Before we get into a story that involves dams, reservoirs, and irony: A reminder that this edition of The Newsletter includes, as always, a carefully curated news digest that makes it easy for you to quickly find the most important stories happening in your community this week. Also: A brief intro to a nonprofit doing good work AND a seasonal recipe. It's an effortless scroll—but first:
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By Eric Johnson
Published Sep 16, 2024
Loch Lomond, the reservoir that supplies the city of Santa Cruz with a significant portion of its drinking water, is also a beautiful recreational and natural resource.
Dams and Reservoirs: Up and Down
California Dams Get Raised and Razed
As a lifelong sworn environmentalist, I have always felt a little bit guilty about the fact that I love reservoirs—and if I'm honest the dams that create them. As a kid growing up in New Jersey just outside Manhattan, the Oradell Reservoir was my refuge, and the place where I discovered nature. When I moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains soon after high school, the Loch Lomond reservoir was walking distance from my home and became another refuge.
I saw my first eagle at the Oradell Reservoir when I was 16, and my first mountain lion at Loch Lomond when I was 19. I mention this not out of pure nostalgia, but to pont out that beyond their intended benefit of storing water for human use, reservoirs can be inherently good, in that they support rich and healthy ecosystems. And yes: Dams throughout California and the West have massively disrupted fisheries and threaten keystone species such as Chinook salmon with extinction.
So this week, a nuanced look at some dams throughout the state that are going up and coming down.
The Ups and Downs of California Dams
We check in on efforts to raise some dams in the state to store more water, and to raze some dams to to let water run free.
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Monterey County's Homepage |
| Direct your browser to https://monterey.californialocal.com/ to catch up on the latest news in California and Monterey County. Bookmark the link and visit often, there's a lot happening in your community! | |
Recipe of the Week
Our friends at Sacramento Digs Gardening publish a recipe from their gardens every Sunday, which we feature here so you can start your week with some yum.
See more recipes in their Taste Fall! cookbook.
Get to Know a Group
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Community Emergency Response Volunteers |
Community Emergency Response Volunteers of the Monterey Peninsula's mission is “to support local CERT programs, build public awareness about emergency preparedness, and promote the community's capacity to respond to natural disasters and man-made emergencies.”
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From Our Media Allies |
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Coastal Commission Approves MST SURF! Busway in 7-1 Vote. |
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In a 7-1 vote with two commissioners recusing on Thursday, Sept. 12, the California Coastal Commission approved Monterey-Salinas Transit’s controversial SURF! Busway project, an off-highway busway that is planned to span from Marina to Sand City west of Highway 1. |
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The Pebble Beach Equestrian Center Is Demolished After Efforts to Save It Fail. |
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The efforts by a group of determined activists attempting to save the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center came to an abrupt end on Tuesday, Sept. 10, when the 100-year-old facility was demolished by the Pebble Beach Company. |
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Touch-a-Truck Marks 10 Years of Community Support and Fun |
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Coastal Kids Home Care marked a significant milestone on Aug. 25, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Touch-A-Truck event. |
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Fort Hunter Liggett Pioneers Army’s Renewable-Only Microgrid |
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Fort Hunter Liggett continues to lead the way in the Army’s energy resilience as the first-ever military installation with a microgrid implementation using only renewable sources, such as photovoltaic generation and battery storage. |
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The Board of Supervisors Take Final Vote to Usher in Short-Term Rental Ordinances, but Not Without a Fight. |
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Two weeks after the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 in favor of a new short-term rental ordinance, the board split down the same lines on Tuesday, Sept. 10, in a final approval of amendments to the county’s code. |
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Pajaro Farmworker Housing Project Gets the OK From Majority of Supervisors. |
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A farmworker housing project in Pajaro got the green light from a majority of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Sept. 10. |
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Addresses Are Not Coming to Carmel Anytime Soon After a Council Majority Delays Decision. |
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In what is becoming an increasingly divisive issue in the village, a majority of the Carmel City Council members declined to make a decision on bringing street addresses to the village on Tuesday, Sept. 10, instead voting to let the … |
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Gonzales Proposes Sales Tax Hike With Measure S on November Ballot |
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GONZALES — City of Gonzales has placed Measure S on the Nov. 5 Presidential General Election ballot. |
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Candidates Aside, Local Voters Have Some Notable Ballot Measures to Consider. |
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As the November election nears and campaigns for elected office heat up, voters in nearly every jurisdiction in Monterey County will also have ballot measures to think about. |
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MPC Is Exploring the Possibility of a Satellite Location in Downtown Seaside. |
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The Monterey campus of Monterey Peninsula College is a sprawling, tree-filled property just off Highway 1. MPC leadership is seeking not just to draw more students to its main campus, but also to meet students where they are. |
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Roadwork Is Set to Begin as Amazon Prepares to Build a Warehouse in Salinas. |
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A construction fence surrounds a few bulldozers and concrete pipes on a formerly agricultural field in South Salinas. It’s the most visual representation to date of Amazon’s plans to move into Salinas, after years of starts and stops and closed-door … |
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A Program That Prescribes Park Visits for Better Health Gets a Booster Shot. |
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Each day doctors write prescriptions for medications to combat diseases and conditions like diabetes, heart ailments and depression. What if, along with a prescription for medication, came a prescription to head to the park for some fresh air? |
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Soledad Hosts First-Ever POW/MIA Flag Ceremony |
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City of Soledad recently hosted its first-ever ceremony to raise the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) flag, in partnership with local veterans. |
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Rescued Killer Whale at Carmel River State Beach Dies in Transport. |
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A stranded killer whale rescued at Carmel River State Beach on Tuesday, Sept. 10, died while in transport to Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory. |
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Cal Fire Grants Boost Central Coast Fire Safety Efforts |
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In a significant boost to wildfire prevention efforts, the City of Greenfield has been awarded $189,263 in grant funding through Cal Fire’s Wildfire Prevention Grants Program as part of a larger initiative aimed at enhancing wildfire resilience across the Central … |
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Community Can Track Progress of Gonzales Center With New EarthCam |
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Community members interested in following the construction of the Dennis & Janice Caprara Community Center project in Gonzales can now do so with the help of a live EarthCam installed at the site by Otto Construction. |
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Recent Local News |
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• Parking Banned at Bixby Bridge
Montery County is prohibiting parking at Bixby Bridge in Big Sur until further notice.
(09/13/2024) → Monterey Herald• Board of Supervisors Approve Carmel Lagoon Project Environmental Review
In their September 10 meeting, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the environmental review of the Carmel Lagoon flood control project, in draft since 2016.
(09/11/2024) → Monterey Herald|
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Recent Statewide News |
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• Audit of Military Equipment Used By UC Police
In compliance of state law, the University of California Regents will be considering the attached audit of inventory and use of military equipment by UC police and a budget request for additional items.
(09/15/2024) → University of California• Which Growing California Communities Will Get the Hottest?
California’s inland regions are experiencing dangerous heat waves, exacerbated by rapid population growth. As more people move away from the expensive coastal areas to more affordable inland communities, these regions are seeing significant demographic changes and spiking electricity bills.
(09/13/2024) → CalMatters• CA Cities Jump on Homeless Encampment Bans
For five years, California officials responding to the homelessness crisis had to work around one big restriction imposed by the federal courts: Because they didn’t have enough shelter beds, cities generally couldn’t make homeless camps illegal.
(09/13/2024) → CalMatters• No Sleeping Bags, Keep Moving: California Cities Increase Crackdown on Homeless Encampments
More than two-dozen California cities passed, strengthened or are considering ordinances that penalize people for sleeping outside, after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed cities to crack down.
(09/11/2024) → CalMatters• California Schools Face Twin Perils: Chronic Absenteeism and Declining Enrollment
California’s public schools have a numbers problem —and it’s not just that their students don’t score very highly in national tests of mathematics ability.
(09/11/2024) → CalMatters• H5N1 Bird Flu Infects California Dairy Cows
H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.
(09/11/2024) → Los Angeles Times• CA Homeless Count Is Up 8% From 2022
An exclusive CalMatters analysis of the latest California homeless count reveals some good news and bad news: Though the growth rate of homelessness appears to be slowing, the overall number of unhoused Californians increased from two years ago.
(09/10/2024) → CalMatters|
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Government Announcements |
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City of Monterey (09/16/2024) Firearm Arrest |
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City of Pacific Grove (09/14/2024) Chinese Pavilion and Moon Gate Project at Elmarie Dyke Park |
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City of Seaside (09/13/2024) TRAFFIC ALERT: Gen. Jim Blvd, Sept 16th |
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On 09/16/24: Broadway Ave to Coe Ave, General Jim Blvd will have intermittent closures 9am - 2:45pm.
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City of Seaside (09/12/2024) TRAFFIC ALERT: Gen. Jim Blvd, Sept 13th |
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On 09/13/24: Broadway Ave to Coe Ave, General Jim Blvd will have intermittent closures 9am - 2:45pm.
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City of Seaside (09/12/2024) Oaxaca By The Sea 2024 |
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Join us in celebrating our sister city! | Acompanenos para celebrar a nuestra ciudad hermana!
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United States (09/12/2024) Dearborn Sausage Company, Inc. Recalls Wiener Products Due to Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens |
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2024 - Dearborn Sausage Company, Inc., a Dearborn, Mich. establishment, is recalling approximately 1,944 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) wiener products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, the...
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State of California (09/12/2024) Robert Rivas CA Assembly 29: |
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New Retail Theft & Property Crime Legislation, Authored by Speaker Robert Rivas, Signed by Governor Newsom
robbee
Thu, 09/12/2024 - 09:57
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Press Secretary
Email
Cynthia.Moreno@asm.ca.gov
Phone
916-319-2029
Thursday, September 12, 2024
SACRAMENTO, CA - In response to the organized smash-and-grab and dangerous robberies that have devastated California businesses and workers, legislation authored by Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) which holds …
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State of California (09/12/2024) Robert Rivas CA Assembly 29: |
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FAQ on Californias Special Session to Prevent Gas Price Spikes
robbee
Thu, 09/12/2024 - 08:51
Title
Press Secretary
Email
Cynthia.Moreno@asm.ca.gov
Phone
916-319-2029
Thursday, September 12, 2024
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a special session of the Legislature on August 31, focusing on reducing spikes in gas prices, and with his proclamation came many questions. The goal of this document is …
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City of Monterey (09/12/2024) Monterey Sports Center and Montage Health Announce The Lifestyles Initiative |
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City of Seaside (09/10/2024) Grand Hyatt Seaside Resort: Dedication Ceremony |
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Grand Hyatt Seaside Resort: Dedication Ceremony Set for September 16, 2024!
Grand Hyatt Seaside Resort: Ceremonia de Dedicacion el 16 de Septiembre de 2024!
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