COVID-19

The U.S. job market remains challenging, with the government reporting Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose last week. A total of 741,000 workers filed first-time claims for state jobless benefits last week, an increase of 18,000, the Labor Department said. It was...

More than two months after he was fully vaccinated against COVID, a doctor in New York woke up with a headache and a dull, heavy feeling of fatigue. A fever and chills soon followed, and his senses of taste and smell began to fade. This,...

SALINAS VALLEY — Mee Memorial Healthcare System in King City has received a federal grant to help improve Covid-19 vaccine confidence throughout its service area in southern Monterey County, spanning more than 55 miles between Soledad and Bradley. Health Resources and Services Administration provided the...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Residents in the counties of Monterey, Napa, San Benito and Santa Cruz are being advised to wear masks indoors in public places, regardless of vaccination status. Announced Monday, the multi-county recommendation is not an order, but was issued in response to cases...

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County health officials have been working with agricultural companies and have reiterated safety plans with the onset of the new growing season, with the goal of keeping ag workers safe and the food supply network stable. “With the start of the...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo submitted a pandemic economic recovery ordinance for the county on Feb. 3, aimed at recalling laid-off county hospitality, restaurant and travel workers when the economy re-opens.  The ordinance would request those recalls based on greatest length of...

COACHELLA, Calif. — The sun-baked desert valley tucked behind the San Jacinto Mountains is best known for an annual music festival that draws 100,000 fans a day and a series of lush, oasis resort towns where well-heeled snowbirds go to golf, sunbathe and party....

SOLEDAD — As the City of Soledad prepares for its centennial event, 2021 also marks the year one of its residents, Jennie Aquino, becomes a centenarian.  Aquino, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Jan. 27, was born in Mexico and came to the United States...

SALINAS — Northwest Laboratory will open and operate a new drive-thru Covid-19 testing site in Salinas starting March 3. “Our organization has worked closely with the communities across the U.S. since this pandemic began, providing laboratory analysis for multiple community testing programs,” said Jennifer Bull,...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Officials with Monterey County Health Department and local hospitals urged the public to get flu shots in time for the upcoming flu season during a media briefing Oct. 21. Representatives from Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, Salinas Valley Memorial...