In today's newscast:
Charges filed in connection with March fire at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center
A 36-year-old Mountain View woman now faces multiple charges including felony hate crime and terrorizing by arson. The announcement came on Tuesday after the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office connected her to a March fire at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in Carmel Valley.
"This facility is the oldest Japanese Buddhist Soto Zen monastery in the United States, so people know its history," said Andy Rosas, a commander with the Sheriff's Office. "They come down there—a lot of people —to get away and look at what's going on in the world and what's going on in their life.”
The suspected arson burned the Center’s meditation hall to the ground, destroyed an ancient statue, and while no one was injured, the Center was left in bad shape.
“ A couple of days after the fire had actually taken place, there was no power, there were no services at the Zen Center," said Rosas.
Rosas said Fiona GuoGuo Lu claimed responsibility for the Tassajara fire while in custody in the Bay Area. Monterey Sheriff’s deputies also tracked down online threats she made about Tassajara specifically and other California Buddhist temples.
"The public has to be given the opportunity to safely practice their faith," said Rosas. "There should be no danger when you go to a place of worship like this."
Lu is currently being held in Napa County on other charges and her bail in Monterey County is set for $130,000.
Unlikely increases for some Pacific Grove public servants' stipends
Measure C on the Pacific Grove primary ballot would have increased stipends for some public servants by 135%. This would have been the first raise for councilmembers in over 25 years, adding $52,000 a year to the city budget.
The raises also would have coincided with the election of Pacific Grove’s newest city council members—the first ones elected through district voting rather than at-large.
Transparent P.G.—the main group opposed to the measure—plans to get a referendum petition on the November ballot to require voters to decide on future salary increases for city council members.
