The Meaning of Christmas

The Monterey Bay region, which includes Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, is undergoing a major demographic shift with a younger generation that is more diverse, according to Chris Benner, director of the Institute for Social Transformation at UC Santa Cruz.

A California icon dies, the A’s sign a deal to leave, and the drought is washed away.

The Hollister City Council unanimously agreed to accept a $5 million grant for San Benito High School District to build a student union, which will include a cafeteria and other amenities.

Bring on the cute Nepalese dumplings and deli sandwiches the size of a suitcase. Give me all the caviar in Carmel and hotdogs at the dump.

A group of county residents challenged former Hollister mayor Ignacio Velazquez’s candidacy for the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, but Registrar of Voters Francisco Diaz affirms his eligibility to run.

Councilmember Scott Freels was elected to a one-year term as mayor of San Juan Bautista at the Dec. 19 City Council meeting.

The San Benito High School District announced John Corrigan resigned from the Board of Trustees, leaving a vacancy for Trustee area 5.

As another year zips by, Edible Monterey Bay has your back, offering a tasty way to mark its passing. Sample the Best New Openings of the Year, from Salinas to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Along with adding chemicals to wastewater, the city plans to rebuild part of the sewer system and replace manholes to control the odor.

Complaints can be submitted in writing via email or traditional mail to the Elections Department; all will be personally overseen by the County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters.

The San Benito County Planning Commission voted to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that it delete four New Community Study Areas from the 2035 General Plan after Senior Planner Kelley recommended removing those areas from consideration for future developments.

Just as you might intend to change your diet or workout plan, resolve to make changes that will allow you to meet financial goals.

Under new state laws, five cities will test cameras to catch speeding drivers and cruising bans will be lifted statewide. The first is supposed to improve road safety, but critics of the second say it will endanger the public.

Visitors can see the critically endangered Lord How Island stick insect, on display for the first time in North America, in a special habitat at the zoo’s Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.

Under a new law, employees in California are guaranteed five paid sick days a year, two days more than previously. Worker advocacy groups say the benefit is needed, but business groups warn of additional costs.

In a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, researchers instead lay out a plan for what society might do to improve adolescents’ interactions with social media.

Prescribed burns, used to limit destructive wildfires, are growing in frequency at California State Parks. But as the smoke drifts into residential areas, it’s easy to see why many Californians are concerned about the health impacts.

A dark-sky movement to save birds from window strikes is sweeping the San Francisco Bay Area. Several cities have passed or are drafting laws restricting light pollution while making windows easier for birds to see.

Novelist Jonathan Franzen looks at how trap-neuter-release policies in feral cat colonies have troubling consequences for city residents, local wildlife and even the felines themselves.

State audits of the University of California and the California State University found both systems have failed to comply with decades-old state and federal laws mandating the return of Native ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. Only UCLA and Cal State Long Beach have returned a majority of their collections.

This past year, more than 1,000 bills went into effect, and most will become new laws in 2024. Plus, there are bills from previous years that are also scheduled to take effect after Jan. 1.

The Chico-based brewer has taken a more traditional approach to creating its non-alcoholic beer.

Sarah Grimes investigates reports of dead marine mammals up and down the coast. So when she began finding the decapitated bodies of harbor seal pups just a few miles north of Fort Bragg in 2016, she was on the case. Grimes wasn’t able to pin down the culprit until last year, with the help of a UCSC student.

The California Department of Water Resources has approved building a tunnel between the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The approval could signal a new wave of legal challenges to the long-running and controversial project.

The Hoopa Valley Tribe announced it is acquiring about 10,000 acres of land in Northern California for $14.1 million. As part of this, the tribe will remove dams along the Klamath River and restore salmon runs.

The 33-year old Mexican-born man—who from toddler age has been a permanent legal resident of California—has reported abuse, unsanitary conditions and threats of force-feeding before his release from immigration detention in April.

California fast-food workers will earn a $20 minimum wage in April. Other employers might have to raise their pay floor to recruit and retain staff.

The California Faculty Association has announced it will strike in January at the state’s 23 CSU campuses. It’s part of an ongoing effort by the group to obtain a 12% raise for the 29,000 professors and lecturers it represents.

An effort spearheaded by the Newsom administration and congressional leaders resulted in Congress authorizing and accelerating the transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard to CalFire, expanding California’s firefighting fleet.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a lawsuit over whether its app store is an illegal monopoly.