Month: May 2025

Mike Klan

MONTECITO, Calif. – After defeating the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay (37-17) by a score of 8-1 today at the NCAA Division II Baseball West Regional, Westmont Baseball (43-12) is just one win away from advancing to next week’s Super Regional. The Warriors and Otters will meet again tomorrow to decide whose season is done, and who is moving on.

The first game tomorrow is at 11:00 a.m. If the Warriors prevail, the tournament is over and Westmont will play next week at a site and opponent to be determined. If the Otters win, a second game will be needed to determine the two teams’ fates. That game will follow the first.

Senior Bryan Peck took the mound for the Warriors and improved his record to 8-1 on the season. He pitched six and one-third innings, allowing one run on five hits. Peck struck out four and issued two walks.

In the second inning, Peck, who is already the Westmont career record holder for wins (33) and strikeouts (324), added another career record to his resume. He now sits atop the list for most innings pitched at 351 1/3.

“It is a cool thing to have,” said Peck of the newly minted record. “It was on my docket a while ago. I could not have done it without the coaches I have had and the teammates I have had too. We don’t get any of that without having good teams around me and going as far as we have gone the last few years.”

“Bryan, along with Ryan Humphreys who pitched yesterday, are workhorses for us,” said Westmont’s head coach Paul Svagdis. “Bryan pitched through a lot of adversity this season. He is tough as nails. I say this a lot, but I am honored to be on the field with these guys.”

Caden Beloian earned his sixth save of the year with two and two-third scoreless innings of work. He allowed just one hit and coaxed Otter hitters into two double plays.

“I thank this program and this staff for giving me opportunities last year,” said Beloian. “Not many freshmen get to play as much as I did. I am truly blessed for that.

“I wouldn’t ever tell Bryan to his face, but he is the best competitor I have ever played with and been on a field with. Guys like that fire me up and are the best role models.”

Offensively, Daniel Patterson got the ball rolling for the Warriors in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run blast to left field.

“That was great. He set the tone,” said Svagdis of Patterson’s bomb. “It’s great when he gets swinging. He has been a dynamic baseball player and I am so happy for him on a personal level. Certainly, when your four hitter is driving the baseball you feel like you are in a good spot. I am really proud of him.”

Patterson’s home run drove in Bryce McFeely who had singled up the middle ahead of Patterson’s at bat.

McFeely had come up limping after stepping on the bag at first. After stretching out his leg on the sideline, he remained in the game. However, McFeely was clearly hobbled getting around the bases ahead of Patterson’s home run trot.

Warrior fans held their breath, waiting to see if McFeely would resume his position at first base. Svagdis trotted down the third base line to look in on McFeely and athletic trainer Melissa Katherman. What he found was McFeely sprinting back into the field of play, looking for his glove.

More health concerns worried the fans when Zach Mora slid feet-first into a fence while trying to make a play on a foul ball down the left-field line. After two or three minutes, and some examination by a suddenly busy Katherman, Mora popped back up and returned to his position at shortstop.

With one away and a man at first, the fans found out exactly what Warriors are made of. The Otters’ Dominic Felice hit a bounding ball to first. McFeely, showing no ill effects, leapt up to field the grounder, then threw to Mora who was covering at second. After tagging the bag, Mora fired back to McFeely at first, completing the ‘who said we were injured’ double play.

The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the second when Grant Yzerman delivered a lead-off home run over the left-field fence. Michael Soper followed with a triple to left-center field, then scored on a sacrifice fly to right by McFeely. That gave Westmont a 4-0 lead.

The Otter’s only run came in the top of the sixth on a two-out solo home run to left by KW Quilici.

Monterey Bay threatened again in the top of the seventh. With one away, Cole Murchison doubled to center field, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. After a walk by Max Farfan, Svagdis made the decision to go to his bullpen, calling for Caden Beloian.

The sophomore reliever’s third pitch to Felice brought an end to the Otters’ threat when he grounded into a double play.

“I knew Chuck (Beloian) was going to give it his all,” said Peck. “The ball was hit a little hard and it scared me a little. It took a weird hop on Soper. Luckily it hops right up to Mora who has a good arm on it. It bounced our way and we got out of it. Thank you, Chuck.”

“Caden fires me up,” expressed Svagdis. “Every day at practice, he has a smile on his face. Being able to put him on the mound in that situation – first and third, one out, tying run at the plate – I was super confident, based on the type of stuff that he has, that he was going to get us out of that inning with the lead. He certainly did that. He has done it all year and I am very proud of him.”

In the top of the eighth, Beloian sat the Otters down in order. Then in the bottom half of the inning, the Warriors added to their cushion.

With one away, Shane Hofstadler made it a 5-1 score when he powered a solo home run to left. Mora then came up to the plate and doubled down the right field line.

“Z-man has a little juice in the tank,” quipped Svagdis of his sophomore shortstop. “I really enjoy getting to coach him. I have had the opportunity to get into him a couple of times this year. One of the things I look at as a coach is how they respond to that. He is one of those guys that looks you straight in the eye and doesn’t back down from it. He only got more competitive.

“One of the things that I am excited about is that our hitters are swinging aggressively. Each game it is a different player that is coming to the plate and doing some damage for this team.”

With two outs, Mora advanced to third on a wild pitch before Soper recorded an RBI-single to center field. After McFeely walked, both runners advanced on a wild pitch while Patterson was batting. Patterson then doubled to left field – his second extra base hit of the game – driving in both runners and making the score 8-1.

In the top of the ninth, Beloian returned to the mound with a seven-run lead. After a single by Quilici, Felix grounded to short. The Warriors turned the double play – Mora to Soper to McFeely. A soft line drive to Mora provided the final out of the game and gave the Warriors the victory.

Asked what words he would have prior to tomorrow’s game, Svagdis replied, “These guys are a senior group of guys. I met with Bryan out on the Cape when I was applying for the job. He told me, ‘You are lucky, don’t mess things up if you get the gig.’ I’m going to let these guys roll tomorrow. I’ve got no words for them. Let them go play.”

“We have had one goal in mind this whole year and it is to go to Cary, North Carolina,” expressed Beloian. “Nothing is going to change. We count down the amount of games at the bare minimum we need to get there and win the whole thing. We are just going to keep going and trusting our guys. That is what we have been doing all year and we’re not going off plan.”

Peck added, “I said last week at the conference tournament, ‘That was just step one of three steps.’ This is step two of doing what we need to do to get where we want to be.”

 No wonder Svagdis doesn’t feel a need to rally the troops.

(Article courtesy of Westmont Athletics)

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Jarrod Zinn

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. – High school students in Arroyo Grande are set to have an exciting new educational opportunity starting this fall.

Staff and students alike are excited to launch an aviation pathway.

A collaborative effort was announced this week between Lucia Mar School District and San Luis Obispo county airports to bring an educational pathway for aviation careers to Arroyo Grande High School.

The program is set to begin this fall starting at the tenth grade level, with a three-year program designed to set students up with the knowledge needed for a career in aviation.

“It’s super important to offer options like this. You know, in high school, it’s a really formative year, formative years for our students. And so they’re exploring all of the options that they have,” says Arroyo Grande High School principal Brad Grumbles.

The demand for pilots–both in-person and unmanned positions such as drone operators–is growing.

“The career to follow is exciting. I think it’s something that people see right in their own backyard, whether you’re living close to one of the airports in the region or you live close to Vandenberg. There’s an abundance of aviation and aerospace businesses that are here on the Central Coast and really blossoming,” says Courtney Pene, spokesperson for SLO County Airport.

The evolution of technology, particularly gaming tech and the advent of drones, is helping to generate a strong subculture of interest in the aviation field among local students.

“Drones, I think, is really kicked things into gear where we have a lot of kids that have their own personalized drones and fly those drones already. So they’re coming with a foundational level of skill that, you know, I don’t think we’ve ever seen before,” says Grumbles.

Upon completion of the vocational program, students will have the knowledge and hours required to get their drone license or go to pilot school.

Principal Grumbles acknowledges a vital community partnership with Oceano Airport, who have been proponents of the program, and instrumental in obtaining a nationally recognized curriculum from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Whether you want to upgrade your home theatre or if you host large events and need new seats, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) may have a deal for you.

About 800 seats are available from the five downtown Santa Barbara theatres at the Film Center.

The seats came in last year after a quick search once the Film Center was approved. That helped get it up and running after Metropolitan Theatres left the property and discarded the last set of seats.

Sean Pratt is the Managing Director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. He says “we’re looking to, donate these seats to anyone that can use them. We’re thinking, schools, live theater venues, churches, any sort of meeting space.”

The SBIFF says the seats are in about four different designs. The SBIFF would prefer to move the seats out in larger numbers not one or two at a time.

They are all in good conditions and come with different materials.

The theatre is getting the seats into other hands or event groups as it anticipates a sweeping new look to the Film Center. That will include a state-of-the-art upgrade and top of the line equipment.

The remaining projector and sound system is also available. “So we’re looking at selling those at we’re not looking to even make back what we spent. But so we’re reaching out to, small theaters around right now,” said Pratt.

Inside the theatres the curtains and screens will be discarded unless someone steps up that is interested in them and can pick them up in person.

“We don’t want to throw anything away that can be reused by someone. So your movie theater screens and we do have a lot of curtains in here that, you know, they’re nice.   It’s nice fabric,” said Pratt.

Recently the renderings for the newly refurbished theatre were put out. Permits for construction have not been issues by the city, but that is expected soon.

For more information write to: Sean@SBIFF.org at the SBIFF

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Alissa Orozco

PASO ROBLES, Calif. – The owner of a Paso Robles winery is being accused of sexual misconduct by a former employee over the course of three years.

Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss is accused of exposing himself, making sexual advances and comments, and groping Madison Busby when she was employed at his Paso Robles winery, Halter Ranch, from January 2021 to July 2024.

Established in 2000, the 2,700 acre estate sits in the westernmost boundaries of Paso Robles, in the Santa Lucia Mountain Range. The property has had a total of six owners, including current proprietor Hansjörg Wyss, who named the property after his mother Alice Halter.

A lawsuit from the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court details Busby’s alleged interactions with Wyss throughout the course of her employment, which she says were not disclosed at the time because she did not want to jeopardize the career of her now husband, Bryce Mullins, also previously employed by Wyss.

Busby met and began dating Mullins in 2019. Mullins was a manager at the winery, and Busby made her first visit to Halter Ranch that September. Upon their first interaction, she claims Wyss placed her hand on her and groped her. Then further commenting on how “good” she looked in the days following. Busby was 30-years-old at the time, Wyss was 84-years-old.

The lawsuit details how this was only the start of a series of inappropriate behavior from Wyss towards Ms. Busby, and it escalated when Busby then began working alongside Mullins to renovate the Ridge House, a large property near the estate Wyss had purchased, where the couple lived.

The lawsuit mentions the various affairs Wyss was having that he told to Busby, including one with a woman named “Lori.” Wyss would visit the Halter Ranch often, staying with Ms. Busby and Mullins where he “began trying to insert himself into their sex lives.” Making comments about their sex lives and attempting to engage in sexual relations with the couple.

The couple would take frequent trips with Wyss, in which both Bubsy and Mullins were subject to the Wyss’ unwanted sexual stories and comments.

“Despite being bothered and unsettled by Mr. Wyss’s behavior, Busby felt pressured and compelled to stay silent because he was her employer and her husband’s employer,” the lawsuit says.

Busby claims she seeked treatment for the extreme anxiety and stress caused by Wyss’ behavior, and according to the lawsuit, Wyss was aware of his inappropriate behavior. Telling Busby and Mullins in May or June of 2022, “if you ever went after me for sexual harassment, you would win.”

When the couple married and expecting their first child, Busby expressed wanting to move out of Ridge House and into Dubost House, a much smaller residence – its size meant Wyss could no longer stay with them when he visited. Wyss insisted they stay in Ridge House, but when they denied Wyss demanded they start paying the “market value” rent of $1,650 a month at Dubost House – a significant increase from $300 a month paid by the previous renter.

The continued misconduct and unwanted sexual behavior forced Busby to resigned, her last day being July 31st, 2024.

Busby filed a complaint with the California Department of Fair Housing and Housing against Wyss in April 2025 regarding sexual harassment, sexual battery retaliation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“Mr. Wyss continued to make offensive statements about women, was either unable or unwilling to correct his behavior, and retaliated against both Ms. Busby and Mr. Mullins for their attempts to avoid his harassment.”

The lawsuit seeks “actual, compensatory, general and special damages, including lostearnings, back-pay, future-pay, lost employment benefits, and unpaid wages in an amount to be proven at trial.”

Halter Ranch provided the following statement to the San Francisco Chronicle:

For almost five years, starting in 2019, Mr. Mullins and his current wife voluntarily made themselves part of the Halter Winery community and took advantage of it owner’s generosity. This included deciding to become employees of the winery, choosing to live at the winery rent free for years, frequently traveling with the owner to Europe, the Caribbean and elsewhere at the owner’s expense, asking the owner and his wife to host their wedding party and inviting the owner to serve as Best Man.

Through all these years, they never complained about the owner’s conduct, or simply declined to spend so much time with him, until after they voluntarily left their employment at the winery in 2024.”

Bryce Mullins filed his own lawsuit against Wyss in April 2025.

Your News Channel has reached out to Halter Ranch for additional comments.

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Mike Klan

CLAREMONT, Calif. – Small and mighty!

The Cate Rams defeated San Marcos 11-7 to win the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 boys tennis championship.

Cate has just over 300 students but they beat schools with 10 times their enrollment size during this playoff run.

The Rams doubles team of Nate Newlove and Harry Su won all three of their matches 6-1.

Cate went 6-3 in singles, only losing to San Marcos standout junior Carter Cotich who went 3-1.

The Rams went 15-1 in their championship season.

This was the best finish ever for San Marcos as they go 16-8 and CIF-SS runner-up.

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Nate Loop

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – A man was hospitalized after his car veered off the road and he suffered a cardiac arrest Friday morning east of Santa Maria, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The crash occurred at 10:33 a.m. on Foxen Canyon Road near Fugler Road, which is just outside of the communities of Garey and Sisquoc.

Bystanders who came to the man’s aid found him without a pulse and started compressions, according to Santa Barbara County Fire spokeswoman Karen Cruz-Orduña. Fire personnel took over once they arrived and were able to get his heart beating again. The man was taken by ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center. It’s unclear at this time if the man’s cardiac arrest caused him to crash, per Cruz-Orduña.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash and the man was the sole occupant of the car, per Cruz-Orduña. Foxen Canyon Road was closed for about an hour, but is now open.

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