Pollen season off to intense early start; dry winter making it worse
The Salinas Californian, March 2013The telltale watering eyes and sniffling noses are making an early appearance this year thanks to an unseasonably high pollen count.
Hummingbirds feather their nests
The Salinas Californian, March 2013The soft fluttering of tiny green wings is a pleasant reminder of the Monterey Bay area’s hummingbird inhabitants. Whether you spot a crimson and emerald Anna’s hummingbird living here year-round or one of the orange rufous hummingbirds that cruise into California’s Central Coast during the spring, seeing a hummingbird is always a treat.
Underwater robots unite Alisal, Harden students
The Salinas Californian, March 2013Cruising around the outdoor pool at Alisal High School is an aquatic robot built by Harden Middle School student Jesus Cruz with the help of Alisal students Angel Soriano and Eduardo Marquez. The plane-shaped robot is simply three small motors attached to a few feet of plastic piping, but for Cruz it’s a sign that engineering can be “very cool.”
Salinas native to study plant-killer bacteria in Bangladesh
The Salinas Californian, February 2013A strain of plant-killing bacteria plagues farmers in countries around the world, wilting and killing crops overnight. Longtime Salinas resident Alejandra Huerta, 31, has been named a Borlaug Fellow in Global Food Security, an honor that will fund a research expedition to Bangladesh to study the devastating plant disease. The fellowship’s goal is to help meet the agricultural demands of Earth’s ballooning population.
Story on A1 of print edition.
Vocational students get lessons at Hyatt Regency
The Salinas Californian, February 2013Fifteen high school students baked pizzas, checked-in guests and saw behind-the-scenes operations Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa.
CHOMP’s 1,000th ‘Valentine’
The Salinas Californian, February 2013For Ezequiel Rodriguez-Chavez, the heart decorations this Valentine’s Day have special meaning.
Homeless resume vigil outside Salinas city hall
The Salinas Californian, February 2013After a four-day hiatus, around 14 members of Salinas’ homeless population and their advocates resumed their vigil in front of city hall Friday night. The demonstrators say the move is in response to city officials’ inaction following last week’s sweep of homeless encampments in Salinas’ Chinatown.
Featured online and on Page 1 of print edition.
Soledad to promote status as park gateway
The Salinas Californian, February 2013The stunning rocks and caves of the newly designated Pinnacles National Park are expected to draw crowds, and the city of Soledad wants to be ready for them.
Forget the groundhog, weather expert says
The Salinas Californian, February 2013For more than 125 years, the world has held its collective breath every Feb. 2 as a six-pound rodent from Punxsutawney, Pa., predicts the weather. While Punxsutawney Phil has gained a national celebrity usually reserved for television stars, real weather experts say the groundhog’s predictions are hogwash.
Ag experts in Pacific Grove promote cover crops
The Salinas Californian, January 2013Two local agriculture gurus presented on the challenges of cover crops to a packed room of organic farmers Friday at the EcoFarm Conference in Pacific Grove. Cover cropping is a practice where specially chosen crops are planted during the off-season to help revitalize a field’s soil. At the end of the season, the cover crops are chopped down or, in the case of non-organic farming, killed with herbicide to release the gathered nutrients back into the soil.