Best Volunteer Organization Best Place to Take Visitors
Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row, Monterey (831) 648-4800, montereybayaquarium.org
In a major upset this year in the Best Of election, the Monterey Bay Aquarium unseated the SPCA for Monterey County as Best Volunteer Organization after at least a six-year run of wins by the animal nonprofit. Yes, there are animals here, but they’re not cuddly and you can’t take them home – and they rely on volunteer power to keep the creatures happy and healthy. The sheer number of Aquarium volunteers is impressive – there are more than 1,000, with 650 of those working as guides throughout the facility. And any pundit will posit that those loyal volunteers who interact with the Aquarium’s nearly 2 million visitors each year probably think it’s the best spot of all to bring out-of-towners to see (up close) the wonders of sea otters, jellyfish, cephalopods and all the other creatures of Monterey Bay and the sea beyond.
Best Local Do-Gooder
Bruce Taylor
Taylor Farms, 150 Main St., Salinas (877) 323-7374, taylorfarms.com
The success of Taylor Farms has produced a bounty of lasting benefits for Monterey County, not the least of which is thousands of jobs. The scion of a Salinas ag industry family, Bruce Taylor believes in giving back. When it came time to expand the company’s corporate office he took a flyer and built a five-story complex in downtown Salinas that has become that city’s hub. His philanthropy is abundant in two areas that are critical to his and the community’s future: education and health. He has donated to Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System to fund their Gonzales clinic to bring health care to the Salinas Valley. Taylor Farms is the major private funder (along with Montage and SVMH) of the Blue Zones initiative to help stop lifetime health risks like obesity and diabetes. Taylor Farms donated to Hartnell College to build their recently opened STEM center to help advance careers in ag technology, and Taylor has committed to help fund a new engineering degree program and building at CSUMB. He has asked that the new building be named after his mom and dad – a sign he’s looking back and looking to the future all at once.
Best Local Nonprofit
The SPCA for Monterey County
1002 Monterey Salinas Highway, Salinas (831) 373-2631, spcamc.org
Running as an independent, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County is its own entity, not attached to any other SPCA or Humane Society in the U.S. It’s been supported by local donors since 1905, taking in and caring for all animals in need, from pets like dogs and cats to farm animals like horses and chickens to injured wildlife in need of rehab. They take in strays, abused and neglected animals, with the goal of rehabilitating and rehoming as many as possible, spending on average $1,200 per animal. In 2018-19, the SPCA adopted out more than 3,300 animals, helped more than 2,500 wild critters, rescued 915 animals from cruelty situations and educated more than 13,000 human children through fun educational programs and camps.
Best TV News Personality
Dan Green
KSBW 238 John St., Salinas (831) 422-8206, ksbw.com
In this weird era for news and information, it’s especially important you trust the people dispensing the news. Anchor Dan Green is a regular guy, he lives in the community, he’s not a Russian bot and he keeps a straight face through even the weirdest news. But beyond all of that, it’s his “Animal Stories with Dan Green” series that makes him truly the best, narrating everything from “weiner dogs racing on ice – sort of like mayhem” – to dogs frolicking together to wild turkeys in Idaho captured on a police body camera blocking traffic and threatening a cop. Green is not afraid to anthropomorphize, and he’s not afraid to dig into the local news.
Best Radio Station
KWAV 96.9 FM
60 Garden Court, Suite 300, Monterey (831) 658-5200, kwav.com
Ride the Big Blue Wave – KWAV, that is. KWAV is proof that you can please all of the people all of the time with their office-friendly format of Adult Contemporary music. Think Pink, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. Start the day with MG in the Morning, where you have a chance of winning donuts delivered to your office by MG himself (Mark Garcia). The listening fun continues after dark with the nationally syndicated Delilah program. If you’re looking to liven up your campaign event soundtrack, they’ve got something to groove to.
Best Radio DJ
Jeff White
KRML 102.1 FM 27300 Rancho San Carlos Road, Carmel (831) 244-0102, krml.com
Jeff White, our county’s #1 voted radio DJ, bringing us all the “new music and deep tracks… despite age or genre,” as he says, kind of like the 2020 candidates. He’ll never leave you confused and waiting, just sitting on the edge of your seat like the decade’s first presidential election. Without having to abide by corporate limitations, White is able to humbly “support great local causes and provide an eclectic music mix that represents the people of Monterey Bay.” By the people, for the people – a good philosophy for elections, a good philosophy for radio.
Best School
CSU Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center, Seaside (831) 582-3000, csumb.edu
While presidential candidates speak theoretically about what they’re going to do or not going to do about the ballooning student debts, this growing Cal State university is working around the clock to give as many students as possible an accessible, world-class education. CSUMB believes in cultivating the local economy, instituting direct-to-career pipelines in education, public arts and medicine. They’ve also instituted initiatives to recruit transfer students from local community colleges, cutting the time (and money) it takes to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, all while maintaining a group. Practical and efficient, the qualities of a good candidate… or in this case, school.
Best Professor
Dr. Bill Little
Monterey Peninsula College 980 Fremont St., Monterey (831) 646-4000, mpc.edu
Securing the Democratic party’s nomination is more complicated than simply winning the most votes. There are delegates and superdelegates and the specter of a brokered convention. Then, for the presidential election, you have to account not just for vote totals but also for the electoral college. It is very difficult to grasp, but what certainly helps to keep track of the numbers and calculations is having taken Bill Little’s math class at MPC. As one former student posted on ratemyprofessors.com, Little is “never condescending” and “explains math in such a way that it takes all the mystery out of it.”
Best K-12 Teacher
Christian Sousa
Marina High School 298 Patton Parkway, Marina (831) 583-2060, mahs.mpusd.net
Every vote counts, or perhaps the takeaway message from Marina High School’s Christian Sousa is, no one individual’s influence is too small to affect big change. Sousa, for example, is an AP biology and biology teacher, but he’s also a big fan of project-based cross-curricular learning, even going so far as to push interactive journaling in his classes. He’s so influential, the entire science department is adopting his methods. As for a ringing endorsements, his boss, Principal Rebecca Tyson, says he has a way of creating a “space that is welcoming to all persons,” and that he’s a “positive changemaker in our community.”
Best Place To Work
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula
23625 Holman Highway, Monterey (831) 624-5311, chomp.org
If Best Of elections had terms limits, CHOMP would surely by now be excluded from running for best place to work. But the Weekly imposes no term limits, and so, for the 11th year, the hospital continues its incumbency. It happened without any voter fraud or election rigging, but simply by providing competitive pay and benefits and allowing staff members to thrive professionally. Staff morale is also boosted by access to perks like yoga, and to the county’s best milkshake (see p. 67).
Best Local Politician
Congressman Jimmy Panetta
142 W. Alisal St., Room E116, Salinas (district office) (831) 424-2229, panetta.house.gov
Jimmy Panetta is fond of saying it’s all about the data, but really, it’s all about the people and that’s why this two-term congressman (and counting – he got a commanding 65 percent of the vote in a three-way primary) is regularly voted by Weekly readers as Best Politician. He loves doing the work of delivering constituent services. That includes technical stuff like helping solve Social Security problems, veterans benefit problems, resolving passport and visa application delays, to the tune of 850 completed cases in 2019 alone, plus making public appearances (400) and hosting town halls (10) and interacting with real people (100,000 responses to correspondence). That’s what representative government is all about.
Best Local Website
mcweekly.com
Hey, that’s us! According to the email signature from the publisher of the Weekly, mcweekly.com is a place to “Get news, blogs, insight and idle gossip, all day and all night.” He’s not wrong, as it regularly showcases the news you can read in the paper, online extras, blog posts, breaking news, and the Twitter chatter of our editorial department. The online calendar is a go-to resource when you’re planning your week. Democracy is best based on facts, and there are facts galore reported by the Weekly team at mcweekly.com.
Best Local Blog
Big Sur Kate
bigsurkate.blog
When you’re off the grid in your own patch of paradise you really need a good source for keeping you briefed. You won’t find any fake news or political sound bites here. What you will find is the meat and potatoes info that has made Kate a hub for all things Big Sur. From road closures and disaster notifications to the latest intel on what movie crew is filming in the area, Kate Novoa makes sure you don’t miss a beat.
Best Clergy
Kevin Harney
Shoreline Community Church 2500 Garden Road, Monterey (831) 655-0100, shoreline.church
There’s a lot of life in this church on the hill. There’s a kids’ ministry, and a First Wednesday evening service with an inexpensive dinner on offer, and military outreach, and mom outreach and despite the size of this wildly popular (and still growing) church, they consider themselves a community church. And at the helm is Kevin Harney, the snowboard-loving, Fuller Theological Seminary-trained lead pastor, who nurtures the church’s organic outreach mission, writes and publishes books along with his wife, Sherry, and keeps his eye on the prize – the prize being how to worship God in a warm, welcoming and inclusive way.
Best Business Sign
Other Brother Beer Company
877 Broadway Ave., Seaside (831) 747-1106, otherbrotherbeer.com
The newbie in the race, Other Brother Beer Co.’s simple block letter sign, caught the eyes of the voters. The large white words on the front-facing part of the building wrap around brick pillars. Evan Loewy, one of three principal partners in the business, worked with Derek McDonald at Golden West Sign Arts to come up with the idea. Collaboration is at the foundation of what they do, says partner Michael Nevares. “From the way we utilize the space as a community gathering place, to the synergistic, collaborative relationship that we enjoy with Ad Astra Bread Co., to the way that we interact with people who come into the space we are community-focused to the core,” he says. It’s a sign (zing!) they’re doing something right.
Best Neon Sign
Old Fisherman’s Grotto
39 Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey (831) 375-4604, oldfishermansgrotto.com
A surge of mail-in ballots offered hope that neon signs still had a place in a world of electronic vote casting. No need to worry here. Pleasing wharf-goers for generations, the blue-yellow-red neon lights continues to serve as one of the most familiar color combinations in Monterey. Stroll along and have some chowder. Or take a quick photo on the way to a whale-watching cruise. Old Fisherman’s Grotto is indeed the unofficial signpost of the Fisherman’s Wharf.
Best Contemporary/ Modern Building
Monterey Conference Center
1 Portola Plaza, Monterey (831) 646-3770, montereyconferencecenter.com
Whether you’re holding a fundraising dinner, a campaign rally or a victory party, you need a venue that will hold all of your supporters – and show them how forward-thinking you really are. The Monterey Conference Center’s shiny, glass-paneled exterior and packed schedule of events, ranging from the Monterey Wind Festival to Car Week auctions, is sure to woo and wow supporters with elegant charm. Spacious ballrooms and well-lit lounges are trademarks of Monterey’s “focal point for welcoming and encouraging cultural and economic prosperity,” lending an airy effervescence to this modern architectural gem.
Best Hotel
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa
400 Cannery Row, Monterey (831) 920-6710, montereyplazahotel.com
With all the tourists in Monterey County, the hotel winner is presidentially important. It’s hard to beat the Plaza, with its prime location right on the ocean in the heart of Cannery Row in Monterey. The dining at the hotel’s restaurant, Schooners, wins in its own right (see p. 44), or you could soak in the views from the spa’s balcony whirlpool tubs. Whether you’re out exploring nearby or staying in to relax, it’s a win.
Best Place to Drink Next to a Celebrity
Mission Ranch
26270 Dolores St., Carmel (831) 624-6436, missionranchcarmel.com
We all know the name of the celebrity who is frequently spotted at Mission Ranch, but here are a few unexpected facts about the man. He appeared in an episode of the 1960s TV series Mister Ed. He turned down a role to star as James Bond after Sean Connery left the popular franchise. He owned a blue gum eucalyptus that garnered fame as the country’s largest hardwood tree in 2000. Spot him at Mission Ranch, and he’ll make your day.
Best Place to See and be Seen
Alvarado Street Brewery
426 Alvarado Street, Monterey (831) 655-2337, alvaradostreetbrewery.com
In the world of political campaigns, keeping your face in the public is priority. But who said diplomacy can’t come with a round of craft beers and a plate of pork belly poutine? Alvarado Street Brewery has established itself as a hangout space for locals. It’s the perfect spot for politicians to convey their appreciation for everyday joys. A candidate would be smart to pose by the beer garden fire pit with an ASB brew in each hand, or for even more publicity, try the sidewalk seating area out front.
Best Place To Read The Weekly
Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company
Multiple locations in Monterey County carmelcoffeeroasters.com
Exit polls on Ocean Avenue confirm that at least 1 of every 5 café-goers do in fact read the Weekly at the Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting Company. Of course, you know the reliability of exit polls. Still, it’s a popular place to see what Squid is up to. A side table below a record player, good quiche, Marianne’s ice cream, and a whole stack of newspapers just outside the entrance make for the perfect reading space.
Best Place To Get Married
Lovers Point
631 Ocean View Blvd., Pacific Grove (831) 648-3143, cityofpacificgrove.org
Only once did Americans elect a bachelor to the presidency, Grover Cleveland in 1884. He married Frances Folsom, the daughter of a former law partner, in a White House ceremony. Two other times, American presidents lost their wives and remarried while in office, John Tyler in 1884 and Woodrow Wilson in 1915. The mistake all three made was that they didn’t get married at Lovers Point, the iconic park overlooking the Monterey Bay.
Best Place for a Birthday Party
Gianni’s Pizza
725 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey (831) 649-1500, giannispizzamonterey.com
In 1974, Carl and Ginger Costa bought a Foster’s Freeze and started cranking out pizzas and other recipes they had brought over from Palermo, Sicily. Four generations later, it’s an institution that, in addition to a menu of hearty Italian fare and delectable gelato, hosts more than 500 gatherings a year – sports team dinners, wedding rehearsals and birthday parties. The red brick walls and checkerboard tablecloths give it an old-school feel that bellows “benvenuto!” and “mangiare!” and the spacious, wrap-around floor plan allows the place to host big rollicking parties without anyone feeling “scomodo.” Capiche?
Best Place to Eavesdrop
Starbucks
Multiple locations in Monterey County starbucks.com
First you hear the friendly baristas taking orders, then you hear the espresso machine hissing. Then as you settle in with your foamy cinnamon dolce créme (extra whip, please) at one of Monterey County’s Starbucks locations, you hear the conversations of many, many interesting people around you. There are the cops, talking about their latest salacious investigation. There are the tourists, telling an embarrassing story about getting lost – at the ocean, which seems like it should’ve been a pretty good landmark. There are the neighbors you didn’t even know you had, seeming to tell all, and all you have to do is sit and sip and pretend to read a book.
Best Event/Festival
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Monterey Peninsula Country Club (831) 649-1533, attpbgolf.com
Three courses, party pavilions, celebrity challenges, food trucks – there’s more going on at the Pro-Am than at a campaign rally. The annual Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a festival, a who’s who red carpet event and a roaming party, with some really great golf thrown in. There’s nothing like it on the PGA Tour, what with 156 professionals and 156 amateurs in the field because the amateurs are a big part of the draw. Quarterbacks, actors, comedians, former political leaders and other big names take on the tops courses in the world, right alongside pros like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
Best Public Golf Course
Pacific Grove Golf Links
77 Asilomar Blvd., Pacific Grove (831) 648-5775, playpacificgrove.com
With such world-renowned candidates like Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills in contention, how does a course in staid Pacific Grove win? Before you go suggesting a bit of gerrymandering might be involved, consider a few more substantial talking points. First, the obvious: Cost. Pebble Beach will set you back something like $550. P.G. is more deficit-friendly, under $100 much of the time – sometimes as little as $51. Second, P.G. and Pebble Beach share the same platform when it comes to scenery, which is stunning. As golfers at P.G. emerge from the trees, they get panoramic views of the point where the vast Pacific Ocean meets Monterey Bay. Under those conditions, it can be difficult to keep your eye on the ball at all times.
Best Surf Spot
Asilomar State Beach
Sunset Drive, Pacific Grove (831) 646-6440, parks.ca.gov/asilomar
Consistent waves that break year-round keep surfers coming back to Asilomar, even when conditions get tough out there. With convenient parking along the cliffs on Sunset Drive and easy access, it’s a popular spot for both locals and tourists. Riptides and sneaker waves make it a spot fit for more experienced surfers. If you decide to drop in to some long runs or just to watch the sun-soaked Jakes, you’ll get the bonus of tide pools, abundant sea life and beautiful scenery.
Best Place To Walk The Dog Best Place To Watch The Sunset Best Beach
Carmel Beach
End of Ocean Avenue, Carmel (831) 620-2000, ci.carmel.ca.us/beach
What’s better than treating an existential crisis about an upcoming election with dogs? How about treating it with dogs running free on a white sand beach while their owners watch saltwater-bleached surfers paddle out for their final rides as the sun paints the sky shades of pink, yellow and orange. A rarity on the Monterey Peninsula, dogs are allowed to run off-leash at Carmel Beach, making it not only the best beach for us bipeds for a walk along during the sunset but for our furry four-legged friends as well.
Best Park
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Highway 1, 3 miles south of Carmel (831) 624-4909, parks.ca.gov/pointlobos
Point Lobos is a veritable wonderland of ecosystems. Whether you’re looking for white sand beaches in coves reminiscent of a Corona ad, gusty headland bluffs or rolling meadows, you’re gonna find it at Point Lobos. And those are just the ecosystems on land. Visitors will see wildlife from seals, sea lions, sea otters, whales and countless shore birds that life in one of the richest underwater habitats on the West Coast. The cheers at a Point Lobos rally might sound like, “Ecosystems for All!”
Best place to bike/ mountain bike
Fort Ord National Monument
Multiple access points from Seaside and Salinas (831) 582-2200, blm.gov
Whether you’re a career cyclist or a rookie rider, Fort Ord National Monument is the best place to “feel the burn” on your bike. With over 85 miles of trails through oak woodlands, rolling hills and grasslands, Fort Ord is a favorite for the shredders and the cruisers. Get lost in the spaghetti bowl of single track and multi-use trails, follow hawks and coyotes along the ridges and ride in the footsteps of the soldiers who once trained on this former Army base years ago.
Best Hiking Trail
Garland Ranch Regional Park
700 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley (831) 372-3196, mprpd.org
Looking for a mellow stroll along the banks of the Carmel River? Check. Looking to get your heart rate up on a ridiculously steep uphill? Check. Seeking the peaceful stillness of a shady redwood canyon? Check. Looking for a ridge 2,000 feet above sea level that offers sweeping views of Mid-Carmel Valley to Monterey Bay? In short, this expansive park has it all and invites you to meander throughout a network of 44 miles trails across 3,661 sprawling acres. Keep your eyes open for abundant wildlife (Weekly staffers have spotted owls and bobcats in recent months), watch the river change throughout the seasons and cure your Nature Deficit Disorder.
Best Backdrop for a Selfie
Bixby Bridge
15 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1, Big Sur
Looking like a concrete spider web spanning Bixby Canyon with the sparkling Pacific as a backdrop, Bixby Bridge is not surprisingly a popular spot for selfie taking. The attraction’s increasing fame from being featured in the opening credits of the HBO show Big Little Lies has made the structure an even more popular place for pics. But being located on a busy stretch of highway without much parking means that any selfie taking must be done in a safe and thoughtful way. So make that “Best Backdrop for a Safe and Thoughtful Selfie.”
Best Library
Monterey Public Library
625 Pacific St., Monterey (831) 646-3933, monterey.org/library
There’s the outdoor patio, the magazines and newspapers, California History Room, the community meeting rooms, the patron surveys, the teen center, the books (of course), the preschool storytime, the annual book sale, the e-books, the senior resources, the bookmobile, the laptops, the microfiche, the community board, the friends, the art displays, the blog, the genealogy webinars, the homework tutoring, the prizes for reading, the financial workshops, the museum passes… you get the idea.
Best Hangout for Teens
Del Monte Shopping Center
1410 Del Monte Center, Monterey. (831) 373-2705, delmontecenter.com
The level of youth involvement in politics ranges with each election cycle. But what hasn’t changed after countless presidential administrations is the love teenagers have for malls. For several years running the outdoor Del Monte Shopping Center has kept teens coming back for movie nights, shopping sprees and dining out with friends. Like any good election, there’s a choice for every situation. Yama Sushi is perfect for dinner dates while a slice of Pizza my Heart is perfect for a quick bite. And with over 60 retailers, including local mom-and-pops mixed in with national chains, it’s not hard to get lost in options.
Best Hangout For Seniors
The Carmel Foundation
Eighth and Lincoln, Carmel (831) 624-1588, carmelfoundation.org
Seniors. They vote early and they vote in numbers. And maybe that’s why The Camel Foundation is a perennial favorite in this “Best Hangout for Them” category. There’s respect and camaraderie and communication to be found, along with art classes and workshops and book groups and garden club and movie days and treks around the area. Most importantly, for about 3,400 seniors, it’s a home away from home.
Best Senior Living Community
Del Mesa Carmel
500 Del Mesa Carmel, Carmel (831) 624-1853, delmesacarmel.org
Here’s Del Mesa by the numbers: 289 condos; six floor plans; ages 55 and over, please and thanks. The amenities may be the biggest draw, though, with a clubhouse, walking trails, more activities than you can shake a stick at, a community restaurant for dining in, a well-stocked library, multi-purpose rooms for gatherings small or large, an indoor pool, a putting green, garden plots, a dog park and proximity to everything Carmel and Monterey and the Peninsula at large has to offer. Growing older never looked so good.
Best Farmers Market
Old Monterey Farmers Market
Tuesday afternoons on Alvarado Street between Del Monte and Pearl, Monterey (831) 655-2607, oldmonterey.org
From the great golden state of California, home to more than 700 farmers markets, we nominate Old Monterey Farmers Market… oh wait, this isn’t a convention. Readers already voted for downtown Monterey’s festive Tuesday night market as their winning candidate. Take a stroll starting any Tuesday at 4pm and it will quickly become apparent why the 3.5 blocks become the most happening spot in Monterey County every week, rain or shine. The local produce from the region, booths selling handmade goods, food booths and live music is a veritable community block party that attracts up to 10,000 visitors in the summertime.
Best Green / Eco Trend
Electric Cars
The residents of Monterey County better put their money where their vote is if the electric car trend is going to amount to anything. Only 1 percent of cars in the region are electric, according to Monterey Bay Community Power. The statewide goal would require the proportion of EVs to go up to 15 percent by 2030. The goal may seem arbitrary – that is, if you forget about a little thing called the climate crisis. Experts agree that for our planet to be saved, a whole lot more of us should be switching over from gas-powered cars. That’s a trend we can all get behind.