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CogniLocal

Monterey

Your Community, More Completely.
Thursday, October 22, 2026 · Permanent link to this edition
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Toreadors vs. Soquel Friday, October 23Budget Brews drop-in Saturday, October 24Margaret and the Wampus Cat closes Sunday, October 25Measure S and mayoral election Tuesday, November 3
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Today in Monterey

Margaret and the Wampus Cat resumes tonight, Thursday, October 22, at 7 p.m. at MPC's Studio Theatre and closes Sunday, October 25.
Monterey (5-2) hosts Soquel on Friday, October 23; MaxPreps lists a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The city's next Budget Brews drop-in on its $11.7 million deficit is Saturday, October 24, 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Plumes Coffee.
A Monterey State Historic Park exhibit of posthumous portraits is open Fridays and Saturdays at Casa Gutierrez through November 28.
The city's construction page lists Wave Street paving between Hoffman and Dickman for the week of October 21.
Assistant Police Chief Mike Bruno becomes interim police chief November 16, the day after Chief Dave Hober retires.

NEW: newly reported developments or upcoming opportunities. UPDATE: later substantive information on a covered story. ONGOING: continuing useful information. RESOLVED: the reported issue has ended. BACKGROUND: dated historical context, not a new development or confirmation of current availability. UNCONFIRMED: a story, continuing story or detail that could not be confirmed against its cited source on the edition date; the note under the headline says what is not confirmed. Today and countdown lines carry "(unconfirmed)" for the same reason. All local times are Pacific Daylight Time.

City, Roads & Planning

ONGOINGWave Street

Wave Street paving between Hoffman and Dickman listed for this week

The city's construction-updates page lists the major paving operation on Wave Street between Hoffman and Dickman for the week of October 21, part of the Measure S and P curb-ramp work along Wave Street.

The page's schedule section is dated the week of September 7 and says the schedule may be subject to weather conditions and is subject to change.

ONGOINGPlumes Coffee

Budget Brews drop-in set for October 24 at Plumes Coffee

The city's next Budget Brews drop-in session on its $11.7 million structural budget deficit is Saturday, October 24, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Plumes Coffee. Later drop-ins are listed for November 7 at La Sala's Bi-Rite Market, November 19 at Starbucks Coffee on Lighthouse and December 8 at Nece's GF Bakery.

The next in-person Budget Resilience Workshop is Monday, November 16, at 6 p.m. at El Estero Park Center, followed by Thursday, December 3, at Monte Vista School. The city says community feedback will be shared with the City Council in early 2027, ahead of budget adoption in June 2027.

ONGOING

Federal grant funds review of infrastructure serving military installations

Monterey says it accepted $635,900 in federal funding for an 18-month review of infrastructure supporting the Presidio of Monterey and Naval Support Activity Monterey.

The review is scheduled for August 2026 through January 2028, covering energy, water and wastewater, transportation and evacuation, and communications. The city describes a study intended to guide future investment. The award does not establish that resulting construction projects have been funded or begun.

ONGOING

Measure S would extend the existing street-infrastructure tax

Monterey voters will consider Measure S on November 3. The city says the proposal would continue the existing one-cent-per-dollar special transactions and use tax for eight additional years, changing the expiration from March 31, 2027, to March 31, 2035. Proceeds would remain restricted to street infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, accessibility improvements and storm drains. The measure requires two-thirds voter approval and has not been adopted.

  • Publication date: Release datelined August 18, 2026
  • Event date: November 3, 2026 election
  • Last movement: Ballot-letter assignment announced in August
  • Source: Measure S ballot-letter announcement
ONGOING

Monterey mayoral candidates report 2026 fundraising totals

Year-to-date campaign filings for 2026 show challenger Vince Malfitano has raised $38,725 and Mayor Tyller Williamson has raised $27,863 in the race for Monterey mayor, Monterey County Weekly reported. The latest reporting period covered in those filings ran through September 19.

The mayoral race is on the November 3 ballot. Read the Weekly's report for contributor details and spending.

Public Safety & Courts

ONGOING

Assistant Chief Mike Bruno named interim police chief

Assistant Police Chief Mike Bruno has been appointed interim police chief effective November 16, the city announced October 15. Police Chief Dave Hober, who announced his retirement September 3, concludes his service November 15.

Bruno has been with the Monterey Police Department since 2005 and was promoted to assistant chief in 2021, according to the city. He will serve until a permanent chief is appointed. The city says it will begin a nationwide recruitment for its next police chief in early November, an effort expected to conclude in early 2027.

ONGOING

Former Casanova Plaza residents began retrieving belongings in October, Weekly reported

Former residents of Casanova Plaza, the 800 Casanova Avenue complex damaged in the March 9 fire, began going back into the building to retrieve their belongings the week of October 5, Monterey County Weekly reported. The Weekly reported that the Housing Authority allowed entry by appointment, with All-In Monterey County volunteers and a moving company helping residents. Read the Weekly's report for more from the people involved.

The City Council's October 6 closed-session agenda listed a conference with legal counsel on the receipt of 54 government claims pertaining to the fire. The agenda does not describe what the claims seek, and a closed-session listing is not a council decision.

The city's latest dated recovery entry is an August 20 update from Community Homeless Solutions describing help finding housing, counseling, weekly check-ins with tenants and essential goods for displaced residents. It says some tenants are doing fine and don't need services, while others are more impacted by the trauma of the fire, and it does not say recovery is complete.

Community & Culture

ONGOING

Two weekly Wednesday food distributions are listed in Monterey

The Food Bank for Monterey County lists a weekly Wednesday drive-through at the Dennis the Menace parking lot, 777 Pearl Street, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., by reservation at (831) 646-3866 or monterey.org/rec. It also lists a Wednesday distribution at Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont Street, Parking Lot A, from 3 to 5 p.m.

The next distributions at both sites are Wednesday, October 28.

  • Event date: Recurring Wednesdays; next on October 28, 2026
  • Last movement: Recurring schedule; last schedule-change date not stated
  • Source: Find Food, Monterey listings
ONGOING

Monterey-based soldier competed for Drill Sergeant of the Year

Staff Sgt. Sean Warnock of the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion, based in Monterey, competed in the 2026 Drill Sergeant of the Year competition at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, Monterey County Weekly reported October 15.

Staff Sgt. Noel Berges earned the title, the Weekly reported. Read the Weekly's profile for Warnock's own account of the competition.

Business & Commercial Development

ONGOING

Produce shop adds a neighborhood option on Lighthouse Avenue

Farm Fresh Produce Est. 1964, at the corner of Lighthouse and David avenues, opened at the beginning of August, Monterey County Weekly reported September 17. Randy Moreno opened the market with partner Debbie Weberg.

Read the Weekly's original reporting for the owners' plans and background.

ONGOINGMonterey Regional Airport

Delta Air Lines plans return to Monterey Regional Airport

Monterey Regional Airport announced September 18 that Delta Air Lines will return with nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport. The airport says it will be Delta's first Monterey service in nearly two decades.

The airport's announcement does not give a start date and says Delta will announce service schedules, aircraft details and booking information. AeroRoutes reported September 17 that Delta filed schedules starting December 19, with two daily Los Angeles flights and one daily Salt Lake City flight on SkyWest Embraer E175 aircraft.

Arts, Culture & Events

ONGOINGMPC Studio Theatre, 980 Fremont Street

MPC's world premiere of Margaret and the Wampus Cat continues through October 25

The Monterey Peninsula College Theatre Company's world premiere of Katie Myers' play Margaret and the Wampus Cat opened Thursday, October 15, at the MPC Studio Theatre, 980 Fremont Street, Monterey County Weekly reported. River Navaille directs.

Performances resume tonight, Thursday, October 22, at 7 p.m., with more at 7 p.m. Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, and a closing show at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 25. Tickets are $22, or $12 for students and seniors, at (831) 645-1360 or mpc.vbotickets.com. Read the Weekly's preview for more on the play.

ONGOINGOld Fisherman's Wharf; El Encinal Cemetery, 798 Fremont Street

Steinbeck walking tour October 24; El Encinal cemetery tour October 25 is full

A Walking with Steinbeck tour of Cannery Row, hosted by The Steinbeck Experience in support of Cannery Row Days, starts at Old Fisherman's Wharf on Saturday, October 24, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Registration is required through Monterey Public Library and Museums, and the listing showed seats available.

Library and Museums Director Brian Edwards leads a walking tour of El Encinal Cemetery, 798 Fremont Street, on Sunday, October 25, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. It is full, with a waiting list. The library's free one-hour Colton Hall and Old Jail tours are held on the third Monday of each month; the next is Monday, November 16.

ONGOING

Museum exhibition presents Dugan Aguilar's Native California photographs

Monterey Museum of Art lists Born of the Bear Dance: Dugan Aguilar's Photographs of Native California through December 20. The exhibition draws from the Oakland Museum of California's permanent collection and documents contemporary Indigenous life and its history.

Aguilar, who died in 2018, was from the Mountain Maidu, Pit River and Walker River Paiute tribes, and his work documents Indigenous communities in California and Nevada.

ONGOINGMonterey Museum of Art

Rex Ray retrospective on view at Monterey Museum of Art through January 17

Rex Ray: We Are All Made of Light, a retrospective of the late Bay Area artist, is on display at the Monterey Museum of Art and stays up until January 17, Monterey County Weekly's Agata Popęda wrote October 18, following her cover story on the show.

The museum describes Ray (1956 to 2015) as a critically acclaimed Bay Area artist known for mixed-media paintings. Cydney Payton guest curated the exhibition. Popęda's column also points to a museum workshop, How to Make a Rex Ray with Scout Luketich, on Saturday, October 24, and an afternoon with the curator on Saturday, November 14.

NEWCasa Gutierrez Community Art Gallery, 590 Calle Principal

Casa Gutierrez exhibit shows posthumous portraits and mourning keepsakes

Monterey State Historic Park's exhibit Though Lost to Sight, In Memory Dear: An Exploration of Memento Mori and Posthumous Portraiture is at the Casa Gutierrez Community Art Gallery, 590 Calle Principal, Monterey County Weekly reported October 22.

The show draws on the park's collection of posthumous portraits, hair wreaths and hair jewelry, and the Weekly reported that many of the pieces have never been shown publicly. It is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through November 28.

Sports

ONGOING

Monterey credited with 2-0 win at Hollister; Soquel visits Friday

Monterey High's varsity football team is credited with a 2-0 win at Hollister on Friday, October 16, according to MaxPreps. Hollister High's varsity program was shut down by the San Benito High School District in September, Athletic Business reported. The result followed a 43-14 loss to Salinas on October 9. The Toreadors are 5-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Monterey hosts Soquel on Friday, October 23; MaxPreps lists a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

AI in Your Community

CogniLocal tracks where artificial intelligence and related automated systems are already entering the institutions that serve this community, who is deploying them, what they are being used for and what changes next.

ONGOINGMonterey County

County policy manual lists a generative-AI policy

The County of Monterey's Board Policy Manual lists O-10, Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy, marked as new. The listing covers how county government approaches generative-AI tools; it does not show which departments use a particular AI product.

ONGOINGMonterey

NPS has an AI Task Force focused on military deployment, not just research

The Naval Postgraduate School's AI Task Force says its mission is to accelerate the research, development, deployment and integration of artificial-intelligence solutions for military applications.

Its site features the DGX GB300 supercomputer and the Harnessing AI course, a series of short lectures on AI and its impact on the military. NPS lists research uses for the supercomputer that include large-language-model fine-tuning for naval planning, intelligence and operations, multi-agent AI for fleet tactics, cybersecurity, weather modeling and logistics.

BACKGROUND

Monterey Police's Flock license-plate reader system has operated since late 2024

Monterey's primary records show that the City Council approved the police department's automated license-plate-reader program on April 2, 2024, and that the police department returned to the council on September 17, 2024, for approval of the procurement contract with Flock Safety. The police department's annual report says installation began in November 2024 and the system was functional by the end of December 2024. It also says the department created a transparency portal. This is an active law-enforcement surveillance system, not a proposal or pilot.

Police Department Policy 433, posted on the city's policies page, says plate-reader data is kept for a maximum of 30 days, limits sharing to other law-enforcement or prosecutorial agencies, and requires an audit of searches at least once each calendar year. The department's Flock transparency portal lists 35 cameras and was last updated June 13, 2025. The 2025 annual report says the department gives the City Council an update every April.

ONGOING

NPS is operating the first DGX GB300 AI supercomputer in the U.S. military

The Naval Postgraduate School commissioned an NVIDIA DGX GB300 in Monterey on July 22. NPS describes it as the first such system in the U.S. military and says it enables students and faculty to train models, analyze data and explore complex problems. NPS lists uses including weather modeling, ocean research, cybersecurity, disaster resilience and response planning, and says the system operates within the school's existing power and water infrastructure.

NPS estimates the system's compute components draw roughly 135 kilowatts at peak use, with daily operations expected to average 50% to 80% of peak.

ONGOINGPresidio of Monterey

Defense Language Institute reviews class materials with help from an AI agent, Weekly reports

The Defense Language Institute in Monterey is reviewing class materials for terms related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, or deemed critical of the U.S. government, Monterey County Weekly reported September 24. The Weekly ties the review to President Donald Trump's 2025 executive orders.

According to emails the Weekly obtained, a Microsoft 365 Copilot AI agent was developed to search supplemental materials and label them as compliant or out of compliance with the directives. A DLI spokesperson told the Weekly the institute is committed to complying with executive orders and federal directives. Read the Weekly's report for instructors' concerns and further detail.

Schools & Youth

ONGOING

La Mesa and Monte Vista teachers among MPUSD Reading is Key honorees

MPUSD announced its third annual Reading is Key awards on October 14, recognizing educators, grade-level teams and schools for student literacy growth during the 2025-2026 school year.

Honorees at Monterey schools include La Mesa Elementary teacher Greta Huang, recognized for the most stretch growth in second grade, and La Mesa's second-grade team of Sharlene Linnevers, Sabrina Aliotti, Sheila Fierro and Huang. Monte Vista Elementary's first-grade team of Caitlyn Cowardin, Crystal Nimmons, Maria Mateo and Jaimie Adamson was recognized for foundational literacy achievement.

ONGOING

MPUSD YouthTruth survey is open through October 30

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District's 2026 YouthTruth survey runs through Friday, October 30. The district describes the survey as an annual way for students, families, teachers and staff to share feedback about their schools, and families receive the survey link through ParentSquare. Monterey city schools are part of MPUSD.

  • Publication date: YouthTruth notice dated September 23, 2026
  • Event date: September 28 through October 30, 2026
  • Last movement: Survey opened September 28
  • Source: MPUSD, YouthTruth Survey 2026
ONGOINGMonterey High School Music Building

Monterey High Music's haunted house fundraiser plans a return; dates not yet posted

Monterey High School Music's 8th annual Haunted House fundraiser in the Music Building at Monterey High School, which opened October 17 and 18, was set to return the following weekend, according to an October 17 MPUSD post. The post does not give exact dates or hours for the return.

Admission is $5 for middle and elementary school students, $8 for high school students and $13 for adults. Proceeds support the music program.

Still Developing

The latest confirmed movement, the open question and the next checkpoint.

OPENUNCONFIRMED

Roadmap to Resilience budget choices

Not confirmed against the source as of October 22, 2026: that the September 29, October 7 and October 12 workshops took place; the city's page still lists them as scheduled. Check the source before relying on it.

The city identified an $11.7 million structural deficit and held budget workshops September 29, October 7 and October 12 (on Zoom), with more set for November 16 and December 3. The City Council's October 20 agenda listed an update on the Roadmap to Resilience. The city has not posted a recap of any workshop or of the October 20 update, or any resulting budget direction.

Still unresolved: Specific balancing choices and final budget action.

Next checkpoint: A staff report or recap of the October 20 council update, the November 16 workshop, or a budget recommendation.

Sources: Roadmap to Resilience; Roadmap to Resilience workshop schedule; City Council agenda for October 20, 2026
OPEN

Monterey police-chief succession

Police Chief Dave Hober’s retirement takes effect November 15. The city announced October 15 that Assistant Chief Mike Bruno will serve as interim chief starting November 16, and said a nationwide recruitment for a permanent chief will begin in early November and is expected to conclude in early 2027.

Still unresolved: Permanent police chief appointment.

Next checkpoint: Start of the nationwide recruitment in early November and the eventual permanent appointment.

Sources: Mike Bruno appointed interim police chief; Chief Hober retirement announcement
OPEN

Casanova fire recovery

Former residents began retrieving belongings from the fire-damaged building at 800 Casanova Avenue the week of October 5, entering by appointment, Monterey County Weekly reported. The City Council’s October 6 agenda lists a closed-session conference with legal counsel on the receipt of 54 government claims pertaining to the March 9 fire. The city’s latest dated recovery entry remains an August 20 update; it does not establish how many former tenants still need assistance or that recovery is complete.

Still unresolved: Current displacement, rebuilding and assistance status.

Next checkpoint: Any public report out of the October 6 closed session, the building’s future, or a current city, county or relief-agency housing update.

Sources: Monterey County Weekly, Casanova Plaza residents retrieve belongings; City Council agenda for October 6, 2026; 800 Casanova Avenue recovery information
OPEN

Flock transparency and policy update

Police Department Policy 433 sets 30-day retention, limits sharing to law-enforcement and prosecutorial agencies and requires a yearly search audit. The department's Flock transparency portal lists 35 cameras and was last updated June 13, 2025; no 2026 camera inventory has been posted.

Still unresolved: A 2026 camera inventory and any 2026 update to the City Council.

Next checkpoint: Current MPD policy, transparency portal, annual review, contract amendment or council action.

Sources: 2024 MPD Annual Report; 2025 MPD Annual Report; Monterey Police Department Policy 433, Automated License Plate Readers; Monterey Police Flock transparency portal

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