San Joaquin County History Articles

The Golden State has masqueraded as everything from the Sahara Desert to the Swiss Alps. But which films best capture the real California?

Shopping malls revolutionized how Americans shopped, socialized, and lived. Now, malls face an uncertain future. How did the dream of a new town square go so wrong?

America has become a mostly suburban country, and California is known for its sprawling ’burbs. But what is a suburb? It turns out California may not be as suburban as people believe.

Silicon Valley has been hit with repeated boom and bust cycles throughout its history, and layoffs are sweeping the tech industry in 2023. Here's why the Valley will survive the latest downturn, as it has all the others.

Black History Month provides an opportunity to remember the achievements of African Americans who fought for equality in the Golden State.

2022 was a year that needed a lot of explaining. And California Local was there. Here are our 10 most important explanatory journalism stories from the year gone by, from immigration to cryptocurrency to wealth inequality and more.

From its early days of hard-charging, Jewish immigrant moguls to today's domination by megacorporations, here's how Hollywood continues to hold its place as one of California's most important industries.

California is the most American of all states, both setting the direction for the rest of the country, and acting as a mirror of what the U.S. is today. Here’s why, and how it got that way.

David Schmaltz outlines a pivotal point in California history in his Monterey County Weekly cover story on the Battle of Natividad.

California's government was born out of utter chaos. Here's how the state developed some sort of order to the way it operates, and how it makes and enforces laws.

California is full of places and communities, but most are not cities. Here's what it takes for a community to become a city, the benefits of being one—and why the state has a 'de facto moratorium' on new cities.

Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, yet it is the source of 40 percent of the world's energy. California remains an exception to coal industry dominance, using and producing less coal that almost any other state.

Oil aka petroleum holds a tighter grip on California than any other energy source. Here's how Big Oil came to dominate the state and world economy, and some hints at how oil's grip may finally loosen.

Solar power, and a network of giant battery storage facilities, are playing an essential role in moving California toward its goal of exclusive reliance on renewable energy sources.

Ten of the greatest athletes born or raised in California.

The chances of a 'biblical' megastorm devastating California have doubled over the past century, thanks to climate change, a new study warns. And as the globe continues to warm, the possibility of disaster only gets worse.

Basketball legend Bill Russell and iconic baseball play-by-play broadcaster Vin Scully will be remembered as two of the most monumental figures in California sports history.

Sara Rubin here, thinking about how thousands of years before Monterey County as a jurisdiction even existed as an idea, it was inhabited by thousands of Indigenous people who called this place home. Numerous villages all over the region were…

California's assault weapons ban, in place since 1989, may not stand up to a new Supreme Court decision that makes it much harder for states to impose gun control. A federal court brief filed June 30 aims to strike down …

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is turning his sights on one of the most important press freedom cases, 'New York Times v. Sullivan.' Thomas says he wants to make it easier to sue media companies.