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Monterey County News, Traffic & Weather


All the Monterey News, Traffic and Weather, with directories of local Government, Community Groups & Nonprofits in one place!
Image caption: Detail from The New York Times Magazine cover for June 4, 2023.
The California Effect and CalMatters

The New York Times Magazine spends an entire issue explaining why California matters, and CalMatters wins gold for giving the state the coverage it deserves.

Image caption: California ranks seventh in wind power, with 3.5 percent of all U.S. wind energy produced here.
California Inches Toward Renewable Energy Goal

Renewable energy sources provided 37 percent of California electricity in 2021, a new record for the state as it moves toward its 2045 goal of 100 percent clean energy. Battery storage will play a huge role in reaching that goal.

Image caption: Clinicians will have two weeks to decide whether a mentally ill person qualifies for the CARE Court system.
Mental Health CARE Court System Debuts in October

California’s new CARE Court system that compels treatment for people with severe mental illness is set to roll out in seven counties this October, despite efforts by civil liberties groups to stop it.

Image caption: Service members stand in formation during a Memorial Day service.
Memorial Day & the Death Penalty: Member Newsletter, 05/29/23

Let’s face some hard facts—and still be able to celebrate the beginning of the best season of the year.

Image caption: Members of Teamsters, CSUEU, UAW 4123, and CFA faculty gathered to ask for fair wages outside the CSU Chancellor’s office in Long Beach on May 23.
Report: Cal State Has $1.5 Billion Funding Gap

A new analysis shows that the California State University system doesn’t make or receive enough money to cover its costs, even with state support. The report and lawmakers urge the system to increase tuition, but even that might not be …

Image caption: How many innocent people have been executed? There is no way to know for sure.
Death Penalty Mistakes: When the State Kills the Innocent

More than 4 percent of death penalty convicts have been wrongfully convicted, data shows. But courts including the U.S. Supreme Court have failed to provide protections for the innocent facing death at the hands of the state.

Image caption: The death chamber inside San Quentin. Gov. Newsom has ordered the facility dismantled.
Is California’s Death Penalty Finally Dead?

The death penalty remains legal in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a moratorium on executions in 2019. Will capital punishment end in the state? Here’s what’s happening.

Image caption: California’s 1,000 megawatts of power from the Colorado River’s Hoover Dam have been in jeopardy.
California To Cut Colorado River Water Use

California will cut use of water from the Colorado River drastically under a new agreement announced by the Biden Administration on May 22. Nevada and Arizona have also agreed to the cuts.

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CALocal Wins Two Big Journo Awards

You probably know that The Newsletter goes out only to California Local members and subscribers. Today I am writing to bring the good news that we have just been given two big awards.

Image caption: Your elected representatives want to hear from you.
Tips on Contacting Your Elected Representatives

Voting is just the beginning. Stay connected with your representatives to make sure your government is working for you.

Image caption: Time to step up and speak out.
Conveniently Contacting Your Elected Representatives

We've made it one-click convenient for members to contact their elected representatives.

Image caption: Then-Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty speaks at a TEDx event in 2020. “As a local official, every day I get to wake up and try to take action to make our community a little bit better place.”
An Interview With Ryan Coonerty

On the Santa Cruz City Council, then as mayor, and then as county supervisor, Ryan Coonerty learned to love politics.

Image caption: The California Supreme Court has defined the state’s legal and political agenda for more than 170 years.
How the California Supreme Court Blazes Legal Trails

The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.

Image caption: A farmworker takes a break from picking raspberries inside a hoop-house in the Salinas Valley.
California Agriculture & Immigration

The state’s most important industry relies on workers who are not given a chance to obtain legal status.

Image caption: Gary Gragg examines buds on one of the mango plants he's growing in the Sacramento Valley.
Mangoes and Agave in the Central Valley?

The future of farming in California is changing as the planet warms, altering the rain and heat patterns that guide which crops are grown where. “We’re adjusting for survival,” one grower said.

Image caption: They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

Image caption: State Sen. Scott Wiener reminds us that for generations, California has welcomed people to be who and what they are.
Scott Wiener; Weird Comix; Water Rights

How the SF state senator was changed by California; how our great state spawned a cultural phenomenon; how many Californians are being denied life's most basic necessity.

Image caption: Rip Off Press, once located in San Francisco's Sunset District and now headquartered in Auburn, was part of a movement that blossomed in California.
Graphic Content

Comics may have been born in New York, but they came of age in California. And there’s more to the story than San Francisco comix.

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How Free Trips Lead to Bills

Members of the California Legislature took nearly $1 million worth of trips sponsored by interest groups in 2022. The California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy accounted for 40% of the travel spending. Over the years, some of its …

Image caption: Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) delivers the keynote address at the  Brookings Institute's Future of the Middle Class Initiative in May, 2019.
Why Democrats Should Pay Attention to California

Ezra Klein talks to state Sen. Scott Wiener about why progressive policies have failed in a state with no Republicans in power.

Monterey County Newsletter

Weekly digest of curated state and local news, upcoming government meetings and community events.

California Local Pin Marker   Bulletin Board
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05/19/2023

Congratulations

Gonzales High School senior athletes Andrew Zarate and Celeste Camarena have been named the Gonzales Spartans’ Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively. Zarate is a two-sport athlete — football and wrestling — who excelled as a grappler this year, placing fifth in the CCS Masters.

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05/17/2023

Congratulations

Gonzales Police Officer Nathan Cordoba was selected as the Monterey County Peace Officers Association’s 2022 Peace Officer of the Year. Last month the Monterey County Peace Officers Association hosted its annual awards banquet to recognize professional and uniformed staff members for their outstanding efforts and contributions to public safety in 2022.

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05/13/2023

Gratitude

A historic $45 million gift from the estate of local philanthropists Charles E. and Claire R. Jacobson will enable Chartwell School to elevate their mission to empower students with dyslexia and associated learning differences to reach their full potential in academics and their life pursuits.

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05/11/2023

Congratulations

“The Teacher of the Year and Classified School Employee of the Year Program recognizes school employees who are dedicated and passionate about improving students’ learning,” said Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Deneen Guss. "The program recognizes those that go above and beyond the call of duty to positively influence the lives of our children and their future.”

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05/10/2023

Congratulations

Notre Dame High softball infielder Julie Ann Lopez of Soledad has signed a Letter of Intent to attend Hiram College in Ohio and will receive a full-ride softball and academic scholarship. Hiram is a Division III college for softball.

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05/04/2023

Monkeys Loose in the Newsroom

A crowning achievement in journalism

Upcoming Meetings → View All

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City of Salinas
Finance Committee Meeting
TODAY   2:00 PM

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City of Monterey
City Council Meeting
TODAY   4:00 PM

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City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
City Council Meeting
TODAY   4:30 PM

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City of Marina
City Council Meeting
TODAY   5:00 PM

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City of Greenfield
Planning Commission Meeting
TODAY   6:00 PM

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City of King City
Planning Commission Meeting
TODAY   6:00 PM

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City of Seaside
Neighborhood Improvement Commission Meeting
TODAY   6:00 PM

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City of Pacific Grove
Downtown Business Improvement District Meeting
Wednesday June 7 2023   8:30 AM

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City of Greenfield
South Salinas Valley Broadband Authority Meeting
Wednesday June 7 2023   3:30 PM

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City of Salinas
Planning Commission
Wednesday June 7 2023   3:30 PM

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City of Pacific Grove
CLOSED SESSION: City Council Meeting
Wednesday June 7 2023   5:00 PM

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City of Soledad
City Council Meeting
Wednesday June 7 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Pacific Grove
City Council Meeting
Wednesday June 7 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Seaside
Homeless Committee Meeting
Wednesday June 7 2023   6:30 PM

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City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
Forest & Beach Commission Meeting
Thursday June 8 2023   3:30 PM

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City of Pacific Grove
Economic Development Commission Meeting
Thursday June 8 2023   4:00 PM

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City of Pacific Grove
Planning Commission Meeting
Thursday June 8 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Salinas
Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting
Thursday June 8 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Del Rey Oaks
Budget and Finance Committee Meeting Notice
Friday June 9 2023   12:00 PM

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City of Seaside
Commission on Jobs, Opportunities & Businesses in Seaside
Monday June 12 2023   4:00 PM

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City of Pacific Grove
DEI Task Force Meeting
Monday June 12 2023   5:00 PM

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City of Seaside
SPECIAL MEETING: Recreation & Parks Commission Meeting
Monday June 12 2023   5:30 PM

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City of Gonzales
Planning Commission Meeting
Monday June 12 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
Community Activities Commission
Tuesday June 13 2023   9:30 AM

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City of Pacific Grove
Architectural Review Board Meeting
Tuesday June 13 2023   3:00 PM

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City of Salinas
City Council
Tuesday June 13 2023   4:00 PM

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City of Seaside
Environmental Committee Meeting
Tuesday June 13 2023   5:30 PM

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City of King City
City Council Meeting
Tuesday June 13 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Greenfield
City Council Meeting
Tuesday June 13 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Greenfield
ASGSA Advisory Committee Meeting
Wednesday June 14 2023   1:00 PM

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City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
Planning Commission Meeting
Wednesday June 14 2023   4:00 PM

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City of Pacific Grove
CLOSED SESSION: City Council Meeting
Wednesday June 14 2023   5:00 PM

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City of Del Rey Oaks
Planning Commission Meeting
Wednesday June 14 2023   6:00 PM

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City of Seaside
Traffic Advisory Committee Meeting
Friday June 16 2023   5:00 PM

Upcoming Community Events

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Colorful Jellyfish Craft
Wednesday June 7 2023   11:30 AM

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Santa Cruz New Tech June 2023
Wednesday June 7 2023   6:00 PM

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C-Suite Synergy: Mastering the CEO/COO Partnership
Thursday June 8 2023   11:30 AM

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Create Your Own Comic Workshop
Monday June 12 2023   4:00 PM