16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JUNE 4-10, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com HIGHER HOPES I think his intentions to bring back a theater were great but if it doesn’t go as expected, the next option is to think outside of the box and get creative (“Owner of Lighthouse Cinema proposes adding apartments to the top of the theater,” posted May 22). Adding apartments would give the income the theater needs to sustain. He’s doing what most entrepreneurs do, pivoting. Valentina Rosendeau | via social media He’s had some missteps, but I hope most of that is in the past and we can find movies and events there to support. Jeff Rothal | via social media We all smelled something fishy with the promise of restoring our movie theater, which morphed into an event center, karaoke night, etc., but still no real reliable marquee of movies. Now he wants to be a landlord. Isn’t a businessperson supposed to do the math and figure out movies and popcorn wouldn’t pay the bills? Actions speak louder than words and this new plot twist just feels self-serving. Pamela Furman Chrislock | via social media Most people are streaming movies at home. We quit paying ridiculous prices to sit next to strangers who are kicking the back of our seats, and paying crazy prices for popcorn. We watch what we want when we want, and the snacks are way less expensive. I can’t believe anyone would fault him for turning lemons into lemonade. Theaters just aren’t what they were. Shelley Ness-Galgani | via social media CHAIN LINK I lived in the unit in the back upstairs years ago (“The City of Monterey and a property owner reach an agreement to fix derelict apartments,” May 14-20). It was gnarly back then, fleas and roaches. But it was cheap, and I was happy to have the space. We had other friends in the other apartments as well. Had little get-togethers and we all watched each other’s pets. Sad to see it sitting vacant. Benjamin Brandt | via social media TAP DANCE Thanks to Bradley Zeve for his excellent commentary reaffirming that Cal Am serves investors before water ratepayers. Always has (“Cal Am proves yet again it is driven by investor benefit, not public interest,” May 21-27). The Monterey Peninsula, through more a decade of hard work by many actors, least of all Cal Am, met its water supply shortfall, and is now producing 25-percent more water annually than it was using and banking the rest in the Seaside Aquifer to expand its savings account against drought. While true that Cal Am has “spent over $100 million” on the project, in its latest quarterly report, Cal Am says it has spent over $220 million. And it has not adjusted its budget since 2018. What they have done instead is reduce the size of the desal’s initial capacity by 25 percent to 4.8 million gallons/day. Back in 2013, they themselves said that was infeasible due to economies of scale. It’s no surprise Cal Am is arguing that the moratorium on new water hook-ups should remain despite our water surplus. Michael Baer | Pacific Grove This piece claims that Cal Am desalinated water may end up costing as much as $15,442 per acre-foot. This dubious estimate is exceptionally high. Even estimates from the strongest critics don’t come close. It’s also outdated. It’s based on a 2018 Monterey Peninsula Water Management District letter. That letter relied on debatable assumptions about cost baselines. It assumed the desalination plant would operate at 36 percent of capacity. Also, the estimate applied to the original proposed plant, which had 29-percent higher capacity than the plant now planned. The Weekly should consider obtaining fresh data for this and other Monterey County water projects. Kevin Dayton | Monterey Thank you for coverage of Cal Am’s efforts to continue to hold this community hostage for its overpriced, unnecessary desalination project. With additional water from Pure Water Monterey and aquifer storage, along with lower demand and conservation, there has been no taking of excess Carmel River water for four years. Susan Schiavone | Seaside ROAD WAY The project and temporary fixes are long overdue (“Caltrans and TAMC prepare to begin long-awaited Highway 101 safety projects, moving away from left turns across traffic,” May 28-June 3). It’s good to see something is finally being done to make that corridor safer. Robert McGregor | Salinas BAR NONE It went from an awesome hole-inthe-wall with a ton of personality to a grayscale, indistinguishable, corporate bar. Huge bummer (“The Bulldog Sports Pub abruptly closes, leaving many wondering what happened,” May 21-27). Chris James | via social media The nightlife in Monterey has completely died. Eric Abraham | via social media BUS STOP It sucks that they’re cutting the routes to Hartnell even though there are students for summer school (“MontereySalinas Transit service changes to go into effect,” posted May 22). The East Alisal campus has some good classes during the summer. They should have some service that lines up with the class schedule. Marcelo Rizzo | via web INTER FAITH Temple Beth El and Cantor Margaret are the best. We took our Methodist confirmation class there for a Shabbat service once and they were so hospitable (“Guided by its support of diversity, Temple Beth El in Salinas celebrates its 90th anniversary,” May 14-20). Angel Rivero | Sacramento BEYOND THE LETTUCE CURTAIN Bravo and congratulations on your expansion! (“Our new publication, Salinas Valley Now, is filling in a news desert,” May 14-20.) Local news is the backbone of our community and our democracy. You are filling a void that is so important and I applaud you and the team. Thank you for your vision! Denise Adams | Salinas 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.
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