Category: kion-local-news

Briana Mathaw

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) – The controversy over political artwork on public streets is fueling a new federal safety push aimed at keeping roadways free of what officials call distractions.

One piece of art at the center of this debate is the Black Lives Matter mural outside Santa Cruz City Hall.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is calling for a crackdown on what it refers to as “political artwork” painted on roads and intersections.

That includes murals like the one in Santa Cruz, which has been repainted, restored, and celebrated by the community since 2020.

B”eing a part of something. The Black people come together. At last. We come together into something positive in that this mural on the street just gave me strength,” Curtis Reliford said. Curtis Reliford is a Santa Cruz resident.

Now, with a new federal directive in place, street murals could soon be scrutinized or removed if deemed noncompliant. But local advocates say that framing the art as a safety hazard misses the point entirely.

“This cannot be seen as a distraction. And the only question that we should be asking is who is it distracting and what is it distracting from, and what is it distracting towards,” Ayo Banjo said. Ayo Banjo is the Project Director of The Village Project, Inc.

According to the Department of Transportation, intersections and crosswalks should be free from political or distracting messages of any kind.

That has raised concerns about whether the Santa Cruz mural might eventually be ordered to come down.

“How is a painting on the road? On the street is a distraction, a low 25mph living within a 25mph street? I think it’s a 15mph street in front of the courthouse. How, how are we distracting,” Curtis Reliford said. Curtis Reliford is a Santa Cruz resident.

“I don’t think that it’s a distraction. I think by being a good driver and paying attention to what you’re supposed to be paying attention to,” Glynnes Speaks said. Glynnes Speaks lives in Soquel.

Critics of the new federal directive argue that the effort has more to do with silencing political expression than with preventing accidents.

“I think taking away our ability to express ourselves through art and through statements in public places is an infringement on our rights,” Glynnes Speaks said. Glynnes Speaks lives in Soquel.

States now have 60 days to submit lists of roadway markings the federal government considers noncompliant, including murals with political messages.

That has community leaders urging swift action to protect public art.

“Every single community leader must be standing up and fighting in solidarity with protecting this type of expression,” Ayo Banjo said. Ayo Banjo is the Project Director of The Village Project, Inc.

Federal officials point to more than 39,000 traffic deaths last year as a reason to implement stricter guidelines for roadway safety. But so far, they’ve released no data connecting any of those fatalities to painted murals.

“Safety should never be used as camouflage for censorship. Right. The Black Lives Matter mural in front of Santa Cruz City Hall isn’t a distraction. It’s a declaration. A declaration that this city refuses to ignore injustice, refuses to erase history, and refuses to let visibility be treated like a threat,” Ayo Banjo said. Ayo Banjo is the Project Director of The Village Project, Inc.

When asked if the Santa Cruz mural could be directly affected, the city said they are currently unaware of any impact at this time.

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Briana Mathaw

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) – You can now legally run a food business straight from your own home kitchen in Santa Cruz County, thanks to a new two-year pilot program known as Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO).

Approved by the County Board of Supervisors, this initiative opens the door for residents to cook and sell food directly from their private kitchens, once they meet health and safety requirements and obtain a permit from the county’s Health Services Agency.

The goal of the program is to help home cooks in low-income or underserved communities get started without needing a full commercial kitchen.

“A program, adopted through the state, in 2018, to primarily assist, start up, people to start up into the retail food industry without a lot of overhead expense associated with developing a full restaurant or a market or what have you,” Andrew Strader said.

Under the MEHKO guidelines, home-based food businesses can serve up to 30 meals per day and a total of 90 meals per week.

The program officially launched on January 1, 2025, and so far, only eight permits have been issued. Still, for many local entrepreneurs, especially those juggling caregiving responsibilities or trying to minimize costs, this is seen as a big opportunity.

However, the rollout hasn’t been without challenges. Fewer people applied than anticipated, and a key source of federal funding tied to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives was cut during the Trump administration.

Fortunately, the county was able to reallocate funds to keep the program moving forward.

Since 2019, California law has given cities and counties the authority to allow MEHKOs. Santa Cruz County only recently adopted it, making this pilot program a first for the area.

“I think this sort of thing is going to allow a lot more entrepreneurs to start up,” Sean Burau said.

Burau, the owner and founder of Cliffside Coffee, spent the past year building a mobile coffee bar in his garage.

“So this is the coffee start I’ve been building for the past year. I designed it myself,” Sean Burau said.

His custom cart is powered by golf cart batteries and features a gas-fueled espresso machine, designed to operate completely off-grid.

“I’m going to be deploying this, basically spots that don’t have any power at all. So it has to be totally off grid,” Sean Burau said.

After meeting all necessary health regulations and getting his MEHKO permit, Burau is ready to bring his mobile coffee bar to the streets.

“I think this sort of thing is going to allow a lot more entrepreneurs to start up because the cost of living is already so high here,” Sean Burau said.

For him, it’s not just about business, it’s about passion.

“All I’m looking to do. Make coffee? She’ll buy the ocean,” Sean Burau said.

But there are limitations. MEHKO businesses are not allowed to publicly advertise their home locations.

“Part of the Meeko permit is that you can’t advertise at the spot, so they don’t want you running something where, like, yeah, I guess, like, people are, like, showing up, because they saw a sign in your yard or anything like that,” Sean Burau said.

Even with restrictions, mobility has its perks.

“It’s just very flexible if I’m not having, like, a lot of business at that spot on a certain day. I can go somewhere else. I go to a farmer’s market. I can book a private event. Yeah. I mean, I think the mobile stuff is a good way to work around a lot of the bureaucracy and lock in that you find in a lot of businesses in Santa Cruz,” Sean Burau said.

He’s banking on the steady foot traffic at Pleasure Point, a popular local surf spot, to bring in business.

“I’m hoping to be getting lots of customers every day at that point. It’s a really popular surf spot. Lots of people walk there already, usually with coffees from other locations. So I’m hoping that I can provide something that’s a little more convenient, right at the spot,” Sean Burau said.

Still, starting a small business can be daunting.

“If I could give any message to the city, it would be that, the process right now to start a business is very, very unfriendly. Individually, everyone that I dealt with was professional and nice, but the system as a whole is really, really dysfunctional,” Sean Burau said.

Within MEHKO regulations, Burau is limited in what and how much he can serve.

“There are limits on the amount you can do, because I think they don’t want you to be, like, operating a full size, like, ghost kitchen out of your house or whatever. But fill out the packet, give them your, like, menu. So for me, it’s just like coffee, tea, cold foam, that kind of thing,” Sean Burau said.

The pilot will run through the end of 2026, with a report from the county expected at the end of 2025 and another upon the program’s conclusion.

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Mickey Adams

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Salinas Coca-Cola bottling plant shut down operations Friday after serving the Central Coast for over seven decades.

According to a Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling spokesperson, the company has completed the transition of operations and employees from the Salinas center to the company’s San Jose distribution center.

“We are looking forward to continuing to serve our customers and consumers in the area,” the spokesperson said to KION.

There’s no word yet on what will become of the soon to be vacant building.

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Mickey Adams

KING CITY, Calif. (KION-TV) — The King City Police Department is warning the public about phone calls to some locals that claim to be from Homeland Security and former King City Police Chief James Hunt.

The department says these calls are fraudulent, with a reminder that Chief Hunt is retired and not affiliated with Homeland Security.

The department saying that none of its police officers are connected with Homeland Security.

If you receive a call claiming to be from Chief Hunt, you are urged not to engage or provide any personal information.

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Jeanette Bent

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Santa Cruz Harbor is no stranger to tsunamis of a variety of sizes.

In the past, some of these large waves have caused significant damage and even death.

The most recent tsunami advisory — which took place between July 29 and 30 after a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off of a low-populated section of Russia’s eastern coast — fortunately caused little to no damage to the Santa Cruz Harbor area.

“The Santa Cruz Harbor faces a direction of due south, so depending on the direction of an incoming tsunami will determine the amount of damage,” said a representative from the Santa Cruz Harbor.

The waves coming into the Harbor Wednesday morning were certainly tamer than some of the past tsunami activity that the Harbor had seen in the past.

Santa Cruz Harbor, tsunami advisory July 2025

A History of Tsunami Activity in Santa Cruz

On April 1, 1946 a tsunami struck in Santa Cruz, creating 10-foot waves that swept a man into the ocean at Cowell Beach, according to the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).

That tsunami was generated by an 8.6-magnitude earthquake in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Then, in 1964 and more recently in 2011, the Santa Cruz Harbor received two different tsunamis spawned by quakes in Alaska and Japan, respectively, totaling a 9.0 and 9.2 quake.

The Harbor suffering between $15 and $20 million in damage.

The Tonga Volcanic eruption from the South Pacific that took place in 2022, left the Harbor with between $8 and $10 million in damage.

“Based on eyewitness and video observations of the tsunami in Santa Cruz Harbor, most of the surveyed tsunami and runup heights are the result of inundation from the highest wave around 8:50 PST,” wrote the USGS online.

“You have the first wave of the tsunami that comes in and then impacts the coast, that is usually not the largest wave,” said Research Geophysicist with the USGS Eric Geist.

Geist says that tsunami size and subsequent damage depends on many of its origin factors, citing that tsunamis tend to come in… waves.

“After that hits the coast, the waves will be propagating parallel to the coast, and if they encounter a bay like Monterey Bay, they’ll be ringing like a bell back and forth into it,” he said.

Also, Geist says that the location of said volcano or earthquake will affect the way that it hits the Monterey Bay area.

“The first waves are going to refract around the points on the bay and then come towards the Santa Cruz Harbor, so they’re going to hit the outer part of the coast first and then refract or bend around the point and come in towards there,” said Geist. “Then, the resonation takes over after that.”

The Anatomy of a Tsunami and How to Stay Safe

USGS Geophysicist Eric Geist says that there are specific behaviors to watch out for if a tsunami is expected to hit.

“Most often — like 70% of the time — you won’t see breaking waves like you typically would see for the surfing waves, you’ll see just a step-up in water, kind of like a very fast-moving tide,” he said. “They’re very deceptive because a lot of times people don’t see a tsunami until it’s too late to outrun because they’re also moving very fast and much farther inland. They’re really tricky waves.”

Even if you don’t see anything going on throughout the surface of the water, Geist says that the currents are still quite strong beneath the surface.

According to the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, the tsunami’s height can be significantly taller than the regular sea level, even if it’s not recognizable (see the diagram below, available on the USGS website).

USGS tsunami terminology and diagram

Geist also says that since the Monterey Canyon sits on the bottom of the bay’s floor offering a deep channel for water to flow into the bay, this just transmits more energy into the area than if there were no canyon at all.

“The canyon does influence how much tsunami energy gets funneled into the bay and then resonance takes over,” he said. “Tsunamis are very fast; they’re much faster than typical ocean-generated waves. They move at about a jet airliner speed in the deep ocean.”

What’s Next and Tracking Tsunamis

The 1946 tsunami was the catalyst to establish the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), which was created to monitor tsunami activity and help reduce loss of life and property.

“Tide gauges were originally designed for harbor masters to predict the tides,” said Geist of the current tool used by boaters to navigate the waters ahead of launch. “They were designed to attempt to filter out ocean waves and swell, they happen to pick up tsunami waves so they’ve been incredibly important for forecasting abilities for the National Weather Service, in addition to these new instruments.”

These instruments, like Bottom Pressure Recorders (BPR) (pictured below), Geist says were invented to forecast tsunamis and have been particularly helpful in doing that.

NOAA Bottom Pressure Recorder

According to Geist, the current primary method of tracking tsunami power is through measuring the wave’s length, however, USGS scientists out of the westside in Santa Cruz are exploring new ways of measuring tsunami behavior throughout the Santa Cruz Harbor.

“For Santa Cruz specifically, we’re trying to put in a current meter in the Santa Cruz Harbor to hopefully help our forecasting capabilities and to just get an idea of what the response of the harbor is to tsunami waves,” said Geist. “Current meters are being more and more used to understand the behaviors of tsunamis when it comes to the damage they produce of things in the water.”

To learn more about early tsunami detection, you can visit NOAA’s Tsunami Detection website. Additionally, you can check the water and temperature quality in Santa Cruz’s Harbor by visiting the Port’s website here.

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Sergio Berrueta

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has reported that more victims have come forward after deputies announced the arrest of 58-year-old Anastacio Ramos Rubio of Salinas for allegedly committing sex-related crimes while providing massage services at his home.

Since announcing Rubio’s arrest, the sheriff’s office says that “several additional persons” have reached out to them saying that they are also victims of crimes committed while receiving services from Rubio.

“Our investigation leads us to believe that there are additional victims who have received services from Mr. Rubio and may be victims of similar types of crimes,” said deputies.

Rubio is currently in the Monterey County Jail on charges of penetration with a foreign object, sexual battery and practicing medicine without a license. His bail has been set at $1,000,000.

Deputies are asking anyone who may believe that they’ve been a victim or have any additional information to reach out to Detective Rodrigo Lopez at 831-253-6050 or LopezR3@countyofmonterey.gov.

Salinas man arrested for sexual crimes from their home-run massage business

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) – A Salinas man accused of assaulting a victim in their home-run massage parlor pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.

58-year-old Anastacio Rubio pleaded not guilty after being arrested for assaulting a victim from his business on Fontes Lane in Salinas.

Monterey County Sheriff’s Office arrested Rubio after the victim told a family member that she had been touched inappropriately.

Rubio is suspected of also injecting her with an unknown substance to “help her relax” and giving her unknown pills.

The next hearing is set for August 19.

Salinas man arrested for sexual crimes from their home-run massage business

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) – A Salinas man has been arrested for assaulting a victim in a massage parlor he ran from his home.

According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, 58-year-old Anastacio Ramos Rubio was arrested and had been running his business on Fontes Lane in Salinas.

Rubio was arrested as deputies served a search warrant at 1 p.m. on Friday.

MCSO was contacted by a family member of the victim, who told her mother that she had been touched inappropriately.

MCSO Sheriff Tina Nieto said at the press conference that the suspect injected her with an unknown substance to “help her relax.” He also provided them with unknown pills.

MCSO also suspects that there may be more victims.

“This is a practice that’s been brought over from, like, Mexico and some of these other countries, where these unlicensed misuse, type of businesses are just done by people passing phone numbers between families,” Nieto said. “So, that’s why we believe that there are other victims out there that are maybe embarrassed. We believe there are other victims out there because he was very prolific in things that we identified in the investigation.

Rubio is being charged with sodomy, sexual battery, and unauthorized practice of medicine.

Suspect arrested for sexual crimes from their massage business

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) – A suspect has been arrested for sexually related crimes while operating a massage business in Salinas.

According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, the massage business was being run out of their home.

A press conference is being held at 4:30 p.m. with more details. We will update this story with those details once available.

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jose.romo

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV) — The city of Watsonville is facing the loss of significant grant money. This is after funds intended for a feasibility traffic impact study were taken away through the Big Beautiful Bill. 

On Wednesday, the city announced the loss of a $2.3 million grant that would study the traffic, health, and economic impacts of large truck traffic around the city’s main roads. 

“The purpose of the study was to evaluate those impacts and come up with solutions for how to address it, how to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, how to help with the revitalization of downtown and the wider and address emissions near places like schools.” Justin Meek with the city of Watsonville says the study was planned to work with policies already in effect. He says a major concern was pedestrian fatalities which the city had already looked at through their vision zero plan. 

Between 2017 and 2022, the California Office of Traffic Safety and Watsonville Police reported 177 pedestrians were injured or killed, while 61 cyclists also suffered from minor to fatal crashes. Similar data shows that a lot of these incidents occurred near Main Street, also known as State Route 152.

Angelina Martinez, who lives near State Route 152, says the major trailer traffic concerns her as it is a health risk. She adds that many in her age group choose to walk around the neighborhood, making and that the added traffic poses a safety risk. 

Others like Rogelio Guerrero say not much can be done to change truck routes, as those are the main roads that connect the major highways.  

“This hurdle will be overcome with continued effort by the city to find other opportunities in the future for addressing these harms and how to help,” added Meek. 

He says that rather than an impact, this cut to funding poses a loss of an opportunity.  he adds, however, the city remains committed to working with policies already in effect to address these concerns.

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Sergio Berrueta

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) – The first-ever Race the Wave run/walk is ready to bring awareness of tsunami safety to the City of Santa Cruz on Sept. 13.

The tsunami awareness run will follow a timed 3K evacuation route from a high-risk coastal area to higher ground beginning at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. From here, the route heads down Pacific Avenue to the Downtown area and ends at Mission Plaza Park.

This announcement comes a day after a tsunami advisory was in effect due to the 8.8 magnitude quake outside of the remote east coast of Russia. Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker said that the advisory served as a “powerful reminder that these hazards are real.”

“Preparedness is critical. Events like this help us build awareness and resilience, because knowing what to do in those first moments can save lives and protect our community,” said Huffaker.

The race will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, with registration open now with an entry fee of $20 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under.

Those who participate will receive a t-shirt, safety materials, and post-run refreshments.

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jose.romo

SEASIDE, Calif. (KION-TV) — Seaside Police are searching for one or multiple thieves accused of a series of burglaries. Police say work trucks are the main target. Authorities and community members say the neighborhood has been calm, yet hearing about this brings concern. 

“An issue with vehicle burglaries and a specific neighborhood in the city targeting tools, power tools, all the same MO with window smashes.” Commander Matthew Doza with the Seaside Police shared that they have been following leads after multiple reports of car break-ins around Kimball Avenue. 

“When we do see cars that don’t belong here, I end up calling the police department,” Ann Marie shares she has lived in the neighborhood her entire life and never felt unsafe. Now she is looking to take extra precautions. 

Authorities say in the last two days, six work trucks have been broken into. They are continuing to search for the suspect, yet remind people to stay vigilant in their community.

“This group of people or this one person, we’re not sure if it’s a group or one person, they’re checking vehicles, and they can see the tools from the outside.” He adds, “ I highly suggest that if you do have anything valuable in your car, either put them away so they’re not visible from the outside.”

Some workers around the area, choosing to lock their belongings. Nick Erardi’s first reaction when hearing of these burglaries was, “anger, tools are what we use to make a living, and if people are stealing them out of our trucks, our houses, our yards, garages. Not cool, man.”  

He adds he was fell victim to an unrelated theft about a year ago when he had tools stolen from his truck.  

“Burglaries happen everywhere, but there’s a cluster in this little neighborhood, so we’re trying to figure out why. This again leads us to suspect that the suspect may know someone in that area, and they keep visiting the area, possibly because they live there.”

Seaside Police are following leads in search of the potential suspect or suspects responsible for these car break-ins. They remind the community members to make sure to lock their vehicles and avoid leaving valuables in plain sight.

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