12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 9-15, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Along the south side of the dunes in Sand City, on a property that has been under development for decades, there are ideal flying conditions for paragliding instructor and owner of Raven Wolf Sky Sports, Cynthia “Cyn” Currie. “Because of the Salinas Valley behind us, the wind turns on every day at about noon and so Monterey is a place where people travel from all over the world to come and fly here,” Currie says. “It’s a very consistent and beautiful place to fly.” Currie moved to Monterey in 2012 as a skydiving instructor and paraglider. In 2016, she opened her own school, which offers tandem paragliding, among other experiences such as parakiting. The areas where Currie can operate in Monterey County are limited, as Marina State Beach is a regulated site, where only more advanced pilots are allowed to paraglide and must follow strict rules to protect the environment. Another rule bans anyone from accepting compensation for tandem paragliding instruction. Because of this, Currie has been launching with permission for the past decade from a property owned by developer Ed Ghandour, who has long had plans to develop an eco-resort on the site. While that project was mired by legal and regulatory obstacles over the years, it allowed Currie and others to paraglide there. Now, it is back under development. (Ghandour did not respond to a request for comment by the Weekly’s deadline.) “It seems like he is building again and he has asked us not to fly,” Currie says. “I am not able to take people tandem or teach them to fly anymore.” Sand City City Manager Vibeke Norgaard says the development is fully entitled by the city and the California Coastal Commission, but she does not yet know when construction will begin. Currie says the cease-and-desist letter from her landlord came as a shock, but she understands that business is business. She says she is in talks to potentially purchase a portion of the property not under development. But the sale would take time, and to continue operating her business, she has to travel elsewhere, likely to Chile. She says she would like to return to Monterey County but isn’t sure when or where. “I am going to have to figure out a new path,” she says of her business, “and so I am.” The economic five-year forecast presented to the Carmel City Council on March 24 was grim. Rising costs are outpacing projected revenues and there’s a $100 million deferred maintenance budget conundrum to solve. The city will effectively run out of money in its general fund in three years. It was time, said City Administrator Brandon Swanson, for the Council to begin pulling different economic levers to bring in new revenue. On Monday, April 6, the council heard a full array of levers they might decide to pull, including asking voters to agree to an increase in sales tax, issuing bonds, paid parking, a real estate transfer tax, forming a special district for infrastructure maintenance, even becoming a charter city to garner more control over revenue measures. Councilmembers leaned toward placing a possible sales tax increase on the November ballot. In February, a Council majority signaled a desire to put a transient-occupancy tax (TOT) measure on the November ballot as well, potentially raising the tax levied on hotel guests’ bills from 10 percent to 12 percent. Concerns were raised that voters might hesitate with two tax measures, but nevertheless, on Tuesday, April 7, the council voted 4-1 to continue the process toward putting the TOT measure on the ballot, with Mayor Dale Byrne voting no. The Carmel Innkeepers Association made a hard push against the proposed ballot measure, arguing that raising the tax would potentially decrease overall revenue and discourage hoteliers from renovating aging hotels. Councilmember Bob Delves said he understood their arguments, but he was still in favor of raising TOT, because of deferred maintenance and other financial pressures. “Our product hasn’t kept up with your product and we need to improve our product,” Delves said. Wording for both a sales tax measure and a TOT measure is expected to come back to the council in May. Blow Away Paragliding instructor loses access to Sand City eco-resort property. By Aric Sleeper NEWS GET SCHOOLED North Monterey County Unified School District Board of Trustees meets and accepts public comment. 6pm Thursday, April 9. North Monterey County High School library, 13990 Castroville Blvd., Castroville. Free. (831) 633-3343, nmcusd.org. WOMAN POWER Women leaders convene at the Unlock Your Power Women’s Summit. The event includes speakers, workshops and networking under the theme “Overcomer Energy.” 9:30am-4:30pm Saturday, April 11. Monterey Church, 401 Alvarado St., Monterey. $55. unlockyourpower831. com. COASTAL ACCESS The California Coastal Commission meets in Gonzales for a three-day public hearing. The commission examines land use and environmental policies across the coastal zone throughout the state of California. 9am Wednesday-Friday, April 15-17. Dennis and Janice Caprara Community Center, 620 Fifth St., Gonzales. Free. (831) 427-4863, coastal.ca.gov. TAX TIME Learn how Measure G tax dollars are used in the City of Salinas. A community meeting focuses on the 2014 voter-approved tax. 6-7pm Wednesday, April 15. Community Center, Santa Lucia Room, 940 N. Main St., Salinas. Free. (831) 758-7381, salinas.gov/measureg. THIS IS THE WAY Seaside City Council meets to discuss modifying various one-way streets, among other city business. Public comment is accepted. 5pm Thursday, April 16. City Council Chambers, 440 Harcourt Ave., Seaside. Free. (831) 899-6700, ci.seaside.ca.us. HOUSING PLAN The City of Seaside released its Annual Action Plan for the Community Development Block Grant Program, which outlines how federal funds will be used to develop low- and moderate-income housing. Public comment is accepted. Review period runs through Thursday, April 30. (831) 899-6726, ci.seaside. ca.us/CDBG. ELECTION SEASON The nomination period to qualify as a write-in candidate for the June election is underway. Candidates must meet the requirements of the office and file nomination forms. Nomination period runs through Tuesday, May 19. Monterey County Elections Office, 1441 Schilling Place, North Building, Salinas. Free. (831) 796-1499, countyofmonterey.gov/ elections. Up Sell Facing future budget deficits, the Carmel City Council considers tax increases on the ballot. By Pam Marino Spring, the windy season, traditionally draws paragliders to the dunes in Sand City. After a decade of teaching seasonally, a paragliding school was evicted. E-MAIL: publiccitizen@montereycountynow.com PUBLIC CITIZEN “It’s a very consistent and beautiful place to fly.” DANIEL DREIFUSS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==