Farms statewide hit by storms and floods
MONTEREY COUNTY ā Warm atmospheric river storms wreaked havoc on California last week, causing widespread flooding from rain and snowmelt, which overfilled rivers and creeks, displaced residents, washed out roads and damaged agriculture.
In Monterey County, there was significant flooding along the Salinas River and...
King City farm labor contractors receive suspended prison sentences for workersā compensation fraud
KING CITY ā 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...
King City 4-H, FFA partner on industrial arts project
KING CITY ā King City Rural 4-H recently collaborated with King City High School FFA to offer an industrial arts project for its members for the first time.
This rare collaboration included help from KCHS ag teacher Blaise Chaney, who opened up the schoolās state-of-the-art...
Wine festival features four days of activities
Ranked 11th by last yearās U.S. food and wine festival calendar critics, the 2017 Paso Robles Wine Festival is scheduled for May 18-21.
Balestreri named 2023 Miss King City Stampede
KING CITY ā Cristina Balestreri, who grew up in the Salinas Valley, has been named the 2023 Miss King City Stampede.
Balestreri, daughter of Monterey County natives Mario and Josephine Balestreri, received the title, sash and crown during the third annual King City Stampede, a...
District 4 Dairy Princess and alternates crowned
CENTRAL COAST ā Ellie Dyt knows a lot more about the California dairy industry than most 17-year-old high schoolers.
Dyt was raised on a dairy farm her whole life in the small town of Crows Landing, home to thousands of dairy cows, gaining first-hand experience...
Senior researcher joins Farm Fuel
Dr. Joji Muramoto recently joined Farm Fuel part-time as senior researcher/consultant to conduct research improving the efficiency of mustard seed meal and ASD applications and products.
Lavender Creek Co. partners with quilters to bring comfort to local patients
MONTEREY COUNTY ā Lavender Creek Co., Monterey Countyās 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...
Monterey County Board of Supervisors to mark 50th anniversary of āEl Cortitoā ban
SALINAS VALLEY ā 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 āEl Cortito,ā or the short-handled...
Guest Column | How Farmworkers Outlawed āEl Cortitoā 50 Years Ago
For decades in the Salinas Valley, the short-handle hoe, known as āEl 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...

















