Monterey County Weekly (formerly Coast Weekly) 831-394-5656 news/cover

Big Sur residents and businesses total their losses – and wait for more help from the feds.
Jessica Lyons -

Sula Nichols watched the fire destroy her Partington Ridge home. “I saw it burn from around the corner,” she says, standing in the dirt where her house used to be.... read on»

In the past two years, more than 1 million pounds of pesticides were applied in Monterey County – and that’s not counting crop chemicals or household bug spray.
Kera Abraham -

Think you can avoid pesticide exposure by eating organic strawberries and hand-pulling the thistles in your garden? City-dwellers, think again: Quietly, constantly, synthetic pest-killers inundate urban spaces. ... read on»
Pesticide Use Within Monterey County, 2006-2007
Kera Abraham -

Our cover story on non-agricultural pesticide use within Monterey County includes charts detailing the top pesticides applied, applications by local governments, and the things the... read on»
Some things to bear in mind when interpreting these numbers.
Kera Abraham -

These data are raw and are supplied by applicators. The Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office does not review the figures for accuracy, leaving that to the state. ... read on»
Local governments can get sloppy with outsourced pesticide application records.
Kera Abraham -

Short of changing the law, there’s not much citizens can do to stop private licensed applicators from using pesticides. But they should be able to hold government officials accountable for... read on»

A reporter goes toe-to-hoof with a half-ton bull.
Mark C. Anderson -

It’s the Running of the Bulls, only backwards, and in Salinas, not Spain: I’m sprinting straight at a bull. He watches me, unmoving, 1,000 bovine pounds of potential energy and... read on»
How a steer wrestler flies from his high-speed horse to collar cattle.
Kelley Calvert -

Charles Harris is practicing the art of visualization. In the next 10 seconds, he must wrestle a steer three times his weight to the ground while moving at a speed... read on»
A local barrel racer prepares for her big chance at California Rodeo Salinas.
Nic Coury -

With dirt flying from under the hooves of her horse and her teeth gritted, Shannon Shade looks as if she might topple over with Saty, her 11-year-old, dark-brown quarter horse.... read on»
Once in the chute, the mellow bull becomes true to his nature.
Stuart Thornton -

With red-rimmed eyes, Rotten Nanners stands in a small enclosure at King City’s Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, lazily munching on alfalfa beside a dark bull named Black Twister. A 5-year-old, 1,500-pound... read on»

Carl Cherry Center celebrates its 60th anniversary with a theme dear to its roots.
Maureen Davidson -

If you can’t count on youth to make a fuss when a fuss is required, call up the old warriors– and stand back. Upon the occasion of its birthday, the... read on»
Barbara James of Carmel Valley recalls what her parents went through.
Maureen Davidson -

Excerpts from an interview of Barbara James by Maureen Davidson My parents, Dan and Lillith James, were blacklisted. Not, I think, because of their intrinsic value as targets, but... read on»

Jackie Cruz left gang life behind and now helps others avoid her mistakes
Zachary Stahl -

Her transformation alone gives hope to teens trying to escape the trappings of gangs and poverty. Jackie Cruz, a daughter of farm workers, joined a Salinas gang at age 10.... read on»
MIIS president measures success at her work by her personal yardstick.
Stuart Thornton -

In her office at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, MIIS president Dr. Clara Yu relates a story about Mahatma Gandhi. She says that the east Indian spiritual and political... read on»
Jack Ellwanger picks his battles and gets things done.
Mark C. Anderson -

They don’t appear on the front page: a nerdy guy who sends endless e-mails, an ex-gangster, a pair of Seaside seniors, a veteran academic, an immigrant couple from Africa. ... read on»
Elana Anderson and Walter Jones have always been driven to help the hungry
By Tina May -

Forget second nature. To Walter Jones and Elana Anderson, sharing what you’ve got with those who have less is their first nature. Neither has ever known any differently. ... read on»
Two Seaside nurses help save lives in Nigeria.
Kera Abraham -

Richard Anyanwu’s smile is radiant, even as he describes the water damage inflicted on his home by a broken pipe while he was out of town. The couches are still... read on»