14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 15-21, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Turning the Page A new year’s resolution to read—and to think about what those books reveal about a giving community. By Luz Rimban FORUM This year, I added to my list of New Year’s goals and resolutions: to read the stack of free books that I received as a Christmas gift from Old Capitol Books in Monterey. Old Capitol had announced it would be open on Christmas Day and that customers could help themselves to its impressive collection of new and pre-loved books as well as cookies and hot chocolate. Customers were encouraged to bring blankets, jackets and tents “for our unhoused neighbors to weather the storm.” The bookstore’s call was an invitation to spend that rainy afternoon inside its cramped but cozy space, where readers could lose track of time browsing the shelves. I went home with some of my favorite authors tucked under my arm. I am usually a hoarder of half-finished books, but this year, I am committing to completing them from cover to cover to honor Old Capitol’s generosity. It would also be my symbolic way of paying respects to locals I encountered spreading the giving spirit in 2025. Local libraries, bookstores and farms have shared not just material things but, more importantly perhaps, their time, space and talents. Our family has listened in on story times at Pacific Grove Public Library, Seaside and Marina branches of Monterey County Free Libraries, Earthbound Farm and Olivia & Daisy Books in Carmel Valley, The Farm in Salinas and the Army Community Service in Seaside. The librarian-storytellers should be lauded for their selection of books to read, boxes of toys at hand, and song-and-dance routines meant to keep their pint-sized audiences enthralled. For harried parents and caregivers, even a 30-minute storytelling session is a respite. At Marina library’s Dads Read program, we even took home a bag of vegetables that the Food Bank for Monterey County was giving away. Beyond material goods, these events connect us to each other. Old Capitol Books held a poetry reading event in April where high school students read their work. It was there that I met a young poet from Salinas who had just received a master of fine arts scholarship to Columbia University. Fast forward to fall 2025 and the government shutdown, and it seemed so natural for the Monterey County community to step up to help those who were reeling from delayed salaries, temporary unemployment and disrupted SNAP benefits. Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula announced free meals for seniors; the Food Bank and All-In Monterey County gave out groceries; local governments gave cash aid to nonprofits. So when I turn the pages of Jumpa Lahiri’s The Lowlands or Haruki Murakami’s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, I will remember the people who opened their doors to receive tired mothers, fathers and grandparents with all types of nourishment, from food to books. And when I get to Noam Chomsky’s What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World, I will remember the people on the ground who cared, even if it felt like others did not. Luz Rimban is a Filipino journalist who recently moved to Monterey County. OPINION I will remember the people on the ground who cared. MONTEREY PENINSULA MANAGEMENT DISTRICT WATER SUPPLY Pure Water Monterey Expansion is now online. Increased underground water storage for drought. TOP FIVE FOR 2025 M P W M D . N E T DOUGLAS STEAKLEY PHOTOGRAPHY TRANSPARENCY National award for fiscal transparency. Ended Water Supply Charge. Sending refunds. COMMUNITY Petitioned State to lift moratorium on new meters. Allocated water to cities for new housing & jobs. ENVIRONMENT Conservation reduced water use to 1958 level. Enhanced wildlife habitat on Carmel River. ADVOCACY Lobbied for lower rates at CPUC and legislature. Recognized for outreach by industry association.
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