Farmworkers

Para muchos residentes, limitar el uso de fertilizante nitrogenado en los campos del Valle de Salinas es necesario. Para ellos, la regulación es la única manera de detener la contaminación del agua subterránea.

Las verduras que se cultivan en el Valle de Salinas necesitan grandes cantidades de fertilizante. Pero esa demanda, junto con el hecho de que la mayoría de estos cultivos agrícolas tienen raíces poco profundas, hace que el exceso de nitrógeno llegue fácilmente al agua subterránea.

La principal causa de esta contaminación son los fertilizantes agrícolas. Cuando se aplica más fertilizante del que las plantas pueden absorber, el exceso de nitrato se disuelve en el agua.

A day of mourning in Santa Cruz for the thousands of children who have been killed in Gaza over the last two years. And, Monday marks 60 years since the Delano grape strike began in the Central Valley.

Activists concerned with the health consequences of pesticide use in the Pajaro Valley rallied around Omar Dieguez who is leading a monthlong hunger strike.

Access to clean drinking water is considered a human right. But for some farmworker communities on the Central Coast, it’s not a reality.

Monterey County recognizes the 50th anniversary of a landmark farmworker rights legal case that banned the use of a harmful farming tool. And, immigration courts in San Francisco and Concord close early as Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities ramp up.

Agriculture is a nearly $60 billion industry in the state, but many local farmworkers rely on food donations to feed their families.

The California Small Farm Conference this week is adding immigrant rights and safety to the agenda while unions brace for threats to collective bargaining. Both industries have major roles in the region and are reacting to Trump administration executive orders and actions. Also, residents in the vicinity of the Moss Landing battery plant fire discuss potential health impacts.

The multimedia exhibit, at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, has been several years in the making. It’s the product of efforts by Watsonville Filipinos to show a fuller picture of their families’ lives beyond the 1930 anti-Filipino race riots.