Local News

MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez was selected by his peers to serve as second vice chair of the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) in early December. On Jan. 12, Lopez took the Oath of Office as administered by California State Sen....

DINNER FUNDRAISER SALINAS — California Rodeo Salinas has announced its annual drive-thru dinner fundraiser for the Golden Circle of Champions, a program dedicated to raising awareness for pediatric cancer and providing financial aid to children and their families. The event will take place on Thursday,...

SALINAS VALLEY — Rancho Cielo’s annual Veggie Box and BBQ Fundraiser took place Aug. 8-11 on the Rancho Cielo Youth Campus in Salinas. The fundraiser was the biggest success to date, with more than 14,000 boxes sold, 300 volunteers packing boxes and over 2,000 barbecued...

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...

SALINAS VALLEY — Hartnell College has appointed Ana González as the new Dean of South County Education Centers and Online Learning. González previously served as the director of Hartnell’s Soledad Education Center, where she played a key role in establishing the Distance Education Hub at...

FESTIVITIES POSTPONED SOLEDAD — City of Soledad and Soledad-Mission Chamber of Commerce have postponed the 37th Annual Soledad Christmas Celebration for a second time due to inclement weather. A new date has not been announced for the festivities, originally planned for Dec. 3 before a...

BIG SUR — A Monterey County judge has found 31-year-old Ivan Gomez guilty of starting the Big Sur Dolan Fire, which seriously injured a firefighter and destroyed multiple residences, as well as throwing rocks at a vehicle, cultivating marijuana and 12 counts of animal...

KING CITY — South Monterey County Joint Union High School District’s Hugo Silva and Jamie Jones have been named the 2025-26 Classified and Teacher Employees of the Year, respectively. In a Feb. 17 announcement, the district stated it is grateful for Silva’s hard work and...

KING CITY — Santa Lucia Elementary School teacher Jim Van Horn earned the All-American Standard in the high jump this summer by jumping a personal best height of 1.28 meters (4-2). The 66-year-old Van Horn attained the mark while competing in the USA Track and...

KING CITY — To celebrate National Ag Day, the King City High School FFA chapter participated in the 2021 5K for FFA Virtual Fun Run last month, hosted by the National FFA Organization. About 45 club members, faculty and extended family participated and came together...