www.montereycountynow.com FEBRUARY 12-18, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 15 It is an understatement to say that things can get tense in local politics. Oftentimes that plays out in closeddoor meetings as disagreements (over policies or personalities) are hashed out. Sometimes, it plays out very publicly. There have been a few of those tense moments lately at the Board of Supervisors dais, a place where tension is welcome and expected—the public’s business is of course subject to disagreements. But it is sometimes taking on a personal tone. When the board met on Tuesday, Jan. 27, one item on the day’s agenda was to approve a $100,000 allocation from District 1 County Supervisor Luis Alejo’s discretionary fund as seed money for an Alisal arch, similar to the downtown Salinas arch. As Alejo noted, the idea came from years of planning discussions, culminating in the Alisal Vibrancy Plan which, on page 201, states, “the community has requested an archway entrance on Alisal.” But given the many pressing needs of District 1, many people spoke in fierce opposition, arguing the arch was wasteful or insulting. During the public comment period, one man rose to the microphone for his two minutes. Instead of addressing the arch, he got personal and addressed Alejo: “You’re not even looking at me. How is that a sign of respect? You can at least have the decency, integrity to look someone in the eyes when someone is talking to you.” Applause followed his remarks, prompting Supervisor Wendy Root Askew, chair of the board, to chastise members of the public. “We discuss a lot of issues at this dais,” she said. “We don’t always agree on things but we work really hard to focus on the policy and to disagree respectfully…I do ask that we maintain decorum.” Her plea did not stop somebody in the room from shouting over Alejo just a few minutes later. Alejo responded, “I have been doing this for a while and I know how to take criticism, and I appreciate it. I can take it.” Easier said than done, even though a thick skin would seem to be a bare-minimum requirement to be an elected official. Two weeks later, when the board met on Tuesday, Feb. 10, some members of the public returned to use their two minutes at the microphone to revisit the arch. Root Askew opened the public comment period by saying, “We welcome everyone,” she said. “These chambers belong to the public and the people. We do our best to demonstrate respect.” Of course, members of the public get their time to say whatever they want. The public comment period invites the elected officials at the dais to just listen. Peter Szalai of Salinas spoke about the arch and ended with a directive to Alejo: “Stop embarrassing yourself,” Szalai said. Another speaker, Lorna Moffat, directly addressed the District 2 supervisor, Glenn Church, in her remarks about eucalyptus tree removal in North County. “You, Mr. Church, are leading this witch hunt and creating a terrible, terrible catastrophe,” Moffat said. “We have got to start planting trees and saving them, not cutting them down like you are, so gaily emphasizing that these trees need to go.” How much the elected officials should just take the heat without engaging their critics emerged as its own hot topic. Alejo began to address his haters, but Root Askew, the chair, moved on with the day’s agenda. Each meeting wraps up, sometimes hours later, with an opportunity for each board member to make comments. They often use this time to provide an account of their itinerary—they’ve been to galas and ribbon cuttings, and they advertise upcoming community meetings. On Feb. 10, it included a backand-forth about who should get the last word. Alejo called Root Askew’s process “unfair” and “arbitrary.” He argued he should get time to respond directly to critics in the moment. Root Askew said her motivation was to move efficiently through the agenda and she wanted to honor the public comment period as a no-holdsbarred forum: “This chamber, it belongs to our public—to make it a place where they know they belong, is a priority for me.” In the end, Church got the last word: “I just do want to state for the record that I do love trees. I have probably planted more than anyone in the county, and have done it with gaiety.” Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com. Pass the Mic Who gets the last word becomes a controversy at the Board of Supervisors. By Sara Rubin FILED AWAY…Squid got curious about what might be found in the Epstein files concerning Monterey County—Squid was already aware of Jeffrey Epstein’s 2004 visit during that year’s Monterey TED Talks. The New York Times published a story 10 days before Epstein’s death about a dinner at Monterey restaurant Indian Summer where Epstein met the likes of Jeff Bezos and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. The icky part of the story was that Epstein had a dream to inseminate 20 women at a time at his ranch in New Mexico with his own sperm for a scheme to alter the human gene pool (that idea makes even a cephalopod shudder, despite Squid’s ability to produce millions of progeny). Four years later, Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida charges of solicitation of prostitution of a minor under the age 18. He served 13 months of an 18-month sentence. The billionaires, politicians and others continued to flock to him nonetheless. In looking through the files, now public on the U.S. Department of Justice’s website, Squid found a credit card statement linked to the 2004 visit. It showed Epstein’s rental car, a stay at the Monterey Marriott, meals at a different now-defunct Monterey Indian restaurant and Little Napoli in Carmel. His credit card was used for a $42.88 purchase at Staples in Seaside. (Color copies of his eugenics plan to share with the tech bros?) There was an odd find, like a 2017 Carmel Middle School honor roll certificate (the student’s name is redacted) and a 2012 email communication to an unknown person when Epstein wrote, “best massage in Carmel.” The name “Sophie” kept coming up. It didn’t take Squid long to suss out that Sophie is Sophie Biddle Hakim, a massage therapist and owner of Best You Yet, married to Monterey chiropractor Gilbert Hakim. Squid found emails concerning a loan of $50,000 Epstein gave them to purchase their home in Carmel Valley in 2011. In 2012, Biddle Hakim wrote to Epstein, who was in Long Beach at the time: “Can you please, please come see me,” adding that her house is just 14 minutes from Monterey Regional Airport. In an eerie turn of events, Epstein assistant Lesley Groff contacted Biddle Hakim in 2019 about her husband reviewing an MRI of Epstein’s back. Just a little over four months later, Epstein was arrested on one count of sex trafficking minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. Weeks later, he was found dead inside his cell. Squid was unable to reach Biddle Hakim; Hakim declined to comment. Squid’s colleagues will keep poring over the files for more shrimp-flavored intrigue. Any recommended page numbers are welcome at squid@montereycountynow.com. THE LOCAL SPIN SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “We do our best to demonstrate respect.” SEND SQUID A TIP: squid@montereycountynow.com
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