COVID-19

The surge in unemployment filings in March 2020 provided one of the first clear warnings of the havoc the pandemic was wreaking on the U.S. economy. One year later, that klaxon is still blaring. More than 746,000 people filed first-time applications for state unemployment benefits last...

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...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Representatives from Monterey County’s four hospitals spoke during a press briefing Dec. 9 to share how they are coordinating to react to the recent surge in Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations. Mee Memorial’s Chief Medical Officer Robert Valladares was joined by Natividad’s CMO...

We’ve been waiting for this week for a long time. After more than a year of complex, evolving rules governing where Californians can go and what we can do, on Tuesday, nearly all of them will go away. California, the nation’s most populous state, will be...

SOLEDAD — A small group of about a dozen family members and activists protested Saturday outside the entrance of Salinas Valley State Prison and Correctional Training Facility in Soledad. Their goal was to raise awareness of the increasing Covid-19 infections and deaths inside the facilities,...

(California Today) How fast is the coronavirus spreading in California? 1. A considerable spike in new cases over the holiday weekend — nearly a quarter million — was reported by the state health department Tuesday, with an average of nearly 59,000 cases a day recorded from New Year’s...

SALINAS VALLEY — More patients are being relocated to an Alternate Housing Site at San Lorenzo Park in recent weeks due to an overall increase in Covid-19 cases countywide. The King City site is called Operation Oasis by Monterey County staff, and has 10 trailers...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Mee Memorial Hospital in King City will abide by recent state mandates that require hospital visitors to present proof of Covid-19 vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test taken within the past 72 hours. Dr. Joshua Deutsch, a physician from Mee Memorial, confirmed...

SALINAS VALLEY — Mee Memorial Healthcare System received its allocation of 500 doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine on Dec. 22, with priority vaccinations of frontline workers beginning that same day. The vaccines were delivered to Mee Memorial Hospital in King City at 11:30 a.m....

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...