AROUND TOWN timely new product beer drops from Alvarado Street Brewery and an eye toward eclectic music and community voices. A recent installment offered Monterey’s official designation as a Blue Zone to an art opening at Sojourn, a fundraising promo for local vocalist Tammi Brown to covering an amazing summer algebra program for school-age kids by Graniterock. Wideranging, insightful and leaves the others behind, like getting skunked in ping pong. BEST SCHOOL Monterey Peninsula College 980 Fremont St, Monterey (831) 646-4000, mpc.edu Catan is a card game where the first player to score 10 points wins. It’s a popular game across players from different skill levels, because the strategy is accessible not just for seasoned gamers but also newcomers—it’s easy to grasp the gameplay mechanisms. Likewise, as an educational institution open to everyone eager to learn, Monterey Peninsula College is a gateway to the future. As students earn credits, they take steps toward something bigger. The best thing is at MPC, there is more than one way to play. Students can earn certificates in a particular skill, take part in enrichment programs or transfer to a four-year university, among other opportunities. It is truly a community asset. BEST K-12 TEACHER Malia Rivard La Mesa Elementary School 1 La Mesa Way, Monterey (831) 649-1872, mpusd.net Some games are just hard. Take chess, for example. It’s difficult for a beginner to master the moves. What they need to become successful is a solid foundation. And that’s what students in Malia Rivard’s transitional kindergarten (TK) class receive. They learn new concepts through play and handson exercises. In her class, students build confidence, develop social skills and gain experience in a classroom setting—all of which will serve them well as they continue on in education, life and games of skill. It sounds simple, but it’s the foundation for their long-term academic success. BEST COLLEGE TEAM CSUMB Women’s Soccer 100 Campus Center, Seaside (831) 582-3015, otterathletics.com You may have played foosball—table soccer—with a partner, one person controlling the defense, the other the offense. Take that level of coordination, anticipation and timing, then multiply it many-fold on a real pitch with moving players and you may wonder what the person who invented foosball was thinking. Soccer is challenging. But against tough NCAA Division II foes, the Otters advanced to the second round of the CCAA tournament last year—a complete turnaround from their 4-8-5 2023 campaign. The 2025 season started off well, with a 5-0 win. BEST PROFESSOR Renee Penalver, CSUMB 100 Campus Center, Seaside (831) 582-300, csumb.edu In the Go to the Head of the Class game, players win by answering the most questions correctly. In the case of CSU Monterey Bay students and alumni, they had a clear answer to the question of who is the best professor in all of Monterey County: psychology professor Renee Penalver. It’s possibly 14 BEST OF MONTEREY COUNTY® 2025 montereycountynow.com/bestof ’25
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