Local News

SOLEDAD — Soledad Unified School District recently announced that Randy Bangs has been chosen as the district’s superintendent, effective July 1. Bangs served as interim superintendent for the past six months, and had earlier served as associate superintendent of educational services since January 2018. There...

COFFEE SHOP OPENS KING CITY — Hestia at the Diner owners announced that they will have a soft opening Wednesday, July 21, at their new location at 320B Broadway St. in King City. The coffee shop’s hours will be Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m....

MONTEREY COUNTY — Multiple branches within the Monterey County Free Libraries system have reopened with full hours, matching their pre-pandemic service hours. The library’s website, emcfl.org, has information about branch locations and their hours, since hours differ by site and some branches have not yet...

CHUALAR VACANCY CHUALAR — There will be a special vacancy election on Tuesday, Nov. 2, to elect one member for the Chualar Union School District, Trustee Area 1. The candidate filing period opened July 12, and candidate forms must be completed and submitted by 5...

GONZALES — Three-sport athletes Ozzie Garcia and Ashley Ochoa were selected as the Gonzales High School Athletes of the Year.  The Male Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year are chosen for their performance on the playing fields, success in the classroom...

GONZALES — California’s state budget includes $15 million for essential public safety projects in five communities of the 12th Senate District, with $5 million of that set aside for the City of Gonzales’ teen innovation center, announced Sen. Anna Caballero. “Small, rural communities desperately need...

SALINAS VALLEY — Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) and Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) have honored Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas (CSVS) as the 2021 California Nonprofit of the Year for their districts. “I am proud to honor Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas...

SOLEDAD — A new roundabout at the intersection of East Street and Metz Road in Soledad was unveiled to the public with a ribbon cutting on July 6. Construction began on April 5, with traffic detoured to side streets for months to make way for...

In 2003, Ilkay Altintas, a computer scientist with the University of California, San Diego, had her first wildfire encounter. She had been in Santa Barbara for a workshop and couldn’t take the train home. “The track was gone,” she recalled this week. So she hitched a...

SALINAS — Gonzales native and motorcycle professional rider Frankie Garcia competed for three days last week at the Geico Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at the Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas. Garcia, the 30-year-old son of Frank and Nancy Garcia, has been riding motorcycles from the...