Good morning, Salinas.

Monterey County is hosting many community events this week including a Party in the Park at Closter Park on Aug.

29, a rental review in Marina on Sept. 1 and a job fair in Salinas on Sept. 2. Surveys and program applications are open through Sept. 30.

Volunteers gather at the Paint-the-Town Purple event in Salinas today as a pre-event for Relay for Life 2026.

The fundraiser will unite community supporters before the main event.

A fire was reported between Growers Pub and Tony’s Jewelry on Monterey Street Wednesday afternoon near 3:40 p.m.—firefighters quickly extinguished the flames with no injuries as the pub reopened while the jewelry store remained closed and may reopen tomorrow.

Meta settled with 29 states yesterday in a California federal trial—agreeing to pay up to $16.68 billion and to implement youth-safety measures on Facebook and Instagram.

The settlement requires daily usage limits for under-18 users.

Reservoir Farms hosted its first 'Ruggedize Forum' today to showcase new AI+robotics tools aimed at solving local farming challenges in the Salinas Valley.

The event featured laser weeders, multifunction harvesters and an electric strawberry sprayer designed to improve yields + lower chemical use.

Monterey Car Week drew over 100,000 visitors and generated $51 million in hotel revenue in Monterey County, while the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance raised $4.3 million for charity.

The event boosted the local economy and community support.

CalGEM approved eight new oil and gas wells for Aera Energy in San Ardo, including six cyclic steam wells and two steamflood wells, which are the first approvals outside Kern County since 2025 — raising concerns about potential groundwater risks from steam injection.

CAL FIRE reports a vegetation fire has burned 50 acres east of Plaskett near Big Sur, threatening structures and prompting Timber Fire crews to help + the cause is under investigation.

California will see a deep partial lunar eclipse tonight as the almost blood moon covers 96% of the moon with Earth’s shadow.

Viewers can watch the event from any clear spot, with the eclipse starting at (7:33 p.m.) and peaking at (9:12 p.m.).

Salinas Valley officials met on Aug.

20 to review proposals that may extend Gonzales’ 50-year-old Johnson Canyon Landfill’s life; the leading Dranco plan could add 15 years while GreenWaste Recovery’s option adds six years (both would raise tipping fees).

As of Tuesday, CAL FIRE reported the Timber Fire burned 17,817 acres with 23% containment and involved 1,788 firefighters in Monterey County; updated evacuation orders affect several areas and Highway 1 remains open—residents are advised to use caution.

Firefighters reported that the Plaskett Fire started yesterday morning off Forest Rd 23S10 near Los Burros Rd in Big Sur and has burned 100 acres with 0% containment while crews work to build containment lines and officials order evacuations for MRY-F036 (with warnings for MRY-F035 and MRY-F037).