County of Monterey Government News Digest

A Monterey County Civil Grand Jury report made recommendations for improvements to law enforcement and first responder procedures.

The Highway 68 Coalition suit against the County of Monterey over operation of the Laguna Seca Raceway has been settled.

Those signed up for alerts with the current system will be transitioned to the new system as part of the process. Officials note integration with County GIS map platform as key benefit of new system.

In the March 5 Primary Election, the races for Monterey County’s District 5 supervisor went up for grabs after Supervisor Mary Adams announced her retirement.

Monterey County elected officials passed an ordinance cracking down on what the county determined is unreasonable noise, both with the level of sound and any accompanying fines for violating limits.

To reduce fire hazards, Monterey County will launch a pilot program to remove eucalyptus trees near residential structures in the northern end of the county. “They are a danger to the native environment and plants and animals,” said Supervisor Glenn Church.

Sonia De La Rosa, who spent her formative years in King City, was hired as Monterey County’s chief administrative officer in December, just in time to begin sloshing through the ruins of the first of two devastating floods caused by record rainfall in the county.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to bring the ordinance restricting single-use plastics back on Oct. 10, where they signaled they would support passing the county law.

The federal judge monitoring medical care in the Monterey County Jail repeatedly scolded the health care provider in a recent hearing over the size of fines it will have to pay for persistently poor performance.

The county of Monterey is partnering with the city of Salinas and Eden Housing to develop 132 affordable-rate units on a five-acre parcel.

The medical and correctional staff at the Monterey County Jail had seen young David Sand before, which might explain why they ignored him and his obvious need for psychiatric care.

With budget hearings for the county beginning in a week, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors signaled that they will support a 30% cut in the county’s Cannabis Program.

The District 5 seat opened when incumbent Supervisor Mary Adams made the decision not to run for a third term. Adams has come out as a strong supporter of Daniels.

Five years ago, Monterey County officials did an odd thing. It happened during the sheriff’s race between incumbent Steve Bernal and ambitious sheriff’s deputy Scott Davis.

Nearly five times as much was spent on levee maintenance and flood management on the Pajaro River's northern bank in Santa Cruz County than on its southern bank in Monterey County, where the levee failed and flooded the town.

Pajaro residents voiced their discontent with the few resources available to help them return home on Friday when the evacuation order is lifted.

The local COVID-19 “community level” remains low, according to the CDC.

The Civil Rights Office is weighing the creation of a county LGBTQ+ commission and will be holding feedback workshops.

Like much of California, Monterey County remained in the thick of not just storm recovery but the aftermath.

Measure Q would have helped fund solutions to early childcare, but it failed. Supporters regroup, while opponents reiterate that the bill was too vague.

Fernando Velasquez Perez suffered a medical emergency and later died after life-saving measures were unsuccessful.

Evacuation orders were doled out by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office as early as 7 a.m. Monday morning for areas around the Carmel River. Subsequent calls to evacuate prompted residents of low-lying areas around the Arroyo Seco, Pajaro and Big Sur rivers to find higher ground.

While growing up in greater Los Angeles, Tina Nieto was a self-described nerd absorbed in her studies. She was no kind of activist. But she saw a troubling law enforcement practice and it stayed with her as she became a cop and rose through the police hierarchy.

In addition to interviewing Tina Nieto, Voices of Monterey Bay’s Royal Calkins sent her some written questions. Here are her responses on some key issues facing the department.

Tthe wait for a safe trail crossing the Moss Landing harbor just got longer after Caltrans employees discovered a deteriorating retaining wall.

“For the last few months, I have been speaking with potential members for my executive management team along with speaking to residents about how the Sheriff’s Office can better serve them,” Tina Nieto said.

The family of the latest inmate to die in the Monterey County Jail plans to seek a second autopsy after the Sheriff’s Office procedure couldn’t determine the cause of death, seemingly a suicide.

Monterey County elected officials on Tuesday voted to deliver to cannabis growers and manufacturers another break in taxes as an industry glut continues to pressure prices.

Tina Nieto and Joe Moses have both adopted platforms that promise there will be a new sheriff in town.

Monterey County officials have agreed to a $2.5 million settlement in the latest in a series of jail death lawsuits, this one involving a schizophrenic inmate who died after having received almost no psychiatric care for months on end, reports Voices of Monterey County.