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

JANUARY

Jan. 11

Unable to reach a new agreement with the City of Monterey after an initial five-year contract expired, Pecos League owner Andrew Dunn cut the Amberjacks baseball team from his independent minor league baseball roster. At the time, both sides indicated they hoped an agreement could be hashed out to bring the Amberjacks back to Monterey’s Sollecito Ballpark. And the team could return for the 2025 season, as contract negotiations are close to being finalized in December, with plans to bring a proposal to the Monterey Parks & Recreation Commission in February 2025.

Jan. 24

The board of Carmel Unified School District votes 4-1 to appoint Sharon Ofek as superintendent. She served as deputy superintendent starting in 2022, then became acting superintendent after her predecessor, Ted Knight, resigned in 2023.

Ofek becomes the district’s seventh superintendent since 2015. Many members of the public urge the board to conduct a nationwide search, but the board disagreed. “It feels like there is stability,” board member Seaberry Nachbar said previously. “I am excited to work with Sharon to figure out some goals. I don’t think right now is the time to do a search.”

Jan. 24

The Weekly confirms that Kaiser Permanente is beginning renovations on a 30,618-square-foot former Babies ‘R’ Us in North Salinas with plans to open its first clinic in Monterey County. It’s a big move for the health care giant, which has been angling to enter the county’s marketplace since at least 2021. With hospital services from Watsonville Community Hospital, Kaiser could siphon off privately insured patients in North Monterey County from Monterey County hospitals like Natividad and Salinas Valley Health. The new clinic is scheduled to open in January 2025.

FEBRUARY

Feb. 1

To say the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was unique in the tournament’s history is an understatement. After uneventful opening rounds starting Feb. 1, Wyndham Clark spent Saturday, Feb. 3, breaking the event and course record at Pebble Beach Golf Links, firing a 12-under round of 60. Then, after a deluge and high winds, and with Pebble Beach under shelter-in-place orders, play was canceled Sunday, Feb. 4 and the tournament called after 54 holes, with Clark the winner.

But those were minor storylines. For the first time since the Pebble Beach Pro-Am began in 1947, there were no celebrities in the field. Now deemed a signature event by the PGA Tour, the field consisted of the world’s top golfers, many – like world no. 1 Scottie Scheffler – taking part for the first time, with a total purse increased from $9 million to $20 million.

Feb. 18

Two retirees who live near Highway 68 team up in their opposition to roundabouts on the highway, and advocate for the Transportation Agency for Monterey County to instead install adaptive AI technology to the highway’s traffic signals. Months later, on Oct. 23, TAMC’s board votes unanimously to install the technology into all nine of the signals where roundabouts are proposed, a process expected to take about a year. The project is funded by up to $500,000 generated by Measure X, a 2016 countywide ballot measure to fund infrastructure for transportation projects.

Feb. 22

Fed up with what they viewed as an authoritarian homeowner’s association, residents in East Garrison came out of the woodwork to voice their concerns about the HOA’s board of directors, and the selective enforcement of the HOA’s rules for residents. Two members of the HOA board later resign, and some new board members are elected in the fall.

Feb. 27

Inside his small downtown Pacific Grove laboratory, infectious disease expert and physician David Craig Wright and his team at D4 Labs invented a modification of the SARS-CoV-2, or Covid-19, virus and a new vaccine delivery system, earning Wright his 20th U.S. patent on Feb. 27. The patent also covers the fact that the vaccine can be delivered subcutaneously, or under the skin, which can be painless compared to most vaccines that must be injected into muscle. Wright and his team were invited to share their discoveries at the International Vaccines Conference in October.

Feb. 29

The County of Monterey’s building on Broadway Avenue in Seaside has long been due for an upgrade, and on Feb. 29, the county unveiled plans for a new building on the site that is projected to cost around $115 million. The vision for the proposed 60,000-square-foot, four-story building is that it will be a hub for a suite of county services. The District Attorney’s Office is expected to have a satellite office there, and Seaside’s library is envisioned to relocate within the building as well.

MARCH

March 3

A shooting that killed four people at a party in King City rocked the South County community. On May 10, three Greenfield residents are caught and arrested for the murders, as well as for a double homicide in February in Soledad. Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto says more than 20 regional, state and federal agencies worked together on the investigation, which included serving more than 80 search warrants and following up on nearly 300 investigative leads.

March 4

This date marks the sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, of Salinas’ incorporation as a city. What is now Monterey County’s largest city was once a swamp, inhabited by the Ohlone people who thrived off of the abundance in the area before they were ripped from their homes. The year was a time to look back on the people and industries that made Salinas what it is today.

March 5

Kate Daniels clinches a decisive victory in the primary election for a seat representing District 5 on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. She previously worked for retiring supervisor Mary Adams, who endorsed Daniels to replace her. Daniels also secured endorsements from supervisors Glenn Church, Wendy Root Askew and Chris Lopez. With 59 percent of the vote in a three-way race, Daniels avoids a November runoff.

In District 1, Supervisor Luis Alejo faced no challenger, and Askew was reelected with 78 percent of the vote.

March 7

Fireworks have long been a polarizing issue among Seaside residents, and City Council unanimously approves putting a measure on the ballot to ask voters if they want to ban the sale and use of so-called “safe and sane” fireworks in the city. Come November, the measure is defeated, so the status quo remains.

March 16

Wendi Kirby Music in Monterey has been giving occasional concerts since November 2023, but the official opening concert takes place. Creator Wendi Kirby is a pianist, composer and lifelong piano teacher. The surprisingly large performing arts space seems hidden from view, in a suite inside the Paseo Zabala building. It fits a grand piano and audiences, with additional seating in a second-floor balcony.

March 30

A slip-out on Highway 1 near Rocky Creek in Big Sur takes out a chunk of the southbound lane, prompting officials to close it indefinitely, with about 1,600 visitors stuck south of the closure. In an assessment in the immediate aftermath, Caltrans engineers determined the northbound lane was still stable enough to safely support traffic, and convoys were initiated April 1 to allow alternating groups of northbound and southbound cars to pass through on the northbound lane twice daily on a limited schedule.

On May 17, one lane was opened to 24/7 traffic with a signal light. The highway remains closed for ongoing work at Regent’s Slide, about 25 miles to the south. That slide is now expected to reopen sometime in 2025.

APRIL

April 4

After a four-year hiatus, Pebble Beach Food & Wine returned April 4-7, draped in even greater culinary regalia than the past. Thanks to a partnership with the James Beard Foundation – and the allure of Pebble Beach – the likes of Maneet Chauhan, Andrew Zimmern and Scott Conant took part. To meet demand, organizers added 30,000 square feet to the grand tasting pavilion.

The Pebble Beach Company Foundation took over the event for the first time. They teamed with the Roots Fund, an organization dedicated to providing young people of color entry into the world of fine wine.

April 7

A 23-year-old Fresno man, who was later arrested for driving under the influence, tries to evade Monterey Police. With three passengers in his truck, he drives off the end of Wharf 2. Officers, approaching the end of the wharf with caution as they’d lost sight of the truck, and assumed it was hiding behind buildings, realized the truck was no longer on the wharf – they came upon four people in the water, who were all successfully rescued.

April 9

Salinas City Councilmember Steve McShane announces his resignation halfway through his fourth term, effective May 10. “I can no longer be effective in this environment as an elected leader,” McShane said. He found himself often bickering on the dais with his council colleagues, and increasingly on the losing 5-2 end of a shrinking faction. He cited family obligations and “dysfunctional leadership” as the reasons for his departure.

Remaining council members considered 11 applicants to the vacant seat, and in May, appointed Jesus Valenzuela to serve until December 2024. The remaining two years of the District 3 term then appeared on the ballot in November; Valenzuela was the third-place finisher in a four-way race. The election went to Margaret D’Arrigo, previously a Hartnell College trustee.

April 11

The California Coastal Commission voted 9-1 in favor of a luxury hotel project at the site of the American Tin Cannery in Pacific Grove. Approval of the project by the Pacific Grove City Council in 2022 was appealed by two commissioners, as well as a residents’ group. Developer Comstock Development worked for over a year with Coastal Commission staff to amend the hotel plans, reducing its size by 85,000 square feet, increasing public access and adding in low-cost hotel rooms.

In October, P.G. City Council voted 7-0 to vacate Sloat Street and sell it, allowing the project to move forward.

MAY

May 2

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from a variety of agencies converge before dawn in Salinas to serve 12 search warrants. In total, 12 people are arrested on federal charges connected to a series of street gang crimes, including eight murders, six attempted murders and shooting at least three additional people, including a woman who was caught in the crossfire in her apartment in 2023 and paralyzed.

Speaking at a press conference in Salinas, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail Ramsey said, “We have seen enough.”

May 3

A beloved community institution, Big Sur Bakery, burns down in a kitchen fire. Big Sur Fire firefighters smelled the smoke even before a call came in, thanks to their station location just above the Loma Vista Gardens property where the restaurant was located; their fast response saved neighboring buildings but the historic inn was lost.

“It’s been many things besides the bakery and it will be many things again,” property owner Hillary Lipman said. “It was an inn and a cafe, and I built it as a restaurant. It was a beautiful old building.”

May 7

The newly formed Monterey County Media Literacy Coalition hosts its first event, bringing 100 high school students together for “Misinfo Day.” The event includes exercises and discussions about how to discern fact from misinformation and disinformation. The group (of which the Weekly is a member) later hosts an event for the general public for National Media Literacy Week in October.

May 9

In 2021, a developer that works with Amazon proposed a massive warehouse in Salinas, yet a year later tabled the project indefinitely. By late 2023, however, the project was back on the board, and in May, Amazon confirmed its plans. By September, groundwork began for the 3-million-square-foot facility at the corner of Abbott Street and Harris Road, prompting questions by residents and others over the city’s approval process, as well as traffic concerns, among other issues.

May 9

After Seaside resident Etienne Constable got dinged with a code violation from the city for leaving a boat parked in his driveway visible from the street, Constable hired his neighbor, artist Hanif Panni, to paint the exact image of the boat on a fence he put in front of the boat, making it look like the boat is still visible. Photos of the mural go viral, drawing national attention to the mural.

By June, Acting City Manager Nick Borges was so inspired by the creative act of resistance that he reforms the way the city handles code violations, making it less adversarial.

May 9

The Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency presents a bombshell report about the state of the Deep Aquifer, which is about 900 feet underground and has received no recharge from surface water since at least 1953. Growers, and the cities of Marina and Salinas, all tap into the aquifer as overpumping of groundwater has caused seawater intrusion in the overlying aquifers to continue marching inland toward Salinas. The report notes that well installations continued despite falling groundwater levels, and that “seawater intrusion and subsidence pose severe economic risk if declining groundwater elevation trends are not reversed.”

May 18

The Monterey County Historical Society opens its stunning Gumper-Castro Memorial Library, an authentic recreation of a Victorian reading room built with recovered materials from the 19th century, many of which came from the former mansion of Jesse Carr, a founding father of Salinas. Among the highlights of the new room are two windows Salinas artist and MCHS volunteer Gail Spencer painted – one a painting of the Boronda Adobe, the other a historical depiction of the coastline at Carmel River State Beach – that spill brilliant light into the room.

JUNE

June 6

Seaside City Council fires Jaime Fontes, the city manager, closing a tumultuous chapter in City Hall that saw resignations and firings of numerous top officials in the city. Among the points of contention were wide-ranging personnel investigations launched earlier in the year that Fontes did not authorize, as is required by city code. Fontes later sued the city in September, alleging retaliation.

June 7

Dr. Allen Radner is named president/CEO of Salinas Valley Health after a nationwide search. Radner served for several months before that as the interim and before that as Chief Medical Officer of the institution he first joined in 1994. “The board feels confident about the selection process and our final decision, determining Dr. Radner the most qualified leader to meet our ambitious goals moving forward,” said Victor Rey, SVH board president.

June 10

In another major hospital announcement, Dr. Steven Packer said he would be stepping down in spring 2025 as president/CEO of Montage Health after 25 years in the position. Under Packer’s leadership, Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula was expanded to include 120 new patient rooms and the Carol Hatton Breast Care Center was constructed, along with the Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health. Montage Medical Group was formed, three Moxi robots joined the hospital team, and the county’s first Medicare Advantage program, Aspire Health Plan, was launched with SVH, among other accomplishments.

In December, Montage announces the new CEO starting next spring will be Dr. Michael McDermott, CEO of Mary Washington Health in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

JULY

July 10

The County of Monterey announces Lake San Antonio is closed to visitors due to a massive fish die-off in the lake. Authorities wanted to test the water and dead fish to ensure the water was safe before reopening, which happened on July 24. The cause of the die-off remained unknown after the lab test results came back – the water wasn’t toxic in any way. It’s suspected it might be related to a heat wave-caused algal bloom that sucked oxygen out of the water column.

July 13

The two-week-long Carmel Bach Festival begins, without its executive director of 10 years at the helm. Stephen Friedler died on March 1, 2024, at age 73. Nathan Lutz, the new executive director of the Carmel Bach Festival – which started in 1935 – ran the 2024 event.

July 18

The Weekly reports that the U.S. Veterans Administration declined to add the former Fort Ord to a list of U.S. bases contaminated with Agent Orange in the 1950s-1970s, despite strong evidence presented by an ad hoc group showing the toxic herbicide was used on the base. The group uncovered four documents detailing the chemical’s usage, including that it was stored at Fort Ord until at least 1973. By not adding Fort Ord to the list, veterans who claim they were exposed to Agent Orange and later developed cancers and other ailments cannot be considered for treatment by the VA.

July 26

Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto made headlines when videos are released to the public showing her getting pulled over for speeding – at 95mph in a 65mph vote – by the California Highway Patrol three times over a span of eight months. All three instances were on Highway 101 in South County. Nieto acknowledged she made a mistake, but many criticized her for breaking the law as someone who is meant to enforce it. No citations were issued.

July 26

The California Marine Sanctuary Foundation is awarded a $71.1 million federal grant to go toward projects aimed to make the Central Coast more resilient to climate change. In Monterey County, that includes projects from Pajaro to Carmel Valley, from everything like flood management programs to marsh adaptation to wildfire risk prevention. The grant will span five years – “a really big deal for this community,” says Robert Mazurek, executive director of the foundation.

AUGUST

Aug. 1

From the time bulldozers carved the outlines of a race track on Fort Ord property in 1957, management of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca had its problems. Conditions improved after A&D Narigi took over operations in 2019. But the root issue remained: short-term contracts with the management group, with the county holding the pursestrings. That changed on Aug. 1, when Friends of Laguna Seca completed a concession agreement with the county for up to 55 years. The contract gives financial responsibility for maintenance and improvements to Friends.

With John Narigi’s management contract set to expire at the end of 2024, FLS announced that, starting Jan. 1, 2025 the organization will also assume day-to-day management of the county-owned facility.

Aug. 6

The Carmel destination restaurant Aubergine earned a second star from Michelin, becoming the first so honored in Monterey County. Chef Justin Cogley’s kitchen had long held the only star in the county until joined in 2023 by Chez Noir, also in Carmel. In awarding the second star, Michelin critics noted that Cogley’s cooking “captures a sense of place that feels wholly his own.” Chez Noir retained its star.

Aug. 28

The California Office of Health Care Affordability Board made a special trip from Sacramento to Seaside to give Monterey County residents an opportunity to share their experiences with the high cost of medical care delivered by local hospitals, some of the highest-priced in the state. Board members signaled their interest in launching an investigation into the county’s health care marketplace and in capping spending increases by the three largest hospitals, CHOMP, SVH and Natividad, for the next several years.

When the OHCA board met in November, they signaled interest in further investigation of local hospital prices.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 5

A mountain lion is spotted roaming through downtown Salinas in the early-morning hours, prompting the Salinas Police Department to issue a shelter-in-place order to people in the area at 2:35am. The animal was not seen beyond South Salinas and by 5:45am, before people start their days, the SPD lifts the order, instead advising caution. Mountain lions need about 200 square miles to roam, but usually avoid populated areas.

Sept. 12

The California Coastal Commission votes 7-1 to approve Monterey-Salinas Transit’s controversial SURF! busway project, which proposes to build a bus-only road west of Highway 1, on the Monterey Branch line rail tracks, from Marina to Sand City. In the wake of the approval, MST staff hustled to finalize the road’s design and secure a number of ministerial permits in order to submit to the Federal Transit Administration by Jan. 13, before a change in the presidential administration. A promised federal grant of up to $35 million – and with it, the project’s prospects – hang in the balance.

Sept. 12

After years of fundraising, design and construction, Pacific Repertory Theatre finishes remodeling the Golden Bough Playhouse in Carmel, at a total cost of $10 million. The venue reopens with a contemporary satirical production by a young playwright, Selina Fillinger, titled POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. Facility improvements include a new auditorium and 800-square-foot lobby.

Sept. 13

After 14 years of tinkering, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors finally approves a short-term rental ordinance by a 3-2 vote, to go into effect in October. The new ordinance puts standards and requirements in place for STR owners to follow and capped the number of rentals in any planning area of unincorporated county to 4 percent of the housing stock. It also banned commercial rentals in Big Sur, Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley and Moss Landing’s residential district.

Sept. 18

Hops & Fog Brewing Company opened its doors on Aug. 14, pouring beer brewed elsewhere. Local history was made on Sept. 18 in the famously once-dry community when beer brewed in Pacific Grove flowed from the Hops & Fog taps. The first beer from P.G.’s first-ever brewpub is a light West Coast IPA, appropriately called First Batch. From the beginning, according to brewmaster Mike Durrant, support for the venue has been “overwhelming and awesome.”

Sept. 19

Pacific Grove native, former head of the national NAACP and executive director of the national Sierra Club, Ben Jealous, says he was invited to speak at the local NAACP’s annual dinner, only to be disinvited after he refused to censor his remarks because of the dinner’s sponsor, Chevron.

“You can imagine how heartbroken I was to have that invitation revoked in order to protect the comfort of the event’s sponsor – Chevron,” Jealous wrote in a letter to NAACP chapter President Lyndon Tarver and other leaders. He urged the leaders to return Chevron’s check, calling it “blood money,” because of the negative impact of Big Oil on communities of color. Tarver later denied Jealous was ever invited to speak and expressed anger over Jealous’ criticism of the chapter.

Sept. 24

Salinas City Council approves a rent stabilization ordinance, becoming the first city in Monterey County to do so, over objections from property owners. The ordinance sets an annual cap on rent increases at 2.75 percent. “This is one step of many that we must take to address our housing crisis in Monterey County,” Councilmember Anthony Rocha said. “Today is a historic moment for our city, and it’s a positive change driven by the community.”

The ordinance only applies to multi-family residences built before Feb. 1, 1995, per the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. A state proposition that would repeal that law, giving local jurisdictions more latitude in rent control measures, fails in November, earning just 40 percent of the vote.

Sept. 26

The three-day Monterey Jazz Festival kicks off with a new artistic director at the helm. Darin Atwater is the third artistic director in the festival’s 67-year history.

OCTOBER

Oct. 2

After decades of inaction, and several floods over the years that uprooted countless lives, officials break ground on the $599 million Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project, which, once complete in about five years, is expected to provide 100-year flood risk reduction in an area that desperately needs it. The first section is being built in Watsonville, along Corralitos Creek, where there are currently no levees. The project languished as a low-priority project due to a cost-benefit formula used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but lawmakers representing Pajaro at the state and federal levels were able to speed up the process and gain funding following the 2023 flood.

Oct. 12

The first-ever Worlds Away festival hit the Monterey County Fairgrounds with a star-studded collection of electronic dance music DJs and about 7,000 attendees. Memories were made by EDM superstars Tiësto and The Chainsmokers, along with other larger-than-life artists like Lost Kings, ayokay, Sam Feldt and more. And though the festival was only one day this year, the organizers have promised to come back and expand it, hoping to make it an annual Monterey music staple.

Oct. 15

Drew Tipton resigns from Greenfield City Council after the City lost a lawsuit calling his appointment to a vacant seat a Brown Act violation. According to Monterey Superior Court Judge Thomas Wills, the appointment was illegal because city officials failed to properly notify the public of the intended decision to appoint him.

Tipton was the third person since the 2022 election to serve in the District 1 seat after two previous councilmembers resigned. In November, Belen Garcia was elected to fill the remaining two years of the term.

Oct. 17

Pacifica Senior Living is found in violation after attempting to evict a 96-year-old woman from its facility Pacific Grove Senior Living. Pacifica officials said the woman, Jean Jacques, owed $109,000 in back rent and fees. Jacques had purchased a life contract in 2012 from the previous owner, with a promise to care for her after her savings were depleted until she died. The California Department of Social Services determined that Pacifica was required to honor the original contract.

Oct. 25

A 27-year-old man named James Marshall, wielding what appeared to be an AK-style rifle in Carmel, is shot and killed by police while experiencing a mental health crisis. Marshall, who had reportedly experienced mental health episodes before, was threatening suicide by cop, and was staying with his mother at the time.

Police reported that they attempted to get Marshall to cooperate but he refused. His weapons turned out to be a BB gun and 3-foot crowbar, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating the shooting.

Oct. 31

Reminiscent of the massive anchovy bloom in 2014 which made national headlines, tens of thousands of the bony fish appeared in Monterey Bay again this year, cutting through crystal clear waters, often ending up on shorelines and causing a noisy scene of seagull squawks and sea lion barks. People gathered en masse to observe the phenomenon, which, while not new, is still not fully understood by the scientific community.

NOVEMBER

Nov. 5

In a presidential election, Monterey County voter turnout is 69.3 percent. But most of what appears on voters’ ballots are local issues. In Salinas, voters signal they want major change, with three incumbents ousted; instead of a slate of left-leaning candidates and incumbents, five candidates running on a more moderate platform sweep the elections. All five, including Dennis Donohue – a former mayor – are financially backed by a coalition of business interests, including agribusiness and real estate. Collectively they raise at least $1.2 million in campaign funds.

In Monterey, Mayor Tyller Williamson is reelected to a second term and Jean Rasch wins a seat on council by just 13 votes.

In Pacific Grove, former councilmember Nick Smith is elected in a three-way race for mayor. Three councilmembers are elected, and one incumbent, Luke Coletti, is edged out. One of his allies on council, Debby Beck, follows up with her resignation. Voters decide against shrinking the size of the council from seven to five members.

Nov. 20

Monterey finds itself in the middle of a national news story as reporters reveal that President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was investigated for allegations of sexual assault in Monterey in 2017. After declining to provide any details to the press, City Attorney Christine Davi determines it is lawful to release a redacted copy of the police report. The graphic story is widely covered in media outlets all over the country. The Monterey County District Attorney declined to file charges.

DECEMBER

Dec. 2

Carlos Acosta is sworn in as the new chief of police for Salinas, nearly a year after its last permanent chief, Roberto Filice, resigned. He is the third Salinas police chief in less than four years, following two interims since Filice left. Acosta’s annual salary is $244,620, plus benefits.

Dec. 3

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors approves the creation of an immigrants’ rights committee to deal with the incoming Trump administration. Nearly one-third of residents are foreign-born, and immigrants are the backbone of Monterey County’s two largest industries, agriculture and hospitality, both of which are experiencing labor shortages.

Trump campaigned on a promise to enact mass deportations, leaving local and industry leaders bracing for what is ahead. The committee will print and distribute know-your-rights materials, offer forums, collaborate with other counties and more.