Author: KEYT

Mike Klan

FULLERTON, Calif. – No. 2 seed Cal Poly defeated No. 1 seed UC Irvine by a final score of 15-5 in eight innings on the fourth day of the 2025 Big West Baseball Championship, presented by Ontario International Airport, Saturday at Goodwin Field, to force a decisive winner-take-all game between the two teams on Sunday. First pitch for the Big West title is slated for 3 p.m. PT.

The Mustangs improve to 40-17 on the season, while UCI drops to 41-14.

The Anteaters drew first blood, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second, thanks to RBIs from Blake Penso, Frankie Carney and Will Bermudez.

The Mustangs responded with four runs in the next half inning. Zach Daudet and Alejandro Garza drove in one run each, while Ryan Fenn plated two. Cal Poly increased its lead to 8-3 with another four-run inning in the fourth with Dante Vachini, Daudet, Fenn and Garza each recording one RBI in the frame.

UC Irvine got one run apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to make it an 8-5 ballgame. Anthony Martinez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth and Penso blasted an RBI single up the middle in the fifth.

Cal Poly secured another four-run inning in the sixth frame as Garza and Castellon each brought one runner home and Casey Murray Jr. plated two. The Mustangs scored three more in the eighth on a Kordic RBI fielder’s choice and a Jack Collins 2-run homer.

With a 10-run difference, Cal Poly run-ruled the Anteaters with a zero spot in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Cal Poly starter Jaccob Torres, who got the final two outs in the first game of the day, went 1.2 innings and gave up three runs, while recording a strikeout. Reliever Chris Downs cleaned up the rest of the way with 6.1 innings of work, giving up two runs and striking out three batters.

(Article courtesy of Big West)

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara Soccer Club honored 19 high school seniors that will continue their soccer career in college.

The club had a signing ceremony on Friday night in which 16 of the players were able to attend.

All photos courtesy of Peter Young/SBSC.

Adam Dring: St Mary’s College of CA , Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: Ardingly College UK

Noah Jimenez: SBCC, Hometown: Ventura, High School: Foothill Tech

Irving Garcia: SBCC, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: San Marcos

Diego Gonzalez: SBCC, Hometown: Goleta, High School: Dos Pueblos

Isaiah Robledo: Brown University, Hometown: Goleta, High School: Dos Pueblos

Keean Elliott: Harvard University, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: Santa Barbara

Bridger Baltes: UCLA, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: Laguna Blanca

Giacomo Gabrielli: Princeton University, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: Dos Pueblos

Geb Wilcox: Westmont, Hometown: Goleta, High School: Dos Pueblos

Thiago Valerio: Westmont, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: Santa Barbara

Alex Kobayashi: Nazareth University, Hometown: Santa Ynez Valley, High School: Santa Ynez

Giselle Najera: SBCC, Hometown: Lompoc, High School: Cabrillo

Kenzie Hessell: University of St. Andrews Soccer, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: San Marcos

Wendy Guarneros: Willamette University, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: San Marcos

Hattie Valdez Lindgren: Lewis and Clark University, Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: San Marcos

Giselle Silva: La Sierra University, Hometown: Lompoc, High School: Lompoc

Not pictured:

Eli Meisel: Carleton College (MN), Hometown: Santa Barbara, High School: Cate

Samuel Anum: Amherst College, Hometown: Accra, Ghana, High School: Cate

Giovanni Chavez: CSU San Bernardino, Hometown: Santa Maria, High School: Santa Maria

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Old Mission Santa Barbara was colorfully transformed over the long holiday weekend as street painters gathered for the 37th annual I Madonnari Festival.

Big crowds flocked to the steps of the Mission to admire vibrant chalk art, as artists of all ages created breathtaking images inspired by nature, history, and imagination.

“We’re representing Ganna Walska Lotusland, where we work,” said Emily Hoeflinger. “So we’re doing a cycad, which is a type of plant we’re really excited about. We have a bunch of them in our cycad garden.”

One longtime participant reflected on her connection to the event.

“This is a piece by an illustrator named Mary Dimova, and I reached out to her online,” said artist Dawn Morrison Wagner, who has participated in the festival for 23 years. “I discovered her on Instagram and asked if she would be okay with me using her gorgeous image for a chalk festival. This piece is called Spring Maiden.”

The festival began in 1987 and was inspired by a similar street painting tradition in Italy. In addition to the artwork, the event featured live music, food vendors, and merchandise stands.

It also serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Creative Project, supporting arts education in schools throughout the Central Coast.

“This is a remarkable tradition here in Santa Barbara, and everyone here plays a critical part in making that happen,” said Kai Tepper, director of the Children’s Creative Project.

“I love it—amazing people, amazing artists, partners, friends. I love it,” said Erik Montanez, an artist visiting from Mexico.

The festival’s influence extends beyond Santa Barbara—Puerto Vallarta, its sister city, has hosted its own Madonnari Festival for the past 17 years, directly inspired by the tradition started here.

Wagner, who grew up in Santa Barbara, said the festival has had a lasting impact on her. “It was my art class at La Colina Junior High School that got me kind of inspired and started to come to the festival here in Santa Barbara.”

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Mike Klan

FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal Poly defeated the Hawai’i by a final score of 2-1 in a pitcher’s duel on the fourth day of the 2025 Big West Baseball Championship, presented by Ontario International Airport, Saturday at Goodwin Field.

Hawai’i drops to 35-21. The Rainbow Warriors are ranked 54th in the latest RPI released on Saturday morning and hope their name is called in the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament selection show, scheduled for Monday, May 26 at 9 a.m. PT on ESPN2. Cal Poly improves to 39-17 and will take on top-seeded UC Irvine in the championship game, Saturday at 7 p.m. PT. If the Mustangs win, they will force a winner-take-all game on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT.

Both teams had stellar pitching. Cal Poly starter Luke Kovach threw the first two innings, gave up one run and struck out three batters. Mustang reliever Josh Murano (3-0) earned the win on 6.1 shuout innings with two strikeouts. Jaccob Torres got the final two outs of the game on six pitches.

Hawai’i starter Freddy Rodriguez turned in a quality start, going 6.0 innings, giving up three hits for two runs and striking out three batters. Ethan Thomas threw two shutout innings for the ‘Bows and struck out four.

The Rainbow Warriors scored in the top of the first on a RBI double from Ben Zeigler-Namoa. The Mustangs were able to escape out of a bases loaded jam with a double play. Cal Poly scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth as Nate Castellon and Casey Murray Jr. each drove in one run each to account for the final score of the game.

(Article courtesy of Big West)

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Caleb Nguyen

OXNARD, Calif. – OPD officers arrested a 22-year-old Oxnard man for carrying a firearm into a school zone during a fight.

OPD officers conducted a traffic stop for a car involved in the fight when they found out the 22-year-old man driving didn’t have a license.

OPD officers found the 22-year-old with a handgun and arrested him for a felony firearm violation after carrying the weapon 1000 feet from a school.

The passenger in the car didn’t commit a violation and was released from the stop, according to the OPD.

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Caleb Nguyen

OXNARD, Calif. – Oxnard Police Department officers arrested a 29-year-old for domestic violence and firearm possession among many other charges Friday evening.

OPD officers arrived when the 29-year-old was arguing with his 26-year-old girlfriend and the incident turned violent.

The man threatened to kill the woman and forced the woman to leave their home at the 900 block of East Channel Islands Blvd. for treatment after beating her, according to the OPD.

The 29-year-old stayed in the home with the couple’s three-month-old child before an OPD SWAT team took him into custody without incident.

The man was then booked into the Ventura County Jail for kidnapping, domestic battery causing injury, assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats, child endangerment and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, according to the OPD.

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Caleb Nguyen

OXNARD, Calif. – Oxnard Police Department agents arrested a 50-year-old man for firearm and narcotics charges at a traffic stop on F and Fourth St. Thursday afternoon.

OPD found five pounds of methamphetamine and 1.5 pounds of fentanyl, consistent with qualities for sale, at the 100 block of North H. St. during a search warrant.

OPD officers then found gun parts, ammunition, cash, and an unserialized semi-automatic AR gun.

The 50-year-old had previously been arrested for narcotics and firearms violations on May 17, according to the OPD.

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Caleb Nguyen

VENTURA, Calif. – Michael Gordon Butler, a 40-year-old from Simi Valley, received a four-year state prison sentence after his 2022 Christmas DUI manslaughter, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

Butler left a family gathering around 6:00 p.m. with Coldren James Lee Udell Kiblinger, the 23-year-old passenger in the vehicle, and family grew concerned when the pair didn’t return, detailed the VCDAO.

Butler pled guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after his Corvette crashed 200 feet into an embankment off Santa Susana Pass Road in Simi Valley on Christmas of 2022, according to the VCDAO.

Butler caused fatal injuries to Kiblinger after speeding while impaired and losing control of the car into trees and the hillside, according to the CHP.

Butler pled guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and admitted the special allegations of serious felony and that the crime involved great violence, according to the VCDAO.

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News Channel 3-12

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the county ACPD are informing the public about a scheduled burn either later this month or early June.

Below is a press release from both organizations on the announcement:

The upcoming prescribed burn is led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) at the Jack and LauraDangermond Preserve. The purpose of the prescribed burn is to facilitate coastal grassland habitatrestoration at a 40-acre site at the Preserve. The goal is to remove non-native plants and thatch to clearthe area for native plant restoration in the fall. The Nature Conservancy has coordinated the burn withthe Santa Barbara County Fire Department, who will be present at the burn.

The burn is planned for one day between May 27-30. If conditions do not allow for burning during thiswindow, the back-up week will be June 9-14. If the burn does not occur during these two windows, theburn will be postponed until Fall 2025. The 40-acre site consists primarily of non-native annual grassesand noxious weeds like black mustard.

Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) staff review the Smoke Management Plansand provide conditions to minimize smoke impacts in Santa Barbara County. The burn will occur whenthe meteorological conditions are highly favorable to direct smoke away from population centers. Oncethe burn day has been selected, a media advisory will be issued.

The prescribed burn is conducted independent of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. The burnis planned and implemented by a TNC-qualified burn boss in coordination with the Santa Barbara CountyFire Department and Santa Barbara County APCD to minimize impacts on air quality on surroundingcommunities. The burn is dependent on weather and air quality conditions that are favorable to smokedispersion. If the conditions are not as desired, the burn will be rescheduled or cancelled.

Due to changing winds and weather conditions, it is difficult to predict which areas of the county, if any,may be most affected by smoke from the burn. If you smell smoke, take precautions and use commonsense to reduce any harmful health effects by limiting outdoor activities. When you can smell smoke orwhen it is visible in your area, avoid strenuous outdoor activity and remain indoors as much as possible.These precautions are especially important to children, older adults, and those with heart and lungconditions. Use caution when driving near prescribed burns due to reduced visibility

For more information regarding the County’s air quality, visit www.OurAir.org.

To view a statewide prescribed burn map and other features, visit the Prescribed Fire InformationReporting System (PFIRS) website: https://ssl.arb.ca.gov/pfirs/firm/firm.php

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Ryder Christ

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Drivers across the Central and South Coast are seeing a welcome drop in gas prices just as many prepare to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend.

The average price for regular unleaded gasoline on the Central Coast is now $4.72 per gallon — down seven cents from last week and 45 cents less than this time last year. That’s slightly lower than the statewide average of $4.87 and well below last year’s holiday weekend prices, according to the latest Weekend Gas Watch from the Automobile Club of Southern California.

“Southern Californians will be paying the lowest pump prices since 2021 to fill up for their Memorial Day getaways, which they will be taking in record numbers,” said Auto Club spokesperson Doug Shupe. “Gas prices are backing off from a price spike earlier this month caused by a Northern California refinery fire and some unplanned refinery outages. According to Oil Price Information Service, those supply issues have been resolved and refineries have increased their gasoline production.”

In Santa Barbara County, some of the lowest prices as of Friday were averaging around $4.10 per gallon. Ventura County drivers are seeing lows near $4.43, while San Luis Obispo County’s lowest prices are averaging about $4.58.

Nationally, the average price at the pump remains steady at $3.19 — unchanged from last week and down 42 cents from this time last year — offering some relief to the record number of Americans expected to travel this weekend.

For up-to-date prices and to find the cheapest gas along your route, check out News Channel’s Gas Price Tracker covering San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

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