Author: KEYT

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Yellow and white flags are up on the towers at the Old Mission Santa Barbara after the announcement of Leo XIV as the new Pope.

The word spread throughout the Catholic community and the world just after 9 a.m.

The Santa Barbara Old Mission, one of the iconic locations for Catholics, non- Catholics, tourists in general, and community gatherings is marking the historic time.

“Peace be with all of you!” – were the first words of Pope Leo XIV followed by reactions worldwide.

The Conclave has elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Bishop of Rome. He is the first American elected, originally from Chicago.

Many visitors who were aware of the announcement reflected on the choice. The message of accepting everyone and following in the footsteps of Pope Francis with a forward looking approach to the world’s challenges was mentioned by many people discussing Pope Leo.

Susan Hughes from Santa Barbara said, “we all hope that we will have the legacy of Frances to build upon that, but also getting a new future for the Catholic Church. I think a new direction, perhaps. “

A mission visitor Virginia Carlos said, “his heart his humbleness. I would love to see that continue and grow its acceptance of everyone. No matter who you are, no matter who you call God, no matter where you worship. It’s just humanity for one, especially the least of us. “

An all inclusive style of leadership looks to be a binding message Catholics and non Catholics we spoke with seem to favor.

Hughes said “he  is 69 years old. We are entering a new and new future. ” With a past in Chicago and Philadelphia, “It’s exciting he’s from America. I think that’s interesting,” said Sherry Jerome.

“His background. He was at Villanova he has been he has so much in my experience that he brings to us,” said Hughes.

The Old Mission draws visitors from around the world, and that brings a broad perspective to the entrance steps  from many people  facing some difficult challenges.

Jerome said, “I think, the right person for the right time. I just, you know, just to keep the Catholic Church going along in a good way.”

(More video, photos and details from the Old Mission will be added here later today)

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Ryder Christ

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) has reversed course on previously announced arts staffing reductions, rescinding layoff notices for junior high band and Santa Barbara High School theater positions.

Superintendent Hilda Maldonado sent out the announcement on Friday, May 2.1

Although two visual arts teachers, one each at San Marcos and Santa Barbara High, will not be replaced due to staff transfers, district leaders emphasize that no arts or music educators are being laid off for the 2025–26 school year. San Marcos High School is also set to add a new dance teacher, funded by Proposition 28, which earmarks dedicated funding for arts education statewide.

In total, the district will see a net loss of just one arts teacher next school year. “We are celebrating the wins – no arts layoffs,” said Naomi Jane Voigt, Santa Barbara Teen Star and SBUSD student. “But we must continue to push for restored high school course offerings and a full, well-rounded education for every student.”

Superintendent Maldonado added that while the staffing picture has improved, the process is not yet finalized. “We are still finishing the process, and the final vote will take place next week at the May 13 board meeting,” Maldonado said.

In an update shared with the school community, SBUSD reported that it had avoided large-scale layoffs while still addressing a $9.4 million budget deficit. After weeks of reviewing enrollment, staffing, and unfilled positions, the district identified a need to lay off only 3–5 employees.

Arts and music positions are not among the final cuts, and there are no layoffs at the elementary school level. Maldonado said staffing restorations—including 3.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in elementary arts, music, STEAM, and instructional support for English and math—were made possible through retirements, resignations, employee transfers, and the reallocation of unfilled positions. A slight increase in junior high and high school enrollment also helped reduce the total number of layoffs.

“While we would prefer that no employees are ever laid off, we are thankful for our collaboration with CSEA and SBTA in navigating this challenging period,” Maldonado said.

Employees affected will receive compensation packages, additional resources, and priority consideration for future openings.

Despite the positive staffing news, concerns remain over reduced class schedules at the high school level. Next year, most 10th-grade students will only be able to take seven classes, while 11th and 12th graders will be limited to six. Advocates say this creates “dismissal periods” that limit access to electives such as the arts, world languages, and career technical education.

The district originally issued 85 Reduction in Force (RIF) notices, though all but one have now been rescinded. Still, stakeholders argue that the annual uncertainty takes a toll. “This yearly cycle creates instability and stress for teachers and students,” said Voigt. “We need better planning and earlier decision-making.”

Looking ahead, parents and students are calling on the district to:

Restore an eight-period schedule or similar options to expand elective capacity.

Ensure Proposition 28 funds—nearly $2 million annually—are used to hire new arts teachers, not to replace existing ones or purchase materials.

Provide regular public updates on staffing, course offerings, and Prop 28 expenditures in accordance with the SBUSD Strategic Arts Plan 2023–28.

The plan commits the district to expanding arts access at every school, and advocates say transparency and accountability will be key to achieving that goal.

“Eighty percent of Prop 28 funding must go to hiring new arts teachers,” said Voigt. “We need to make sure this money truly expands access to the arts for all students.”

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Alissa Orozco

MALIBU, Calif – Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected to succeed Pope Francis as the next leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, and will now be known as Pope Leo XIV.

Father Larry Gosselin from the Serra Retreat in Malibu joined your News Channel to discuss this monumental day. Pope Leo has been recognized as a great leader in the Catholic faith who is expected to continue Pope Francis’ path.

“This selection of the Pope as truly a leader in our world and a person who brings great leadership and foresight to where we are going, and who we are as as a world and as a world community,” Father Larry told your News Channel.

Originally from Chicago, Pope Leo was named a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023 and was selected to lead the Vatican’s bishop office. Father Larry says Pope Leo’s background of being an Augustinian will shape his priorities.

“The Augustinians follow a common path as the Franciscans and truly it’s a more human felt spirituality, you know, earth-based. Spirituality, but it’s completely in keeping with Catholic theology and it will bring a very human aspect, I believe, to his papacy and to his leadership in the church and in the world.”

Pope Leo XIV is the first ever American elected for the papacy, and was an unexpected choice. How the Catholic Church will run under an American Pope? We’ll just have to wait and see.

“We will just have to wait and see what that all means, but it certainly is an honor for our country and the American Church to have an American chosen for this position, and it truly affirms us as American Catholic people following the gospel and seeking to live the gospel of Christ.”

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Alissa Orozco

ISLA VISTA, Calif. – Yet another bear has been spotted Thursday morning in the Goleta/Isla Vista area. Your News Channel received reports of a small bear around walking paths of Isla Vista Elementary, and later near the Devereux Slough.

Employees of Isla Vista Elementary School were notified of a bear walking around behind the school, and were encouraged to take alternative walking paths.

“An email was sent by a neighbor that they got a message from the IV school saying that a bear had been sighted by the red barn and you probably don’t want to walk your kids to school through the path that cuts from our housing complex to the school,” said Isla Vista resident Janet Head.

It was seen a little while later about a mile away at the Devereux Slough.

This comes weeks after a series of bear sightings beginning in Goleta were reported. The county was on “bear watch” as the bear seemed to be traveling south through residential Goleta neighborhoods, Santa Barbara beaches, and UC Santa Barbara apartments and campus.

The body of a bear was found on Highway 101 southbound of Padaro Lane in Summerland in April. It was unknown if the body found was the same bear spotted throughout the county.

Your Newschannel was also sent video on April 29th of a bear near Highway 154.

A video shows the bear walking around nearby horse stables in a popular jogging area of UC Santa Barbara’s West Campus on Thursday.

In a statement released to parents, Isla Vista Elementary says animal control and police were notified, and will implement precautionary measures during today’s dismissal.

We’re also told police stood by the school to monitor the area as school got out on Thursday.

Anyone who sees the bear is urged to call law enforcement and report it to the Department of Fish and Wildlife under their online Wildlife Incident Reporting System.

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Dave Alley

LOMPOC, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Fire Department is holding a series of live fire drills this week during the final few days of a training program for a group of firefighter recruits.

On Thursday, recruits are completing a two-day training session at the Public Safety Training Complex on the Allan Hancock College Lompoc Valley Center.

The drills in Lompoc follows a one-day training session on Monday at the nearby Burton Mesa Training Center.

All of the training is part of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s Firefighter Recruit Academy, a rigorous 20-week course that teaches recruits required firefighting and life-saving skills.

The Firefighter Recruit Academy currently has 17 recruits, which are firefighters who have been hired by department, but must complete a required training program in order to officially begin work with the department.

Graduation for the recruits will take place later this month.

Following graduation ceremonies, the recruits will begin their new positions on probation status at various stations within the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

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KION546

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) — Salinas Police say Natividad Road is back open after a crash on Wednesday that left thousands without power.

As of Thursday morning, PG&E is reporting around 500 people are still without power along the edge of Natividad Road.

The road closure initially stretched from Saratoga to Boronda Road.

PG&E says power is expected to be restored around 9 am.

Highway 101 back open, thousands still without power in Monterey County

Power has been restored for thousands as of Wednesday night, but there are still just over 2,700 homes without power late on Wednesday, power restoration currently set for just past midnight.

Neighbors say that Natividad road is a dangerous one, with this far from the first time powerlines have been brought down by a bad driver. One local living in the home underneath the fallen pole says that before she bought the home, a powerline had fallen into the home’s backyard. Many now wondering what it will take for the city to take action to improve traffic safety on Natividad Road.

Highway 101 has reopened in both directions at North Main Street in Salinas.

This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Numerous power outages throughout Monterey County have left thousands without power after a car impacted transmission lines near Highway 101.

According to PG&E, a car driving near North Main Street and Highway 101 hit transmission lines, causing a small fire nearby. That fire has since been put out.

PG&E is on scene assessing the damage wth Highway 101 shut down in both directions.

Transmission lines are larger lines that connect and power other communities, such as Carmel Valley. Power lines only affect portions of cities and towns near those power poles.

According to PG&E’s outage map, more than 17,000 people are without power in Monterey as of 3:10 p.m.

Parts along the coast from Andrew Molera State Park down to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park are without power, along with Carmel Valley and near Fort Ord National Monument.

There is no estimated time of restoration.

Another part of Salinas is also without power near Creekbridge and Natividad Road. The estimated restoration time of that area is expected to be 5:45 p.m.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Benicio Duarte had 11 kills and Luke Zuffelato added 10 kills as Santa Barbara swept Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks 3-0 in a CIF-SS Division 4 quarterfinal match.

The visiting Knights led 14-8 in the first set but the Dons ran off 9 straight points with Jack Goligoski at the service line.

Santa Barbara won the first set 25-19 and cruised from there winning the second set 25-13 and closing it out in three 25-21.

The Dons play at Santiago of Corona on Saturday in the semifinals.

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Mike Klan

GOLETA, Calif. – A balanced attack, strong goalie play and playoff experience helped Dos Pueblos hang on to beat Huntington Beach 11-8 in a CIF-Southern Section Division 2 home quarterfinal game.

DP will host Oaks Christian in a semifinal on Saturday in a time yet to be announced.

The Chargers led 10-5 early in the fourth quarter on a goal by Orion Prewarski.

But the visiting Oilers scored three quick goals to pull within 10-8 with more than seven minutes left in the game.

But Chargers goalie Danny Perez made a couple of his 11 saves in the game to keep it a two-goal lead.

DP added a big goal with under 2:30 left as Parker Bentley raced by his defender and scored from point-blank range for the final score of the game.

Jack Finneran scored all of his team-leading 3 goals in the first half as the Chargers built up a 6-2 lead at the break.

Dan Finneran, Gus Miller, Bentley and Prewarski all added two goals for a Chargers team that improved to 20-0 on the season.

The Chargers lost in last year’s semifinal and this year’s group led by 17 seniors are determine to finish the job in 2025.

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Mike Klan

FULLERTON, Calif. – After dropping their first game of The Big West Championships the UC Santa Barbara Softball team (29-24, 17-10 Big West) bounced back in a big way. The Gauchos plated eight runs on a season-high 15 hits to advance in the elimination bracket of the championships.

GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 4, TRITONS 6Both teams worked a clean first inning to start the game, and Malaya Johnson stranded a leadoff double in the top of the second. After a great diving catch from UC San Diego’s center fielder, the Gauchos then left the bases loaded, keeping the game scoreless through two.

In the third, three singles gave UC San Diego a 1-0 lead. With two outs and nobody on in the fourth, an unsuccessfully-challenged hit by pitch and walk extended the inning for an RBI single that doubled the Tritons’ lead.

The Tritons continued to add to their lead in the fifth. A leadoff double, sacrifice bunt, and sacrifice fly pushed across their third run. Johnson then earned a strikeout, but the inning continued due to a wild pitch dropped third strike. Another double, followed by a single, added two more runs, and suddenly it was 5-0 San Diego.

The game was not over, though. The Gauchos took advantage of a leadoff walk and error in the bottom of the sixth, when Alexa Sams’ RBI single ended the shutout. After the second out, Delaina Ma’ae drilled a clutch three-run homer to left center, making it a 5-4 game.

To begin the seventh, the Tritons tacked on an insurance run via a single, walk, and run-scoring error on a sacrifice bunt attempt. However, despite there being runners on second and third and nobody out, Sam Stoll got out of the inning without any further damage, and the Gauchos were chasing two—down 6-4—into their final frame. Unfortunately for Santa Barbara, they went three up, three down to end the game.

GAME TWO: GAUCHOS 8, BEACH 0 (6 INN.)UC Santa Barbara took an early lead against the Beach, opening the first inning with two runs. Jazzy Santos singled and was eventually driven in by Bella Fuentes’s double, while Alexa Sams’ single brought Fuentes home, putting UC Santa Barbara ahead 2–0 after the first inning.

In the second inning, UC Santa Barbara extended their advantage with another two runs. Elicia Acosta tripled and, after a double play, Mendoza singled and was brought home by Santos’ two-run homer. This gave UC Santa Barbara a 4–0 lead.

The fourth inning saw UC Santa Barbara adding two more runs to their tally. Delaina Ma’ae’s double followed by Santos’ RBI single brought in one run, and Tehya Banks’s single drove in another, increasing the lead to 6–0.

UC Santa Barbara continued their scoring in the sixth inning with two additional runs. Santos and Giselle Mejia both got hits to start the inning, and after a couple of outs, Sams singled to bring home both runners, solidifying an 8–0 lead and ending the game via run-rule.

UP NEXTThe Gauchos will play in another elimination game tomorrow at 7 p.m. and await the loser of game one on the day between the No. 1 seed Cal State Fullerton and No. 5 seed Hawai’i.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –

CIF-SS Boys Lacrosse Quarterfinal:

Division 2:

Dos Pueblos 11, Huntington Beach 8

Oaks Christian 11, Village Christian 9

(OC at DP on Saturday TBA in semifinal)

CIF-SS Boys Volleyball Quarterfinal:

Division 4:

Santa Barbara 3, Notre Dame/SO

Santiago Corona 3, Westlake 2

(SB at Corona Santiago on Saturday in semifinal)

Crean Lutheran 3, Dos Pueblos 1

Division 6:

Laguna Blanca 3, Pacifica Christian/OC 1 (LB at El Toro on Saturday in semifinal)

Division 8:

Desert Christian/L 3, Carpinteria 1

Wildwood 3, Channel Islands 1

CIF-SS Boys Tennis First Round:

Division 2:

Palm Desert 10, Santa Barbara 8

Crean Lutheran 13, Camarillo 5

Oaks Christian 10, Walnut 8

Division 3:

Cate 12, Burroughs/B 6

Agoura 13, La Serna 5

La Canada 11, Newbury Park 7

San Marcos 18, Fairmont Prep 0 (forfeit)

Division 4:

Dos Pueblos 12, Golden Valley 6

Oakwood 9, Simi Valley 9 (Oakwood advances on games)

Foothill Tech 12, Quartz Hill 6

Division 5:

Thacher 16, Kaiser 2

Laguna Blanca 9, Liberty 9 (Laguna advances on games)

Division 6:

Carpinteria 11, Jarupa Valley 7

Ventura 12, Indio 6

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