Community Corner
🌱 How a Palma junior just rewrote Salinas football record books
Happening soon: Candlelight: Christmas Carols on Strings on the Salinas Patch calendar
Hello Salinas! Here's our latest buzz. Let's get into it. ☀️
In today's newsletter:
- How a Palma junior just rewrote Salinas football record books
- How North Salinas High students impressed the mayor with fine dining
- Are Salinas rents finally stabilizing for local tenants?
Also on today's calendar: Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous - FA and 5 more events.
Find out what's happening in Salinasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
📸 Have a great pic of holiday decorations from around Salinas? Post it to Salinas photos of the day! ☃️ 🟢-🟠-🟣-🔴-🟡-🔵 ☃️
Today's riddle: Can February March? 🤔 (Answer below!)
Find out what's happening in Salinasfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
From our Partner
Today's Salinas Patch AM is brought to you in part by T-Mobile. Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T-Mobile and UScellular have joined forces to connect people from big cities to small towns and everywhere in between. UScellular is now a part of T-Mobile. Find out more at T-Mobile.com/Better-Together.
Find a T-Mobile store near Salinas.
- Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high of 69 and low of 55 degrees.
- Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, temps: high: 69, low: 51.
- Thursday: Partly sunny and pleasant, with a high of 68 and low of 50 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
1. All-County Player of the Year - Offense: Dukes starred in Palma's highlight reels (fresnobee.com) — Salinas fans saw Palma junior running back Eli Dukes power a 10-0 regular season, including a 325-yard, four-touchdown performance against Salinas High that snapped a losing streak. The multi-sport standout from Salinas-based Palma has already set county rushing records, drawn offers from major colleges like Stanford and Cal, and is using the Los Gatos playoff loss as fuel for an even bigger senior year. 
2. North Salinas High students host fine-dining lunch for the mayor (thecalifornian.com) — North Salinas High students recently treated Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue and other city leaders to a white-tablecloth lunch showcasing their Restaurant Careers class skills. Juniors and seniors learn cooking, customer service, and business basics while earning industry-recognized safety and employability certifications. The program is feeding local restaurants, including the new Raising Cane’s in Salinas, and is seeking partnerships with mom-and-pop eateries.
3. Salinas apartments \u200bfor rent saw essentially no changes since last November (thecalifornian.com) — Apartment rents in Salinas held steady in November, with a median listing price of about $2,400, nearly unchanged from last year. One-bedroom units hover around $1,928 and two-bedrooms about $2,450, slightly below statewide prices but well above national medians. The data, drawn from 146 local listings, offers a clear snapshot of current costs for Salinas renters.
4. FIRA USA 2025 highlights grower access to AgTech (fruitgrowersnews.com) — Salinas-based Taylor Farms plays a key role in the push to make farm robotics practical and affordable, with 65% of its local production now organic. At the FIRA USA 2025 conference, Taylor Farms and other West Coast growers stressed that access to capital, reliable technology, and better connectivity are essential before they’ll fully commit to autonomous tractors, weeders, and other AgTech tools.
5. Prison health workers are among the best-paid public employees. Why are so many jobs vacant? (kvpr.org) — Health care vacancies at Salinas Valley State Prison are among the worst in California, with more than half of medical and mental health jobs unfilled despite high pay and bonuses. A new state audit says chronic understaffing at Salinas and two other facilities is driving assaults, overtime, and heavy reliance on costly contract workers, and urges a statewide recruitment push and hiring reforms.
📸 Around Salinas
Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!
🗓 Upcoming Events in Salinas
★ Featured events ★
- Candlelight: Christmas Carols on Strings
Fox Theater, 241 Main St, Salinas
6:15 pm
Friday December 19
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
- Girls Basketball vs GVMS
El Sausal Middle School , 1155 E Alisal St , Salinas
4:30 pm - Boys Basketball @ GVMS
Gavilan View Middle School , 18250 Van Buren Ave , Salinas
4:30 pm - Santa Clause visits Santa Rita with SPD - in SRES parking lot
Santa Rita Union Elementary Salinas, CA 93906
6:00 pm - Winter Concert McKinnon Elementary
McKinnon Elementary Salinas, CA 93906
8:45 am - SRES Winter Wonderland
Santa Rita Union Elementary Salinas, CA 93906
5:00 pm - Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous - FA
46 Villa St , Salinas
6:30 pm - Natividad creek park garden workday
Natividad Creek Park , 1395 Nogal Dr , Salinas
10:00 am
Wednesday December 17
Thursday December 18
Saturday December 20
📣 Salinas Shout Outs!
Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!
🗓 Events Nearby
- Enthusiastic Bird Watchers @ La Selva Beach
La Selva Beach Branch Library , La Selva Beach
10:30 am - Sensory Play
Main Library , 275 Main Street, Suite #100 , Watsonville
11:00 am - North Monterey County Condors vs Stevenson Pirates
North Monterey County High School , 13990 Castroville Blvd , Castroville
5:30 pm - Varsity Opponent Boys Varsity Soccer @ Marina
Marina High School , 298 Patton Pkwy , Marina
4:00 pm
Tuesday December 16
Wednesday December 17
Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.
Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.
💬 Chatter
What your neighbors are talking about on social media
- Still looking for my kitten Putty.
He was picked up from the park and ride in Prunedale on the 4th of December around 1:00pm. Someone said that a white woman with black hair picked him… (Nextdoor Manzanita Park) - ‼️‼️‼️UPDATE we have located our dog, but unfortunately, she was taken by someone who isn’t her owner.
When we arrived at the house where she was found and posted the people there told us a lady had approached the dog and claimed it wasn’t hers, and… (Nextdoor Crescent Park/Laurel Park/Airport)
- Kroger Family of Companies posted a job opening for Grocery Clerk in Salinas. Apply here.
- FedEx posted a job opening for Freight Handler Part-Time in Salinas. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Salinas here.
Ok Salinas! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don't know, but April May!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!
👉 Help make Patch AM better
- Help us grow by suggesting local news sources.
- Shape this newsletter with your feedback.
- List items for sale or services offered
We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what’s happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.