Patricia Martellotti
MONTECITO, Calif. (KEYT) – A historic treasure in Montecito is getting new life.
A ribbon cutting marked the completion of a federally funded restoration at Casa del Herrero.
The South Exedra project preserves a key part of the National Historic Landmark.
The effort brings together Casa del Herrero and the California Missions Foundation.
The restored space now stands ready to be enjoyed for generations to come.
Tracy Lehr
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) The Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival honored environmental heroes.
Unite to Light President Megan Birney Rudert told the crowd how the nonprofit brings affordable solar power and light to the international community.
She took the stage during windy weather and talked about the lives that have been changed due to the simple gift of solar lights and power.
Former environmental hero recipient Rep. Salud Carbajal helped honor Assemblymember Gregg Hart.
The Community Environmental Council credits Hart with leading California’s way when it comes to protecting blue whales and blue skies.
Both recipients hope to encourage people to find ways to help the planet and the community.
“Everybody has the power to make a difference and when we make small changes here, or we help someone across the globe, we can unlock human potential and we can protect our planet,” said Birney Rudert.
“We are all doing this together, we love living on the Central Coast,” said Hart, “We know how precious our ocean and our climate is and we want to make sure this stays one of the best places on the planet and my work is just part of that effort.”
A #setlife zero emission battery power trailer powered the main stage.
The audience included some former environmental heroes and their friends and families.
For more information visit https://www.sbearthday.org
Claire Elmer
(Update: adding information from Bend’s town hall on April 26th, video)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A group of Central Oregon residents gathered Sunday for a legislative town hall in Bend, and brought big questions to Central Oregon lawmakers — touching on everything from wildfire and water concerns to federal funding cuts and growing political division.
State Senator Anthony Broadman (D-Bend) emphasized the importance of community feedback, calling town halls a critical part of shaping policy in Salem.
“Town halls are a huge part of the ideas that we get and take back to Salem and work hard on and deliver results for you,” Broadman said to the group. “I appreciate you being part of this process.”
Lawmakers pointed to work from the most recent legislative session, highlighting investments in affordability, health care and public safety, along with what Broadman described as “democracy protections” at the state level.
“We also passed what I call democracy protection, protecting ourselves from an overzealous federal government that seems bent on making our lives less safe and less affordable,” Broadman said.
One of the questions asked by the public came from an attendee concerned about misinformation — particularly surrounding Oregon’s vote-by-mail system.
“One of the things that I see that’s happening in Oregon, and throughout the United States, that is worrisome to me is the hysteria surrounding vote by mail,” one attendee said. “I would like to see something that I can quote and send to my friends…from unbiased sources…on how much election fraud we have in Oregon.”
In part of the legislators’ response, State Rep. Jason Kropf defended Oregonian’s access to voting, and pointed to the state being an example for others to follows.
“I’d rather have 100% of the people in this town vote, and me lose an election, than ever do anything to skew the results,” Kropf said. “I find it completely un-American and disgraceful when we see people trying to skew people’s access to the ballot. We are an example in this country.”
Other moments focused on how different levels of government work together — and what happens when those relationships are strained.
“The beauty of having partnerships from the feds all the way down to the city and the county is all the good that we could do together when we listen to each other,” said Rep. Emerson Levy.
While not every concern had a clear answer, lawmakers said conversations like these help guide what they prioritize at the Capitol.
Earlier Story — CENTRAL OREGON (KTVZ) — Rep. Emerson Levy and Sen. Anthony Broadman will host legislative town halls in Bend and Redmond in April 2026. These forums aim to provide updates on legislative outcomes and discuss policy impacts on the Central Oregon community.
The events are designed to allow residents to review session highlights and provide feedback on community needs during the interim period.
The town halls offer a direct update on legislative outcomes and discuss recent policy impacts on the Central Oregon community. Attendees can review session highlights and discuss policy priorities moving forward.
The Office of Representative Levy stated the events seek community feedback, thoughts and questions to identify community needs during the interim period.
The Redmond town hall is scheduled for April 19, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Redmond Grange, located at 707 SW Kalama Ave, Redmond, OR 97756.
Sen. Mike McLane and Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson will join Rep. Levy and Sen. Broadman at the Redmond event.
The Bend town hall will take place on April 26, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at OSU Cascades, Edward J. Ray Hall Atrium, at 1500 SW Chandler Ave, Bend, OR 97702.
Rep. Jason Kropf will attend the conversation in Bend, alongside Rep. Levy and Sen. Broadman.
Both town halls are ADA accessible. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP online to help with seating arrangements.
Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP to ensure adequate seating for the events.
Madeline Murray
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The last place you would expect to find a speakeasy: Prison.
The Yuma Territorial Prison hosted Speakeasy Night Saturday, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and there was live music, drinks and all kinds of outlaw charm for locals to enjoy.
Tickets were $15, with all funds going towards the Yuma Territorial Prison in celebration of its 150th anniversary.
“We are so happy to have such a great crowd, and everyone just showed up with the 1920s vibe, perfectly dressed for a gala here in prison…We just thank everyone for coming out and enjoying a cocktail with us,” said Yanna Kruse, Manager of the Yuma Territorial Prison.
The prison says this will be the first of many speakeasies celebrating the Prohibition Era.
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
President Donald Trump has now been in proximity to an active shooter or attempted assassination and survived at three different events.
Law enforcement is working to learn more about 31-year-old California man Cole Tomas Allen, who was arrested Saturday evening after reportedly firing several shots during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Trump was the target of two apparent assassination attempts, one in Butler, Pennsylvania, at a rally where his ear was injured in July 2024, and on a West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course a couple of months later in September 2024. Both attempts happened while Trump was campaigning for his second term.
“There have been 45 presidents, four of them have been killed in office, which means for any given office holder, you’ve got about an 8% chance that you’re going to get killed in office. It’s a pretty dangerous job, if you think about it in those terms,” said Charles Zug, a political science professor at the University of Missouri.
The presidents killed were Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy.
Eight other presidents had at least one assassination attempt, with Harry S. Truman and Gerald Ford surviving two attempts each. JFK had one assassination attempt before he was shot and killed in 1963.
Zug said there are a couple of ingredients that make recent assassinations — like the one of political commentator Charlie Kirk — and attempts at political violence so frequent.
“It’s just much easier for the individual to bring about violence on a mass and rapid scale than it was even 40, 50 years ago,” Zug said. He attributes this to evolving weapons technology and the relative ease of obtaining a gun.
Zug also said normalized gun violence could be a contributing factor.
“In addition to that, you have constant exposure that we all have to mass shootings, you know, in schools, churches, and public scenes. It’s just all around us, and it didn’t use to be that way,” Zug said.
Heather Overstreet, a radio talk show host and political activist from Boonville, said she is disappointed that political violence keeps happening, referring to Saturday’s events at the press gala.
“I would like to do what the president asked us to do, which would be to resolve our differences without violence,” Overstreet said.
Boone County Democrats Chair Deborah Finley said she was horrified.
“The level of violence in this country is just ramping up, and there is no room for violence in any of our political lives, so we condemn it. We condemn any violence,” Finley said. “Violent rhetoric on either party’s part is wrong.”
Caleb Nguyen
ORCUTT, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara County Fire crews put out an attic fire at the 1500 block of Oaks Bluffs Drive in Orcutt.
The fire first broke out at 5:00 p.m. and crews knocked it down around 5:25 p.m., according to the SBCFD.
Firefighters found the attic on fire at the two-story home and got water out of the home from activated sprinklers in the area.
The fire injured no one, and no other home was damaged.
Dillon Fuhrman
YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) is investigating a crash which left one person dead.
According to a press release, the crash happened Sunday at around 4:10 a.m. in the area of S. Avenue A, near the Yuma Mounted Posse Grounds.
YCSO says a 2021 Kia Forte was heading northbound on Avenue A when, for unknown reasons, it veered off the roadway and crashed into an electrical pole.
The vehicle, according to YCSO, then went airborne, rolled over twice and landed in an orchard.
The Somerton-Cocopah Fire Department responded to the area, and the driver, a 16-year-old girl from Yuma, was pronounced dead at the scene, YCSO says.
While speed appears to be a factor in the crash, the investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information regarding the case, call YCSO at 928-783-4427, call 78-CRIME to remain anonymous, or visit YCSO’s website to submit an anonymous tip.
Michael Logerwell
SECURITY-WIDEFIELD, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado State Patrol is releasing new details about a car that crashed into the second story of a church in the Security-Widefield area. The church is Iglesia Ni Cristo.
Troopers say a Subaru struck a landscaping boulder, causing the vehicle to go airborne.
The 18-year-old driver sustained life-threatening injuries, and the 14-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries.
The Colorado State Patrol Vehicular Crimes Unit is investigating the crash and asking for any witnesses to contact them.
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A 20-year-old Columbia man died in an Audrain County crash Sunday morning, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.
According to the report, the man was driving a 1996 Chevy Silverado west on Audrain County Road 234, just west of Private Drive 9221 at around 5:43 a.m. The man then drove off the right side of the road and overcorrected. While overcorrecting, he drove off the left side of the road and hit a tree and a barrier, flipping the truck.
The driver was pronounced dead on the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, and the driver’s next of kin has been notified.
This was Troop F’s 4th death in April and 15th in the year.
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Police Department arrested a woman on Sunday after she allegedly shot at her ex-boyfriend in North Columbia.
According to a press release from the CPD, 26-year-old Nakira Johnson was in the area of West Texas Avenue and Creasy Springs at around Noon when she allegedly shot at a vehicle her ex-boyfriend was in.
Johnson was arrested for first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
At around 5 p.m., Johnson was not listed on the Boone County Jail roster
No injuries or other property damage were reported.
