Author: KEYT

Tracy Lehr

MONTECITO, Calif. – Mothers’ Helpers held a Mother’s Day weekend collection event.

Community members dropped off essential baby items at Montecito Fire Station 91 on San Ysidro Road in Montecito.

The nonprofit collects infant car seats, strollers, baby carriers, diaper bags, diapers, and more.

“We are so grateful to the Montecito and Santa Barbara communities. They understand that parenting is hard under the best of circumstances, let alone if you are struggling to meet your family’s basic needs,” said Mothers’ Helpers Executive Director Michelle Erickson. “We are proud to have been here for 15 years, helping take things that people have and give them to people in need, because every baby deserves to thrive.”

The Mother’s Day weekend drive also set a goal of raising $5,000 to support local families.

For more information visit https://mothershelpers.org/donate

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Caleb Nguyen

VENTURA, Calif. – Jonathan Martinez, a 37-year-old Chino man, pleaded guilty to felony identity fraud after stealing over $84,000 from a Thousand Oaks family who lost their home in foreclosure, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

Martinez pleaded guilty on May 8 after the law firm he worked for offered services in a wrongful potential foreclosure sale against the family in the 2021 sale, according to the VCDAO.

A VCSO investigation found that Martinez intercepted, forged signatures and deposited funds into his personal account from a check worth over $84,000 made payable to the family, according to the VCDAO.

Martinez then used the check on personal expenses while the victims requested several updates on their surplus funds from June 2021 until April 2022, of which Martinez didn’t respond or made excuses for, according to the VCDAO.

The victims learned of the frauded check in April 2022 and filed a crime report before being interviewed by Chase Bank two months later to notify them of the money’s whereabouts, according to the VCDAO.

Chase Bank then recovered $30,000 of the stolen funds with Martinez still owing over $50,000 in victim restitution, according to the VCDAO.

Martinez faces up to four years and four months in jail, and his scheduled sentencing is June 6.

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Caleb Nguyen

FILLMORE, Calif. – Several law agencies across Ventura County arrested a 23-year-old Fillmore gang member for drug and firearm-related offenses Friday at 8:00 a.m., according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigations started in March when detectives looked into the 23-year-old man for unlawful firearm activity before obtaining a search warrant for his car, home and himself, according to the VCSO.

Detectives then contacted the gang member at his place of employment at Eastman Ave. in Ventura and found a controlled substance, graffiti tools and a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his possession after serving the search warrant, according to the VCSO.

The 23-year-old was later arrested for the following violations and booked into the Pre-Trial Detention Facility:

Health & Safety Code § 11370.1(a) – [Possession of a Controlled Substance While Armed with a Firearm]

Penal Code § 487(d)(2) – [Grand Theft Firearm]

Penal Code § 25850(a) – [Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Vehicle]

Penal Code § – [Carrying a Concealed Firearm in Vehicle]

Penal Code § 27545 – [Unlawful Firearm Transfer]

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Visiting Nurses Association has honored two special women in the annual VNA Mother’s Day lunch.

The honorees were champions of the health and well being of our community.

This year the late Rosa Pace was chosen for her philanthrophy in the Santa Ynez Valley.

She is a founding member of the Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic, the first clinic on the Chumash Reservation.

Also awarded was Renee Grubb the owner of Village Properties.

Annually they provide funds for teachers and educational support.

Her team of realtors also helps 30 different charities.

“Today is really for VNA and I just hope that  we can continue to support them in the way that they should, more money every single year because they deserve it because they do such good with it,” said Grubb.

VNA Health is a non profit that began 117 years ago.

100% of the luncheon’s proceeds support VNA Healthy’s charitable community care programs.

Those services bring hope, health and comfort to families throughout our community regardless of adequate insurance or resources.

The lunch was held at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.

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Caleb Nguyen

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The SLO County Air Pollution Control District announced a series of prescribed burns at Camp Roberts later this month to reduce fire hazards.

The proposed burn dates are scheduled for May 12-16, May 19-23 and May 27-28 with a majority of the 8,700 acres of proposed burns happening on the final day, according to the press release from the SLO ACPD.

Training burns and hazard reduction are scheduled throughout the month to help reduce wildfire risk and improve potential air quality locally, according to the press release from the SLO ACPD.

Smoke will be present on burn days and up-to-date information will be provided to help those affected, including children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions, according to the SLO ACPD press release.

Burns depend on weather and air quality and could be rescheduled. Updates on when burns will happen in the area will be provided on the ACPD website.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Mother’s Day is one of the busiest times of the year for florists and flower shops.

“It’s been huge. Yesterday was so busy, and today—along with Mother’s Day—it’s actually Mexican Mother’s Day, so we’re extra busy. It’s our busiest day of the year,” said Westerlay Orchids showroom manager Virginia Hayes.

Family-owned flower shop Lily’s Flowers and Fruity Florets said they’ve been seeing a surge in orders since the middle of the week.

“Since Wednesday, we’ve been doing about 80 to 90 orders every day, so yeah, the influx for Mother’s Day gets a lot bigger,” said Ismael Contreras, manager at Lily’s Flowers and Fruity Florets.

Flower shoppers may face higher prices this Mother’s Day due to ongoing tariffs enacted during the Trump administration.

According to Money Talks News, 80% of flowers purchased in the U.S. are grown outside the country.

“Peonies, orchids, and stuff that get imported from somewhere more tropical,” said Contreras.

At Westerlay Orchids, however, tariffs haven’t impacted prices.

“We’re very lucky—not at all,” said Hayes. “Actually, all of our orchids are raised here. We grow everything in our greenhouses in Carpinteria; we have three facilities here, so the tariffs don’t affect anything. We are not raising prices—we’ve held our prices for a few years now.”

While flower prices have risen at some shops, that hasn’t stopped shoppers from buying blooms this Mother’s Day.

“The roses that we usually get are from Ecuador, so those have gone up,” said Contreras. “They’ve noticed—especially the customers who come more often. They’re like, ‘Oh, my dozen roses used to be $55, now they’re $65.’”

Lily’s Flowers and Fruity Florets will be open on Sunday for Mother’s Day.

Westerlay Orchids will be closed for the holiday.

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Caleb Nguyen

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The Santa Maria Police Department is investigating a fatal stabbing that happened Friday morning just before 11:00 a.m. at the 1700 block of Rio Vista.

SMPD officers found a 63-year-old man and took him into custody as a suspect. This came after finding a 44-year-old woman with multiple injuries at the scene.

The woman was later helped to Marian Regional Medical Center, where she unfortunately died from her injuries.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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Caleb Nguyen

LOMPOC, Calif. – Santa Barbara County Fire personnel found a car that went over the side of Highway 1 near Lompoc that turned into a brush fire just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

SBCFD members knocked down the fire at a quarter acre at 3:15 a.m. and began searching for potential victims within the thick brush.

The sedan went 50 feet off the side of the road and closed one lane of Highway 1 after the search, during which SBCFD crews were unable to find any potential victims from the crash.

SBCFD members helped extinguish hot spots until 6:00 a.m. and the California Highway Patrol is investigating any potential owners of the car.

The cause of the crash and subsequent fire are under investigation.

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Mike Klan

GOLETA, Calif. – Time ran out on Dos Pueblos High School girls lacrosse.

The Chargers furious comeback fell two goals short in a 12-10 home loss to Oaks Christian in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3 semifinal game.

Trailing 12-7 in the fourth quarter Linnea Clapinski scored three goals to bring DP within striking distance with just under a minute to play.

(Clapinski scores on a free shot in the fourth quarter. Entenza Design).

But the Chargers could not get another shot off and saw their season end at 11-10.

Clapinski finished with a team-high 6 goals.

Oaks Christian raced out to a 7-2 lead in the second quarter before Dos Pueblos closed the half with three straight goals including a first half buzzer-beater by Clapinski on an assist by Eloise Shea.

Clapinski opened the second half with a goal to bring DP to within 7-6 before the Lions tallied the next four goals to extend the lead to 11-6.

The Chargers Marissa Russak scored with 33 seconds left in the third quarter as DP trailed 11-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

Stella Lawler made 14 saves against Oaks Christian but the Lions sister act of Julia and Elizabeth Forsyth proved to be too much for DP.

(Julia Forsyth helps lead the Lions into the title game. Entenza Design).

Oaks Christian will play in their first-ever girls lacrosse CIF-SS final next Friday against powerhouse Trabucco Hills at Fred Kelly Stadium in Orange.

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Mike Klan

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Tyler Bremner set a new UC Santa Barbara Baseball record on Friday night, racking up his 275th career strikeout and going on to issue 10 K’s as the Gauchos (32-16) routed Loyola Marymount (24-25), 12-1, in the opening game of a three-game series. The offense put up big numbers in the third and eighth innings, with Nate Vargas, Jonathan Mendez, Rowan Kelly and Liam Barrett all tallying multiple RBIs on the night.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDREW CHECKETTS”(Bremner is) in the strike zone a lot,” Checketts said in a mid-game interview. “You look at his walk totals and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is really good, one of the better ones in the country. He’s in the zone, and when you’re in the zone a lot, you get to two strikes more and you get more strikeouts. I always tell my guys, I haven’t seen anybody in my career yet strike out with less than two strikes. You’ve got to get there first. He’s doing a good job of getting ahead tonight.”

HOW IT HAPPENED”In the zone” may have been an understatement of Bremner’s start to Friday’s game. The righty was perfect through five innings and faced the minimum through six with the help of a double play. Through those opening six frames, the Lions managed to put just eight balls in play against Bremner, while the junior racked up double-digit punchouts. His first of the night came to end the first inning, then he started the second inning with two more. That third strikeout of the night put him alone atop UC Santa Barbara’s career strikeout leaderboard, surpassing the 274 that Dan Yokubaitis collected between 1983 and 1986. He went on to strike out the side in the third and again in the fifth before allowing his one and only hit to begin the sixth. Another strikeout and a double play got him out of the frame having still faced the minimum.

While Bremner was racking up strikeouts, the Gaucho offense was racking up runs. A two-out rally in the second got Santa Barbara on the board, with Mendez reaching on a fielder’s choice, Xavier Esquer walking and then Barrett driving Mendez home with a single through the right side of the LMU infield.

The Gauchos then turned their lead into a comfortable cushion with a four-run third. Jack Holman hit a one-out double down the right field line and took third on a balk, then Isaac Kim hit a flop shot of a double into the magic spot in left field where no Lion could reach it, scoring Holman from third. Vargas kept the double trouble going, finding the gap in right center to score Kim, then Mendez conquered the Blue Monster in left field, clearing the 37-foot-tall wall to make it 5-0 Santa Barbara.

LMU got one of those runs back in the seventh, with a one-out walk coming around to score after Donovann Jackson relieved Bremner. However, the Gaucho offense kicked into gear again and made their lead bigger than ever before in the top of the eighth. Back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases, then Vargas earned another RBI the hard way, being hit by a pitch to force home a run. Mendez followed that up with a five-pitch walk to force home another run, then Kelly drove in a pair with a single into right field. Barrett’s sacrifice fly to center gave Santa Barbara their fifth run of the inning and 10th of the game.

Jackson stayed in and set down the side in order in the bottom of the eighth, and the offense stayed hot when they came back out in the top of the ninth. A walk and a single got runners aboard for Vargas, and the Gaucho catcher pulled a ball down the right field line, tracing it into the corner for a two-RBI triple, making it 12-1. Jackson finished the game, allowing just a walk in a scoreless ninth.

BY THE NUMBERSThe Gauchos finished the evening with five doubles, two of them by Vargas, a feat they have accomplished four other times this season. As for Vargas, his last two-double haul was just three weekends ago, on April 27 at UC San Diego.Vargas’s team-high four hits on Friday are a new career high for the Gaucho backstop. Before Friday’s game, he had not even tallied three hits in an NCAA contest.Speaking of career marks, Bremner’s career-record-breaking haul of 10 strikeouts is his fifth double-digit strikeout night this season, all five of which have come in the last six weeks. He now has 282 strikeouts in UC Santa Barbara’s Blue and Gold.There is still one Gaucho record waiting to be broken this weekend, as LeTrey McCollum continues his pursuit of the longest on-base streak in program history. With an eighth-inning single and a ninth-inning walk, he extended his on-base streak to 44 games, one away from tying and two from breaking the previous record, set by Christian Kirtley in 2022. McCollum also has a 20-game hitting streak.

UP NEXTThe series now moves to Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, where the Gauchos will host the Lions on May 10 and May 11. First pitch times are set for 3:05 p.m. on Saturday and 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets and both games will be live on ESPN+.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).

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