Sara Rubin
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Reporting from the salad bowl of America for @mcweekly. Follow me on Bluesky at sarahayleyrubin.bsky.social. On Signal: SARARUBIN.668
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Articles by Sara Rubin
Our editorial board weighs in on ballot measures and propositions. Now it’s your turn to decide.
Sara Rubin here, with a suggestion to check your mailbox to see if you’ve received a mail-in ballot yet. If you’re a registered voter in Monterey County, odds are good that it has already arrived. Various opportunities to return that ballot open tomorrow, Oct. 5, with dropboxes all over the county. You can drop it in any mailbox, or you can bring it to a polling place and vote in-person—early, or on Election Day, Nov. 3.
The Western Stage team is helping guide new adaptations of theater as resistance.
To resist or not to resist, that is the question. Sara Rubin here, hoping that William Shakespeare will forgive me. I’m invoking his famous Hamlet soliloquy line because I hope that by now, halfway through President Donald Trump’s perpetual attacks on American institutions and liberties, we agree that obviously we should resist. The real question is: How much fun can people have doing it? Leave it to theater people to answer: A lot.
El equipo de The Western Stage está ayudando a guiar nuevas adaptaciones del teatro como resistencia.
Resistir o no resistir, esa es la cuestión. Les saluda Sara Rubín, esperando que William Shakespeare me perdone. Invoco la famosa línea del soliloquio de su obra Hamlet porque espero que a estas alturas, a la mitad de los continuos ataques del presidente Donald Trump contra las instituciones y libertades estadounidenses, estemos de acuerdo en que obviamente debemos resistir. La verdadera pregunta es: ¿Qué tan divertido la puede pasar la gente al hacerlo?
Monterey mayoral candidate takes on the local press and suspected sources.
There’s nothing like a campaign for public office to prompt people to unearth long-buried skeletons in the closet. That is how it’s gone for Vince Malfitano, a newcomer to local politics who is running to be mayor of Monterey, and who has left a long trail of official investigations into his conduct as a dentist, as a casino owner and, most recently, as an assisted living facility operator.
From mezcal to music, Oaxaca by the Sea captured cultural pride.
There is a correct way to taste mezcal, and mezcalero Gerardo Rodrigo traveled from Oaxaca to Seaside for the fourth year in a row to make sure attendees at the City of Seaside's Oaxaca By The Sea event on Sunday, Sept. 27 were trained in that correct way—even if it took more than one sample of mezcal. Under Rodrigo's guidance, it is a full sensory experience. Step one is visual: Look at the clear liquid in the glass. Step two: smell it. But there's a catch.
Culturally and musically this weekend, Monterey County celebrated American diversity.
What did you listen to this weekend? Sara Rubin here, touching back down to reality after three days at the Monterey Jazz Festival, a celebration of a distinctly American genre, and also attending yesterday’s sixth annual Oaxaca by the Sea celebration in Seaside. The latter is a celebration of the heritage of a region in another country, yet it also felt truly American.
PHOTOS: The Monterey Jazz Festival's theme, "Only in Monterey," rings true in its 69th outing.
That theme held true from beginning to end, starting with an entertaining performance by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. This is Marsalis' last year with the orchestra he cofounded 39 years ago. The festival saw the debut of a talented and rising young jazz singer, Kate Kortum, who gave a playful and delightful set on Friday night in the Pacific Jazz Café. Shortly after her set ended, Marsalis from the Jimmy Lyons Stage in the arena introduced her as a surprise guest.
After her husband’s death, Diana Martinetto is helping others die in dignity.
Jeffrey Latts and Diana Martinetto were young when they met, working in the same hospital in Southern California in 1974, he as an internist and she as a nurse. They quickly fell in love and were married; he was 27, she was 23. Half a century passed. “He was my best friend and wonderful partner,” Martinetto says. They had successful careers and moved all over the U.S., then in 2011, retired to Monterey.
After closing a longtime barbecue location, Johnny Carmona reinvented himself at Pajaro golf course.
What defines a golf course restaurant? If at first you think it might be a little stuffy – collared shirts, starched white attire – you’re not alone. That’s also what longtime restaurateur and caterer Johnny Carmona thought it might be when the CEO of Pajaro Valley Golf Club approached him in 2022 about taking over the club restaurant, the Cypress Grill. “When you think of a golf course you might think, is this place stiff, are there a lot of rules?” Carmona recalls wondering.
Bassist/composer/vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello has always charted her own musical course.
MUSICALLY AND PERSONALLY, Meshell Ndegeocello has always defied definitions and boundaries. She chose her own surname, Swahili for “free bird,” as a teenager (pronounced en-deh-gay-oh-cello). She is a bassist who is also up front as a bandleader and singer. She is a poet and a thinker in dialogue with artists both historic and contemporary. Even her take on politics sets her outside of the mainstream: “I was brought up not to be of the world,” she says.
After her husband’s death, Diana Martinetto is helping others die in dignity.
Jeffrey Latts and Diana Martinetto were young when they met, working in the same hospital in Southern California in 1974, he as an internist and she as a nurse. They quickly fell in love and were married; he was 27, she was 23. Half a century passed. “He was my best friend and wonderful partner,” Martinetto says. They had successful careers and moved all over the U.S., then in 2011, retired to Monterey.
Esta temporada electoral, el proceso de votación en sí se convierte en el centro de atención.
El pasado mes de noviembre, unos 11.5 millones de votantes de California acudieron a votar en una elección especial sobre la redistribución de distritos. La Propuesta 50 fue la respuesta de la Legislatura Estatal demócrata ante un proceso de redistribución de distritos favorable a los republicanos en Texas. En California, el 64 por ciento de los votantes dio un rotundo “sí” a un equivalente de manipulación de límites electorales (gerrymandering) de tendencia progresista.
Intact batteries at Vistra's previously burned Moss Landing Power Plant ignited a new flare-up.
It's been 20 months since a catastrophic fire ignited at Vistra Corp.'s Moss Landing Power Plant. In lithium-ion battery fires, water cannot fight thermal runaway—instead, firefighters are left to create a safe perimeter and monitor the blaze from a distance, including with the use of drones from above. In January 2025, it burned until the entire facility was destroyed. Cleanup is a whole other matter and that process has entered phase two.
Battery fire at Vistra’s Moss Landing Power Plant prompts shelter-in-place order.
County of Monterey officials issued a shelter-in-place order at 7:30am Friday, Sept. 18 for people within one-third of a mile of Moss Landing Power Plant due to a structure fire at the previously burned battery energy storage facility, which is currently undergoing demolition and cleanup. People within that radius from 7301 Highway 1 in Moss Landing are encouraged to close all windows and doors, stay indoors (and bring animals indoors), and turn off heating/air conditioning until further notice.
Battery fire at Vistra’s Moss Landing Power Plant prompts shelter-in-place order.
County of Monterey officials issued a shelter-in-place order at 7:30am Friday, Sept. 18 for people within one-third of a mile of Moss Landing Power Plant due to a structure fire at the previously burned battery energy storage facility, which is currently undergoing demolition and cleanup. People within that radius from 7301 Highway 1 in Moss Landing are encouraged to close all windows and doors, stay indoors (and bring animals indoors), and turn off heating/air conditioning until further notice.
Tras la renuncia del director ejecutivo Chris Devers, la exdirectora de Rancho Cielo, Susie Brusa, vuelve a estar al mando.
Durante 12 años, Susie Brusa trabajó para el Campus Juvenil Rancho Cielo, un centro de educación alternativa en las faldas de la sierra de Gabilán en Salinas. Fue la primera empleada profesional de la agencia no lucrativa desde 2009 y dejó su cargo como directora ejecutiva en septiembre de 2021.
This election season, the voting process itself takes the spotlight.
Last November, some 11.5 million California voters showed up to vote in a special election on redistricting. Prop. 50 was the Democratic State Legislature’s answer to a GOP-friendly redistricting process in Texas. In California, 64 percent of voters offered a resounding yes to a left-leaning gerrymandering equivalent. In Monterey County, 108,443 voters cast ballots in the special election, 69 percent of them voting yes. In much larger Riverside County, 56 percent of voters said yes to Prop. 50.
After resignation of executive director Chris Devers, former Rancho Cielo leader Susie Brusa is back in charge.
For 12 years, Susie Brusa worked for Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, an alternative education campus in the Gabilan foothills of Salinas. She was the nonprofit's first professional staff member starting in 2009, and she left her role as executive director in September of 2021. She went on to work as the district director for U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, and then to manage philanthropic efforts for agribusiness Taylor Farms.
After resignation of executive director Chris Devers, former Rancho Cielo leader Susie Brusa is back in charge.
For 12 years, Susie Brusa worked for Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, an alternative education campus in the Gabilan foothills of Salinas. She was the nonprofit's first professional staff member starting in 2009, and she left her role as executive director in September of 2021. She went on to work as the district director for U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, and then to manage philanthropic efforts for agribusiness Taylor Farms.
Saving Maya Cinemas is good for the movies—and more broadly, for downtown.
There are well-documented challenges facing movie theaters and if you’ve screened anything in the past decade, you don’t need me to rehash those challenges here. (For one example, see the Osio Theater in downtown Monterey.
Existen desafíos bien documentados que enfrentan los cines y, si ha asistido a alguna función en la última década, no necesita que vuelva a repasar esos problemas aquí. (Por ejemplo, vea el Osio Theater en el centro de Monterey. Incluso antes de la pandemia de COVID, el cine independiente tenía sus complicaciones, y un esfuerzo reciente y heroico por reabrirlo se desmoronó en medio de negociaciones con un arrendador exigente).
There are well-documented challenges facing movie theaters and if you’ve screened anything in the past decade, you don’t need me to rehash those challenges here. (For one example, see the Osio Theater in downtown Monterey.
Una bebé muerta impulsa una investigación sobre los distintos niveles de victimización.
A las 8:30am del sábado 1º de agosto, los alguaciles del Condado fueron despachados tras un reporte de una bebé a un costado de Struve Road en Moss Landing, donde descubrieron a una niña recién nacida sin vida. Los investigadores comenzaron a llamarla "bebé Angelita". Cinco días después, la Oficina del Sheriff publicó imágenes, captadas por cámaras Flock, de un vehículo de interés, un sedán Mercury color beige del año 2010.
Leon Panetta reflects on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 at a ceremony in Seaside. Original
As Americans mourned the 2,976 lives lost 25 years ago during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2021, and the subsequent war efforts to respond, first responders in Monterey County gathered to reflect on what the day meant for them, even thousands of miles away. Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges was 20, a young recruit just one month into the police academy with a plan to become a probation officer and working at Bruno's Market in Carmel at the time.
A dead baby spurs an investigation into layers of victimhood.
At 8:30am Saturday morning, Aug. 1, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of a baby on the side of Struve Road in Moss Landing where they discovered a dead infant. Investigators started calling her “baby Angelita,” Spanish for little angel. Five days later, the Sheriff’s Office released images, captured by Flock cameras, of a vehicle of interest, a beige 2010 Mercury sedan. Then four weeks later, on Aug.
El auge de las artes textiles: tejer crea comunidad
Una comunidad creciente de tejedores, hilanderos y otros artistas de la fibra textil están creando objetos que no solo son hermosos, sino que también perduran en el tiempo. En una época en la que el tiempo promedio frente a las pantallas en EE. UU. representa casi un tercio del día, cada vez más personas están desarrollando habilidades manuales en algunas de las formas de arte más antiguas. Las artes textiles han experimentado un auge en los últimos años.
A growing community of knitters, spinners and other fiber artists are making things that are beautiful – and that stand the test of time.
In a time when the average screen time in the U.S. is nearly one-third of the day, a growing number of people are expanding hands-on skills in some of the oldest art forms. Kris Nardello has been spinning for more than 50 years. She demonstrates the walking wheel at Tor House in Carmel. DANIEL DRIEFUSS Fiber arts have seen an uptick in recent years.
A growing community of knitters, spinners and other fiber artists are making things that are beautiful – and that stand the test of time.
In a time when the average screen time in the U.S. is nearly one-third of the day, a growing number of people are expanding hands-on skills in some of the oldest art forms. Kris Nardello has been spinning for more than 50 years. She demonstrates the walking wheel at Tor House in Carmel. DANIEL DRIEFUSS Fiber arts have seen an uptick in recent years.
Even Cal Am gets on board with asking for relief on the cease-and-desist.
The iceberg that is the cease-and-desist order on the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply may finally be melting. A bit of background: Private utility California American Water delivers water to thousands of local taps. For decades, the company obtained most of that water by sticking a straw into the Carmel River – something that officials at the State Water Resources Control Board determined in 1995 was a violation of Cal Am’s legal limit to pump from the river.
Sand City officials ask Transportation Agency to waive all charges for a pedestrian/bicycling path project on an old rail line.
The Transportation Agency for Monterey County acquired the 100-foot-wide right of way on the old Union Pacific railroad line with the idea of preserving it for a potential future transit use. The return of the train seems like a distant dream – takeoff pads for eVTOLs manufactured by Joby or Archer could come sooner, Marina Mayor/TAMC board member Bruce Delgado noted during a board meeting on Monday, Aug. 31. But there are some real-life projects in the works.
Even Cal Am gets on board with asking for relief on the cease-and-desist.
The iceberg that is the cease-and-desist order on the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply may finally be melting. A bit of background: Private utility California American Water delivers water to thousands of local taps. For decades, the company obtained most of that water by sticking a straw into the Carmel River – something that officials at the State Water Resources Control Board determined in 1995 was a violation of Cal Am’s legal limit to pump from the river.
A proliferation of AI-assisted local news sites runs the gamut.
It is easy to publish things on the internet. It’s a little more time-consuming to report, write, edit and fact-check things. So when a site called Royal Eagle News started publishing a large volume of what appeared to be local news stories a few months ago, I was curious. A few stories very closely resembled stories published in the Monterey County Weekly, where reporters (with their human brains) had attended meetings, interviewed other humans, read documents and written stories.
Existe una gran variedad de sitios de noticias locales asistidos por inteligencia artificial.
Es fácil publicar cosas en internet. Toma un poco más de tiempo reportar, escribir, editar y verificar los datos. Por eso, cuando un sitio llamado Royal Eagle News comenzó a publicar un gran volumen de lo que parecían ser noticias locales hace unos meses, me dio curiosidad. Algunas notas se parecían muchísimo a las publicadas en el Monterey County Weekly, donde los reporteros (con sus cerebros humanos) habían asistido a reuniones, entrevistado a otras personas, leído documentos y escrito las notas.
La idea detrás del Proyecto del Teléfono del Viento (Wind Phone Project) es que una conversación con quienes ya fallecieron puede sanar. Estos teléfonos antiguos de disco (sin conexión a ninguna línea) invitan a cualquier persona a descolgar y hacer una llamada a quien desee hablar. El Centro Papillon para la Pérdida y Transición pidió a varios artistas que pintaran estos teléfonos del viento.
Firefighters confront two growing wildfires from all directions. Original
A combination of shifting wind direction and dry vegetation has led to the growth of the Timber Fire, which started on Aug. 8 near Timber Top camp, a popular hiking destination in Big Sur. As of 7am Saturday, Aug. 29, the fire is 24,408 acres and is 21-percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. As firefighters worked to contain the Timber Fire, another fire, the Plaskett Fire, sparked to the south on Wednesday, Aug.
Swimmer Catherine Breed stops in P.G. halfway through her mission to become the first person to swim the entire California coast.
Catherine Breed swam 455 miles through the ocean to get to Pacific Grove on Tuesday, Aug. 25. It's a story that includes going to UC Berkeley on a full ride scholarship for swimming, but that captures only her competitive capabilities, not her love for the water. She grew up sailing in San Francisco Bay and loved seeing fish on trips to Pacific islands. After college, she said, she was looking for a different program.
Coastal Kids Home Care
The idea behind the Wind Phone Project is that a conversation with the dead can be healing. These vintage rotary phones (wired to nothing) welcome anyone to pick up and place a call to whoever it is you want to speak to. The Papillon Center for Loss & Transition asked artists to paint wind phones.
A proliferation of AI-assisted local news sites runs the gamut.
It is easy to publish things on the internet. It’s a little more time-consuming to report, write, edit and fact-check things. So when a site called Royal Eagle News started publishing a large volume of what appeared to be local news stories a few months ago, I was curious. A few stories very closely resembled stories published in the Monterey County Weekly, where reporters (with their human brains) had attended meetings, interviewed other humans, read documents and written stories.
Coastal Kids Home Care
The idea behind the Wind Phone Project is that a conversation with the dead can be healing. These vintage rotary phones (wired to nothing) welcome anyone to pick up and place a call to whoever it is you want to speak to. The Papillon Center for Loss & Transition asked artists to paint wind phones.
Una donación relativamente pequeña tiene un gran impacto para una tradición de Salinas.
Les saluda Sara Rubín, reconociendo a todos los que alguna vez han formado parte de un equipo organizador de eventos. Si lo han hecho, ya saben: es mucho más trabajo del que se podrían imaginar. En el condado de Monterey tenemos la suerte de vivir en un lugar que se nutre de los eventos comunitarios, tanto de nuevas ideas como de aquellos que se han realizado durante décadas. Se necesita cierto tiempo para que un evento recurrente se convierta en una tradición.
Midway through attempt to become first person to swim the entire California coast, Catherine Breed to stop in P.G.
Catherine Breed is nearly halfway through her attempt to become the first person ever to swim the 900-mile California coast, as of this writing at 10:30am somewhere near Moss Landing, miles offshore and heading south from Santa Cruz across Monterey Bay. She so far logged 434.7 miles and counting. Her project, Swim California, includes various stops along the way. On Saturday, she made an appearance in Santa Cruz to talk about the effort. She was originally scheduled to appear in Monterey on Sept.
UPDATED: Amid drier weather, Timber Fire expands into wilderness areas of Big Sur; in the west, Highway 1 reopens.
UPDATE as of 1pm Sunday, Aug. 23: Additional evacuation zones to the east and northeast are now under evacuation orders due to the Timber Fire. Even as firefighters have made progress with containment of the Timber Fire in Big Sur on the west side, the fire continues to grow in steep wilderness terrain to the north and east. On Saturday, Aug. 22, Highway 1 was fully reopened to through-traffic in the area, leading to the reopening of various businesses that had been closed due to lack of access.
Amid drier weather, Timber Fire expands into wilderness areas of Big Sur; in the west, Highway 1 reopens.
Even as firefighters have made progress with containment of the Timber Fire in Big Sur on the west side, the fire continues to grow in steep wilderness terrain to the north and east. On Saturday, Aug. 22, Highway 1 was fully reopened to through-traffic in the area, leading to the reopening of various businesses that had been closed due to lack of access. But due to dry weather conditions overnight from Saturday to Sunday, Aug. 22-23, the fire continues to be active on its northeastern side.
A relatively small donation makes a big impact for a Salinas tradition.
Sara Rubin here, with a shoutout to everyone who has ever been part of an event-organizing team. If you’ve done it, you know—it’s more work than you could imagine. We are fortunate in Monterey County to live in a place that thrives on community events, both new ideas and those that have been happening for decades. It takes a certain amount of time for a recurring event to become a tradition.
Este año electoral, el gran dinero ya está fluyendo.
El dinero en la política sí compra visibilidad. Sin embargo, no compra votos. Eso quedó claro en la elección primaria demócrata en Michigan para el Senado de los Estados Unidos, donde Abdul El-Sayed derrotó a Haley Stevens el 4 de agosto, a pesar de un déficit de gastos de 9 a 1, según reportes de prensa. Una parte significativa de los fondos de campaña de Stevens provino de intereses proisraelíes, incluyendo el Comité de Asuntos Públicos de Israel-Estados Unidos (AIPAC).
The acronym will live on under a new owner and a new name at MIIS. The Middlebury Institute for International Studies will become the Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America in a deal announced on Aug. 19 and expected to close in September. Applications for a 2027 incoming class will be accepted starting Oct. 1.
Three people are killed in one weekend amid dystopian reality of Car Week.
“The reality of today’s world requires us to prepare for the worst while always hoping for the best,” Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges writes. The reality is that the worst did also happen, with cars themselves – motor vehicle crashes left three people dead in the final weekend of Car Week. California Highway Patrol responded to two fatal collisions on Saturday, Aug. 15. One, at 2pm on Esperanza Road near Chualar, left bicyclist Juan Roberto Lopez-Gomez of Gonzales dead at the scene.
Soka University announces plan to acquire Middlebury Institute.
The acronym will live on under a new owner and a new name at MIIS. The Middlebury Institute for International Studies will become the Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America in a deal announced on Aug. 19 and expected to close in September. Applications for a 2027 incoming class will be accepted starting Oct.
Les saluda Sara Rubín, pensando en algunas de las limitaciones sobre cómo los medios de comunicación cubren la nota roja. A menudo hay muy poca información pública disponible mientras las investigaciones están en marcha. Algunos incidentes ocurren en medio de la noche y el lugar de los hechos ya está despejado para cuando los reporteros se despiertan.
Soka University announces plan to acquire Middlebury Institute.
The acronym will live on under a new owner and a new name at MIIS. The Middlebury Institute for International Studies will become the Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America in a deal announced on Aug. 19 and expected to close in September. Applications for a 2027 incoming class will be accepted starting Oct.
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