6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS It was an anonymous donor, a member of Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights, who approached the Chancellor’s Office at CSU Long Beach about installing a vending machine that dispenses emergency contraception at CSU Monterey Bay. It came at a time when several CSU campuses were already installing “wellness vending machines” delivering everything from cold medicine and menstrual products to contraception. On Aug. 24, CSUMB’s first machine in a thirdfloor hallway of the Otter Student Union went live. The machine cost approximately $9,000. The CSUMB Health Promotion and Education office worked with the company Cadence to purchase its over-the-counter Morning After Pill at a reduced price. The university is selling them at cost ($10), which is about half the retail price. No identification is required. If money is an issue, students can ask for a code that gives them the pill for free. As of Sept. 14, 33 doses had been dispensed through the machine, according to Gary Rodriguez, assistant director of Health and Wellness Services. “Most of the sales the first week were people stocking up, which we encourage students to do,” Rodriguez says. The move to add wellness vending machines on CSU campuses began with Assembly Bill 2482, passed in 2022. It required five campuses to participate in a pilot program to dispense health and wellness-related products. By last year, eight campuses were using the machines, according to a CSU report. The first CSUMB vending machine is a test. If it’s received well, Rodriguez hopes to install another wellness machine with other products elsewhere on campus. Just in Case CSUMB officials install a machine dispensing discounted emergency contraception pills. By Pam Marino On Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors was slated to consider signing a 10-year contract with the surveillance company Flock Safety, which had met pushback from community members across the county before and during the meeting. According to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office, the agency was prepared to move forward with the matter, “[but] we were presented with more than 30 questions regarding the proposed use of Flock Safety technology. Given the number and scope of those questions, additional time was necessary to thoroughly review the questions and provide thorough responses.” Those responses are expected on Sept. 22, when the supervisors are scheduled to revisit the contract. In 2025, after evidence showed that the Santa Cruz Police Department’s automatic license plate reader camera data was shared with out-of-state law enforcement agencies—a breach of state law—a grassroots community group formed, called Get the Flock Out, which helped to convince the Santa Cruz City Council to cancel its contract with the surveillance technology company and remove its cameras. Although the same state law, Senate Bill 34, was broken when the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office’s Flock data was shared with law enforcement agencies in numerous states in 2025, the use of the cameras continued. Now, with the Flock cameras posted all across Monterey County by various agencies, a Monterey County chapter of Get the Flock Out has formed to oppose the use of the cameras and specifically the decade-long Flock Safety contract proposed by Sheriff Tina Nieto. If approved, it would expand the network of the Sheriff’s Office’s surveillance cameras from 63 to 103 cameras in unincorporated Monterey County and cost roughly $2.8 million over the 10 years. “Many people think that these are just like the red light camera but they are so much more than that,” says Korina McKinley, a clinical social worker and founder of the group Roots of Resistance, which held a protest of the proposed contract on Tuesday, Sept. 15 in Salinas. The local Get the Flock Out chapter is the result of numerous organizations joining forces such as Roots of Resistance and PG Progressives. “Early on, when Get the Flock Out Santa Cruz was moving along, I was trying to gather that same kind of momentum here but it just didn’t work because we were so spread out,” says activist Colleen Ingram, who has long opposed local law enforcement’s use of the system. “People need a hub or an entity that they can go to that is dedicated to the cause and that’s why we wanted to make Get the Flock Out Monterey, to get people on board for this, because we have to continue this fight in every city.” In the Sheriff’s Office’s statement, Nieto encouraged community members to attend the Sept. 22 meeting, whatever their stance. “We have seen how this technology can assist law enforcement investigations in Monterey County, but we also understand that its use comes with questions and concerns,” Nieto said. “Those concerns deserve to be heard and addressed. Our responsibility is to provide accurate information, explain the safeguards that are in place and listen to the community we serve.” Co-founder of PG Progressives Colleen Ingram (above) and others have joined forces to launch a chapter of Get the Flock Out, hoping to get rid of Flock Safety cameras. Flock Off A community-led group forms to oppose law enforcement’s use of surveillance technology. By Aric Sleeper CSUMB’s first wellness vending machine, with the morning-after pill, is located in the Otter Student Union. Members of the public also have access to use the machine, located in a public building. “We have to continue this fight in every city.” DANIEL DREIFUSS DANIEL DREIFUSS
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