Castillo Seed News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Agriculture is a major economic driver in San Mateo County, and on the Coastside in particular. But when it comes to local government, there is hardly bountiful representation.

Processing delays and the fact that many on the coast pay their rent under the table have plagued a state program that has only doled out a fraction of the $70 million set aside to help San Mateo County residents pay their rent in the midst of a devastating pandemic. After the coronavirus pandemic shut down industries statewide last year, California instituted a ban on evictions to help renters newly out of work. The ban is set to expire June 30, when some residents will owe more than a year’s worth of rent or face eviction. The state’s newly launched Housing Is Key program is desig...

Hemp farmworkers in Half Moon Bay say they haven't been paid for 7 weeks FacebookTwitterEmail 1of6 The entrance to Castillo Seed Co. in Half Moon Bay, where at least 13 workers say they haven’t been paid by the company since mid-December.Tatiana Sanchez / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less 2of6 Judith Guerrero is executive director of Coastside Hope in Half Moon Bay, which is helping about 10 Castillo Seed employees who say they aren’t being paid.Gabrielle Lurie / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less 3of6 4of6 Judith Guerrero is executive director of Coastside Hope, which is helping about 10 Cast...

The company website says the company has been in the cannabis and hemp business for decades, but according to many farmworkers who used to work there, Castillo Seed said business had declined badly during the pandemic and told them they wouldn’t be paid the last weeks of December into the New Year. But that stretched into eight weeks of work with no pay.  Some went to Coastside Hope, an agency that acts as a safety net for those in need.  “A lot of them continued to go to work I believe because they had hope that, maybe, the next day they would get paid, and if not that day the next day...