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King City
December 3, 2025

Mass vaccination clinics launch throughout Salinas Valley

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County companies, organizations and agencies have partnered to host mass vaccination sites weekly, with the latest having taken place at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds in King City last Saturday. Two mass clinics had already taken place earlier this month in Salinas,...

Valley awards honor King City High School Agriculture Department and FFA

KING CITY — King City High School Agriculture Department and FFA were recognized with the 2022 Education Award last Saturday at the 16th Annual Valley of the World Awards, presented by the National Steinbeck Center. The school is home to a state-ranking ag program,...

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....

Guest Column | How Farmworkers Outlawed ā€˜El Cortito’ 50 Years Ago

For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as ā€œEl Cortito,ā€ was used for weeding and thinning rows of crops that kept farmworkers stooped over for long hours each day. Workers were only able to stand and stretch when they reached the...

Monterey County supervisors vote to lower cannabis tax rate

Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted May 22 in favor of lowering a tax rate on cannabis industries in the area.

Monterey County’s Covid-19 infection rates highest in agriculture

SALINAS VALLEY — Monterey County Health Department reports that 475 agriculture workers, or 36.79 percent of the county’s total confirmed cases, have been infected with Covid-19 as of June 22. A large gap separates that figure and the 261 ā€œunknown or under investigationā€ category, and...

Retiree reflects on half-century of agricultural work in Salinas Valley

SALINAS VALLEY — Jesse Holguin retired from Gonzales Irrigation Systems on Dec. 31, wrapping up a career of 40 years with the company and more than 50 years in total with agricultural work. Holguin began working for Mel Fowler of King City 51 years ago,...

Hartnell College awarded $9.5M grant to support students in agricultural careers

Hartnell College
SALINAS — Hartnell College has been awarded a $9.5 million grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s inaugural NEXTGEN program.  The official announcement was made during a presentation by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in Washington, D.C., on June 20. ā€œThis...

Salinas Valley Fair kick-off draws strong turnout

KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair hosted its annual Fair Kick-Off Dinner, Dance and Auction last Saturday at the fairgrounds in King City, where an estimated 450 guests attended. The April 23 evening featured a dinner cooked by King City Young Farmers, a live auction...

Monterey County crops fall 6.1% in value last year

Strawberries crops
MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo has announced the release of the 2023 Annual Crop and Livestock Report, which recorded a production gross value of just over $4.35 billion, reflecting a 6.1% decrease from 2022. ā€œThe values represented here reflect gross values...