Monterey County History Articles

The First Theatre in downtown Monterey, hosted California's first-ever paid theatrical production in 1848, but wasn't regularly used for that purpose until 1937.

How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.

Disney icon Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain, meaning anyone can create their own Mickey Mouse cartoons. Here’s what that means, and how it could affect the California economy.

In 1945 a widow named Della Walker, known formally as Mrs. Clinton Walker, wrote a short letter to Frank Lloyd Wright, in hopes the famed architect would design a home for her in Carmel. “I own a rocky point of…

Sara Rubin here, thinking about how we mark transitions in time—new months, years, decades. So often, in our fast-paced world, the obvious thing to do is to look forward; there are plans to make and deadlines to meet. In the…

A judge rules that the Bakersfield Republican is eligible to run in the 2024 election for Congress even though he had already filed to run for his state Assembly seat.

Almost two years ago Pacific Grove officially said goodbye to the Feast of Lanterns, the town’s troubled faux Chinese pageant, beloved by some residents but deemed racist by others. After members of the Chinese American community and allies came forward…

It seemed like a good idea in 1972 when the California Legislature passed the Mills Act, a voluntary program designed to save crumbling historic buildings from ruin by allowing cities and counties to give tax breaks to property owners with…

California's homelessness numbers continue to rise despite new spending on housing, services. Here's where the fight to end the crisis stands. This story has been updated for 2022 and 2023.

Tune in, turn on, and drop into these California-focused documentaries—only some of which are about the ’60s San Francisco sound.

Democracy is a 2,500-year-old system of government still looked on today as the best system, because under a democratic system, the people govern themselves. But is that all there is to it? What is democracy? And how does it work …

After a 2018 vote authorizing the state legislature to make daylight saving time year-round, Californians are still changing their clocks twice per year. How did we get here?

After the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in college admissions, some students are rethinking their school selections. Some colleges are also boosting their student outreach as they seek diversity.

Gary Karnes got his start in politics at age 13, walking precincts to advocate for John F. Kennedy as president. He never stopped.

It’s happened more than 300 times in the state’s history: a once-bustling town is abandoned, leaving behind ramshackle houses, crumbling roads and forlorn tableaux.

California has more gun laws than any other state. Here's how it took a series of mass shootings to make the state the toughest in the country on guns.

Former President Trump claims mail balloting is rife with fraud. But to win more elections, the state GOP is expanding its efforts to collect mail ballots to boost turnout.

KING CITY — Interviews from 2021 with Rudy and Joanne Banuelos, long-time residents of King City, are now available on the YouTube channel for the San Antonio Valley Historical Association. The interviews were conducted in August and September 2021, just …

California Local enters the world of book publishing with its upcoming book, ‘How California Works,’ explaining the inner workings of this ‘most American state.’