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THE COAST NEWS
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VOL. 39, N0. 52
Labor
Farm fined in fed probe
Dec. 26, 2025
SAN MARCOS -NEWS
Smack City quarterback Jahkoa Galea’i, 13, helped lead Oceanside past the Westchase Colts of Florida to win the Pop Warner Super Bowl final in Charlotte, N.C. Courtesy photo
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San Marcos grower ordered to pay $247K By Leo Place
SAN MARCOS — The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has ordered a farm in San Marcos to pay a total of $247,674 in employee back pay and civil penalties, after the farm illegally required laborers to pay rent for unsafe housing conditions. The subject of the enforcement is Lucky Growers, Inc., which operates along Quarry Road just north of the Twin Oaks area in San Marcos. Lucky Growers was founded in 2005 and later expanded to include Girl & Dug Farm, which has locations in San Marcos and in Portland, Oregon. Lucky Growers and Girl & Dug provide produce to restaurants and Korean retail markets nationwide. The department’s Wage and Hour Division discovered during a housing safety inspection that Lucky Growers was providing unsanitary housing to 30 agricultural workers and illegally charging them rent, according to a release. This housing included “structural damage, mold, insect and rodent infestation, rooms with makeshift or missing doors and propane tanks, and spaces with missing lighting,” and lacked fire extinguishers, functional smoke detectors, and first aid kits. Lucky Growers also failed to provide workers with the required information related to job and housing conditions before employment, according to the department. “Farmworkers provide essential labor that helps feed millions of Americans, and they have rights that are federally protected,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Emily Eckstein in San Diego. “Lucky Growers failed to meet its legal requirements for employing agricultural workers. The Wage and Hour Division remains committed to protecting farmworkers and holding accountable employers who violate the law.” The farm was ordered to pay $171,400 in back wages to reimburse laborers for their rent payments, and $76,274 in civil penalties for violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Lucky Growers did not immediately respond to comment requests.
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CITY OF CHAMPS Oceanside Pop Warner captured its first national titles since 2002 as the 14U Warriors and 13U Smack City dominated their way to Pop Warner Super Bowl championships in Charlotte, N.C. Story on 9.
O’side backs ban on new oil leases Bill would block drilling off coast By Samantha Nelson
OCEANSIDE — At the final meeting of the year, the Oceanside City Council unanimously supported a proposed federal law that would ban new offshore oil leasing or drilling operations along the Southern California coast. The Dec. 17 decision backs the Southern California Coast and Ocean Protection Act, legislation reintroduced earlier this year by Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano), which would prevent new leasing for the exploration, development or production of oil or natural gas along the Southern California coast from San Diego to the northern border of San Luis Obispo County. Twenty-two other Democratic members of Congress have co-sponsored the bill, most of whom are from California, along with one from Virginia and one from Florida. City Manager Jonathan
AN OFFSHORE oil platform off the California coast. The city of Oceanside has backed proposed federal legislation that would ban new offshore drilling leases off the West Coast. Courtesy photo
Borrego reminded the City Council that its current legislative platform, adopted in 2020, includes language opposing offshore oil leasing or drilling along the Southern California coast. “Staff understands the proposed legislation to be consistent with the city’s legislative platform and therefore recom-
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mends endorsement,” Borrego said. Other local municipalities have also supported the bill. On Dec. 10, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution stating the board “opposes any new or expanded offshore oil and gas drilling, and deep seabed mining, and urges federal
and state decision-makers to permanently prohibit offshore drilling and deep seabed mining in all U.S. waters, including the Pacific Ocean off California.” The board also called for Chief Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton to express supTURN TO DRILLING ON 6