For months, survivors of last year’s CZU fires in the Santa Cruz mountains have demanded the county ease the strict geological requirements that have stymied their ability to rebuild their homes. Earlier this month, the county announced a new pathway forward that aims to address their concerns.

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County aims to help fire survivors with new rebuild directive.

The Carmel River has been the Monterey Peninsula’s primary source of water for more than a century. That will come to an end on Jan. 1, 2022. The State Water Resources Control Board has ordered the area’s private water utility, California American Water (Cal Am), to reduce its draws from the river by two-thirds of what it pumped a decade ago.

The Monterey Peninsula has a "water poverty" problem. Managers disagree on solutions.

On Saturday, an offshore oil pipeline ruptured off the coast of Orange County. The pipeline, owned by Houston based Amplify Energy spilled an estimated 126 thousand gallons of crude oil into the Pacific. Authorities are still investigating the cause.

A Santa Cruz scientist speaks from the Orange County oil spill

An important element in the nation’s cyber defense is located at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. The Center for Cyber Warfare conducts research and educates information warfare officers and military electrical and computer engineers to combat cyber attacks.

Naval Postgraduate School Conducts Education And Research In Cyber Warfare

This is Homecoming Week at Aptos High School, with activities including a parade, a dance, dress-up days, and a football game on Friday night versus Seaside. But this year’s celebrations are tempered as the school community still struggles to come to grips with the stabbing on campus Aug. 31 that left a 17-year-old student dead and two other students, aged 14 and 17, charged with his murder.

Aptos High School Homecoming Tempered By Stress And Grief

This Friday (March 19) marks one year since the first statewide coronavirus stay-at-home order went into effect. To mark this anniversary, KAZU News spoke with five Monterey Bay residents to ask them what this past year has been like. They shared their highs and lows with us.

Monterey Bay Residents Share Stories And Hopes As We Mark One Year of COVID-19

Local wildlife rescue centers are asking community members to temporarily take down their bird seed feeders and bird baths. These bird magnets are spreading a deadly disease among a native songbird called Pine Siskins.

A Native Bird Is Dying. Why Bird Feeders Are To Blame.

Highway 1 is scheduled to reopen early this summer. A section of the road on Big Sur’s south coast is closed after a debris flow washed out both lanes. The work to repair the damage will begin Monday, March 1.

How Caltrans Will Fix The Highway 1 Chasm At Rat Creek

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic many businesses have had to cope with closing and reopening as the state goes in and out of various types of lockdowns. But there are some businesses that have never reopened, either because they weren’t allowed to or because financial strain forced permanent closure.

The Ones That Never Reopened: The Pandemic’s Impact On Local Businesses

Wednesday, February 24 is Pink Shirt Day. It’s a day when people around the country are asked to wear something pink in an effort to raise awareness about bullying. In Monterey County, bullying affects one out of 5 students in some schools.

Pink Shirt Day And Bullying Awareness

Valentine’s Day is this Sunday. For one local couple, who is very much in love, Valentine’s Day should be carefree. Instead, it’s a painful reminder of a national policy they say prevents them from tying the knot.

A Love Story Worth Fighting For, Salinas Couple Battles Bureaucracy To Get Married

Monterey County is asking Governor Newsom for more coronavirus vaccine. Essentially, county supervisors are saying the current allocation process is unfair. KAZU News spoke with the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, Wendy Root Askew.

Why Monterey County Supervisors Call COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Unfair

The Big Sur community finds itself in yet another hardship now that a southern coast section of Highway 1 is closed. This hardship comes after a major wildfire last summer, the storm and debris flows last week and the ongoing pandemic.

Big Sur Pulls Together Through COVID-19, Wildfire, Now Highway Closure

With last week’s winter storm behind us, damage assessments are underway. KAZU News spoke with some of the people who predicted what could happen with a rain storm of this kind to see if their fears came to fruition.

A Post Rainstorm Analysis: Debris Flows, A Highway Collapse And A Near Miss

The powerful storm that caused outages, flooding and mudflows also washed out part of Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast. Caltrans crews and emergency contractors are now assessing the damage.

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