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Salinas
January 31, 2026

Jury convicts Salinas Valley State Prison inmate for possessing weapon while serving sentence

Law judge court
SOLEDAD — A Monterey County jury has convicted Paul Chavez Ramirez, 61, an inmate serving a life sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, of possessing a weapon. In a bifurcated trial, the jury also found that Ramirez had previously been convicted of four...

Soledad Unified School District highlights positive trends in 2024 state Dashboard results

Soledad Unified School District
SOLEDAD — The 2024 California School Dashboard, released by the California Department of Education, shows encouraging outcomes for the Soledad Unified School District (SUSD) in several key areas. The Dashboard, California’s accountability system for schools, measures school and district performance based on current-year results and...

Baseball | Soledad wins CCS play-in game, heads to playoffs

Baseball
SOLEDAD — Soledad High’s baseball team may have only won five games in the Gabilan Division, but the Aztecs earned the right to enter the Central Coast Section playoffs. Soledad defeated North Monterey County, 8-1, last Friday in Castroville in a Central Coast Section play-in...

Gang members ordered to stand trial for 2024 South Monterey County homicides

Law judge court
SALINAS VALLEY — Three NorteƱo gang members have been ordered to stand trial on dozens of charges connected to two mass-casualty shootings that devastated South Monterey County in early 2024, according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni announced Nov. 13...

160 acres protected in Ventana Wilderness west of Salinas Valley

CENTRAL COAST — Located in California’s Central Coast, the 160-acre Church Creek property overlooks the wild, sharp-crested ridges and steep valleys of the interior coastal range. The private property is in the heart of the Ventana Wilderness, west of the Salinas Valley, and connects to...

SPCA Wildlife Center rescues anemic badger in Soledad

SOLEDAD — SPCA Monterey County Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center rescued an anemic badger who was found hiding in a garage in Soledad on Aug. 19. ā€œWe believe nearby construction scared him away from or destroyed his burrow,ā€ stated the SPCA in a news release....

Suspect identified in shooting of 2 in fields south of Greenfield

GREENFIELD — Monterey County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has identified a suspect wanted in connection to the shooting and attempted homicide of two people in Greenfield on Sunday. At about 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 9, MCSO deputies and Greenfield Police officers responded to a report of...

Research suggests fresh grapes are a superfood

Grapes
CALIFORNIA — A new article appearing in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry explores the concept of ā€œsuperfoodsā€ and makes a case that fresh grapes have earned what should be a prominent position in the superfood family. The author,...

Plane makes emergency landing near Gonzales

GONZALES — A small aircraft made an emergency landing north of Gonzales on Sunday, reported the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office, along with fire crews, responded to the plane, which had safely landed in an agricultural field. The pilot was uninjured,...

Navarro joins Eden Valley Care Center full-time as director of rehabilitation

SOLEDAD — Eden Valley Care Center announced that Paulino Navarro has joined the team full-time as the new director of rehabilitation. Navarro, along with his experienced team from Natividad Medical Center, brings extensive expertise in patient recovery, mobility and trauma-associated injuries to Soledad, marking a...

Local News

Salinas Valley State Prison

CDCR officials investigating Salinas ValleyĀ State Prison inmate’s Jan. 29 death as...

SOLEDAD ā€” California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the Jan. 29 death of an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) in Soledad as a homicide. At about...