The Buzz 09.25.25

FREE SPEECH

The Monterey County news landscape lost a local television newsroom on Tuesday, Sept. 23. A representative of Missouri-based corporate owner News-Press & Gazette Company announced that the Salinas newsroom was dissolving, and all 13 members of the news team – including reporters, anchors, meteorologists and producers – were laid off. Those laid off include Spanish-speaking Telemundo-23 anchor Sandy Santos, marking an end to the Spanish-language local news channel as well. San Francisco-based CBS station KPIX has taken over Channel 46, and announced the change in a joint statement with News-Press, never acknowledging the layoffs in a press release about the new “partnership.” “Viewers in Santa Cruz, Salinas, Monterey, and Carmel will now see local reporting and weather coverage delivered by CBS Bay Area,” they wrote. Former KION Managing Editor Jeanette Bent says, “It’s going to change the landscape of news coverage in this area… It’s a disservice to this community and we’re all heartbroken.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We hope they’ll follow their conscience.” - Justin Loza, president of the Monterey chapter of Veterans for Peace, when several members stationed themselves outside of the Naval Postgraduate School to spread that message to workers who may be faced with orders that violate the law and the Constitution (see story, montereycountynow.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Good news for Gonzales residents and first responders. The city has a new fire truck to serve its residents and beyond, adding reliability to the fire department’s aging fleet, which is in need of constant repairs. The fire truck has a $750,000 price tag and it was purchased using funds from a County of Monterey Community Development Block Grant and Gonzales’ Measure K (a half-percent sales tax increase approved by voters in 2014). The city celebrated the truck’s arrival on Sept. 18 outside the fire department’s office. “The new engine underscores Gonzales’ commitment to safeguarding the community by ensuring first responders have the tools they need to protect residents and businesses and respond swiftly in times of crisis,” the city’s announcement states. The new addition is a step forward toward modernizing the fire department’s infrastructure.

GREAT:

When Cal Fire hazard maps were released in March, suddenly neighborhoods on the Monterey Peninsula that had never been identified as high risk for wildfire were colored red for just that possibility. Firefighters and inspectors from the Monterey Fire Department went house-to-house to educate property owners about reducing risk through creating defensible space zones. Many property owners may find themselves short of cash to make the changes. Enter the Monterey Firefighters Community Foundation, which recently launched the Defensible Space Grant Program, in partnership with P.M. Landscaping. The grants are specifically for those with defensible space violations and who are in need of assistance. The focus is on seniors, veterans, disabled individuals and low-income households. Applications for the grant program are available at montereyfirefighterfoundation.org.