Author: KEYT

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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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – OpenMinds Mental Health Services is expanding its care options by adding psychiatry services for adolescents, young adults, parents and families in Santa Barbara.

The new services include psychiatric evaluations and medication management alongside the therapy and psychological services already offered through the clinic.

OpenMinds currently serves more than 250 patients each week through a clinical team of 17 providers. The organization plans to continue growing its staff as demand for youth and family mental health care increases.

Clinic leaders believe bringing therapy and psychiatry under one roof can make treatment easier to coordinate, especially for young people dealing with anxiety, depression, stress or other mental health concerns.

The expansion also focuses on the impact those challenges can have on the rest of the household.

Clinical Director Dr. Ali Fleming said parents often devote much of their attention to helping a struggling child while dealing with their own emotional strain.

OpenMinds built its treatment model around supporting the entire family, including parents and siblings when needed.

The clinic also accepts a range of insurance plans in an effort to lower the cost of ongoing treatment and make care available to more families.

OpenMinds is also involved in Cottage Health’s Mind Thrive initiative, working alongside schools and other local mental health providers to improve referrals and access to services.

The organization views psychiatry as the next step in creating more coordinated care for young people and their families across Santa Barbara County.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara County has been a target of costly weather damages from the intense rain storms in recent years to wildland fires – but this year, getting federal help afterwards is going to be harder.

At a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Public Works Director Chris Sneddon said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is still lagging behind on payments for storm damage financial help from the 2023-2024 storms.

The costs totaled $60 million. The reimbursement has been about $4 million. That is just the beginning of the financial issues that will arise if another damaging rain or fire season hits the area.

It is not just Santa Barbara County. Supervisor Joan Hartmann made comments indicating that, because California is a “blue” state, the likelihood of a fast response from FEMA is getting less probable.

She recalls having to go back to Washington D.C. in 2018 to meet directly with legislators to get action that she couldn’t get on the phone or through email letters.

Sneddon said, “FEMA would have a higher thresh hold of when they get involved in declaring a disaster and when they do declare they are going to bring less resources to the disaster.”

The warming of the Pacific Ocean continues to make tropical rain systems very possible, and intense or damaging rain could be part of that.

At Hendry’s Beach Tuesday, with a radar image overhead showing rain, only a smattering of sprinkles came down. Most of the rain went to the south on the Rincon and in Ventura County. Shots of lightning could be seen over the Channel Islands.

Court Flinchbaugh a resident who recalled some past September weather like this said, “everything I have seen shows this very rare. In my lifetime, in Southern California, I have  seen it happen five or six times where we have  tropical storms come up from Mexico so its pretty unusual. “

His daughter Lucy recalled it because of a significant date in her life. “My husband and I our anniversary, and tomorrow is our four year anniversary and every single year it rains and then it is  a hundred degrees and raining  on our anniversary!”   

A regular surfer, Erik Laurable says the warming water makes all the difference. “I think we are not done. i think it is going to create a combination kind of a domino effect if you will.  Things will change and the water temperature, I am out there every day. It hasn’t dropped. It is still like 70 it dances between 70 and  72 (degrees).”

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Jarrod Zinn

OCEANO / PISMO BEACH, Calif. (KEYT) – Beachgoers in Oceano and Pismo have been making the most of the long holiday weekend.

Some crowds will be out extra late tonight.

Known to be crowded on most weekends with summer weather, Pismo Beach lived up to its reputation on labor day.

“Oh, man. I had to get away from Bakersfield, though,” says Leonardo Garcia, who lives in Bakersfield. “There’s nothing like Pismo, man. It’s beautiful out here. The weather’s great.”

Parking lots filled and lines wrapped around popular businesses for blocks starting long before noon.

“We actually just ate at Woolies right now,” says Garcia. “It’s pretty good, I recommend it.”

As high as the temperatures are, people travel to Central Coast beaches from all over the state and country specifically for the weather.

“The weather, the beach, the the environment, I love this,” says Garcia. “If I could live here, I would.”

Local businesses have unique hours and offers for labor day, such as Harry’s Night Club & Bar, normally closed Mondays and Tuesdays but hosting a lineup of live labor day music.

“Tonight we have ‘No City Limitz,’ and then we have a DJ,” says Joey Martin, daytime bartender at Harry’s. “Come on down to Harry’s. We have live music almost every single day that we’re open. We have free pool currently.”

Additionally, campfires are permitted just down the beach for registered campers at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, until 10:00pm.

“I don’t think people really care about Labor Day itself,” says Garcia. “They just use it as an excuse, like, you know what? Let’s go out.”

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The summer travel season is sometimes considered over at the end of Labor Day weekend, even though the calendar doesn’t start fall until later this month.

Santa Barbara and the Central Coast have seen some significant spikes in travelers this summer so far, mainly from the greater Los Angeles area.

Interviews with travelers show there is still a group that is holding their money tight due to lingering inflation and higher airfares.

Local train station traffic on the AMTRAK Pacfic Surfliner had reports of packed train cars on weekends for weeks.   

There are often many “day trippers” from Los Angeles to and from Santa Barbara.

An Inglewood resident getting off the train said, she was avoiding the areas with the most hear. Victoria Thomas made it clear, “I don’t want to go into it, if i did I would go to Florida!” Looking to the Santa Barbara waterfront she said, “I already feel a breeze and it is just beautiful town to be in and we are looking forward to luncheon.  “

Travelers trying to maximize their dollars and possibly save for a holiday trip have stayed closer to home with friends or had staycations or “backyard” travel with a regional distance of under 300 miles from home.

Some heat waves in Europe have reportedly led to a change in plans for about 20 percent of travelers who have moved their vacations to another date when the weather is cooler in the fall.

Veronica King lives locally and was heading to the waterfront and said, “we play a lot of beach volleyball. down at East beach with co workers and friends. It feels like we are on vacation all the time. We  don’t have to leave.”

With his family, Jose Cardenas said, “ea we traveled a little bit but mostly local because  there’s a lot to do right here. ” He said his truck costs him about $140. to fill up.

A summer trip to Europe had some savings on the ground for Kevin De Los Santos. Flights were expensive but once  we there and  flew in between  countries it was affordable. “

Leaving the Phoenix heat behind, traveling with ease to the coast to see family was a priority for one couple. Janice Blaise said, “traveling  too far of a distance doesn’t seem that safe.” 

She also said the Santa Barbara area was enjoyable but had a concern with kids riding recklessly on bikes.

Her husband Ken was happy to see the waterfront and changes to downtown which he likes now and is looking forward to more. “If you can’t find something there you probably shouldn’t be here,  ” he said about the choices of restaurants, retail activities and other things to do.

Santa Barbara collected $4.7 Million in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) for July 2026, the first month in the City’s fiscal year.

Of that, approximately $4.1 Million came from hotels and $600,000 from short-term rentals.

Year to date, total TOT revenues are coming in 9.7 percent above budget.

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Tracy Lehr

VENTURA, Calif. (KEYT) – Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced the county’s first fentanyl murder conviction in September.

Charity Faith Wiley, of Reseda, was convicted of second degree murder in the death of Devin Kastler and five other drug sales related charges.

Following the sentencing, Senior Deputy District Attorney Audry Nafziger described how Devin died.

“Charity Wiley, who was a drug dealer from Los Angeles County, was sentenced to 15-years-to-life for selling fentanyl laced with xylazine to Devin Kastler, which killed him,” said Nafziger.

Prosecutors said the investigation discovered text messages between the Wiley and another person who refused to “tranq-dope” because it was killing people.

“She had business plans, she kept meticulous notes, she had pricing strategy and she preyed upon some of the the most vulnerable members of our society,” said Deputy District Attorney Devin Mirchi.

Kastler’s family members had a chance to make impact statements describing the loss of their loved one.

“As a parent, when you lose a child, you’re constantly wanting to know why, ‘why did this happen? Why my child? Why me? Why am I standing here?’ I don’t want my other children to only see a grieving mom. I want to honor my children’s life here. It’s all mixed up in my head, but it’s knowing that you have a life before and you have a life after,” said Devin’s mother Kristi Kastler.

Ventura County’s Medical Examiner reported that more than half of Ventura County’s 216 overdose deaths in 2025 were linked to fentanyl.

For more information about the risks of fentanyl visit https://thinkagainvc.com/

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Tracy Lehr

VENTURA, Calif. (KEYT) First responders responded to the Crown Plaza early Sunday morning, but not for an emergency.

They joined in the Memorial Stair Climb to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice September 11, 2001, 25 years ago.

Oxnard firefighter Daniel Keller carried his therapy dog Riggs in a back pack during the climb. 

“I was in first grade it was something i still remember vividly and something i still carry with me my whole career we have on our apparatus definitely something every year we reflect on and we made it part of out culture,” said Keller.

Climbers, climbed up ten flights in the stairwells closest to the beach and the down the stairwell near Harbor Blvd 11 times.

Ventura City Fire Engineer Ryan Jameson makes it sound strenuous and bittersweet.

” It obviously honors the men that died that day, 343 firefighters lost their lives, so it is time to honor their memory and do some self-reflection, think about it, I am still willing to make that sacrifice myself, and the fun part is all your buddies are here from all over the region,” said Jameson.

Volunteers said it is the least they can do to remember and reflect and fundraiser

“I was actually working in Los Angeles for city goverment, I remember when it happened we went into emergency most because we thought we would be an emergency shelter for LAX that was predicted to be the next target. There are so many people who have died since then from cancer, suicide, tragedy so the 9/11 stair climb not only represents those who passed from 9/11 but also some of our first responders locally and within California in the line of duty,” said Christine Nackers.

For many young people it is a learning experience, for others old enough to remember it is a time to recall where they were on 9/11, a quarter century ago.

For more information visit https://www.venturafirehonorguard.org/memorialstairclimb.

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