Monterey County Community Service & Support Articles

A union-backed bill that would make strikers eligible for California’s unemployment benefits awaits the governor’s signature. Businesses say it’ll cost too much.

KING CITY — Southern Monterey County Foundation (SMCF) is celebrating an impressive milestone — 10 years of giving back to Southern Monterey County. The SMCF raises funds and makes grants to improve the quality of life in South County from …

KING CITY — More than 1,100 backpacks filled with school supplies were delivered to students in King City and Salinas this year as part of Taylor Farms’ 13th annual Backpack Giving Program. After starting the program in Monterey County in …

Police can’t force homeless people from encampments unless the city in question has “adequate shelter” for those who are displaced, according to courts. Now everyone involved wants to know what “adequate” means.

SALINAS VALLEY — Alliance on Aging (AOA) has received a $200,000 grant from the California Department of Aging to develop a local age-friendly action plan for Monterey County, focusing on the Salinas Valley. The 21-month-long grant — one of 15 …

Some independent California community hospitals have struggled with rising costs since the COVID-19 pandemic. Three declared bankruptcy this year, prompting the state to distribute interest-free loans.

American Medical Response has poured more than $3 million into a November 2024 initiative to raise requirements for levying taxes and fees. The company says it’s looking out for patients, but local officials say it’s about the money.

MONTEREY COUNTY — The Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE), a program of the Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC), has officially launched its recruitment for the LEAD (Leadership, Education and Development) Institute 2024 cohort, of which rising nonprofit leaders in …

By channeling funds to a number of nonprofits working on various issues in a given region, community foundations help solve big problems throughout California.

A conversation with Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

A recent state survey reveals 2 in 3 Black women are breadwinners; 8 in 10 worry about discrimination or mistreatment and more like Gov. Gavin Newsom than Vice President Kamala Harris.

Showing solidarity with other social classes is a prominent union strategy in the so-called “hot labor summer” sweeping California. It’s too soon to say if the inter-union activity will get employers to bargain.

California grants school boards much local control, but recent events have pushed the state to take steps to stop local school board meetings from turning into potentially dangerous culture war battlegrounds.

Transfer to a four-year institution is a benchmark for success among community colleges, but the numbers are low and disparities across the system persist, especially between colleges in rural areas and those in wealthy suburbs.

One California mental health crisis center grew its staff by almost 50 percent to handle that number of calls from people in need of counseling that it’s received since the state launched its 988 hotline a year ago.

SALINAS VALLEY — Sun Street Centers recently celebrated the completion of its Darlene Acosta Youth Center in King City with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an open house. The June 28 celebration marked the final construction phase of Sun Street’s King …

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST), facilitated by Monterey County Hospitality Association (MCHA), has donated 5,000 bus passes to Rancho Cielo so its students from the further reaches of Monterey County can attend class. “Our school serves many students in …

A new ban on flavored tobacco products is accelerating a decline in nicotine tax revenue that funds California’s early childhood services. Some programs are already making cuts.

Los Angeles’ new homelessness solution is meant to quickly get people out of encampments and into housing—as the city grapples with the state’s largest population of unhoused residents. But the program is struggling to house people and connect them with …

In its nearly two years of work, the Pacific Grove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force has made headway in its mission to make the small town a more welcoming place for underrepresented groups – it’s biggest accomplishment to date…