Authorities have released the identities of 2-Santa Cruz County men who were killed in a plane crash last week. 31-year-old Bryan McCullah resided in Santa Cruz, and 21-year-old Gabriel Suarez lived in Freedom, before they crashed in the Sierras on Friday. Suarez had rented the single-engine Piper Cherokee Arrow from Monterey Bay Aviation Incorporated's United Flight Services. McCullah was an instructor at the flight-training and rental company. The plane took off from Watsonville Municipal airport, had landed in Auburn, and had taken off again. Hikers discovered the wreckage and the 2-bodies in the mountains near Emigrant Gap, in Placer County. The crash remains under investigation.
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It's too late to vote-by-mail in Tuesday's election in the 15th State Senate District, however you can still drop-off your mail-in-ballots at several locations. Ballots can be dropped off at the Watsonville City clerks' office, or at the Santa Cruz County elections department on Ocean Street. There is a white drop-box located outside the building, located at 701-Ocean Street. There are also green drop-off boxes, located in the parking lot behind Watsonville City hall, and in front of the Watsonville Police Department building on Union Street. Ballots can also be dropped of at any of the regular polling places, which open for voting Tuesday.
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Researchers at a couple of Central Coast universities are teaming up to try to figure out why Watsonville's Pinto Lake is inundated with toxic-algae every summer. A 125-thousand dollar grant from the state will fund the study of the blue-green algae. Researchers at U.C.S.C. will study the causes of the algae, while others at C.S.U.M.B. will study the lake's drainage. The algae, called cyanobacteria, form in the lake every summer, and disappear in October as temperatures drop. The algae can be toxic to the human liver, and can disrupt aquatic ecosystems.
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The terms of a settlement between a Watsonville Man and the company Taser International have been made public. The judge in the case refused to seal the terms yesterday(thurs), saying their release has “therapeutic value” for the public. The case features the 1st time Taser International has admitted product liability without going to trial. The case involved the 2006 tasing of 49-year-old Steven Butler, who suffered brain damage as a result. Butler and his family were set to go to trial this past spring, however the case was delayed, and they have now settled for 2.85-million dollars. The money is expected to be used to cover medical bills, on-going care for butler, a house for him to live in, as well as about 250-thousand dollars’ worth of lawyers fees.
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