Chic Event Rentals (486 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey) wanted to provide you with an update on how we are responding to the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. As always, the health and safety of our clients and employees is at the top of our priorities.

With that said, we will be following the CDC’s guidelines on how to keep a healthy workplace for both our employees and clients. This includes, but is not limited to, providing hand sanitizer on our trucks, disposable gloves for our staff handling rented items and trash, and asking sick employees to stay home. We will also be taking the proper steps in keeping our showrooms clean by constantly sanitizing high touch areas.

In addition, we wanted to provide you with information regarding our cancellation policy. This week, the governor suggested all large gatherings be canceled and this caused many events to cancel very last minute. Since this is something that impacted our local community and partners very quickly, we wanted to help all we could and allowed cancellations that went against our company’s current policy.

Moving forward, we will be implementing our cancellation policy with a slight change. Now until April 30, 2020, we will allow any paid deposits to be transferred to any event taking place this year.

See the following for our cancellation policy:
**Canceling within 3 days of delivery or will call pick up - customer will be responsible 100% of the total rental.
**Canceling within 3-6 days of delivery or will call pick up - customer will be responsible 75% of the total rental.
**Canceling within 7+ days of delivery or will call pick up - customer will be responsible 50% of the total rental.

Update on March 17, 2020: because of Monterey County's shelter in place order to stem the tide of COVID-19, BookBuyers will be closed until April 8.

Although the libraries are closed, BookBuyers is open, and we are extending our St. Patrick's Day Sale through March 31, 2020. Buy any 2 items (books, movies, TV series, or audiobooks) and get a 3rd item free! We're located at 600 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

The Santa Clara County Department of Public Health has issued a shelter in place warning for all of Santa Clara County. Starting on Tuesday, March 17th, only "essential" businesses are permitted to remain open. At the moment this includes delivery and pick-up service from restaurants, but all bars, pubs, and establishments offering dine-in services will not be allowed to operate.

The Intimacy, Sexuality, and Gender Center of Monterey (ISGC), led by Stephen Braveman, LMFT, DST (Director) and Wanda Braveman (Patient Advocate), want to talk with you about this outbreak of Covid-19.

We understand how upsetting and alarming watching this pandemic unfold can be for you and your loved ones. These events and the isolation that ensue can be very unsettling for many. You may feel like you can’t come into our office for your appointments, despite our increased efforts to insure a safe environment for all.

We want to offer you Teletherapy, a way to continue therapy without leaving home. For individual and couples’ sessions we have Facetime, Vsee, and Skype, and for group sessions we have Zoom. If none of these options work for you, Stephen can do sessions using the telephone.

Please notify Wanda at 831-375-7553 if you decide to utilize any of these alternative methods and stay home while continuing your therapy. All requests will be accommodated.

If you do not have an appointment, but would like to schedule one, please feel free to do so by calling Wanda at 831-375-7553. Our office is located at 494 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.

Current Comics wants to confirm that we're remaining open for business with normal hours and look forward to serving your comics and Magic The Gathering (Friday night draft) needs.

We have always kept our store and restroom very clean and will continue to do so.

We regularly disinfect the common touch points several times a day, including door handles, touchscreens, counters, sink, and tables.

Stay safe and healthy and we hope to see you soon!

Travis Pratt
Owner, Current Comics
400 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey

Paper Wing Theatre wants to reassure our patrons that we are taking extra precautions at the theatre to ensure your safety while Monterey County deals with the novel coronavirus. As of March 14, no warnings or restrictions have been issued for small venues like ours which seat less than a hundred people. We are, however, instituting something called "buffered seating," which cuts down the amount of seats available for purchase and ensures that people can put extra space between them and another party if they choose.

Disinfectant wipes, plenty of hand sanitizing stations, and good old-fashioned soap and hot water will be readily available for everyone.

We do ask that if you are feeling sick, you make plans to reschedule your night at our theater. We will honor any previously purchased ticket for any future Paper Wing show; simply email us your preference.

We hope this answers any questions you may have. Your safety and the safety of our cast and crew is most important to us. Thank you for your continued support of local art and artists! Paper Wing's next production, Cabaret, is scheduled to open on March 20.

Due to Covid-19 public health and safety precautions, the Campbell Farmers' Market will be suspended until further notice. We will post any updates regarding the reopening of the Campbell Farmers' Market as soon we learn of new information.

For the most current updates about the status of the Campbell Farmers' Market, please see the Urban Village Farmers' Market Association's website.

Now is the perfect time to work on your guitar skills, and The Monterey Music Store has over 100 guitars for sale, both acoustic and electric! Come check out our new store at 419 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. Our Monterey Music Store charge card offers low monthly payments with ZERO down.

Shelley Bennett Skincare is happy to announce that our online store is now open! Shopping for your favorite skincare products is easier than ever. We carry Image, Caudalie, and private label Shelley Bennett Skincare products for every skin condition...plus some fun gift items!

Shelley Bennett Skincare is a small, owner-operated business located in Downtown Old Monterey. Please visit our website to place your order.

Please read update at end of blog post. Being mindful of the risk of the novel coronavirus and Covid-19, Union Yoga asks that you please bring your own yoga mat to the studio. If you do not yet own a mat, we are offering our current mats and towels at wholesale prices!

Now through the end of March, all Lifeform mats are 30% off and all Manduka mats and towels are 40% off at our studio.

Our studio is maintaining a level of awareness of Covid-19 as new information is presented. We're now open and keeping our regular class schedule and we're using Clorox wipes to wipe down our studio mats and Clorox to keep the studio handles, knobs, and public spaces clean.

If you are not feeling well, coughing, or having allergic sensations, we ask that you refrain from coming into the studio. Staying home will not only help to keep our community healthy but will lessen the anxiety of others. We're all in this together!

Union Yoga is located at 244 Pearl Street in Downtown Old Monterey. Come in, do some breath work, get into your body, and maintain a healthy lifestyle and mindset.

An update from Union Yoga on March 16, 2020: Yogis, we are called into action. It is the appropriate time to temporarily close the studio, effective immediately. I was hopeful that we would be able to keep the studio open for another week but it is not in the best interest of our community to do so.

Owning a yoga studio is a true work of passion and service. We operate on a month to month basis and class sizes and our income has been dramatically reduced over the last two weeks. This is likely true for most small businesses. There are ways you can help.

Monthly subscribers, please consider staying with Union during this time. Your subscriptions will be transferred over to the online streaming service. Your membership goes toward the pay of our teachers. Purchase gifts or class cards for yourself or friends to use at a later date. Those who have purchased class packs that expire in 6 months, those classes will be extended for the time we are closed.

Pacific Valley Bank currently has a full-time opening in our Monterey branch for a Client Service Representative (Teller). This position requires an individual with the flexibility to work approximately 40 hours per week.

The Client Service Representative provides a variety of client service functions including processing account transactions and assisting clients with other bank products, such as online banking, investment accounts, loan products and other deposit accounts.

View the full job description here. Pacific Valley Bank is located at 498 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey.