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The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County.
The Central Coast is also the location of the Central Coast American Viticultural Area.

The region is known primarily for agriculture and tourism. Major crops include lettuce, strawberries, and artichokes. In particular, the Salinas Valley is one of the most fertile farming regions in the United States. Popular tourist attractions include Cannery Row (in Monterey), the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the golf courses of Pebble Beach and the Monterey Peninsula, the rugged coastline of Big Sur and Hearst Castle in San Simeon.
Overall, the area is not very densely populated, not surprising considering that the primary industry is agriculture. The largest city in the region is Salinas, with approximately 150,000 people. Due to the low population density of the central coast, educational and cultural resouces are relatively scarce. University of California campuses are found both in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, on the extreme north and south edges of the region, respectively. One of the universities found within the central coast area itself is California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), founded in 1994 using facilities donated when Fort Ord was converted from military to civilian uses. In San Luis Obispo, the state university California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) was founded in 1901, and has been in full operation for decades.

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Local News from The Fresno Bee via Yahoo! News

Fog snarling traffic on Valley roads

Dec 1, 2008 3:46 pm

Dense fog contributed to at least two traffic accidents early this morning in Fresno, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Fresno teen had sawed-off gun under shirt, police say

Dec 1, 2008 3:16 pm

Fresno police have arrested an 16-year-old alleged Bulldog gang member who they said was riding a bicycle with a sawed-off shotgun under his sweatshirt.

News briefs

Dec 1, 2008 7:01 am

Crash in fog kills one

Fresno City wins men's basketball tourney

Dec 1, 2008 6:56 am

Five players scored in double figures as Fresno City College defeated Bakersfield 80-72 in the championship of the Bakersfield College tournament Sunday. Read comments

Two die in Hanford home fire

Dec 1, 2008 6:46 am

Two people died when a wood-frame house in an older Hanford neighborhood was gutted by fire Sunday morning.

Hill confirms Washington interview

Dec 1, 2008 6:46 am

Fresno State football coach Pat Hill confirmed Sunday that he has interviewed for the University of Washington head coach opening. Read comments

Legacy, title on line for Sunbirds volleyball

Dec 1, 2008 6:46 am

What does dominance look like? Read comments

Modesto priest clarifies stance on Obama votes

Dec 1, 2008 6:31 am

The pastor of Modesto's St. Joseph's Catholic Church wants to make this clear: He never told his parishioners that if they voted for President-elect Barack Obama, they needed to go to confession.

Around the Valley

Dec 1, 2008 6:31 am

Valley Animal Center to hold holiday open house

Global warming fuels hotter Western fires

Dec 1, 2008 6:16 am

Wildfire has marched across the West for centuries. But no longer are major conflagrations fueled simply by heavy brush and timber. Now climate change is stoking the flames higher and hotter, too.

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