Author: KEYT

Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Volunteers at Hope School District are adjusting to a new rule before stepping on campus.

Senate Bill 848 requires all volunteers to complete mandated reporter training.

Lilly Josenhans of Vieja Valley School in Santa Barbara has already completed the training.

“I was initially surprised I didn’t know what it meant to be a mandated reporter, but looking into it I certainly understand why it could be helpful and again it’s just one more way that we can as a community advocate for our children,” said Josenhans.

The a training teaches adults how to recognize and report child abuse or neglect.

District staff are guiding families through the online program and answering questions about the process.

“They’re required to send me their completed training certificate so I’ve been collecting tons. We have almost 100. We do have a lot of parent volunteers here,” said office manager Chelsea Jopes of Vieja Valley Elementary School.

The new law, which went into effect January 1, applies to all schools, including private schools.

“This law will help to make sure every child is taking care of that. No child ever slips through the cracks,” said Josenhans.

“And let you know if anything were to come up with someone did Phil they need to report then that would be a reported and taken care of,” said Jopes.

The new requirement aims to ensure every volunteer is prepared to act if a child needs help.

Volunteers still may need a tuberculosis risk assessment under existing state health rules, but SB 848 itself does not add a new TB test requirement.Volunteers at Hope School District now face a new requirement before helping at schools.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Harry’s Plaza Cafe was packed with student-athletes as the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table luncheon returned after several weeks off for winter break.

Five awards were handed out at the luncheon.

San Marcos High School girls water polo star Charlotte Raisin is the Female Athlete of the Week while Dos Pueblos High School senior guard Evan Pinsker is the Male Athlete of the Week.

Raisin scored 17 goals to lead the Royals to a fifth place finish in the prestigious Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

(The USC-bound senior Raisin led all players at the tournament in goals but also drew 12 exclusions and had close to 10 assists as the Royals went 3-1 in the tournament).

Pinsker drilled seven 3-pointers and had 26 points in a dramatic two-point win over crosstown rival San Marcos, the Chargers first victory over the Royals since 2017.

(Pinsker totaled 66 points in three games during the week).

Over the winter break Carpinteria High School basketball player Jamaica Cook and Cate High School soccer player George Marin earned Athlete of the Week honors.

Cook recorded three double-doubles for the Warriors girls basketball team including a 15 point, 22 rebound performance.

Marin scored a total of 8 goals in two wins for the Rams.

Carpinteria High School honored senior Vivian Huskins as the Warriors Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

(Huskins with award sponsor Marc Gamberdella)

She carries a 4.8 GPA and excels in soccer, track and field and also does cheer for the Warriors.

At the Northern Santa Barbara County Athletic Round Table luncheon at Giovanni’s in Orcutt, three awards were given to student-athletes.

Santa Ynez High School boys basketball player Lucal Ollenburger, Santa Ynez girls soccer player Hannah Ricci and Santa Maria High School boys basketball player Jordan Medina all were honored.

Ollenburger averaged 15 points for the week, Ricci scored goals in three straight games and Medina tallied 50 points on a school-record 13 three-pointers in a game in December.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) The Santa Barbara County Water Agency is hosting its 27th Annual Waterwise High School Video Contest.

This years theme is “Grow Beyond the Grass: Replace Your Lawn to Save Water, Support Nature and Keep Yards Cool.”

The lengthy theme was selected to highlight the importance of sustainable outdoor water use and the benefits of transitioning away from thirsty lawns.

The Santa Barbara County Public Works Department Public Information Officer Lael Wageneck said students are encouraged to enter 30-second videos in English or Spanish.

“The Santa Barbara County water agency works with different donors to provide cash prizes to the schools and the students and so it is great that the students can do something creative and is both a benefit to community by promoting conservation and there is a little prize with it,” said Wageneck.

Prizes range from $150-$500 for student awards and $300-$1,000 for school awards.

Sponsors include Corollo Engineers, La Buena 105.1 FM, Geosyntec, Enviroscaping and Dudek.

The recent rainfall may have washed drought worries away, but Wageneck said that doesn’t mean people should relax their conservation efforts.

“While Cachuma is spilling right now it is important to conserve water all year and every year because Cachuma spilled in 2011 and by 2016 it was down to 6 percent capacity so even though we have a lot of water right now without five years we could be back down to single digits so it is important that people conserve water and that is why this contest is so important because it supports conserving all year,” said Wageneck.

Wageneck conserves water at home by have drought tolerant plants and an artificial lawn.

He said he also takes quick showers and turns the tap off while brushing his teeth.

Some of those concepts have been promoted in past contests.

Past winners include students from Dos Pueblos High, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School and Pioneer Valley High School.

The videos included animation, musicals, parodies, mysteries and thrillers.

When the contest first began students used VHS tapes, now they can use their iPhones and edit on their phones or laptops.

Organizers hope more schools and students will enter this year.

The winning vidoes are likely to be shown in local movie theaters before films and on local TV, and video monitors at gas stations.

Students may find a link to application packets, award winning videos examples, and a how-to-video by logging onto, https://waterwisesb.org.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. March 6th.

Winners will be announced in the Spring.

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News Channel 3-12

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – On Thursday, Your News Channel will invite State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson and former Santa Barbara City Councilman Dale Francisco in what is anticipated to be a heated discussion on recent world events.

The two will represent both sides of the political discussion on topics such as the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and U.S. involvement in Venezuela, immigration crackdowns and protests across the country, and Trump pushing for U.S. acquisition of Greenland.

Tell us what you think in the chat box above.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Another step towards rent control in Santa Barbara could happen on Tuesday.

The city council first discussed it late last year in a five-hour session, and instructed the staff to come back with a plan.

It would include a rent freeze until the ordinance can be discussed and voted on, possibly in the summer.

There would be some exemptions including single family dwellings, some condos and units owned or managed by a not for profit organizations.

The tenants union has rallied in support of the rent stabilization efforts saying rents and increases in recent years are drastically beyond the reach of many residents, including low and middle income workers and families.

Landlords say a rent freeze or limits on rent increases would impact their ability to keep up their property or make their payments in some cases.

The discusson on this began when two council members Wendy Santamaria and Kristen Sneddon had it added to the agenda to open the process that included staff input and many community members speaking out.

Mayor Randy Rowse has not waited for this issue to move forward and has already spoken out against the plan.

A full copy of the proposals can be found on the City Council Agenda. ( Item 14)

City council will take up the issue after 2:00pm tomorrow afternoon.

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John Palminteri

ISLA VISTA, Calif. (KEYT) – Isla Vista could see two of its largest events of the year toned way down with some actions coming before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

It is a proposed amplified music noise ordinance. The issue is on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, the first one of 2026.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department first brought this up last year. Public meetings were held and well attended in Isla Vista with a full crowd of students joining year round residents to speak out about the plan.

The ordinance would ban amplified music that can be heard at or beyond the property line. There are also rules against parties that charge admissions and operate as night clubs

It comes out of the years of party scenes that have led to increasing annual costs by taxpayers to cover the need and overtime for first responders. Often many additional requests go through the Santa Barbara County Fire, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, American Medical Response, Public Works and Search and Rescue to either be prepared for the crowds or to respond during the events.

This includes Halloween weekend, or weekends depending on the date, and also Deltopia weekend after students return from Spring break.

Halloween for the most part has been reduced to a local event in recent years without a surge of out of towners as the area saw in the past.

Deltopia still has thousands of people filling the streets for a mainly daytime party with water-oriented activities, live and projected music, and often times overcrowded balconies and rooftops.

The calls for medical needs due to alcohol or drug issues, along with other injuries has become a serious concerns not only on site, but also when beds run out nearby at the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital emergency room.

The Sheriff’s Department has also noted in its report fatalities linked to the weekend activities.

The Isla Vista Community Services District is opposing the new ordinance. It favors a more organized and permitted event.

Some business owners who also have music on were concerned if they were included in the rule.

Many residents who have roots in the area along with children, want the activities to be community oriented, safe and not creating a risk to the general population.

If the supervisors approve the ordinance there is a timeline that will start to have it in place by the upcoming Spring break.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – At the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s South County facility in Goleta, yesterday’s leftovers are finding a new purpose — feeding local farms instead of landfills.

A powerful new industrial composter can process up to 400 pounds of food waste a day. Spoiled produce and uneaten meals are fed into the machine, where heat and motion break them down in hours, transforming scraps into nutrient-rich compost ready for the next growing season.

“This machine’s like a garbage truck on steroids — only it feeds farms, not landfills,” said one Foodbank worker. Another added, “we’re saving tons from the landfill and growing the next harvest instead.”

Volunteers help shovel the finished compost into bins, where it will eventually enrich local farm fields. The project, funded by a $1 million CalRecycle grant, is part of California’s broader effort to reduce greenhouse gases and cut food waste.

“It grinds, mixes, cooks — all on its own. Big machine, big impact,” one worker said.

What was once filled dumpsters is now feeding the soil, closing the circle from scraps to harvest — right here in Goleta.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – If your home or business sustained damage as a result of December or January storms information is being sought.

The County of Santa Barbara is collecting damage reports that will assist public safety officials in understanding the extent of local impacts and advocate on behalf of the community for state and federal assistance.

Many locations are known but some have gone unreported or damage was discovered after the event.

This can include downed trees into buildings, broken water pipes and other utilities, damaged roadways including bike lanes and hillside stabilizations.

A special form can be filled out here: Disaster Damage Report

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Dave Alley

LOPEZ LAKE, Calif. (KEYT) – The water level at Lopez Lake is slowly rising after receiving a significant amount of rain over the past two months.

“In October, we were at about 79%,” said Craig Duprey, Huasna District Supervising Park Ranger. “Now it’s at about 84%.”

The 5% rise in water is the result of the area seeing more than 16 inches of precipitation during the current rain season.

“The lake’s in really good shape,” said Duprey. “We’re excited with these early rains. It’s come up a couple of feet and it’s really, exciting, especially for recreation. We hope to see 90% capacity. The ground right now is saturated, so any additional rain is going to relate to lake rise.”

Over the past three years since the lake spilled in March 2023, the first time that’s happened in 25 years, the water level Lopez Lake has remained at a consistently high level, a far cry from back in December 2022 when the level sunk to a critically low 22%.

“Over the last few years, this lake has been very stable,” said Duprey. “It’s only fluctuated at about 20%., so we’re excited for the future here this season and we hope to see more lake rise.”

The stability with the water level at Lopez Lake has meant good news for the thousands of people downstream who rely on the popular reservoir.

“Having a high lake levels crucial for a lot of reasons,” said Duprey. “From a recreation standpoint, it means more surface area, so more opportunity for anglers and boaters, and then obviously it’s a domestic water source for the Five Cities. That’s really important with the higher lake levels.”

While Lopez Lake currently enjoys a healthy level, it still is lower than a few other nearby lakes – which have reached capacity, including Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County and Santa Margarita Lake in northern San Luis Obispo County.

“The watershed here at Lopez is not quite as big as some of the other watersheds at other local lake,” said Duprey. “It does raise a little bit slower compared to some of the other lakes.”

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Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – The Lompoc Police Department is heading into 2026 with some new initiatives, including the use of a drone for emergency calls.

There are two new programs we’re learning about. 

Some upcoming enhancements to traffic safety are courtesy of grant funding from the state provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and a pilot program for drones to assist first responders will begin in the next couple months.

A $35,000 grant was awarded to the Lompoc police from the office of traffic safety to increase DUI checkpoints, expand field training to officers for recognizing impairment, and enforcement operations focused on the worst of traffic behaviors.

“There’s plenty of traffic problems that the city of Lompoc has, like other cities,” says Sgt. Scott Morgan of the Lompoc Police Department community services department. “And so this grant helps us fund some of these extra positions for officers to be out there.”

The goal for increasing police presence is to reduce traffic violations and incidents resulting from them.

“We will not only have checkpoints, but we’ll also have DUI saturations where officers will be dedicated to looking for people out, driving impaired,” says Sgt. Morgan. “So, think long and hard before getting in the car when you’re inebriated.”

In addition to the traffic safety grant, a two-year pilot program for the Drones as First Responders initiative—or D.F.R.—will be getting its practical start within the next few weeks, after some strict procedural guidelines are agreed upon for protection of privacy.

“I know that people are concerned about transparency and privacy, And the policy will show that it’s for 911 calls only, and then they’ll have access to whatever the flight plan is that the drone flew on,” says Kevin Martin, Lompoc Police Chief. “They can actually see if it was us or not.”

These initiatives are expected to act as deterrents as much as providing assistance on any given scene.

“That’s going to make them less likely to drive like that when they know we’re out there on DUI saturation patrols and there’s an extra two or three officers out there,” says Sgt. Morgan. “They know and they might tell their friend, hey, don’t drive.”

The Drones As First Responder program will be thoroughly reviewed at the end of the two-year pilot phase before renewal.

Overall, these new programs are expected to streamline operations for Lompoc Police to increase public safety and reduce incidents that call for their involvement.

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