Author: KEYT

Caleb Nguyen

FILLMORE, Calif. – Several law agencies across Ventura County arrested a 23-year-old Fillmore gang member for drug and firearm-related offenses Friday at 8:00 a.m., according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigations started in March when detectives looked into the 23-year-old man for unlawful firearm activity before obtaining a search warrant for his car, home and himself, according to the VCSO.

Detectives then contacted the gang member at his place of employment at Eastman Ave. in Ventura and found a controlled substance, graffiti tools and a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his possession after serving the search warrant, according to the VCSO.

The 23-year-old was later arrested for the following violations and booked into the Pre-Trial Detention Facility:

Health & Safety Code § 11370.1(a) – [Possession of a Controlled Substance While Armed with a Firearm]

Penal Code § 487(d)(2) – [Grand Theft Firearm]

Penal Code § 25850(a) – [Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Vehicle]

Penal Code § – [Carrying a Concealed Firearm in Vehicle]

Penal Code § 27545 – [Unlawful Firearm Transfer]

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Visiting Nurses Association has honored two special women in the annual VNA Mother’s Day lunch.

The honorees were champions of the health and well being of our community.

This year the late Rosa Pace was chosen for her philanthrophy in the Santa Ynez Valley.

She is a founding member of the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic, the first clinic on the Chumash Reservation.

Also awarded was Renee Grubb the owner of Village Properties.

Annually they provide funds for teachers and educational support.

Her team of realtors also helps 30 different charities.

“Today is really for VNA and I just hope that  we can continue to support them in the way that they should, more money every single year because they deserve it because they do such good with it,” said Grubb.

VNA Health is a non profit that began 117 years ago.

100% of the luncheon’s proceeds support VNA Healthy’s charitable community care programs.

Those services bring hope, health and comfort to families throughout our community regardless of adequate insurance or resources.

The lunch was held at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.

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Caleb Nguyen

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The SLO County Air Pollution Control District announced a series of prescribed burns at Camp Roberts later this month to reduce fire hazards.

The proposed burn dates are scheduled for May 12-16, May 19-23 and May 27-28 with a majority of the 8,700 acres of proposed burns happening on the final day, according to the press release from the SLO ACPD.

Training burns and hazard reduction are scheduled throughout the month to help reduce wildfire risk and improve potential air quality locally, according to the press release from the SLO ACPD.

Smoke will be present on burn days and up-to-date information will be provided to help those affected, including children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions, according to the SLO ACPD press release.

Burns depend on weather and air quality and could be rescheduled. Updates on when burns will happen in the area will be provided on the ACPD website.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Mother’s Day is one of the busiest times of the year for florists and flower shops.

“It’s been huge. Yesterday was so busy, and today—along with Mother’s Day—it’s actually Mexican Mother’s Day, so we’re extra busy. It’s our busiest day of the year,” said Westerlay Orchids showroom manager Virginia Hayes.

Family-owned flower shop Lily’s Flowers and Fruity Florets said they’ve been seeing a surge in orders since the middle of the week.

“Since Wednesday, we’ve been doing about 80 to 90 orders every day, so yeah, the influx for Mother’s Day gets a lot bigger,” said Ismael Contreras, manager at Lily’s Flowers and Fruity Florets.

Flower shoppers may face higher prices this Mother’s Day due to ongoing tariffs enacted during the Trump administration.

According to Money Talks News, 80% of flowers purchased in the U.S. are grown outside the country.

“Peonies, orchids, and stuff that get imported from somewhere more tropical,” said Contreras.

At Westerlay Orchids, however, tariffs haven’t impacted prices.

“We’re very lucky—not at all,” said Hayes. “Actually, all of our orchids are raised here. We grow everything in our greenhouses in Carpinteria; we have three facilities here, so the tariffs don’t affect anything. We are not raising prices—we’ve held our prices for a few years now.”

While flower prices have risen at some shops, that hasn’t stopped shoppers from buying blooms this Mother’s Day.

“The roses that we usually get are from Ecuador, so those have gone up,” said Contreras. “They’ve noticed—especially the customers who come more often. They’re like, ‘Oh, my dozen roses used to be $55, now they’re $65.’”

Lily’s Flowers and Fruity Florets will be open on Sunday for Mother’s Day.

Westerlay Orchids will be closed for the holiday.

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Caleb Nguyen

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The Santa Maria Police Department is investigating a fatal stabbing that happened Friday morning just before 11:00 a.m. at the 1700 block of Rio Vista.

SMPD officers found a 63-year-old man and took him into custody as a suspect. This came after finding a 44-year-old woman with multiple injuries at the scene.

The woman was later helped to Marian Regional Medical Center, where she unfortunately died from her injuries.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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Caleb Nguyen

LOMPOC, Calif. – Santa Barbara County Fire personnel found a car that went over the side of Highway 1 near Lompoc that turned into a brush fire just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

SBCFD members knocked down the fire at a quarter acre at 3:15 a.m. and began searching for potential victims within the thick brush.

The sedan went 50 feet off the side of the road and closed one lane of Highway 1 after the search, during which SBCFD crews were unable to find any potential victims from the crash.

SBCFD members helped extinguish hot spots until 6:00 a.m. and the California Highway Patrol is investigating any potential owners of the car.

The cause of the crash and subsequent fire are under investigation.

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Mike Klan

GOLETA, Calif. – Time ran out on Dos Pueblos High School girls lacrosse.

The Chargers furious comeback fell two goals short in a 12-10 home loss to Oaks Christian in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3 semifinal game.

Trailing 12-7 in the fourth quarter Linnea Clapinski scored three goals to bring DP within striking distance with just under a minute to play.

(Clapinski scores on a free shot in the fourth quarter. Entenza Design).

But the Chargers could not get another shot off and saw their season end at 11-10.

Clapinski finished with a team-high 6 goals.

Oaks Christian raced out to a 7-2 lead in the second quarter before Dos Pueblos closed the half with three straight goals including a first half buzzer-beater by Clapinski on an assist by Eloise Shea.

Clapinski opened the second half with a goal to bring DP to within 7-6 before the Lions tallied the next four goals to extend the lead to 11-6.

The Chargers Marissa Russak scored with 33 seconds left in the third quarter as DP trailed 11-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

Stella Lawler made 14 saves against Oaks Christian but the Lions sister act of Julia and Elizabeth Forsyth proved to be too much for DP.

(Julia Forsyth helps lead the Lions into the title game. Entenza Design).

Oaks Christian will play in their first-ever girls lacrosse CIF-SS final next Friday against powerhouse Trabucco Hills at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.

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Mike Klan

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Tyler Bremner set a new UC Santa Barbara Baseball record on Friday night, racking up his 275th career strikeout and going on to issue 10 K’s as the Gauchos (32-16) routed Loyola Marymount (24-25), 12-1, in the opening game of a three-game series. The offense put up big numbers in the third and eighth innings, with Nate Vargas, Jonathan Mendez, Rowan Kelly and Liam Barrett all tallying multiple RBIs on the night.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS”(Bremner is) in the strike zone a lot,” Checketts said in a mid-game interview. “You look at his walk totals and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is really good, one of the better ones in the country. He’s in the zone, and when you’re in the zone a lot, you get to two strikes more and you get more strikeouts. I always tell my guys, I haven’t seen anybody in my career yet strike out with less than two strikes. You’ve got to get there first. He’s doing a good job of getting ahead tonight.”

HOW IT HAPPENED”In the zone” may have been an understatement of Bremner’s start to Friday’s game. The righty was perfect through five innings and faced the minimum through six with the help of a double play. Through those opening six frames, the Lions managed to put just eight balls in play against Bremner, while the junior racked up double-digit punchouts. His first of the night came to end the first inning, then he started the second inning with two more. That third strikeout of the night put him alone atop UC Santa Barbara’s career strikeout leaderboard, surpassing the 274 that Dan Yokubaitis collected between 1983 and 1986. He went on to strike out the side in the third and again in the fifth before allowing his one and only hit to begin the sixth. Another strikeout and a double play got him out of the frame having still faced the minimum.

While Bremner was racking up strikeouts, the Gaucho offense was racking up runs. A two-out rally in the second got Santa Barbara on the board, with Mendez reaching on a fielder’s choice, Xavier Esquer walking and then Barrett driving Mendez home with a single through the right side of the LMU infield.

The Gauchos then turned their lead into a comfortable cushion with a four-run third. Jack Holman hit a one-out double down the right field line and took third on a balk, then Isaac Kim hit a flop shot of a double into the magic spot in left field where no Lion could reach it, scoring Holman from third. Vargas kept the double trouble going, finding the gap in right center to score Kim, then Mendez conquered the Blue Monster in left field, clearing the 37-foot-tall wall to make it 5-0 Santa Barbara.

LMU got one of those runs back in the seventh, with a one-out walk coming around to score after Donovann Jackson relieved Bremner. However, the Gaucho offense kicked into gear again and made their lead bigger than ever before in the top of the eighth. Back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases, then Vargas earned another RBI the hard way, being hit by a pitch to force home a run. Mendez followed that up with a five-pitch walk to force home another run, then Kelly drove in a pair with a single into right field. Barrett’s sacrifice fly to center gave Santa Barbara their fifth run of the inning and 10th of the game.

Jackson stayed in and set down the side in order in the bottom of the eighth, and the offense stayed hot when they came back out in the top of the ninth. A walk and a single got runners aboard for Vargas, and the Gaucho catcher pulled a ball down the right field line, tracing it into the corner for a two-RBI triple, making it 12-1. Jackson finished the game, allowing just a walk in a scoreless ninth.

BY THE NUMBERSThe Gauchos finished the evening with five doubles, two of them by Vargas, a feat they have accomplished four other times this season. As for Vargas, his last two-double haul was just three weekends ago, on April 27 at UC San Diego.Vargas’s team-high four hits on Friday are a new career high for the Gaucho backstop. Before Friday’s game, he had not even tallied three hits in an NCAA contest.Speaking of career marks, Bremner’s career-record-breaking haul of 10 strikeouts is his fifth double-digit strikeout night this season, all five of which have come in the last six weeks. He now has 282 strikeouts in UC Santa Barbara’s Blue and Gold.There is still one Gaucho record waiting to be broken this weekend, as LeTrey McCollum continues his pursuit of the longest on-base streak in program history. With an eighth-inning single and a ninth-inning walk, he extended his on-base streak to 44 games, one away from tying and two from breaking the previous record, set by Christian Kirtley in 2022. McCollum also has a 20-game hitting streak.

UP NEXTThe series now moves to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, where the Gauchos will host the Lions on May 10 and May 11. First pitch times are set for 3:05 p.m. on Saturday and 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets and both games will be live on ESPN+.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).

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Mike Klan

FULLERTON, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Softball team (32-24, 17-10 Big West) is just two games away from winning their first ever Big West Championship after running the gauntlet in the elimination bracket. The Gauchos won both elimination games against the Tritons and Rainbow Wahine to reach The Big West Championship Final.

GAME ONE: GAUCHOS 11, TRITONS 7After losing to UC San Diego in the opening round, the Gauchos came out swinging in the rematch. Malaya Johnson started the game by working around a pair of walks in a scoreless top of the first. Two runs batted in by Elicia Acosta (single) and Delaina Ma’ae (bases loaded walk) then gave the Gauchos an immediate 2-0 advantage. It was nearly 6-0, but Emily Carr’s bases loaded, two-out fly out was caught just shy of the center field wall.

Nonetheless, the Gauchos quickly made it 6-0 anyway. In the bottom of the second, Tehya Banks’ RBI single plated another run before Acosta’s double drove in two more. In the next at bat, San Diego threw the ball away twice attempting to double off Acosta on a line out, allowing her to score Santa Barbara’s sixth run.

Johnson earned a swinging strikeout and a fly out to escape a bases loaded, one-out jam in the third. In the fourth, a Triton two-out, two-run homer brought the score to 6-2. The Gauchos immediately countered with a grand slam off the bat of Ma’ae, a line drive that was just high enough and just stayed fair, blowing the game open to 10-2 Santa Barbara.

The Tritons tacked on two in the fifth to extend the game. In the home half, Alexa Sams drove in a run to make it 11-4. After recording an out, Sam Stoll relieved Johnson—giving the starter some much-needed rest—and finished a clean sixth inning. The following inning, down to their final out, San Diego used a triple and single to score three runs before a groundout back to Stoll clinched the 11-7 victory.

GAME TWO: GAUCHOS 8, RAINBOW WAHINE 1UC Santa Barbara started strong in the first inning with Jazzy Santos singling to right field and later advancing to second on a wild pitch. Giselle Mejia followed with a double to center field, bringing Santos home for the first run, giving UC Santa Barbara an early 1–0 lead.

The fourth inning was pivotal for UC Santa Barbara. Elicia Acosta singled and Bella Fuentes walked, putting runners on base. Ainsley Waddell then hit a grand slam to right field, driving in four runs. Mejia added another run with an RBI double, breaking the single-season record and extending the lead to 6–0 after the fourth inning.

In the sixth inning, Erin Mendoza singled, and Santos hit her second double of the game, setting up another scoring opportunity. Mejia’s single to left field brought Mendoza home, and Santos later stole home, adding two more runs to UC Santa Barbara’s tally, increasing their lead to 8–1.

The Wahine managed to score once in the sixth inning, but UC Santa Barbara’s defense held firm throughout the game. The final score was 8–1, securing the victory for UC Santa Barbara.

Ainsley Waddell did it all for the Gauchos when they needed it most. The sophomore took the circle for the first time since March 22 and threw a complete game allowing just one run and striking out three. If that wasn’t enough she went 1-4 at the plate with her lone hit being a grand slam, the Gauchos second of the day. While in the circle she had four total chances and made three putout and an assist for 1.000 fielding percentage.

UP NEXTUC Santa Barbara will have a quick turnaround as they take on the No. 2 seed, CSUN, at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the first of what could be two Big West Championship games. Should the Gauchos win game one the two teams will play a winner-take-all second championship game 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).

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Mike Klan

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Zach Daudet and Alejandro Garza combined for six hits and five RBIs while Griffin Naess tossed six scoreless innings for his fifth win as Cal Poly scored early and often in a 17-1 romp past CSUN on Friday at Robert J. Hiegert Field.

Zaudet opened the game with his sixth home run of the season and added two singles for one more RBI, and Garza produced his team-leading 29th multiple-hit game of the season with three singles and a trio of RBIs for Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs.

Naess (5-2) struck out three and walked one while scattering eight hits for the victory, lowering his ERA to 3.21. Luke Kovach, Troy Cooper, and Eric Kvidahl all pitched one inning in relief — Kovach and Kvidahl both struck out three, and Cooper added one more.

With the win, Cal Poly remained two games behind first-place UC Irvine in the Big West standings. The Mustangs earned their fifth straight win and are 33-15 for the season and 19-6 in conference play.

UC Irvine improved to 21-4 with a 14-11 win at Cal State Bakersfield. Third-place Cal State Fullerton dropped an 8-7 decision to Hawai’i at Goodwin Field, falling to 16-9 in Big West games.

Cal Poly scored three runs in the second inning, four in the fourth, and eight in the sixth, giving the Mustangs 82 innings with crooked numbers in 48 games this season.

Cal Poly’s 17 runs are the fourth-highest this year, exceeded by 18 against both Seton Hall and San Jose State and 20 in another Seton Hall contest, and the Mustangs accumulated 16 hits, marking the 29th time in their last 41 games with double-digit hits.

With his three hits Friday, Garza has put together seven consecutive multiple-hit games and is 17-for-32 (.531) in those contests. The sophomore third baseman and 2024 Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year singled in a run in the fourth, singled again in the sixth frame, and knocked in two more runs with an eighth-inning single.

Garza has hit in seven straight games and 27 of his last 28 contests.

In addition to his home run, Daudet singled to drive in another run in the second and singled again in the fourth. The senior first baseman now has 11 multiple-hit games this season.

Catcher Jack Collins and center fielder Casey Murray Jr. each added two hits and a pair of RBIs, while right fielder Dylan Kordic singled twice with one RBI.

Second baseman Ryan Fenn doubled to drive in two runs in the second inning, extending his hitting streak to eight game, while shortstop Nate Castellon, the reigning Big West Field Player of the Week, doubled in a run in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to seven games and is 17-for-30 (.567) during that stretch.

CSUN banged out 12 hits, but all of them were singles, and the Matadors stranded 11 runners on the base paths. Center fielder Roberto Gonzalez had three hits and knocked in the lone CSUN run of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Second baseman Kyle Panganiban, right fielder Andrew Gauna, designated hitter Will Linberg, and first baseman Matthew Pena all contributed a pair of singles.

The second game of the series will be played Saturday at 4:35 p.m., with Cal Poly sophomore southpaw Josh Volmerding (5-3, 4.81 ERA) to face CSUN junior right-hander Diego Gutierrez (2-6, 7.26 ERA).

Sunday’s series finale is set for a 1 p.m. start.

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics).

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