Category: kion-local-news

Mackenzie Monahan

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CALIF (KION-TV)– La Manzana Community Resources (LMCR), a program of Community Bridges’ Family Resource Collective, is bringing back their annual Summer Lunch program starting June 9th.

Kids 18 and younger can pick up free lunches from 12-1pm Monday through Friday at the sites listed below.

Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz: 543 Center St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Nueva Vista at Beach Flats Park: 131 Leibrandt Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95060

La Manzana Community Resources: 521 Main St., Watsonville, CA 95076

Stone Creek Apartments: 300 Bree Lane, Watsonville, CA 95076

Vista Verde Apartments: 45 Steward Ave., Freedom, CA 95019

Corralitos Creek Apartments: 125 Pajaro Circle, Freedom, CA 95019

Sunny Meadows: 220 Ross Ave., Freedom, CA 95019

Schapiro Knolls: 33 Minto Rd., Watsonville, CA 95076

Sparrow Terrace: 139 Miles Ave., Watsonville, CA 95076

Each site program has separate ending dates.

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Jeanette Bent

GONZALES, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Monterey District Attorney’s office announced that on May 20, a 37-year-old Jesus Tejeda of Gonzales has been sentenced to 38 years and eight months in prison.

Jesus Tejeda

This sentencing comes after the DA’s office says that Tejeda plead no contest to voluntary manslaughter with the personal use a firearm, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in furtherance of a gang, which arose from three separate incidents in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

They say that on December 13, 2021, Christopher Connor was shot in the side of his head while driving his vehicle at the intersection of Nacional Court and Clark Street in Salinas.

According to the DA’s office, the vehicle then crashed into a wall of an apartment complex at that intersection, the shooter leaving the passenger seat of that vehicle and getting into a different vehicle that was following them.

They said that after months of investigation, Tejeda was identified as the shooter with no motive for the shooting.

“On January 5, 2022, before he was identified in the fatal shooting, Tejeda was driving a stolen vehicle near a farm in Gonzales,” according to the DA’s office. “Another person, the attempted murder victim, was in the vehicle with Tejeda. In front of numerous eyewitnesses, Tejeda and the victim exited the vehicle, and Tejeda began to assault him, causing the victim to fall to the ground.”

The DA’s office says that Tejeda proceeded to grab a 55-pound filled cinderblock and threw it at the victim’s head, knocking him unconscious.

After fleeing the scene, the DA’s office says that Tejeda was apprehended by law enforcement after leading them on a dangerous, high-speed chase.

They say that the victim suffered “great bodily injury” but remained uncooperative with law enforcement and refused to provide any statement about what happened or why.

Then, on March 9, 2023, while in custody pending prosecution for the previous offenses, the DA’s office says that Tejeda and multiple other Norteño criminal street gang members in the Monterey County Jail coordinated with each other to stab another inmate in their jail pod.

“Tejeda and other co-conspirators repeatedly stabbed the inmate, inflicting great bodily on the victim, in furtherance of a criminal street gang,” according to the DA’s office.

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Jeanette Bent

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Monterey County District Attorney’s office announced Friday that a scheme to sell and distribute non-permitted and unrefrigerated food from Merced County continues to happen, posing a public health risk to the Central Coast community.

The DA’s office says that the roadside food stands are easy to recognize because they have blue and red tents covering tables, grills and vertical rotisseries.

“Investigators have traced ownership of these stands to kingpins operating out of Merced County,” said the DA’s office. “Food sold at the stands in Monterey County is reportedly prepared in Merced and then transported over two hours all over the central coast, including Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Santa Clara.”

Officials are saying that there is no refrigeration or coolers to maintain proper meat and condiment temperatures, which could create dangerous pathogens like E. coli, salmonella and listeria.

This investigation dates back to September 2024 when Merced authorities say they had already found large-scale unsanitary food preparation sites in warehouses and garages operated by the same kingpins.

Officials also saying that they discovered equipment used in these inadequate conditions matches the same culinary equipment used in some Monterey stands along with questionable foods.

The Environmental Health Department says that since late 2024, they’ve seized unsafe foods from stands in Pajaro, Royal Oaks, Castroville, North Salinas, Fort Ord, Soledad and Greenfield.

On May 22, investigators with Environmental Health inspectors say they impounded food, equipment, and a vehicle from an unpermitted food stand near Highway 68 and Canyon Del Rey, near Del Rey Oaks and another at 348 San Juan Grade Rd Salinas.

“All these sites have been traced back to the Merced County operation,” they said. “At these sites, health inspectors have found that the unpermitted vendors do not meet even the most basic food safety standards – meat is not kept at safe temperatures, no hand-washing stations are present, and cross-contamination risks are high.”

Investigators are now saying that the whole operation has generated approximately $100,000 in cash per month for the — who they’re calling — Merced kingpins.

Officials also saying that despite the profits, it does not appear that individuals recruited to work thestands are being paid minimum wage.

District Attorney Investigators say they are continuing to gather more evidence related to the leaders of the unlawful enterprise, and are asking that consumers refrain from financially supporting the operation.

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Mickey Adams

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) – The city of Monterey moved forward last night to permit the establishment of a rainbow crosswalk at the mouth of Alvarado Street.

The city says the funding would come from private contributions.

The news of the approval comes after the Monterey County Republican Party called the project a waste of city resources amid ongoing budget issues.

“The city doesn’t have the money it needs to do the key things it needs. Yet, over the last several weeks, we’ve looked at increasing Council salaries, and now we’ve got this proposal,” one person said during public comment at a meeting back in May.

City of Monterey considers adding rainbow crosswalks amid controversy

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) – The City of Monterey is exploring the installation of at least one rainbow crosswalks in the city, meant to symbolize inclusivity and support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Monterey’s mayor, Tyller Williamson, introduced the idea for areas around Monterey.

“If that one child comes by and sees this crosswalk and it makes the difference from them killing themselves, it is absolutely worth it,” Williamson said.

However, the Monterey County Republican Party is calling the project a waste of resources when the city is already dealing with money problems.

“The city doesn’t have the money it needs to do the key things it needs. Yet, over the last several weeks, we’ve looked at increasing Council salaries, and now we’ve got this proposal,” one person said during public comment.

The issue was discussed at a special Monterey City Council meeting on Friday. The crosswalks are meant to symbolize inclusivity and support for the city’s LGBTQ community. Three locations have been proposed for the crosswalks, each one with cultural or historical significance to that community.

“It can go a really long way for people who have otherwise felt underrepresented, unrecognized and invisible for a very long time,” another person said during public comment.

Lighthouse and Reeside avenues is being considered due to its proximity to the former site of a popular gay bar called After Dark, now known as Peak Hour.

Alvarado and Pearl streets are being considered to create a “starting line” for the city’s annual pride parade.

Pacific and Madison streets is being discussed due to its proximity to city government and services, along with being in view of the city’s annual pride flag raising in June.

The cost for the project is estimated at $2,000 to $15,000 per crosswalk, something that the County Republican Party says they take issue with.

The party released a statement saying “The mayor’s focus on personal symbolic gestures while real city needs go unmet is deeply troubling. His willingness to avoid transparency should concern every Monterey resident, regardless of political affiliation.”

City Council also brought up the idea of private contributions to help cover the costs.

No final decision was made during Friday’s meeting and the item will be continued at a future meeting in June.

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Jeanette Bent

PRUNEDALE, Calif. (KION-TV) — A fire broke Thursday morning at an ADU in the Vierra Canyon and Vierra Meadows area.

North County Fire says that the fire was five-by-700 square feet and stayed on the exterior of the building into the attic.

Fire crews kept four engines on scene with one water tender.

North County Fire headed the call with help from Cal Fire.

The cause of the fire has not been determined yet.

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Jeanette Bent

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV) — Chief Jorge Zamora announced his retirement Thursday after over 30 years serving the Watsonville Police Department.

He says that his last official workday will be August 30, 2025.

Chief Zamora’s office says that he started his police career as a cadet at age 15 before becoming a full-time officer in 1996.

“Throughout his career, he served in patrol, SWAT, narcotics, detectives, and as a youth mentor and instructor,” wrote the City of Watsonville Thursday. “In 2022, he became Watsonville’s 16th Chief of Police and the first first-generation Mexican-American to hold the position.”

During his time with the Watsonville Police, Chief Zamora faced many challenges, including staffing shortages and evolving community expectations around public safety.

He created a Chief’s Advisory Board and increased community engagement efforts.

“I am especially grateful to this community for believing in a young man who grew up in a neighborhood where gang violence was prevalent, and expectations for success for children of farmworkers were low,” said Chief Zamora. “The odds were against me, but you gave me the opportunity to rise, serve, and lead.” 

City Manager Tamara Vides will appoint Assistant Chief David Rodriguez as Interim Police Chief until a permanent replacement is named.

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Victor Guzman

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) — Monterey Police say a sinkhole has forced a closure along David Avenue at Oak Street in Monterey overnight.

Police say the sinkhole is located between Newton and Pine streets.

According to police, the sinkhole happened because of a water main break in the area.

Right now there’s no estimated time for reopening and crews are at the scene attempting to patch up the road.

This is a developing story

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jose.romo

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — Growing concern about wildfires and insurance premiums rising throughout the state of California.

State Farm has announced a potential second price hike in just weeks. State Farm looks to increase homeowner insurance policies just weeks after approval of a 17 percent hike. The insurance company is claiming costs after the Southern California fires, prompting the change. 

“Here in Monterey, we do have wildfire risk. We do have areas of very high, high, and moderate fire hazard severity zones that were identified by the state fire marshal’s office,” Monterey Fire Division Chief Justin Cooper said.

Cooper also reiterates that it is important to be prepared after the damage shown in the Palisades fire. 

“It is very being proactive out in the communities as part of fire prevention. We work hand in hand with our forestry division here in Monterey, also with our adjoining cities, to help mitigate some of these hazards.” 

State Farm announced the additional increase would not surpass the 30 percent increase requested initially in June of last year. Still, homeowners and renters will see a significant change to their bills come June first. In a statement, State Farm said, “The overall request of 30 percent would not be on top of the 17 percent interim rate change. State Farm General is still pursuing the full rate request. A hearing on the full rate request is expected to be held this year.”

On Tuesday, the city of Monterey adopted new hazard maps. The chief said insurance premiums should not go up due to these risk models.

“They’re not supposed to be used by insurance companies for risk models,” Cooper said. “They use their own set of criteria to determine risk, and then they manage that risk, obviously, with insurance premiums and so forth for homeowners.”

State Farm added that they’ve paid more than $3.5 billion, handled more than 12,692 claims since May 12. They add that they need these emergency rate increases to continue to serve California residents.

These additional increases will need to be debated through the California Department of Insurance pending approval. The next hearing is set for October, where State Farm is expected to try to justify the rate hikes.

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Jeanette Bent

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Hollister Fire Fighters Association sent a letter to City Manager David Mirrione Tuesday that denied confidence in his ability to lead the city.

In the letter, the group said that although the decision was not made lightly, they feel that “deep and ongoing concerns that have escalated over time,” need to finally be addressed.

“We are writing to formally express a vote of no confidence in your leadership as City Manager of Hollister,” they wrote to Mirrione.

The association goes on to say that Mirrione has demonstrated fiscal mismanagement and lack in transparency over failing to publish the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (last publication date was in 2021).

“This absence of transparency not only violates public trust but raises serious questions about how taxpayer dollars are being managed,” according to the letter.

The Firefighters Association goes on to accuse Mirrione of jeopardizing public safety through “poor” handling of the fire protection negotiations. They say that relationships with partner agencies have become strained as a result.

Finally, the letter says that Mirrione demonstrated a consistent pattern of “micromanaging the department head’s responsibilities,” which limited his ability to lead and manage, as well as resulted in “low morale across the fire department.”

KION has reached out to both City Manager David Mirrione as well as the Hollister Fire Fighters Association for further comment. Neither have responded.

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Victor Guzman

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION-TV) — The CHP confirms officers are investigating a deadly crash east of the Hollister Airport.

Dispatchers confirm to KION the crash happened just after 10 pm on Tuesday along Fallon and Scagliotti roads.

At least one person was killed, but the only additional information the CHP would provide is that the crash happened off-road and there was no impact to traffic at that time.

This is a developing story

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