16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 10-16, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com FOLLOW THE FLOW Seeing the Pajaro River navigate the intersection of government, environmental concerns and local needs in order to implement improvements is encouraging (“A levee project focuses on reducing Pajaro’s flood risk. Researchers say the benefits are bigger,” Aug. 27-Sept. 2). Hopefully this kind of long-term planning will protect Pajaro in the future. The same cannot be said of the Salinas River. Heading into an El Niño year, farmers and municipalities recognize the Salinas River is unprepared for a deluge, putting residents, roads and crops at risk. One of the problems with the Salinas River is that no single entity exercises holistic governance. Monterey County Water Resources Agency is the logical choice, which would allow long-term coordination with other agencies and the community—all of whom benefit from river maintenance. Bravo to the Pajaro for active management and planning. Without similar stewardship, the Salinas River will chart its own course, potentially resulting in destruction. We hope the Salinas Valley takes navigation lessons from the Pajaro. Christopher Bunn | Salinas Note: Bunn is on the Salinas River Management Unit Association. WATER WAR Mary Ann Leffel keeps trying to block the Cal Am buyout through her power on LAFCO (“Squid Fry: Lines Drawn,” Aug. 27-Sept. 2). Her votes have run up the cost of the buyout in legal fees and delays. Now she says she’d be open to reconsidering if there were a clear plan on how to handle tax revenue losses to the special districts. Then she adds, “I just want to do what’s best for the community.” Seriously, has Leffel forgotten that MPWMD offered a clear path forward on the issue of property tax losses through Revenue Neutrality Transition Agreements? The effect on local agencies is minimal; only six special districts are even impacted. For most, it would be a total revenue loss of less than 0.5 percent. If she feels this is so important, why has Leffel never offered to make up the losses to taxpayer-funded agencies when the Airport District purchased private land and took it off the tax rolls? How is blocking the will of 24,000 voters in Measure J doing what’s best for this community? Melodie Chrislock | Monterey Note: Chrislock is managing director of Public Water Now. DE-FLOCK I was stunned recently to find Flock citizen surveillance (license plate-reading) cameras installed in my Marina neighborhood (“The Sheriff’s Office wants more Flock cameras, but it must convince the Board of Supervisors,” posted Aug. 24). Let me chime in with a clear message to those in office: Public officials should not be investing our taxes to mass surveil law-abiding citizens. Mass surveillance fundamentally deviates from the U.S. Constitutional prohibitions against unwarranted searches. In Marina, items related to Flock technology should not be funded and the three-year contract the Council approved should be rescinded. Same goes for the County’s 10-year Flock contract. Mass tracking of citizens’ vehicles is un-American, the hallmark of authoritarianism, and represents a shameful lack of foresight and due regard for what it means to be an American on the part of elected officials supporting use of this technology. Cameron Binkley | Marina Roughly 50 speakers opposed the Sheriff’s proposed expansion of Flock cameras, and Supervisor Root Askew reported receiving about 400 comments, most in opposition. Those voices matter—but Monterey County has about 430,000 residents. Public policy should rest on evidence and the broader public good, not simply organized turnout. Privacy, accountability and misuse are legitimate concerns. But Salinas has used Flock since 2023 with trained users, individual logins, audited searches and limits to legitimate investigations. The cameras capture license plates and vehicle characteristics—not faces—and do not use facial recognition. An alert identifies a vehicle, not a driver, and is only one piece of evidence. Salinas Police report the system has assisted serious investigations and is not used for immigration enforcement. Greater public reporting and oversight are warranted. Accountability and public safety are not competing values. We should insist on both—and evaluate this policy on facts, not a historically misused Franklin quotation. Peter Szalai | Salinas VICTIM OF VIOLENCE Sheriff Nieto is yet another adult who should have protected this 14-year-old rape victim, but is instead choosing to treat her like an adult when she is a child (“Monterey County Sheriff’s Office searching for suspects allegedly tied to abandoned newborn found dead,” posted Sept. 1). Publicizing that this child is being raped by her father while her father still has her puts her life at risk. This conduct from law enforcement is not in keeping with a claim to care about the lives and safety of children. Claire Bresnahan | Pacific Grove This press release information from the Sheriff’s Office is making national news for many reasons: Announcing a warrant for a pedophile and his “Jane Doe” daughter for murder of a newborn, resulting from incest? There is no protection of the victim in the manner that this case information has been released—quite the contrary. She is now on par with her wanted pedo father. I can’t digest this. I am sick. Colleen Ingram | Pacific Grove GOOD VS. EVIL Just like any other technological (or other type) of development, there is always going to be somebody to exploit it (“A proliferation of AI-assisted local news sites runs the gamut,” Aug. 27-Sept. 2). Seems that is just the frailty of humans. Social media is another example. It certainly can be used for either good or bad. People choose to use such things for bad, evil or unethical means, not the vehicle itself. God gave us free will and if a few choose to use it maliciously, we all pay the price. Robert McGregor | 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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