Author: KEYT

Dave Alley

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (KEYT) – Arroyo Grande is celebrating the reopening of an important and busy roadway that has been closed for several months.

On Wednesday just before 2 p.m., the Traffic Way Bridge reopened for traffic for the first time since an infrastructure project that was called the biggest in the history of the city started this past May.

“It’s very exciting,” said Cheryll Maddaloni, who lives in rural Arroyo Grande. “It’s going to really help the flow to all of those businesses down there and provide easy access to the freeway. It’ll be great. It’ll be wonderful. I’m so excited that they built it so fast.”

Over the course of the past seven months, crews completely replaced the old bridge that was nearly 100 years old.

“It was originally built in 1932, and after monitoring all of the wear and tear, we noticed that it really needed to be rebuilt,” said Downing. “It was no longer safe. We were concerned about that, so the City Council took a leadership position of having the entire bridge redone all at once. Not in phases. We wanted to be proactive, not reactive.”

The bridge, which is located on Traffic Way just off of West Branch Street, is traveled by 11,000 vehicles daily, and is an integral part of the city’s infrastructure that helps link the Village area to the southwest portion of city, including Arroyo Grande High School.

“This project was a much-needed improvement to ensure the safety of our community for decades tocome,” Arroyo Grande City Manager Matthew Downing said in a statement. “While we knew that the complete closure of the bridge was going to be impactful, the City Council’s leadership, the community’s resilience, and the staff’s dedication all contributed to this successful outcome.”

Due to the nature of the project in removing the old bridge and constructing a new one, several traffic modifcations in the nearby area were temporarily put into place that created an entirely new flow of traffic through the popular Village area.

Now, with the new bridge completed, the city said traffic measures, as well as detour routes will be removed, which will restore the traffic pattern back to normal.

“Everything that we put in is temporary,” said Downing. “Everything that we put in has to come down. There is a timeline associated with some of those pieces, so everything that the contractors put in, like the temporary signals, some of that is in Caltrans jurisdiction, so we have to take those down. They won’t let us keep them, which is perfectly fine. We have to go through a normal process like everybody else. Some of the other key aspects, like the temporary traffic circle in front of the high school, the city put in, so we are developing a removal plan of how and when we do that. Obviously, it being right in front of the high school is very impactful. We will be talking to the council about what we learned through this process, about some of the improvements that we made and why might want to bring back on a permanent basis.” 

The project is slated to cost nearly $14 million with funding coming mostly from federal sources.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – During the holidays, exercise and healthy living can be the last thing on someone’s mind. The Morning News was joined by Chanda Fetter, who is a master trainer and owner of CORESPORT in Santa Barbara.

Fetter is also on the board at State Street Ballet. She has been in the fitness world for the past 20 years and has some tips and tricks for all of us to stay healthy and fit for the holidays.

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Dave Alley

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – An annual outreach effort to help provide emergency preparedness information about Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) is now underway in San Luis Obispo County.

Each year at this time, calendars that are created in collaboration between San Luis Obispo County and DCPP operator PG&E are mailed to tens of thousands of homes throughout the county.

“It’s pushed out to the public in late November in the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ), and it has a monthly calendar with beautiful photos from local photographers,” said Anita Konopa, San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Coordinator. “It also has all the important information that the public needs to know about an emergency at Diablo Canyon. We really hope that those beautiful photos help encourage the public to keep that calendar, and that they read it when it comes so they understand what they need to do in an emergency at Diablo Canyon. We also hope they retain that calendar, so in the unlikely event that something does happen at Diablo Canyon, they have that reference available at their fingertips to understand what actions they need to take.”

On Tuesday, San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services (OES), along with PG&E, met with members of the media as required by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to go safety planning efforts.

“Both county officials and officials from Diablo Canyon work closely together to make sure that we have emergency plans and response in place to ensure that should something happen at Diablo Canyon, we’re ready to respond,” said Konopa. “One of the things that we like to do is make sure that our media partners are aware of what those plans in response look like, so once a year, we invite them to discuss with them what plans we have in place and how they can help us ensure that the public is safe if there were an emergency at Diablo Canyon.”

In a statement about its emergency preparedness planning, PG&E pointed out the efforts the company takes to help ensure the safety for those who live, work and visit the Central Coast.

“At Diablo Canyon and PG&E, we have an unwavering commitment to ensure the safety and health of our coworkers and community. Through our Emergency Planning department, PG&E works with local, state, and federal agencies to implement a comprehensive emergency preparedness program with an overall objective of protecting public health and safety. These partnerships help our community to be prepared for any type of emergency, including wildfires, mudslides, and earthquakes. In Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, these efforts extend to how residents should prepare and respond to a potential emergency at Diablo Canyon Power Plant. While such an event is highly unlikely due to the facility’s robust design and numerous safeguards, it is important for local residents to have this type of preparedness information.”

PG&E also provided in its statement to News Channel 3-12 some of the key elements of its partnership and collaboration with San Luis Obispo County 

Diablo Canyon provides San Luis Obispo County with substantial funding for emergency preparedness personnel, facilities, equipment, training, and emergency planning functions. 

The early warning system sirens throughout the Emergency Planning Zone, installed as one of the requirements related to the operation of DCPP, can be used for any local emergency and are an element of a comprehensive strategy to alert community members regarding a range of potential hazards in the area, which may include wildland fires, tsunamis, floods, etc.  

Information about DCPP’s emergency preparedness efforts is communicated to the public through the widely distributed annual emergency planning calendar, visitors’ guides and hotel information, annual siren tests, and websites such as readyslo.org.  

Through drills, training, and interagency coordination, we have well-developed relationships with local hospitals, Cal Fire, and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department. 

Should there be an emergency at DCPP, Konopa stressed community members need to look for trusted sources of information in order to help make sure that the information they’re receiving is accurate.

“We ask that the public look towards county resources,” said Konopa. “They can go to ReadySLO.org, they can visit County OES’ social media at X, at Facebook and Instagram. They can rely on local media sources that are in communication with government officials, they can look to Diablo Canyon and PG&E, so really look to those people who are providing out information, who have an understanding of what’s going on, who have made those decisions so that the information that you’re getting is accurate.”

 

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Patricia Martellotti

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – For centuries, monarch butterflies have traveled thousands of miles across North America, guided by instincts that scientists are only beginning to understand.

Now, a team of researchers on California’s Central Coast is giving these fragile travelers a high-tech voice in their own survival.

At dawn on Ellwood Mesa in Goleta, biologist Charis van der Heide and her team set out under the first light of day.

Armed with long poles and fine nets, they search the eucalyptus groves for resting monarchs. “At 47 degrees, they can’t fly,” van der Heide explains. “That’s the perfect window to catch and tag them.”

Each carefully captured butterfly is gently placed into a container and brought to a small field station that doubles as a makeshift lab.

There, researchers use transmitters lighter than a grain of rice, attaching them to the butterflies with a tiny dab of eyelash glue.

The miniature trackers send real-time signals to an app called Project Monarch, which helps scientists monitor movement patterns, temperature responses, and migration behavior.

“This is groundbreaking technology,” says Melissa Fontaine, director of the Ellwood Friends Project. “For the first time, we could actually watch the monarch migration unfold across the continent.”

The work comes at a critical time.

Once numbering in the millions, monarch populations have plummeted over the past few decades due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change.

For volunteers like Craig Wakamiya, a docent at the Goleta Monarch Butterfly Grove, the research represents hope. “The opportunity to do science that could help save them — it’s quite a leap,” he says.

After each butterfly is tagged, the team returns it to the branch where it was found, its transmitter now silently pulsing data into the digital air.

“I hope they share their secrets with us,” van der Heide says. “I hope they become our teachers.”

For Goleta’s scientists, it’s a moment where ancient migration meets modern innovation — and a chance to listen to what these timeless travelers have to tell us, one fragile flight at a time.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Freshman Josie Drabik scored a game-high 5 goals while senior superstar Charlotte Raisin and sophomore McKenna Stuart tallied 4 goals apiece as San Marcos cruised past Santa Barbara 19-9.

(Josie Drabik scored in every quarter for San Marcos. Entenza Design).

The Royals move to 5-0 in the Channel League and 10-2 overall.

San Marcos led 5-2 after the first quarter and 12-3 at halftime.

(Charlotte Raisin and the Royals limited the Dons to just 3 first half goals. Entenza Design).

Santa Barbara was led by Kana Wolfe and freshman Violette Bailey who scored 3 goals each while star sophomore Jules Horton chipped in with two goals.

The Dons are 12-2 on the season with both losses coming in the Channel League.

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Mike Klan

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – Sophomore guard Cayden Ward (above) finished with a team leading 25 points Tuesday evening, but the Cal Poly men’s basketball program – after trailing Montana State by 14 with four-and-a-half minutes to play – fell to the Bobcats inside Mott Athletics Center, 83-80.

Sophomore guards Hamad Mousa and Peter Bandelj added 16 and 14 points, respectively, for Cal Poly (5-7), which faced a 77-63 deficit before a Mousa three-pointer sparked a 13-2 run that dropped Montana State’s lead to 79-76 with 56 seconds remaining.

A Bandelj layup following a missed Mousa free throw then cut the gap to one with 35 seconds left, but Montana State (5-7) twice escaped Cal Poly’s inbounds defense with dunks at the other end of the floor from guard Patrick McMahon. At the buzzer, a potential game-tying three-pointer from Mousa fell short.

Ward grabbed a game high eight boards for Cal Poly, which outrebounded Montana State, 47-39.

Cal Poly knocked down four of its initial five attempts from the floor Tuesday, taking a 9-2 lead after two minutes before the Bobcats hit back with a 10-1 run. With Montana State leading by as much as 33-27 late in the first half, Cal Poly thrice tied the matchup before a free throw from freshman guard Austin Goode with a second to go handed the Mustangs a 41-40 halftime lead.

Montana State, however, surged ahead for good three minutes into the second half after a three-pointer from guard Jed Miller handed the visitors a 49-46 lead.

Cal Poly Noteworthy (versus Montana State Dec. 16)

Up Next: Cal Poly plays its final scheduled non-conference road matchup of the season when visiting UCLA on Friday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. The Mustangs make their eighth all-time visit to Westwood and first since an 88-83 setback on Nov. 15, 2015.With his 11th double-digit scoring game in as many outings this season, Hamad Mousa maintained the Big West’s scoring lead at 20.1 points per game.Cayden Ward’s 25-point effort – three points shy of his career high – improved his scoring average to 15.2 points per game (10th among Big West players).

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics).

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT). –

High School Boys Basketball:

Dos Pueblos 67, Rio Mesa 53: Wyatt Gardiner scored 31 points and had 13 rebounds for DP.

High School Girls Basketball:

Dos Pueblos 60, Rio Mesa 38: Carly Letendre scored 20 pts, Kindah Ahmad-Reda added 14pts, 13 reb, 9 steals for DP.

Oxnard 46, San Marcos 30: Gia Angell scored 16 points for the Yellowjackets

Buena 62, Santa Barbara 20: Aralynn Hess scored 34 pts for Bulldogs.

Ventura 80, Pacifica 21: Kai Staniland scored 30 pts for Cougars who collected 1,000th career program win.

High School Boys Soccer:

Ventura 4, Dos Pueblos 1

Rio Mesa 2, Buena 0: Miguel Leon and Aiden Gonzalez with the goals for Spartans

High School Girls Soccer:

Dos Pueblos 1, Ventura 0: Paige Ferro scores lone goal.

Buena 4, Rio Mesa 1: Tatiana Padilla with 2 goals and 2 assists for Bulldogs.

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John Palminteri

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – This holiday season you can get some impressive deals on unique gifts while helping out many charities at the same time.

The seventh annual holiday bazaar is underway in the lobby at the Santa Barbara Elks #613 in Goleta.The event began earlier this month, but there are many items left and many new gifts coming out to the tables as sales are made.

They include jewelry, crafts, cards, one of a kind treasures, decorations, and collectibles. Some items you won’t find anywhere else.

Bunny Delorie, who is coordinating the bazaar with the Elks, says, “everything in this room is donated by lodge members and or made by our lodge members and we raised a lot of money for our lodge and for charities.”

Those stopping by can also buy raffle tickets for gift baskets at a special table and the funds will go to several charities including Teddy Bear Cancer non-profit, local veterans and children with disabilities.

There are also several trees full of over $200-dollars in gifts or cash you can win with a raffle ticket you drop in the box under your favorite tree.

You don’t have to be an Elks member to visit the bazaar at 150 N. Kellogg.

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John Palminteri

SOLVANG, Calif. (KEYT) – The Danish town of Solvang is getting a taste of coffee from Yemen now.

The unique coffee is brewing up at Cafe Dolce in the heart of the small town. This is a rare find for coffee lovers.

Many have been coming in for a closer look, to watch in process and a get a taste as part of the coffee varieties served daily.

Cafe Dolce owner, Wissam Hamad, said from the region there are many coffees, “Armenian, Lebanese, Turkish coffee and the coffee we use is from Yemen and prepare it as people order it. It’s the same amount of espresso, it’s just how we make it and people – they come back and drink it twice a day!”

The restaurant is also known for its Mediterranean and Middle Eastern menu items. This includes multiple flavors of Lebanese baklava, and baklava towers, often ordered for events. The bakers also make gluten free baklava.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The driver in a fatal hit and run on the Santa Barbara Mesa in 2024 is going to prison for two years.

Brock Hoffman entered a plea of no contest in Santa Barbara Superior Court, equivalent to a guilty plea. He left the scene of the fatal accident on June 29, 2024 and faced a felony charge.

Hoffman turned himself in on July 4, 2024.

Police used nearby cameras and other information to place Hoffman at the scene, then contact him leading to his surrender.

His vehicle had damage to the front right fender and headlight area.

The crash took the life of Juan Lopez, who worked in a grocery store nearby. It is unknown why Lopez was in the traffic lane on Cliff Drive near Loma Alta when the crash took place about 11:30 p.m.

His longtime partner and mother of his three children spoke in court during the sentencing hearing and played a short video of Lopez.

Christina Godinez said it was 535 days since the family saw Lopez.

The sentence of two years was an option and the range went up to four years. Probation was denied.

Hoffman was handcuffed in court and he will be sent to state prison immediately.

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