The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau announced yesterday that the winner of its 36^th annual apple pie baking contest is Maggie Kasunich of Watsonville.      The annual contest, which is sponsored by Pajaro Valley apple growers, was held on the opening day of the Santa Cruz County Fair.    The second place title in the same Master’s Division went to Maggie’s daughter, Keena Kasunich.      The family are regular entrants to the Fair’s pie contests, and have taken home the title before.

A Sea Otter found covered in oil on Sunset State Beach and rehabilitated in 2009 has given birth to her first pup.     Olive, the formerly oiled sea otter, was spotted by researchers from the Department of Fish and Game with her new baby.     It was discovered that the animal was pregnant sometime in July.     The department has been tracking her progress and reassimilation back into the wild since her 2009 rehabilitation and release, and has reported that Olive and her new pup are doing very well.

An unidentified man fled a vehicle during a routine traffic stop in Salinas early this morning.    A Salinas Police officer pulled over a vehicle for expired registration while patrolling on Homestead Avenue, but when the car stopped, a man emerged from the passenger side and took off running.    Salinas Police set up a perimeter in an attempt to locate the man, but he couldn’t be found.   It is unclear why he decided to run in the first place.    The driver of the car received a citation for the expired tags.

The Santa Cruz Police Department has announced that it has promoted Police sergeant Dan Flippo to the position of Lieutenant.      The 21-year veteran of the department has worked in a number of areas, including investigations, the downtown unit, and field training for new hires.     Police Chief Kevin Vogel says that in addition to years of experience, Lieutenant Flippo brings a great deal of leadership to their management team.