Local News

MONTEREY COUNTY — Siembra Latinos Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County has announced that Ernesto Vela, assistant superintendent of student services for the Monterey County Office of Education, is the recipient of the inaugural Alfred Diaz-Infante Award. The award was established in 2023...

SOLEDAD — City of Soledad has been awarded $750,000 from the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The grant award will go to small businesses located in Soledad as they continue to recover from...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Renters and homeowners in Monterey County and 13 other counties impacted by the February and March storms and flooding will now have more time to sign up for federal disaster assistance. FEMA’s registration period, due to end July 20, has been extended to...

KING CITY — In January 2023, Darlene Noriega faced every parent’s nightmare when her son faced a major medical emergency. While in class at Soledad High School, Noriega’s oldest son Zion experienced spontaneous pneumothorax, an unexplainable lung collapse. The condition is caused by a buildup...

SALINAS — California Rodeo Salinas’ final performance Sunday entertained 16,846 fans at the Salinas Sports Complex, where attendance was up 8% over the same performance last year. Total ticket sales for the 2023 Rodeo’s four performances, July 20-23, totaled 61,771 — up 7.5% overall from...

SALINAS VALLEY — Salinas Valley Health’s Summer Health Institute (SHI) supports the dreams of first-generation, college-bound students by investing in the potential talents of local high school students, including those from South Monterey County. At the same time, the unique program is an innovative way...

KING CITY — Addiction to opioids, including prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, is a serious national crisis — California reported more than 7,100 opioid overdose deaths in 2021, including nearly 4,000 deaths from fentanyl. Cal Hospital Compare has published...

GONZALES — A team of Gonzales Unified School District students in sixth through eighth grades has engaged in a five-week computer programming camp to control NASA’s Astrobee satellites aboard the International Space Station (ISS).  The Summer Zero Robotics Program, which began June 26, inspires young...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST), facilitated by Monterey County Hospitality Association (MCHA), has donated $5,000 in bus passes to Rancho Cielo so its students from the further reaches of Monterey County can attend class. “Our school serves many students in South County, and one...

SALINAS VALLEY — Sun Street Centers recently celebrated the completion of its Darlene Acosta Youth Center in South Monterey County with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an open house. The June 28 celebration marked the final construction phase of Sun Street’s King City campus at 641...