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King City
July 15, 2025

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...

Rancho Cielo’s Veggie Box fundraiser a big success

SALINAS VALLEY — Rancho Cielo’s annual Veggie Box and BBQ Fundraiser took place Aug. 8-11 on the Rancho Cielo Youth Campus in Salinas. The fundraiser was the biggest success to date, with more than 14,000 boxes sold, 300 volunteers packing boxes and over 2,000 barbecued...

Virtual exhibit highlights women innovators in agtech

SALINAS VALLEY — A new exhibition at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas highlights a diverse generation of women innovators and their contribution to agriculture by way of technology. ā€œFrom Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators in California Agtech,ā€ which premiered last month, uses multimedia to...

Salinas Valley Ag Tech Summit promotes importance of workforce education

SALINAS VALLEY — A panel of experts discussed current challenges in agriculture, such as the future of the workforce and the role of education, during the eighth annual Salinas Valley Ag Tech Summit. The two-day session spanned more than eight and a half hours of...

King City mural dedication ceremony reflects on agriculture’s impact

KING CITY — King City in Bloom hosted a dedication ceremony on June 24 for the recently completed mural, ā€œA Tribute to Cattle Ranching and the Salinas Valley Fair,ā€ which is the organization’s third historic mural in the town. Project co-chair Steve Schmidt spoke...

Taylor Farms to reopen facility after 2022 fire

SALINAS VALLEY — One year after a devastating fire destroyed Taylor Farms’ food processing plant in Salinas, the agriculture company will reopen the facility later this month in time for the start of the Salinas Valley planting season. Following months of construction, the foodservice location...

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...

Cannabis represents 10 percent of Monterey County crop production as fruits, nuts decline

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales has released the county’s 2019 Crop Report, which included an evaluation of cannabis production for the first time. ā€œThis report reflects a production value of $4,409,992,000, which is an increase of 3.5 percent from 2018,ā€ Gonzales...

Lavender Creek Co. partners with quilters to bring comfort to local patients

MONTEREY COUNTY — Lavender Creek Co., Monterey County’s local family-run lavender wellness brand, has announced a new partnership with the Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild, providing locally grown lavender for the handcrafted eye pillows donated to CHOMP, Salinas Valley Health, Natividad and the VNA. The eye...

Grant helps agricultural workers succeed at Hartnell

SALINAS VALLEY — Hartnell College announced it has received a multi-year grant of $260,000 from Bank of America that will strengthen its ability to help Salinas Valley agricultural workers succeed and advance in an industry increasingly shaped by technology and automation. The grant will support...