Recently, some members of the city council asked for a financial request that turned out to be more controversial than they expected. They requested $100,000 for a Fourth of July event hosted by Compass Church that was open to the public. This raised questions not only about the amount going to one group but also whether this violated any law requiring the separation of church and state. Ultimately, the council decided to punt the vote down the road, but not before they heard plenty from members of the community. Additionally, the walls are being constructed on the new Amazon warehouse located on the edge of town, which promises to alter the landscape of Salinas.

Amazon is building a huge fulfillment center on the edge of town. With that comes thousands of new jobs, millions of tax dollars flowing into the city, and increased pressure on the infrastructure to keep things all running smoothly. Oz takes a deeper look into what this building actually is, how big it is, and how much sales tax is can potentially generate for the city of Salinas. Additionally, can the city approach Amazon and ask them to partner with local colleges to train a workforce centered on agriculture to fix and maintain the thousands of robots that will go into the new facility?

Salinas is one of the most expensive places to rent a home in the country. There is no simple solution to fix the issue, but last year, the city implemented a set of protections for renters to help keep them in their homes. This year, there was a shakeup in the city council, and one of the first things they did was to remove those protections before any help could be given or any data gathered.

Now a group called Protect Salinas Renters is gathering signatures to put a referendum on the ballot and give the choice back to the voters of Salinas. They will be gathering signatures until July 4 at locations all around Salinas. Find them on Instagram @ProtectSalinasRenters and at ProtectSalinasRenters.com.