Letters to the Editor 07.16.26

Policing the Police

Long overdue! (“The Board of Supervisors ‘make a statement’ on immigration policies,” posted July 8.) Jose Mendoza | Salinas

Note: Mendoza is a retired commander from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.

They should have shown oversight when the Monterey County sheriff was driving like a maniac and was caught multiple times with zero consequences. Casey Nielsen | Atascadero

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors placed ideology ahead of what I believe should be its first responsibility: protecting public safety. The board elevated the interests of incarcerated undocumented immigrants over the safety of law-abiding undocumented immigrants, documented immigrants and U.S. citizens.

The board also chose to forgo approximately $650,000 this year and $1.2 million next year by rejecting federal reimbursement for the costs of incarcerating undocumented immigrants, despite no evidence that the SCAAP program has been used to facilitate ICE enforcement actions. That decision strikes me as driven more by political concerns than by facts or sound fiscal management.

On this, I agree with Supervisor Luis Alejo: Balance is needed, along with common sense, data-driven decisions, and erring on the side of public safety. Peter Szalai | Salinas

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It is the duty of every chief public safety officer to make every effort to reduce the public’s liability. The public demands this oversight committee because they are tired of prisoners dying in jail. The supervisors are tired of losing lawsuits. Ron Smith | Bradley

Thank you supervisors Wendy Root Askew and Kate Daniels! Esther Malkin | Monterey

Water Way

This was such an important and excellently reported story that I have kept it for future reference (“It’s a critical year to pick a solution to save Monterey County’s aquifers. The questions are how, and who pays?” June 25-July 1). Love the Weekly. Thank you. Hannah Priestley | via social media

How about stop giving permits to giant hotels, and giving incentive for farmers that use sustainable forms of production on their land? The less water we pump, the less [seawater] gets sucked into the aquifers. Paula Caetano | via social media

Obviously, the ag industry must pay. Jim Safranek | via social media

Brain Drain

The City of Seaside is adopting artificial intelligence faster than it can govern it (“Squid Fry: City Search,” July 9-15). On July 2, the City Council renewed a Placer.ai location analytics subscription and unveiled an AI search assistant built with Common Sense AI. The Police Department already runs Flock license plate readers. Yet the city has no adopted AI policy or ordinance.

Meanwhile, the Building and Planning Departments still lack functioning permit tracking software, a basic tool residents and applicants rely on daily. That says something about priorities.

Before buying more AI, the Council should fix the systems it already depends on and adopt clear rules for transparency, privacy and oversight, with public input. Pacific Grove just took up an AI policy. I urge the Council to clearly think it through first before making more AI software purchases. Jose Torres | Seaside

Fire Sale

I’d be shocked if they got $45 million for that place (“Moss Landing Commercial Park goes on sale, to the tune of $45 million,” July 2-8). Joey Espinoza | Monterey

Big Stage

The article highlighting Miranda Lambert’s upcoming performance reads like a celebrity promotion while ignoring the troubling reality of the event itself (“With a new album on the way, country legend Miranda Lambert kicks off the rodeo,” July 9-15). Whether intentional or not, celebrating performers at the California Rodeo Salinas also promotes an event that many view as built on animal suffering. Calf roping, steer wrestling and bucking events subject animals to fear, stress and injury for entertainment – practices that deserve scrutiny, not free publicity.

Lambert is widely respected for her dedication to animal welfare, making her participation especially disappointing. Her appearance lends credibility to an event increasingly opposed by those who believe compassion should extend to all animals.

Monterey County Weekly has long been willing to tackle difficult issues. I hope it will devote the same attention to examining the documented animal welfare concerns surrounding rodeo, rather than simply promoting the entertainment built around it. Dee Pinder | Salinas

Watch Party

Beautiful story, thank you (“Trailblazer Mayra Gomez brings global experience to Salinas Regional Soccer Complex,” July 9-15). Having lived in Brazil and enjoyed the World Cup for half a century including today, very timely! Steve Endsley | Aptos

Bird Down

Sooo sad (“A mortality signal prompts a quest into no-man’s-land in search of a very special condor,” posted July 13). Thank you everyone for giving Iniko a great life. Buff Benson | via email

Virtual Reality

Very cool. Thanks for the great article (“Pacific Grove resident Karen Owen turned her knowledge of computer technology into public art,” July 9-15). Derek Dean | Monterey

Correction

A story previewing a race (“The MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest brings America’s top motorcycle racing to Laguna Seca,” July 9-15) misstated Mathew Scholtz’s team and bike. He was riding the Strack Racing Yamaha, not the Warhorse HSBK Ducati.