AUGUST 20-26, 2026 MONTEREYCOUNTYNOW.COM LOCAL & INDEPENDENT A FUTURE FOR MIIS 6 | SAND CITY’S WATERFRONT HOTEL 11 | ART FOR THE PLAYA 32 | DANCE PARTY 33 Historic preservationist Kent Seavey’s dedication to making the past feel relevant has transformed Monterey County. p. 16 By Pam Marino PAST TENSE
2 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 20-26, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com AUGUST 20-26, 2026 • ISSUE #1986 • ESTABLISHED IN 1988 Megan Whilden (Google Pixel 9) Performers brought Oaxacan traditions into larger-than-life dances, such as the Afro-Mexican La Danza de los Diablos (shown above), at La Guelaguetza in Salinas on Sunday, Aug. 16. MONTEREY COUNTY PHOTO OF THE WEEK Send Etc. submissions to etcphoto@montereycountynow.com; please include caption and camera info. On the cover: Historic preservationist Kent Seavey, 86, on the porch of his Pacific Grove Victorian home. He describes his life and career as a series of “happy, happy accidents.” Cover photo: Daniel Dreifuss etc. Copyright © 2026 by Milestone Communications Inc. 668 Williams Ave., Seaside, California 93955 (telephone 831-394-5656). All rights reserved. Monterey County Weekly, the Best of Monterey County and the Best of Monterey Bay are registered trademarks. The Weekly is an adjudicated newspaper of Monterey County, court decree M21137. Milestone Communications, Inc. is a California corporation based in Seaside, CA. Shares of the corporation are wholly owned by Bradley Zeve, Founder & CEO, Carmel Valley, CA and Erik Cushman, Publisher, Pacific Grove, CA. The Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Visit our website at http://www.montereycountynow.com. FOUNDER & CEO Bradley Zeve bradley@montereycountynow.com (x103) PUBLISHER Erik Cushman erik@montereycountynow.com (x125) EDITORIAL EDITOR Sara Rubin sara@montereycountynow.com (x120) ASSOCIATE EDITOR Erik Chalhoub ec@montereycountynow.com (x135) FEATURES EDITOR Dave Faries dfaries@montereycountynow.com (x110) SENIOR STAFF WRITER Pam Marino pam@montereycountynow.com (x106) STAFF WRITER Celia Jiménez celia@montereycountynow.com (x145) STAFF WRITER Agata Pope¸da aga@montereycountynow.com (x138) STAFF WRITER Katie Rodriguez katie@montereycountynow.com (x102) STAFF WRITER Aric Sleeper aric@montereycountynow.com (x127) STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Daniel Dreifuss daniel@montereycountynow.com (x140) DIGITAL PRODUCER Sloan Campi sloan@montereycountynow.com (x105) EDITOR/SALINAS VALLEY NOW Joseph Treviño joseph@salinasvalleynow.com STAFF WRITER/SALINAS VALLEY NOW Royvi Hernandez royvi@salinasvalleynow.com (x140) CONTRIBUTORS Nik Blaskovich, Rob Brezsny, Robert Daniels, Tonia Eaton, Jesse Herwitz, Luz Rimban, Jacqueline Weixel, Paul Wilner CARTOONS Rob Rogers, Tom Tomorrow PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR Karen Loutzenheiser karen@montereycountynow.com (x108) GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kevin Jewell kevinj@montereycountynow.com (x114) GRAPHIC DESIGNER Annie Cobb annie@montereycountynow.com (x114) GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lani Headley lani@montereycountynow.com (x114) SALES SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Diane Glim diane@montereycountynow.com (x124) SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE George Kassal george@montereycountynow.com (x122) SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE Keith Bruecker keith@montereycountynow.com (x118) CLASSIFIEDS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Keely Richter keely@montereycountynow.com (x123) DIGITAL DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA Kevin Smith kevin@montereycountynow.com (x119) DISTRIBUTION DISTRIBUTION AT Arts Co. atartsco@gmail.com DISTRIBUTION CONTROL Harry Neal BUSINESS/FRONT OFFICE OFFICE MANAGER Linda Maceira linda@montereycountynow.com (x101) BOOKKEEPING Rochelle Trawick 668 Williams Ave., Seaside, CA 93955 831-394-5656, (FAX) 831-394-2909 www.montereycountynow.com We’d love to hear from you. Send us your tips at tipline.montereycountynow.com. NEWS • ARTS • ENTERTAINMENT • FOOD • DRINK • CALENDAR Subscribe to the newsletter @ montereycountynow.com/subscribe READ MORE NOW ONLINE NEWSLETTER Go to montereycountynow.com LOCAL NEWS EVERYDAY AT MONTEREY COUNTY NOW
www.montereycountynow.com AUGUST 20-26, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 3 Like a lot of you, we were born at Community Hospital. montagehealth.org It was the doctors at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula that brought Montage Health into the world. Our goal was to deliver exceptional care to more people, more effectively, by expanding beyond the hospital and into the community. Today, we’re much more than a hospital. We’re urgent care centers, wellness centers, primary care doctors, health insurance plans, and a groundbreaking mental health program for youth. Community Hospital is still our beating heart and a great place to be born.
4 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 20-26, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH It’s journalism 101: Journalists should never accept payments from sources in order to avoid conflicts of interests, or the appearance of such a conflict. But journalists are humans, and sometimes have a lapse in judgment—with consequences. Forbes’ top editor Randall Lane was fired in July for reportedly accepting $6 million from Shook Research, which publishes wealth adviser rankings in Forbes, according to the New York Times. “I made a mistake, and I take responsibility for it,” Lane, who had worked for Forbes for nearly 16 years, told the Times. “I should have disclosed the gift and failing to was a serious error in judgment. I deeply regret that, and I lost the job and team I love because of it.” It is unknown why RJ Shook, the owner of the firm, paid Lane. “When this undisclosed conflict of interest was brought to our attention, we examined the situation closely and took the appropriate action immediately,” a Forbes spokesperson wrote in an email to the Associated Press. “Forbes remains focused on delivering trusted journalism.” Good: Salinas-born musician Alejandro Gomez—who goes by the stage name Flaco El Jandro—is making moves, literally. Gomez will be back to perform at the West End Celebration in Sand City on Aug. 22 (see p. 22) after a short tour through California. Some of the places he’s been include the Starlet Room at Harlow’s in Sacramento, Kilowatt in San Francisco and Mason Ale Works Tasting Room in San Diego. Thanks to a music partner of his, Chuck Prophet, Gomez has been able to book more shows in places outside Monterey County and he says he wants to tour more. Gomez isn’t stopping there, because after his Sand City performance, he’ll head back up to San Francisco to perform at the Levant Street Block Party on Aug. 23. Later this year he plans to release a new bluegrass and Americana EP titled Are We Still Friends? paying homage to his father’s roots in Texas. GREAT: Housing for CSU Monterey Bay students has been tough to come by, which is why it’s a great week for the campus community with the opening of a brand-new dormitory, Gavilan Hall, the first addition since 2015. The three-story, 47,000-square-foot building was converted from offices into living units in nine months at a cost of $20 million using a California State University revenue bond, to be repaid eventually by University Corporation, which manages CSUMB housing. The new hall can house over 200 students who will share suites with three or four bedrooms and a shared living room. Each bedroom has its own bathroom. A 2,600-square-foot annex houses a study room, TV room, lounge and kitchen. Students were slated to move into the hall beginning Wednesday, Aug. 19, joining more than 4,100 new and returning students who will be moving onto campus by Aug. 20. GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY That’s how much a 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe sold for during Gooding Christie’s auction on Aug. 14 in Pebble Beach, making it the most expensive American car ever sold at an auction. The Aug. 14-15 auction netted more than $159 million in sales. $42,905,000 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I’ve had to run the business with one arm tied behind my back.” -Pop & Hiss owner Michaela Kuenster, who was cited for noise on Aug. 7, noting her permits with the City of Pacific Grove and ABC allow different things (see story, montereycountynow. com/news). Source: Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance MyMCB Mobile Banking Made Simple. Secure. Wherever You Go. Download MyMCB Mobile Today! With MyMCB Mobile, you can: • Check balances and transactions. • Deposit checks with your phone. • Transfer funds quickly. • Pay bills on the go. • Set custom account alerts. • Use secure biometric login. Disclosure: MyMCB Mobile requires Online Banking enrollment and a compatible mobile device. Certain features such as Mobile Check Deposit may be subject to eligibility, daily limits, or processing times. Message and data rates may apply. Some account restrictions may apply. [MCB. 2026.0311 montereycountybank.com PREVENTION•EDUCATION TREATMENT•RECOVERY ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL AND NEED OF COMMUNITY HOURS? JOIN THE STEPS PROGRAM THIS FALL AND RECEIVE COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS OR JOB OPPORTUNITIES. MEETINGS ARE TAKING PLACE IN SALINAS, SEASIDE, & SOUTH MONTEREY COUNTY. WWW.SUNSTREETCENTERS.ORG
www.montereycountynow.com AUGUST 20-26, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 5 831 There is nothing elaborate about the 1970 Chevron B16 Spyder. Frustrated by competing against nimble Porsches, the design team at the British manufacturer shaved as much weight from the chassis and body as possible, until they ended up with a thin wedge of metal over a light frame. “It’s a proper race car,” Mike Sweeney says. “There are no creature comforts in this bad boy.” Sweeney’s company, Pacific Throttle House in Sand City, brought the rare beast to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca during Car Week to participate in the vintage racing events of the Pre-Reunion and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, along with three other historic cars. As he speaks, Sweeney’s father—also Mike—returns from practice laps in a 1997 Porsche 993 RSR. Vintage racing is part of the job. While there are several shops in Monterey County focused on restoring and maintaining classic cars, Pacific Throttle House is devoted solely to those that once competed in anger on race circuits around the world. “All our cars have to have history,” Sweeney explains. “We turn them into period correct.” The shop not only restores vintage race cars, the team also stores vehicles, prepares them for events like the Reunion, performs on-track testing and more. In between race sessions at Laguna Seca, Sweeney rides his scooter around the paddock, checking out other rides or checking in with his motorsports family. “A bunch of us are here in this paddock,” he says, gesturing at the sea of trailers and tents. “All my friends are in racing.” Those who restore and drive vintage racers are a community. And they like to show off their cars. Down one row of trailers, Sweeney chatted with the owner of a Lotus driven by the late Jim Clark, a two-time world champion. He soon found himself piloting the car around Laguna Seca at the invitation of its owner. “Jim Clark and I have shared a car,” Sweeney says with a grin. “How cool is that?” It’s difficult to gauge the vintage racing market. The sales figures are lumped together with classic cars, all told a hobby valued at $69.2 billion a year in the U.S. alone. But according to Historic Sportscar Racing, one of several sanctioning bodies, car counts at vintage racing events have been on the rise. Sweeney opened the shop with his father in 2012 after a career driving in the Grand Am KONI Challenge, which has since become the Michelin Pilot Challenge, that included two wins. He also spent a decade as an instructor for the Skip Barber Racing School. When not at the track or in the shop, Sweeney conducts research. It is fundamental to period restoration— particularly with a car that has history. Enthusiasts may associate the car with a particular year or even a race, so part of his role is to get the livery and trim just right. He is still involved in racing. If Car Week makes for long days at the track, August is a busy month. The weekend before bringing vintage cars to Laguna Seca, Sweeney was at Road America in Wisconsin, spotting for the VasserSullivan race team’s Lexus in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. A few days after packing the vintage cars away, he was on the way to Virginia International Raceway to join up with Vasser-Sullivan again. Sweeney smiles when speaking about racing, so he wears a grin most of the time. His father brought him to Laguna Seca for a race in 1986, and that was enough to launch a journey. “Patience, precision, discipline,” Sweeney says, defining what it takes to drive a race car. “Your job is to see the race track. You’re painting a line.” Vintage racing is no different, he adds. “You can’t go faster than the car.” As he says this, a battered Corvette arrives by hauler at a neighboring trailer. Its driver tells Sweeney and his father that the car lost its brakes heading toward Laguna Seca’s naggingly slow hairpin. Returning his attention to the Chevron, Sweeney points to one addition to the car lacking in creature comforts: a pad affixed to a metal bar that sits between the driver’s legs. Brake hard, and gravity thrusts a driver forward. “You make that mistake once,” Sweeney says. “That’s the inside racing stuff you won’t get from a gentleman.” The Past Lane Mike Sweeney of Pacific Throttle House is immersed in vintage racing, but also stays in the present. By Dave Faries “Patience, precision, discipline. See the race track.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DAVE FARIES Mike Sweeney and his team at Pacific Throttle House brought this 1970 Chevron B16 Spyder to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. “When I tell people what I do, it’s motorsports—driving, testing, spotting, coaching,” Sweeney says. PRESENTED BY Join us for lunch as an impressive panel of federal, state, and local elected officials cover topics such as new projects taking place in their jurisdictions, challenges for the business community, and important issues that have impacts on the future viability of our economy. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 EMBASSY SUITES MONTEREY BAY SEASIDE 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM $85 PER PERSON • INCLUDES LUNCH REGISTER NOW AT MONTEREYCHAMBER.COM EVENT SPONSORS
6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 20-26, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS The acronym will live on under a new owner and a new name at MIIS. The Middlebury Institute for International Studies will become the Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America in a deal announced on Aug. 19 and expected to close in September. Applications for a 2027 incoming class will be accepted starting Oct. 1. “The world-class graduate programs continuing at Monterey are a strong fit with Soka University of America’s mission and educational values,” Ed Feasel, president of Soka, said in a statement. “Bringing these programs into the Soka community strengthens opportunities for students and faculty while preserving the distinctive academic excellence that has made these graduate programs successful.” Soka currently serves 480 undergraduates from more than 40 countries on its Southern California campus. “If Soka was going to build a graduate program, this is what we would want to create,” Feasel told the Weekly in May. “Our mission is to foster global citizens who lead contributive lives.” Officials at Middlebury, based in Vermont, announced in 2025 they would close down most MIIS programs by 2027. (Middlebury will continue to operate the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies on the MIIS campus, as well as a dorm downtown.) Master’s programs slated to be to cut include environmental policy and international policy/development. On the language interpretation front, the list to keep includes only Chinese and Spanish, eliminating Korean, French, Japanese and more. A spokesperson says the deal includes the entire campus; a price has not been disclosed. Higher Ed Soka University to acquire Middlebury Institute, with plans to keep many programs intact. By Sara Rubin There’s a conundrum brewing inside the private enclave of Pebble Beach. As property owners come forward asking for permits to operate vacation rentals, County of Monterey staff are giving approval for those that meet requirements. There’s a caveat: The owners must obtain permission from Pebble Beach Company for rental guests to use PBC’s private roads. The company is refusing based on covenants, conditions and restrictions against commercial use of homes. Owners are operating the short-term rentals anyway. PBC issued a blanket objection to any short-term rentals in 2024, shortly after the County Board of Supervisors passed ordinances regulating the rentals in unincorporated areas like Pebble Beach. “The plain meaning of the CC&R language bans short-term vacation rentals in the Del Monte Forest. Arguments to the contrary are entirely unpersuasive,” Diane Goldman, PBC’s general counsel, wrote to the County. The permitting process in the Coastal Zone was delayed for nearly a year as the County waited for approval by the California Coastal Commission. That approval came in August 2025. In the months following, permit applications began rolling into the County’s Department of Housing and Commercial Development. As neighbors protested, HCD staff declared their complaints had no standing since staff were following county regulations and the CC&Rs are a civil matter. One of the first permit approvals to be appealed was for a home at 4159 Sunset Lane. The appeal went before the Board of Supervisors on July 7. “On our block we’ve had at least five short-term rentals under the previous loosey-goosey kind of situation and many of them have created quite a disruption to the neighborhood,” one Sunset Lane resident said. Supervisor Kate Daniels, who represents District 5, which includes Pebble Beach, asked for a continuance, pointing to a need to understand the intricacies of the CC&Rs and private road issues. “If we don’t, we’re going to have this same appeal play out over and over and over again,” she said. The matter was rescheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 25. More appeals are likely coming for other permits. Multiple letters were sent ahead of a Monterey County Zoning Administrator meeting on Aug. 13, when four applications in Pebble Beach were heard, including an additional home on Sunset Lane. All four were approved by the Zoning Administrator. Meanwhile, 4159 Sunset Lane is operating as a vacation rental, without the private road permission from PBC. It’s advertised on VRBO, with rates at over $1,300 a night in late August. Joseph Sennish, chief financial officer of Carmel Coast Estates, which manages the property, argues that PBC’s CC&Rs do give owners and guests permission to use the private roads. He also contends that under the Coastal Commission Act, the goal is to promote access, which short-term rentals provide. He sees a way forward for PBC to make money in the face of an aging demographic of golfers shrinking the sport. “They have an opportunity here to say, ‘We have a way to make this work for us,’” Sennish says, suggesting the company could charge guests resort fees. “An adversarial relationship is not good for anyone.” “Scenic Solitude” is how this vacation rental on Sunset Lane in Pebble Beach is advertised. Neighbors complain their solitude is disturbed by such properties. Circular Logic Pebble Beach Company and short-term rental applicants head toward an impasse. By Pam Marino MIIS was founded in 1955 as the Monterey Institute of International Studies, then changed names to the Middlebury Institute in 2015 when the Vermont college acquired the grad school. “We’re going to have this same appeal over and over again.” DANIEL DREIFUSS DANIEL DREIFUSS
www.montereycountynow.com AUGUST 20-26, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 7 Protecting Kids. Expanding Access. Strengthening Our Community. According to the recent Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), access to healthcare services is one of our region’s top health concerns. The Salinas Valley Health Mobile Clinic helps address this need by bringing essential health services directly to underserved communities. Our Mobile Clinic helps keep children healthy through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program – a federally funded initiative that provides vaccines at no cost to eligible children. Access to these important vaccines – regardless of a family’s ability to pay – provides children a better chance of getting their recommended vaccinations on schedule and staying healthy. Eligibility • Children 18 years or younger Criteria (must meet one): • Medi-Cal • Uninsured • American Indian or Alaska Native “Some childhood vaccines don’t just protect your children, they can also help keep grandparents, older adults, and family members who are sick from getting very ill. Vaccinating children is one of the best ways to protect the whole family.” – Orlando Rodriguez, MD Family Medicine Specialist & Salinas Valley Health Chief Medical Officer For more information about our mobile clinic services, scan the QR code.
8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 20-26, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Fourteen years move fast when it comes to reaching sustainability in Monterey County’s critically overdrafted aquifers; the 2040 deadline has pushed three project portfolios into the spotlight. Despite concerns about the feasibility, scale and structure of the proposals, the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s board of directors voted 9-2 on Aug. 13 to move forward with one. The selected suite of projects, known as Portfolio 3A, includes the creation of a small Brackish Groundwater Restoration Project (BGRP) with partial delivery to Salinas and partial injection; Salinas River recharge in Castroville and the Eastside subbasins; optimization of the Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project; and 10-percent demand management, or cutbacks in pumping. The portfolio has an estimated capital cost of more than $1 billion, with annual operating expenses of $74 million. “It’s important for us to be completely honest about budget and about some of the concerns moving forward and our ability to pivot if you have to,” Ryan Kelly of Boutonnet Farms, who represents agricultural interests on the board, said at the meeting. While California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act mandates different deadlines for sustainability in individual subbasins, SVBGSA staff view groundwater management as an integrated approach that will involve a strategy spanning all subbasins. The decision moves Portfolio 3A forward as a “preferred implementation pathway,” meaning the projects will remain flexible as staff works to revise a draft response letter to the State Department of Water Resources. The revised letter will be reviewed at a board meeting sometime mid-September before being submitted to DWR. Although Portfolio 3A does not meet the minimum threshold on slowing seawater intrusion, it comes close, according to officials, and is $240 million less expensive than the project that does meet the threshold. The SVBGSA Advisory Committee has emphasized that the portfolio with a large BGRP, seen as the most effective option, is too expensive and too uncertain. While committee members have been unable to agree on a single portfolio of projects, they agree that other projects need further evaluation. “We will continue refining the projects,” SVBGSA General Manager Piret Harmon said. “We need to make progress. We will have trade-offs between what makes more sense, but we also need to keep moving forward.” An employee of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Accounting Division has filed a civil complaint against Rodrigo De La Rosa, an accounting clerk in the Sheriff’s Office and the husband of County Administrative Officer Sonia De La Rosa. According to the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 3 in Monterey County Superior Court, the plaintiff, named as Jane Doe, “was subjected to repeated sexually suggestive comments, intimidation, stalking-type conduct, whispering in close physical proximity, unwanted flirtation, sexually charged remarks, repeated insinuations regarding intimacy and affairs, invasive and threatening behavior.” The complaint details how Doe, who served as a lead on the agency’s accounts payable team, had supervisory responsibility over other employees, including Rodrigo De La Rosa, a senior account clerk in the finance division. “Upon his arrival,” the complaint alleges, “Mr. De La Rosa immediately made clear to plaintiff that he considered himself protected by virtue of his spousal relationship with the County’s Chief Administrative Officer.” Following their introduction in May 2024, “Mr. De La Rosa’s conduct became increasingly personal, sexually suggestive, intimidating and threatening,” according to the complaint, which also alleges that other coworkers expressed concerns to Doe about Rodrigo De La Rosa’s behavior, and described him as “creepy.” According to the lawsuit, in 2024 Doe spoke with several officers about the behavior, including Undersheriff Keith Boyd, who assured Doe that they were “taking this seriously” and that she needed to be patient. The lawsuit claims that, despite the assurances, nothing was done to stop the behavior, and that Doe requested a transfer or reassignment so she would not have to work with De La Rosa. However, that never occurred, and she remains on unpaid leave, according to the complaint. County Counsel declined to comment on the pending litigation. Water Way Salinas Valley groundwater agency advances a plan to stop seawater intrusion. By Katie Rodriguez NEWS GARRISON REVIVAL The County of Monterey is developing a plan to renovate and reuse former Fort Ord buildings. Share your thoughts on the East Garrison Historic Arts District. 6-8pm Thursday, Aug. 20. Regional Fire Station 7 community room, 13630 Sherman Blvd., East Garrison. 6-7:30pm Tuesday, Aug. 25. Virtual at bit.ly/EGArtsDistrictMtg. Free. bit.ly/ EGArtsDistrict. IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS Salinas residents and groups interested in applying for a neighborhood beautification grant are invited to attend an information session, which will go over the guidelines and what projects are eligible. Noon-1pm Tuesday, Aug. 25. Virtual via Zoom. Free. bit.ly/NBG26-27. FOR RENT Learn about local and state rental housing laws at a workshop presented by the City of Salinas Rental Registration and Rent Stabilization Division and ECHO Housing. 6-7:30pm Tuesday, Aug. 25. City Hall rotunda, 200 Lincoln Ave., Salinas. Free. (831) 758-7901, rentalregistration@salinas.gov. HIRING NOW Monterey County Works hosts a job fair to connect local employers in various industries with job seekers. Attendees are encouraged to bring their résumés and dress to impress. 1-4pm Wednesday, Aug. 26. Monterey Adult School, Multi-purpose Room #13, 1295 La Salle Ave., Seaside. Free. (831) 796-3335. Register at montereycountyworks.com. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS The City of Soledad and Regional Network Hub host a know-your-rights presentation and legal clinic. Meet with legal professionals and receive resources on immigration and more. 5:30-7:30pm Wednesday, Aug. 26. Soledad Community Center, 560 Walker Drive, Soledad. Free. (831) 7072308. WHY VOTE? League of Women Voters of Monterey County presents a talk on the importance of voting. The speakers are LULAC Salinas Council President Chris Barrera and politics professor Steve Hughes. 6-8pm Wednesday, Aug. 26. Sacred Heart Church Parish Hall, 22 Stone St., Salinas. Free. (831) 648-8683, LWVmryco@gmail.com. CLEANUP CONTINUES The U.S. Army is reviewing cleanup activities on the former Fort Ord and will compile the results in a report. The public is invited to share thoughts through a survey. Survey ongoing through Sept. 30. Free. (831) 393-1284, fortordcleanup.com. Power Points After reporting alleged harassment, an unnamed County of Monterey staffer sues her employer. By Aric Sleeper Two of 11 SVBGSA board members voted against the project: Soledad Mayor Anna Velazquez and Tom Adcock of Alisal Water Corporation (neither is pictured). E-MAIL: publiccitizen@montereycountynow.com PUBLIC CITIZEN The portfolio has an estimated capital cost of more than $1 billion. KATIE RODRIGUEZ
www.montereycountynow.com AUGUST 20-26, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 9 This a ordable housing developement is a part of the larger KB-Bakewell Campus Town/Pacific Landing at Seaside Development MAYOR PRO TEM DAVID R. PACHECO COUNCIL MEMBER RITA BURKS COUNCIL MEMBER ALEXIS GARCIA-ARROZOLA COUNCIL MEMBER ALEX MILLER SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS SEASIDE CAMPUS TOWN / PACIFIC LANDING MODEL HOME COMPLEX OPENING BY END OF 2026 Seasid i o th mov !!! Let’ ee i goin . SEASIDE Surges Ahead!!
10 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 20-26, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com More than 60 positions on boards of various K-12 school districts and community colleges are up for grabs in the Nov. 3 election. At the Monterey County Office of Education, four of seven seats are on the ballot: Areas 1, 3, 6 and 7, with three of those races contested. The board will supervise incoming Superintendent of Schools Dan Burns, who was elected in June. Two MCOE incumbents, Heather Owen in North County’s Area 3 and Mary Claypool in Seaside’s Area 6, are running for reelection; Claypool is uncontested. Two incumbents—Annette Yee Steck in Carmel’s Area 1 and Sandra Ocampo of Salinas in Area 7—are not seeking reelection after one term, leaving two open seats. Ocampo is now running for a seat on a different Salinas school district, Alisal Union, where she faces Ulises Gonzalez Reyes to represent Area 2. It’s a position currently held by her husband, Robert Ocampo, and he is now running for the MCOE Area 7 seat currently held by his wife. “We recently decided that it would be interesting to shift, make the decisions and kind of grow, going into each other’s districts and learn new things and meet new people,” Robert says. He has represented AUSD’s Area 2 for eight years and is a former Salinas City Council member. Before her term at MCOE, Sandra Ocampo served 20-plus years on the Salinas Union High School District board over a 30-year period. Robert says they have not received criticism about their intended switch and notes their son, Roberto Ocampo, is also a school board trustee at Soledad Unified School District. “We’re all very involved in politics and we’re interested in serving,” Robert says. If he gets elected, Robert says he would take a closer look at interdistrict transfers and seek creative solutions, like providing child care on school grounds, to entice families to stay within their geographic district. “A lot of the moves that happen are due to a babysitter,” he says. If elected, Sandra says she would advocate for a magnet school focused on STEM and English. Both Ocampos say that if elected, this would be their last term. In Area 7, Robert Ocampo will face Shanice Virrueta, a long-time coach and mentor who works at United Way Monterey County. In Area 3, Owen is facing Rick Diaz Jr., a North Monterey County Unified School District trustee. Voters in Area 1 will choose between Rita Patel, a Carmel Unified School District trustee now halfway through her third term, and Megan Whilden, a retired nonprofit director and volunteer organizer. Patel says this is a next step in her career and if elected, she will bring what she has learned at CUSD to the county level. “MCOE should be a stronger convener and partner for our local school districts,” Patel says, noting MCOE does a good job bringing school districts together and collaborating with each other. Seat Swap Monterey County Office of Education board may have three new trustees next year, and a husband/wife team run for each other’s school board seats. By Celia Jiménez Sandra and Robert Ocampo of Salinas are running for seats currently held by each other on the boards of Alisal Union School District and Monterey County Office of Education. NEWS “MCOE should be a stronger convener and partner.” DANIEL DREIFUSS 622 LIGHTHOUSE AVE. MONTEREY (831) 655-HULA (4852) @HULASTIKI the original
www.montereycountynow.com AUGUST 20-26, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 11 The coastline north of Tioga Avenue in Sand City may eventually undergo a makeover after the California Coastal Commission gave the green light to a seaside hotel project, decades in the making. Sand City Collections LLC is proposing a 100-room hotel and resort complex, tentatively called the Collections Resort, which would include a restaurant, spa and 25-unit tent cabin campground intended to be more affordable than the hotel. As part of the project, the developer promises to restore and preserve the habitat around the hotel and resort, alongside providing public access improvements, such as an extension of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail, connecting disparate parts of the pedestrian pathway and a roundabout at the end of Tioga Avenue. “They have figured out how to get that area cleaned up as part of the project,” Sand City Mayor Mary Ann Carbone says. Addressing the Coastal Commission on Wednesday, Aug. 12, Carbone said, “I, as an Indigenous mayor—first in California—am a coastal steward. I have volunteered at every coastal cleanup for over 30 years now and it is the fabric of my soul that we get this beach cleaned up. It hurts my heart to see it and I am happy to see that we may come to a compromise with the various partners here.” In the past, large areas of the nearly 30-acre project site had been used for sand mining, which stopped about 30 years ago. “A variety of unpermitted materials remain along the shore, some of which appear to have been related to some of these long-ago activities,” according to a report by Coastal Commission staff. The development history of the stretch of Sand City coastline goes back to the 1980s, when larger resort proposals were ultimately shut down by the Coastal Commission and abandoned by developers. More recently, around 2014, Sand City Collections proposed a nearly 12-acre, 340-unit resort, which was also scrapped following an appeal to the Coastal Commission. The developer then revised the project, “resulting in the current proposal, which thus represents the culmination of nearly 50 years of planning and permitting activity at this site,” the report reads. At 100 rooms and 25 tent cabins spanning about 2.5 acres, the current proposal is significantly smaller than previous iterations. The developers have promised to clean up and preserve the 25-acre area around the resort and address Coastal Act violations related to the former sand mining operations. The report points out that the site will potentially be subject to coastal hazards in the future and that if the resort is threatened by phenomena like sea level rise it will need to be removed or relocated. Despite the potential for coastal hazards in the near or distant future, Coastal Commission staff recommended approving a coastal development permit for the project, which commissioners did in a unanimous vote. Coastal Permission A proposed hotel known as the Collections Resort in Sand City inches forward. By Aric Sleeper The Sand City Collections hotel project includes plans to clean up industrial debris at the end of Tioga Avenue and create public amenities, including parking, restrooms and beach access. NEWS “It is the fabric of my soul that we get this beach cleaned up.” DANIEL DREIFUSS
12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 20-26, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com VOLUME UP It is sad that one person can cause a local, thriving business such heartache (“Pop & Hiss owner cited for keeping a ‘disorderly house’ due to noise complaints,” posted Aug. 13). It is a business district with mixed use. Isn’t that what we all want? Karen Ladner Gunby | Pacific Grove Pop & Hiss is the best thing to happen to P.G. in a long time. That place is a damn jewel and must be protected. Candace Hare | via social media The live music, with very few exceptions, is indoors and completely inaudible outside the business. Downtown Pacific Grove, for the first time in my three decades here, is worth spending a few hours of evening time in, thanks to [owner] Michaela [Kuenster] and a few other innovators. Jeff Rothal | Pacific Grove Sounds like one lone local who hasn’t agreed with Pacific Grove getting a pulse finally. Send ’em a free pizza and ear plugs. Aaron McGilloway | Carmel Valley What a sense of entitlement when someone chooses to live near downtown in a mixed-use building and then complains about music, noise and “life” happening. I’m a senior who lives right up the street, with my window facing Grand Avenue. I hear the music coming from Pop & Hiss, and frankly, I think it’s wonderful. It means there is some nightlife, people are enjoying themselves, and our downtown isn’t becoming a ghost town. This noise-sensitive issue never ceases to amaze me—from people living near Chautauqua complaining when Jazzercise lasts until 7pm to the pickleball complaints from people who live next to courts. Now we’re downtown, apparently, and it’s supposed to be noise- and entertainment-free? God help those of us who keep beating our heads against the wall trying to encourage economic development and profitable businesses that people actually want to attend after 7pm. If we want a vibrant downtown, we have to expect some signs of life. Christie Italiano-Thomas | Pacific Grove Love the support Michaela is getting online. I hope it manifests in public comments for more live music to the rest of the councils on the Peninsula. John Gaglioti | Del Rey Oaks Michaela is a local icon. Her passion for music and community is phenomenal. I don’t get it, she is always very conscious of making sure everybody is inside before 10pm and keeping the decibel level (which she monitors) down. Pop & Hiss is one of the best things to happen to P.G. in decades. Let the people have fun. Leah Beets | Marina COUNT ON IT The census report validates the hard work and accomplishments of our colleagues (“Homelessness is down in Monterey County but one data point is a cause for concern,” posted July 30). However, the count is an imperfect effort to understand the population of homeless people; it relies heavily on the ability of participating volunteers to know where to look in order to achieve an accurate count. Homeless women are deliberately harder to find. The numbers in this year’s pointin-time count do not reflect our experience at Gathering for Women in Monterey. So far this year, the number of visits made by women to our day center for meals, clothing, and showers has risen by almost 16 percent. We are seeing many more women facing homelessness for the first time, with more under threat due to changing federal housing program rules and state and local government budget limitations. I would encourage anyone with doubts about the scope of the need in our community to come and volunteer and see for yourself. Staci M. Alziebler-Perkins | Sand City Note: Alziebler-Perkins is executive director of Gathering for Women. BRUSH OFF I am so surprised that the City of Seaside didn’t choose a muralist from our own city (“Seaside selects an Australian artist to prepare a mural for the city’s library staircase,” Aug. 6-12). If we didn’t have any talented artists in our community, then I could see the necessity to reach out to artists outside. For any future proposals, I recommend that we only consider applicants living in Monterey County. I would have voted for Hanif [Panni] hands down. You can see his work all around our community. Diane Rowe | Seaside While artists from around the world bring unique perspectives, public art commissions funded by local taxpayers should, whenever possible, prioritize the exceptional talent that already exists within our own community. Monterey County is home to nationally recognized muralists whose work reflects our region’s history, culture and diversity while creating economic opportunities for local artists and businesses. Investing in local artists not only results in authentic public art that resonates with residents, but also keeps public dollars circulating within our community, strengthens our creative economy, and supports the next generation of artists who call Monterey County home. Jacquie Atchison | Monterey Note: Atchison is executive director of the Arts Council for Monterey County. SALAD BOWL I just wanted to say THANK YOU for Salinas Valley Now! I appreciate the focus on Salinas and South County and look forward to reading more information about the candidates running for mayor and council seats in Salinas (“Salinas mayor’s race set with four candidates for November election,” posted Aug. 13). Liz Crooke | Salinas SWAN SONG I met Mr. Tarmina and the “Lighthouse Crew” while they were restoring it (“Margruss, the Lovers Point swan boat, gets its first makeover in years thanks to volunteers,” Aug. 13-19). Pacific Grove is lucky to have such devoted residents. I wish Monterey would restore the boat at the entrance to the parking lot at Fisherman’s Wharf. Monterey needs a Mr. Tarmina. Very nice story. Kathleen Mauvorneen Balke | 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.
www.montereycountynow.com AUGUST 20-26, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 13 Car Week has come and gone, another year of revving engines and traffic jams and $748 million in auction sales. At Exotics on Broadway, billed as “the people’s show” in Seaside, police officers armed with long rifles observed the event from rooftops as a safety precaution, a grim reminder that any crowded event these days can quickly turn deadly. “The reality of today’s world requires us to prepare for the worst while always hoping for the best,” Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges writes. The reality is that the worst did also happen, with cars themselves—motor vehicle crashes left three people dead in the final weekend of Car Week. California Highway Patrol responded to two fatal collisions on Saturday, Aug. 15. One, at 2pm on Esperanza Road near Chualar, left bicyclist Juan Roberto Lopez-Gomez of Gonzales dead at the scene. A semi truck, driven by a 61-year-old from Yuma, Arizona, collided with 58-yearold Lopez-Gomez while the driver was turning right onto Old Stage Road. CHP has released little information, such as the suspected cause of the crash or whether the cyclist was wearing a helmet. A few hours later, at 8:23pm, 47-year-old Brian Roberts was walking across Highway 1 near Palo Colorado when a 20-yearold from Fresno driving a Dodge coupe hit and killed the Big Sur resident, who had worked at Ventana resort for 20-some years. CHP reports that drugs or alcohol are not believed to have played a role in either crash. At 5:14pm on Sunday, Aug. 16, as Car Week was winding down, a silver BMW convertible occupied by four friends visiting from the East Bay was driving from Carmel through Monterey when the vehicle hit a tree. All four occupants were injured; one passenger, 19-yearold Jerrod Tyson ChapmanMarshall, was killed. The case remains under investigation but Monterey Police Lt. Ethan Andrews says the 20-year-old driver will be arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter and maybe more, depending on what police learn in their investigation. (Police report his blood alcohol concentration was 0.13 percent, above the 0.08 legal limit.) Andrews says Monterey PD is always on alert for illegal conduct on the road, especially during Car Week. “Obviously it does not make us very popular with a lot of car enthusiasts that come, because they are looking for a fun car experience,” he says. “Unfortunately sometimes that fun experience is to see cars operating unsafely or recklessly. We remind folks it doesn’t take much for a car to lose control. In an instant, it goes from a fun experience to a tragedy. It happens fast and once it happens, there is no going back.” Motor vehicle crashes remain the single biggest cause of death for young people. And every one of those deaths is preventable. William Perlstein spent 30 years working for CHP and during that career, saw more mangled human remains at the scenes of crashes than anyone would care to. After he retired, he acquired the driving school Drive Carmel, hoping to help prevent at least some of those unnecessary future deaths. He asks his students if they’ve ever been a passenger in a car with a driver who is texting, a practice that makes a driver 23 times more likely to be in a crash, he says. Regularly, 90 percent raise their hands. “It’s shocking,” he says. “That is just so scary and so problematic.” But even with the allure of screens, Perlstein says, “What kills most people, still, is speeding. And driving under the influence is extraordinarily dangerous.” These, it would seem, are easy problems to solve—and speeding is something that Car Week traffic can actually help to mitigate. But unlike, say, aviation—which includes extensive redundancy—Perlstein notes motor vehicle collisions can result from just a single error. (He is careful to avoid using the word “accident,” because most of these are not.) We entrust each other and ourselves with immense responsibility every time we get in a car. A body count of three in one weekend in Monterey County is a painful reminder that real people face potentially devastating consequences from cars. It’s easy and fun to glorify them on the auction block or a car show, but all of us should operate according to principles of safety—it is a matter of life and death. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com. Car Culture Three people are killed in one weekend amid dystopian reality of Car Week. By Sara Rubin SLOP HAPPY…Squid is skeptical of artificial intelligence for many reasons, one of which is near and dear to Squid’s three-chamber heart: the environment. AI’s high energy and water demands are depleting resources faster than Squid can pop shrimp-flavored popcorn. That hasn’t stopped a deluge of AI content from being generated from right here in Monterey County. Carmel Mayor Dale Byrne has churned out at least 18 AI-crafted songs since June 21, posted to the hearthis.at platform. Most are cringe-worthy odes to Carmel and its denizens. He’s dabbled in different genres, from Broadway to Americana, country and pop, plus one that sounds like evangelical praise music. Byrne writes the lyrics, then leaves the rest to AI. “It’s a diversion, something I enjoy doing,” he tells Squid’s colleague. (Just three hours later, there was a new AI-generated song about Squid.) He posted a song on Aug. 15 entitled “One Loud Week,” about Car Week, sung as a rock power ballad. (“Some folks love it, some folks leave. Some folks have got a business and have no way to flee.”) One song, honoring the Carmel Art Association’s 100th anniversary, includes the line, “Carmel Art Association, where inspiration finds creation.” It’s an AI-generated song that comes with an AI-generated cover logo, praising real artists who create real art and who now collectively face an existential crisis thanks to AI. Squid has no words—and no intention of asking a robot for inspiration. SCRATCH THE ITCH…Squid is grateful that sea creatures cannot get poison oak, as aquatic skin lacks an immune response to the plant’s oil. Not so for humans—the poor firefighters working on the Timber Fire in Big Sur—and Squid recently heard of suspicions that some people are potentially weaponizing the vile plant to keep others out of a park in Pacific Grove. During a P.G. City Council meeting on Aug. 5, councilmembers were reviewing a draft forest management plan for George Washington Park. Exactly how to care for it has been a bone of contention between those who want it used at least partially for recreation and those who believe it should be treated purely as a nature preserve. Environmental Program Manager George Fuerst told councilmembers that he’d heard comments that some people are in favor of planting poison oak to keep others out (except birds, rabbits and occasional nosy cephalopods), although he sounded doubtful. Councilmember Tina Rau was less skeptical. “I don’t think the poison oak has been left to its own devices,” she said. “There was a thumb on the scale.” Squid imagines people in camo hazmat suits sneaking in at night with poison oak seedlings, on a righteous mission to defend the park at all costs. It makes Squid’s translucent skin itch just thinking about it. THE LOCAL SPIN SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “In an instant, it goes from fun to a tragedy.” SEND SQUID A TIP: squid@montereycountynow.com
14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 20-26, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Out to Sea Dire conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are due to Trump’s disassociation from reality. By Jeet Heer FORUM In July, a parent whose son was serving on the Navy ship USS Abraham Lincoln wrote an alarmed letter to Stars and Stripes, expressing worry that the dire conditions aboard were harming sailors. The Abraham Lincoln has been deployed in the Middle East since last November and has seen combat in the Iran War. It was scheduled to return home in May, but its mission has been indefinitely extended. “My son is currently on that ship and listening to him say that he and his shipmates constantly think about jumping off the ship just for relief is so hard to listen to,” the letter read. The writer added, “Our loved ones are out there fighting with no understanding as to what they’re defending.” The anxiety was well grounded. Since then, reports in Stars and Stripes and The Navy Times have made clear that there have been multiple suicide attempts aboard the Lincoln. While the Navy denies that there is a widespread mental health crisis on the ship, the families of sailors, as well as political leaders, have begun to loudly decry the distressing conditions. The roots of the critical situation go back to poor military planning by President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in the run-up to the Iran disaster. They had assumed that overwhelming U.S. airpower would lead to a quick victory, comparable to the coup the U.S. was able to pull off in Venezuela in January. This scenario radically underestimated the resilience and capability of the Iranian government. As The New York Times reports, “The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln’s supply problems began soon after the first day of the war, as Iranian missiles and attack drones fell on a Navy base in Bahrain. The Iranian attack, retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli assault on Tehran, destroyed much of the base. And as it went up in smoke, so did a major logistics hub that the Navy has relied on for decades.” Iran had, in fact, destroyed or severely compromised U.S. military bases all over the Middle East. This meant the sailors on the Lincoln had to receive food from farther away and had no easy access to shore leave. Even more demoralizing than that was the psychological toll of an interminable mission with no clear end goal or purpose. As one sailor told CNN reporter Pamela Brown: “At first when we learned that we would be doing combat operations it was intended to be a two-week thing. But unfortunately that became a seven-month thing… They told us it was to help Iranian protesters, then they told us we are out here to denuclearize Iran, now it’s to support a blockade.” Trump was asked by a reporter if the deployment has gone on too long. He replied, “No. Not nearly long enough.” The crisis on the Lincoln is one of Trump’s own making. It’s a result of his irresponsible handling of military affairs. Trump is alarmingly detached from reality. He has no concern for the flesh-and-blood sailors who serve in his Navy, much less the countless civilians killed in his imperialist wars. Jeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation, where this story first appeared. OPINION “His shipmates think about jumping off just for relief.”
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