The city of Monterey is gearing up to create a rental registry, a place to possibly record all rentals in the city and keep track of what rents are being charged, as well as rent increases and evictions. As an early step in the process, the city is inviting all renters, property owners and p…

It was clear from the Monterey City Council special meeting on Wednesday, May 24, that the Sports Center and its small staff are well loved. The council chamber was packed with dozens of patrons who came out to sing the center's praises as not just a place to work out, but also a place to so…

It was a tumultuous day for the Salinas Union High School District community. Thursday, May 25—just one day prior to graduation—two high schools, Everett Alvarez and Salinas High, went into lockdown.

The LaPorte Mansion, a well-known 128-year-old landmark just outside of Pacific Grove's downtown area and a filming location for the 1959 film A Summer Place, caught fire this morning, Friday, May 26, suffering extensive damage.

Shortages of housing and, in turn, labor continue to be the biggest headwinds facing the Monterey Bay region’s economic growth, economist Christopher Thornberg said at a presentation Thursday sponsored by the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership.

Saturday morning, May 20, started out like a typical weekend for Lucía Godínez Martínez. The 40-year-old mother of three was in her Garner Avenue apartment in Salinas making breakfast for her children at about 10:15am when gunfire erupted nearby. 

There are serious efforts being made to cut back on the number of non-public safety tickets police give out. In Seaside alone, about 50 tickets are written for broken tail lights or headlights each year. 

A small plane made an emergency landing in South Monterey County on Wednesday morning, May 17, after the engine started to fail. Authorities responded to the incident south of King City in an open field. 

With applause and cheers, dozens of people celebrated a unanimous vote on Tuesday, May 16 by Salinas City Council to repeal a ban on cruising on city streets.  

On Monday, May 15, the city of Salinas announced the appointment of Lisa Brinton as the new community development director. Brinton was previously the assistant director of the Community Development Department.

Monterey County Planning Commissioner Kate Daniels has announced her campaign for the District 5 seat on the county Board of Supervisors, becoming the second candidate to throw their hat in the ring to succeed the outgoing Mary Adams next year.

On top of tuition and fees, books and other living expenses, CSU Monterey Bay students who need parking can pay up to $500 per year for a permit, and that, some say, is just not fair. Around 40 students took to the pavement on Monday, May 8, demanding that the university provide free parking…

Monterey County has shared the findings of a survey documenting the agricultural impacts of March’s devastating storms—revealing a total of $264 million in current and projected future losses across the county as a result of storm and flood damage.

U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, announced she will offer office hours in Salinas on three Wednesdays in May. 

Monterey City Councilman Alan Haffa has kicked off the 2024 election season in Monterey County, announcing his intention to run for the Board of Supervisors seat currently held by District 5 Supervisor Mary Adams.

The Monterey City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday, May 2, for up to four possible retail cannabis locations within the city, which increases the previous idea of three locations—Alvarado Street, Lighthouse Avenue and the Cannery Row district—to include one on North Fremont Boulevard.

How many Democrats does it take to get through a Monterey County Democratic Central Committee meeting? 

The Correctional Training Facility in Soledad announced the death of Jaime Brugada Valdez, known in the rap industry as MoneySign Suede. MoneySign was stabbed to death in the shower in the evening of Tuesday, April 25, according to a statement issued April 26 by the California Department of …

Ray Beshoff beamed as he paced the VIP lounge behind the west goal at Cardinale Stadium on Tuesday night, April 25, visibly thrilled at what he had just witnessed. The soccer team that he brought to Monterey County over a year ago, Monterey Bay F.C., had just defeated the San Jose Earthquake…

Doing nothing about high rents is not an option. That was the feeling among four of the five members of the Monterey City Council on April 18, as they tackled the toughest tenant issues: a lack of affordable rentals, rent increases and evictions. 

The city of Pacific Grove has settled out of court a $1 million free speech lawsuit filed last year by former P.G. Police officer Michael Gonzalez. Under the agreement signed by Gonzalez and P.G. Assistant City Manager Tori Hannah on April 7, the city will pay him $10,000 as a wage check, mi…

For Brian LeNeve, Monterey Bay chair of the California Native Plant Society, the last seven days have easily become one of his busiest weeks of the year. He’s one of a handful of volunteers that spends dozens of hours locating and picking flowers in preparation for the annual spring wildflow…

Guided by a keen sense of justice, Michael Stamp was not afraid to stand up to anyone—government or developers or pro sports teams, or the attorneys representing government or attorneys or pro sports teams. In his career as a lawyer, Stamp represented a range of clients in cases ranging from…

A suspect who is alleged to have been stealing brass fire hydrant caps in various parts of Monterey County over the past several months has been caught, the Del Rey Oaks Police Department announced in an April 10 statement. 

One year after a fire destroyed its food processing plant on Abbott Street in Salinas, local agriculture giant Taylor Farms is set to reopen the facility by the end of this month.

For the last few months, since the retirement of former Monterey County Water Resources Agency general manager Brent Buche, Lew Bauman has taken on the role on an interim basis until Buche's replacement could be hired. 

From music major to community college president, Marshall T. Fulbright III is set to become the new superintendent/president for the Monterey Peninsula Community College District, it was announced Friday, April 7.

The expansion of the recycled water project Pure Monterey, which will provide an additional 2,250 acre-feet of water to the Monterey Peninsula, can finally move forward as Cal Am has signed an agreement to purchase its water. 

Greenfield Police Department has fired an officer who was convicted of misdemeanor battery for physically attacking his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.

A young boy in a baseball jersey named Milo stole the show briefly at the Pacific Grove City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 5, as he asked the council to support building a skatepark.

In November 2018, when voters on the Monterey Peninsula approved Measure J with 56 percent of the vote, they gave the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District a mandate: buy out Cal Am’s local water infrastructure, and become the Peninsula’s new water supplier—if feasible. 

Where is the Federal Emergency Management Agency? That's been the question on people's minds in Pajaro, which suffered major flooding in March. That question was answered late in the afternoon on Monday, April 3, when Pres. Joseph Biden signed a Presidential Declaration of Disaster for the C…

With 14 candidates vying for one vacant seat on the board of the Carmel Unified School District, things might have gotten testy on Friday morning, March 31, as the board set out to select a new board member. Instead, it was a feel-good dynamic as competitors praised each other and the four c…

For people hoping to eat some fresh crab this season, the clock is ticking. 

Earlier this winter, a briefly hot topic in local politics was: Which elected officials to nominate for a vacant seat on the California Coastal Commission?

Four finalists are about to have their closeups in the search for a new superintendent/president of Monterey Peninsula College, following a nationwide search. Public forums for the four to introduce themselves are taking place April 3-4, followed soon after by a final selection by the MPC Bo…

The first-funded segment of the 28-mile Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway is not out of the woods yet, but there is light at the end of the underpass. 

Update as 4pm Friday, March 31: Waste Management spokesperson Talia Wise issued a statement confirming that more "volunteer drivers and technicians" have been secured to pickup customers' waste—trash, recycling, compost—on April 1 for those who missed their regular Wednesday pickup, and regu…

After 16 years at Pacific Grove Unified School District, Superintendent Ralph Gómez Porras announced his resignation on Tuesday, March 28 to the board of trustees, and followed up with an announcement on March 29 to the broader school district community.

Gov. Gavin Newsom officially sought federal assistance for Monterey County and other California communities impacted by recent storms and flooding on Tuesday, March 28 by requesting a presidential major disaster declaration from the Biden Administration that would allow resources from the Fe…

Pajaro residents who were flooded out of their homes and businesses due to winter storms will not have to worry about facing evictions, after the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 28, voted 5-0 for an eviction moratorium that runs through at least the end of August. 

It's always a sticky situation when workers in a labor union go on strike when they provide an essential public service, but in this case, it's probably more accurate to say it could be a smelly situation. 

Crews finished emergency repair on the high-pressure pipeline under the bridge of Highway 1 over the Pajaro River on March 24 at 3am and are monitoring to ensure there is no leak on the pipeline. If not, it means the water service will follow soon.  

The only school in Pajaro, which serves 450 students, will remain closed for the rest of the school year. Classes end on June 2. 

It got real in the Safeway parking lot. 

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office lifted the evacuation orders in Pajaro on Thursday, March 23 at 10am, 12 days after devastating flooding after the Pajaro River levee breached early in the morning on March 11.

Other Brother Beer Co. in Seaside has ended its contract with Tuesday night trivia host JD Bates after Bates used a racial slur during the game on Tuesday, March 21.