Monterey County Explainer Articles

Though they are elected officials, county sheriffs have less accountability than any other law enforcement officials. Here's why, and what California is doing about it.

SB 35 is one of California’s most important affordable housing laws. Here’s what it does, and a look at how well it’s working.

California homicide spiked by 31 percent in 2020. The shocking increase has continued into 2021. Here are several theories that attempt to explain the state’s suddenly rising murder rate.

California has a new law to ban leaf blowers, which both annoy neighbors and pollute the air. Here’s why the law might not do enough, explained.

California keeps on taking legislative steps that will keep it ranked in the top 10 of voter-friendly states.

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Monterey County’s 11 fire districts help protect a county with a long history of wildfires that dates back to the 1870s.

Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.

Inflation is on the rise, with prices in some parts of California their highest in 13 years. Here’s what caused this round of inflation, and how can it be stopped.

Should water be owned by the public, or can private interests do a better job of delivering precious water? That conflict is at the heart of Monterey County’s water system.

A new California law to lower speed limits, AB 43, is part of an overall effort, called ‘Vision Zero,’ to eliminate traffic deaths completely. Here’s what the law does, and why it can make a difference.

The pesky mosquito can be deadly as well as annoying. Here’s how local governments in California have been waging war on mosquitoes for more than a century.

Despite myriad obstacles, Dungeness crab remains one of the most valuable commercial fisheries in California. Here’s how it works.

Voices of Monterey Bay editor launches a new podcast, “Where the Bodies Are Buried.”

California’s history of people getting directly involved in the affairs of government dates back more than a century, but it has sometimes been coopted by business and other interests.

In an era of information overload, here’s how a rising form of journalism helps explain it all for you, and why California Local publishes ‘explanatory’ reporting.

What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.

The short-term or ‘vacation’ rental industry spawns hundreds of horror stories and damages the housing market, but governments struggle with how to bring it under control.

Why is California still experiencing offshore oil spills half-a-century after the catastrophic Santa Barbara disaster? The answer is found in the state’s longtime, close relationship with the oil business.

Here’s why cargo ship traffic has been dangerously heavy at California’s ports in 2021, and how the backup may have caused a disaster.