Man found dead in tent near Highway 1 and 9 in Santa Cruz

KION on February 5, 2025

Jeanette Bent

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Santa Cruz CHP announced Sunday that they are still seeking an explanation surrounding a death in Santa Cruz.

They said that detectives from the CHP Coastal Division Investigative Services Unit (ISU) found an approximately 50-year-old Hispanic man dead on Sunday morning around 10:30 a.m.

According to police, he was found unconscious inside of a tent near Highway 1 and Highway 9.

The police have not stated the cause of death or victim’s identification.

Detectives are actively working on investigating the death and are asking anyone with potentially helpful information to call CHP Dispatch at 831.796.2160.

Soledad Police investigating homicide along Monterey Street early Saturday morning

KION on February 5, 2025

Victor Guzman

SOLEDAD, Calif. (KION-TV) — Soledad Police confirm to KION they’re investigating a homicide that happened early Saturday morning along Monterey Street.

Police say the incident happened around 2 a.m. at the 1700 block of Monterey Street.

Police would only confirm the victim was a Hispanic male in his 40 or 50’s. Additional identifying information will be provided once other families are notified.

Family members of the victim reached out to KION and say he was shot outside of his home.

Police did not confirm that information in our initial requests for comment.

This is a developing story

Annual Truth Act is presented during Monterey’s Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday

KION on February 5, 2025

Jeanette Bent

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — The County of Monterey Board of Supervisors heard a Truth Act presentation by the Sheriff’s Office under its jurisdiction for civil immigration enforcement Tuesday.

The information presented was regarding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data over the past year. Additionally, the county considered public comment and concern over the topic.

The 2024 Truth Act information revealed that 11 people were taken into ICE custody: two for robbery, three for attempted robbery, one for assault with intent for robbery, one for false imprisonment, one for sexual battery, one for assault with a deadly weapon, one for DUI and one for intent to sale methamphetamine, according to deputies.

“We don’t give any information to ICE not covered under the Truth Act,” said the presenting sheriff following a few worried public comments.

The County of Monterey says that the Truth Act hearings are important and required by law. “The local governing body of any California county or city in which local law enforcement has provided ICE access to an individual during the previous year must provide information to the public about ICE’s access to individuals and receive and consider public comment,” wrote the county in a statement.

Some of the public comment included: “Stop all of ICE activity in Monterey County,” and “Our community is completely afraid.”

This comes after rumors of ICE presence in local areas.

District 1 Supervisor Luis Alejo chimed in, saying that “the most serious offenders” are the ones that ICE go after. “When you commit a serious crime, you have to face the repercussions,” he said.

The Board of Supervisors accepted the 2024 Truth Act report with motions detailing further information be transparent and available to the public.

Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors discuss the aftermath of the Moss Landing fire nearly two weeks later

KION on February 5, 2025

Austin Castro

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors received a report by Vistra Energy outlining the response and recovery efforts on the heels of the Moss Landing power plant fire.

County officials say that Santa Cruz was primarily impacted by smoke blowing into the area immediately following the fire.

A representative from Vistra Energy, Brad Watson, explained that the company will soon remove any batteries that remain on location.

“Our next step in this process will be to safely remove the remaining batteries from the building when conditions permit,” said Watson. “We have retained a structural engineering firm to advise us with this work and planning is currently underway.” 

The company is also unsure about the future of the site, but is mentioning that ongoing resources will be available for people recovering after the fire.

“The Community Foundation, along with its partners at United Way Monterey County and the Castro Plaza Family Resource Center, will provide gift cards funded by Vistra to households within the evacuation area,” said Watson.

Despite Vistra saying that the surrounding air is safe to breath, some neighbors disagree.

“We were supposed to be sheltering in place,” said a nearby resident of Moss Landing, Keith McHenry. “But then I got an email that it was all safe, so I opened the front door of my house and my eyes started burning. I’ve had metal taste in my tongue ever since. It wasn’t really, didn’t seem that safe.”

Santa Cruz County and Vistra Energy say they are reviewing the soil test results released by San Jose State University Monday.

County of Monterey Supervisors consider more behavior and mental health services through the SHARE Center

KION on February 5, 2025

Jeanette Bent

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — The County of Monterey listened to the county’s Health Department Tuesday in consideration for more services being offered through the SHARE Center.

The county considered a preliminary analysis report in response to establishing on-site mental health services for children and families served at the SHARE Center as well as to modify the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Salinas. The memorandum would require advance notice, input and agreement by the Board of Supervisors when there is a proposed change to the operator of the SHARE Center.

The Health Department presented, saying that they believe they can move forward without needing to amend the MOU with the City of Salinas. This would speed up the process of allowing these services in the area, according to the Health Department.

District 1 Supervisor Luis Alejo weighed-in that even if an MOU is not amended, reports and statistics are still necessary for updates and most recent research.

This topic during the meeting concluded with another proposed presentation in March, where the supervisors will be receiving an update from the Health Department.

Set-up ahead of the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

KION on February 5, 2025

Lindsey Selzer

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (KION-TV) — Ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am only days away, crews have begun setting up the golf grounds.

The sounds of birds filled the air Tuesday, but on Thursday, golf fans will fill the stands and cheer on their favorite golfers.

“So, last year leading into the tournament we basically had an atmospheric river, it was playable but challenging,” said Steve John, CEO of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Tournament Director.

While there is some light rain in the forecast, this year’s tournament is looking to be far more favorable than last year’s

“The agronomy team from the PGA Tour works very closely with Pebble Beach Company at both golf courses, Spyglass and Pebble, to make sure the course conditions are perfect, and they couldn’t be better right now,” said John.

What are considered favorable conditions for golfers while on the green?

“The greens are very firm, the fairways are fast, so we’re in good shape,” said John. “If we happen to have a little rain on the weekend, the course can take it.”

Preparing and setting up for the 2025 AT&T Pro-Am began weeks ago; ground crews starting the set-up in December.

“Infrastructure move-in starts right after Christmas, so we have a full month of tents and platforms… things moving all around the golf course so our team works very closely with the set-up staff and the team,” said Assistant Director of Agronomy and Superintendent of Pebble Beach Pete Bachman. “We have to mark all of our irrigation lines, conduit, power and things like that; anything that’s sub-surface so before they pound anything into the ground we need to know about it and make sure they won’t hit anything.”

So far, the set-up has gone smoothly at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

“We had a really clean set-up and a lot of that has to do with the weather,” said Bachman. “[It] hasn’t rained much in about a month, so the ground is very firm and dry and just makes set-up a breeze.” 

Scottie Scheffler says ‘stupid’ Christmas Day injury won’t impact his season debut at Pebble Beach

KION on February 5, 2025

CNN Newsource

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler says his “stupid” Christmas day injury won’t impact his first competitive tournament of the year at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The American capped off his impressive 2024 with an unfortunate injury sustained while cooking Christmas dinner, forcing him to delay the start of his season.

Scheffler said he was rolling ravioli dough with a wine glass when it shattered and punctured his right palm, requiring surgery on his hand as a result.

“No, not at all,” he told reporters when asked whether his injury might impact his performance at Pebble Beach. “Everything’s feeling good … definitely excited to play. Feeling well rested. Overall feeling good.”

Asked about how exactly the injury was sustained, Scheffler explained that he’d been away with his family in a rental property at Christmas and they had wanted to make ravioli from scratch. Unable to find a rolling pin to make the dough, he opted instead to use a wine glass.

“It broke and the stem kind of got me in the hand,” he said. “I can’t live in a bubble, (I’ve) got to live my life and accidents happen. It could have been a lot worse.

“I actually talked to somebody who did the exact same thing and the stem went straight through their hand. It’s one of those deals where immediately after it happened I was mad at myself because I was like, ‘Gosh, that’s so stupid.’ But you just don’t think about it when you’re in the moment.”

It was a strangely fitting way to close out an unforgettable year for Scheffler – for many reasons.

In April, he won the Masters before going on to win gold at the Olympic Games in Paris. In total, Scheffler won seven events on the PGA Tour in 2024, including the TOUR Championship.

Scheffler also won the Hero World Challenge and helped lead Team USA to its tenth straight win at the Presidents Cup.

Away from golf, though, there was also some controversy. In May, during the PGA Championship, Scheffler was arrested, charged with felony assault and released from jail after an altercation with police. All charges against the golfer were later dismissed.

Earlier that month, the 28-year-old had welcomed his first child with wife Meredith and told reporters ahead of Pebble Beach that his injury layoff had allowed him to spend more time with his family.

“It was frustrating to be sitting at home, not being able to play golf, but we got some good time at home, just us three,” he said.

“It’s pretty rare for me to be at home throughout the day without really having much to do. I couldn’t really work out at first, there wasn’t really a whole lot I could do, so it was nice uninterrupted time for us at home.”

The freak nature of Scheffler’s injury was not lost on some of his fellow professionals.

Speaking ahead of Pebble Beach, Rory McIlroy jokingly questioned why Scheffler was even cooking in the first place.

“I think he made enough money to hire a chef. Why are you cooking yourself?” he said when asked what he thought about the incident.

“Firstly, just concern and hope he was OK. It sounds like he is, it’s good that he’s teeing it up this week. Yeah, get a chef.”

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is due to tee-off on Thursday, with Scheffler paired alongside Brian Harman.

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At least one killed in San Justo Road crash near San Juan Bautista

KION on February 5, 2025

Sergio Berrueta

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. (KION-TV) — One person is dead after a solo-vehicle crash along San Justo Road near San Juan Bautista.

Hollister Firefighters Association posted on social media that one person died and two others were transported to local trauma centers with major injuries.

The CHP said the crash was in the area of 1447 San Justo Road happening around 5:03 p.m. The car was on an opposing lane, veering off the highway before overturning in a dirt field.

The identities of the people involved in the crash haven’t been revealed at this time. CHP Hollister-Gilroy are handling the investigation.

Stolen truck from Santa Cruz turns into a high speed pursuit in San Jose

KION on February 5, 2025

Jeanette Bent

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — The CHP Santa Cruz announced Wednesday that a stolen pickup truck pursuit ended safely in Santa Clara County.

They said that during the early morning hours, Santa Cruz officers were alerted by a local agency that a stolen silver GMC pickup was spotted near Watsonville.

Witnesses reported that the vehicle was seen traveling northbound on Highway 1 near Rio Del Mar Blvd.

CHP officers attempted to stop the truck, but they said that the driver took off and lead police in a vehicle pursuit onto Highway 17.

San Jose CHP got involved and deployed a spike strip to stop the “fleeing suspects,” according to the CHP.

They said that both occupants attempted to flee but were apprehended by CHP officers.

“Both occupants, just 17 and 18 years old and from Oakland, are now in custody facing serious charges, including felony evading, possession of a stolen vehicle, and resisting arrest, among others,” wrote the Santa Cruz CHP on Facebook.

Pros adjusting to drier conditions at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

KION on February 5, 2025

Maxwell Glenn

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (KION) – Unlike 2024’s rain-and-wind-filled tournament, pros are adjusting to a different set of challenges this year even though the forecast is more favorable.

Golfers like Wyndham Clark noticed a serious difference after practicing out on the courses.

“It’s a lot firmer than last year,” Clark said. “It’s in amazing shape. Last year we had tons of rain leading up to it and during the week and it played its traditional very soft and slow and bumpy. These last couple days we’ve been practicing here, the ball’s bouncing quite a bit, the greens are a lot faster.”

Clark won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last year and set the course record in the process.

After practicing at Pebble Beach this week, Clark already thinks the new conditions could impact scores.

“If the weather stays like this, I actually think it will be tougher this year,” Clark said. “I think the scores won’t maybe be as low.”

Clark is one of 80 professionals gearing up for the tournament. Jordan Spieth is among those golfers and will make his season debut at Pebble Beach.

He had a similar experience on the links.

“It’s got more bounce to it than any of the AT&Ts I can remember this time of year,” Spieth said. “Not quite U.S. Open level, but it’s got some bounce to it.”

As for how it could impact play, Spieth said it starts in the tee box.

“More accuracy off the tee but definitely more thinking into the greens. Definitely pitch shots, a lot of times you got away with short-siding yourself this time of year here and there’s less of that. So it’s a firmer golf course, which I think makes it better.”

The first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am starts Thursday.