Author: KEYT

Mike Klan

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – Cayden Ward led three Cal Poly men’s basketball players in double-digit scoring figures with 16 points and Hamad Mousa (above) became just the second player in program history to reach 600 points in one season, but UC Irvine pulled away late in Thursday’s first half as the Mustangs fell inside the Bren Events Center, 107-85.

Mousa finished with 15 points and Austin Goode added 13 for Cal Poly (13-18, 9-10), which sank 10 three-pointers. Big West leader UC Irvine (21-10, 14-5), however, shot 56.3 (40-for-71) percent, committed just five turnovers and outscored Cal Poly in the paint, 64-38.

Mousa reached his historic milestone with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the opening half, sinking a jumper in the lane to become the first and only player in program history since Stuart Thomas (1990-91) to reach 600 points in one year.

Keyed by a 4-for-4 shooting start and nine early points from Ward, Cal Poly found itself locked in a 21-21 stalemate after eight-and-a-half minutes. UC Irvine though scored the next six points to surge in front for certain, eventually shooting 50.0 (18-for-36) percent during the first half and leading by as much as 15 before taking a 52-42 lead into the break.

Into the second half, Cal Poly closed within eight points of UC Irvine three times – including a 73-65 deficit with 12-and-a-half minutes to go following a layup by freshman Ali Assran. The Anteaters, however, answered with an 11-4 run and maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the night.

Up Next: Cal Poly closes the regular season on Saturday, March 7 when hosting Cal State Bakersfield at 4 p.m. Prior to the game, Cal Poly will honor its lone senior, Luka Tarlac.Having already clinched a spot as one of eight programs for the March 11-14 Big West Championship, Cal Poly landed the No. 8 seed after Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis – who entered play Thursday just one game ahead of the Mustangs in the standings – both prevailed.With 15 points, Hamad Mousa – the Big West’s leading scorer at 20.3 points per game – improved his season total to 608. He requires just 51 more points to overtake Stuart Thomas (659, 1990-91) for the all-time single season lead.Also, 4-for-4 from the free throw line Thursday, Mousa brought his season total to 174 free throws to match current Los Angeles Clippers guard Kobe Sanders (2023-24) for the second highest single season tally in program history and just four behind Stuart Thomas’s program record from 1990-91. Mousa’s 87.4 percent free throw mark this season also ranks eighth all-time.

(Article courtesy of Cal Poly Athletics)

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. (KEYT) – The Santa Barbara waterfront will be going over 14 leases in the coming months and it expects to get renewals from the current tenants.

There will be seven leases on Stearns Wharf and seven others in the harbor area that will be up for a renewal.

The Santa Barbara Harbor Commission received a briefing recently.

Except for the recent closure of the Anchor Rose restaurant, which has at least one new tenant lease in the works, the harbor has 100 percent occupancy.

It has been that way for about 20 years

Up for renewal between now and November will be businesses including Char West, Mother Stearns Candy Company, the Santa Barbara Sailing Center and the Chandlery Yacht sales.

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News Channel 3-12

Below is a press release from Montecito Fire Department regarding the retirement of Fire Chief David Neels after 36 years of service.

MONTECITO, CA – Montecito Fire Chief David Neels has announced his upcoming retirement at the end of March, after 36 years of dedicated service to public safety. Chief Neels has served as Montecito Fire Chief since 2023. His last day as Fire Chief will be March 31, 2026.

Chief Neels began his firefighting career in 1989 as a paid-call firefighter for San Luis Obispo County Fire. He also worked as a seasonal firefighter for Cal Fire San Luis Obispo while earning his bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Neels went on to complete paramedic school and worked as an ambulance paramedic before joining Santa Barbara County Fire Department in 1998.

Over his 21-year career with Santa Barbara County Fire, he promoted through the ranks of firefighter/paramedic, engineer, captain and battalion chief. He was instrumental in founding the Santa Barbara County Firefighters Benevolent Foundation, an organization that provides financial relief for firefighters and their families after line-of-duty incidents and supports the overall wellbeing of Santa Barbara County firefighters. He was also responsible for writing and implementing the first Community Wildfire Protection Plan in the County of Santa Barbara for the Mission Canyon community, setting an industry standard of creating specialized plans for areas vulnerable to severe wildfire impacts.

In 2019, Chief Neels joined Montecito Fire Department as a battalion chief. He was promoted to DivisionChief of Operations in 2021 and was appointed to lead the department in 2023.

“Chief Neels devoted his entire professional life to serving the community,” said Montecito Fire Protection District Board President Peter Van Duinwyk. “We are grateful for his leadership and service to the Montecito community over the last six years. My fellow Board members and I congratulate him on a well-earned retirement.

Throughout his career, Chief Neels has been an engaged partner and respected leader locally and regionally. He served on federal Incident Management Teams for over 15 years, responding to major incidents across the western United States. He led the All-Hazard Incident Management Team for Santa Barbara County as Incident Commander and served as president of the Fire Chiefs Association of Santa Barbara County.

“Partnership and collaboration have been central to every success I’ve been fortunate to experience in my career,” Neels said. “This job has afforded me with invaluable opportunities to work alongside countless first responders and regardless of the patch on our uniform, we’ve worked together to take care of our community.”

In retirement, Chief Neels looks forward to spending more time with his wife and three children.

Chief Neels informed the Board of Directors in October 2025 of his intention to retire in the spring. After a thorough recruitment process, the Board extended a conditional offer of employment to Brian Fallon to serve as Fire Chief of the Montecito Fire Department, subject to the completion of a standard pre-employment process. Fallon brings decades of fire service leadership experience to Montecito, most recently serving as Fire Chief of Lompoc City Fire Department. Chief Neels and Fallon are working together to support a smooth transition. Pending successful completion of the pre-employment process, Fallon will begin as Fire Chief on April 1, 2026.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Maria City Council will consider appointing someone to replace former councilman Carolos Escobedo who abruptly quit during Tuesday night’s council meeting.

Right now, people living and working in Santa Maria’s District 1 don’t have representation on city council.

When councilman Escobedo announced his resignation and walked out of Tuesday night’s council meeting, city leaders say they didn’t know if they’d have another chance to applaud his service to date.

“As he provided comment, there was a desire to, acknowledge his, service to the city of Santa Maria, to the community,” says Chuen Wu, currently serving as Santa Maria’s City Manager.

With the councilman’s abrupt resignation, local residents and their representatives are eager to see what happens next.

“Sometimes things that are unexpected, they happen,” says Wu. “But, you know, we will remain focused on the work and continue to do what’s best for our businesses and for our residents.”

Santa Maria City Attorney Tom Watson says a municipal election is occurring this November, and the city council has the option to appoint someone to fill the vacant seat for the remainder of Escobedo’s term, which is through 2028.

“At the last election, that Carlos did win, his primary opponent was Maria Salguero,” says Gary Hall, a resident of Santa Maria who has spoken at several recent city council meeting. “And, I would hope that she would be considered as a temporary replacement.”

City leaders have agreed to discuss that option at the next council meeting.

Later Tuesday evening, the vote to establish an ad-hoc immigration committee resulted in a tie, defeating the motion.

“We were all surprised the vote came out the way it did,” says Hall. “If it would have been different if Carlos had been there, I can’t speculate. I can imagine he would support it. I can also imagine he wouldn’t support it based on other things he’s said.”

City leaders say long-term employees are hard at work keeping the basic functioning of city operations running, but do they acknowledge the so-called “plot twist.”

“There’s always a lot of city business to conduct,” says Wu. “This certainly adds a twist to it, but we’ll continue to work with our elected leaders and have that conversation, take direction from them.”

Locals say the sudden vacancy of the seat opens and re-opens many controversial questions.

Escobedo’s priorities were public safety, housing, homeless outreach, and Santa Maria’s quality of life.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A simple trim can mean far more than a new look. 

For people living on the streets, it can restore dignity and confidence.

It begins with something small — a chair and an act of care. Clients arrive carrying the weight of life on the streets. After a haircut from Sister Oanh Tran, many leave feeling more confident and human again.

Born in Vietnam, Tran trained in both healthcare and cosmetology before bringing those skills to serve the homeless community. Each week, she arranges her tools and prepares to welcome anyone looking for a fresh start.

Nearly 30 people receive haircuts during her weekly visits. For many, the change goes beyond appearance. A clean haircut can bring back confidence and the motivation to try again.

Tran is both a licensed beautician and a trained nurse, but the work she does here centers on presence and compassion. A haircut can open doors — to a job opportunity, reconnecting with family, or believing in oneself again.

For people who often feel invisible, the moment in the chair matters. Many living on the streets feel overlooked, but Sister Oanh focuses on the person in front of her.

The clippers buzz, smiles return, and a quiet sense of hope fills the room. For Tran, the experience is mutual. The people she serves give back far more than she expected.

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – With the countdown to start of the 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade now under 100 days, much coveted tickets are set to on sale tomorrow on Friday, March 6.

“We are so excited for the 83rd annual Santa Maria Oaks Rodeo and Parade,” said Johnna McGuire, Elks Recreation Media Director. “Tomorrow at 10 a.m. sharp. Tickets will go on sale, for elksrec.com.”

With tickets annually in high demand, Elks Recreation, which operates the popular showcase event, is issuing a warning to people who are interested in purchasing much coveted seats.

“The funny thing is, if you Google it, there are ticket sites that say they are on sale and there’s only limited seats,” said McGuire. “I think one site said 28 tickets left for Wednesday night’s Extreme Bulls and selling for like $150. That is a scam. You have to avoid all those third-party sites. We can’t promise that those tickets are legit and you’re going to pay so much more. Go to elksrec.com at 10 a.m. sharp. All the tickets will go on sale and everybody gets a fair shot at them.”

Elks Recreation is also advising the public if they are interested in purchasing box seats, they should try and do so through the official website as soon as possible due to extremely high demand in the past. 

Another suggestion for fans is that while there are many more grandstand tickets available than box seats, they should also make those purchases in a timely manner as well.

“We have limited box seats and our tickets for general admission,” said McGuire. “Go on, get them while they last. They’ll be plenty tomorrow for grandstand tickets, but in the last few years, we’ve had generally sold out performances, so you don’t want to wait the last minute.”

The 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade is scheduled to take place May 27 through May 31.

“The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo has grown so much,” said McGuire. “It’s not just a Santa Maria event and it’s not even just a Central Coast event. It’s a Western United States, and an international event on Cowboy Channel, and the level of cowboys and cowgirls that we get here, it’s really the same that you’re going to see at NFR (National Finals Rodeo). There’s a lot of rodeos, but we’re really blessed because we get the best of the best.”

For a second consecutive year, the rodeo will run five days, instead of four days, which it had for the previous 81 years.

In 2025, the rodeo brought in PRCA Xtreme Bulls, a special one-night only performance that features a full night of bull riding.

 “It was a huge success and we are so excited to be bringing it back,” said McGuire. “It’s 40 bulls and all bulls. No bull.”

For more information, click here to visit the official website at elksrec.com

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –  Job seekers who can speak two languages, preferable Spanish, came together for some possible employment opportunities Thursday at the Eastside Santa Barbara library.

The job fair was specifically tailored for employers actively seeking bilingual and Spanish-speaking jobseekers. 

Meet representatives will be on site. They have positions to fill, some immediately.

Maegan Boyce with Community West Bank said, “we pride ourselves on relationships within the community,  relationships within the bank and really investing in our community and our team members.”

She said, the library was a convenient and welcoming place for community members to gather. “A lot of times it will at UCSB or a job fair (at other larger sites), but to be at a community library is really special.”

They were ready to meet a potential employee face to face.   “Right now we have a position in our Goleta banking center so it would be phenomenal to have someone who is bilingual.”

Employers Include:

1Heart Caregiver Services
La Bella Rosa Bakery

AppelOne Staffing
MarBorg Industries

CA Dept. of Social Services Community Care Licensing
Momentum Work, Inc.

City of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Clerk-Recorder

Community West Bank
Santa Barbara Police

County of Santa Barbara Human Resources Department
Santa Barbara Public Library

Crossroads Staffing, Inc.
Storyteller

Goodwill Mission Services
UCSB

HC Assetco LLC dba Hotel Californian
United States Postal Service

Hilton Santa Barbra Beachfront Resort
US ARMY

The library site is one of the many expanded used for the library properties and its services.

Besides books the library locations are resources for community events, meetings, seminars, and a library card can also get someone access to museums, state parks and ebike rides.

Recently a promotion with Rori’s Creamery rewarded anyone with a library card or a library book a free scoop of ice cream. 

New library card requests in the month of February with that promotion, in Santa Barbara, spiked to 900.  That was just at the main library downtown, the eastside and Montecito branch.

There were also special boxes around the town for people to write notes to the library staff or share their experiences. Over 1000 came in. Lauren Trujillo  is the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation. She said, “we had 60 boxes all over the community.  We had over a thousand cards come in from  children to grandparents to family member to teens, it’s been incredible!”

The staff said it was emotional to read. “I think we pulled a heartstring and people wanted to express not just their love, not just what the library does for the community but for the special people behind the desk and behind shelves to make the library run.”

They will be closely looking at the responses and possibly getting ideas for future projects, based on the feedback.

The new Library plaza is open and has some tables and chairs for people to spend time in a partnership with the group “Friends of State Street.”

In April an Italian festival will take place in the plaza and literary events are coming up this month.

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Mike Klan

ORCUTT, Calif. (KEYT) – The showdown at St. Joseph High School lived up to the hype.

Gunner Morinini drilled two huge three-pointers with under 3 minutes to play to lift the home Knights past Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks 66-60 in a CIF-State Open Division first round game.

St. Joseph (31-2) advances to a regional semifinal game at #2 seed Harvard-Westlake on Saturday night.

Both #3 seed St. Joseph and #6 Notre Dame entered this game ranked in the top six in the state by MaxPreps and Rivals had each ranked nationally in the top 25.

The visiting Knights got off to a fast start leading 16-5 before St. Joseph reeled off 13 straight points and took the lead on an Abdoul Bare dunk.

The first quarter ended with St. Joseph up 20-18.

Stanford-bound senior Julius Price and his younger brother Malcom Price, a junior, kept St. Joseph in front by a slim margin for most of the game.

St. Joe led 33-32 at the half and 46-43 after three quarters.

Julius Price finished with 17 points while Malcom Price added 15.

Notre Dame junior point guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. scored three inside baskets in the fourth quarter and Notre Dame was down just 52-51 with 4:18 left in the game. Bowman tallied a game-high 20 points.

Morinini who had been quietly offensively until the final quarter, had the finishing touch scoring his team’s final 14 points.

A driving layup gave St. Joseph a 54-51 lead with 4:03 remaining.

He drilled a three-pointer on the baseline to make it 57-51 with 2:45 left.

About a minute later Morinini came calling again from the same spot, another triple to give St. Joseph a 60-52 lead.

Morinini, who ended up with 17 points, capped off his fantastic finish with a layup and four free throws and St. Joseph continues their sensational season.

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News Channel 3-12

Below is a press release from Amtrak regarding the full-service shutdown of all Pacific Surfliner trains between San Diego and San Luis Obispo this upcoming weekend.

CALIFORNIA – As we plan for uninterrupted train service during summer travel season, we’re supporting our rail partners in getting necessary track work done now. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience it may cause but do know that we’re maintaining key infrastructure to keep trains moving the rest of the year. 

Due to track closures by Union Pacific, Metrolink, and NCTD both north and south of Los Angeles, Pacific Surfliner trains will not operate between San Diego and San Luis Obispo on the weekend of March 7–8, 2026.

Please note that bus bridge service will not be available during this closure.

We understand this may impact your travel plans, and we truly appreciate your patience. If you’re planning to travel that weekend, we encourage you to make alternate arrangements as early as possible.

What to Expect:

No train service along the entire corridor. 

No bus bridges will be provided. However, Amtrak Connection Bus routes will continue to operate.

Customers may modify their reservation for another date, or a refund will be issued by Amtrak. 

Regular train service is scheduled to resume on Monday, March 9, 2026.

For more information, visit the Pacific Surfliner Travel Advisories page. 

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Maria City Council is reeling tonight, trying to understand why a Councilmember abruptly quit without notice.

It happened at last night’s council meeting.

Councilman Carlos Escobedo, who was first elected in 2020, announced his resignation near the beginning of the meeting and walked out.

“Due to my upcoming move outside District One, I will not longer meet the residency requirement necessary to continue serving in this role,” Escobedo said from the dais. “While this decision comes with mixed emotions, I believe that stepping down is the appropriate and responsible course of action.”

Escobedo has two years left in his term.

“So that’s effective now?” asked Councilmember Gloria Soto. “Do we talk about what happens next? That’s—No. Okay.”

His resignation appeared abrupt, seeming to catch other council members off-guard.

Brief discussion in the chamber reflects a lack of notice to city staff from the councilman.

“As surprised as I am, I will be providing the council with a memorandum as to next steps,” said Santa Maria City Attorney Tom Watson. “But as of right now, that seat is vacant.”

City attorney Tom Watson said he will have to examine the statutes before taking further steps, especially because this year is an election cycle.

“There will be an election in November,” said Watson. “But between now and then, I will provide legal opinion to council, whether or not an appointment and how such an appointment would take place.”

The council continued the meeting in Escobedo’s absence.

With Escobedo’s seat vacant, the motion to establish an Ad-Hoc Immigration Committee later in the evening tied 2 to 2, meeting with defeat.

Residents in attendance were audibly shocked and upset by that result.

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