Hands off protest

More than 3,700 Monterey area protesters came together last Saturday, united to fight the destruction the Trump administration is bringing to our lives and our country. We filled the space at Windows on the Bay as it has never been filled before.

There was great unity as we raised our voices peacefully, displayed our amazing variety of signs and were greeted by the horns of passing cars.

It is shocking that our local media failed to cover the historical nature of this event, one of thousands in our country and abroad. There were no TV cameras in sight. Your paper ran a brief paragraph with one photo, with the faulty description that the event had “several hundred” protesters. There was so much more you could have reported, at the very least the correct number of participants.

The 35 percent rule has shown that it takes action by just 3.5 percent of the population to create societal change. We reached that number last Saturday here in the Monterey area and elsewhere in the county. We will continue our protests until that change happens. I hope that your paper and our other local media will pay attention.

— Heidi Feldman, Pacific Grove

The Herald should get the facts right. The photo on Page B1 of Sunday’s paper identifying hundreds of people joining in the local protest against the Trump administration is inaccurate.

There were more than 3,000 participants. It was a much bigger turnout than your caption indicated. Facts matter, please get them right.

— Joseph Hertlein, Carmel Valley

Your coverage of the Hands Off protest in Monterey greatly disappointed me. While I appreciate the attempt to cover Saturday’s Hands Off rally, you missed some key facts.

There were over 3,700 in attendance, per our head counter, attendees ranged from seniors to parents with children, young adults and everyone in between. Because Trump policies and actions are harming everyone, everyone showed up. The mood was lively and energetic and filled with a sense of purpose. And peaceful, yes peaceful. Speakers included Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson, Monterey County Supervisor Kate Daniels and others.

Rallies took place throughout the country with crowds in the tens of thousands in the larger cities but even the red states had large gatherings. In solidarity rallies were also held in the UK, Germany, France, etc.

This is a story that deserves more thorough coverage than a short, inaccurate blurb and a few pictures.

I look forward to more extensive coverage of these important community protests in the future.

— Kathryn O. Maurer, Pacific Grove

Editor’s note: The Herald’s photographer that day could not stay for the entire protest because of deadline constraints. Several hundred was his best estimate of the number of protestors there when he was in attendance.

What we cannot see

A friend of mine, who lives here locally and is blind, is very independent. She gets around town by bus, with the help of a loyal guide dog. She writes, cooks for herself and others. She once taught living skills to other blind students. She puts on potlucks, attends community events and a writing class. Her essays are typed on a talking keyboard and read back to her for editing. In class, she uses her phone to listen to them and then “read” them to us. She gets her internet and talking typewriter through the state library, which provides books and resources for the blind (it can also provide resources to you). Recently, she lost her internet, and not having internet, could not even inform her friends that she was alright. An article in the Herald this week explained why. Apparently the federal grant to the state library, which supports these services and many more, has been eliminated.

The recently appointed head of these programs says they are inconsistent with the new federal priorities.

A neighbor has been in limbo for two months about her job; 90 of her co-workers have been cut. They are not allowed to talk about it.

What else can’t we see?

— Susan Morse, Carmel

A helping hand

In keeping with the Trump tradition of only helping those in need when we get something out of it, I suggest that the next time there is a hurricane in Florida, a flood in Louisiana, a tornado in Oklahoma, or a fire in California, we only send in FEMA after those states have signed over their oil and mineral rights to the federal government.

— Glenn Nolte, Carmel Valley