Category: keyt-local-news

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Emergency responders who will be called out at all hours in an oil spill emergency are testing their gear and plans to be ready for the next call.

Hundreds of feet of protective “boom” was towed out into the harbor entrance to align it in a way that would keep surface oil out and control the spread or a natural or man made oil mass that could come into the harbor entrance.

Over a thousand boats are inside along with sensitive shallow-water marine life and sea birds.

The drill involved the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol, The Department of Fish and Wildlife agency known as OSPR which is the Office of Spill Prevention and Response, the U.S. Coast Guard and Patriot Environmental Services.

The Santa Barbara Harbor crew trains regularly, but this joint response is needed to create a real life scenario.

Harbor Patrol Lt. Ryan Kelly says the city has an oil response trailer that can be activated quickly but with the other agencies they can coordinate a larger response for a major event. “There is a lot of interdepartmental coordination,” he said.

If there was a call for of a spill, “we would respond with our vehicle tow it out to West Beach and close off the harbor and as everyone was getting together we would coordinate a plan,” said Kelly. “Our response would be from West Beach to the end of the breakwater. We have special hooks to support our booms.”

The larger effort would take place when the larger agencies got on scene.

(More details, video and photos will be added here later today)

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The new Habitat ReStore has opened with everything from furnishings to tools and yes, even kitchen sinks.

During the last few months, the location on the corner of Gutierrez Street and State Street has been taking in donations.  

The team has been sorting, tagging, and displaying it all in an orderly. way.

When the ribbon snapped at a morning ceremony, city and downtown leaders said it will be a way to generate more foot traffic in the 400 block of State Street and help to recharge the area.    

Deals were being brought up to the counter within minutes including doors, desks, light fixtures, chairs, art pieces, appliances and hand tools as low as $1.00.

Chief Executive Officer Jessica de L’Arbre says it will be a place for donations, a place for affordable purchases and a financial stream for the Habitat for Humanity home projects throughout the area.

For those dropping off items, “it could be you are doing a kitchen remodel or you have an old tool,” she said. For buyers, “there’s some high quality stuff.”

The plan took time to sort out but the desire was very high.

“I don’t have the words to describe the level of enthusiasm for this store, from the donors who can’t wait to donate or who have been following up asking when they can shop,” said de L’Arbre.

Many customers picked up items at a fraction of the cost of a major retail or hardware store.

The ReStore was previously located in Goleta but closed there just over six years ago.

(More details, video and photos will be added here later today.)

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – CommUnify and its board announced the acquisition of a Santa Maria property that will house a new preschool and childcare center.

It’s a new type of acquisition for the real estate firm representing the non-profit.

The sixty-year-old non-profit purchased the former Grace Lutheran Preschool building on East Fesler Street, with plans to transform it into a Head Start preschool.

“The facility that we’ve just purchased will be our 19th Head Start facility here in Santa Barbara County,” says Patricia Keelean, CommUnify’s Chief Executive Officer.

This child care and early education center will serve up to 70 local low-income children and their families. 

“We’re extremely excited about being in Santa Maria and this location in particular,” says Jennifer MacDonald, CommUnify’s Children Services Director.

It will be upgraded with four classrooms, a commercial  kitchen, outdoor  learning space, and two play yards.

“They’ll be renovating what is now a courtyard,” says MacDonald. “We plan on having that be a toddler yard. And in the back of one of these classrooms will have an infant yard as well. And then redevelop the preschool yard. So there’ll be three outdoor classrooms.”

The four indoor classrooms will be divided among infants and toddlers.

“Two preschool classrooms for children, 3 to 5 and two infant toddler classrooms for children three months to three years of age,” says MacDonald.

CommUnify bought the vacant property from Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Santa Maria for $950,000 in a sale that closed at the end of last month.

“At Radius, a lot of the times we’re working with profit driven investors,” says Jack Gilbert, senior associate for Radius Commercial Real Estate working with the Golis team. “And so I think this transaction was a little bit unique in the sense that we’re working with a nonprofit.”

CommUnify is funding the project with a $1.3 million infrastructure grant from the California Department of Social Services, along with a loan from the Low-Income Investment Fund.

“There are still needs that we need to address in order to prepare this site for licensure,” says Keelean.

The organization also plans to  launch a capital campaign this fall.

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The 13th Annual Day of Hope fundraiser was held Wednesday across several locations in Northern Santa Barbara County and South San Luis Obispo County.

Starting at 7 a.m., dozens of volunteer teams wearing bright orange vests were seen at numerous intersections, parking lots, and other gathering places to sell special edition $1 Santa Maria Times newspapers.

All of the proceeds brought in during the fundraiser will directly benefit patient services and programs at Mission Hope, which operates two centers – its flagship facility in Santa Maria, and in Arroyo Grande inside the Matthew Will Memorial Medical Center.

“We really appreciate everybody who comes by and donates for Day of Hope,” said past Mission Hope patient James Stoddard, while selling papers for The Rotary Club of Santa Maria. “Those dollars go to work in our local community helping those who are battling cancer.”

Since it was first held in 2014, the Day of Hope has raised over $3.1 million, including $473,000 last year.

“It means a lot,” said cancer survivor Joan Miers, who was also selling papers for The Rotary Club. “It’s very touching. It’s actually very humbling how many people come out. They give money. It’s amazing!”

Teams included volunteers who represented loved ones or friends fighting cancer, businesses, schools, organizations, government, and other various groups.

“It’s awesome,” said Phillip Solis with Team Fidelity at the intersection of Broadway and Betteravia Raod. “It’s part of a huge community event. Unfortunately, we all know somebody that’s been affected by cancer, either personally or through a friend or family member, so it’s great to be out here representing the community, and kind of just helping out with that cause.”

Most of the paper sales took place in Santa Maria and Orcutt, while other locations were in Lompoc, Guadalupe, Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and Pismo Beach.

Dignity Health said this year, 12,000 newspapers were printed and sold throughout all the locations.

Donations to the 13th Annual Day of Hope can be made online through Sept. 18 by clicking here to access the official Day of Hope website.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – As temperatures rise across the Central Coast, CARE4PAWS is reminding pet owners to take extra precautions to protect animals from the heat.

Pets can overheat quickly, especially when they are outside during the hottest part of the day. CARE4PAWS recommends keeping animals indoors or in shaded areas, making sure they always have access to fresh water and limiting walks and exercise when temperatures climb.

Hot pavement can also burn a pet’s paws. Pet owners can check the ground before heading out and choose cooler times of the day for walks.

Animals should never be left alone in a parked vehicle, even for a short period of time. Temperatures inside a car can rise rapidly and become dangerous.

Signs of overheating can include excessive panting, drooling, weakness, vomiting or difficulty breathing. Pet owners who notice signs of heat-related illness should move their animal to a cooler area and seek veterinary care.

CARE4PAWS encourages families to plan around the heat and make sure pets have a cool, safe place as temperatures remain high.

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Mina Wahab

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) — Electric vehicle drivers in Santa Barbara now have a new option for fast, public charging.

The City of Santa Barbara unveiled four new 400-kilowatt DC fast chargers at the Eastside Library Wednesday, giving EV drivers the ability to charge their vehicles in approximately 15 minutes.

For drivers juggling work, errands and family responsibilities, the faster charging time could make owning an electric vehicle more convenient.

“I can drop my car, charge it, pick up my kid, walk back, and my car is ready to go,” said Geordie Scully-Taylor, a policy analyst for California Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón.

The chargers are Level 3 DC fast chargers, which are significantly faster than Level 1 and Level 2 charging stations.

“These are the fast chargers. So Level 3. And so that can fill up your vehicle in roughly 15 minutes. It’s really quite fast,” said Kristian Hoffland with the City of Santa Barbara’s Energy and Climate Division.

Drivers can start a charging session using a credit card, a mobile app or an RFID card.

Charging costs vary by time of day

The city says the new chargers are also designed to provide a relatively affordable public charging option.

Charging during the middle of the day, when solar electricity is most abundant, currently costs 37 cents per kilowatt hour.

Hoffland said that rate is among the lowest for public chargers in the area.

Expanding access for renters

City officials and environmental advocates say the new chargers could also help make EV ownership more accessible for people who don’t have the ability to charge at home.

More than 60% of Santa Barbara residents are renters, according to the city.

“Over 60% of our city residents are renters, and renters have a very hard time getting access to charging,” Hoffland said.

The Eastside location provides another public charging option for residents who may not have access to a private garage or home charging station.

Project received state funding

The project was funded in part with more than $500,000 in state funding, including money from Senate Bill 1.

The chargers are powered by 100% carbon-free electricity through Santa Barbara Clean Energy.

The new charging stations are now open to the public at the Eastside Library.

Santa Barbara residents can also receive up to $4,000 in rebates when purchasing an electric vehicle, according to the city.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Hope School District students are settling into a new school year.

And for some of the district’s youngest students there’s already plenty to look forward to.

From making new friends to learning new things, students shared what they’re most excited about in the year ahead.

“I’m looking for this year to learning long division and hanging out with my friends,” said student Sammy Lopez.

“Reading more chapter books improving on my math skills,” said student Heather Mannion.

“I’m excited for school because I love my teachers,” said student Heaven Desalegn.

“I’m excited for making paper houses,” said student Orion Tane.

Tane is only in kindergarten.

Tuesday marks day four of the year for students at Vieja Elementary School.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Dolly Parton fans made a point of listening and buying her music following news of the her death.

Joe Figueroa put one of her used albums on the turntable at Warbler Records & Goods on Tuesday afternoon.

“I thought it was so sad to hear but I feel like she is an artist that for every generation that gets to enjoy her music finds something pretty special in what she has to say, I feel like so many things she has spoken about and all throughout her life are still relevant to our situation and our times, you know,” said Figueroa, “anyone can here working 9-5 and relate to that one and really so many of her songs she is a real legend and we have all generations that come in here and are always asking for Dolly Parton and will continue to I think.”

At the landmark Salzer’s Records in Ventura, Manager Ricky Madrid noticed a spike in their Dolly Parton sales online following the news of her death.

“Dolly Parton was an amazing icon for young people, too and gays, everybody, I grew up listening to Dolly, grandma always played her records, she is one of my favorites, I miss her already,” said Madrid.

Both record stores decades of recording to choose from.

Parton’s final big Nationwide Pure and Simple Tour stopped at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Sept. 25, 2016, almost exactly a decade ago.

UCSB Classics Professor Helen Morales, Ph.D. saw that concert.

“I last saw her her at the Santa Barbara Bowl and she was wonderful she has such a connection to the audience when she says I will always love you believe her,” said Morales, “There was one moment that really stood out she sang a song called Little Sparrow A cappelo, no instrument of backround and she was pitcher perfect.”

Morales wrote the book entitled, “Pilgrimage to Dollywood; A County Music Road Trip through Tennessee.”

Her phone started ringing when the news broke.

“Suddenly my phone exploded with people being heartbroken and so yes I am very upset but I know that so many people around the world are,” said Morales.

She is a British-American professor of Greek literature who has always been a fan of Dolly Parton.

I hadn’t intended to write the book I studied Homer and things like that, but as I began to read the lyrics of her thousands, thousands of songs that she has written I realized there is a body of work there, and an importance of witnessing people’s lives and changing attitudes to women and of the countryside that rivals the work of Sappho,” said Morales.

Sappho was known as the Poetess known for her prolific lyrical lines of poetry.

Morales wants Dolly Parton’s lyrics to be respected.

“Because she has a backwoods Barbie, fluffy sparkly persona she hadn’t been taken seriously as a lyricists as the male country greats.”

She described her book as a scholarly analysis of Parton’s lyrics and her persona and of Dollywood written with the warmth of a true fan.

Parton’s voice catapulting her to stardom with hits including “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You.”

Parton owned a small home at 561 Alisal Road in Solvang for about a decade.

During visits she was known to try to keep a low profile.

Her prolific songwriting and generosity also led to hit songs for other artists.

Parton acted in a number of successful films including “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias.”

Parton’s philanthropy included scholarships and books.

Her Imagination library donated more than 330 million books to children.

She often teared up talking about how it was inspired by her late father who could not read or write when she was growing up in Tennessee.

Her publicist said she passed away peacefully in Nashville at the age of 80.

“One way to honor her extraordinary legacy is to think about the mantra she has as her Imagination Library that has made such a huge impact.”

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, care more, be more, then you are an excellent leader,” said Parton.

‘Dream More, Learn More, Care More, Be More’ became a slogan associated with the library.

“The world will be a better place if we all did that so, thank you Dolly,” said Morales.

Your News Channel will have more on Morales and the passing of the music legend tonight on the news.

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Caleb Nguyen

ORCUTT, Calif. (KEYT) – A vegetation fire is currently burning at about two acres south of Clark Avenue, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The fire broke out just after 3:00 p.m., and reached two acres an hour later, according to the SBCFD.

A car burst into flames around the same time as the vegetation fire, showing black smoke on the right side of the road, according to CalTrans.

The SBCFD, the Santa Maria Fire Department and CAL FIRE SLO are tackling this fire, and the public is advised to avoid the area.

More information on this fire will be provided once available to Your News Channel.

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