16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 26-APRIL 1, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com TALKING TOXICS A big thank you to Never Again Moss Landing and EMBER [the Estuary Monitoring of Battery Emissions and Residues group] for standing up for our area and asking for answers (“A patchy picture of contamination from the Vistra battery plant fire emerges,” March 19-25). “The issue here is that it looks like it’s clean, but [the Department of Toxic Substances Control] is only talking about a narrow area, and those of us who were polluted are suffering,” said Ed Mitchell, presenting on behalf of the group Never Again Moss Landing. Sheryl Jones-Davidson | Salinas “They found that these particles were rapidly deposited across the marsh and then washed away by rain and tidal action.” Then where did the heavy metal particles go? Into the ocean to bathe our swimmers and seafood. Tina Walsh | Marina Would the simple use of petrochemicals have produced this contamination, no. The fact all you greenies out there tax the wealthy and buy from China is screwed up. Drill baby drill! Tim Bengard | King City Thank you, Katie Rodriguez, for your concerns and coverage. Think of it, before this Vistra plant even existed, one could see scientists in hazmat suits testing the waters around Moss Landing, possibly for mercury from the previous plant’s pollution. But this fire. This is HUGE and didn’t get the attention nationally it deserved, as it went down the same week as the tragic Los Angeles fires. Don’t believe these initial reports, ever. The EPA will test the surface and ignore testing in depths, where heavy metals sink. It is so awful and a warning to the rest of the country. I love Moss Landing. My heart breaks. Denise Kay | Seaside A LEADER LOST I am shocked to hear of Sergio’s passing (“Longtime Salinas organizer and former city councilmember Sergio Sanchez dies at 59,” posted March 23). I knew him through the labor movement and he was so dedicated. He worked hard, helping those who couldn’t speak for themselves. The labor movement has lost a great advocate. RIP, my brother. Patty Cramer | Coarsegold, Calif. MONEY TALKS Squid’s food chain analogy is spot on, but there’s an update to the story in Congressional District 19 (“Squid Fry: Deep Pockets,” March 19-25). Sean Dougherty recently reregistered as a Democrat after leaving the party when Bernie Sanders was sidelined twice by the DNC and is running on principle over PAC money. He accepts zero corporate or special interest donations. Meanwhile, that $4.6 million Panetta war chest tells its own story. His reintroduction of the ACE Agriculture Act, which funnels $100 million toward Big Biotech, ag tech and large commodity growers mirrors his donor list almost perfectly. The token cost-share crumbs tossed to new organic farmers via H.R. 7318 don’t change that picture much. District 19 deserves a rep whose votes match his constituents, not his contributors. Dougherty offers exactly that. So be the change you want to see and throw some sand dollars Sean’s way. Colleen Ingram | Pacific Grove PAINFUL PAST Take back the labor laws he helped passed then, since you’ll want to be ungrateful and disloyal (“As sexual abuse allegations swirl around Cesar Chavez, Salinas ponders changing the name of some facilities,” posted March 20). Felix Rios | Yuma, Arizona She Did It For Us (a poem) She did it for her people She gave away her children Protected an undeserving man Never thought of her self Only the others Who deserve love and respect Her life was a mission to raise them up As she remained weighted down By terrible secrets and ego possession That keeps this world spinning around Oh Dolores, I hold you love you forgive you like you couldn’t forgive yourself Those you have lifted remain ever grateful For the life you gave for us Susan “SuRay” Raycraft | Lockwood NINE LIVES Prayers for Sassy [the cat] (“After a devastating fire in Monterey, a death and displacement haunt former residents,” March 19-25). Jessica Cooper | via social media I hope you find Sassy soon. Tiffany Lucero | via social media SHINE A LIGHT Timely story (“Public records belong to all of us (as in the public), only if we make sure that they do,” posted March 22). I just did a request from the City of Monterey. I wanted to know the salaries of the Parking Division management. Also asked for 10 years of the enterprise parking fund budget. And you know what? It was a painless process. They responded within the 10-day limit, and I didn’t even need to file a [California Public Records Act request]. Impressive. I live in Old Town, and the neighborhood is pretty worked up about the new residential parking permit program. They want to automate and streamline permits and enforcement, which is fine. But they want to charge for parking permits now (after 30 years of never charging), with the multimillion-dollar parking fund in the black. I am trying to get the City Council to reconsider. James Macfarlane | Monterey SCREEN SHOT Went last night—we have some impressive young filmmakers in our community! (“Watsonville Film Festival, themed ‘Art as Resistance,’ comes to Salinas for two days of documentaries,” March 19-25.) Jacquie Atchison | 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.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==