Salinas Underground

Eric and Ness are two-thirds of the team behind The Beerded Bean in Oldtown, which is going on its third year of serving up coffee, beer, and music. They tell us how a potty training moment at a pizza place in Pacific Grove led to their partnership and how a local restaurateur that rented out his kitchen helped them perfect the art of the Canela cold brew. This is an inspiring conversation and a great example of the potential future of businesses in Salinas.

February was Black History Month, and Oz promised you an episode on Black history in Monterey County. His guest hosts for this journey are Samantha and Frenchy from our sister podcast 831 Comadres. They start the show by talking about the Brown Berets and how some of their work crossed over with the Black Panthers' work. The last half is full of some of the most amazing stories we have uncovered while researching these local history segments!   If you don't yet subscribe to 831 Comadres head over and give them a follow!!

We've all driven on Highway 101 up and down Salinas hundreds of times but did you know that some of the route traces its history back to the late 1700s? In this episode, Oz traces the highway's history from an old stagecoach trail to a modern highway and even a glimpse into the possible future of this important piece of Salinas. We also talk about the recent storm and update the ongoing Main Street upgrade through Oldtown.

A major project to connect Salinas to the Bay Area with a commuter train celebrated the completion of its first phase. What does that mean, and when will we be able to jump on a train in Oldtown Salinas and hop in Downtown San Jose? Oz does his best to answer these questions before ending the episode with a history lesson on trains in the Salinas area.

Monterey Jack Cheese is probably the cheese we are most familiar with. The melty, soft, white cheese is most often found inside quesadillas, but where does it come from? Is it from around these parts, or is the name just a coincidence? Oz gets to the (possibly) bottom of this question. But first, an update on the renovation of the Dick Bruhn building in Oldtown. Also, a new city manager is about to take charge of the city. Who is he, and where did he work before Salinas? All on this episode!

Very soon, Salinas will have dozens of new apartments downtown, a new train connection to the Bay Area, and thousands of new homes on the Northside. Oz keeps thinking he's some Walter Mercado and can predict what this might mean for the people currently struggling to live here. Can anything be done to prevent the people that were born and raised here from being priced out?

One of the ingredients that make the Salad Bowl such a great place to live in is the hustle of its people. We were wondering what local businesses and artists were doing to sell their things in a time when we can't get together. We asked our old friend Rob from MASA what he is seeing and how he is jumping in to connect shops with customers. @vendors831 is one of his projects that is quickly gaining steam. Follow it on Instagram to find some dope items from local people!

Digital Nest is an organization that is trying to get the youth of our area the tools to compete in a modern workforce. We talk to their founder, Jacob Martinez, and their Salinas site manager, Yesenia Molina, to discuss how they have been doing that in Salinas and Watsonville. We talk about their history, the difficulties of being a Latino entrepreneur, and their plans for the future not just here in Salinas but all over the country.

The election has finally passed, and now we can get back to our normal routine here at Salinas Underground. I bring in the guys from The Electro and Banno Movie Power Hour to go over what happened in the election and talk about what has been going on in Salinas for the last month. This episode was recorded before the final counts were published, so the numbers we talked about are outdated.

Our candidate interview series brought to you with our friends at Voices of Monterey Bay comes to an end with a candidate for Salinas City Council in the fourth district. Ray Montemayor has worked for Salinas and has some ideas about how his district can be better represented. He talks about those ideas and answers other questions as he sits on the hot seat.

Election Day is right around the corner, and our series brought to you with Voices of Monterey Bay is almost done, but we still have a couple more to go. In this episode, we talked to Mike Lipe, a multi-generation Salinas resident running for Mayor. Why did he decide to run, and what are his plans for city hall? Listen to get those answers and more.

As we get closer to election day, our series with Voices of Monterey Bay carries on. This time on the hot seat is Ernesto Gonzalez, candidate for Salinas mayor. After being involved in local politics for years, Mr. Gonzalez throws his hat in the ring to be the next mayor of Salinas. Why did he do it, and what are his plans if he wins? Listen to get those answers and more.

Oz and Claudia Melendez Salinas are back with another episode of the hot seat brought to you with our friends from Voices of Monterey Bay. A lot of candidates have mentioned homelessness as a major issue in Salinas and Wes White has been in the middle of that fight for years. Now he is looking to be the next mayor of Salinas. What are his plans for the city if elected? Those answers and more on this episode.

Next up on our candidate interview series brought to you with our friends at Voices of Monterey Bay is Mars Rocamora Jr, candidate for City Council in the 6th district. What would make a small business owner involved in community organizations for years decide to run for city office? Listen to find that answer plus many more.

Our candidate series brought to you with Voices of Monterey Bay carries on with Orlando Osornio running for Salinas city council in the 4th district. Can a small business owner take on the task of being a councilmember while still giving 100%? Listen to this episode and find out.

The next installment of our candidate series brought to you in conjunction with our friends at Voices of Monterey Bay features Vanessa Robinson, candidate for Salinas City Council in the 6th district. A lifelong Salinas resident with deep roots in the city decided it was time for her to run and represent her neighborhood. What drove her to that decision, and what inspires her to keep going? All that and more on this episode.

Our election special presented in conjunction with Voices of Monterey Bay rolls on with another candidate for Salinas Mayor, Kimbley Craig. After a stint on the city council, she thought she was done with politics but what made her throw the hat in the ring? All that and more on this episode.

Our series with Voices of Monterey Bay continues with Chris Barrera, candidate for Salinas Mayor. The real estate agent and community activist tells us why he feels like he's the right person to lead Salinas through the problems it currently faces, and ones that will be created because of COVID.

The next episode of our local election special done in collaboration with Voices of Monterey Bay features the other candidate for Monterey County Supervisor District 4 Steve McShane. In his turn in the hot seat, he talks about his plan if he is elected and why his previous history on the Salinas city council prepared him for the issues on the county level. 

Our candidate interview series done in conjunction with Voices of Monterey Bay continues with Wendy Root Askew, who is looking to take over her boss's place on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. She lays out some of her ideas and why she thinks the voters of South Salinas should elect her to represent them at the county level.