The Buzz 06.12.25

FREE SPEECH

President Donald Trump continues to take aim at news outlets that he perceives as biased against him, sending a request to Congress on June 3 known as a “rescission package” that cuts $1.1 billion in federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes funding to NPR and PBS. The funding was approved by Trump in March, who now seeks to claw it back. Congress has 45 days to act. While the Senate can approve it with a majority vote, a few Republicans have indicated their support for public media. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, wrote in an op-ed that the loss of funding would be “devastating,” adding, “What may seem like a frivolous expense to some has proven to be an invaluable resource that saves lives in Alaska.” NPR’s chief executive Katherine Maher has hinted at a lawsuit should Congress pass the package.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I have been beating a dead horse about how we are not building houses for our missing middle.” – Soledad City Councilmember Fernando Ansaldo-Sánchez, speaking about changes to a housing project (see story, montereycountynow.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

After years of planning, the Monterey Regional Airport broke ground on its new terminal Friday, June 6. The new terminal, at 62,754 square feet, will have five gates and boarding bridges, and is expected to offer a much more efficient experience for the airport’s growing number of passengers. It is planned to open in May 2027. The current terminal was constructed in the 1950s and expanded two decades later. Monterey Regional Airport’s $200 million Metamorphosis Safety Enhancement Program has been transforming its facilities in recent years. In 2023, a new fire station and hangars were constructed. The roughly $100 million terminal project is being constructed by Hensel Phelps and designed by architectural firm HOK. “I’m damn proud of where we are today,” said Mike La Pier, who officially retired from his role as the airport’s executive director at the conclusion of the event.

GREAT:

This week marks a big break for the families left wondering about 600-plus unsolved homicides in Monterey County. A newly launched nonprofit aims to provide a stable, long-term fundraising vehicle to help local agencies pay for costly DNA analysis and do forensic work needed to crack cold cases. Since launching in 2020, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Cold Case Task Force has solved 19 murders and identified 10 human remains. But as a three-year federal grant of $535,000 comes to a close with no new federal funding opportunities in sight, members of the task force decided to launch a new organization: the Cold Case Project of Monterey County. “We thought: The funding is going to be gone, how are we going to continue the good work we have been doing?” says Bill Clark, a retired assistant chief for Monterey PD now serving on the nonprofit’s board.