Pacific Grove pay

Three weeks after Pacific Grove’s Finance Director warned of a long-term budget deficit and $55 million in unfunded pension liabilities, five of seven City Council members voted to give themselves a 130% raise. They also left open the possibility of receiving city-funded health care—which would add further pressure to city finances.

No candidates in last fall’s election mentioned pay raises. The surprise proposal aroused much public interest.

At the May 7 Council meeting, 25 residents opposed the measure, and only five expressed support. The mayor shortened public comment time per person from three minutes to 90 seconds.

Only Councilmembers Paul Walkingstick and Lori McDonnell called for a delay or public vote. The remaining five council members chose to move forward without either.

Now, a citizen-led referendum petition could give voters, rather than the City Council, the right to make this decision. Signature gatherers have the petition for signing outside Grove Market and the post office daily through June 30.

Pacific Grove residents who want voters to have this right, please sign the petition so there can be a public vote on this issue.

— Jane Haines, Pacific Grove

Homelessness and immigration

How do homelessness and cracking down on immigration go together? Our immigrant community is visible: a symphony of non-English languages in the kitchens of our favorite restaurants, the halls of hotels where cleaning crews work, the fields where the salad that feeds the nation is harvested, our doctor and dentist’s offices, and the classrooms at CSUMB where a new generation of wise people are educated. Less visible are the homeless, many of them veterans, camped under our bridges. How do those two worlds go together?

“Illegal” means outside the rules we have written, but it doesn’t make immigrants less than human. The “homeless” are those we’ve allowed to slip through the cracks for want of — at the very least — a home, and the personal security it provides. However they got there, this does not make them less than human either.

The energy and money spent detaining hard-working people could be better spent on programs that benefit those in dire need. Those of us not in either group have a part to play: we can work through our elected officials and our favorite charities to make life better for them all. Both groups deserve our respect.

— Helen Spiess Shamble, East Garrison

No Kings protest

The “No Kings” protest filled me with a joy I haven’t felt in ages, ironic though considering the demonic reason for our demonstration. It was beautiful to be among like-minded patriots, all of whom abhor the behavior of the current administration. Perhaps the greatest take-away is that the American flag still belongs to us…to all of us. We raised our flag with others without the association to the corrupt and cruel policies that threaten our freedoms. Thank you to the organizers and thousands of fellow patriots who made this Saturday one I will never forget. It was glorious.

— Cindy P. Gates, Pacific Grove

Constitutional guidance

My brothers and sisters of the National Guard (past and present), let us reflect upon the profound and sacred pledge we have taken. We stand as pillars of service, bound by solemn oath not merely to a flag or a state, but to the very soul of this nation—to the Constitution of the United States. This hallowed document, born of struggle and aspiration, lays the foundation for our collective destiny.

In those difficult moments when constitutional directive may clash with state or federal political purpose, remember always where our mission truly lies. Our allegiance, our very being, is consecrated to upholding the supreme law of this land. For in the Constitution, we find the wellspring of all legitimate authority. Within this sacred framework, we discern an order’s legality: it must flow from the Constitution’s principles and laws, never compelling us to violate the very rights we are sworn to protect.

And when the difficult question arises of applying force within our civilian communities, let our moral judgment be guided by compassion and the unwavering call for justice. We are not simply instruments of power, but guardians of peace.

— Paul Beach, Carmel Valley