Local News

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is off with a stormy start. On Thursday, play was suspended because of wet weather.

But rain is no stranger to this charity golf tournament. In fact, it even has a name – “Crosby Weather.” The phrase pays homage to Bing Crosby, the famous singer and actor who started the competition.

The last coastal sand mining plant in the nation remains open in Marina.  It has operated largely unregulated for decades. Then nearly a year ago, the California Coastal Commission put the CEMEX Sand Mine on notice, saying it violates the Coastal Act.   

The two have been in negotiations ever since.  In the meantime, those who want to see the mine shutdown are keeping a watchful eye on operations.

President Trump’s Inauguration sent protesters into the streets in Santa Cruz.   

Throughout the Monterey Bay Area, the Inauguration of Donald Trump has become a call to action. This Saturday there will be Women’s Marches in Santa Cruz and on the campus of CSUMB to coincide with the National Women’s March.  On Inauguration Day, rallies will be held in Santa Cruz, Monterey and Salinas.   Here's a list.

Stormy weather continues to cause problems across the Monterey Bay, including a drinking water shortage in Santa Cruz. It has now been 24 hours since the city asked residents and businesses to cut back on water use after the storm damaged critical water infrastructure.

After two days of heavy rain and strong winds, another round of stormy weather is on its way to the Monterey Bay area. That could mean more rockslides, downed trees and power lines and flooding. We visited went to Santa Cruz County where homeowners are cleaning up, and getting ready for round two.

The future of 5,800 acres north of Santa Cruz now rests with President Obama and his final days in office. At issue is a proposed national monument that has divided a Central Coast community. Supporters feel highly optimistic Obama will create the monument, but opponents worry if that happens, the incoming Congress will do nothing to support it.  

Last week we introduced you to the varsity soccer coach from Alisal High School.  It’s located in one of Salinas' toughest neighborhoods.  Coach Mark Cisneros was trying to raise money to take his team to Los Angeles to play some of the best high school soccer teams in the nation.  And the community, including many KAZU listeners, responded in a big way to his online Go Fund Me campaign. 

With gangs, poverty and overcrowding, Salinas’ Alisal neighborhood can be a tough place to grow up.  For some kids, their refuge is sports. 

The Dalai Lama and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who have been friends for more than two decades, recently collaborated on The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World.  It’s a book they wrote with the help of Santa Cruz native Doug Abrams.

As the weather gets colder, providing shelter for the homeless becomes a bigger priority throughout California.   In Monterey County, the homeless population far outnumbers the amount of available shelter beds; being homeless means you probably don’t know where you are going to sleep tonight.

This fall President Barack Obama honored Luis Valdez with the National Medal of Arts.  The playwright is a the founder of El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista.  He was also a founding professor at CSUMB.  CSUMB President Eduardo Ochoa welcomed Valdez back on campus for an event on November 22nd at the World Theater.

These are Representative Sam Farr’s last weeks in Congress. He retires in January after serving the Monterey Bay Area for 23 years.  Even as he packs to leave, he working to complete legislation still moving through both houses. I reached him at his office in DC to talk about this time of transition for himself and the country.

Today the owners of the CEMEX Sand Mine in Marina will miss yet another deadline to formally respond to the California Coastal Commission.  The sand mine has been operating on the coast of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary without a permit, but the Commission only recently took action. 

Abalone is classic California seafood, but the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch lists it as a “best choice” and a shellfish to avoid. Why the split?

Turns out, the way abalone is raised makes a big difference. Growing techniques vary between aquatic farms; some are environmentally friendly while others are destructive.