KAZU News

Monterey Bay This Week: fear of lettuce hurts local farms, Car Week, Salinas tobacco shops, Bixby Bridge no parking signs, and more

KAZU | By Katie Brown,

Erin Malsbury, Amy Mayer, Jillian Smith, Doug McKnight

Published August 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM PDT

The shiny chrome of a fancy grey car reflects faces of people looking at it as it's parked backed into a curb along a street crowded with people. — Exotics on Broadway in Seaside always attracts a crowd during Car Week. This photo is from 2025.

In this week's news roundup:

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Katie Brown

Katie Brown comes to KAZU after earning spot news and investigative journalism awards for her reporting and photography in Maine. A Report for America alumna and former Metcalf Institute fellow, Katie’s reporting beats span business, environment, and public health.

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Erin Malsbury

Erin is an award-winning journalist and photographer. She's written for local and national outlets, including the Smithsonian and Science Magazine. She has a master's degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

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Amy Mayer

Amy Mayer is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience in public radio. Before KAZU, she worked as an editor for the California Newsroom and at St. Louis Public Radio. For eight years, she covered agriculture as the Harvest Public Media reporter based at Iowa Public Radio. She's also worked at stations in Massachusetts and Alaska and has written for many newspapers, magazines and online news outlets.

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Jillian Smith

Jillian Smith graduated from California State University Monterey Bay with a degree in Humanities and Communication, focusing on Journalism and New Media. Her love for storytelling took root in school creative writing clubs, where she first discovered how powerful words can be in bringing people together.

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Doug McKnight

Doug joined KAZU in 2004 as Development Director overseeing fundraising, underwriting and grants. He was promoted to General Manager in 2009. In 2011 he retired as General Manager but continued to work part-time in fundraising, news and station projects.

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