Meet In CommonNews

Local news in and around Salinas, CA

Monterey County Weekly · Marina, CA

Nearby: Marina, CA

Pacific Grove is set to hire its first woman city manager, longtime resident Lesley Milton.

The City of Pacific Grove is about to hire its next city manager, and it is someone who already lives in town and has local city management experience. Lesley Milton, former assistant city manager of Seaside, is slated to be confirmed by the P.G. City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 18.She will be the first woman city manager in the city's 137-year history.Milton will take over from someone she knows very well, her husband, Chip Rerig, the former city administrator for Carmel who's been serving as interim city manager for P.G. since Aug. 24. He was hired as interim after Matt Mogensen stepped down on Aug. 21 as city manager to take the same role in Marina."It means a lot to me to serve as city manager in the community I call home," Milton says.

New Hampshire Bulletin · Watsonville, CA

Nearby: Watsonville, CA

States are counting on battery farms. Some towns don’t want them.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — In the race to meet the nation’s growing power demands, states and utilities are rapidly building new “battery farms” that can store energy for when customers need it most. But as the facilities grow, so too does community opposition. The systems store banks of batteries in buildings or shipping containers. While they can take many forms, developers are increasingly building large, multi-acre projects designed to meet the needs of local utilities. The electricity stored by such systems nationwide has grown tenfold since 2022, and it’s projected to double again by the end of 2028. State lawmakers and renewable energy advocates say battery storage is urgently needed to stabilize the grid and support the transition to clean power. But in some communities, residents are wary of proposals to build industrial battery systems in their neighborhoods, noting that battery fires can produce toxic smoke and are difficult to extinguish.

Monterey County Weekly · Monterey, CA

Nearby: Monterey, CA

Sourdough Started…

Sourdough Bread Company has opened a location in Monterey. Stop by to try their selection of sandwiches, rotating soups and fresh salads. They are open Monday through Friday from 10am-7pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10am-5pm. 2440 N. Fremont St.,…

Church News · Monterey, CA

Nearby: Monterey, CA

Retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel shares lessons from the military as a Latter-day Saint

While a battalion commander during a tour in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, now-retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Jason S.D. Perry led a big operation with a lot of fighting. Afterward, he had the heavy job of writing condolence letters to mothers and fathers of those who had died in the line of duty. His second-in-command came into his office to tell him an unexpected helicopter was inbound and someone on the helicopter was looking for him. It was a chaplain from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who had flown to the forward operating base in the middle of Musa Qala in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, “just to say hi to me,” Perry said on the Church News podcast. Perry said it was not easy to get to where he was and rather dangerous. “And yet he came out looking for me. On that day, I was the one.” They spent two hours together, and he was able to take the sacrament again.

Pacific Sun · Monterey, CA

Nearby: Monterey, CA

Fire on the Water: One Diver Fights for Local Kelp Forests

This article contains a hard truth. And hope… And now, here’s the news: Within two years (dating back to 2014), 70% of our orange-brown kelp forests died along a 520-mile stretch of coast, from Monterey, California, to Cape Arago in southern Oregon. Closer in—along the continuous coastal counties of Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino—95% of the […]

East Bay Express · Monterey, CA

Nearby: Monterey, CA

Volunteers fight to restore California’s dying kelp forests

This article contains a hard truth. And hope. And now, here’s the news: Within two years—dating back to 2014—70% of our orange-brown kelp forests died along a 520-mile stretch of coast, from Monterey, California, to Cape Arago in southern Oregon. Closer in—along the continuous coastal counties of Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino—95% of the bull kelp […]