Author: KEYT

Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – An artist known for his mural outside a local market is being mourned.

Danny Meza painted the mural featuring a famous quote by Nelson Mandela on the side of Brownie’s Market years ago.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite,” said Mandela, who, along with South African politician F.W. de Klerk, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 for working to end apartheid in South Africa.

Meza is also remembered as a talented tattoo artist.

Friends shared stories about him during a candlelight vigil held Monday night at the corner of De La Vina and Haley Streets.

Details surrounding his death in San Diego last week have not been released.

Danny Meza was 35.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – It was a Royal luncheon at Harry’s.

San Marcos Royals Austin Downing and Liv Plourde were honored for their big performances in rivalry action.

Downing was awarded the Male Athlete of the Week after leading San Marcos boys golf to wins over rivals Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos.

The sophomore Downing fired a 1-under par 69 versus the Dons and a 1-over par 73 against DP as San Marcos stayed undefeated in the Channel League.

Lacrosse standout Liv Ploude is the Female Athlete of the Week after racking up 8 goals in two wins.

Her 4 goal, 5 assist performance against Dos Pueblos was also an historic game as the senior set a new program record for career goals.

Ploude broke the old mark of 105 and now has 108 goals and counting.

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Mike Klan

GOLETA, Calif. – Dos Pueblos kept up with Oxnard for the first couple of innings but the Yellowjackets showed why they are 10-0 in the Channel League with a 13-4 victory.

Oxnard scored 3 runs in the top of the first inning as Destinee Herrera slugged a 2-run homer to right field.

But DP answered right back with 4 runs in the bottom of the first scoring all the runs with two outs.

Juliana Brunner singled in two runs as did Vereniki Maniadi to make it 4-3 Chargers after one.

But the Yellowjackets grabbed the lead for good with a 3-run third inning and put the game away in the sixth with five more runs.

There were 30 total hits in the game.

Dos Pueblos had 12 hits which included Vereniki Maniadi going 3-4 with 2 rbi on the day, Anastasia Brunner went 3-3 and Zella Cassidy and Juliana Brunner each went 2-4, with Brunner getting 2 RBI.

Oxnard’s offensive highlights include:

Layla Mukul-2/2, 2RunsKayla Lorona 2/3, 2RunsNatalie Rodarte 3/5,3RRaelene Rangel 2/4, 2R HR,4RBIDestinee Herrera 3/5 2R HR,3RBI,SRachel Godoy 4/4, 5RBI, WP

The same two teams meet on Wednesday in Oxnard.

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Evan Vega

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A color run was held at the Elks Event Center in Santa Maria on Saturday.

The event combined fitness, community, and vibrant colors for participating runners.

Bright colored dyes were thrown in the air as people ran the 5k event.

It was hosted by the Guadalupe Kiwanis and Children’s Resource and Referral of Santa Barbra County.

It was open to all ages and fitness levels.

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Ryder Christ

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Fifty-six years ago, a disaster off the coast of Santa Barbara sparked the creation of Earth Day, a movement that continues to focus on educating the next generation, as it did in 1991.

Thirty-four years ago, children gathered at Santa Barbara’s De La Guerra Plaza to celebrate Earth Day.

At the time, key concerns included deforestation, ozone depletion, and basic recycling awareness.

‘If they keep cutting the forests in Brazil, in 60 years they will be gone,’ one young girl shared in a KEYT news report by Jennifer Mansback.

In 1991, more than 4,200 square miles of forest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon. By 2023, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon had decreased by 23%, with only 3,475 square miles of forest cleared that year—the lowest annual figure since 2018, according to Mongabay, a nonprofit conservation and science news outlet.

Children were the theme of the 1991 Santa Barbara Earth Day celebration.

“The children get so much input about what’s wrong with the world,” one woman said in the report. “We wanted them to also know that they are very powerful if they choose to recycle or write letters.”

At the time, youth involvement was encouraged to spread awareness. Today, young people are leading global movements using social media and activism to address climate change, microplastic pollution, environmental justice, and the transition to clean energy.

“The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were a major update to U.S. environmental policy, targeting air pollution from urban smog, toxic air pollutants, and ozone layer depletion.”

Thirty-four years later, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a comprehensive plan to enhance climate resilience, including a target for 67% of new vehicles to be electric by 2032.

However, the Trump administration rolled back several environmental policies, including granting two-year exemptions from mercury and air toxics regulations to 47 coal-fired power plants.

Santa Barbara has a long history with Earth Day, dating back to Jan. 28, 1969, when a blowout from a drilling operation at one of the offshore platforms spilled more than 3 million gallons of crude oil over several weeks—one of the largest oil spills in U.S. waters at the time. It was also one of the first televised environmental disasters.

“The Santa Barbara oil spill brought home, vividly, the lesson that man can no longer irresponsibly exploit the environment without facing consequences,” said Sen. Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day’s founder.

Nelson founded Earth Day one year later, on April 22, 1970.

In response to growing environmental concerns following the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, President Richard Nixon called for the establishment of the EPA in 1970.

Today, the City of Santa Barbara continues to lead the environmental movement by banning single-use plastics to reduce waste entering the ocean and requiring all new construction to use electric systems for heating, cooking, and other energy needs, all in an effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.

This year, Santa Barbara will celebrate the 55th Earth Day at Alameda Park on April 26-27.

The 1991 Earth Day Celebration footage is preserved by UCSB Library Special Research Collections as part of the KEYT News Video Archive.  Digital copies of materials are available by request. For more information on the collection, contact the Film & Television Curator.

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Caleb Nguyen

CUYAMA, Calif. – Several fire crews helped with a small grass fire near Cuyama that first ignited at 3:07 p.m. Monday, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The SBCFD estimated the fire at three acres and received help from the Los Padres National Forest to stop forward progress at 3:42 p.m.

Both those agencies mopped up the fire for about one to two hours following the burn and no structural damage or injured people were reported, according to the SBCFD.

More information on the fire will be provided as it becomes available to Your News Channel.

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Caleb Nguyen

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – CAL Fire SLO crews responded to a three-acre brush fire near Oso Flaco Lake just after 3:00 p.m Monday.

Forward progress of the fire stopped just before 6:00 p.m. and a helicopter helped put it out, according to CAL Fire SLO.

More information on the cause of this fire and the overall incident will be provided once available to Your News Channel.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Officials are acknowledging the state of disrepair on some of the rural roads in the northern parts of Santa Barbara county.

You don’t have to drive more than six miles up Figueroa Mountain Road before encountering a bumpy ride.

Santa Barbara county Public Works has identified these increasing problem areas.

“This is what I’m getting mostly for my constituents is about roads, you know, and about how bad it is around their house and how it’s been 30 years since anybody’s ever, you know, showed up from the county,” says Bob Nelson, Santa Barbara County Supervisor.

These roads are not highly trafficked, they wind through hills, and even forested areas, making visibility tricky.

“Roads aren’t sexy. You know, there’s no ribbon cutting when you’re out there with the pavement. But it’s it’s hugely important,” says Supervisor Nelson.

According to some constituents who live out in these areas, many of these roads have not been resurfaced in several years, to say nothing of the damages caused by recent wildfires.

“We would love to pave everything. But those ones, we have to be a little bit more careful and do them in segments versus like doing the whole thing,” says Public Works director Rick Sneddon.

County officials have scheduled these much needed repairs, but there are logistical concerns on these long stretches of mountain road that slow the process down.

“Figueroa Mountain, for example, is a very challenging road to maintain. It’s very long and it’s expensive to do so. He’s got many roads like that in his district and we try and we try and do everything so that we’re like making sure we’re paying attention to those roads too,” says Sneddon.

Due to the tricky nature of some of these routes, repairs will need to be done in sections, and residents will need to be notified ahead of time.

For additional details such as the roadmap and schedule for these repairs, you can visit the county’s website.

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A ceremony was held Monday morning to celebrate the official renaming of the Santa Maria Post Office in honor of former mayor Larry Lavagnino.

With family, friends, and many former city government colleagues on hand, Lavagnino said he was touched so many people came out to share in this very personal and meaningful recognition.

“It’s like I said in my speech, my life was a jigsaw puzzle,” said Lavagnino. “Every one of these people were a part in my life and that means a lot to me, so when I looked out and saw those faces, it was unbelievable. I love them all. Every every one of them played a part in my life.”

In January 2024, Congressman Salud Carbajal unveiled federal legislation to formally rename the Santa Maria Post Office after Lavagnino.

After several months of waiting, Congress officially voted and approved the bill late that year in December, and the bill was later signed into law by President Biden in early January 2025.

“Can you believe that?” asked Lavagnino. “It’s hard to believe that it takes an act of Congress and President to sign this and it was done. I’m very, very proud, and of course, I’m very proud of my family. My family has done well and the City of Santa Maria has done well by my family.”

A Santa Maria native, the 89-year-old Lavagnino is a graduate of Santa Maria Union High School and Allan Hancock College, and a Navy veteran.

He served on the Santa Maria Planning Commission before a six year tenure on the Santa Maria City Council beginning in 1996, and later as Mayor from 2002 to 2012.

During his tenure as mayor and councilmember, Lavagnino helped lead the city through some of its most significant improvement projects, including the rebuilding of the Santa Maria River Levee, the construction of the new Transit Center, police station, fire stations, Abel Maldonado Youth Center, widening of Highway 101 to three lanes, and much more.

“Santa Maria and the citizens of Santa Maria have always been so good to me,” said Lavagnino. “They’ve always been very kind to me. I grew up in an era where my dad and mom told me, you treat everybody the way you want to be treated. I hope that I lived up to that because I tried.”

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