Agriculture

Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation will host a special Free Entrance Day on July 29 “as a token of gratitude to the community for entrusting the department with the stewardship and recreation of over 52,000 acres of beautiful parkland and 28 adventurous and...

Like many growers in Santa Clara Valley, Dilip Sharma and Hektor Luis Calderon-Victoria are eager to plant rows of fruits, vegetables and other organic, commercial crops on their unincorporated Morgan Hill farmland as soon as the long, cold, wet winter finally comes to a...

Nirmal Nair is a “techie” in his professional background, but he has always been a “foodie” with a strong interest in health and wellness. This combination of abilities and passion led him to start Sempera Organics mushroom farm in Morgan Hill about 18 months...

I hear this question a lot: are our local wines as good as Napa’s? OK, that’s a fair question.  Let’s start all this with the fact Napa is considered one of the greatest wine making regions in the world. Period! Italian, Spanish, Croatian, etc… wines...

As Santa Clara County suffers through a third straight year of severe drought, then a historic heat wave two weeks ago, the Valley Water Board of Directors unanimously voted Sept. 13 to strengthen existing rules aimed at reducing outdoor watering.  The board amended the existing...

Since its founding in west Morgan Hill about six years ago, Fairytale Farm has rescued more than 250 mini-horses, ponies and donkeys that were living in unhealthy, neglectful conditions—many of whom were on their way to certain death, according to the nonprofit’s founder, Alexandra...

The Board of the State Coastal Conservancy recently authorized funding totaling $84 million for projects throughout California to protect and restore coastal lands, increase coastal resilience to climate change, improve public access to the coast and reduce the impact of wildfire on coastal lands.  Locally,...

The Valley Water Board of Directors elected Tony Estremera as the Chair for 2025, and Richard P. Santos as Vice Chair. The board voted on their new officers at the Dec. 10 meeting.  Estremera has been on the Valley Water Board since 1996, and is...

UC Santa Cruz recently acquired and established the Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve, a 2,400-acre oak-studded grassland property in San Benito County that will be used for field research and outdoor education for the university’s students, staff and researchers.  The UC Board of Regents approved the...

San Benito County public health officials are warning residents of the danger of handling or getting too close to diseased or dead birds after a number of positive cases of Avian Influenza have been detected here. County Health and Human Services officials said in an...