Author: KEYT

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The dredging schedule, normally done twice a year to clear the Santa Barbara harbor entrance of sand, is no longer a budget guarantee.

This year it is the worst in many years.

It is usually part of the Presidential budget for the Army Corps of Engineers. Last year funding was removed from several harbors including Santa Barbara. The Waterfront Department usually gets about $4 million a year.

January 28th of 2025 was the last time dredging took place. The two dredging operations a year plan is now down to one – and possibly after February, none.

“It is starting to pinch the channel,” said Waterfront Director Mike Wiltshire.

It covers the area technically called the “Federal Channel.” This is between Stearn’s Wharf and the breakwater wall structure.

“We have no confirmed funding,” said Wiltshire when looking at this year’s funding.

“We are ‘shakin’ all the trees,'” said Wiltshire about his search for funding.

The last pot of money will be used “sometime in February to dredge.” The need can change at any moment, especially during storms. “Hopefully that gets us through the summer and through to next fall, but nature is nature.”

His advice to mariners is to stay in the center. It is getting a little tighter and a little shallower.

“Three years of sediment can move into that harbor in 48 hours as the harbor has seen in recent years creating an emergency for boat owners,” he said.

The harbor has a vibrant economy and commercial fishing boats are active weekly. They also sell their catch on Saturday mornings right on the city pier along with sending fish to local restaurants and around the world.

If there is a storm after the next dredging, and the entrance closes down because of sand buildup, an emergency request will be declared.

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

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A presentation by Zack Kass at SB Middle School is bringing parents and educators together for a discussion on how artificial intelligence is changing education this week.

The event focusses on how AI is already influencing classrooms and what it could mean for children’s learning and future opportunities.

Organizers say the conversation is aimed at helping families and teachers better understand both the benefits and challenges of AI in schools.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) –  Even though there are no athletic events scheduled in Santa Barbara County, there may be many benefits from the 2028 Olympics.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors set a list of goals ahead and one was looking at the Olympic benefits in the form of travel, tourism, and the history of the Olympics in Santa Barbara County.

Santa Barbara Supervisors Chairman Bob Nelson said, “it is an opportunity for us as a community to celebrate past Olympians and current Olympians and to have community events and celebrate national pride and a generational event so close to home.”  

The are many Olympic medal winners from Santa Barbara County over the years.

When the 1984 Olympics were held in Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara had an Olympic Village.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – After a plan to go with a Metrolink addition to the train service in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties failed, a new option is about to get rolling in the next few months.

The targeted ridership is commuters, who are often part of the ongoing congestion during peak periods.

At the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), the members learned the Metrolink plan is not going to work as expected but they have been able to pivot.

Amtrak service is in line to have additional trains, especially where it’s needed to get workers out of their cars and off the freeway.

An update on agreements to get the process rolling is in the final stages, after many years of planning.

LOSSAN handles the San Diego-Los Angeles- San Luis Obispo corridor – that’s over 300 miles of train tracks.

Executive Director Jason Jewel said, “we are excited about the potential to bring expanded service not only to the Santa Barbara and Ventura county regions, but all the way up to San Luis Obispo and the entire corridor so we really think this is a great opportunity. “

Aaron Bonfilio with SBCAG said this solution came up quickly when Metrolink was out.

“In November they got the direction to proceed with that proposal and priorize it over other options,” he said to the SBCAG board.

For commuters who are coming from Ventura county to Santa Barbara and Goleta every day, and who are fed up with freeway construction and traffic, this will save them on gas and wear and tear on their car.

A price for a monthly pass has not been worked out but it is expected to be around $150.

Jewel said, “additional train service is vitally important to be able to provide commuters a way to travel to get to where they need to go and provide alternative options from the 101.”

The timing would be in line with the morning workers coming out of Ventura County around 6:30am -7:00am and have the final stop in Goleta before 8:30 a.m. There would be new options going south in the 2 o’clock hour and other choices later in the evening.

The upgraded train service plan is especially lining up for Goleta with its newest addition to the train stops on the Central Coast.

Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte said, “I look forward to having this happen sooner than later as soon as we can because we have a train station in Goleta now almost ready and we want to trains rolling through.”

Union Pacific owns the tracks and is in line with adding the routes.

Agreements could be ready to put it all in motion in April with other service changes ahead.

Jewel said, “we are really excited to not only restore services, but also this proposal to possibly expand services throughout our corridor.”

Adding more train options would reduce freeway traffic and for those traveling on day trips or longer vacations, they can go car free.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The San Marcos High School girls water polo seniors were all smiles before the game during a pregame ceremony and Dos Pueblos didn’t do anything to dampen their spirits.

The Royals celebrated Senior Day by crushing the Chargers 18-3 turning this rivalry game into a rout.

USC-bound senior Charlotte Raisin scored four of her game-high six goals in the opening quarter to set the tone as San Marcos clinched at least a share of the Channel League title.

(Raisin scored :20 seconds into the game).

Michigan-commit Sophie Yonker scored in the first quarter as did sophomore McKenna Stuart as San Marcos jumped out to a 6-0 lead.

(Senior Sophie Yonker scored 4 goals in the game).

Harvard-bound Bethany King finished off the first quarter by blocking a penalty shot to keep DP off the scoreboard. King, a senior, also scored two goals while she was in the field.

Raisin added two more second quarter goals before sitting out most of the second half. She also added three assists and three steals.

Junior Shea Estabrook and sophomore Jade Pattison finished the game each with two goals.

The Royals led 12-0 at half and built the lead to 16-0 before the Chargers scored their first goal late in the third quarter.

The two teams are expected to meet in a few weeks in the Channel League Tournament.

Besides King, Raisin and Yonker, San Marcos also celebrated seniors Kate Crowder, Lily Gallardo, Anna Jacobsen and Loen McKenzie.

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Mike Klan

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – Sophomore Hamad Mousa finished with a team leading 17 points Thursday evening, but the Cal Poly men’s basketball program was kept to its second lowest scoring output of the season during an 86-66 setback to Hawai’i inside Mott Athletics Center. 

Guard Peter Bandelj added 11 points for Cal Poly (7-12, 3-4), which trailed Hawai’i (13-3, 5-1) at the break, 41-36, before the Rainbow Warriors opened the second half with a 13-4 run. Hawai’i, ranked ninth among 361 NCAA Division I programs in points allowed per game, failed to relinquish its double-digit advantage the remainder of the night. 

Sophomore Cayden Ward (above) finished with 10 points and team best nine rebounds for Cal Poly. 

Hawai’i opened Thursday’s matchup shooting 66.7 (12-for-18) percent from the floor, but carved out just a 31-28 lead after 15 minutes. The Mustangs, who twice cut their deficit to a single point down the first-half stretch, faced their five-point gap heading into the locker room following a buzzer-beating jumper from Hawai’i forward Gytis Nemeikša.

Into the second half, Bandelj knocked down a jumper three minutes into action to help Cal Poly close its deficit to 46-40. Hawai’i, however, scored on its next three possessions to pull away. 

Cal Poly Noteworthy (versus Hawai’i)

Cal Poly kept three of the Big West’s top three scorers with Cayden Ward (15.0) ranked eighth and Peter Bandelj (14.8) in 10th.

Up Next: Cal Poly enjoys a week break before renewing its rivalry with UC Santa Barbara when visiting the Gauchos on Thursday, Jan. 22. Tip time from The Thunderdome is 6 p.m.

Hamad Mousa maintained his streak of double-digit scoring through all 18 appearances and retained the big West scoring lead at 21.6 points per game.

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)

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Mike Klan

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KEYT) – Colin Smith scored a game-high 16 points to lead UCSB to a regular season 2-game sweep over Cal State Bakersfield 75-69.

The road win snaps a 3-game Big West losing streak as the Gauchos improve to 10-7 on the year and 3-3 in the Big West.

Zion Sensley came off the bench to score 13 points and grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.

Miro Little added 12 points as UCSB outscored the Roadrunners 30-6 from the three-point line.

Sensley and Little each made 3 three-pointers as UCSB went 10-of-26 from beyond the arc.

The Gauchos led 38-29 at halftime and went up 64-49 with less then 7:30 left in the game.

But the Roadrunners cut the deficit 3 at 72-69 with :32 seconds left.

UCSB was able to hang on with two free throws from Smith and one by CJ Shaw.

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Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – UCSB shot a sizzling 60% from the floor and they finally pulled away from Cal State Bakersfield in the fourth quarter in an 82-67 win at the Thunderdome.

Olivia Bradley led the way with 27 points as she made 11-of-14 of her shots.

Zoe Borter was 7-of-10 from the floor for 20 points as the Gauchos improved to 13-2 on the season and 5-1 in the Big West.

UCSB outscored the Roadrunners 22-12 in the fourth quarter to secure another victory.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –

High School Girls Basketball:

Dos Pueblos 46, Oxnard 38: Carly Letendre had 19 points for the Chargers who are 6-2 in the Channel League.

(Kindah Ahmad-Reda scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds as DP improved to 12-10. Entenza Design).

San Marcos 68, Santa Barbara 20: Jada Ahmad scored a game-high 19 points and three other Royals scored in double-figures as they improved to 6-2 in the Channel League.

Ventura 79, Buena 13: Kai Staniland 26 points for the Cougars who lead the Channel League at 8-0.

Bishop Diego 61, Santa Clara 10: Jaymi Coronado and Alyssa Chrestenson each scored 17 points for the Cardinals who are 17-2 on the season.

Laguna Blanca 30, Dunn 25: Charlotte Carpenter scored 11 points for the winning Owls.

St. Bonaventure 85, Thacher 13: Sophia Fernandez scored 26 points for the 15-2 Seraphs.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Eternal Flame set the tone — a quiet moment of reflection at the heart of campus.

For many students, the message wasn’t about history alone — it was personal.

“I want to celebrate the legacies of my ancestors who have fought in the past. I hope to continue to fight on campus and when I go into the world to pursue my career,” said student Michiah Woods of UC Santa Barbara.

“The Ark of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. Today we come together to celebrate a fight for freedom and moments that feel like the arc is being pulled back,” said a speaker at the event.

The gathering also recalled UCSB’s role in the civil rights movement, tied to a 1968 protest at North Hall.

“Realize that there is still hope and that hope can last eternally, and that the fight can continue to go on as long as we all stand together,” said Woods.

The Eternal Flame burns, a witness to the work that still remains.

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