Salinas Is a Good City, But I Don’t Want My Children to Grow up There

Rudy Ramos Takes Us on His Commute to Work in Monterey Along Highway 68

HIghway 68 Commute with Rudy Ramos from Eric Gutierrez on Vimeo.

A short video chronicling Rudy Ramos on his drive to work from Salinas to Monterey.

Eric Gutierrez produced this for Salinas: California’s Richest Poor City, a special project of Zócalo Public Square and the California Wellness Foundation.

Could an Enormous, Central Park Bridge a City’s Divides?

For Decades, Salinas Has Wanted to Transform a Drained Lake Into Badly Needed Public Space

In the heart of the city of Salinas sits a nearly 500-acre property known as Carr Lake. While the city’s general plan refers to it as “parkland,” Carr Lake is …

The Drums Heard Around Salinas

The Story of Alisal Percussion

The Drums Heard Around Salinas from Zócalo Public Square on Vimeo.

The Story of Alisal Percussion

Eric Gutierrez produced this for Salinas: California's Richest Poor City, a special project …

Salinas Steps Into the Spotlight

A Local Playwright Is Using Theater to Help the City Tell Its Own Story

Earlier this summer, our theater company—Baktun 12—presented eight shows to audiences of 130 to 160 people. We even had to turn guests away. This is a not a small thing …

Everything I Know I Learned From Drumline

How Percussion Can Teach Kids to Riff and Break Down the World's Toughest Tasks

Around 7 p.m. on June 10, the Alisal Union School Board was finishing up its meeting at the Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary School in East Salinas when the drummers took …

If You Care About California, Then You Should Care About Salinas

The Agricultural Superstar’s High Crime and Poor Health Are Dark Indicators of What the Golden State Could Become

Do you worry about the future of California?

Then you should worry about Salinas. Because if this Monterey County town of 155,000 can’t build itself a brighter future, it’s hard to …