Matt Koller

Monterey County Weekly — This piece is excerpted from a story that was originally published by the Weekly on Feb. 21, 2019.

Monterey County Weekly — You've probably seen the photos of bird corpses full of plastic, or of the Great Pacific garbage patch, a floating gyre of plastic debris twice the size of Texas. They're stark images that can stir people to take action when it comes to recycling or reusing.

benitolink.com — This is the second in a three-part series about prime agricultural land in San Benito County. R

benitolink.com — BL Special Report: What is prime agricultural land, and who keeps track of it? This is the first in a three-part series examining prime agricultural land in San Benito County.

Monterey County Weekly — Over the past few years, a number of cities in Monterey County have enacted laws restricting the use and sale of single-use plastic items. Carmel banned plastic straws and utensils for restaurants and food vendors in 2017, Monterey enacted a similar ban in 2018, and Pacific Grove banned single-use plastics for a wider range of businesses in 2019.

Hakai Magazine — Nearly 180 kilometers off the coast of San Diego, California, there's a surf break that, from time to time, spawns waves rising taller than two telephone poles stacked on top of each other. They inspire awe-and caution-in those driving the boats carrying big-wave surfers in search of the next world record.

Monterey County Weekly — The year was 1980, and Madhumita Mehrotra was competing in the 400-meter dash at the All India University Athletic Championships. Until this point in her life - her late teens - athletics had been everything to her.

Benito Link — Salinas-based grower Taylor Farms has acquired Earthbound Farm from French multinational foods giant Danone for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition returns Earthbound Farm, based in San Juan Bautista, to local ownership effective April 11.

Benito Link — While $60,000 in prize money went to the top contestants in the 10th annual Startup Challenge Monterey Bay, none of the three San Benito County businesses that made it to the finals were among the winners.

Monterey County Weekly — It's early on a Thursday morning, and Moss Landing Harbor is humming with activity. Seagulls flock in circles, cawing and diving at the water, and harbor seals sun themselves on the marshy flats exposed by low tide.

Benito Link — Startup Challenge Monterey Bay is back, and this year's field has numerous competitors from San Benito County. Five county-based groups will participate in this year's competition: JMM Dance Co., Dance Minds, Growing Hearts Garden Center, Pest Tech Ready, and Worth Saving Mercantile and Thrift Store.

Monterey County Weekly — If you've spent any time watching Shark Week, then you're one of the countless number of people who've been educated, directly or indirectly, about the marine environment by Berkley White and his crew at Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo.

Monterey County Weekly — Protesters who gathered at San Carlos Beach in Monterey on Sunday, Feb. 10 didn’t mind getting wet. They were there to paddle and kayak out into the water, after all, so a little bit of rain wasn’t going to stop them. More than 100 people turned out to bring attention to the increasing number of cruise ships scheduled to stop in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary this year. Eighteen are scheduled for 2019, up from 11 in 2018, and 13 in 2017. Twenty ships are already scheduled to visit Monterey in 2020.

Monterey County Weekly — TOM DIMAGGIO IS 96 YEARS OLD AND BLESSED WITH A FULL HEAD OF NEATLY COMBED WHITE HAIR AND A WARM HANDSHAKE. A fisherman for his whole career, he’s been retired for over 20 years and remains a vibrant member of the fishing community – only these days, the community is far from the dock and instead gathers at the East Village Coffee Lounge in Monterey to while away weekday mornings, sipping espresso and swapping stories.

Monterey County Weekly — Wednesday afternoon saw a break in the stormy weather as clouds parted and the sun shone brightly on the 1st through 3rd, 17th, and 18th holes at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The 3M Celebrity Challenge-more entertainingly known as the Eastwood-Murray Cup-teed off sharply at 11 am as temperatures hovered in the mid-50s.

Monterey County Weekly — Walk into Spector Dance studio in Marina on a Wednesday night, and you're greeted with a predictable array of sights and sounds: young ballerinas in pointe shoes and leotards, the rhythmic staccato of classical music from a small, tinny CD player, and the one, two, three counts of instructors teaching girls how to twirl in graceful arcs.

Monterey County Weekly — When a young student delicately placed a stone at the edge of the shallow creek, Matthew Merrill and Walter Orion knew they were on to something. Merrill and Orion, community-based mental health counselors working for Watsonville nonprofit Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, were in Nisene Marks State Park leading summertime wilderness therapy trips for students with behavioral problems. For these middle-school-aged boys, many of whom had never spent time in nature, the great outdoors presented a litany of challenges – bugs, spiders and any number of other unknowns.

Monterey County Weekly — Some 500 people gathered on the lawn in front of Colton Hall in Monterey for the third annual Monterey Bay Women’s March and Rally on Saturday, Jan. 19. Speakers, including Monterey Mayor Clyde Roberson, addressed the crowd about equality, freedom, women’s rights, and the importance of making your voice heard.

Monterey County Weekly — Like many graduate students, Andrea Fisher found herself busy, busy, busy. Pursuing a degree in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies meant that her schedule was packed with classes, group projects, and professional networking opportunities. Andrea Fisher grew up in Oregon and lived in Washington, D.C. before the research and scenery – ”the things that made me fall in love with Monterey” – brought her to the Peninsula for graduate school. Yet Fisher, who first visited Monterey in 2015, also sought to carve out quiet time to connect with the very beauty that brought her here from Washington, D.C. – the ocean.

Monterey County Weekly — It was a journey that began - or ended, depending on your point of view - with a road trip from San Diego to Monterey in April of last year.

Monterey County Weekly — While students get new teachers every year, some adult figures remain steady. Matthew Merrill is a mental health clinician who works with middle – and high-school students in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. “These relationships last for years and I think for a lot of these kids, having a consistent, healthy adult figure in their life means a lot to them,” he says. Merrill is a school-based mental health clinician working for nonprofit Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance (PVPSA), which provides mental health counseling, outpatient substance abuse services and preventive programs to students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to access professional care. The group reaches upward of 7,000 students annually. Whether through programs discouraging tobacco usage, counseling opportunities following behavioral problems at school, or substance abuse counseling after an issue is identified, PVPSA seeks to provide students with an outlet to work through their problems in a constructive manner.

Monterey County Weekly —

Monterey County Weekly — Usually, a walk along the coastal trail greets visitors with a few, familiar sights—seals sunning themselves on the rocks, fishing boats coming in and out of the harbor, a few kayakers braving the elements. But every so often, a larger, more conspicuous sight can be found anchored just outside of the harbor: a towering cruise ship. Most of these ships are chartered by large, international companies like Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises, and pass through while in transit between summers in Southeast Alaska and winters in the warmer waters of Baja California and beyond.

Monterey County Weekly — Chase Dekker seems to be everywhere these days. If he's not at home in Monterey, he might be in the Serengeti, searching for herds of buffalo. Or leading a photography workshop while swimming with whales in Tonga, or exploring the mountains of British Columbia and Alaska.