The Buzz 04.10.25

FREE SPEECH

President Donald Trump’s attacks on the media are happening at a near-daily clip, but are Americans hearing about it? According to a new survey by Pew Research Center, about 36 percent of Americans reported hearing “a lot” about the administration’s relationship with the media. But a similar survey from Pew in March 2017, during the initial months of Trump’s first term, found 72 percent heard “a lot” about the relationship. The 2025 study was based on a survey of 5,123 adults, with nearly a fifth saying they’ve heard “nothing at all.” More people, however, are tuning into political news, according to the study, which found that 71 percent are following the news, compared to 66 percent during the first year of the Joe Biden administration. “People across party lines and across age groups are paying attention to political news,” Pew’s senior researcher Elisa Shearer said. “They might be getting it in different ways. There might be a slight decline over a long period of time in how much people say they’re paying attention. But people are still tuning in.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Even if it’s my 15 minutes of fame, I am going to celebrate that as much as possible.” - Jesús Ruvalcaba of Salinas, who pitched his Paper Tacos business on Shark Tank (see story, montereycountynow.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD

Coastal Kids Home Care begins its 20th year with a newly expanded headquarters. Thanks to a $250,000 donation from Silicon Valley billionaire couple Valeta and T.J. Rodgers, the Rodgers Center for Children’s Health in Salinas now has two more counseling rooms and an expanded physical and occupational therapy room. Coastal Kids provides in-home pediatric health services for children dealing with an injury or short-term illness, chronic conditions or developmental delays, and those needing end-of-life care. It currently serves children from King City to Mountain View, and plans to expand its range so it can reach patients within a four-hour radius. “We are proud to support the important work of Coastal Kids,” T.J. Rodgers said in a press release. “The care they provide is truly a lifeline to families facing daunting challenges who often have no other place to turn.”

GREAT:

It’s a great week five years deferred for the Monterey Peninsula Gospel Community Choir, which is preparing to travel to Europe after a 2020 pandemic cancellation. About 55 members of the group leave on April 25 for Amsterdam and Stockholm for the Edwin Hawkins Music & Arts Global, during which they will perform for other gospel groups as well as join a global group of 2,000 voices or more. “It’s great to see people embracing a genre that was born here in the U.S.,” says Director John Nash, Jr. “It’s a huge honor to be asked to sing.” Great news for local fans arrives on Saturday, April 12 from 5-6:30pm (doors open at 4:30pm) in the form of a bon voyage concert; it’s a chance to hear these uplifting voices at Carmel Presbyterian Church, located at Junipero Street and Ocean Avenue in Carmel.