Kevin Wendt, assistant managing editor for Sports, the Copy and Design desks at the San Jose Mercury News, is leaving the paper to become the editor of The Huntsville Times in Huntsville, Ala.

Wendt, 30, has filled numerous roles at the Merc, from Page One designer to assistant business editor, and spent two weeks helping the Sun Herald, a Knight-Ridder sister paper in Biloxi, Miss., with its Hurricane Katrina coverage, which won a Public Service Pulitzer. (Wendt was kind enough to share his Sun Herald experiences with this blog back in 2005.)

Good news for Kevin, but it’s another big loss for the Merc, which has seen a steady stream of talented folks leave in the past few years.

» Merc memo

» Huntsville Times memo