Category: kion-local-news

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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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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Victor Guzman

APTOS, Calif. (KION-TV) — Staff at Aptos High School confirm to KION classes are canceled September 17 because of power outages at the school.

Staff at the school say they’re running on generators but the school has been without power for the last few days.

They say today they received word from the district to cancel classes.

PG&E says the outage is not due to an issue related to PG&E.

PG&E crews were there Saturday to find out the cause of the outage and discovered the school-owned equipment is what is leading to the outage.

They add the school is working with a contractor to get their equipment fixed. Once that’s done the power will be restored.

This is a developing story

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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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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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Sandra Iveth Santos

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) — During Bracero Worker History Week, Monterey County paid tribute to a worker who survived the 1963 tragedy in Chualar.

On Tuesday, 84-year-old Isidro Hernández Tovar was presented with an award for his work. Tovar currently lives in Tapachula near Los Angeles.

In an interview with historian Jose Sánchez, Tovar recalled that on September 17, 1963 he was riding on that bus. He was one of the youngest farm workers at barely 18 years old.

Tovar says that at least three of his fellow workers, originally from Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, were also on the truck.

The Chualar tragedy claimed 32 lives and left 25 others injured. Several of the injured were admitted to a hospital in the Monterey area, according to testimonies and medical records from that time.

Some of the survivors who Sánchez interviewed, spoke about their experiences while under the care of nurses.

In his most recent collection, Sánchez published a new compilation highlighting the surviving farmhands and their memories during the moment they regained consciousness, many of them learning about the tragedy that had taken the lives of their coworkers for the first time.

Tovar also remembered how he survived serious injuries, spending one month in the hospital.

He still carries with him the memory of that time in his life, a part of local history in Monterey County.

This is a developing story, we will have more details.

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Ata Shaheen

CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Capitola City Council unanimously approved its ordinance prohibiting the sale of any tobacco product that includes a component that is not intended to be consumed—specifically filters embedded within cigarettes or cigars.

The approval came from the council’s September 11 meeting.

The full agenda report, including background about the ordinance, is available here.

According to the document, “The ordinance will not be enforced until at least two incorporated cities in the County adopt similar legislation, or until January 1, 2027, whichever comes later.”

Capitola poised to ban sale of filtered cigarettes after unanimous vote

CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV) — Capitola is following in the historic footsteps of Santa Cruz. It’s now on the verge of outlawing the sale of normal cigarettes.

Environmental and public health activists are celebrating, while store owners are worried about their livelihoods.

“It is time we enact policies that are truly that truly protect human health, public health and our environment,” said Council Member Melinda Orbach.

Dozens of people filled up Capitola’s council chambers Thursday night, and offered impassioned public comment

“If we pass this, you will see me back, suing the county and you.”

“Cigarette filters should be banned nationwide, and as the public comment letters show, the counties south of us are just waiting to follow your lead.”

The council unanimously adopted a resolution to ban the butt.

Supporters say it’s about protecting the environment, but it’s also about countering decades of tobacco industry propaganda and working toward a healthier society.

“Big tobacco has been, you know, deceiving people, lying about things and selling products that, you know, are designed to kill people. And these filters are just an extension of that problem. They kill our environment. They pollute our waterways, they get into the wildlife, they set fires,” said surfer and activist Taylor Lane.

Folks on the other side say the littering angle is just a cover for what’s really an attack on tobacco.

Alessandra Magnasco represents gas station and convenience store owners with the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance.

“Plenty of businesses would be happy to initiate a litter abatement fee on every single pack of cigarets. City of San Francisco has been doing this, I believe, for 10 to 15 years now. It’s worked great over there. I don’t see why. If Capitola really wants to address litter, why they wouldn’t do the same thing,” she said.

The main sentiment from those against the ban – it won’t move the needle on littering, but it could be catastrophic for their businesses.

“Tourists will bring their own cigarettes and litter. Smokers will simply shop nearby towns and still smoke on our beaches and our local business will lose revenue, lay off employees and even close now bankrupt,” said business advocate Sherry Deng.

Council member Orbach said she wants the city to work closely with tobacco retailers to ease them into the transition; however, it’s unclear what that would look like.

“I think this is a great opportunity for our local businesses to be creative and find different ways to bring in new revenue source,” said Orbach.

The ban in Capitola needs to pass a second vote at the next council meeting. It’s expected to have the same result, and then it will go into effect in July 2027.

That would make Capitola the second city in the world with such a ban. The same thing is already slated to go into effect in Santa Cruz 6 months earlier in January 2027.

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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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Mickey Adams

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) notified parents that Watsonville’s water supply showed Hexavalant Chromium levels above the state standard, but the city telling people that its water is still safe.

The water samples showed levels between 12 to 20 parts per billion, which is above the state standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb).

The city says that it is working to address these levels, but stress that this is not an emergency.

While some people who drink water containing an excess of this chemical over years may have an increased risk of cancer.

Watsonville’s water system will not be in violation of regulations until October of 2026, now working with the California Water Resources Control Board for a fix before that deadline.

“Specifically, this includes conducting a water system evaluation, the development of a Cr6+ treatment alternative analysis, pilot testing, permitting, and project design,” according to the City of Watsonville.

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