Ben Salorio eyes Superior Court Judge role

KYMA on March 27, 2026

Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Voters in Imperial County will soon decide who they want to serve on the bench in this year’s election.

Imperial County Chief Public Defender Ben Salorio has his eye on the judge’s gavel. He brings 25 years of legal experience with him.

A major issue Salorio wants to address is the need for more accessibility to the courtrooms for those who live farther away or do not have reliable transportation.

At this time, Imperial County only has two courthouses, including the newer criminal court house on Wake Avenue.

Salorio said this makes if difficult for his clients who live in towns like Niland and Calipatria.

Salorio explained, “Allowing and being lenient with remote appearances, I think would help alleviate the issue of the courts being completely consolidated in one place in El Centro.”

When it comes to the question of accountability for people who break the law, we asked Salorio his thoughts of balancing rehabilitation versus incarceration when it comes to punishment.

“If there is a statute or something that allows for diversion or some sort of mental health treatment of course that’s always an option. But there are many crimes where that is not an option so, as a judge you swear to follow the law and you have to follow the law,” he said.

Salorio disclosed that he is a registered Independent, and said political influence from either side of the political isle is unethical and illegal.

“Outside pressure, whether it comes from a community or political parties, again is certainly not allowed,” Salorio explained.

Salorio continues his campaign, running booths at local community events as he gears up for June 2 primaries.

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Developer Taylor Brooks sells lot at Bend’s Juniper Ridge to Central Oregon Irrigation District

KTVZ on March 27, 2026

Barney Lerten

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Real estate developer Taylor Brooks recently announced that it has sold Lot 5 of the Cooley Road Industrial Lots subdivision at Juniper Ridge to the Central Oregon Irrigation District.  The 5.72-acre lot is south of Cooley Road and includes a portion of COID’s main canal.

The sale price for the parcel was not disclosed.

When asked about how this land was specifically selected, Craig Horrell, managing director of COID, said, “COID has been here for 100+ years and will be here for a hundred more – this property provides the district flexibility to manage staff, operations, and infrastructure in a location that provides convenient access to our two canals and the roughly 3,500 patrons we serve.”  

According to Taylor Brooks’ announcement, the COID Board of Directors recognized the strategic value in purchasing the lot for various reasons.

First, a good portion of the lot is encumbered with COID easements and infrastructure. Those items can pose a challenge for a different entity, but for COID, having direct access to its pipeline and forebay structure is a benefit. 

Also, the property is centrally located within COID’s service territory and is located minutes from its Juniper Ridge hydroelectric facility. It could also provide an optimal location for future COID office space, since it routinely interacts with businesses, agencies and other stakeholders in Bend. 

In addition, COID is in a rapidly urbanizing area, which increases the costs of delivering water to its patrons. As a result, the district is seeking other streams of revenue to keep up with those costs. COID has the opportunity to create leasable, “flex” industrial space on this property. 

While COID has not yet begun planning for the development of the site, the irrigation district expects that it will  likely begin in 2027 or 2028. COID bought the parcel with the proceeds from a sale of property in the Redmond area and says the purchase won’t impact patrons’ rates.  

Taylor Brooks has four developed industrial lots remaining fronting Cooley Road in Juniper Ridge, ranging from just under 2 acres to 5.5 acres in size, at listing prices of $1.31 million to $3.72 million. Those interested in learning more were advised to contact Jay Lyons at Compass Commercial or view the listing.  

About Taylor Brooks 

Taylor Brooks is a Bend-based real estate development company specializing in land acquisition, site planning, and complex build-to-suit projects that support long-term community growth and economic vitality. It specializes in development of healthcare, office, and flex industrial spaces. The company also offers its tenants full-service commercial property management capabilities, with a focus on maintaining strong relationships. Taylor Brooks is a partnership of Taylor Development LLC and Brooks Resources Corporation. www.taylorbrooksdev.com. 

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“Reality Fair” at Santa Maria High School Teaches Students Financial Literacy

KEYT on March 27, 2026

Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Hundreds of Santa Maria High School students get have an opportunity to experience what it’s like to budget personal funds during a financial literacy educational event held on Friday.

About 900 freshman are scheduled to participate in the school’s annual “Reality Fair,” that’s set be held inside the school’s Wilson Gym.

During the event, students will visit the seven stations for several minutes at a time, with each stop categorized in real life financial needs, such as utilities, insurance, food, transportation and entertainment.

Each students will use an Excel spreadsheet that was downloaded onto their personal tablet and need to budget their monthly expenses according to a previously determined fictitious paycheck, which will determined by a student’s grade point average from the first semester.

Helping out with the event will be several professionals from various local businesses, who will offer advice and expertise to the students.

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Carpinteria Filmmaker Turns The Camera on Local Immigration Stories

KEYT on March 27, 2026

Patricia Martellotti

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A Carpinteria videographer is turning the lens on his own community following recent ICE activity.

Larry Nimmer is shifting his “Everyone Has a Story” series to focus on immigration experiences in Santa Barbara County.

The project includes more than 25 interviews with residents, workers, and advocates.

He says the goal is to highlight real voices and show the human impact behind enforcement actions.

“It’s about giving people a chance to share their story in their own words and be heard,” Nimmer said.

He hopes the series builds understanding and connection across the community.

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ICSO searching for woman who escaped custody

KYMA on March 27, 2026

Dillon Fuhrman

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) is asking for the public’s help in locating a woman who escaped custody.

According to ICSO, 31-year-old Alexandra Meza was booked into the Imperial County Jail earlier this week “on two bench warrants for misdemeanor drug offenses.”

On Thursday, at around 1 a.m., ICSO says Meza was suffering medical issues and was taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center, but was escorted by two ICSO correctional officers.

At around 8:30 a.m. that day, Meza was admitted to the hospital, and ICSO says “contracted private security assumed responsibility” to look after Meza.

Then at around 5 a.m. Friday, Meza requested a contracted security guard permission to use the bathroom without proper restraints, but while in the bathroom, ICSO says Meza was able to remove the rest of her restraints and escaped custody through a nearby door.

After learning about Meza’s escape, ICSO, along with the El Centro Police Department, searched for Meza, and a “be on the lookout” notice was issued to all local agencies for assistance in finding her.

Meza is described by ICSO as Hispanic, five-feet, two-inches tall, weighing around 115 pounds, and has brown eyes and curly brown hair.

If anyone has information regarding Meza’s whereabouts, call ICSO at (442) 265-2021.

ICSO says Meza does not pose a violent threat to the community, and says they are following up on current leads regarding her whereabouts.

ICSO_Press Release_Incarcerated Person EscapeeDownload

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Chaos erupts during Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting over data center

KYMA on March 27, 2026

Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Tensions ran high Thursday night in Imperial County as residents gathered for a special Board of Supervisors meeting over a proposed data center.

Footage captured shows dozens of people outside the Administration Building, frustrated as they tried to get in.

The proposed project has raised concerns about potential strains on water resources and increased noise in the area.

The meeting, which started at 6 p.m., quickly reached capacity, leaving more than 50 people outside.

While outside the building, the residents continued chanting, with some inside saying the noise could be heard from within the board chambers.

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Sheep Take the Lead in Santa Barbara’s Wildfire Prevention Effort

KEYT on March 27, 2026

Ivania Montes

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Santa Barbara is turning to a natural solution to reduce wildfire, bringing in a herd of sheep to clear dry, overgrown vegetation across several local parks.

The effort, led by the City’s Parks and Recreation and Fire Departments, targets about 16 acres in areas including Parma Park, Laurel Canyon Park, Franceschi Park, and Hale Park.

“A natural solution is taking over parts of Santa Barbara, one bite at a time,” said Wildland Specialist Mark vonTillow. “You can look around and see how tall the mustard is. That’s some of the stuff we need to clean up in the next couple of months ahead of high fire season.”

City officials say the grazing helps reduce fuel loads ahead of peak wildfire months.

“The sheep are helping us with vegetation management ahead of the high fire hazard season,” said Monique O’Conner. “This is what we call the defensible space season of work.”

Before the sheep move in, crews prepare each site to protect native plants and wildlife. Officials also remind the public to keep their distance.

“There is an electric fence around the grazing area to keep the sheep in and predators out,” O’Conner said. “You may also see guard dogs that help protect them from coyotes and other threats.”

The grazing is carefully planned, focusing on areas with non-native grasses that pose a higher fire risk.

“They are a great tool, but not the only tool and not the right tool for every location,” O’Conner added. “We focus on areas with primarily non-native grassland where they’re most effective.”

Fire officials emphasize that the sheep are just one part of a broader wildfire prevention strategy, which also includes manual clearing by crews on the ground.

“There are firefighters out there doing this work with tools and chainsaws,” vonTillow said. “But the beauty of this is you get 24/7 work out of them.”

With vegetation already growing quickly, officials say this effort is critical in the months leading up to peak fire season.

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Judge rules new Missouri congressional map is in effect

KMIZ on March 27, 2026

Madison Stuerman

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging whether the “Missouri First” congressional map approved by legislators last summer is already in effect.

Judge Brian Stumpe ruled on Friday that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue, stating that the action of signing a petition does not give the plaintiffs standing.

The ACLU and two Missouri residents argued that because the petition had been filed by the group People Not Politicians, challenging the maps, it should not be in effect.

The Republican-dominated Missouri General Assembly approved the map amid a White House push to get more Republican House seats in red states. The House breaks up the Fifth District, represented by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver.

Stumpe added that because the signatures for the petition have not been certified by the secretary of state, the issue brought in the lawsuit is still hypothetical. He wrote that the plaintiffs are asking the courts to relieve the secretary of state of the role described by the Constitution.

During the hearing in February, the ACLU argued that previous Missouri secretaries of state and attorneys general followed the signature drop-off rule.

In a statement, the group said this order goes against past precedents.

“This order defies over a century of judicial precedent while rending Missourians’ constitutional right to the referendum process second to the will of the people,” the statement said. “The ACLU of Missouri is committed to our state constitution’s founding principle that all power is derived from the people, not loaned from the government.”

The ACLU plans to appeal the decision.

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway called the ruling “a win on all counts” in a social media post.

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Idaho Senate Committee advances IDLA funding cuts without last-minute changes

KIFI on March 27, 2026

Ryan Suppe

By: Ryan Suppe and Kevin Richert

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 27, 2026

The Senate Education Committee on Friday rejected eleventh-hour amendments to a bill cutting state funding for the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA) and advanced the legislation unchanged.

House Bill 940 now goes to the full Senate. The House passed the bill on a 48-22 vote Wednesday. 

The bill would cut about half of IDLA’s $26 million budget through a number of policy changes. It would eliminate the virtual course platform’s elementary programs and cut state funding for driver’s education. It would also prohibit “custom sections,” courses taken by students who are all from a single district, unless the district can’t find a teacher for the course.  

On Thursday, Sens. Codi Galloway, R-Boise, and Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, proposed significant changes to the bill, including one that would have lowered the threshold for IDLA courses to qualify as a custom section. 

Senate Education members voted Thursday to hold the bill until Friday giving them more time to consider the proposed amendments. “I appreciate being able to have the extra time to look at this,”  Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, said Friday before making a successful motion to send the bill to the Senate floor as is. 

Three school district superintendents, IDLA’s superintendent, the Idaho Association of School Administrators (IASA) and the Idaho School Boards Association spoke against the amendments. 

Andy Grover, IASA’s executive director, said districts lean on IDLA’s custom sections to fulfill graduation requirements — including recent courses that the Legislature required without providing additional funding to hire new teachers. 

“Somehow, we have teachers out there that just do nothing during the day,” Grover said. “That almost never works, and we have to look to IDLA to meet those needs.”

HB 940 defines a  “custom section” as an IDLA course in which 100% of enrolled students come from the same school district. One of Galloway’s proposed amendments would have brought the threshold down to 50% for districts with fewer than 1,500 students and 25% for districts with 1,500 or more students. The state wouldn’t have funded IDLA enrollments for students from the same district beyond these percentages. 

IDLA Superintendent Jeff Simmons said Friday that custom sections have been “sold to legislators as an abuse” of the platform’s funding model, but they’re “typically being used to fill gaps that schools are unable to meet.” 

“Many of these gaps were created by this Legislature as new graduation requirements such as middle school career exploration and digital literacy,” Simmons said. 

Another amendment, proposed by Carlson, would have made IDLA’s state budget “subject to appropriation,” and would have prohibited the platform from drawing on a public school stabilization fund when enrollment increases mid-year. 

The budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee already included similar language in IDLA’s appropriation next fiscal year, but the amendment to HB 940 would have made it permanent — effectively capping the platform’s enrollment unless the Legislature agreed to increase it. 

“The appropriation bill that many of you haven’t seen has intent language that sets aside code and makes policy,” said Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise. “This would be policy made by the germane committee.”

Ward-Engelking supported advancing HB 940, without the amendments, but “I do worry about the cuts,” she said. “I hope that we can still provide all these services to our students.”

Carlson said the amendments would have made the bill better. Carlson also said she was surprised that superintendents who testified Friday were on board with advancing the bill, as long as it didn’t have amendments. “I’m surprised that they are not screaming about this bill.”

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Cane’s Craze Hits East Idaho: Chubbuck braces for Raising Cane’s grand opening traffic, Idaho Falls location underway

KIFI on March 27, 2026

News Team

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Chubbuck’s new Raising Cane’s is set to open next Tuesday on the corner of Yellowstone Avenue and Bullock Street. While the wait is nearly over for local “Caniacs,” city officials are warning that the highly anticipated arrival of Raising Cane’s will bring a massive influx of traffic.

The new restaurant is expected to draw crowds so large that the Chubbuck Police Department and the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) have implemented a specialized traffic management plan.

“We are excited to welcome Raising Cane’s to our community and anticipate increased traffic volumes during the grand opening. While we cannot predict exact customer behaviors, our Public Works and Police Departments are prepared to assist Raising Cane’s in mitigating impacts, and we ask everyone to please be patient during this period,” Mayor Burch said on Facebook.

To prevent gridlock on one of the city’s busiest streets, agencies are coordinating a strict flow pattern. If you are planning to attend the grand opening or are driving nearby, take note of these temporary restrictions:

No Left Turns: Drivers cannot turn left into the Raising Cane’s parking lot from Bullock Street.

Right-In Only: Access from Bullock Street will be restricted to right-turns only.

Preferred Route: Officials are urging fans to access the restaurant via Hurley Drive rather than turning directly from US-91.

Clear Zones: Motorists are strictly prohibited from blocking intersections or letting lines back up onto the highway.

City officials noted on Facebook that Raising Cane’s has a “devoted fan base that tends to show up in a big way,” and they expect Tuesday to be no exception. Whether you’re hunting for a Box Combo or just trying to get to work, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Allow extra time while traveling on US-91 near Bullock Street, especially during daytime hours.

Be mindful of intersections and keep them clear so traffic can continue flowing.

Follow all posted traffic control signs.

Use Idaho 511 for any traffic updates.

Raising Cane’s is scheduled to open Tuesday, March 31. Crews will be monitoring traffic throughout the week to keep things running smoothly.

Heads Up “Caniacs”: New Location in Idaho Falls

“Caniacs” in East Idaho have more to look forward to. Representatives for Raising Cane’s and the City of Idaho Falls have confirmed that a second East Idaho location is officially on the way.

Construction has already begun in the Best Buy parking lot (west side of 25th Street). Crews are currently digging the foundation, and full-scale building construction is expected to launch next month. Once completed, the new restaurant will be located at 22-36 S 25th East, giving Idaho Falls residents their own “One Love” fix closer to home.

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