Today in Monterey
The Monterey Bay Half Marathon starts at 7 a.m. today, Sunday, November 8, with downtown delays expected from about 3 to 11 a.m.
Early returns show Mayor Tyller Williamson ahead in Monterey's mayor's race; mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day count if received by Tuesday, November 10.
The City Council declared Monterey a Welcoming City for Transgender and Gender-Diverse People, The Carmel Pine Cone reported.
The MPUSD high school transfer window opens Monday, November 9, and runs through December 11.
MPUSD schools and offices close Wednesday, November 11, for Veterans Day; the Monterey Public Library is also closed that day.
Pacific Biological Laboratories on Cannery Row offers free tours and open hours Saturday, November 14.
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.
Community & Culture
ONGOING
Library and MPUSD schools closed for Veterans Day November 11
All Monterey Peninsula Unified School District schools and district offices will be closed Wednesday, November 11, for Veterans Day, the district said. Students return Thursday, November 12. The district describes itself as serving a military-connected community.
The Monterey Public Library's events calendar lists the library as closed Wednesday, November 11.
Business & Commercial Development
ONGOINGMonterey Regional Airport
Delta Air Lines plans return to Monterey Regional Airport
Monterey Regional Airport announced 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 Carmel Pine Cone reported October 16 that Airport Executive Director Chris Morello said the flights begin December 19, with two daily round trips to Los Angeles and one to Salt Lake City. AeroRoutes reported September 17 that the flights will use SkyWest Embraer E175 aircraft.
Arts, Culture & Events
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 is drawn from the Oakland Museum of California's permanent collection.
The museum describes Aguilar, who died in 2018, as a celebrated Indigenous photographer from the Mountain Maidu, Pit River and Walker River Paiute tribes.
ONGOINGMonterey Museum of ArtUNCONFIRMED
Monterey Museum of Art's Iluminado installation runs through January 24
Not confirmed against the source as of November 8, 2026: the description of Rooms of Possibility as Iluminado's centerpiece (the museum calls it an installation created for the fourth annual Iluminado, not its centerpiece). Check the source before relying on it.
Monterey Museum of Art lists Iluminado, its fourth annual seasonal installation, from October 23, 2026, through January 24, 2027. Its centerpiece, Rooms of Possibility, was created by Monterey artist and author Anne Ylvisaker, the museum's artist-in-residence. The museum says Iluminado invites visitors to explore, create and contribute to a collective work of art, and that admission is free throughout December.
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 Bay Area artist Rex Ray (1956 to 2015), is on view at the Monterey Museum of Art, 559 Pacific Street, through January 17, 2027, according to the museum. Cydney Payton guest curated the exhibition, which the museum says spans three galleries.
The museum describes Ray as renowned for his prolific and multi-faceted creative approach to mixed media paintings.
ONGOINGMonterey Public Library and Old Fisherman's Wharf
Library sets Cannery Row film, Cannery Row walking tour and Stevenson Unbirthday
Monterey Public Library shows the 1982 film Cannery Row, set on Monterey's Cannery Row, on Thursday, November 12, from 4 to 7 p.m. in its Community Room, with a discussion after the film.
Historian Tim Thomas leads a four-hour Cannery Row Days walking tour on Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting at #1 Old Fisherman's Wharf; registration is required and the library suggests bringing a lunch. That afternoon, from 2 to 5 p.m., the Robert Louis Stevenson Club holds its Unbirthday Celebration in the Community Room, with cake, tea and readings from Stevenson's 1879 Old Pacific Capital. No registration is required for the celebration.
NEWCannery Row and Colton Hall
Pacific Biological Laboratories opens November 14; Colton Hall hosts a concert and a tour
Pacific Biological Laboratories, 800 Cannery Row, the former lab of marine biologist Ed Ricketts, offers free one-hour docent tours on Saturday, November 14, at 10 and 11:30 a.m., with advance reservations required, and free open hours from 1 to 4 p.m. that day with no registration, according to the Monterey Public Library and Museums calendar.
At Colton Hall, 570 Pacific Street, the Monterey Peninsula a cappella ensemble VOCI performs Sunday, November 15, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.; registration is required. A free one-hour Colton Hall and Old Jail walking tour follows Monday, November 16, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with reservations required.
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.
BACKGROUND
NPS is operating the first DGX GB300 AI supercomputer in the U.S. military
The Naval Postgraduate School commissioned an NVIDIA DGX GB300 AI supercomputer in Monterey on July 22. NPS describes it as the first such system in the U.S. military.
NPS says the system provides the school and approved research partners with high-performance computing capability and operates within the school's existing power and water infrastructure. NVIDIA donated the system to the NPS Foundation, which installed it at NPS, according to the school.
- Publication date: July 22, 2026
- Event date: Commissioned July 22, 2026
- Last movement: July 22 commissioning
- Source: DGX GB300 launch
BACKGROUNDMonterey County
County is ending the sheriff's Flock camera contract; city police cameras remain
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted September 22 to end the Sheriff's Office contract with Flock Safety, Voices of Monterey Bay reported. Voices describes the automated license plate readers as solar-powered cameras that use artificial intelligence to record and identify license plates.
Voices reported October 8 that Flock had roughly two months to remove more than 60 cameras across unincorporated Monterey County, and KAZU reported the county's cameras will be gone by December. Voices also reported that license plate readers remain in local cities where police have Flock contracts, including Monterey, and that a group called Get the Flock Out Monterey County has publicly announced itself.
BACKGROUNDNaval Postgraduate School
NPS selects nine Digital Trident II research projects
The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey selected nine research projects for its Digital Trident II initiative, which pairs NPS faculty and students with operational stakeholders and outside partners on challenges facing U.S. forces in the Pacific. NPS Vice Provost for Research and Innovation Michael Hesse announced the projects October 7, and the school published the list October 21.
NPS says the initiative is meant to accelerate what it calls super intelligence (SI) research. Projects include a multi-agent framework for wargaming, an agentic mission planner for long-endurance drone operations and an AI-powered decision-support tool for readiness and talent management. The selected teams will next work with operational stakeholders and technical partners to refine requirements, according to the school.
BACKGROUNDNaval Postgraduate School
NPS and Marine Corps University hackathon builds AI prototypes for military education
The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and Marine Corps University held a joint hackathon September 15 to 18 to develop and test artificial intelligence prototypes for military education and training. The school says the event ran simultaneously in Monterey and in Quantico, Virginia, and that more than 30 participants worked at NPS.
Five teams at NPS presented prototypes to a judging panel, and three entries placed first, second and third, the school says. Marine Corps Capt. Christopher Adams will develop and evaluate the first-place concept as part of his thesis research at NPS. The school published its account October 8.
NEWNaval Postgraduate School
NPS workshop teams develop concepts for autonomous and AI-assisted naval systems
The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey held its annual Warfare Innovation Continuum Workshop September 21 to 24, bringing together 228 students and representatives of industry, academia and the fleet, the school said in an account published November 4.
NPS says teams produced concepts including small autonomous semi-submersibles for hard-to-detect supply transport, a partially autonomous logistics planning tool and planning support that pairs people with what the school calls super intelligence (SI) agents. Retired Navy Capt. Jeff Kline, founder of the program, called the moment "the undeniable dawn of the robotics age of warfare," according to the school.
Schools & Youth
BACKGROUND
La Mesa and Monte Vista teachers among MPUSD Reading is Key honorees
MPUSD announced its Reading is Key awards on October 14. Now in their third year, the awards recognize 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 literacy in second grade. La Mesa's second-grade team of Sharlene Linnevers, Sabrina Aliotti, Sheila Fierro and Huang, and Monte Vista Elementary's first-grade team of Caitlyn Cowardin, Crystal Nimmons, Maria Mateo and Jaimie Adamson, were recognized for outstanding foundational literacy achievement.
ONGOING
MPUSD notifies families of statewide student data breach at testing contractor
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District told families October 23 about a data breach at Educational Testing Service, the contractor that provides state student assessments for the California Department of Education. The district says unauthorized individuals accessed and copied student information, which may include names, birth dates, addresses, student identification numbers and state assessment results.
The district says the incident was not a breach of MPUSD's own systems. Its notice lists a phone line for questions and for help with complimentary identity-protection services, 833-931-8488, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., excluding major U.S. holidays.
ONGOING
MPUSD sets high school transfer window and November conference early releases
Monterey Peninsula Unified families can request a high school transfer for the 2027-2028 school year starting Monday, November 9, through December 11. The district says this is the only opportunity for families of current 8th to 11th grade students to move between MPUSD high schools for next year, requests must be made online during the window and transfers depend on space at each school. The MPUSD Transfer Office is at 831-392-3983.
Parent-teacher conferences for elementary, middle and TK-8 schools are November 16 to 20. The district lists early release at 12:50 p.m. for elementary and TK-8 schools and 1:30 p.m. for middle schools.
ONGOING
MPUSD wins a Golden Bell Award; Early College applications open December 1
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District has been named a 2026 California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award winner, the district announced in its October 31 community update. MPUSD says it is the district's second consecutive Golden Bell Award.
The district invites families to explore its three Early College pathways at Marina High, Monterey High and Seaside High. Applications open December 1. The Board of Education meets Tuesday, November 10, at the District Services Center, 540 Canyon Del Rey in Del Rey Oaks; the district says the public can attend in person or by Zoom.
ONGOING
MPUSD tells families it does not take part in immigration enforcement
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District told families October 29 that it does not participate in immigration enforcement activities. The district said it was writing "in light of recent events in our community" and did not describe those events.
The message says MPUSD does not collect information about students' immigration status and that its schools are safe, welcoming places where every student belongs.
BACKGROUND
NPS professor Giovanna Oriti wins the school's top teaching award
Naval Postgraduate School professor Giovanna Oriti is the 2026 recipient of the Rear Adm. John J. Schieffelin Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Monterey school announced October 28. NPS says the award is selected by a committee of peers and administered by the NPS Foundation.
NPS says Oriti has helped students build technical expertise in areas such as power electronics for nearly two decades.
Elections
UPDATE
Early returns show Williamson ahead in Monterey mayor's race
Early returns show Mayor Tyller Williamson ahead of challenger Vince Malfitano in the City of Monterey mayor's race. A KAZU results chart last updated November 4 showed Williamson with 5,170 votes (71.86%) to Malfitano's 2,025 (28.14%). Results are not final; KAZU reported that election officials would keep releasing results as they complete the count.
The two City Council district races are closer. KTVU's election results page, which does not show when it was last updated, lists Kim Barber with 1,062 votes (51%) and Tom Reeves with 1,003 (49%) in District 1. In District 2 it lists Alec Manas with 688 (40%), Vicki Nohrden with 632 (37%) and Jeff Whitmoyer with 400 (23%). The same page lists City of Monterey Measure S, a sales tax extension, at 78% yes.
KAZU reported November 2 that Williamson, first elected to the City Council in 2018 and mayor since 2022, sought re-election as the city faces a budget deficit of nearly $12 million.
Mailed ballots postmarked on or before Election Day count if the county elections office receives them by Tuesday, November 10, according to the California Secretary of State, which lists December 3 as the last day for counties to certify results.
City, Roads & Planning
NEW
Monterey council declares the city welcoming to transgender and gender-diverse people
The Monterey City Council voted unanimously to declare Monterey a Welcoming City for Transgender and Gender-Diverse People and to establish a Transgender Day of Remembrance, The Carmel Pine Cone reported November 6.
Mayor Tyller Williamson said the idea came from the local group Monterey Peninsula Pride, the Pine Cone reported. The final version left out a line from an October draft about a policy on city resources and out-of-state efforts to investigate or penalize gender-affirming care provided in California. Officials said the declaration would not require taxpayer funds, according to the paper. Council member Ed Smith, who voted in October against placing the item on the agenda, supported the final version.
Still Developing
The latest confirmed movement, the open question and the next checkpoint.
OPENUNCONFIRMEDRoadmap to Resilience budget choices
Not confirmed against the source as of November 8, 2026: all details. 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 has posted the recording and slides from the October 12 Zoom workshop. The City Council's October 20 agenda listed an update on the Roadmap to Resilience. The city has not posted a recap 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.
OPENMonterey police-chief succession
Police Chief Dave Hober’s retirement takes effect November 15. Assistant Chief Mike Bruno, with the Monterey Police Department since 2005, becomes interim chief November 16, The Carmel Pine Cone reported October 16; the paper said the city plans to begin a nationwide search for a permanent chief in early November.
Still unresolved: Permanent police chief appointment.
Next checkpoint: Start of the nationwide recruitment and the eventual permanent appointment.
OPENCasanova fire recovery
The Housing Authority of the County of Monterey's October 15 property management report, in its October 26 board packet, lists all 86 units at Casanova Plaza as offline, and its finance report says the property has received no rental revenue since the fire damage in March. Minutes of the authority's May 26 board meeting record the executive director reporting that all displaced Casanova residents had been housed.
Still unresolved: Rebuilding timeline for Casanova Plaza and when residents can return.
Next checkpoint: A Housing Authority or city update on rebuilding.
OPENUNCONFIRMEDFlock transparency and policy update
Not confirmed against the source as of November 8, 2026: all details. Check the source before relying on it.
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.
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