The Buzz 08.3.23

FREE SPEECH

As we reported on July 26, the Monterey County Weekly has joined the legal battle seeking to unseal reports by neutral, third-party monitors detailing conditions inside Monterey County Jail. The Weekly, alongside the First Amendment Coalition and the families of two men who died in the jail, are seeking status as intervenors in the ongoing federal class-action case between jail inmates and the County of Monterey (as well as the jail’s health care provider, Wellpath). After U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled on July 21 to unseal the reports, the county and Wellpath filed a notice to take their case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and also a motion for a stay, seeking to block their release pending a potential appellate decision. A week later, on July 28, Freeman ruled to deny the county and Wellpath’s motion for a stay. But she also extended the date by which plaintiffs’ attorneys are to file over 30 reports in the publicly viewable court record until Aug. 10, giving the defendants time to seek a stay with the Court of Appeals. That means the fight to bring public transparency to conditions inside the jail may drag on a while longer.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“There’s a lot of potential.” – Baker Otto Kramm talking about his new lease for Otto’s Bread in a 1,500-square-foot space in Salinas. He is transitioning out of baking in his studio apartment, and envisions eventually offering grab-and-go options and maybe cafe seating (see story, mcweekly.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

No need to travel far to see one of the top 20 barrel racers in the world, not after Delaney Fowler of Royal Oaks finished 16th at the 75th annual National High School Rodeo finals, held last month in Gillette, Wyoming. The 16-year-old – and her appropriately named horse, Goodwin – powered through the course with a time of 18.3 seconds to reach the elite class. Fowler described the feeling as “surreal.” She was the only barrel racer from California to advance to the final round, which took place on July 22. “I felt so much pride to represent the state of California,” she said in a press statement. The annual event pitted cowboys and cowgirls from across the country, neighboring Canada and Mexico, and as far overseas as Australia. Fowler is also the reigning California High School Rodeo Association Queen, representing District 4, which includes Monterey County.

GREAT:

There is hope for at least one Salinas couple – and over a million others nationwide – when it comes to Social Security Disability Insurance and marriage status. Lori Long and Mark Contreras got engaged in 2016, only to learn that Long, who has been disabled since childhood, would lose a critical benefit if she marries a non-disabled person. She successfully lobbied U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, to take up her cause, and last year, he introduced the Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act. That bill stalled, but on July 27, during Disability Pride Month, he reintroduced it. The bill would eliminate the requirement that people with childhood disabilities be unmarried in order to continue receiving SSDI benefits, as well as update Social Security rules on common law marriages. “Current law is forcing Americans to choose between their happiness and health care,” Panetta said.