We revisit the moments that made headlines in Monterey County this year.

IN THE NEWS LANDSCAPE, STORIES MOVE QUICKLY. By the time a newspaper is printed, sometimes the news has already changed. But we hope you agree that there’s a benefit to taking a moment to pause and to look back at the year gone by. A dominant story in Monterey County last year was weather and its effects on our lives and infrastructure; there’s a chance 2024 could be a repeat.

Other stories are singular events, marking retirements or deaths of influential people who left their mark in music or in science, or milestones in sports. Some of these stories mark culminations, others new beginnings – and we will be watching in the years ahead to see where they lead.

The writeups that follow here are just brief summaries; for more extended coverage, visit montereycountynow.com. –Sara Rubin, editor

Compiled by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Dave Faries, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Agata Pope˛da, Sara Rubin and David Schmalz

January

Jan. 8

The year begins with a downpour. Heavy rain in the early days of 2023 meant (as winter storms often do) the closure of Highway 1 on several parts of the Big Sur coast. While most closures reopen in the coming days and weeks, there remains one exception – Paul’s Slide, the same tricky piece of earth at mile marker 22 that also slid in May 2017, creating the southern boundary of “Big Sur Island” – closing off all traffic for 1.5 miles. In December 2023 Caltrans estimated the road will reopen in “late spring” 2024.

On Jan. 11, officials warn that rising rivers amid ongoing rains could create the effect of a “Monterey Peninsula island,” with access cut off – this scenario never materializes, and bridges over the Salinas River remain open.

Jan. 10

After a years-long push by former longtime Central Coast congressman Sam Farr, D-Carmel, Pinnacles, which became a national monument in 1908, was elevated to national park status by then-president Barack Obama on Jan. 10, 2013. The Weekly celebrates the 10-year anniversary with a cover story.

Jan. 11

Carmel Police Chief Alan Ward is quietly placed on leave after only seven months on the job, a transition that becomes apparent when city officials introduce longtime department employee Jeffrey Watkins as the acting chief on Jan. 11. City officials remained tight-lipped about what happened. Ward eventually retired in June, then took a job in July as a lieutenant for the Naval Support Activity Monterey Police Department.

The investigation cost Carmel taxpayers over $87,000; the circumstances of his departure have still never been shared publicly.

February

Feb. 6

One season after settling into its new home at Cardinale Stadium on the campus of CSU Monterey Bay, pro soccer team Monterey Bay F.C. announces its second team, a semiprofessional team in USL Two. The team had a successful first season and went on to clinch the Western Conference Nor Cal Division Championship.

Feb. 7

The Carmel Unified School District board votes unanimously to remove Jon Lyons as principal of Carmel High School. Lyons had been on leave since Dec. 16, 2022 while district officials conducted an investigation for allegedly mishandling complaints about misconduct, including sexual harassment and assault, on campus.

The termination is one step in a cascade of personnel changes that continue throughout the year. Superintendent Ted Knight was placed on leave on April 1 amid an investigation of his handling of personnel issues. He then resigned on Aug. 11 and agreed to drop all claims against CUSD in exchange for a $770,000 payout. A CUSD parent, Christine Davi, has a pending lawsuit against the district alleging that payment is illegal.

After facing community backlash to a plan to appoint a new superintendent without a stakeholder listening process, the board backtracked and in November announced plans to engage the public in a 2024 recruitment effort.

Feb. 7

The Monterey City Council votes 4-1 to stop providing cruise ship services, effectively ending all cruise ship visits to Monterey Bay. City Manager Hans Uslar told the council the $1.5 million the city was earning annually in providing the services – which include following required U.S. Homeland Security procedures for checking in passengers – was not worth the millions more the city could lose in tourism dollars in the event of a potential environmental disaster.

Feb. 16

CSUMB officials confirm that the new president, Vanya Quiñones, has made major changes to her administration since taking over in August 2022. Those changes included, among others, removing Larry Samuels from vice president of strategic initiatives to a lower-level position – Samuels left days later for a position at UC Santa Cruz.

On Feb. 24, Quiñones announced that Title IX director Wendy Smith was out, replaced by an interim. In August it became clear why Quiñones replaced Smith: a review by an independent consulting firm reported that the CSUMB Title IX office under Smith was “broken and nonfunctional.”

March

March 10

High winds topple a cypress tree along Del Monte Avenue in Monterey, taking down main transmission lines carrying electricity to the Monterey Peninsula. More than 37,000 PG&E customers were without power, many for two days and more. Parts of Pebble Beach were out for at least 12 days.

March 11

Just after midnight amid heavy rains, the Pajaro River levee breaches upstream from the 2,900-person community of Pajaro, prompting evacuations in the middle of the night. Thousands of residents – primarily Latino, low-income families, many of them farmworkers – shelter at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville. Hundreds of people gather daily on the Watsonville side of the bridge to Pajaro, awaiting news about their homes; officials allow people to return on March 23.

The disaster brings renewed attention to the levee, which has failed five times since it was built in 1949. Congress authorized improvements in 1966, but the project remains undone, largely due to a calculation based on the value of property protected. Because of the low-income composition of the community, the Army Corps of Engineers has continuously tabled the project.

County officials later report flooding from the January and March storms caused more than $600 million in damage to the agriculture industry.

March 31

Spirits began to flow for the first time at Links Club in Carmel, two days after owner April Montgomery received approval for a full liquor license – Type 47, in California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) nomenclature – allowing for the on-premises sale of distilled spirits. But the license came at a record price for Monterey County bars and restaurants: $160,000. “All of a sudden it’s very expensive – an all-time high,” says Bill Lee of Monterey’s Kona Steak & Seafood, who paid $140,000 a few months earlier. In his four decades as a restaurateur, he has generally paid between $40,000 and $80,000 for a Type 47. “It’s all supply and demand.”

The only such licenses available to Monterey County are on the secondary market. ABC has not issued a new license for the county since 2016.

April

April 28

The local classical music community is shocked when Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, a world-class chamber violinist, resigns as artistic director of Chamber Music Monterey Bay. Wu remains a presence in the local classical music scene, hosting house concerts.

May

May 11

The Weekly publishes a story about the bullying tactics of a self-proclaimed “First Amendment auditor” who goes by the name Anthony X, who travels to local government buildings with a video camera and provokes public employees into conflict. His conduct has resulted in multiple jurisdictions investing in security upgrades.

After the story runs, Anthony X and dozens of his social media followers bombard the Weekly with threatening messages and a doxxing campaign – allegedly in support of their free speech mission. Seven months later, hateful messages continue to trickle in.

May 16

Car enthusiasts celebrate a unanimous vote by Salinas City Council to repeal a cruising ban that has been in effect since 1992. “Cruising is not a crime and all we want to do is have a good time,” said Dave Cisneros of the Castroville Midnighters car club. Car clubs organize the first official cruising event 30 days after the ban is lifted.

June

June 15

Community radio station KSQD, which broadcasts on 90.7 FM in Santa Cruz, is something of a bastion of community radio in an era of media consolidation. Since its creation in 2019 by a group of community radio “refugees,” KSQD had been looking to expand. And this summer it got the chance – nonprofit Natural Bridges Media, which runs KSQD, raised the necessary $400,000 to purchase the frequencies 89.7 FM and 89.5 FM.

Altogether, the three frequencies allow KSQD to broadcast beyond Santa Cruz to Prunedale and Watsonville, as well as Salinas, Seaside, Monterey and Carmel in Monterey County.

June 20

The Rancho Cielo Construction Academy in Salinas is accepted into the prestigious Orange County Sustainability Decathlon. It is the first time a trade school is included in the competition that in the past has only been open to college teams. Rancho Cielo students, ages 16-24, are usually still working on their high school degrees while learning a trade. With mentoring from local professionals, the students constructed a two-story, 750-foot sustainable home on the Rancho Cielo campus. The house had to then be dismantled, trucked to Orange County, and reassembled in time for the competition in October.

On Oct. 14, the team won the entire decathlon, besting college teams. They also won first place in five of 10 categories and second place in three.

June 22

During Pride Month, the Weekly features the stories of four trans individuals on the cover. Trans rights were highly politicized during 2023, with hundreds of bills introduced across the country to limit rights for trans people. “The same arguments that were once used with the gay people are now being used against trans people,” said Scout Luketish, a trans man from Seaside.

He and others shared their stories in hopes of inspiring more allies.

June 30

Assemblymember Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, is sworn in as the 71st Speaker of the California Assembly. The ascension is celebrated by leaders from the Central Coast, and also leaders throughout rural California – for decades, the Assembly speaker had come from a major population center.

“Robert grew up in and lives in a rural community,” Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, said at Rivas’ swearing-in ceremony. “He brings a lived experience to this job that we haven’t seen in a very long time. There are people in this state who sometimes feel forgotten.”

July

July 9

History is made at Pebble Beach Golf Links late on a Sunday afternoon as a quietly relentless Allisen Corpuz fends off Charley Hull, Nasa Hataoka, Jiyai Shin and the rest of the field to win the first-ever U.S. Women’s Open held at the iconic course.

There was another bit of golf history made on this day: The $2 million payday for the winner became the largest in women’s golf.

July 18

“We really set out to build our version of a restaurant we like,” Chef Jonny Black says, explaining the goal behind Chez Noir in Carmel, which opened in 2022. On July 18, he and his wife Monique learn that others shared the vision.

The Blacks returned from an awards dinner in Oakland with a Michelin Star, becoming just the second restaurant in Monterey County to earn one of the culinary world’s highest honors.

Aubergine kept its Michelin Star and added another award. The restaurant’s lead sommelier, John Haffey, was named California’s 2023 Sommelier Award winner.

July 26

The Pacific Grove City Council votes 6-0 to approve a separation agreement between the city and city manager Ben Harvey. Harvey voluntarily resigned and received 24 months of salary, totaling just under $438,000, plus six months of health insurance benefits. As part of the agreement, each side agreed not to sue the other.

In 2022, Harvey filed a workplace harassment complaint against City Councilmember Luke Coletti, a vocal critic of Harvey’s leadership; an investigator sustained Harvey’s allegations. A subsequent investigation by the Weekly reveals at least three more city staff members have filed similar complaints against Coletti.

August

Aug. 7

When the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tees off, it will be quite a bit smaller than previous years, but also much bigger. As had been anticipated, the PGA Tour declared the tournament a signature event, meaning more of the sport’s top players in the field and a purse of $20 million, almost doubling the previous amount. However, that good news came with some bad – at least for those who follow it for the antics of Bill Murray and other celebrities.

With greater significance attached to the unique event, the PGA Tour also confirmed rumored changes to the Pro-Am’s signature format. For decades, the event has teamed 156 professionals with 156 amateurs playing three courses over four days.

Under the new format, the tournament will see 80 pros and 80 amateurs contest Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach Golf Links, with Monterey Peninsula Country Club dropped from the lineup. In addition, amateur participation will be limited to Thursday and Friday.

Aug. 10

The public gets the clearest picture yet of medical and mental health care conditions at Monterey County Jail thanks to the release of previously sealed reports by monitors charged with inspecting the state of the jail. The release of thousands of pages comes over objections from the County and Wellpath, the company contracted to provide medical care in the jail, due to a July 28 order from a federal judge. (In July, the Weekly joined the legal effort to unseal these records.)

As defendants in the 2015 class-action settlement, the County and Wellpath were ordered to comply with an array of standards meant to improve the state of medical, dental and mental health care at the facility. Plaintiffs’ attorneys long argued that reports proved the defendants failed to comply with their terms of the settlement, but those reports remained under seal.

On Sept. 26, Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled that Wellpath is not in compliance with 43 of 44 conditions of the settlement, and gave the company until March 25, 2024 to address those deficiencies or face up to $1.1 million in fines.

Six people have died in the jail this year and 27 people have died since the settlement in 2015.

Aug 19

Chuck Baxter, a co-founder of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and longtime marine biology instructor at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station, dies at 94. Baxter had numerous accomplishments in his career, and in 2000, the Western Society of Naturalists awarded him Naturalist of the Year.

Aug. 19

After years in the making, Orchard Lane Park in Soledad opens to the public. The 3.5-acre park is the first inclusive park in South County and contains a skate park, Wi-Fi, picnic areas and play structures designed to support recreation for kids with disabilities.

Aug. 23

In 2018, when marine biologists discovered a “garden” of around 6,000 octopus brooding on Davidson Seamount off the southern coast of Big Sur – the largest known aggregation of octopus on Earth – it sparked a question: Why are the octopus brooding there?

On Aug. 23, scientists publish a paper with the answer: On the hillocks of the seamount where the octopus brood – which is about two miles underwater and where normal temperatures are about 35 degrees – there are hydrothermal vents that heat up the water. Warmer water can reduce brooding times by years.

September

Sept. 5

The Monterey City Council approves a rental registry over the complaints of angry landlords and property owners. Mayor Tyller Williamson said the council needed to represent the needs of renters, as well as landlords. The registry will include a database on all rentals in the city with information such as cost, contact information for each landlord or management company and details about each rental unit.

Monterey’s vote came five months after the Salinas City Council approved its own rental registry.

Sept. 22-24

It’s the final Monterey Jazz Festival for Tim Jackson, who plans to retire after 33 years with the festival. He became its second-ever artistic director in 1991 after founder Jimmy Lyons stepped aside. Jackson, also the founder of Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, led the festival into the modern era.

Next year, Darin Atwater is set to take over as artistic director for the 67th festival.

Sept. 28

Community members protest against Ron DeSantis’ visit to Monterey County. Agribusiness leaders hosted a fundraiser for the Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate, with a $3,300-per-person brunch at Corral de Tierra Country Club.

On Sept. 26, Salinas City Council voted to denounce DeSantis’ visit after pleas from organizers who said the event was a slap in the face to ag workers since DeSantis supported anti-immigration policies making it harder for undocumented people to live and work in Florida.

October

Oct. 4

Salinas City Council votes unanimously to fire City Manager Steve Carrigan, despite his assurances that he plans to stay in Salinas. Weeks prior, Carrigan announced he was a finalist for the job of city manager in San Bernardino. Then on Sept. 28, he said he was withdrawing from that process to stay in Salinas but less than a week later, he was out of a job.

Oct. 10

After Peninsula voters passed Measure J in 2018 that compelled the Monterey Peninsula Management District to buy out Cal Am’s local system – if feasible – the district’s board finally arrives at the step to start that process legally on Oct. 10 when it unanimously adopts a “resolution of necessity,” outlining why acquiring the system is in the best interest of the public good. The district filed an eminent domain lawsuit on Dec. 15.

Oct. 24

Following a two-week trial, Gustavo Morales is convicted by a jury for the murder of Salinas Police officer Jorge David “JD” Alvarado in 2022. Morales received a mandatory life sentence.

November

Nov. 2

Monterey’s First Theatre, owned by California State Parks, reopens to the public for the first time since 1999. The theater was built between 1845-87 as a saloon and boarding house. It was restored at a cost of $537,000 over a five-year period.

Nov. 3

Agricultural researchers celebrate the opening of a new 117,000-square-foot research hub in Salinas. The new Agricultural Research Service Crop Improvement and Protection Research Laboratory facility is in the same place as the previous USDA-ARS center, and its research will continue to contribute to Monterey County’s largest industry: agriculture. The new lab is named after retired U.S. representative Sam Farr.

Nov. 4

Monterey’s first shelter for women, children and families experiencing homelessness opens. Shuman HeartHouse was made possible by a $3 million donation from Mark Shuman and his family in 2021 for the purchase by nonprofit Community Human Services. The shelter can temporarily house up to 16 women and four families.

Nov. 4

The 77-foot purse-seiner that John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts took on a storied voyage to the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Mexico in 1940 returns to Monterey Bay. Since that significant literary and scientific journey, which resulted in Steinbeck’s 1951 book The Log from the Sea of Cortez, the boat – named the Western Flyer – has changed hands multiple times and sank twice. A lengthy restoration process led by the Western Flyer Foundation makes the vessel seaworthy again.

“Ports attract old guys with stories,” says John Gregg, founder of the foundation who bought the boat in 2015. “I always asked them about the Western Flyer. They always had some theory.”

Nov. 14

The cannabis industry has been struggling all year, with dispensaries closing and tax revenue to cities and the County declining. On Nov. 14, Salinas City Council votes unanimously to do away with its cannabis subcommittee, citing in part declining revenue, down from $2 million in 2021 to $1.5 million in 2022.

Meanwhile, some other local cities are slowly catching up to recreational cannabis, which was legalized in California in 2016. On Nov. 1, Pacific Grove City Council approved an ordinance allowing one cannabis retailer. On Nov. 7, Monterey City Council approved an ordinance for up to four cannabis retail permits and up to two cannabis events at the fairgrounds.

Nov. 18

The CSUMB men’s soccer team falls to Cal Poly Pomona 4-1. Although it’s a loss, the match took place in the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament, marking the team’s first appearance on the national stage, closing out a season of firsts for the Otters. With a regular season record of 12-3-4, the team tied the high mark for wins by a CSUMB men’s soccer side. They scored more goals – 42 – than any men’s team in CSUMB history and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals for the first time ever.

Nov. 29

Montage Health holds a grand opening for Ohana, a behavioral health clinic for youth. The Ohana program has been in operation over the past few years using alternate locations while waiting for the 55,000-square-foot campus to be completed. In 2023, Ohana staff saw 2,500 unique patients in 23,000 individual visits.

The campus opened to patients on Dec. 15. A 16-bed inpatient wing is expected to open in 2024.

Nov. 30

“I haven’t been alive long enough to see a vintage this good,” reports winemaker Russell Joyce, commenting on the potential for 2023 wines. And his verdict was shared by others in Monterey County after harvest wrapped up in late November. Veteran winemaker Steve Peck of J.Lohr sums it up as “the vintage of my career.”

Conditions allowed grapes to mature slowly and develop greater depth of flavor. There is consensus in the industry that Monterey County’s 2023 vintage will likely rank as one of the county’s finest.

December

Dec. 6

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, reintroduces H.R. 6640, “To secure the rights and dignity of marriage for Disabled Adult Children.” The bill would change an outdated piece of Social Security code that is preventing a disabled constituent, Lori Long, from getting married to her fiance, Mark Contreras. The Salinas couple cannot afford to lose Long’s health insurance provided through Social Security, due to the disability she has had since childhood. An outdated provision of Social Security code holds that if a disabled adult marries a non-disabled adult, they must relinquish this benefit.

The Weekly covered Long and Contreras’ story and advocacy efforts in a photo essay and en exhibit in The Press Club in July.

Dec. 8

Soledad City Council votes 4-0 to place a referendum on the March 5 ballot. Voters gathered signatures for a referendum on the city’s plan for a transition from at-large to district-based elections. City Council previously voted 3-2 to approve a five-district map with a rotating mayor, rather than a four-district map with an at-large mayor; based on the plan, approved by current Mayor Anna Velazquez’s political opponents, she cannot seek re-election in 2024.

Dec. 9

Palma High School clobbers the Mission Oak Hawks 42-19 in Pasadena to claim the class D4A state football crown. It is the first state title for the Chieftains – indeed, the first time any gridiron squad from Monterey County has returned from postseason play with a state championship.

Despite an 11-4 record on the year, few saw Palma as a title threat. Three of those losses came in league play, where the team finished in third place. But the Chieftains went on a run, winning six in a row on their way to hoisting the trophy.