Jay Dunn: Journalism for Social Justice

For some, the Salinas Valley has every blessing nature can bestow: exceptionally fertile soil, a temperate climate, some of the cleanest air in the nation, and proximity to the sea, with all its attendant wealth. Everything grows here, for the most part, from the salads that feed the world to the wines that pair with them. Even after four years of severe drought, just a few rainstorms bring forth a profusion of grasses from the sere earth. No wonder native son John Steinbeck was inspired to write, in East of Eden, “These too are of a burning color--not orange, not gold, but if pure gold were liquid and could raise a cream, that golden cream might be like the color of the poppies.”