4 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com THE BUZZ FREE SPEECH In July 2025, a farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a cannabis farm in Camarillo. Jackie Botts, a freelance reporter who covered the raid for The Guardian, filed a Freedom of Information Act request with federal agencies, including ICE, earlier this year, asking for a range of records of the raid, such as warrants and body-camera footage. She was denied. On Sept. 3, Botts sued the government, demanding it release the records under the law. “Getting these records is crucial to understanding how these massive, militarized—and ultimately deadly—immigration raids unfolded and why so many details of the event remain shielded from public view,” Botts said. “The public—and the families ripped apart by the raids— deserve to know.” Attorneys with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press are representing Botts. “The public has a right to know how its government is carrying out an unprecedented immigration enforcement campaign,” Reporters Committee Staff Attorney Gunita Singh said. Good: Mark Thursday, Sept. 10 as a historic day for Carmel. That’s when street addresses officially went live for the first time in the city’s 110-year history. Residents resisted the change for many years in the name of protecting village character, but the march of time—and rise of tech, plus concerns over response times of first responders—led to greater public approval. The Carmel City Council finally voted 5-0 for the adoption of addresses in October 2025. A draft map was released in January—the final map was later approved by the U.S. Postal Service Address Management Service. On Sept. 10, Carmel City Hall went from “Monte Verde between Ocean and 7th” to 662 Monte Verde St. Postcards from the city to residents with their new addresses still need to be delivered. Property owners will have six months to display their new numbers in compliance with fire and building codes. GReat: Despite being approved by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors more than 20 years ago, the East Garrison district is still unfinished. On Saturday, Sept. 19, it will take a significant step toward completion. Monterey County Free Libraries will break ground on the East Garrison Library in a ceremony beginning at 10am. The 4,200-square-foot library, to be built on Sherman Boulevard across from Lincoln Park, will include a meeting room, outdoor space, EV charging stations and a sheriff’s field office. It is expected to open in 2028. “We are really excited to get this project started,” Library Director Hillary Theyer said. “We know this library will be a wonderful addition to the East Garrison community.” The new library will bring MCFL’s number of branches to 18 when it opens. The Pajaro branch is expected to reopen in 2027, while a new branch is slated to be built in Bradley. GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK THE WEEKLY TALLY The fine an unknown drone operator may face for operating an unauthorized aircraft in a temporary flight restriction zone in the vicinity of the Timber Fire in Big Sur. The violation may also include imprisonment for up to two years. Source: Monterey County Sheriff’s Office $20,000 QUOTE OF THE WEEK “[They] are more likely to make more catastrophic choices.” -Jacquelyn Schneider, director of the Hoover Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative at Stanford, speaking about AI during a panel hosted by Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (see montereycountynow.com/ newsletter).
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