MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif.-  The heartland disaster in Oklahoma is prompting us to take a closer look at storm chasers.  These men and women have said they play a vital role in trying to put out warnings before the disaster strikes.  Now changes in technology are giving these brave people better tools work with.

There's interactive radar maps online, that storm trackers and even media outlets can use to see where other storm trackers are located (http://www.reporternews.com/weather/).  We sat down with one of our local National Weather Service meteorologists to find out how technology like this is changing the way storm chasers do their research.

"Of course it's exciting, but at the same time you know you learn a lot and then you also gain a respect for these storms and you realize these things do change people's lives," said Monterey-based NWS Warning Coordina

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif- There will be several service changes for the Monterey-Salinas Transit bus lines. Some of the bus lines have been eliminated all togeher while others have major changes, announced the MST in a news release.

For more details information about route changes go to www.mst.org or call Monterey-Salinas Transit toll free at 1-888-MST-BUS1.

JAZZ: Minor schedule adjustments and additions to late night service. JAZZ A now serves MPC Library stop.

Line 1: Minor routing and major schedule adjustments.

Line 2: Major routing and schedule adjustments. Now travels to Del Monte Center

Line 2X: Route eliminated. For service between Pebble Beach and Salinas, see Line 21.

By Jasmine Viel - email

MONTEREY, Calif.- A new festival is replacing the down and out Monterey Bay Blues Festival this summer at the Monterey County Fairgrounds to even include a reality TV star.

The "Monterey Americana Festival" will be Monterey's first ever Americana Music Festival, featuring Americana music stars Jason Isbell, Todd Snider, Joe Ely and Jim Lauderdale along with the "The Voice" stand-out group Midas Whale.

On June 22-23, the festival will put the summer entertainment season into full gear during what was the Monterey Bay Blues Festival weekend. The festival filed for bankruptcy last year after 37 years. The festival president said they were almost $300,000 in debt and pointed fingers at the economy.