June 16, 2025

Contact: Supervisor Luis Alejo (831) 726-6032

TRI-COUNTY PRESS CONFERENCE IN SUPPORT OF IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES TO BE HELD NEXT WEDNESDAY

Elected Officials, Labor Unions, School Officials, Health, Businesses and Community Based Organizations from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties 

to Hold a United Press Conference in Support of Immigrants Throughout California

Elected officials, labor unions, education leaders, health officials, businesses and community-based organizations from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties will hold a joint press conference next Wednesday in support of immigrants in Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura County and across California. This is the first time a joint press conference with leaders of the entire Monterey Bay region will take place in light of enforcement actions targeting immigrant communities in recent weeks.

When: Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 11:30am

Where:
County of Monterey Government Center (Front Area outside)

168 W. Alisal Street, Salinas, CA 93901

Who:
The press conference will feature a diverse lineup of speakers representing County Supervisors, Mayors, Councilmembers, Monterey County Hospitality Association, Monterey County Farm Bureau, Education Leaders, Healthcare Officials, Community-Based Organizations, and the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council.

Why:
Anxiety remains high among immigrant communities across California as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies are conducting high profile enforcement actions across the state and as protests continue in Los Angeles. There is a need to express solidarity and support for our local immigrant communities and those in targeted areas across our state. We also want to remind our immigrant communities of existing local resources and where to get information on their legal rights.

Date:	Monday, June 16, 2025
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Celeste Morales
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE #46

FULL OVERNIGHT CLOSURE OF HIGHWAY 1 AT ROCKY CREEK

SET TO START SUNDAY, JUNE 22 AT 10 PM

MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans is continuing with emergency repairs to Highway 1 near the Rocky Creek Bridge, 12 miles south of Carmel.

Full Overnight Closure of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek Sunday, June 22

Travelers will encounter a full overnight closure of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek starting Sunday, June 22 at 10 pm. Highway 1 will reopen Monday, June 23 at 6 am. Crews will take advantage of this full overnight closure to grind and repave the asphalt area between the 2012 viaduct and the new 2025 viaduct, as well as both the north and southbound directions of the new viaduct structure.

Overnight Traffic Control at Rocky Creek Set for June 23 thru June 26

Travelers will encounter overnight flagging control for four consecutive nights to allow crews to perform final paving and sealing of the lanes of the northbound and southbound viaduct structure. Starting Monday, June 23, and for four consecutive nights through Thursday, June 26, travelers on Highway 1 will travel through Rocky Creek under flagged traffic control from 8 pm thru 8 am the following morning with delays of up to 20 minutes. This flagged traffic control is being implemented in place of any full overnight closures.

Daytime Traffic Control at Rocky Creek for Monday, June 23

On Monday, June 23, from 10 am to 2 pm, travelers will encounter flagging control with delays of up to 20 minutes to permit crews to deliver equipment to the seawall restoration project immediately below the Rocky Creek Bridge.

The North and South Coast of Big Sur Remain Open and Accessible Via Hwy. 1

Travelers are reminded that over 100 miles of Highway 1 on the Big Sur coast remain open and accessible. Travelers from northern California will find easy access to historic bridges, waterfalls, restaurants, and lodging amenities. Travelers from southern California will find that the highway brings them directly within reach of the unparalleled views, lodging amenities, and natural wonders of Lucia, the Camaldoli Hermitage, Gorda, Treebones, Ragged Point, San Simeon, and Cambria. Highway 1 remains closed at Regent’s Slide, 40 miles south of Carmel.

The estimate for final completion of the Rocky Creek viaduct is summer 2025, with that date dependent on conditions encountered during construction. The contractor for this project is Gordon N. Ball, Inc. of Walnut Creek, CA.

Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.

TO THOSE OF YOU ON THE SOUTH COAST AND THOSE WHO LIKE TO CAMP OR COME HERE:

Now that the National Forest has reopened, the BigSur South Coast Fire Patrol has resumed weekend patrols . Our main mission is education. We provide campers necessary information so that everyone can have a safe and enjoyable camping experience.Of course our main concern is fire. We want to make sure that when camp fires are allowed, permits from USFS have been issued and that campers are following the rules  and that when fire restrictions are in effect, no campfires are allowed. To find out more about our nonprofit organization check out our website at BSSCFF.org and if you can, please donate to our non-profit. If you think you might want to join our organization as a patroller on one of our fully equipped rigs please contact us at  bigsursouthcoastfirefoundation@ gmail.com. Let’s  work together to keep the South Coast green.

Here is the link to NBC NEWS: nbcnews.app.link/wI6YEBg98Tb

He was released, apparently without booking, but I can’t be sure. We will probably learn.

In the case of Newsom v Trump (25-4870), the opposition to the motion for a temporary restraining order is due by 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Plaintiffs may file a response to that opposition by 9:00 A.M. on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The Court will hold a hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion in open court at 1:30 P.M. on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Any party wishing to appear by Zoom may do so.

In addition to seats in Judge Breyer’s courtroom, there will be an overflow space with live audio and video next door in Courtroom 5. No seats will be reserved for media.

Members of the public may remotely access the hearing through this Zoom link. There is a 1,000 participant cap to the Zoom webinar.

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Public Hearings

Please click the link below to join webinars (public hearings). If you are a case participant, you will join as an attendee, then you will be brought into the proceeding by court staff.

https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/j/1611472837?pwd=cy81NUdINWZmeEpFUjlHRXM3djZ5QT09

Webinar ID: 161 147 2837
Password: 785243

It seemed like so much of the news was depressing this week, so I want to offer some reasons to take heart. If there are any significant developments on the invasion of LA I will post here today.

This was Tuesday night, from X (formerly known as twitter) oh, and it is a screen shot taken from a video so I don’t have to link to X, for those of you who boycott or simply don’t go there

BREAKING: In a bold act of defiance, a U.S. military service member joined an anti-ICE protest in Dallas following Trump’s deployment of Marines to Los Angeles, declaring:

“We will not be pawns in the dismantling of constitutional rights.”

Glendale (one of the many cities lumped into LA for people not from SoCal) City Council voted this on Wednesday:

When I started this blog, back in 2008, my intention was to get accurate and timely information on wildfires out to an audience who seemed to need and want it. Then it expanded to include landslides and road closures. Those have always been my primary focus. I often threw in lost or found dogs (I can’t help myself) and non-profit events and miscellaneous Big Sur Information. I have almost always stayed away from politics — especially since it has become so polarizing.

Unfortunately, since this administration has invaded — yes, invaded — California, I feel this fight for our sovereignty and for freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble is important and I support all efforts by Californians to retain these rights. It is not really about immigration, that is just the way the administration wants to frame it so it is likely to find support. The real goal, as the majority of us know, is really a play to do away with our current government. This will not stop with LA or California. We are just the test balloon to see if it will fly with what is left of the GOP and his base and the courts. I will be covering these events until the invasion of California ceases. I will continue to cover Big Sur as well, and definitely am keeping my eye on fires in MoCo, SLO, and Santa Cruz counties for you and as a reporter for Watch Duty. That is still my focus, but if it is relatively quiet here, I will be bringing information about the invasion to your inbox, FB, X, blue sky, threads, instagram, etc as long as it is necessary. Once the invaders retreat (remember, TACO), I will avoid politics once again in this space. FB, on the other hand, has always been fair game. Thanks for putting up with my recent tangents.

I subscribe to a Substack by Terrence Goggin, a history professor from The West Point. His post this morning is particularly helpful and hopeful. He equates Trump with the Wizard of Oz.

”What is this guy really up to?

He is using a clever fantasy OF “SEIZING POWER” to create fear in the American people. To get his way without real force, but use a “pretend” force. Like a few thousand solders, Marines and ICE agents sent to LA and, drum roll….a Russian Style Birthday Military Parade in the Capitol. He wants to scare the hell out of us. Just like the Wizard of Oz.

It’s not working! California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has called his bluff. In a nationally televised address he stripped away the curtain to see a scared little man punching buttons, yelling in a microphone and ringing bells.

People are massing in protest against this ridiculous man. As is their constitutional right. They are not afraid of this little man. He has said that any protests against his $150 million Parade in the Capital on Saturday will be meet with “very big force”. Really? The DC National Guard again? This “fear thing” is one gigantic farce to instill fear. Just what FDR warned us against:

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..nameless unreasoning unjustified terror that paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”.

And that’s what Governor Newsom, the citizens of California and the National Latino community are doing. They are shucking off Trump’s fantasies of “seizing power” and daring him to stop them. “See you in Court!”. And “See you in the parades of protesting military veterans all over the country shouting Shame On You! “

If interested subscribe to: The West Point History Professor on Substack for a different perspective. This man is a nice addendum to Heather Cox Richardson.

Dear Friends,

The militaristic response to the ICE protests in L.A. have rattled a few of us and strengthened the resolve of many of us.

This attempted suppression of our First Amendment right to peacefully assemble is a predictable stage in the authoritarian playbook

There are many ways you can safely participate in the No Kings protests – and for those who are unable to attend in person for any reason, there are some alternatives below that I hope you will consider.

CALLS: PREPARING FOR JUNE 14 NO KINGS 

For those of us who want to show up in person, or want to support those who do, I recommend signing up for these two calls – one today and one on Thursday:

Tuesday, June 10, at 4pm PT/ 7pm ET: Know Your Rights training with the ACLU. Whether you’re marching, rallying, or supporting from the sidelines, you’ll learn how to protect yourself, your community, and stand up for your rights. We’ll make sure you know your rights during protests and law enforcement encounters and are prepared to take action safely, powerfully, and together.

Thursday, June 12, at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET: Join the No Kings team for a pre-mobilization call. This will be a strategic call designed to give you timely updates about the state of play, walk through key messaging guidance, and share best practices on how to participate in this mass mobilization. If you’re wondering how we show up to protest safely, peacefully, and joyously in the face of the Trump administration’s escalations, this is the place to be.

There are additional planning calls with the teachers union, for military families and veterans, for people who serve as hosts or safety marshalls, and conozca sus derechos en español

READ: PREPARING FOR SAFE PROTESTING:

Whether or not you can tune into the calls today and Thursday, here are some great resources:

How to Protest Safely (from Standup for Science)

Protesters’ Rights | American Civil Liberties Union

Protecting Your Rights (Berkeleyside)

Peter Coyote – On Best Practices for Peaceful Protest

De-escalation / Dealing with Disruptors

Effective? “Movements, and their protests, are powerful because they change the minds of people, including those who may not even be participating in them, and they change the lives of their participants. In the long term, protests work because they can undermine the most important pillar of power: legitimacy.” – The Atlantic 

Why Me?  Remember that some folks – for example People of Color, immigrants, green-card or visa holders, religious and other minorities may be carrying more of a burden of being targeted, and so those of us who have more privileges may need to recognize that we can take up space in their place and in their honor.

Alternatives: If you are not physically or emotionally ready and able to join a protest, there’s much you can do in support.  First, here are some great suggestions from “Together We Will, Albany/Berkeley”, things you can do any day this week!

• Grab a friend and make some cardboard signs and stand on a busy street corner by a traffic light at rush hourtoday. Just the 2 of you! People will see that something is happening.
• Write a big message in sidewalk chalk on a well traveled sidewalk and also in front of your house.
• Stick up 20 post-its with your chosen message in visible places.
• Let’s make sure objections to this are widespread, non-violent and normal. Take a photo of what you do (you don’t have to show any faces) and send it to the media organization of your choice or post it on any social media platform or share it with a dozen people you know so more people know it’s happening. Invite them to do the same.

You can also: 

• Make signs for friends who are able to go, spread the word, host a sign-making party, give a ride to or from the protest, be an emergency contact, provide sustenance before or after to foot-weary protestors.
• Donate to the ACLU, and/or groups such as the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, NorCalResist, or RAICES.
• Contact Governor Newsom and/or AG Bonta and tell them you support their lawsuit against the unconstitutional deployment of troops in California.
• Print out Know Your Rights cards for protestors and for immigrants. There is a “red card” version of this that you can urge your group, faith organization or library to or and have available for distribution, or you can download red cards to be printed at home/locally.

I’ll be sending out another newsletter with more suggestions before the weekend, but in the meantime, please take a look at the message below from Indivisible and No Kings organizers and think about how we can all step up at this moment in history.  

https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/800594/?force_banner=true&share_context=event_details&share_medium=copy_link