Fire season may be over, but it will be back soon enough—and so will the preemptive blackouts. 

Murky Waters…Squid has always had a fondness for unwieldy books like dictionaries and encyclopedias, dating back to Squid’s pre-internet years as a Squidlet. For nostalgic purposes, Squid sometimes returns to the paper dictionary to verify spellings and definitions and, for obvious reasons, …

More than 800,000 Californians living in or near wildfire disaster areas are guaranteed to keep their home insurance for the next year, after state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a moratorium on non-renewals on Dec. 5. 

From tin can factory to outlet mall, the American Tin Cannery in Pacific Grove has been morphing from one identity to another for over a century as economics and the Monterey Bay have changed. The latest proposed transformation into a resort hotel is finally underway and open to public comme…

Over the last 40 years, Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas has delivered low-cost medical care to thousands of local agricultural workers and their families, as well as other low income residents and those with no health insurance. Its staff have also delivered more than 10,000 newborns s…

A different type of rubber met the road on Thanksgiving morning as more than 400 people turned out in frigid conditions to challenge WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on foot—and to donate to a cause.

The weather over Thanksgiving week dished up a heavy portion of rain throughout Monterey County and continued serving leftovers for another couple of days. A brief break is expected on Dec. 5, but don't put away the umbrellas. A cold front bringing more rain and wind is expected late Friday,…

Of Human Bondage…”Too wet to go out and too cold to play ball. So we sat in the house. We did nothing at all.” If ever a piece of literature resonated with Squid, it’s that one, from the Dr. Seuss epic The Cat in the Hat. Four days of a Thanksgiving holiday in which the office was closed, th…

Thanksgiving is a day of traditions. There’s turkey or ham (or turkey and ham, if you’re lucky), there’s a slate of NFL games on television, there are the usual arguments over which wine pairs with turkey because, you know, cranberry dressing is a wild card. And there’s all that leftover cra…

If you plan on traveling or spending time outdoors for the holiday weekend, you may want to bring galoshes and a parka. According to weather advisory officials, Monterey County is expected to get its first blow of winter storms this week, starting Tuesday night, Nov. 26, and continuing throu…

I’m On a Boat…Squid finally emerged from the lair on Saturday for some sun and warmth following a week of being glued to Squid’s computer, eating huge buckets of shrimp-flavored popcorn and live-streaming the impeachment hearings. Squid’s favorite witness, Squid has decided, was Ambassador G…

It began slowly, with a trickle of sick patients starting with one case on Sept. 24. By the end of October, 24 people ill. Then by Nov. 10, 40 people in 16 states had been sickened with E. coli, and 28 of them were hospitalized. Five developed kidney failure. (None have died.)

A decision by a Monterey County Superior Court judge has pushed back the construction schedule of California American Water's desalination project by about a year. 

Vroom, Vroom…No one knows this, but many years ago, Squid was driving down Highway 68 while daydreaming. The memories are a little fuzzy, but Squid must have taken an unexpected turn into Laguna Seca because the next thing Squid remembers is riding the ol’ jalopy on the track next to race ca…

After more than four years of study, public input and political wrangling, Pacific Grove is almost near the finish line it has worked hard for: a coastal development plan certified by the California Coastal Commission.

After 16 years of making decisions on projects and ordinances and policies affecting land use in Monterey County, Keith Vandevere has stepped down from the Monterey County Planning Commission. 

The National Weather Service announced a beach hazard statement warning of sneaker waves coming to California beaches from Sonoma then heading south through Big Sur beginning midday Nov. 14, and extending until the afternoon of Nov. 15.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence are coming to the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Valley on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in search of honey as well as some sweet campaign donations. Locals can expect road closures during the afternoon and evening on roads between the Monterey Airport…

Deane Crow, the physician and former director of Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital's emergency department whose son was at the center of an infamous 2010 murder case, was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 13, on a federal indictment alleging he ran a pill mill.

Vaxxing Situation…Squid spent the weekend stocking up on shrimp-flavored popcorn and bloody mary ingredients for the impeachment hearings coming on Wednesday and Friday. (No vodka this time, just lots of Clamato and tomato juice. Squid doesn’t want to miss a word of testimony.) In between sh…

Water bills on the Monterey Peninsula could go down significantly if the local utility were to be replaced by a public agency. That’s according to a 111-page feasibility analysis by a group of financial consultants and bankers released on Nov. 6.

For the first time in 14 years, what was billed as “America’s greatest” cycling race will not take place. Last week, organizers announced that the Amgen Tour of California is not happening in 2020.

Update: City Council did vote on Nov. 6 to implement the ban on single-use plastics.

Of the approximately 30,000 people affected by Pacific Gas & Electric’s preemptive power shutoff in South County last weekend, an estimated 2,500 had a medical device dependent on electricity, according to the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. For those without a backup gener…

H-2-Ohhhhhh…Squid loves attending public meetings, and tries to fit in a few each week around Squid’s hobbies—rewatching every episode of The Wire, knitting cashmere tentacle warmers for Christmas gifts and taking long walks with Squid’s beloved bulldog, Rosco P. Coltrane, just to name a few.

In the middle of October, when students are busy writing essays and preparing for exams, the administration of CSU Monterey Bay sent an email to residents of the student dorms: if you want to stay in your dorm room for any portion of winter break, the email said, be prepared to pay a new fee…

All the water irrigating the golf courses at Bayonet & Black Horse in Seaside is of drinking quality. Using the standard measurement, it’s about 450 acre-feet of water per year going to keep the grass green. That amount would be enough to supply about 1,500 new residential units. 

Former state Assembly candidate Neil Kitchens, the lone Republican in the 2018 race to take the Assembly District 30 seat eventually won by Robert Rivas, was ordered to stand trial on charges he committed voter registration fraud and lied about his place of residence when he filed his offici…

The plan by California American Water to build a $329 million desalination plant for Monterey Peninsula is about to face a critical vote.

A major new tourist destination could soon spring up near Soledad after the Monterey County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Oct. 30 to approve construction at Paraiso Springs Resort.  

As the latest Monterey County Crop Report was introduced on June 26 in Salinas, frustration over immigration and the lack of a viable guest worker program bubbled up and over the top. Farm workers shared they were living in fear and agricultural leaders said they didn’t have enough people to…

Following last week’s heat advisory warning, the weather is about to swing to the other extreme. Officials have issued a cold-weather advisory for parts of Monterey County, with overnight temperatures in the Salinas Valley expected to drop into the 30s on Oct. 30 and 31 and potentially into …

The staff of the California Coastal Commission is recommending that commissioners deny a critical coastal development permit for wells that would supply California American Water’s proposed desalination plant near Marina. 

Close Out...Squid occasionally likes to howl at the moon. While The General is a cool new bar in Marina, Squid figures an old-school dive is the proper place to tie one on. So Squid oozed over to Mortimer’s Rhythm & Brews, a dark and rowdy Marina landmark, only to find the doors bolted shut.

Pacific Gas and Electric's public safety power shutoffs—planned blackouts during hot, windy conditions—have come to Monterey County. 

A heat advisory has been issued for much of Monterey County and Santa Clara County. The advisory is in effect for Salinas, Seaside, Monterey, Marina, Carmel Valley, the Big Sur Coast and multiple cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. The advisory went into effect 10 a.m. Oct. 25 and extends …

The Soberanes Fire in 2016 destroyed a lot of property and caused the fatality of one person: a bulldozer operator named Robert Oliver Reagan III, who was hired to help fight the flames. 

Hours after the Monterey County Weekly, Voices of Monterey Bay and KSBW jointly published reports about a criminal gang's efforts to occupy positions of leadership and influence in MILPA Collective, a Salinas nonprofit organization, MILPA Executive Director Juan Gomez held a press conference…

About two dozen firefighters quickly tamped down a forest fire in Pebble Beach on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 24.