In today's news:
Inspection failing leads to pest spread
California lawmakers are requesting emergency funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to combat an invasive pest.
After a breakdown in inspections, a single California nursery sent out over 13,000 plants that may have contained insects called glassy-winged sharpshooters.
Santa Cruz agricultural commissioner Dave Sanford says none have been found in Santa Cruz County yet, but the scale of the threat is concerning.
"It's definitely a significant problem, and it's taking a huge amount of time and resources from ag commissioners statewide," he said.
The insects carry Pierce's disease, which kills grapevines, citrus trees, and other important crops.
Central coast counties are requesting anyone who bought grapevines at Costco reach out to the local agricultural commissioner’s office.
Free books for babies and children
Children in Monterey County can now sign up to get a free book in the mail every month. The program is part of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
At a launch event Thursday in Salinas, children heard a Monterey County supervisor read aloud The Rabbit Listened. The kids left with a copy of the book and a stuffed rabbit. Nina Alcaraz, with the local partner agency First 5 Monterey County, says one goal is to keep increasing school-readiness scores for kids younger than five years old.
“ First 5 helps sponsor a study and has done it over the past 12 to 15 years, and we've improved in our early literacy scores," she said. "We'd really like to see those numbers continue to go up.”
Right now, the county’s 34,000 young children are below the state average. But Alcaraz says books are about more than scores.
“Every time they get a book (in the mail), they're gonna be really excited, and they're gonna feel like, 'Oh, this community believes in me,'” she said.
Families can sign up on the First 5 Monterey County website, at local outreach events, and with some community organizations.
They can request books in English only or in English and Spanish.
