Community News · Bakersfield, CA
Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union with Cesar Chavez, died Wednesday at her home in Bakersfield, California, at age 96. Her family announced her death via Instagram without listing a cause. Huerta helped secure some of the first union contracts for agricultural workers and coined the rallying cry "Sí, se puede." Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo and other local officials paid tribute to her legacy in shaping farmworker communities in the Salinas and Pajaro valleys.
Local Politics · King City, CA
In an opinion column, Steve Wilson reports that King City's Measure P proposes raising the local sales tax from 1.0% to 1.5%, with revenue earmarked for youth programs, police and fire staffing, street paving, and city financial stability. Wilson cites KCPD Chief staffing numbers showing nine working officers against 18 allotted positions, and reports City Manager Arreola warned that without Measure P passage he cannot present a viable budget to the city council. The columnist also lists ten streets undergoing rehabilitation—Pearl, Third, S. Vanderhurst, S. San Lorenzo, Fairway, Park Place, Monte Vista, Talbot, Reich and Luckett—and notes many more need repair. Wilson explicitly endorses a "Yes" vote on Measure P.
Public Safety · King City, CA
The King City Police Department has been awarded a $56,800 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to fund traffic enforcement and education programs through September 2027. The program targets impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, and failure to yield through DUI checkpoints, hands-free law enforcement operations, and pedestrian/bicyclist safety patrols. Planned activities also include community presentations on road safety topics and officer training in field sobriety testing and drug recognition. Joint enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies are part of the program.
Community News · Monterey County
King City residents can complete a three-minute street safety survey through Nov. 1 as part of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County's Safe Streets Together campaign toward Vision Zero. Hartnell College Foundation and DART host a regional Technology in the Workforce Summit from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, at One Main St. in Salinas. TAMC seeks public input for the Monterey County Active Transportation Plan at events in San Ardo on Oct. 29 and Nov. 18. The San Antonio Valley Historical Association holds its Fall Dinner and Lecture on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4:30 p.m. at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Jolon.
Community brief · San Luis Obispo County
Sunflower sea stars, keystone predators that kept sea urchin populations in check, were wiped out along the West Coast by sea star wasting disease between 2013 and 2017, leading to widespread kelp forest loss. Sunflower Star Laboratory, based at Moss Landing, is leading a multi-organization partnership to raise sunflower sea stars and test their reintroduction into Monterey Bay urchin barrens. In one experiment, caged sea stars consumed starving…
