Category: keyt-local-news

Beth Farnsworth

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The latest step to develop a small townhouse community directly across from the Santa Barbara Cemetery was approved following Thursday’s public hearing.

The Santa Barbara Planning Commission moved forward with staff’s recommendation to adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for this project, according to Julia Pujo, Project Planner, Environmental Analyst.

Courtesy: City of Santa Barbara

The development is known by its address: 1 Hot Springs Road, which is a little confusing because the land actually sits off Channel Drive.

The 2.4 acre triangular parcel looks more like a buffer zone than a housing site. The land is hemmed in by Highway 101 to the north, the Santa Barbara Cemetery to the south and, to the west, the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge.

City officials have expressed excitement about the project.

Proposed plans include 22 units within seven individual two and three-story buildings along with 50 parking spaces.

Noozhawk reports, a former cemetery superintendent lived in a house that once stood at the site; remnants of a cement staircase still exist.

The tip of the triangular parcel is embedded with a historic fountain overlooking the roundabout, across from The Post Montecito. Plans include restoring the structure and bringing it back to working order for the public to use.

Click here to follow the original article.

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – After years of searching, the Providence School in Santa Barbara has found a site for its middle and upper level classrooms where 7th through 12th graders are taught.

It is currently operating out of a leased location with portable buildings on Canon Perdido Street. It will now be a few blocks away on the 600 block of Ortega St.

Previously the location was used by Girls Inc.

“In October of  2021 a small group of us walked on this campus for the first  time and we began dreaming what this place could become,” said Interim Head of School  Caroline Corazza at an assembly.

It is viewed as a good fit for the school and the neighborhood. Corazza said,  “we just had a vision very quickly that this campus this downtown campus was a great opportunity to continue our mission downtown and finally have a permanent home.”

Parents and board members who have been committed to a permanent campus project were enthusiastic about the future and their faith in the school’s Christian learning values.

Matt LaBrie is on the Providence School Board. He said, “we would send our kids to this school even if it was a cardboard box it doesn’t matter where it is.”

With shovels and hard hats there were two groups of groundbreaking teams including students

Abel Ortega said he will be still going to the school when the new campus opens in two to three years. In looking at the drawings he said, “it was really nice way nicer than the Canon Perdido one. Like the gates are really nice and the main entrance it was just really beautiful.”

Nearby is Ortega Park and Santa Barbara Junior High.

Corazza said,”we saw families playing in the park, we saw the junior high across the way,  there is Jiu Jitsu studio, there’s all these family focused, student-serving amenities  right here and we were already a block and a half away for about 14 years.”

Designing a campus for the future here also includes remembering the values that has made it a blessed school since 1958.

“We want students to look each other in the eye and debate topics to engage on literature,history and we think the world needs more of that,” said Corazza.

Fundraising continues with with about $12-million dollars left to to meet the goal of $24-million.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jarrod Zinn

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – A major collaboration is underway to salvage an historic oak tree in San Luis Obispo.

This effort started quickly after a city council decision last month.

The city council voted in July to allow SLO Repertory Theatre to remove a native oak tree and build a new theater.

In the wake of that decision, Matt Ritter — professor and director of Cal Poly’s Plant Conservatory — gathered a team of expert volunteers to begin work on transplanting the tree.

“Lots of community interest, absolutely,” says Bob Hill, City of SLO’s Sustainability And Natural Resources Official. “We’re excited today that we may have an opportunity to achieve a lot of different city goals, to have a thriving downtown cultural arts district.”

Ritter says other trees of comparable size and age have been successfully transplanted before.

“I wanted to try it because I think that we had the possibility of doing it,” says Ritter. “And the other option is the tree just is guaranteed to be cut down and killed and die. So we might as well make an attempt.”

The team began work this week, giving the tree thousands of gallons of water to help fortify it.

“It was so dry when we initially got to it,” Ritter says. “We had to—we put 2000 gallons of water on it. And then we set up an irrigation system, a drip thing, and let that go overnight, put a lot of water on it.”

Thursday morning, the group began digging a trench and pruning the tree’s root system.

“What we don’t want to see is just severing massive roots,” says Ritter. “And we didn’t see that today. So I’m encouraged by what we saw.”

While there’s no full guarantee the tree will survive the transplant, the expert arborists volunteering their time here say there are several favorable signs and conditions at this early stage of the effort.

“What we didn’t know til today is, is how big are the roots outside of there,” says Ritter. “And it has been a totally successful event because we severed maybe 5 or 6 roots that were this big, and everything else was smaller than that.”

If the tree survives, the team will be transplanting it to a spot just a few blocks away at mission plaza.

“We’re hopeful and we’re optimistic,” says Hill. “And folks that know a lot more about trees than I do are telling me that this can be possible and it can work.”

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

Click here to follow the original article.

Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The first day of class began in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD) Thursday morning with a brand new personal device policy in effect.

Known as “”Off and Away All Day Except at Lunch,” the new rule will require students at Santa Maria, Righetti, Pioneer Valley and Delta high schools to power down and store away all electronic devices for most of the school day.

Once on campus, students will no longer be allowed to use cell phones, smartwatches, and other personal electronic devices, including AI-enabled personal devices.

The revised policy restricts any usage of devices during class time and passing periods.

“Our ‘Off and Away’ policy is that students will have their devices off and away for the entire day, with the exception of lunchtime,” said Ted Lyon, SMJUHSD Teaching and Learning Director. “This is a way for us to really provide an opportunity for students to engage more in classroom instruction, and also to support their mental health and well-being in regards to what we’ve seen with excessive cell phone use.”

Jeff Carroll, who replaced Lyon as Righetti principal starting this school year is hopeful the new policy will make a positive impact with the quality of the entire school experience.

“The goal is to make sure that our kids are more engaged,” said Carroll. “We want them engaged in not only the learning process, but also just being engaged with the the students around them. We create an environment where kids are are part of our campus. What all the data shows is that the more students spend time spending on their cell phones, the less engaged than they are in life, and we want to give them the opportunity to be engaged.”

In addition to both school and district administration, some students are also supportive of the new restrictions.

“I think that it’s definitely challenging for some students, but I think it’s also a good thing to put in place because it helps us come together and be more in real life than not in our phones,” said Righetti senior Cami Latham. “Walking down the halls you see a lot of people just stuck in their phone not really socializing, and now, you’re going to need to make time for social interactions with people and not having your phone on you all the time.”

While students adjust to the new rules, Thursday and Friday will essentially be a learning period and students will only be warned if they use devices during restricted times.

However, Carroll indicated the rules will begin to be enforced starting on Monday and those who are in violations will face punishment.

“Starting on Monday, unfortunately there’s going to be some consequences if they have their personal devices out,” said Carroll. “Hopefully, we don’t have to enforce it very often, but we know that it’s going to be something that comes up, and it’s going to be tough on kids, but we know that it’s going to be what’s best for kids, and that’s what’s most important.”

The “Off and Away All Day Except at Lunch” is now in effect at all SMJUHSD campuses, including Santa Maria High School, Righetti High School, Pioneer Valley High School, Delta High School and the Mark Richardson Career Technical (CTE) and Agriculture Farm.

Click here to follow the original article.

Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Schools in Santa Maria welcomed students to campus for the first day back from summer break today.

The crossing guards are out, school buses are running, and early-morning pedestrian traffic will once gain be part of daily life.

School officials join the California Highway Patrol in reminding drivers that now is the time to take those extra steps to enhance safety.

Streets surrounding campuses tend to clog between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning and from 2:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon, as many Santa Maria families walk their kids to and from school.

There are a number of families who do walk to school,” says Samantha Scroggon, public information officer for Santa Maria-Bonita School District. “There are a number of students who walk to school by themselves. And so we hope that the whole community will kind of come together and keep an eye out on our kids. Let’s just all be parents and grandparents and really look out for the for the kids in our community and make sure that they get there to school safely.”

Officials remind drivers to leave the house a little earlier, take it slow, and keep your peripheral awareness engaged.

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.

Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) — A fundraiser happening Thursday at California Pizza Kitchen in downtown Santa Barbara will help support local homelessness prevention efforts.

The California Pizza Kitchen at Paseo Nuevo will donate 20 percent of participating sales to Everything Under the Sun Son, a Santa Barbara program focused on helping people remain safely housed.

The fundraiser runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and applies to participating purchases made during the event.

Money raised will support Everything Under the Sun Son’s homelessness prevention work, which helps people facing housing instability before they lose their homes.

The program works to address immediate needs that can put someone’s housing at risk and connect people to resources designed to keep them safely housed.

The fundraiser gives people another way to support those efforts while dining at the downtown restaurant.

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.

Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –

Cal Poly 1, UNLV 0: Miah Thomas converted a penalty kick in the 85th minute as the Mustangs won their 2026 opener 1-0 over UNLV.

Goalie Shannon Porubski made 2 saves in recording a shutout.

The Mustangs host #1 Stanford on Sunday at 1 p.m.

UCSB 1, Loyola Marymount 0: For the fourth consecutive season, the UC Santa Barbara Women’s Soccer team opened up their campaign with LMU. After being defeated the last two seasons, the Gauchos got the best of the Lions to start 2026.

FROM HEAD COACH PAUL STUMPFThoughts on the match: “I’m going to have to take a look at the film, but the possession seemed pretty comfortably in our favor,” said Stumpf. “I felt our build-up was good; our ability to get through the defensive third, through the midfield third into the attacking third was very good. In the attacking third, we can’t have that much possession, can’t have that many crosses and that many looks at goal without scoring more than one goal. We do need to have a little bit more of a killer instinct in the penalty box, and we did kind of lose the plot for about 10 or 15 minutes. We got a little bit nervy, but overall, I am pretty pleased with the overall performance.”

Thoughts on the depth of this year’s team: “Yes, we’re a little bit thin unfortunately, due to a couple of injuries right now in the back, but I think because we had the ball so much, I don’t think it was as physical for our center backs as it normally is. We do have a couple of rotators in the next couple of games. I do believe a couple of other center backs will get some opportunities. But when you’re in the rhythm of a game, you don’t want to make too many changes across the back. Erin Ellsworth has not played much in 4 years and has been often injured. For her to start in her senior year and get 90 minutes is fantastic. Olivia Howard getting her first goal of her senior campaign. It was a pretty good start.”

HOW IT HAPPENEDA slow start by both sides quickly turned after the Gauchos were able to create some offense in the attacking third. A ball sent to the corner by Ava Jarolimek and then crossed in by Chayse Yu found the head of Olivia Howard. The ball deflected off the LMU keeper and looked like it crossed the goal line, but the official did not signal for a goal.

At the next dead ball, the officials went over to review the goal. After a couple of minutes, the head referee came back and the no-goal call was overturned to a goal and the Gauchos went up 1-0 on the Howard goal in the 15th minute.

The Gauchos controlled most of the possession for the remainder of the half but could not find the back of the net again.

The second half was completely dominated by the Gauchos, but they were unable to net a goal. The Lions started to apply pressure late but the Gauchos backline and defense held strong and finished the game with a clean sheet. Maddie Buckley recorded four saves in her 19th career clean sheet.

UP NEXTUC Santa Barbara will return to action next Thursday, August 20, as they host San Jose State. It will be the third game in the Gauchos four game homestand to open the season. The Gauchos and Spartans will kick off at 7:30 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics)

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – There will be growing pains for San Marcos girls volleyball but the Royals showed potential as well in a season-opening home loss to Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo.

In a battle of the Royals the visitors prevailed 25-16, 25-8, 20-25, 25-11.

San Marcos graduated all 15 players from last year’s team that went undefeated in the Channel League.

San Marcos is back in action this coming Tuesday in Arroyo Grande.

Mission Prep plays right away as they host Santa Barbara on Thursday.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – San Marcos offense was held in check in a 14-7 home loss to Palos Verdes.

The Royals scored 33 points in a season-opening win on Tuesday against Lompoc but they just could not find too much room to operate a day later against the Sea Kings.

The lone touchdown for the Royals came in the second quarter on a short pass from Victoria Aldana to fellow junior Sutera Raring.

The game was tied at 7 at the half and the Sea Kings scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown early in the third quarter.

The Royals made a fourth and goal stop late in the fourth quarter to set up one last drive.

Aldana completed first down passes to freshman Bella Bazylewicz and sophomore Scarlet Holian.

But a desperation pass downfield as the clock expired was intercepted to drop the Royals to 1-1 on the young season.

San Marcos hosts a 4-team tournament on Saturday with the Royals taking on Pacifica at 9 a.m. to start the action.

Click here to follow the original article.

Beth Farnsworth

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Traffic changes are coming to one of Santa Barbara’s more congested corridors, at least temporarily, and your input is wanted.

The City of Santa Barbara is considering a Pilot Restriping Project along De La Vina Street between Padre and Valerio Streets.

Navigating stretches of the one-way, two lane street — which is often heavily dotted with bicycle riders, parked cars and pedestrians — has created a dangerous dynamic. The City revealed on public sandwich boards that the area has a history of serious injury and fatal accidents.

The Restriping Project entails taking out one of the driving lanes and replacing it with a buffered bike lane, similar to what is currently in place along De La Vina Street from Carrillo to Haley Streets and, the configuration from Constance to Padre Streets.

City staff will host two community engagement meetings this week:

Online: Wednesday, August 12 via Zoom, starting at 5:30. In-Person: Thursday, August 13 at southeast corner of Mission and De La Vina Street from 5:00 – 6:30.

Click here for more information.

Click here to follow the original article.