Author: KEYT

Dave Alley

NIPOMO, Calif. (KEYT) – A new nature preserve planned near Nipomo will be the topic of discussion during a community meeting scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10 2026.

Set to take place at the Dana Adobe Cultural Center, the forum will focus on the Dana-Carrillo Nature Preserve that is currently being developed.

Once open, the Dana-Carrillo Nature Preserve will provide public access to 388 acres of pristine, untouched oak woodlands in the hillsides just east of Nipomo.

“The new park, the nature preserve, will show exactly what this was like when the first Europeans came to California,” said Jim Corridan, Dana Adobe Board President. “The land is almost exactly as it was then. There’s huge oak trees and manzanita. The backside is very different from the front. The back side is really a coastal oaks forest in places. There are most of the animals that were in this area at the beginning and still roam that property back there, so you’re going to go back in time, which is kind of what the Dana Adobe is all about. You’ll go back in time on the environmental side and see what the settlers first saw when they came to this region.”

The property is being given to the Dana Adobe and Cultural Center by local developer Nick Tompkins, as oak tree mitigation plan to help offset the environmental impact that will be created by the Dana Reserve project.

In addition to the Dana Adobe, which will own and manage the land, The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County will also help care for the property.

“The Dana-Carrillo Nature Preserve will be owned and managed by the Dana Adobe and the Land Conservancy will hold a conservation easement on the property that will permanently protect it from future development and maintain, especially the oak woodlands on the property and in general, the natural landscape and open space there,” said Kyle Walsh, The Land Conservancy of SLO County Conservation Director. “Our role is maintaining basically how the property looks and feels today, maintaining the habitat, not directly managing it on a day to day basis like the Dana Adobe will be, and making sure that that place stays much the same in the future.”

Dana Adobe is planning to create an accessible trail that will provide visitors with spectacular panoramic views of South San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County.

Unlike the nearby Pismo Preserve, which is owned by The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County and offers open access to the public, the Dana-Carrillo Nature Preserve will be more restrictive.

“The primary goal is to protect the place for its natural beauty, the oak woodlands, the creatures that call it home,” said Walsh. “Public access will be limited compared to Pismo Preserve, in part because it’s a special property, and we want to protect the open space and the natural landscape there.”

Once open, visitors will not be able to travel to the property by themselves, but instead will need to access the preserve through a schedule guided tour.

“There will be controlled access so that the public can contact us and we’ll establish a schedule of hiking trails and times to go hiking up there, potentially equestrian trails and maybe even like a side by side ride up to the top,” said Corridan. “There’s just over a 1,000 foot incline, and when you get up there, you have spectacular views.”

Ownership of the property to Dana Adobe is expected to be finalized within the next 30-to-45 days and the first public visitors to the property could be welcomed to the preserve as earlier as late this year.

Thursday’s community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10 starting at 5:30 p.m.

“We’re going to ask for input from the public and we’ll kind of lay out our vision, talk with our partners who will be in the room and able to answer questions and kind of explain this whole concept to the public,” said Corridan. “That’s part of the master plan that we’re working on and developing is how will the trail systems be laid out, so we want to share that with the public, and we look forward to people coming out.”

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Mike Klan

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – Kindah Ahmad-Reda returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and turned a short catch into a 35-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter as Dos Pueblos built up a 27-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 49-0 win.

Ruby Streatfeild had 3 touchdown passes and ran for another for the Chargers who improve to 11-2.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –

Santa Barbara 3, Dos Pueblos 0: For the second time in less than two weeks the Dons sweep DP 25-11, 25-15, 25-23. Blake Saunders led the way with 12 kills and Lola Heckman added 11 kills as Santa Barbara improves to 8-6 on the season. Allie Bear had 6 kills for the 2-7 Chargers.

Bishop Diego 3, Nordhoff 2: Karina Urzua had 23 kills and 25 digs as the Cardinals pulled out the 5-set win over the Rangers 25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 15-12. Bishop Diego is 10-3 on the year.

Laguna Blanca 3, Foothill Tech 1: Lauren Kenny led the way for the Owls with 14 kills and 15 digs in a four-set win 25-13, 21-25, 25-17, 25-17.

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Caleb Nguyen

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – The San Luis Obispo Police Department is investigating a suspicious fire near Bob Jones Bike Trail just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The SLO Fire Department alongside CAL FIRE found a vegetation fire near the decomissioned City Utilities facility.

Five vehicles in the facilities caught fire and crews eventually cleared the scene of hot spots just before 8:00 p.m., according to the SLOFD.

The SLOFD turned the incident over to the City Utilities Department after stopping the fire from reaching the Prefumo Creek.

The SLOFD reported no injuries from the incident and no arrests were made.

The fire is considered suspicious and an arson investigation is underway.

No suspects or motives for the fire have been found and those with potential information on the incident should contact the SLOPD.

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Dave Alley

NIPOMO, Calif. (KEYT) – Road work is expected to slow down traffic on Highway 101 south of Nipomo for several hours on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.

Caltrans is scheduled to perform guardrail maintenance from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. along the southbound lanes of the highway between the Tefft Street on-ramp and Highway 166 off-ramp.

To help facilitate the repairs, Caltrans said one lane of traffic will be closed, which will cause up to 10 minutes of delay time.

To alert southbound drivers traveling to the work site, message and directional signs will be displayed along the roadside in advance of the lane closure.

Caltrans is advising drivers who are planning to travel through the area on Wednesday to prepare ahead of time and leave a little earlier than normal.

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Dave Alley

NIPOMO, Calif. (KEYT) – The oldest church in Nipomo was recently given to the Dana Adobe and Cultural Center, which has unveiled plans to transform the building into a new community hub.

Located across the street from Jocko’s Steakhouse at the intersection of Tefft Street and Thompson Road, the church has been part of the Nipomo community dating back to 1898.

Now, thanks to a gift from John and Rebecca Prewett, who owned the building after purchasing it back in 2015, the church is now owned by the local non-profit organization that runs the nearby historic Dana Adobe, Nipomo’s oldest settlement that dates back to 1839.

“Last week the Adobe received the church,” said Jim Corridan, Dana Adobe & Cultural Center President. “It was the original Saint Joseph’s Church and began in 1898. It was used as the first church and the main church until the 1970s when a new Saint Joseph’s Church was built. Since then, it’s gone through a number of different things, but most recently it’s been the Cavalry Church.”

With the church now under their ownership, Corridan said Dana Adobe has many changes in store that he feels will benefit the community for many years to come.

“One of the biggest goals for Dana is to help make a presence for the Adobe here in downtown,” said Corridan. “We also want to make this part of the center of Old Towne and the community of Nipomo so that people can utilize the space, reconnect to the history of the community and have a better understanding of the region, and so we’re really excited to be able to offer this kind of as a mini community center for the citizens of Nipomo and especially here in Old Towne.”

First and foremost, he emphasized Calvary Church will remain in place and continue to hold its weekly services on Sunday morning.

In addition to the church services, Corridan also outlined several new features Dana Adobe leadership has planned for the site.

“We have some new ideas,” said Corridan. “We’re going to be making this a historical museum, a portion of it. We’re also going to be making a venue here so that we can have people use the side yard and the church for different events, and perhaps most importantly, is that we’re going to make this a “Visit Nipomo” center. It will be a place where tourists can stop and find out what’s going on in Nipomo and in the South County region, but also utilize it as a way point to figure out where to eat, where to stay, where to visit, and where to shop in this region.”

To help transform the building from its current state, plans are in the works to give the 128-year-old building a fresh makeover.

“One of our big goals is over time, as contributions and donations come in, to preserve this building and fix little things that are needing repair,” said Corridan. “We’ll repaint it and hopefully put in some version of of stained glass or stained glass film to replicate the stained glass that used to be in the church, so that it shines like it did before, and with luck, we’ll end up back lighting all the windows so that when you drive down this corner at Thompson and Tefft, you’ll see the stunning views of the original windows.”

Corridan added the additions and building improvements will require some time and is hopeful the changes will be complete sometime next year.

“We’re excited to be able to add this to our repertoire of preservation projects,” said Corridan. “We’re very involved in trying to preserve the history of the area and the conservation of the area, and so we have the the background and the knowledge of do this and make it available to the public to understand what life was like in the old days here in the public.”

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Caleb Nguyen

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Maria Police arrested a 40-year-old man for multiple robberies at the 600 block of North Broadway, totaling $10,000 to $15,000 at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

SMPD officers quickly found the 40-year-old at the 1500 block of South Broadway and recovered the stolen property from the suspect.

SMPD officers investigated further and cleared six additional cases, before arresting the 40-year-old on stolen property, vandalism and drug-related charges.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Mouhanad Hammami, M.D, MHSA, said now is a good time to get vaccinated.

“It is the time for being protected against the flu season and we are very fortunate that there is a new COVID vaccine, this is addressing a new variant and also there is a new flu vaccine for the first time is using the MRNA technology that has been proven to be 26 percent more effective,” said Hammami.

One appointment will do.

“The good thing is that they can be given at the same time and even the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] is recommending either one in each arm or even the same arm,” said Hammami, ” It’s no contradiction, they will provide protection and specifically the COVID is geared more towards our elder population, people over the age of 65, pregnant women as well as those that might have a weak immunity, or immune system.”

It is recommended for a wide age range.

“The flu vaccine is recommended for everybody that is six months and older so we hope that our residents and community members are going to take the opportunity so they and their loved ones are protected, most of these vaccines are covered by insurance so there is no co-pay, I believe they are available at any of the retail pharmacies,” said Hammami.

When asked to explain messenger RNA, also known as MRNA, the health director described it as more effective.

“MRNA is messenger RNA, this is the technology that was used fo the first COVID vaccines that proved to be very effective. In the old days we used to take the virus itself and weaken it and use is as protection, with MRNA we are taking a piece of the virus DNA and having the system, your immune system build based on that code, build anti bodies against the virus,” said Hammami.

He is aware there are skeptics.

“It is really a hard argument when you are absolutely convinced about something, however I tell people don’t listen to rumors go to the facts, everything is based on science,” said Hammami, “There is nothing that is risk free and everything might have a little bit of side effects, but it has been proven that the benefits outweigh the risks.”

One person heading to a local pharmacy shared her skepticism but said she counts on handwashing and keeping her distance to stay healthy.

One pharmacy worker said her drug store has been slammed with people coming in for vaccinations and with phone calls asking about them.

Signs outside CVS in Goleta read Free Flu & COVID-19 vaccinations and walk-ins welcome.

“Getting the MRNA for COVID was something that kind of let me feel that I could go out in the world again I have never had any negative consequences or side effects so I am kind of jazzed to try an MRNA based flu vaccine,” said Tony Spataro.

“Free flu and COVID shot,  I plan to get both today I didn’t know they were free but okay, good,” said Linda Gunther.

The pharmacy she goes to was too busy for her to get her flu shot on Tuesday afternoon, but she intends to come back in the morning.

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Jarrod Zinn

GUADALUPE, Calif. (KEYT) – Guadalupe’s new skate park officially opened to the public, even though it’s not entirely finished yet.

Guadalupe’s administrator says opening the new park early gives the community a chance to enjoy it before the coming winter months.

“Especially with the forecast of a Super El Nino coming this winter,” says David Trujillo, Guadalupe’s interim City Administrator. “Otherwise, we would be holding off until right around Thanksgiving if we were waiting for the grass and everything to settle in.”

City leaders and developers cut the ribbon on Friday, welcoming the public to the brand-new facilities.

“With the Royal Theater construction being shut down, we knew this one was around the corner as far as the opening,” says Trujillo. “What’s nice about this, though, is this is probably the only project in town that’s going to have an immediate impact to the community.”

Checkers tables, exercise equipment, a playground, and a basketball court surround the highly anticipated skate park.

“We’ve seen it Friday throughout the weekend,” says Trujillo. “There was people here. They were skating in the park. They were playing on the, the playground equipment. They were playing basketball. You know, utilizing the park for what it’s for.”

City leaders say the park was named Las Mujeres in honor of all the women and mothers of the community, and they’ll be honoring a different local woman each year by installing a plaque with their name on it.

“The way the park is kind of laid out, we have a lot of new trees,” says Trujillo. “We have a lot of electrical boxes at the trees. So there’s areas where people could potentially plug in their music, you know, they could do all this kind of stuff. We could do lights on the trees.”

Some fences will remain in place for a couple more months as the grass takes root. 

But city leaders say the park has the potential to enhance connection with neighbors from opposite ends of town.

“One of the former council members was already talking on Friday that this would be like a good area to kind of do, like a kind of like a block party kind of thing,” say Trujillo.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A UC Santa Barbara professor who helped shape one of the country’s most significant climate laws will speak in Santa Barbara this week.

Dr. Leah Stokes will discuss her work surrounding the Inflation Reduction Act during an event Thursday evening at the Community Environmental Council’s Environmental Hub on State Street.

Stokes is an associate professor at UCSB and policy director of The 2035 Initiative.

Her discussion will explore the political negotiations and setbacks surrounding the 2022 law, along with her personal experience navigating a high-risk pregnancy during that period.

The Inflation Reduction Act included major federal investments aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and expanding clean energy.

Stokes will also discuss her book, “The Carbon Wave: A Story of Democracy, Parenthood, and the Race to Protect Our Planet,” which connects her work in climate policy to her experience becoming a parent.

The event runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at 1219 State Street.

A question-and-answer session and book signing will follow the discussion. Copies of the book will also be available for purchase through Chaucer’s Books.

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