The Buzz 12.18.25

FREE SPEECH

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo to law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors on Dec. 4, railing against “anti-fascists” after President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring Antifa a domestic terrorism organization, even though it has no hierarchy and is commonly described as an ideology. Bondi wrote that Antifa uses “violence… to advance political and social agendas, including opposition to law and immigration enforcement… adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity; [and] support for the overthrow of the United States Government.” Bondi also called on the Justice Department to investigate groups that view “conservative viewpoints as ‘fascist,’” and directed the establishment of a “cash reward system” for people to report others they suspect of domestic terrorism. “I think this causes a chilling impact, because it definitely seems to be directing enforcement toward particular points of view,” Mary McCord, a former acting assistant attorney general for national security, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“To get nothing, that’s what drives me insane.” - Tim Obert, a family friend of Trenten Black, speaking on the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office’s decision to not pursue charges against Joshua Holtzclaw in Black’s death at Moss Landing Harbor earlier this year (see story, montereycountynow.com/news)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

Winter break is here for Monterey County students, but that shouldn’t mean reading does the same. Read to Me Project launched the Read for All Literacy Challenge to encourage students and their families to keep reading and learning. Throughout the winter break, students are tasked with completing 12 challenges outlined on a bookmark, available at participating schools and other locations, and tracking their progress online. These include reading aloud for 15 minutes, reading to a friend, reading a food label and more. It’s open to students from fourth to sixth grade, and those who complete challenges will raise points for their classes that lead to rewards. The goal is to make reading fun for children and their families, says Jason Little, executive director of the Read to Me Project. “Literacy is not just an education issue – it’s a community responsibility,” he said.

GREAT:

Beacon House in Pacific Grove may be no more since 2021, but the legacy of the substance use disorder and mental health support facility lives on in grants awarded by the Gateway Foundation. On Dec. 9, the foundation announced it was awarding $25,000 in Beacon House Community Fund Grants to eight local organizations. Some of the grants are for ongoing programs of the following: Central Coast Overdose Prevention, Motivating Individual Leadership for Public Advancement and the Village Project. Other grants are for specific needs: Community Human Services, toward a passenger van; Door to Hope, launching new recovery services; Monterey Sober Living for Women, toward the purchase of a permanent residence; National Alliance on Mental Illness, to secure a permanent headquarters; and Sun Street Centers, expanding services in Monterey.