FEATURES By Dennis Taylor A million little pieces of Sarah Luiz have been shattered and scattered more times than anyone can imagine. That’s the good news, says the once-famous Salinas resident, who compares herself to a piece of pottery that …
OPINION By Royal Calkins If there is a pause button in the judicial process, a restart switch to inject fairness into a system often dominated by which side has the most money, it is time to engage it in connection …
OPINION By Paul Karrer In the last two months I’ve had a very close friend and a close neighbor take their own lives. Each took a very different path to their end. The friend (let’s call him Jurgen) I’ve known …
Art by Mara J. Reynolds This season, Voices' resident audio documentarians at Gray Area Podcast are introducing readers and listeners to some of our era's most important but perhaps lesser-known elders. They're people who've survived systemic injustice and historical trauma, …
Art by Mara J. Reynolds This season, Voices' resident audio documentarians at Gray Area Podcast are introducing readers and listeners to some of our era's most important but perhaps lesser-known elders. They're people who've survived systemic injustice and historical trauma, …
SPECIAL REPORT By Royal Calkins KING CITY – In dark clothes, Aracely Zavala was walking in the middle of a dark frontage road for reasons that made little sense. From the fresh scuffs later found on the soles of her …
FEATURES By Claudia Meléndez Salinas First it was Sacramento and San Jose. Soon, other cities followed, including Salinas in 2023. But the biggest prize came Jan. 1, when a statewide ban on lowriders finally was repealed in California. Lowriders are …
YOUNG VOICES By Isaac González Díaz Central Coast resident Barbara Gunn lost long-term employment and her home in one fell swoop. That was more than six months ago, and since then, she’s had no options but to live in Monterey …
COMMENTARY By Claudia Meléndez Salinas A lot of interesting stuff happened during the Jan. 23 Salinas City Council meeting. Councilmembers honored Christopher Knapp as the Salinas Fire Department 2023 Firefighter of the Year, the Fire Department itself for its 150th …
OPINION By Fabiola Moreno Ruelas The year after I started the Ruelas Family Foundation, I was interviewed by journalist Joe Mathews of Zocalo Public Square. It was 2021, and the story described the reason why I started the scholarship fund, …
OPINION By Paul Karrer Photos by Isaac González Díaz On a Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I asked my fifth-graders if they knew why we had the day off. One suggested, “To celebrate MLK’s birthday.” To be honest, …
Por Claudia Meléndez Salinas Diana Gameros estaba dispuesta a renunciar a su sueño de ganarse la vida como cantante en Estados Unidos cuando llegó la oportunidad de mudarse a San Francisco. Para entonces, ya llevaba 10 años en Michigan, pero …
FEATURES By Claudia Meléndez Salinas Diana Gameros was ready to give up on her dream of making a life as a singer in the United States when an opportunity arrived to move to San Francisco. By then, she had been …
EDITORIAL By Claudia Meléndez Salinas True confession: Once upon a time, I didn't know who César Chávez was. It was 1993 and I was attending Cabrillo College. A recent arrival in the U.S., and even newer to Santa Cruz, I …
LOCAL NEWS By Julie Reynolds In Mercer County, West Virginia, Valeria Steele is proud of her home in Elk View Estates, a mobile home community she says used to be “such a nice place to live.” But since new owners …
FEATURED By Royal Calkins Twas the night before Christmas And all of us older fellows were already asleep For we had spent so much time Writing poetry that, in the light, seems terribly cheap No poetry prizes awarded for things …
FEATURED By Andrea Valadez For many years, Melanie Mena did not think going to college was an option for her, so she was prepared to make her way as a “starving artist.” Now, in her fourth year at California State …
OPINIÓN Por Royal Calkins Traducción: Gabriela González Si le gusta que el debate político esté dividido, acalorado y casi inútil, debería lamentar haberse perdido la reunión del martes, 17 de octubre, de la Junta de Supervisores del Condado de Monterey. …
YOUTHBEAT Photos and reporting by Isaac González Díaz An estimated 12,000 people turned out for the third annual Christmas in Closter park, a free event in Salinas with all the holiday fixings. The two-day extravaganza on Dec. 9 and 10 …
YOUNG VOICES By Isaac González Díaz Christmas at Closter Park returns for its third year with different family activities such as pictures with Santa, Christmas displays, giveaways, live performances, arts and crafts, real snow and raffled Christmas trees. Sponsors decorate …
