The Buzz 10.09.25

FREE SPEECH

Mario Guevara, the Spanish-language journalist who was arrested while covering an Atlanta protest against President Donald Trump, was deported Oct. 3 to El Salvador after more than 100 days in immigration detention. Despite all charges being dismissed and having authorization to live and work in the United States, according to his attorneys, the Department of Homeland Security contended he was in the country illegally. Guevara was livestreaming a “No Kings” rally on June 14 when police arrested him for allegedly failing to disperse. “The only thing that journalists like Guevara threaten is the government’s chokehold on information it doesn’t want the public to know,” said Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation. “That’s why he’s being deported and why federal agents are assaulting and arresting journalists around the country.” Meanwhile, a group of Chicago journalists joined others in suing the Trump administration for reportedly violating reporters’ First Amendment rights as they cover activities at an immigration detention center. The suit claims there are “acts of brutality by federal officers too numerous to catalogue.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The reality is dire, the reality is stark.” -Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew, after the board received a report on the health care impacts from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (see story, montereycountynow.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

When a loved one is ill or dies, support for patients and their families can be crucial. Enter Central Coast Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, which has been providing that support to local families for more than 74 years. Recently the VNA received a $200,000 grant from the Hospice Giving Foundation to strengthen its hospice and palliative care programs, with an emphasis on outreach to the Latino community, as well as expanded bereavement services and caregiver self-care education. The VNA also plans on introducing new services to patients such as music therapy, acupuncture and a virtual reality platform, all with a goal of enhancing the well-being of the people the organization serves. The grant “ensures our patients and families receive not only the highest quality of medical care, but also additional emotional, spiritual and cultural support they deserve,” said Jane Russo, VNA’s CEO.

GREAT:

The Salinas Regional Soccer Complex has completed another milestone: removing arsenic-contaminated soil, paving the way for its expansion. “Now we have the opportunity to build something that will create lasting benefits – from youth development and health to economic vitality – for Monterey County,” said Jonathan De Anda, SRSC’s manager. The complex will add seven full-size soccer fields and sand courts for sand soccer and sand volleyball. With the expansion, SRSC will be the largest facility of its kind between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The soil project took six years to complete and had a $2 million price tag. Part of the funding for the project, $1.1 million, comes from the state’s Equitable Community Revitalization Grant. The remediation involved scraping 12 inches of soil from the area and replacing it with clean soil to make the site suitable for recreational use.