A new pair of housing bills would extend tenant eviction protections through the end of March and introduce a new path to create additional housing in under-utilized, big-box developments.
These responses were submitted by members of an advisory board on farmworker housing that featured growers, advocates, and service providers in Monterey County, organized by The Californian reporter Kate Cimini.
Salinas and Monterey County as a whole are some of the least affordable places to live in the U.S., per the 2019 Harvard State of the Nation's housing study.
Renters are left out in the cold when their new landlord raises the rent by hundreds of dollars or requires all renters move out before they take over the building.
Across California, essential and service workers like Flores Contreras are being hit hardest by the coronavirus, and so are the people they live with.
Nearly 40% of Monterey County growers reported financial losses related to the coronavirus-prompted shutdown.
The poorest, most congested ZIP code in Salinas are being hit the hardest by the coronavirus, according to data released Monday.
"Ag workers are uniquely vulnerable to this virus because of the close proximity they often work and live," said California Assemblymember Robert Rivas.
The Trump administration is considering cutting the pay of guest visa farmworkers during the coronavirus pandemic to help the farm industry.
Project: ‘The perfect storm of vulnerability’: Protection in the fields doesn’t follow farmworkers home
Farmworkers are essential employees during the coronavirus pandemic. But crowded living conditions could trigger an outbreak that would devastate the food supply.
- 1 of 2
- next ›