Author: KEYT

Beth Farnsworth

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Downtown Santa Barbara will soon be home to one of the larger Electrify America DC Fast Charging hubs.

“20 charging stations are going in,” said Adam Prado, the project’s electrical foreman. “This is one of the bigger sites, it’s a great growing community. Great to see these going in all across California.”

The new stations are going in at the corner of Chapala and Carrillo Streets, at the site of the former Greyhound bus station, and will provide the fastest method of charging for electric vehicles (EV).

Work crew have spent the past four months on this Electrify America project. A pergola covered waiting area and landscaping are among final installations going in.

 Once complete, drivers will be able to enter and exit the property from both sides.

“Everyone’s excited. People walking by they say, ‘Wow!’ They’ve see this lot empty for so long and to see what they have become now, they’re really excited for it.”

Prado said ADA accessible parking will also be included.  

He was not able to give an exact opening date but said “soon.”

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Red lanterns and bright displays are welcoming visitors as Santa Barbara celebrates the Lunar New Year with culture, color and community connection.

At the Santa Barbara Public Library, a new exhibit is drawing families, students and longtime patrons alike.

The showcase features Chinese-language books alongside traditional decorations and cultural items that help explain the meaning behind the holiday — from symbols of luck and prosperity to the importance of gathering with loved ones.

For some visitors, it’s a chance to see their heritage reflected on the shelves.

For others, it’s an opportunity to better understand the traditions of neighbors and friends.

This year’s celebration also honors the Year of the Horse, a zodiac symbol associated with energy, strength and determination. Organizers say those themes resonate with a community that continues to grow more diverse and connected.

Beyond the exhibit, local festivities include cultural activities and family-friendly events designed to bring people together. Whether stopping by the library or attending a community gathering, residents are finding small but meaningful ways to ring in the new year.

As the celebrations continue, the message is clear: Lunar New Year is not just about turning the calendar — it’s about honoring heritage, sharing stories and welcoming a fresh start together.

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Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Vandenberg held its first Mission Update last Friday evening.

The presentation contained a lot of information for the public.

Col. James Horne III says the physics of launches are literally being written during every mission.

He announced that launches will not be slowing down.

“You are witnessing the new space race,” the colonel said in his presentation.

But the impacts are being thoroughly studied.

For example, Brigham Young University physics professor Kent Gee heads the “ECOBOOM” research. 

He says 18 months of study have revealed a better understanding of sound and its effects on the environment.

“By collecting data on as many different types of rockets, by as many providers as possible, we’re learning,” says Gee. “We’re talking I’m making measurements of Vulcan, a New Glenn, of Falcon Nine, Falcon Heavy, of SLS, of Starship. All of these different rockets to try to piece together what might be going on.”

The area impacted by the heaviest and most audible vibrations from a sonic boom is referred to as the ‘footprint’ or ‘carpet.’

“Everyone from the Space Force to what’s known as the Defense Noise Working Group knew that noise from launches was going to be more of a concern,” says Gee.

Gee says sonic booms are similar to a boat’s wake in water, and they’re steered by weather conditions, particularly wind, making the determination of a carpet’s location unpredictable. 

“That focus that I talked about can move all the way from Santa Barbara, all the way to Oxnard, right?” says Gee. “That’s a huge, huge distance for the same trajectory. It’s the same launch, and it just the weather pushes it all over the place.”

During the Q & A, a community member asked about reimbursement for property damages due to launches, and Col. Horne’s assistant said people can file a claim.

Whoever files a claim would have to provide proof the particular vendor’s launch caused the damage, and the same technology used for this study could help make that determination.

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John Palminteri

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Goleta is reaching out to the public for solutions to homelessness, specifically concerning those living in their cars. They also have new outreach plans to help those in vehicles get into housing or safe parking areas.

A public meeting was held Monday on “People Living in Vehicles.”

Representatives with the City of Goleta and SB Act discussed the current status and heard public comments.

Landon Ranck with SB Act, an organization that coordinates homeless solutions, went through some of the outreach efforts on an ongoing basis and solutions coming in from a broad range of efforts.

This includes contact on the streets, reaching out to those in camps, cars and Rv’s.

Ranck says input from the public is very important. “It helps us to know where to direct the services so that we can make sure that we’re serving  the community or cleaning up where we need to.”

One new solution is a 24 unit project on Patterson and Highway 101 that is government assisted. It is called Patterson Point.

One unit is for a manager and the prequalifying for the other 23 is already underway for occupancy possibly at the end of March.

“Anytime a permanent housing opportunity like this opens  it means that more people are able to get out of the shelters and into permanent housing and them more people are able to get off  the streets as well and into shelters and  it is all about  creating that flow,” said Ranck.

The focus now is also  on camping in a vehicle in an unpermitted area.   It’s against the law in Goleta.

Goleta Homeless Coordinator Chuck Flacks said, “200 people at night are parking on the streets of Goleta. Of that only about 50 have agreed to homeless services.”

Efforts are underway to find out who is sleeping in their car, where and how often.

Flacks says, “it could be that they are working at local stores  or local businesses and they need somewhere to spend the night  because their family is in Santa Maria or their family is in Ventura so the county is conducting a study.”

The city already had signs that ban oversized vehicles in certain areas. They will add signs that indicate camping in cars is also not allowed.

Citations are being prepared and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department will be enforcing the new rules.

There is a permitted program through New Beginnings that has been successful. More approved areas for overnight car camping is being discussed.

The City of Goleta also has information on their website that can be found here.

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Dave Alley

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (KEYT) – Cuesta College is planning to build a long-envisioned new campus in South San Luis Obispo County at the site of a now-closed Arroyo Grande pharmacy.

“We are very excited that we have had the opportunity to acquire the former Rite Aid property at 1650 Grand Avenue in Arroyo Grande,” said Dr. Jill Stearns, Cuesta College Superintendent/President. “It really appears to be not only a location, but a building that is going to very well align with the needs of Cuesta College as we design instruction for our South County.”

The site of the property is at the southeast corner of Grand Avenue and Oak Park Boulevard, one of the busiest intersections located within the Five Cities.

The Rite Aid pharmacy closed last summer as part of the national chain’s bankruptcy process, which forced the company to shut down all of its more 1,000 stores across the country.

Cuesta College recently closed escrow on the $6.75 million property and now must go through an approval process with the City of Arroyo Grande before construction can begin.

“We are really looking forward to partnering with the city, and that ensuring that our overall design fits with their planning, and within what already exists,” said Stearns. “We have already had our team in the space assessing, taking a look at what exists. We are now in the process of identifying a construction and project manager for that and then we will be identifying an architect. The next step in our process with the City of Arroyo Grande is providing a rendering of the external facade, so that we can take that for their review and consideration before any further planning.”

According to Stearns, a large amount of the college’s students live in the South County, which has made the school’s goal of opening a permanent campus a longtime priority.

“Nearly 25% of our students are coming from South County, and so we already are serving a significant number of students from that area, and have had ongoing concerns about those who we aren’t serving,” said Stearns. “Certainly that commute is a challenge. Our students who rely on public transportation, we provide bus passes for them, but it’s not easy to navigate from South County to our San Luis Obispo campus, which is outside of the main part of San Luis Obispo, and so this will certainly provide more local access for South County residents, not only to classes, but to things like counseling and other supportive services, including basic needs that are essential in the student’s journey and their success.”

The vision for the property is to convert the existing 16,320 square foot building into the new campus, rather than demolishing the structure and build something entirely new.  

“The building is a perfect shell with four four solid walls and not a lot of structure inside of that,” said Stearns. “It’s really well suited for redesign. Our Board of Trustees has made it very clear that they want this South County campus to have the same standards that our North County campus and San Luis Obispo campuses have. The building will not only be beautiful, it will also be loaded with technology and very forward thinking in the planning and design. We anticipate that we will have four classrooms of varying types that will allow for flexibility. We will have gathering and study space for students. We will have offices to be able to provide services to students all within that existing footprint.”

Stearns is hopeful the new campus will be open for classes by January 2029.

“It’s incredible excitement,” said Stearns. “It is all about expanding opportunity, and in particular, opportunity that aligns with the needs and desires of our South County residents. We really want to bring to them the opportunity to access instruction, access services across the day and into the evening, so this is what we are excited to be able to bring to the South County.”

Cuesta College has been exploring the possibility of opening a South County campus on the planned Dana Reserve development in Nipomo.

Stearns indicated even with the new Arroyo Grande campus now in the works, the potential Dana Reserve campus could also come to fruition at some point in the future.

“This is very much the new the new model,” said Stearns. “Dana Reserve is still in our long term planning, and we are still considering the possibility of that. If the success of this new site in Arroyo Grande is what we envision it to be, we will need both to really meet the needs of our South County community.”

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Tracy Lehr

OXNARD, California. (KEYT) California Lutheran University’s satellite campus in Oxnard is set to close this summer.

The campus is located in The Palms mixed use complex in Oxnard.

A similar satelitte campus in Westlake is also set to close.

The Ventura County Star has reported that the closure plans follows declining enrollment.

Cal Lutheran plans to consolidate operations on its Thousand Oaks campus.

For more information visit https://www.callutheran.edu

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Tracy Lehr

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – Skaters at Ice in Paradise are busy following gold medals in figure skating and men’s and women’s hockey.

The parking lot was full and the public session at the Goleta rink on Sunday was well-attended.

People of all abilities took to the ice with family and friends.

They called the U.S. skaters and hockey players inspiring.

“I think the olympics has inspired some people to come and skate or ski or many different things and like it said in the game people want to be like their favorite players,” said hockey player Nico Detar.

 “The most part I love about skating is you are able to go on ice and go faster than you usually go,” said hockey player Joseph Clay.

Emi Katzenstein took part in a figure skating show before the public session.

“I just love watching it and I get really inspired,” said Katzenstein.

She said her favorite skater in the Olympics was the so-called Quad God.  

Ice in Paradise Guest Services Director Serine Kuglar said they have all kinds of things planned.

 “We have had a lot of people come in and they really like curling so we are going to have that in March,” said Kuglar.

She said people interested in curling can give it a try and perhaps join teams this Spring.

A rink that used to be in Oxnard was turned into condos, so many people drive to Goleta for lessons and competitions.

There are two rinks at Ice in Paradise that stay busy.

For more information visit https://iceinparadise.org

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Six members of the Santa Barbara / Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities Committee are stranded due to criminal activity in several Mexican states.

 Their situation follows the killing of a drug kingpin by the Mexican army.

“El Mencho” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel died during an operation to capture him today.

A pentagon task force played a supporting role . 

It happened in Jalisco, where the cartel is known for trafficking fentanyl to the United States.

Gil Garcia said they had planned to fly home from the Guadalajara Airport on Sunday.

Garcia said they could hear machine gun fire and see helicopters flying overhead about an hour away from where “El Mencho” was captured.

They said burning cars and buses stopped their driver from picking them up.

They have rebooked the flight for Friday, Feb. 27, in hopes the airport will reopen.

Gil Garcia, Marti Correa de Garcia, Maria Garcia, Alicia Baltadano, Mike Hernandez and Angela Cipriano are spending time in a hotel lounge in El Grullo, Jaslisco where they are feeling a sense of camaraderie as they experience what is happening together.

They said they came to El Grullo for a week at a health spa treatment and were happy with the results.

Today they were called by the driver and advised not to go outside where the military is gathering to fight with the cartel.

“We all feel deep concern for friends and relatives in Jaliso; many of which live in our sister city Puerto Vallarta.,” said Garcia.

The U.S. State Department and U.S. Embassy in Mexico has warned U.S. citizens to shelter in place during the ongoing security operations.

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Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – It’s good to be home.

Dos Pueblos High School alum Kellan Montgomery made his first home start as a member of the UCSB Gauchos and he pitched his hometown team to a 6-2 win and a 3-game sweep over the Portland Pilots.

The Long Beach State transfer Montgomery worked 7 2/3 innings allowing 2 runs, 4 hits and striking out 3.

The Gauchos trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning but graduate transfer Nick Husovsky took over from there.

The Ball State transfer gave the Gauchos a 2-1 lead with a 2-run single in he 7th and then belted a 2-run home run in the 8th inning.

(Nick Husovsky already has 4 home runs on the young season. Entenza Design).

Husovsky also walked three times as UCSB improves to 4-2 on the season.

(AJ Krodel pitched 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief for the save striking out 2. Entenza Design).

UCSB plays at Loyola Marymount on Tuesday, February 24th at 6 p.m.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –

CIF Regional Girls Water Polo Championship Division 1: (5) San Marcos at (4) Bishop’s(La Jolla) Tuesday, 5 p.m.

San Marcos is 26-7 on the year and Bishop’s is 21-8. Early in the season San Marcos lost to the Bishop’s 12-10.

The winner plays the winner of (8) Beckman at (1) Oaks Christian.

(Santa Barbara earns Division 2 home game after runner-up finish in CIF-SS D2. Entenza Design).

Division 2: (5) Carlsbad at (4) Santa Barbara Tuesday, 5 p.m.

Carlsbad is 17-11 and the Dons are 26-9.

The winner plays the winner of (Glendora) at (1) La Jolla.

The CIF Regional Girls Water Polo Championships are Saturday, February 28 at Long Beach City College.

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