunches, instructors will continue because “they feel the importance of what they’re doing,” Steve Vagnini says. NEWS He’s already started the paperwork to create a new nonprofit. DANIEL DREIFUSS
www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 15 By the end of June 2027, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey will be no more, and its last resident graduate students will have completed their programs. Middlebury President Ian Baucom announced the news on Thursday, Aug. 28 following an afternoon meeting with MIIS faculty and staff at the Irvine Auditorium on campus, where dozens filed out the doors just after 3pm, with most quietly walking off down the sidewalk. In his statement, Baucom—who also issued a video address—begins, “I write today with difficult news.” He then outlines the brass tacks of what the Middlebury board decided on Aug. 27, at Baucom’s recommendation: Residential graduate degree programs at MIIS will be concluded by June 2027, along with online graduate programs in International Education and TESOL. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, which is based in Monterey but doesn’t offer degrees, will remain, while Baucom stated that Middlebury’s summer programs currently offered in Monterey— School of the Environment, Bread Loaf School of English’s short program, and the English Language School—will remain at least through 2026. Baucom emphasizes that “this was a financial decision and not a reflection on the quality of our programs or our outstanding Monterey colleagues, whose work is far reaching and significant…Ultimately,” he wrote, “the decision to discontinue enrollment and end MIIS’s programs and operations over the next two years was the only financially viable option.” Middlebury announced a $14.1 million budget deficit in April, $8.7 million of that coming from MIIS. Middlebury Campus, a student-run newspaper, published a story Aug. 28 following the announcement, and noted that, according to a motion made by faculty in May which called for MIIS to close down within three years, “past losses and current deficits combine to more than $25 million per year lost to the College’s operating budget.” The Institute was founded in 1955 and focused on international and language studies; it moved to its current location, in a collection of 19 buildings in downtown Monterey, in 1961. MIIS merged with Middlebury in 2010. The City of Monterey issued a statement following Baucom’s announcement, calling it a “sad day for Monterey.” City Manager Hans Uslar added, “We find some comfort in knowing that Middlebury’s world-renowned James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies…will continue to operate here.” The City’s statement added that MIIS students who were hired into Monterey’s internship program “have been some of the best in the City’s history.” What exactly happens with all the Institute’s real estate in Monterey is a question being tabled for now. Baucom’s announcement states Middlebury leadership will “pause consideration of any repurposing, lease, or sale of [MIIS] property until the completion of programs in June 2027.” MIIS Out The struggling Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey to shut down by June 2027. By David Schmalz Faculty and staff from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies just after learning on Thursday, Aug. 28 from the Middlebury College president that MIIS will be closing. NEWS “It was the only financially viable option.” DAVID SCHMALZ
16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com END OF AN ERA I walk through the open campus every day, breathing the air of a center of knowledge forging tomorrow’s world leaders on global issues such as international development, nonproliferation and environmental policy. It’s truly a shame that the Middlebury Institute for International Studies will be closing when the world needs leaders like these more than ever (“Master’s programs at MIIS will be phased out by June 2027, sealing the institution’s fate,” posted Aug. 28). Closing MIIS will impact Monterey as well as people in faraway lands who don’t even know of MIIS and Monterey’s existence. Hacene Bouzar | Monterey As someone lucky enough to have team-taught a graduate course at the Middlebury Institute on sustainable approaches to military base planning and reuse, I am saddened by this news. I found the students to be talented and motivated, the faculty and staff helpful. Steve Endsley | Aptos This is going to be a HUGE LOSS to Monterey! Jeannene Heinrich | Royal Oaks FUNDING PLAN South County and other rural areas should be priority! (“County approves a process for deciding how to spend money from Measure AA,” Aug. 28-Sept. 3.) Cheli Flores | Salinas One-hundred percent of North County is unincorporated, and gets the least development and infrastructure improvement. Rick Diaz Jr. | Castroville HISTORY REPEATS Thank you for your disturbing, thoughtful, powerful and important article (“Just as local Japanese American history is having a moment, its most important chapter comes into focus,” Aug. 21-27). I’ve been teaching history for over 50 years with the goal of not merely informing students but to help them learn to be critical thinkers and effective writers. Your work in journalism reinforces my faith in the importance of learning history. Steve Henrikson | Carmel Valley Glad to see you writing about the escalating fascism so openly. Keep it up. Harvey Pressman | Monterey Thank you so much for this story. I can recall that I was many decades old before I heard that any such event had occurred in U.S. history. Visiting a camp in Southern California and reading Epitaph for a Peach made it all the more real for me. Thank you for this and so much that Monterey County Weekly provides the community. You are our best source for truth and accuracy. Barbara Cole | Salinas Another contribution made by Japanese Americans to Monterey came after the U.S. Army’s Japanese language school (the future DLI) opened at the Presidio of Monterey in 1946. During the war, the school trained Japanese linguists. Founded in California, the school was expelled from it in 1942 when an executive order forced those of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. In the post-war period, however, the Army needed Japanese linguists for occupation duty and so moved the school closer to Japan. In Monterey, many instructors became community pillars. During WWII, their students’ contributions sped the defeat of Japan. The record is silent on what the Monterey Bay Council on Japanese Relations might have made of this. It’s silent because their efforts failed. One needn’t be Steinbeck or a poet to know that one’s race does not equal one’s loyalty. Cameron Binkley | Marina COMMUNITY CULTURE Wonderful sharing of Magnus Torén’s connection and insight into Henry Miller (“One exhibit focuses not on a visual artist but a novelist, presenting Henry Miller’s world,” Aug. 28-Sept. 3). I have been here long enough to have met Emil White, when he was running the Library out of his home. Magnus has turned his care of the Miller Library into an art form. Bravo! Kate Novoa | Big Sur WATER WAY The California Public Utility Commission’s decision on water supply and demand was not a win for Cal Am (“The CPUC approves current water supply and future demand, clearing the way for desal plant,” posted Aug. 14). The small deficit of only 2,618 acre-feet needed by 2050 calls into question the need for desalination at all. Why pay for a half-billion-dollar desal plant to supply 5,376 ace-feet now when you need half that much water 25 years from now? Cal Am does not have permission from the CPUC or the Coastal Commission to build its desal project. So why are they claiming they will break ground on this boondoggle by the end of the year? Melodie Chrislock | Monterey Note: Chrislock is managing director of Public Water Now. TRUE STORY Thanks to Susan Meister for her timely article about the recent surge of disinformation, which by the way has affected not only the internet, but every level of news programming (“The internet has become a toxic source of scientific disinformation,” Aug. 21-27). I’ve watched with horror this new era of disinformation develop right before our eyes, and now, with those who sow the most disinformation of all actually in positions of power, it makes me wonder if we are going to be able to find our way back to a time when we can know who’s information we can trust. Those in power are now rewriting history and doing everything possible to close down avenues for dissemination of opposing viewpoints (as in defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting), leaving us with fewer and fewer options for getting unbiased, trustworthy news. These are scary times indeed. Derek Dean | Monterey FIELD WORK Daniel Dreifuss’ photo of farm laborers looks like a Warren Chang painting of the same. Bravo! (“Here’s to recognizing all the hard work that makes the world go round,” posted Sept. 1.) Sally Ryen | Pacific Grove 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.
www.montereycountynow.com SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 The college and university system is sometimes derisively described as an Ivory Tower, a place where elitists gather to come up with esoteric ideas from on high, disassociated from the real world. Certainly there are examples of this, although I’d argue that it’s worthwhile for everyone to learn how to write clearly or critically read a poem, just as much as to learn financial literacy or how to change a tire. But my take aside, MIIS has never been that kind of institution. It’s been a graduate school where people—many of them dreamers with grand goals like world peace, sure—come to earn graduate degrees in practical fields like translation and interpretation, counterterrorism and cybersecurity. Many of them come from abroad (currently 44 countries); many of them go far afield in pursuit of grandiose goals, but many stay in Monterey County. I don’t know how I could begin to measure the impact of MIIS in Monterey County—it’s the kind of study that a local agency might contract MIIS faculty and students to produce. All I know is that it’s significant, in tangible and intangible ways. So the news, delivered in person on campus by Middlebury College President Ian Baucom on Thursday, Aug. 28, that the board voted the day before to close the institution, is a blow to Monterey. Of course it is crushing personally to the 63 staff and 61 faculty members (a total of 125) whose careers are disrupted. (A later meeting with HR officials informed staff that 15 of them will be out of work on Jan. 1, and others will be phased out after that.) For our community, it means the end of Monterey as a draw for world-class thinkers in their fields. Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson says it’s too soon to know what the economic impact to downtown will be, “but I’m sure it will create some level of discomfort for some of the businesses.” But that’s all looking ahead. Looking back, I have heard from current and former MIIS employees that the institution never quite got on the right track after a fork in the road 20 years ago. What was originally the Monterey Institute of International Studies kept its acronym but became the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in 2015, a decade after the Vermont college first made moves to take over MIIS. “The cultures clashed,” a longtime former staffer tells me. “MIIS was always small and nimble and scrappy. Midd is a large 3,000-student campus in rural Vermont; MIIS is a 700-student graduate school in semi-urban coastal California.” Some felt like it was never a fit. Not to mention that giving over decision-making authority to a board based 3,000 miles away, with no skin in the local game, makes it easy to account for what is best for Middlebury College’s bottom line, not for the local community. (For more on Baucom’s thinking, read a news story by David Schmalz on p. 15.) Middlebury officials plan to close down degree programs by June 2027, so currently enrolled students can graduate. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, which Baucom described as “self-sustaining,” will remain. It’s too soon to know exactly what the real fate of all of MIIS’ programs will be; some may find other institutions to claim them. There is a need. The Switzerland-based International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) issued a statement saying, “For decades, MIIS was the quintessential conference interpreting training in the United States, and in recent years, it had also become the last comprehensive conference program. This is part of a larger program affecting conference interpreting globally, but with its own national undertones. “With this decision, there will be no conference interpreter training in the entire U.S.…given the gravity of the situation, we urge the MIIS president and board of trustees to reassess.” The forces that the AIIC alludes to—the national undertones in the MAGA era—make it harder for international faculty and students to come to MIIS at present. But they are exactly the forces that places like MIIS exist to counteract—scholars trained in not just fighting against an enemy, but understanding an enemy across the planet. It’s the kind of institution of learning we need more of, not less of, in times like these. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com or follow her at @sarahayleyrubin.bsky.social. Institutional Memory Middlebury announces the end of MIIS, a devastating blow to Monterey. By Sara Rubin PARTY ON…Squid’s attended many drag-themed events over the years, and has always found them to be welcoming. Despite the naysayers, drag is a form of art that can be entertaining for all ages. Unfortunately, those in power have a history of making uneducated decisions based on hearsay or their own personal biases. That seemed to be the case in the fledgling City of Marina, when early city leaders, looking to regulate adult businesses, lumped drag performers in a section of its municipal code that includes descriptions of “human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.” It essentially banned drag shows in the city without a permit. At the end of Pride Month, Councilmember Brian McCarthy requested the city remove the words “male and female impersonators” from the code’s definition of “adult cabaret”—“The policy is outdated, discriminatory, unnecessary and unfairly targets a form of artistic gender expression that is protected by the First Amendment,” he said. The Planning Commission recommended the change, and the council is expected to sign off on Sept. 16. Squid is glad to see the city slowly getting with the times. Squid can’t wait to party with the queens in Marina, whether turgid or gelatinous—all such creatures are welcome in the sea. PAPERED OVER…Squid always enjoys sea snail mail, partly because it’s slow. Send a letter to Flapjack the Octopus, and it might take a couple of weeks to arrive. So Squid was stunned when the mailbox started filling up immediately after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills, collectively called the Election Rigging Response Act, on Aug. 21. Opponents were ready to go with mailers paid for by PACs Right Path California and Hold Politicians Accountable. The former featured what looks to Squid like an AI-generated illustration of a left hand (ha) drawing blue lines on California’s map, next to a broken red pencil. The implication is that Democrats are to blame for this gerrymandering mess, but it all started with President Donald Trump telling Texas lawmakers to gerrymander their state to secure a Republican majority in Congress. California’s rebuttal is a special election that goes to voters on Nov. 4, with a chance to approve a map that would all but ensure a Democratic majority neutralizing the Texas plan. Another opposition mailer quotes the president of the League of Women Voters of California—implying the organization is part of the opposition, while in fact it is neutral on Prop. 50. “Election integrity begins with an informed electorate,” the League’s Monterey County chapter president Tama Olver wrote in response. That’s true not just when it comes to the ballot itself, but all the glossy snail mail. THE LOCAL SPIN SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “We urge the MIIS board of trustees to reassess.” SEND SQUID A TIP: squid@montereycountynow.com
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