King City farm labor contractors receive suspended prison sentences for workers’ compensation fraud
KING CITY — Monterey County Judge Rafael Vasquez has sentenced King City residents and farm labor contractors Elias Perez Jr., 43, and Alejandra Perez, 40, to three years in prison for insurance fraud committed between 2013 and 2017.
Vasquez also suspended those prison sentences, placing...
Monterey County Fair Junior Livestock Auction returns with in-person show Saturday
MONTEREY — The thrill of in-person bidding at a livestock auction with live auctioneers and an engaged audience returns this Saturday, Aug. 28, with the Monterey County Fair Junior Livestock Auction.
The 2021 auction, returning for the first time since 2019, begins at 10 a.m....
King City teacher seeks funds to build school garden
KING CITY — Kacey Hass, a seventh-grade life science teacher at Chalone Peaks Middle School, has started a GoFundMe page to raise money to start a school garden.
Hass is also the gardening teacher for both seventh and eighth grades, but the campus currently does...
Monterey County agriculture pumps more than $11B into local economy, study finds
MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County agriculture pumped more than $11 billion into the local economy in 2023 and supported 81,315 jobs, according to a new economic report.
Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Rich Ordonez released the latest comprehensive analysis of the county’s largest industry on Nov. 18,...
From horses to Merrill’s Thundering Herd: Rose Escobar shares love of rodeo and serving others
SALINAS VALLEY — Ever since a young child, Rose Escobar dreamed of becoming a Rodeo Queen — a best-in-class combination of horsemanship and athletic abilities paired with personal skills of public speaking and knowledge of the heritage of agriculture.
That dream came true this year...
Guest Column | King City’s Commitment to Agricultural Employee Housing
The City of King has implemented a comprehensive effort aimed at attracting and increasing quality housing for our local agricultural employees.
There has been a significant amount of misleading information in the community regarding the City’s position involving the permitting of a local temporary seasonal...
Monterey County enters escrow on ag commissioner office in King City
KING CITY — Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez announced last week that the county has entered escrow on a property in King City that will host the return of the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office in South Monterey County.
The location at 1011 Broadway St....
Taylor Farms plans to rebuild Salinas facility after 4-alarm fire
SALINAS — Multiple agencies from across Monterey County responded to a four-alarm fire that severely damaged Taylor Farms’ food production facility in Salinas last Wednesday.
The 225,000-square-foot building, located in the 1200 block of Abbott Street, had been closed for the winter but was in...
