Author: KEYT

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – On Tuesday, Santa Barbara will consider 2026 ballot measures to increase funds as it faces upcoming financial challenges.

For the current Fiscal Year 2026, a $8.7 million deficit was projected for the city’s budget. For Fiscal Year 2027, to start on July 1st, the city is facing a projected $14.6 million deficit.

At today’s meeting, city council will consider increasing the transient occupancy tax from 12% to 14%, as well as increases to certain property and cannabis retail taxes.

A survey was just conducted to provide early voter insights.

This will be presented to the full City Council after a report recently to the Finance Committee. To pass it will take a two-thirds vote later this year.

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.

Click here to follow the original article.

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – There could be an alternative to Deltopia this year in Isla Vista.

The Isla Vista Community Services District is going to the County Board of Supervisors with the Spring Fest plan Tuesday.

It has been in the development stages for weeks, and steps have been taken to create a more organized event using park spaces, and not Del Playa Drive where the unpermitted Deltopia street party has taken place in the past.

That gathering has led to huge crowds, injuries, medical calls and safety violations.

Recently the county voted to ban amplified music during the likely Deltopia weekend around April 4th.

The Community Services District say its proposed event will celebrate local culture, art, and entertainment.

Spring Fest will be in several areas, mainly park settings. Organizers are in the process of securing all the permits.

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.

Click here to follow the original article.

Tracy Lehr

MONTECITO, Calif. (KEYT) – Westmont College is doing a viewing of the rare lunar eclipse at its observatory overnight.

Physics Professor Emeritus Dr. Ken Kihlstrom and Astrophysics Professor Jennifer Gee and students are going to be waking up early or staying up late to see it.

Members of the public are welcome to join them on campus.

They will be at the observatory that has a bright yellow Keck Telescope from Longmont, Colorado inside.

The telescope will be aimed at the rare Worm “Blood” Moon.

The worm part gets its name from the earthworms signaling spring and the blood portion from the shades of color.

“It’s is a blood moon even though it is in earth’s shadow the atmosphere of the earth bends the light like sunrise and sunsets and bends the light and that illuminates the moon and you get a reddish appearance.,” said Kihlstrom, “The moon’s orbit is tilted by 5 degrees ,so half the time the earth’s shadow goes above the moon and half the time below but it is only when the moon crosses over the earth’s orbit you have either a lunar or solar eclipse.”

It happens about every six months, but it is not always total.

They will be watching the eclipse between 3-5 a.m.

The eclipse event will begin 12:44 a.m. with totality will happen at 3:04 a.m.

It should last for 58 minutes, with the eclipse ending at 6:23 a.m.

Professor Kihlstrom thinks it is a good way to get kids interested in science.

Gee describes it on Westmont’s website as “marveling at the way God created our solar system.”

Another reason this eclipse is getting a lot of attention is because the next total eclipse of the moon won’t be until New Year’s Eve in 2028.

But Kihlstrom said the next one visible in the United States won’t be until June of 2029.

For more information visit https://westmont.edu

Click here to follow the original article.

Caleb Nguyen

CAMARILLO, Calif. (KEYT) – Ventura County Fire crews put out a structure fire at the 5300 block of Meadowbluff Court in Camarillo just after 4:00 p.m. Monday.

Around 40 firefighters helped prevent injuries after an aggressive attack knocked down flames at the two-story, single-family home, according to the VCFD.

VCFD crews also checked for possible extension to a nearby home and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Click here to follow the original article.

Caleb Nguyen

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Maria Police arrested Clayton Peavey, a 31-year-old man from Santa Maria, for attempted murder at a Chick-fil-A on Betteravia, just before noon Monday.

SMPD officers investigated the case and found out about a female employee outside the restaurant, whom Peavey struck in the back of the head with a large brick.

The assault knocked the victim to the ground before Peavey fled. Paramedics later took the victim to the hospital for treatment and evaluation, according to the SMPD.

Restaurant management says some police were present at the restaurant already, so response was immediate.

A witness called for additional law enforcement, and employees who saw where peavy went helped police find him quickly.

SMPD officers later found Peavey in nearby agricultural fields and took him into custody without incident for attempted murder.

“She went to the hospital, banged up, bruised a little bit,” says Joey Hickox, the restaurant operator. “Got to the hospital, spent several hours there, got stitched up and is back home recovering. She was back home by the by the evening. Yeah, it was, it was quite a shock. I mean, we have a busy drive through normally around that time, and there were a lot of people there, and, a lot of people witnessed what happened.”

Witnesses of the incident are urged to contact the SMPD.

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.

Click here to follow the original article.

Caleb Nguyen

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – The California Highway Patrol identified a dead pedestrian in San Luis Obispo involved in an animal control truck crash last Wednesday at 4:15 p.m..

Brooklyn Gutierrez, 18, from San Luis Obispo, died at the scene after being hit by the truck on Orcutt Road near La Lomita Way, according to the CHP.

The CHP received aid from the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department, the County Sheriff’s Office and San Luis Ambulance in the incident.

Click here to follow the original article.

Dave Alley

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – The historic Fremont Theater in downtown San Luis Obispo will remain closed until further notice due to public safety concerns.

The City of San Luis Obispo said it has suspended the building’s Certificate of Occupancy, effective immediately so that an engineer can determine if the theater’s marquee sign is not a hazard and a risk to public safety.

A powerful storm last month damaged the theater’s iconic sign, causing a portion of the structure to fall onto the ground.

“After some of the larger storms in mid-February, it came to our attention that a portion of the exterior of the Fremont’s large, iconic tower sign had fallen into the street,” said Timothea Tway, San Luis Obispo Community Development Director. “So the city took the immediate action to close Monterey Street and close the sidewalk to ensure public safety. Since then, we’ve been working with the property owner as they get engineers out to the site to further assess the structure.”

San Luis Obispo officials said its staff “met with the property owner, who conveyed new information based on additional limited observation indicating that the structural integrity of the sign structure cannot be confirmed at this time.”

“The city continues to work with the property owner as they assess the damage to the tower sign above the marquee, and we will continue to work with them to make sure that we’re ensuring public safety, which is our number one priority as well as the rehabilitation of this iconic historic structure,” said Tway. “We continue to learn more about the structural integrity of the sign, so that’s why, out of an abundance of caution, the city has suspended the certificate of occupancy for that building. Until there’s further evidence from a licensed engineer and agreement from the building official that the building safe to open it will remain closed to the public.”

When contacted by News Channel 3-12 on Monday, Fremont Theater owner Rob Rossi indicated a structural investigation is set to begin Tuesday to determine the extent of the damge.

Rossi added the 35-foot fin sign goes back to the very construction of the historic theater that dates back to 1942.

He is hoping to reopen the theater as quickly as possible, targeting a goal of two weeks.

The closure has forced the popular venue to already postpone two scheduled events, Carlos Mencia on Friday night, and Emo World Tour on Saturday night.

Rossi added theater management is working with other local venues to serve as a new site for scheduled events that have been impacted, as well as attempt to book new dates when the theater eventually does reopen.

With the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival set to be held on April 23 through April 28, Rossi is optimistic the longtime venue for the popular event will be ready to go.

“I’m ust really looking forward to seeing how they were able to reconstruct this and hopefully bring it back to what it used to be,” said Linda Mayer on Monday while walking past the theater. “Maybe even better, but certainly retaining the historic structure of what it was. I live in Cambria now, but I’ve been coming here since I was in my teens, so it has a lot of significance in history. Just to know all the movies and things that have gone on there, and the the plays and things that are the concerts that are still going on. It’s really sad to see it in its current state, but really hopeful that it’ll be back to normal soon.”

While the Fremont Theater remained closed, nearby businesses, including Buona Tavola, Shin’s Sushi and The Bridge Café are open to the public.

“We encourage the public to patronize them,” said Tway. “There’s signage out on the street reminding everyone that they can access the businesses near the Fremont Theater.”

In addition, the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse, which is located across the street, and San Luis Obispo County Government Center next door will also remain open during normal business hours. 

Click here to follow the original article.

Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – The owners of a small winery in lompoc are pushing back against what they say is an unconstitutional mandate coming from the county.

a year ago, the santa barbara county board of supervisors approved an ordinance creating the “Wine Business Improvement District”, or “Wine BID.”

“This issue has been going on for almost six years,” says Norm Yost, Founder Of Flying Goat Cellars. “It went through different councils, but then finally in 2025, it was approved.”

Under this ordinance, wineries are required to pay a 1% fee of their revenue on sales to consumers, including transactions in tasting rooms, wine clubs, and at events.

“This is not a tax,” says Adam Shelton, senior staff attorney at the Goldwater Institute. “It is a 1% fee. And both the county and the Vintners Association has made it very clear that this fee, if passed on to customers, is actually taxable.”

The Vintners Association is tasked with managing these funds for regional wine industry marketing.

“We’re just noticing across the board, a downturn in the business,” says Yost. “So right now to incur a 1% assessment above our tax on our wines being sold in the tasting room has been just very, very difficult for us to absorb and to, disseminate the information.”

Founder of Flying Goat Cellars in Lompoc Norm Yost says he’s not opposed to partnerships, associations or regional marketing, but he is opposed to the county mandating which organizations to partner with. 

“Associations like this are supposed to be voluntary,” says Shelton. “The Vintners Association existed prior to the establishment of the BID, and at that time it was a voluntary association.”

In a letter written to the Santa Barbara County Board Of Supervisors, Adam Shelton, Flying Goat’s attorney at the Goldwater Institute, says compelling an independent company to join a private association violates the constitution.

“If this law does stay in place and is allowed to continue collecting these assessments, this could be used as a format for other industries,” says Yost.

The County of Santa Barbara sent us the following statement:

“The County of Santa Barbara has received correspondence regarding the Santa Barbara County Wine Improvement District, which was formed in February 2025 pursuant to California law.  At this time, we are not aware that a lawsuit has been filed, but are reviewing the received correspondence.”

The Santa Barbara Vintners Association sent us their statement as well:

“The Santa Barbara County Wine Improvement District was formed by the County through a public process and approved by the Board of Supervisors, consistent with federal and California law and long-standing benefit assessment frameworks used statewide.”

The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With The Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.

Click here to follow the original article.

John Palminteri

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – It rarely happens but two roundabouts are opening at the same time in Goleta.

They are on both sides of Highway 217 on Hollister Ave. This area has had congestion for years. This is east of Old Town and the Goleta Community Center.

The goal was to increase traffic safety along with a smoother flow in an area that has a crowded street, multiple highway ramps and is in a close proximity to the Santa Barbara Airport and UC Santa Barbara. It can, at times, be backed up in more than one direction.

Over the weekend, some of the upgraded work was done on paving and striping. More is scheduled in the weeks ahead along with landscaping.

Ramps were closed Friday evening until Monday morning before reopening for traffic. Additional work on the ramps to upgrade changes continues.

Steve Nicholson is a resident in the area. He says, ” hopefully this will help the afternoon because when this was being built up the Northbound was getting  bumper to bumper.”

A regular driver in the area, Benny Navarro says he has seen confused drivers already and advises people to be patient and get used to the flow. “Once the flow  gets pumping then I think it will work better than the double lights because the double lights would cause heavy heavy traffic,” he said.

The work is done as part of Goleta’s Project Connect . It began in March of 2024. This involves other nearby streets including Fowler, Ekwill and Kellogg Ave.

There is also work on the San Jose Creek taking place in the same area to reduce flood dangers.

Statistics show roundabouts have a strong safety record and can reduce both injury and fatal accidents.

For more roundabout driving information go to: Federal Highway Administration.

The city says some key tips from the video are:

Slow Down:

Slow down. Going slower gives you more time to make decisions.

Look around for anyone in the crosswalk and be ready to yield to them as you exit the roundabout.

Look Around:

For multi-lane roundabouts, choose the lane for where you want to go. Use the left lane to go left, right lane to go right, and either lane to go straight.

Take note of the signs and markings to help you select your lane.

Keep looking around and check the crosswalks to see if anyone is waiting to cross or already crossing. Be ready to stop to allow them to cross.

Look around for traffic already in the roundabout and be ready to yield.

Be Ready to Yield:

You must yield to traffic in ALL lanes of a roundabout.

Enter when there’s a comfortable gap.

Go slow and stay in your lane. Don’t turn left from the right lane and don’t turn right from the left lane.

Yield to large vehicles and give them space.

Follow the pavement markings to stay in the correct lane.

Additional work will continue on Project Connect with overall completion anticipated in Spring 2027.

Click here to follow the original article.

Caleb Nguyen

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (KEYT) – About 50 firefighters from Ventura County Fire and LA County Fire tackled a structure fire at the 900 block of Westcreek Lane in Thousand Oaks just before 11:00 a.m. Monday.

The two-story, multi-family apartment showed smoke and fire crews aggressively attacked the fire before searching for potential injuries and damages to the property, according to the VCFD.

Crews also worked to protect the potential exposure to surrounding homes and more information on the fire will be provided once available, according to the VCFD.

Click here to follow the original article.