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...

The U.S. vaccination campaign has been rolling along and picking up steam. Some 22% of California’s roughly 40 million residents are fully vaccinated, and more are signing up for appointments. COVID-19 case rates in the state are at some of their lowest levels since...

Well, the moment many of us have been waiting for has arrived: Californians 50 and older will be eligible to be vaccinated starting April 1, and residents older than 16 will be eligible starting April 15, state officials announced Thursday, in an effort to...

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Health Department announced earlier this week that “sufficient progress” has been made vaccinating Phase 1a health care workers, and that providers may now begin to offer Covid-19 vaccine to residents age 75 years or older in Phase 1b, Tier...

MONTEREY COUNTY — A shift in treatment guidelines within Monterey County has made it so individuals age 65 and older can register for Covid-19 vaccinations as long as they meet certain criteria, and the county has ramped up plans to get vaccinations out to...

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...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday formally endorsed the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 through 11, a move that will buttress defenses against a possible surge as winter arrives and ease the worries of tens of millions of pandemic-weary...

MONTEREY COUNTY — A new Covid-19 variant has been detected in several California counties, including Monterey County, according to the California Department of Public Health. CDPH announced Jan. 17 that a 452R variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, was identified using genetic sequencing...

CALIFORNIA — California surpassed 50,000 known coronavirus deaths Wednesday, the first state to reach that chilling milestone. The news comes as a bleak reminder that the recent progress the state has made against the pandemic may be fragile. Most of those deaths were recorded recently,...

SALINAS VALLEY — Standing in his vineyard as a brisk wind runs amuck with his curly, sandy-blonde hair, Denis Hoey reveals why the Salinas Valley region — known for its vast agriculture — should also be noted for fine winemaking. “We make wines here that...