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Monterey County History Overview



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A self-described “living field guide to the California Central Coast,” the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History has been teaching visitors about Monterey Bay ecosystems since 1883.

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Looking Back on CSUMB Founding

09/01/2024

The Monterey Herald sits down with Cal State Monterey Bay's first president, Peter Smith, and look back 30 years to the founding of the university.

A Private Calif. Ranch Holds Important State History — And It Might Be in Danger

04/19/2024

Some residents fear development could destroy parts of the historic land.

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Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
A Treasured Monarch Butterfly Stained Glass Window Has No Place to Land in P.G. – For Now.

Over 20 years ago, developer Nader Agha decided to adorn the Holman Building in Pacific Grove with a large, half-moon shaped, Tiffany-style stained glass window depicting Butterfly Town’s beloved monarch butterflies.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Roosevelt School Celebrates Its 100th Anniversary and Will Host a Family Leadership Conference

Roosevelt Elementary School in the Salinas City Elementary School District celebrated its 100th anniversary on Thursday, Oct.3. It's the same school where the famous novelist John Steinbeck attended when he was a child.

KSQD logo LOCAL NEWS
Gary Griggs: “California Catastrophes: The Natural Disaster History of the Golden State”

Gary Griggs, UCSC Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences tells us about his new book, California Catastrophes: The Natural Disaster History of the Golden State, about the history of disasters in our state and what we can expect in the future.

Salinas Valley Tribune logo LOCAL NEWS
Soledad Historical Society’s ‘History of Women’s Fashion’ Exhibit Opens Saturday

SOLEDAD — Soledad Historical Society has announced a new display at the museum, located at 137 Soledad St., in Soledad.

King City Rustler logo LOCAL NEWS
Community Celebrates New Mission-Themed Mural in King City

KING CITY — Members and friends of the nonprofit group King City in Bloom gathered Friday afternoon to celebrate the completion of the new mural at 122 N. Second St., across from the Hartnell College campus.

KSQD logo LOCAL NEWS
Happy 100th Giant Dipper!

The Giant Dipper roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk turned 100 years old on May 17th, 2024. We celebrated by interviewing Jessie Durant, the Seaside Company's archivist about the history of the ride and the iconic boardwalk amusement …

Image caption: Dalip Singh Saund,  the first Sikh, Indian American and Asian American to be elected to Congress and Kamala Harris, the first Asian American vice president.
25 AAPI Leaders From California

California has been home to many Asian American and Pacific Islanders who have transcended barriers and reshaped society, from education to advocacy, art to sports, politics, and beyond.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Monterey County Weekly logo LOCAL NEWS
Historic or Just Old? A Housing Project in Monterey Hinges on the Answer.

Usually, Monterey’s history is an asset, something to highlight, but in some cases, it’s complicated. History is part of what’s holding up a 42-unit affordable housing project on a 0.5-acre city-owned site adjacent to the Vasquez Adobe and behind Monterey’s…

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History Row
Natural history, state history, and cultural history combine to make Monterey County remarkable.
Old Sacramento Historic District Sacramento is an open-air museum of historic buildings.
Capital Collections
Sacramento’s rich past can be explored by visiting its many and varied historical museums.
Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained
But even in California, access to abortion services in many areas remains limited.
California continues to work on legislation that would make voting easier.
Voting Rites
And more bills are on the way to help you make your mark on Election Day.
Over two weekends last October, residents of Santa Cruz and Watsonville  participated in demonstration rides aboard an electric streetcar on rails.
The ‘Rail Trail’ Movement, Explained
The heated controversy over what to do with abandoned railroad tracks
California transportation history runs from railroads to today’s car culture.
California’s History of Transportation: From Railroads to Highways
The history of transportation in California has shaped the state, from the earliest stagecoach to today’s car culture.
The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here
The making of Gov. Newsom's plan to help get mentally ill Californians into treatment.
Like ripples in a pond, the hip impulse moved through Santa Cruz and beyond, and continues across generations.
How Did Santa Cruz Get So Hip?
Looking back at the Sixties and Seventies in America's Hippest Little City.
Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals
How the sun is helping push the state toward 100 percent renewable energy.
From nitrates to arsenic to “forever chemicals,” California’s water supply faces a serious pollution threat.
Dirty Water: California Faces a Water Contamination Crisis
In a state that declares water a “human right,” more than 2 percent of its residents have no drinkable water.
A 1911 production of “Twelfth Night” at the Forest Theater.
Arts History
Performing arts centers, galleries, theater troupes, music festivals and more.
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
From its beginnings in the Gold Rush, the state Supreme Court continues to define the state today.
Among the events commemorated by E Clampus Vitus is the founding of the group’s first California chapter.
Atlas Absurdum
More than 1,400 markers across the state point the way to the past.
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation has cost California 90 percent of its wetlands.
How Land Reclamation Hurts California’s Environment
The hidden price tag of “reclaiming” swamps and marshes as usable land.
Translated from the Greek, “Democracy” means “people power.” How much power do the people have in California?
People Power! What Is Democracy, and How Does It Work in California?
The Goddess of Democracy is alive and well in California, but that hasn’t always been true.
The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land
Starting in 1976, the legislature began creating agencies to buy up open land, and keep it open.
The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works
More than half of California farmland is under contracts that prevent its development.
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