Tired of Throwing Kids Into Prison, I Built a Place to Keep Them Out

I Was Tough on Crime for Years as a Prosecutor, but Then Realized That the Kids Who Weren't in Trouble Needed Help, Too

I recently sat in an amphitheater in Salinas and watched students receive their high school diplomas and training certificates from the Drummond Culinary Academy. A few hours later, I attended the graduation ceremony for the Construction Academy. I spoke earlier that month at the ceremony for students graduating from the Silver Star youth program; many of these 15- to 18-year olds were on probation when they started it. In total, 43 high school diplomas were issued on the Rancho Cielo campus just this year, adding to the ranks of 200 …

by John Phillips | July 28, 2015

Inspired by Strawberry Fields and John Steinbeck

The Poet Laureate of Salinas Embraces the Contradictions of His Hometown

by James B. Golden | July 28, 2015

There’s something about agriculture that grows the soul.

Fortunately, I could see the strawberry and lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley from the window of my eighth grade English class. There …

How Do We Get More Salinas Kids Into College?

The President of Cal State Monterey Bay Explains His University's Efforts to Attract the City's Young Students—and the Progress That Still Needs to Be Made

by Eduardo M. Ochoa | July 28, 2015

Back in 2012, when word got around the Department of Education offices in Washington, D.C., that I would be leaving my role as assistant secretary for postsecondary education to become …

California’s Scenic Highway 68 Is a Microcosm of the State’s Growing Inequality

Spanning the Wealth of Monterey Bay and the Poverty of Salinas, One 45-Minute Drive Reveals That the State's Greatest Disparities Are Within Regions, Not Between Them

by Joe Mathews | July 28, 2015

California Highway 68 is a very short road, running just 24 miles across Monterey County from the cities of Pacific Grove and Monterey on the ocean to the inland city …

From Stunning Birds of Paradise to the Sun Setting Over a Cauliflower Field

Juan Govea Wants You to See the Beauty of Salinas

July 28, 2015

Salinas, California, is a small and densely populated 23 square miles. Some people focus on the city’s crime and housing problems, but Salinas native Juan Govea thinks these people have …

My 8th Grade Teacher Changed My Life

Like Many Students in My Hometown of Salinas, I Just Needed a Small Push to Learn How to Push Myself

by Arismel Tena | July 28, 2015

Forbes says my hometown of Salinas is the second least educated city in the U.S. According to a number of measures, it’s also one of the poorest places in California. …

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