Power Restored to Alvarado Street Businesses
After 33 days without power, Monterey businesses near the Golden State Theatre can finally re-open. But the outage has taken a financial toll.
Captain Holm Talks About Cleaning Our Oceans
The co-founder of “The Clean Oceans Project,” Capt. James Holm has 30 years experience navigating oceans. This experience has given him a clear aim: to clean up the plastic plaguing our oceans.
Sam Farr Recognized for Support of Organic Ag
The Organic Trade Association awarded Congressman Sam Farr, D-Carmel, the group's Public Servant Award on Wednesday. Farr was honored for his "unwavering support and advocacy for organic farmers and the organic sector,” according to a statement by OTA board member Melody Meyer. Meyer, Central Coast resident, presented the award yesterday ...
Point Lobos Trail Reopening
In mid-June, Point Lobos State Park is planning to reopen its Bird Island Trail, which has been under construction for the last year.
Desal Plant Would Violate County Law, But Cal Am Sees No Problem
California American Water's new water supply proposal makes a few tweaks that might let them get around some of the thorny issues that plagued the washed-up Regional Desalination Project. But it relies on one big assumption: The county's ordinance prohibiting private ownership of desalination plants is bogus. "Our position is ...
State-Appointed Panel to Consider Fumigant Alternatives
California Department of Pesticide Regulation Director Brian Leahy will chair a 10-member working group to develop a research plan for farming strawberries without fumigants.
Cal Am's New Water Supply Project: Half the Desal, (Slightly) Lower Pricetag
Cal Am's unveils its rebound from the failed Regional Desalination Project: The Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project.
Pacific Grove Council Approves Public-Private Desal Partnership
The city of Pacific Grove has agreed to act as the lead public agency for developer Nader Agha's proposed "People's" desalination project.
It's Official: Fort Ord National Monument
Today, President Obama is declaring Fort Ord a national monument.
Schools Lock Down After Shooting in Marina
Marina Vista Elementary and Los Arboles Middle School in Marina were on lockdown for about 45 minutes Wednesday after a shooting nearby. Marina police were dispatched to Everett Circle at 1:30 yesterday afternoon after four gunshots were heard. An ice cream vendor was shot in the upper thigh in a ...
No Love for the Ag Waiver: Ag and Enviros Both Appeal
The unanimity that appeared to end three contentious years of deliberations over agricultural runoff regulations only lasted a month. About a dozen agricultural groups, including the Monterey County Farm Bureau, the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and Castroville-based Ocean Mist Farms, have all appealed to the State Water Quality Control ...
Seaside Man Convicted of First Degree Murder
Donald Ray Parker, 23, was found guilty of first degree murder with an enhancement of lying in wait for his solo role in the murder of Dwayne Choates Jr. On November 10, 2010, Parker waited outside of the Del Monte Manor apartments in Seaside and waited for Choate to leave ...
High Bacteria Warning For Stillwater Cove
High levels of indicator bacteria were present in samples taken from Stillwater Cove in Pebble Beach on April 17 resulting in an advisory until bacteria revert to safe levels for recreational contact. Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations establishes guidelines for the level of bacteria that can be ...
Court of Appeal Upholds John Kenney's Murder Conviction
The neighbor dispute that simmered for years before ending in deadly gunfire left one survivor who will spend the rest of his life in prison. John Kenney, known to friends as "Jack," was sentenced in 2008 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was convicted for the ...
Ag Groups Appeal New Runoff Rules
Nearly a dozen groups representing farmers filed petitions Monday with the State Water Resources Control Board urging them to overturn new runoff rules, adopted last month by the Central Coast Regional Water Control Board with a 6-0 vote. Agricultural and environmental groups pushed back and forth on the rules, known ...
Central Coast Legislators Rank High on Environmental Scorecard
Assemblymen Bill Monning, D-Carmel, and Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, are exactly the kinds of legislators the California League of Conservation Voters likes to see in Sacramento. Senator Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, isn't too shabby in CLVC's view, either. Monning earned a perfect 100-percent score on CLVC's Environmental Scorecard, based on ...
Clinica de Salud Workers Unionize
After workers at Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas first made moves to unionize in January, they proceeded in fits and starts as tensions with management ebbed and flowed. Service Employees International Union 521 expressed concern in January that Clinica CEO Max Cuevas wouldn't allow workers to vote on ...
Study Shows Monterey County Ag Has $8 Billion Impact
There's more to local agriculture than lettuce and broccoli. A study released April 11 shows the county's biggest industry pumps $8.2 billion a year into the local economy and provides more than 73,000 jobs—more than one in five jobs in the county. Commissioned by Agricultural Commissioner Eric Lauritzen for $21,000, ...
Dole Salads Recalled
Dole Fresh Vegetables is voluntarily recalling nearly 800 cases of bagged lettuce due to possible Salmonella contamination, according to announcement released Saturday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The salad mix, called Seven Lettuces, has a use-by date of April 11 and was distributed in 15 states (Californians are ...
Five Guys Burgers & Fries Coming to Salinas
Salinas is on the fast track to another tasty burger joint as 3,000 square feet of space has been leased in Harden Ranch Plaza to house a new Five Guys Burgers & Fries. The Washington D.C.-based burger operation started in 1986 and quickly developed a cult-like following. Today there are ...
Sam Farr Joins President Obama in South America this Weekend
Cartagena, Colombia might sound like a vacation getaway, but when Congressman Sam Farr, D-Carmel, and President Barack Obama arrive there this weekend, it's not all sun and cocktails. Farr, a recognized congressional expert on Latin America, and Obama will be attending the Summit of the Americas, which brings together leaders ...
Coastal Commission Leader Peter Douglas' Legacy Lives On in Monterey County
Peter Douglas, the longest-serving director of the California Coastal Commission, died April 1 at age 69 after a protracted battle with lung cancer.
Salinas High Choir Teacher Arrested on Charges of Secretly Taping Teenage Girls
A choir teacher at Salinas High school has been arrested on charges relating to child pornography. Aldrin Jayson Nicolas, 26, was arrested by the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department after officers found a “pen” camera Nicolas had allegedly placed in a bathroom of the Pajaro Dunes hotel between March 16-18, 2012. ...
Cocktail Peanut Recall
Kraft Foods is asking consumers to check their 12 ounce canister of Planters cocktail peanuts before serving them at their NHL Stanley Cup Playoff viewing party. The peanuts were possibly exposed to water that was not intended for human consumption. How the water made its way into the production process ...
Thomas Kinkade, Famous and Infamous Painter of Light with Lots of Local Connections, Dead at 54
Plenty of people say plenty of things about Thomas Kinkade, the adored and abhorred artist of cottages and so-called painter of light, who died this weekend. They said his work gave them hope. Others said his work made them sick. Some said his marketing was genius. A lot said his ...
Woman Crashes SUV into Salinas Starbucks
Three patrons at a Starbucks coffee shop on South Main Street in Salinas were injured today after a woman crashed her 1999 Mercedes SUV through the cafe. According to Salinas police, the 59-year-old woman mistook the accelerator for her brake, ran up over the curb and crashed through the front ...
Prospective Salinas Valley Memorial Partners Whittled to Two
One of three prospective partners to Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare Systems opted to back out of the running before the board could even decide on whether to proceed to "round two" of considerations for which, if any affiliation, stands to sustain the hospital through a fiscally tumultuous time. Vanguard, the ...
Salinas High Counselor Charged with 32 Additional Counts Involving 11 Victims
A former Salinas High School counselor has been hit with 34 new charges stemming from allegations he secretly taped students having sex in his office. That brings the total number of charges Gilbert Olivares faces to 53, including allegations of molestation, child pornography and committing lewd acts with a child. ...
White House Honors Salinas PD Deputy
Salinas was well represented Wednesday in Washington, D.C., as Deputy Chief Kelly McMillin was recognized at the White House for his work to prevent youth violence, alongside Fernanda Ocana, a sophomore at Hartnell. McMillin and Ocana were two of 12 leaders honored in the the National Forum on Youth Violence ...
Carmel City Council Candidates Raised Vastly Different Sums
With 877 ballots already filed by mail—representing fully a third of the registered voters in Carmel-by-the-Sea—the two mayoral candidates and four city council candidates face less of a frenetic week in their campaigns than, say, Mitt Romney. But the advertisements and post office greetings continue in a final push up ...
P.G. Discontents Protest City Manager
The Pacific Grove Neighbors are heading to City Hall to protest the performance of City Manager Tom Frutchey.
UPDATE: Coast Guard Search for Fisherman Near Moss Landing
The U.S. Coastguard is widening the search for a 42-year-old fisherman who fell overboard somewhere in the vicinity of Moss Landing Tuesday morning.
Former Seaside Officer Reynaga Acquitted
Former Seaside cop Salvador Reynaga is not guilty of sexually abusing six women while on duty, a Monterey County Superior Court jury found yesterday. The 2008 Seaside Officer of the Year had faced more than three dozen counts of assault and battery against the women, known in the case only ...
Five Armed Robberies Hit Salinas Over the Weekend
Since just before midnight on Saturday, Salinas police detectives have been swamped with investigations relating to five armed robberies all over the city. Four of the reports were robberies of a person, while the fifth was the armed robbery of a Quik Stop on Clark Street near Davis Road. That ...
Cedar Funding Boss Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison, Ordered to Pay $70 Million
David Nilsen got caught trying to ride out the housing bubble even after it burst, and it's going to cost him eight years in prison and nearly $70 million in restitution to shorted borrowers. That's the sentence U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila handed down on Monday after Nilsen, who ...
Weekend Winds Whip Up Waves
Last weekend's rainstorms and high winds stirred up unusually large waves on local beaches Saturday and Sunday. The National Weather Service issued a warning about large waves on Friday night. "Saturday was pretty bad," says Sherrie Collins of the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. But locals apparently knew to ...
English Ales Brewhouse
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