Author: KEYT

Caleb Nguyen

LOS ALAMOS, Calif. (KEYT) – A man identified by authorities Tuesday as Derrick Silvano Wright died after a car hit him near Alisos Canyon just after 2:00 a.m. Saturday, just outside of Los Alamos on the 101 freeway, according to the Santa Maria CHP.

CHP officers found the 37-year-old man originally from Huey Town, Alabama, and living in Santa Maria as a pedestrian in the crash and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Preliminary investigation indicates that Wright walked in the northbound lanes of the freeway when hit by the car. The circumstances leading up to the crash remain under investigation, according to the CHP.

Anyone who saw the crash who wasn’t already contacted by CHP are asked to call the CHP Santa Maria office with further details at the following number.

Click here to follow the original article.

Caleb Nguyen

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office deputies investigated a package explosion at the Carpinteria UPS store just after 2:30 p.m. Monday.

SBCSO deputies evacuated all nearby businesses and advised citizens to avoid the area from Taco Grande to the Goodwill.

The SBCSO later confirmed the explosion as a fire extinguisher inside a package before 5:00 p.m. and reported no injuries from the incident.

“The call came as an explosion inside the UPS store where there was powder emitting from a package, so we approached it with caution, we had our bomb squad come out and they were able to confirm what the package was, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick,” It was a fire extinguisher.”

About four employees and seven customers were inside the UPS store when the explosion happened.

Employees returned to work after 5 p.m. but told customers to come back in the morning.

One said they train every six months on how to handle hazardous materials and that training came in handy on Monday.

Your News Channel will have reaction to what happened at Casitas Plaza in Carpinteria tonight on the news

Click here to follow the original article.

Dave Alley

LOPEZ LAKE, Calif. (KEYT) – The body of the person who went missing late Sunday afternoon in the water at Lopez Lake was found early Monday afternoon.

Around noon, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Underwater Search and Recovery (Dive Team) located the victim in the area where the Arroyo Grande Arm of the lake connects with the Wittenburg Arm.

The Sheriff’s Office has identified as the victim as 25-year-old Sergio MendiolaGarcia of Santa Maria.

According to Sheriff’s Office, MendiolaGarcia was swimming in the lake when he became distressed and appeared to be drowning before he went underwater.

Family members tried to locate him in the water, but were unsuccessful and soon called 911.

The San Luis Obispo County Fire Department responded and was joined by other local emergency responders, who mobilized an extensive search of the water and land utilization boats, jet skis, drones, paddle boards and rescue swimmers.

The search resumed earlier today and concluded just before noon when the body of MendiolaGarcia was found by underwater by the Sheriff’s dive team.

While the search was ongoing, San Luis Obispo County Parks, which operates the lake and entire recreational area, closed off the water to boating.

All other activities at the lake, such as camping, onshore fishing and other day uses remained open.

With the search now complete, the lake is once again open to all visitors for full use.

Click here to follow the original article.

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – With a stronghold on Mexico and the Southwest, U.S. agave growers are coming to the Santa Barbara County coast.

At an annual symposium they talked about increasing farm lands that could result in thousands of new plants.

The California Agave Council President Stuart Woolfe said at the all day event, “we have a little bit of everything. We’re trying to create a tent that we can all, operate under.” The symposium was at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.

Many vendors were on site too.

Already, there’s agricultural land changes taking place on properties in Santa Barbara and Montecito.

At one ranch above San Roque, one farmer Mark Hannah said, “we planted a thousand there. They’ve been doing well. They’re loving the climate.”

Carpinteria is expected to be part of this trend too as it looks at alternatives from the traditional crops there including avocados or the most recent phase with cannabis..

All day seminars will include information about the plants growth in popularity, distilling, marketing and land uses.

“This is a crop that represents something new and different. And it it’s a climate resilient crop in California ,” said Woolfe.

Andrew Caspary is the owner of Ventura Spirits. He said, “quality is going to be very important.

And this isn’t just about pumping out a commodity. Be protective over the reputation of this industry and these products as we grow them. ” He also believes the demand in the U.S is strong and growing. “It’s going to be a dance where we figure out, which products, at which price points and you know, which brands represent. I think the growers and everybody participating is trying to convey that.”

Some of the growers toured local properties Sunday prior to the sessions and enjoyed tequila tastings.

(More details, video and photos will be added here later today.)

Click here to follow the original article.

Caleb Nguyen

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – Emergency crews are searching for a person involved in a water rescue at Lopez Lake, according to CAL FIRE SLO.

The victim fell into the water before 4:30 p.m. and witnesses called emergency crews to search for the submerged person, according to CAL FIRE SLO.

CAL FIRE SLO crews handed the case over to the SLO County Sheriff’s Office after an update, just before 8:30 p.m Sunday, that the victim was not found.

CAL FIRE SLO crews are working alongside a helicopter, San Luis Ambulance, SLO County Parks, Pismo Beach Lifeguards, and the SLO County Sheriff’s Dive Team.

CAL FIRE SLO advised avoiding the area for a safe operation involving boats, skis, drones, paddle boards and rescue swimmers.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – Alejandro Garza smashed a two-run seventh-inning home run 382 feet over the left-field wall to give Cal Poly its first lead and Nick Bonn earned his seventh save as the Mustangs rallied from behind for the ninth time this season in a 5-4 victory over UC Davis on Sunday inside Baggett Stadium.

Trailing 4-2, Coach Larry Lee’s Mustangs scored three times in the seventh on an RBI double off the bat of pinch-hitter Xander McLauren and Garza’s eighth career home run as a Mustang on an 0-1 pitch from Noel Valdez to overtake the upstart Aggies.

Bonn, who pitched 1 2/3 innings the day before, throwing 44 pitches, allowed a one-out hit to Trevor Howard in the ninth but nothing else for a one-inning save, thanks in part to a pair of dazzling defensive plays by the Mustangs to close the game.

With its 10th straight victory, Cal Poly clinched its third straight Big West series and improved to 8-0 in conference play and 14-7 overall by producing double-digit hits for the sixth straight game and ninth in its last 11 contests.

UC Davis fell to 9-11 (4-4 Big West).

The visiting Aggies jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second inning as Joey Wright doubled to right-center field, driving in two, and Zach Story singled down the right-field line for the third tally.

Cal Poly closed the gap to 3-2 with single runs in the second and third frames. Gavin Spiridonoff’s triple to the gap in left-center field in the second frame and Cam Hoiland’s single to left in the third made it a one-run game.

Tyler Howard homered leading off the fifth inning, his second of the year for a 4-2 UC Davis advantage, setting the stage for the heroics of McLaurin and Garza in the seventh.

Mustang starting pitcher Corden Pettey went six innings on the mound in his third career start, allowing four runs and eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts. His Whitney High School (Rocklin, Calif.) teammate, Brady Estes (2-0), earned the victory with two scoreless innings of one-hit baseball and Bonn closed it out in the ninth, giving him two saves in each of Cal Poly’s three Big West series so far this season.

In the ninth, Howard beat the throw from shortstop for an infield hit with one out before Elijah McNeal’s blooper into shallow right field was fielded on a hop by Cam Hoiland. Hoiland alertly threw the ball to second base to force Howard for the second out. Kai Mault then hit a grounder up the middle which was flagged down by Nate Castellon behind second base and he flipped the ball backward to Garza covering the bag for the final out of the game.

The loss went to Valdez (1-3), who was facing Cal Poly for a third time as a starter for UC Davis. After going 3.0 and 4.2 innings the last two years against the Mustangs, suffering losses in both games, Valdez pitched into the seventh inning Sunday and scattered a dozen hits while giving up all five Cal Poly runs.

Garza, who had four hits in Saturday’s 12-11 Mustang victory, added three more hits Sunday and is 7-for-8 with a walk in the series so far. Hoiland also finished with three hits, his hitting streak going to nine games, while Casey Murray Jr. extended his hitting streak to 11 games with two singles. Spiridonoff added a single and triple.

During the winning streak, Murray is hitting .465, Hoiland .432, Spiridonoff .429, Ryan Tayman .378, Dante Vachini .367, Nate Castellon .364, Braxton Thomas .333 and Garza .319. In conference games only, Murray sports a .514 mark, Hoiland .429, Spiridonoff .406 and Castellon .400.

As a team, Cal Poly is hitting .352 in its winning streak and .356 in Big West contests.

UC Davis was led at the plate by Howard with a home run and two singles.

Cal Poly’s 10-game winning streak, the longest for the Mustangs since the 2022 squad won 13 in a row in the final month of the season, is the third-longest active winning streak in the nation. UCLA (15) and Southeast Missouri (13) both won Sunday while Auburn saw its 12-game streak come to an end against Texas.

At 8-0, the Mustangs lead UC San Diego (5-1) by two games in the Big West standings. UC Santa Barbara, CSUN and Cal State Fullerton all sport 5-4 conference marks, tied for third place, while UC Davis (4-4) is sixth.

Final game of the series will be played Monday at 1 o’clock. Cal Poly will send junior right-hander Carson Turnquist (2-0, 1.40 ERA) to the mound against UC Davis freshman southpaw Jack Pezzolo (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Over the last two weekends, Turnquist has pitched five or more innings in relief for victories against Hawai’i and Cal State Bakersfield. Pezzolo has pitched four scoreless innings against Texas, two scoreless frames versus UC Riverside and 2 2/3 innings without giving up a run against UC Santa Barbara, all as a starter.

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)

Click here to follow the original article.

Tracy Lehr

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) Surfers shared wave after wave during the 27th Rincon Invitational off the coast of Carpinteria.

More than 20 organizations, including Third World Surf, Ventura Educators, Waves of Grief, Ventura Makos, OLAS Foundation, Surfrider Foundation, Rincon Pit Crew, and Betty Belts took part.

“It is really an opportunity to share the stoke of surfing with people who don’t get to surf Rincon very much, but they get to be a part of our event thanks to their public service efforts and recognition of the things they have done, to kind of take the selfish out of surfing,” said event organizer and Surfrider Foundation founder Glenn Hening.

The California Adaptive Surf Team is a great example.

Members focus on what they are able to do in a place that may be difficult to access.

“It was awesome, I didn’t think I would be able to surf this break again, but with the help of friends and this organization of people and the family coming out to help, it is just awesome.,” said DJ Lombardo.

He has not let a motocross crash keep him down.

“This is a once a year opportunity for me to come back, I grew up surfing hear able-bodied but then I became paralyzed and didn’t know if I was going to be able to surf again and this has given me an opportunity another chance redeeming myself coming back to my childhood fun,” said DJ Lombardo, ” It is such a freeing feeling and it fills my heart and soul.”

Hening said efforts to make the path and viewing area accessible for wheelchairs have hit roadblocks, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future if Carpinteria surfers support efforts.

Surf legends including Shaun Tomson and Jericho Poppler also took part in the Rincon Invitational.

“This is the Groundswell surfing benefit fundraiser, team event so everyone goes out and they are not competing, it is not about that, it is about sharing waves and thinking about all the good stuff that we do for for intracoastal research, and cultural wellness and awareness of surfing,” said Poppler.

All of the money raised goes to scholarships and protecting the surf environment.

For more information visit https://groundswell-society.org

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Pitcher Kellan Montgomery and batterymate Nico Libed powered UCSB to a 5-1 win over Hawai’i as the Gauchos snap a 4-game losing streak and avoid a home sweep.

The Former Dos Pueblos High School star Montgomery struck out the first two batters of the game on his way to working 5 strong innings allowing just one run.

“I thought Kellan set the tone for the day,” said UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts. “Coming out in that first inning, had his best stuff and was attacking, I think he set the tone for the day on the mound. We talk a lot about when we’re at home, that first blow we can land is defensively. Starts on the mound, and then he really set the tone coming out, striking out the first two guys and getting after it a little bit.”

Catcher Nico Libed took advantage of his opportunity, reaching base in all five plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a double, two stolen bases and a pair of runs scored. He also threw out a runner trying to steal.

(Lineup change by Andrew Checketts helps Gauchos avoid 3-game sweep. Entenza Design).

“Nice job by Nico, right? He’s hitting .140 and we stuff him in the two hole, just the way the matchup was working, we thought we’d get some on base out of him against a guy that has a little loose command, and he did what he was supposed to do,” Checketts said. “He got deep in counts, got on base what, four, five times, he walked once, so that was a big game for him. We needed him to step up and he did.”

“We went on that skid for a little bit, those last couple games but we didn’t lose faith in our guys, trusted everyone,” Libed said. “We were just getting a little antsy there the last couple games, we just had to stay grounded, stay present, make them come to us and hammer pitches that we could handle, and that’s what we did today.”

Jonathan Mendez had the big hit on the day, a 2-run single in the third to put the Gauchos up 3-0. He finished with 3 RBI.

Reliever Van Froling notched his first career save working 3.2 innings of 2-hit, shutout ball with 6 strikeouts.

“(Froling) got a lot of outings last year, has had a lot of potential, he was nicked up to start the year, but he’s capable of doing that,” Checketts said. “We all believe that he’s capable of doing that, so that was a nice outing for him. Hopefully he can build on that.”

UCSB is now 5-4 in the Big West and 15-6 overall.

The Gauchos begin a stretch of 5-straight nonleague games against strong competition Saint Mary’s, Oregon and USC.

Click here to follow the original article.

Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) The Santa Barbara International Orchid show wrapped up on Sunday.

People enjoyed displays that matched the orchid escape theme.

One near the entrance by Westerly Orchids, looked like a wave of orchids.

Visitors took plenty of pictures.

Some people took tours, while others watched demonstration.

Dozens learned how to pot and care for their orchids.

Many people shopped to bring some home.

Judges at the show at the Earl Warren Showgrounds gave out ribbons and trophies for the the best of the best.

Orchid societies from throughout California took part and invited visitors to join their organizations.

For more information visit https://sborchidshow.com

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – An offensive outburst leads to a milestone win for Gauchos head coach Jo Evans.

UCSB softball scored double-digit runs in each game of a doubleheader sweep over UC Riverside to give Evans career win #1,400.

Evans rankes #2 in victories among NCAA Division 1 active coaches and 7th all-time.

The Gauchos beat the Highlanders 14-4 and 11-1 as they improve to 9-0 in the Big West and 18-15 overall. Evans also racked up win #100 with the Gauchos.

Bella Fuentes was the hitting star for UCSB in both games. She was 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI in the opener and then belted two more home runs with 5 RBI in game 2.

Click here to follow the original article.