26 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY December 28, 2023-January 3, 2024 www.montereycountyweekly.com 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-squarefoot 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-squarefoot 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. The Ohana campus in Ryan Ranch was designed by Seattle-based architecture firm NBBJ, and the team took cues from the surrounding natural environment in its design, with the intent of promoting healing and encouraging interaction with nature. The Western Flyer returned to Monterey Bay and is now docked in Moss Landing, with plans to return longterm to Monterey Harbor. The Western Flyer Foundation plans to use the vessel for scientific research and education, following a lengthy restoration process in Washington.
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