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Salinas
January 31, 2026

UPDATE: Full SNAP/CalFresh benefits to be issued beginning Friday in Monterey County

UPDATE — Nov. 7, 2025: Full November SNAP/CalFresh benefits have begun posting to the EBT cards of Monterey County residents, according to the County of Monterey Department of Social Services on Friday. ā€œThe California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is telling us that California has initiated...

Women in agtech: Claudia Pizarro-Villalobos

Editor’s Note: The following profile is an excerpt from Amy Wu’s upcoming book, ā€œFrom Farms to Incubators: Women Innovators Revolutionizing How Our Food is Grown,ā€ which tells the stories of women entrepreneurs who are transforming agriculture through high technology. Claudia Pizarro-Villalobos was born and raised...

Hartnell hosts conferenceĀ on ā€˜Culture of Food Safety’

SALINAS VALLEY — Nearly 400 people with a professional stake in the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed worldwide gathered at Hartnell College on May 4-5 for the 17th Annual Western Food Safety Conference. The conference, held on Hartnell’s Main Campus in Salinas as...

Ag Land Trust receives more than $8M in grants to preserve Salinas Valley farmlands

Rows of lettuce growing in a field
SALINAS VALLEY — California Strategic Growth Council has approved more than $8.3 million in grants to the Ag Land Trust (ALT), a nonprofit dedicated to farmland preservation along the state’s Central Coast. The funding will enable the organization to purchase conservation easements on three key...

Taylor Farms plans to rebuild Salinas facility after 4-alarm fire

SALINAS — Multiple agencies from across Monterey County responded to a four-alarm fire that severely damaged Taylor Farms’ food production facility in Salinas last Wednesday. The 225,000-square-foot building, located in the 1200 block of Abbott Street, had been closed for the winter but was in...

Farmworker receives $17K settlement from Salinas companies over retaliation claims related to working conditions

Law judge court
SALINAS — Fanciful Company Inc. and D’Arrigo Bros Co. of California, located in Salinas, have paid $17,000 in lost wages to a farmworker to resolve a California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) unfair labor practices complaint. The complaint alleged ā€œthat the companies fired the worker...

Guest Column | Protecting Migrant Education Is a Moral Imperative for America’s Farmworker Children

At the heart of California’s $59 billion agricultural industry are the hardworking migrant farmworkers who harvest the food that feeds our nation. Their labor sustains our economy, but their children, who face extraordinary educational barriers due to the migratory nature of their parents’ work,...

Hartnell hosts conference on agriculture industry’s changing workforce needs

SALINAS VALLEY — Hartnell College hosted a special version of the annual Ag Tech Summit — a half-day, in-person program called AgTechX Ed — last month on the Main Campus in Salinas. The Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology has joined with the California...

Gonzales High junior raises Heritage hog for 2025 Salinas Valley Fair

KING CITY — Salinas Valley Fair Heritage Foundation has announced Valeria Beltran, a junior at Gonzales High School, as the recipient of the 2025 Heritage Foundation Scholarship. As this year’s winner, Beltran will raise the official Heritage Animal, a hog she has named ā€œZero,ā€ and...

Scheid Family Wines sets industry benchmark with BRCGS food safety certification

GREENFIELD — Scheid Family Wines, a leading winery based in Greenfield on California’s Central Coast, recently passed the BRC Global Food Safety Standard recertification audit and is the only alcohol beverage-producing company in California to hold this prestigious certification. The unannounced BRCGS recertification audit occurs...

Local News

Salinas Valley State Prison

CDCR officials investigating Salinas ValleyĀ State Prison inmate’s Jan. 29 death as...

SOLEDAD ā€” California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the Jan. 29 death of an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) in Soledad as a homicide. At about...