Monterey County Fair Junior Livestock Auction to honor local youths and their animals
MONTEREY COUNTY — The 2022 Monterey County Fair Junior Livestock Auction is being dedicated to Taylor Farms, the Salinas-based grower and packager of fresh produce that has supported the Fair’s 4-H and FFA exhibitors for more than 20 years by purchasing animals at the...
Taking the vaccine into the fields to help vulnerable farmworkers
CALIFORNIA — Before state officials announced that 40% of California's new vaccine doses would go to low-income communities, leaders were struggling to make good on promises to prioritize vulnerable Californians in the vaccine rollout.
As my colleague Miriam Jordan recently wrote, farmworkers were among those...
Salinas Valley Fair unveils renovated Expo Building
KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair has announced the completion of the extensive renovation of the Expo Building, marking a new chapter in its storied history.
The 12,000-square-foot, multipurpose facility underwent upgrades in 2022 and 2023, transforming it into a venue for a wide array...
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...
Bradley Elementary School to build first community garden
BRADLEY — Bradley Elementary School is building its first-ever community garden, utilizing donations from community partners like Chevron and mentorship from staff and students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly).
The garden will be used for educational learning, with students having the opportunity to...
Taylor Farms donates vegetables to Mee Memorial clinic patients
SALINAS VALLEY — In honor of both National Diabetes Month and Diabetes Education Week, Taylor Farms donated 500 bags of salad and packages of assorted vegetables to the families visiting Mee Memorial Healthcare System clinics in King City and Greenfield on Nov. 15.
There were...
Monterey County Board of Supervisors to mark 50th anniversary of ‘El Cortito’ ban
SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County Board of Supervisors will host a special ceremony on Tuesday, June 10, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a landmark legal case that arose out of the Salinas Valley and outlawed the use of “El Cortito,” or the short-handled...
Weed control effort seeks to curb virus threat for Salinas Valley’s lettuce
SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County has enacted a mandatory abatement program for select weeds as part of an effort to contain the impatiens necrotic spot virus, or INSV, which has severely impacted the region’s lettuce crop in recent years.
Officials are urging residents who notice...
CHISPA receives $680,000 loan for King City housing development
KING CITY — Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association Inc. (CHISPA) has received a $680,000 acquisition loan to purchase property in King City and create 40 affordable homes aimed toward farmworkers in the region.
The funding is being made available through the Monterey Bay...
Monterey County plans for return of migrant farmworkers
SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County health officials have been working with agricultural companies and have reiterated safety plans with the onset of the new growing season, with the goal of keeping ag workers safe and the food supply network stable.
“With the start of the...
