Month: September 2025

Sergio Berrueta

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) – The City of Monterey is facing a $10 million deficit annually.

The city council is hoping to fill that gap with a tax measure and wants your input on how to move forward.

The city plans to poll the public this fall and in the spring of 2026, ahead of two ballots next year.

First, asking about a sales tax increase totaling an extra .375 percent and a possible parking tax between 5 and 15 percent, and about the renewal of Measures P and S.

Due to the nature of this deficit, the city council says it wants to put forward measures that will pass.

During these survey periods, there will also be a temperature check on other possible funding measures like admissions, streaming, and vacancy taxes.

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Sergio Berrueta

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) – Santa Cruz County is inviting people to step out of their cars during their inaugural “Week Without Driving.”

The campaign is a week-long challenge to experience life without a personal vehicle.

It’s going from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, with a kick-off event will be held at the Capitola Mall on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.

It will feature booths from transit agencies, stories from locals who navigate Santa Cruz without a car, and opportunities to connect with officials.

Santa Cruz Metro will also be offering free fares all day on Oct. 1.

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Victor Guzman

SOLEDAD, Calif. (KION-TV) — Cal Fire BEU said that firefighters responded to reports of a structure fire in Soledad just after 6:20 a.m.

The fire displaced four adults and two children, according to Cal Fire BEU, although all people did make it out of the building without incident and with no injuries.

Firefighters say that fire and smoke were mostly contained in the attic.

Cal Fire says the fire was at the 300 block of Soledad Street in the city.

The address posted by the agency appears to match a home address.

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Ata Shaheen

MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KION-TV) – Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) here in Salinas gave an update on clean-up efforts and current conditions at the Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage Facility.

The building went up in flames at the beginning of the year.

It has now been two months since the U.S. EPA tasked Vistra Energy with cleaning up and removing the batteries and debris, and footing the bill. It will take them more than a year to actually get the batteries out.

Vistra has private firefighters on site and is continuing to monitor and sample air quality. The EPA said they’re focused on transparency and communication.

“No community needs or wants an incident like this. Nor does Vistra who was trying to be a community partner in this as well,” said Lynn Keller, supervisory environmental engineer at U.S. EPA. “So, we’re all trying to work together to do the right thing and get this issue addressed in a way that is transparent to the community and gets these potentially dangerous, partially burned batteries out of your community.”

The EPA stated they’re taking extreme precautions to ensure another issue does not arise during the cleanup.

A county website that displays testing results for hydrogen fluoride and other toxic chemicals near the site shows the limit to be below the health risk threshold in both the immediate and surrounding areas.

Vistra also said there’s no time frame for a decision about whether to start operating again at the facility

The question of where the batteries will be disposed of was answered as they will be sent to a special site near Reno, Nevada.

A demolition contractor is working on stabilizing the facility to make it safe for the removal to begin.

The building will be demolished in phases between this year and the end of next.

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jose.romo

PAJARO, Calif (KION-TV) — Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church is looking to address vehicle abatement along Pajaro’s Railroad Avenue. Many of the people currently living there feel concerned about this potential change. People in Pajaro are making their voices heard. 

“I don’t know where to put them or what, but I don’t think they should be there,” says Randy Borges, who lives in Pajaro.   

Supervisor Church is proposing a recreation vehicle parking prohibition along Railroad Avenue in Tuesday’s supervisor meeting. 

“It’s become an issue. There’s a business. There are residents there,” says Supervisor for District 2 Glenn Church. “They, you know, they want to be able to freely access their street and what’s going on right there, and I understand people are trying to find places to live.”

Many people around the area understand the complexity of the issue. 

“It would make a big mess, you know what I mean? We already got a lot of stuff out there,” said Borges. “We’re always running off, people from Salinas, when they run off of Soledad Street, they come out there and they park in front of our yard. Then we gotta have the people come out and have them removed, cleaned up after.”

“Está bien por una parte porque hacen un cochinero ahi,” others like Adrian Medrano, in favor of doing something to move these RVs, as he says they cause large amounts of trash and bad smell around the area. His concern has to do with businesses and homes around that street. 

Despite mixed opinions from the general public, those who live along Railroad Avenue feel concerned for these potential changes, as that would mean they would have to move from the street they currently call home.

“Tengo que moverme de aquí,” Carlos Hernandez and his dad have both lived in their own RV along this street for the past year. He says he tries to move along the Watsonville and Santa Cruz areas to avoid penalties, something he is more concerned about now.

“Porque pues es mi es mi casa en la cual vivo,” this is my home, he says, adding that he has tried to keep the street clean, working with his dad to shovel debris off the street. Glenn Church’s proposal is the first step in making a change. He says this will return to the board of supervisors in a month with potential options.

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Briana Mathaw

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) – As e-bikes become more popular across Santa Cruz, local officials are responding to growing concerns about safety, especially when it comes to young riders. Instead of rushing to implement new laws, the city’s Transportation Commission is focusing on education as the primary solution.

We think we should let the state lead in, and specific programs and education that we can launch in the city of Santa Cruz that could enhance e-bike safety for all roadway users. Claire Gallogly said

One of the most pressing concerns raised by the city involves teenagers and children riding e-bikes before they’ve even learned the basic rules of the road.

“Riding e-bikes, younger than they would get a license? They’re really missing that opportunity to know how to behave on our roadways with other roadway users. And so enhancing the amount of education that we put out,” Claire Gallogly said

Residents are also sharing their experiences and frustrations with the way e-bikes are being used on streets and sidewalks.

“I’ve also seen e-bikes like, on, sidewalks where people are walking. and I think that’s, an issue. and then, I’ve seen e-bikes that are, that look like they’re going faster than, say, like motorcycle, and sometimes not stopping at stop signs,” Erik Staats said.

“They can be pretty dangerous if you’re not following the speed limit or the speed regulations on them,” Camaryn Harvel said.

Rather than writing new rules that specifically target e-bikes, the Commission says current laws already address most of the complaints they receive.

“We have existing laws that cover the plethora of issues I hear most commonly related to e-bikes. If people call and they say someone ran through a stop sign, that law exists, we don’t need to create a new law for e-bikes,” Claire Gallogly said.

Some residents support this educational focus, while also acknowledging the need for clearer guidelines.

“I think education is good at both e-bikes and regular bikes. I know some people that, work at organizations that go to schools to, promote, bike safety. and I think there should be regulations, Erik Staats said.

“More of an educational road. I think a lot of people just don’t realize that they can be more dangerous than you would think,” Emily Aron Hall said

The city is already partnering with local schools to get the message out to younger riders.

“Reaching out to Santa Cruz City Schools in order to continue to spread the word about education and encouragement, and working on building out other programing,” Claire Gallogly said.

Officials also emphasize the importance of having consistent rules across California, rather than each city creating its own patchwork of regulations.

“Having a unified set of rules that people can depend on that are the same as they complete their daily travels. Traveling between jurisdictions is really important. So having leadership at the state level, as we think about what changes may be needed to ensure that e-bikes as an emerging form of mobility continue to be safe on our roadways,” Claire Gallogly said.

The Santa Cruz City Council is expected to revisit the issue of e-bike regulations in November, but for now, education remains the city’s primary strategy.

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Victor Guzman

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — Salinas Police confirm a man is dead after being struck by a train in the area of East Market and Front Street on Tuesday.

Police said when they arrived on scene they found a 35-year-old man was still under the train after the collision.

Police said firefighters arrived on scene but the man was pronounced dead.

Union Pacific Police are handling the investigation.

The identity of the victim was not immediately released by officers.

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