The Buzz 08.28.25

FREE SPEECH

Israel has killed at least 192 journalists in Gaza since its war with Hamas began in 2023, according to the Committee to Project Journalists. By comparison, the CPJ reports that 18 journalists have died since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. The deadliest day for journalists in Gaza was Aug. 10, when Israel targeted and killed an Al Jazeera correspondent in an airstrike that also killed five other journalists. Israel followed that up by striking a hospital that killed five reporters on Aug. 25, along with at least 20 other people. “They are doing everything they can to silence independent voices that are trying to report on Gaza,” Thibaut Bruttin, the director general of Reporters Without Borders, told the Associated Press. The Israeli prime minister’s office has bemoaned international coverage of its war, as news organizations rely on Palestinian journalists since Israel bans international media from entering Gaza to cover the war. In a statement, the Israeli military said it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The DNA is overwhelming.” - Assistant District Attorney Matthew L’Heureux, speaking to the jurors in the closing statements of a trial for a 1991 murder case in Prunedale. Ira Bastian was convicted for double murder on Tuesday, Aug. 26 (see story, montereycountynow.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Eat cake, give cake. Cake4Kids and Freedom Bakery will set up at the Monterey County Fair from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, selling 1,020 cake slices and 100 cupcakes to raise funds for the organization. Proceeds support Cake4Kids’ mission to provide personalized birthday cakes to children in foster care and homeless shelters. Freedom Bakery, the Watsonville-based business with a pick-up location in Monterey, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and donating all baked goods at the booth. “We admire the incredible work Cake4Kids does to bring joy to local kids and their families,” Freedom Bakery owner Anna Liu said. “This collaboration is truly built on community, celebration and a shared love of making every moment a little sweeter.” Cake4Kids is a national organization with a Monterey County chapter that launched in 2020.

GREAT:

All summer, officials at the Transportation Agency for Monterey County had been waiting for guidance from PG&E regarding one of its utility poles at the Frog Pond Wetland Preserve. Crews are currently constructing the 1.5-mile segment of the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway, aka FORTAG, that passes through Del Rey Oaks. Before crews started building a retaining wall at the Frog Pond, TAMC needed assurance from PG&E that its utility pole would not be impacted by the wall’s construction. Finally, after months of waiting, TAMC announced Aug. 22 that PG&E has confirmed the plans are good to go, and added that work on the wall would begin within a week. The exact timing of the segment’s completion remains unknown, though now that it’s not delayed, it is still slated for the fall of 2026.