California winemakers brace for disaster after invasive pest discovery

US News
- Metro
- Long Island
- Politics
World News
Page Six
Sports
- NFL
- MLB
- Olympics
- NBA
- NHL
- College Football
- College Basketball
- WNBA
Post Sports+
Sports Betting
Business
Opinion
Entertainment
- TV
- Movies
- Music
- Celebrities
- Awards
- Theater
Shopping
Lifestyle
- Weird But True
- Sex & Relationships
- Viral Trends
- Human Interest
- Parenting
- Fashion & Beauty
- Food & Drink
- Travel
Health
- Wellness
- Fitness
- Health Care
- Medicine
- Men’s Health
- Women’s Health
- Mental Health
- Nutrition
Real Estate
Alexa
Media
Tech
Science
- Space
- Environment
- Wildlife
- Archaeology
Astrology
Video
Photos
Pod Force One
NY POSTcast
- Today’s Paper
- Covers
- Columnists
- Horoscopes
- Crosswords & Games
- Sports Odds
- Podcasts
- Careers
- Email Newsletters
- Official Store
- Home Delivery
- Tips

Email New York Post

Switch between CA and NY editions here.

Edition

California winemakers brace for disaster after devastating invasive pest found in multiple counties

By Katie Jerkovich Published July 1, 2026, 5:29 p.m. ET

See more of our coverage in your search results.

Add The California Post on Google

California winemakers are bracing for a possible disaster following the discovery of an invasive insect linked to devastating vineyard disease found in plants sold at Costco Wholesale stores in dozens of counties, the second time in as many months.

The Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office said that egg masses linked to the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) were discovered on a shipment of desert willows sold at Sacramento and Marin county stores, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The GWSS spreads Pierce’s disease, a disease that is incurable for plants, that ultimately dries them out. It is not, however, a threat to animals or humans.

Grape leaves showing signs of Pierce&#039;s disease, with browning and discoloration. — California winemakers are bracing for a possible disaster following another discovery of an invasive insect. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The plants — which originated from a nursery in Tyler, Texas — were expected to arrive at more than 80 counties across the state.

Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner Chris Flores said the plants did not arrive with any inspection notices but did arrive with a certificate that said they had been treated previously for the invasive pest.

Explore More

Kissing daredevils in custody after scaling Empire State Building, getting engaged more than 1,400 feet over NYC

The unforgiving obituary was just two sentences long.

Grandma suspected of fatally poisoning daughter, grandkids remembered in stone-cold 2-line obit

Long Island music teacher rapes, strangles sister-in-law he lusted over for years with wife out of town: prosecutors

Almost all of the infected plants were destroyed, Flores said, noting that 209 of the 215 in the shipment were pulled. However, they do not know what happened to the other six plants.

A Costco Wholesale store sign in Teterboro, NJ at night. — Officials said that egg masses linked to the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) were discovered on a shipment of desert willows. Christopher Sadowski

“The counties are being very diligent in trapping and trying to alert our nurseries to give us calls,” Flores said. “… We do not want this stuff getting out.”

Agricultural commissioner for Marin County Joe Deviney said his office inspected a Costco delivery and found various stages of life of the pest on the plants and destroyed all 24 they received before any were sold.

Glassy-winged sharpshooter eggs laid on a leaf, with small circular holes indicating parasitization. — The pest spreads Pierce’s disease, a disease that is incurable for plants, that ultimately dries them out. California Department of Food and Agriculture

GWSS eggs were first discovered in May at a Costco in Novato while inspecting shipments of grapevines originating from Burchell Nursery in Fresno County, per Marin County officials.

The pest was discovered among 13,000 vines shipped between April 21 and May 21, per the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The shipments were delivered to Costco locations serving Napa, Sonoma, Marin, Solano, Merced, Sacramento, Stanislaus and Yolo counties.

“The shipping nursery is required by state quarantine laws to notify our office prior to shipping, and that did not occur,” Deviney said.

Close-up of a glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis) on a trumpet vine stem. — It would be “difficult and costly to eradicate” the pests, per officials. jwjarrett – stock.adobe.com

“While many vines have been intercepted and destroyed, locating the thousands that may still be in customers’ hands remains our top priority,” California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross said.

This could be another blow to the wine industry, which is already struggling with declining alcohol consumption and a drop in sales.

It would be “difficult and costly to eradicate, and the increased losses from Pierce’s disease could devastate the local vineyard, winery and tourism industries,” reads a page dedicated to the pest on the Napa county’s website.

CA Congressman Jimmy Panetta warned the state’s “wine and table grapes” are a key part of California’s agricultural economy,” saying that the pest “poses a serious threat of potential losses of over $100 million a year.”

Panetta and other lawmakers in the state are calling on President Donald Trump’s administration to release “$32.2 million in emergency funding to fight against this invasive species and protect our growers and producers of our amazing agriculture and world-class wine.”

A 2008 University of California study found that between 1994 and 2000, Pierce’s disease caused nearly $30 million in losses and destroyed more than 1,000 acres of grapevines in Northern California.

In 2019, an outbreak was prevented in Sacramento County after serious quarantine measures, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The glassy-winged sharpshooter was first detected in California in 1994.

Officials have urged anyone who purchased the plants or vines to contact their local agricultural commissioner immediately.

Filed under

Read Next California library shooter's dad reveals accused killer's ...

Trending Now on NYPost.com

This story has been shared 98,545 times. 98,545
Kissing daredevils in custody after scaling Empire State Building, getting engaged more than 1,400 feet over NYC
This story has been shared 59,690 times. 59,690
Grandma suspected of fatally poisoning daughter, grandkids remembered in stone-cold 2-line obit
This story has been shared 57,214 times. 57,214
Long Island music teacher rapes, strangles sister-in-law he lusted over for years with wife out of town: prosecutors

Now on Page Six

See All

Columnists

See All Columnists

Image gallery

California winemakers are bracing for a possible disaster following another discovery of an invasive insect. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Officials said that egg masses linked to the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) were discovered on a shipment of desert willows. Christopher Sadowski

The pest spreads Pierce's disease, a disease that is incurable for plants, that ultimately dries them out. California Department of Food and Agriculture

It would be "difficult and costly to eradicate" the pests, per officials. jwjarrett - stock.adobe.com

You are viewing 1 of 4 images

Meet Melat Kiros, the Ethiopian-born anti-Israel socialist crusader who is DSA’s rising star after stunning upset in Colorado

Meet Melat Kiros, the Ethiopian-born anti-Israel socialist crusader who is DSA's rising star after stunning upset in Colorado

US News
- Metro
- Long Island
- Politics
World News
Page Six
Sports
- NFL
- MLB
- Olympics
- NBA
- NHL
- College Football
- College Basketball
- WNBA
Post Sports+
Sports Betting
Business
Opinion
Entertainment
- TV
- Movies
- Music
- Celebrities
- Awards
- Theater
Shopping
Lifestyle
- Weird But True
- Sex & Relationships
- Viral Trends
- Human Interest
- Parenting
- Fashion & Beauty
- Food & Drink
- Travel
Health
- Wellness
- Fitness
- Health Care
- Medicine
- Men’s Health
- Women’s Health
- Mental Health
- Nutrition
Real Estate
Alexa
Media
Tech
Science
- Space
- Environment
- Wildlife
- Archaeology
Astrology
Video
Photos
Pod Force One
NY POSTcast
- Today’s Paper
- Covers
- Columnists
- Horoscopes
- Crosswords & Games
- Sports Odds
- Podcasts
- Careers
- Email Newsletters
- Official Store
- Home Delivery
- Tips

Email New York Post

Switch between CA and NY editions here.

Edition

trending now in US News

Kissing daredevils in custody after scaling Empire State...

Grandma suspected of fatally poisoning daughter, grandkids...

Long Island music teacher rapes, strangles sister-in-law he...

Mitch McConnell was found ‘unconscious’ in DC home...

NY boy, 16, kills himself after fatally shooting...

LI PhD student allegedly murdered by obsessed brother-in-law...

Century-old amusement park beats out Disney, Universal to be...

Heartbroken best friend reveals Brittany Clark’s final moments — and how they joked about alligator before deadly attack

Heartbroken best friend reveals Brittany Clark’s final... Politics

Meet Melat Kiros, the Ethiopian-born anti-Israel socialist crusader who is DSA’s rising star after stunning upset in Colorado

By Ryan King Published July 1, 2026, 2:06 p.m. ET

See more of our coverage in your search results.

Add The New York Post on Google

WASHINGTON — Democratic socialism is spreading West.

Political newcomer Melat Kiros, 29, who took down 15-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Col.) in a stunning primary upset Tuesday, is riding a wave of anti-Israel and anti-ICE sentiment sweeping her party.

The Ethiopian-born PhD student has pushed to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), suggested that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks were “inevitable,” downplayed suggestions that a firebombing of a Jewish rally was an act of antisemitism, and more.

Once in the House of Representatives, which is considered likely because she’s in a safe blue district, Kiros has vowed to push Democrats as far left as possible and to oppose Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) becoming speaker.

Political awakening

Kiros refined many of her far-left views in law school at Notre Dame in the early 2020s, a period she describes as her political awakening, as the country was roiled by the COVID-19 pandemic and peak wokeness.

“I literally watched the Federalist Society handpicking some of my classmates onto the judge track in their decades-long bid to pack the courts,” she complained, according to Vox. “…I just lost faith in the system; I think a lot of young people did.”

Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros smiles at her primary election night watch party. — The democratic socialist has been a staunch critic of capitalism, Israel, and ICE. AP Photo/Rebecca Slezak

After law school in 2022, she joined the law firm Sidley Austin in New York, where she worked as a regulatory and enforcement associate. The following year, she was fired for writing a viral open letter lambasting law firms for pushing to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses.

“By chilling future lawyers’ employment prospects for criticism of the Israeli government’s actions and its legitimacy, you are complicit in Israel’s weaponization of anti-Semitism against legitimate concerns for the right of self-determination and the livelihood of the Palestinian people,” she wrote in the missive.

Sidley Austin demanded she take the letter down, but Kiros claims she refused and was fired as a result.

“I didn’t flinch because I stood by every word and I always will,” she boasted during her victory speech Tuesday.

Explore More

Kissing daredevils in custody after scaling Empire State Building, getting engaged more than 1,400 feet over NYC

Grandma suspected of fatally poisoning daughter, grandkids remembered in stone-cold 2-line obit

Long Island music teacher rapes, strangles sister-in-law he lusted over for years with wife out of town: prosecutors

That move drew headlines and boosted her name recognition in lefty circles.

After losing her law gig, Kiros moved back to Colorado, where her family had immigrated while she was just 11-months-old. Her father had been picked in America’s Diversity Visa Lottery, per her campaign website.

Back home, she enrolled in a PhD program in public policy and worked as a barista.

Then, in the middle of last year, she decided to launch a seemingly long-shot primary challenge against DeGette, who is widely considered to be a very progressive lawmaker and has served in Congress longer than Kiros has been alive.

DeGette had the backing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Diana DeGette speaking into a pink microphone at a League of Women Voters forum. — Rep. Diana DeGette was one of the more progressive members of the House Democratic Caucus. Denver Post via Getty Images

But Kiros’ candidacy caught fire with the DSA and other lefty groups that were hunting for candidates to take on incumbent Democrats and push the party further leftwards.

One of the major differences between the two was Kiros’ tougher stance against Israel. DeGette faced grassroots pushback for supporting defensive aid to Israel.

Kiros, however, made tough talk against the Jewish state a feature of her campaign.

For example, she told notorious lefty streamer Hasan Piker that the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack was an “inevitable consequence of apartheid,” though she later clarified she wasn’t trying to say it was justified.

Start your day with all you need to know

Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

Thanks for signing up!

Piker is a very controversial streamer, having declared that “America deserved 9/11″ and praised the “brave mujahideen” who injured Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas).

In a similar vein, she told 9News journalist Kyle Clark that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were an “inevitable consequence” of US foreign policy.

Kiros has stirred local controversy for downplaying the role of antisemitism in the June 1, 2025, firebombing attack at a weekly Jewish gathering aimed at bringing attention to the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. One person was killed and a dozen were injured in that attack.

Melat Kiros speaking to supporters at an election-night watch party. — Melat Kiros has indicated she won’t support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker. Getty Images

The attacker, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, screamed “Free Palestine” before later stating that he “wanted to kill all Zionist people,” according to the FBI.

Kiros repeatedly declined to call it antisemitism and told NOTUS that it wasn’t “entirely obvious that it was just motivated by antisemitism.”

Many of her positions are similar to those of other DSA members, including support for Medicare for All, a modified Green New Deal, and mass amnesty. Kiros also wants a 10% slash in Pentagon spending.

“People are seeing that capitalism is responsible for a lot of the degradation that we’re seeing in our economy, that we’re seeing in our democracy, that we’re certainly seeing in our climate as well,” she claimed in a recent interview.

“They’re demanding a new way to organize our economy.”

Should she win in November, she will be the first Gen. Z woman to serve in Congress and the second Zoomer overall, after Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)

She is riding a socialist revolt within the Democratic Party, as far-left candidates have won primaries across New York, Maine, Illinois, and elsewhere heading into the midterms.

Filed under