Noises Off

NOISES OFF… Squid heard a faint sound of optimism from Salinas and paused to investigate. It was emanating from the 2022-2023 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury and its first report of the year entitled, “Sleepless in Monterey County.” It’s illustrated by a Microsoft stock photo of an old-school hi-fi system with knobs that – This is Spinal Tap fans will be disappointed to know – only go to “10” and not the band’s co-lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel’s preferred “11.”

The report was the volunteer jury’s attempt at taking things up to an “11” on county officials, dinging them for failing to adequately enforce the county’s noise ordinance in rural areas. The jurors found that staffing issues were part of the problem, along with property owners renting their land to promoters who host large, for-profit events without proper permits, among other problems. Jurors specifically called out the Monterey County Board of Supervisors for being ineffective in resolving the issue.

Squid found the optimism of jurors amusing, as they rattled off eight recommendations with deadlines for fixes between July 31 and Dec. 31. Funniest of all was the Dec. 31 deadline to impose stricter fines and penalties for repeat offenders. Expecting the supervisors to suddenly go from a low volume all the way to “11” within six months is what Squid would call the definition of magical thinking.

IN-N-OUT… When Squid travels, Squid likes to stick around for a while, get to know the vibe, the people, the lay of the land. And the same goes for Squid’s workplace – you can’t make much headway doing journalism in Monterey County if you’re only passing through.

With that said, Squid was shocked, but not surprised, that Trevin Barber, who until May 19 was the city manager of Gonzales, stepped away from the job after only four months. The official reason, per a statement, was to “focus his career on finance and economic development while spending more time with his family.”

Barber was selected from a pool of 35 applicants after a months-long search conducted by Bob and Murray & Associates following the departure of Rene Mendez, who after 17 years left for Watsonville last June. Barber’s last position was assistant city manager and economic development in the city of Seaside, which he officially left in September of last year after just over a year on the job (several months of which he was on leave, for unspecified reasons).

Barber says this journey all relates back to his childhood, which included a time that his dad landed a part-time job working for Rite-Aid between other things; Barber credits city leaders for having recruited the Rite-Aid distribution center to begin with. “That’s my North Star,” he says. “I owe a debt to society and I intend to pay it back with my career.”

Squid hopes his next stint lasts a little longer.