Monterey County

Although data is incomplete, in nearly all counties, white people received the largest percentage of vaccine doses — even in counties with large Latino populations. Latinos are the biggest group vaccinated in Los Angeles and two other counties.

Many small business owners have taken legitimate operations underground during the pandemic. Owners say they’ve been unable to get by on government loans and stimulus checks.

Lea este artículo en español. In 2019, Monterey County sold more than five billion dollars worth of agricultural products, from cannabis to strawberries to leaf lettuce. It is, by far, the largest industry in the county.  However, that industry needs laborers on the ground. Tens of thousands of people plant, pick, and pack the produce that […]

After 70 years in Monterey County, 87-year-old Mary Martinez moved in the middle of a pandemic, evicted from her modest one-bedroom, second-floor apartment at 1118 Parkside St. in north Salinas. According to her former landlord, Martinez was evicted because she allowed a “violent man” to live with her, violating the conditions of her lease. Martinez said the man is her epileptic […]

Industry experts say they hope the impact to consumers will be minimal, with little disruption to the supply chain.

When Jesus Francisco Meza Uriarte and Dian Alejandro Bienazul Atondo step into the van that will take them to a spinach field in Salinas each morning, it stinks of bleach. The van’s been sanitized between rides to kill any lingering bits of the COVID-19 virus. They ride to work, sitting at least six feet apart, […]

Eufemia Aguilar has lived in her two-bedroom apartment on North Sanborn Road in Salinas for about 10 years. A garlic peeler at Christopher Ranch, she rises at 2:30 a.m. every day, packs her lunch and heads to work, leaving her 20-year-old son and 5-year-old grandson to sleep.  There are lots of problems inside her apartment […]

GM, Toyota join forces with Trump in emissions fight. Desalination proposal draws backlash in Monterey County. Race is on to fill Katie Hill's seat.

Activists and local government officials across Monterey County have banded together to fight a proposed desalination plant that could double the cost of water for some residents and endanger an aquifer that serves low-income communities. Opponents say the plant could cause saltwater to seep into the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin, the aquifer that provides freshwater […]

A new generation of small farmers in California—many with horticulture skills but little to no business background—are turning to nonprofit mentors to help them succeed.