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Below is a press release from the City of Santa Barbara regarding the upcoming closure of Kid’s World Playground for maintenance.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Kid’s World, the 8,000-square-foot wooden playground within Alameda Park, will be closed for regularly scheduled maintenance from Tuesday, April 7, through Friday April 17. The unique all-wood structure requires a special maintenance regimen to ensure it can hold up against the elements year after year.

During the closure, City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department staff will conduct a thorough inspection of the playground and make any necessary repairs before deep cleaning, re-staining, and resealing the structure. The closure will ensure enough time for the stain and sealant to cure properly and protect the wood from moisture damage. The closure has been timed to take place after spring break and before the annual Earth Day Festival to reduce the impact on local families who use the playground.

Kid’s World is expected to reopen the afternoon of Friday, April 17.

Kid’s World, Santa Barbara’s largest playground, was constructed in 1993 by hundreds of community volunteers under the direction of Leathers and Associates, a firm recognized for its imaginative playground designs. The playground was built in just one week, with significant input from local residents and children who helped inform the design. Tiles featuring the handprints of children who participated in planning and construction remain visible around the structure. In 2018, Kid’s World underwent a full renovation to comply with updated accessibility requirements and building codes.

For more places to enjoy in the city of Santa Barbara, visit Parks & Recreation Spaces (SantaBarbaraCA.gov/Parks).

Traducción al español:

SANTA BÁRBARA, Calif. – Kid’s World, el parque infantil de 8,000 pies cuadrados dentro de Alameda Park, estará cerrado por mantenimiento programado del martes 7 de abril al viernes 17 de abril. La estructura única, completamente de madera, requiere un régimen de mantenimiento especial para garantizar que pueda soportar las inclemencias del tiempo año tras año.

Durante el cierre, el personal del Departamento de Parques y Recreación de la Ciudad de Santa Bárbara realizará una inspección completa del parque infantil y llevará a cabo las reparaciones necesarias antes de limpiar a fondo, volver a teñir y sellar la estructura. Este cierre asegura que el tinte y el sellador tengan el tiempo suficiente para curarse correctamente y proteger la madera contra daños por humedad. El mantenimiento se ha programado después de las vacaciones de primavera y antes del festival del día de la Tierra (Earth Day Festival), para reducir el impacto en las familias locales que utilizan el parque.

Se espera que Kid’s World reabra la tarde del viernes 17 de abril.

Kid’s World, el parque infantil más grande de Santa Bárbara, fue construido en 1993 por cientos de voluntarios de la comunidad bajo la dirección de Leathers and Associates, una firma reconocida por sus diseños imaginativos de parques infantiles. El parque se construyó en tan solo una semana, con una importante participación de residentes y niños locales que ayudaron a informar el diseño. Los azulejos con las huellas de manos de los niños que participaron en la planificación y construcción siguen visibles alrededor de la estructura. En 2018, Kid’s World se sometió a una renovación completa para cumplir con los requisitos actualizados de accesibilidad y los códigos de construcción.

Para descubrir más lugares para disfrutar en la ciudad de Santa Bárbara, visita Parks & Recreation Spaces (SantaBarbaraCA.gov/Parks).

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Public alerts and prevention were top of mind when the Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council met with officials from Southern California Edison in a debriefing session.

It took place via Zoom and was open to the public Thursday morning.

Edison shared the latest on its staffing, preparations, community outreach, criteria and on site resources for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).

Edison Senior Advisor for Wildfire Jude Schneider said, “we notify you as we can one to three days in advance. The notifications mention high winds and fire conditions. They’re shared with jurisdictions, are shared with the counties.”

But in some cases violent winds and a rapidly unfolding fire scene for a variety of reasons will happen without an Edison power line warning.

Schneider said, “in a huge windstorm, we will potentially have lines that come down. And if those lines come down it’s an emergency outage.”

The company is also using drones to inspect lines in dangerous areas or after wind storms to make sure they are not at risk of causing a fire. They can be used in mountain areas to speed up the return of power.

Dead trees or those threatening power lines are on an on-going list for removals from the company on a regular basis along with brush clearing around power poles and towers.

“Last year in 2025, we inspected and cleared brush around 157,691 structures, ” said Edison Senior Specialist for Vegetation Management Janice Marinucci. For trees that are dead or diseased, she says “we will come in and we’ll remove that tree just to ensure that the power lines are safe.”

Even without an alert there is a warning. Marinucci said, “Santa Barbara District has a lot of high fire risk areas. The majority of it is high fire risk. “

Edison has been challenged by lawsuits and harsh public comments from fires that have, at times, started from energized lines that come down.

Members of the council and fire leaders spoke about collaborating with Edison to make sure the public is getting timely information in English and Spanish and that the company and fire agencies have an open line of communication.

Many government and fire agency representatives were on the zoom link along with well-organized mountain residents in the Painted Cave community.

Suggestions were also made for back up power supplies especially for those with medical devices.

Edison does community outreach in the power shutoff location with vans that can be used for charging, information needs and to provide some basic snacks and water for those who are displaced.

For more information go to: Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council

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Beth Farnsworth

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Grace Fisher Foundation Inclusive Arts Clubhouse put out the welcome mat for the NAPA (Neurological and Physical Abilitation) Center, a world renowned foundation devoted to children with varying disabilities, for a three-week Pediatric Intensive Therapy pop-up.

“We’ve loved having NAPA at the Clubhouse,” said Grace Fisher, Founder & Creative Director.

Children received treatment at the Therapy pop-up Wednesday

From March 9th through the 27th, six specially trained therapists worked with 15 children between the ages of 18 months to 12 years for intensive and immersive physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and DMI (Dynamic Movement Intervention).

“We are truly grateful and honored to report that this is the SECOND straight year the NAPA Center has come out to provide their incredible services to our community,” said Selena English, a Santa Barbara resident and mother of one of the child participants.

NAPA has 10 centers worldwide; the closest to Santa Barbara is in Los Angeles. Local families call the exceptionally trained staff and programs “life changing.”

English credited $40,000 raised from “our local network” to offset the $165 cost per session for families and, donations from more than 30 local businesses.

She also called the experience, “heartwarming.”

“The children have been able to have so many great games, working on various developmental goals,” said English. “More importantly, they’re having so much fun getting better, getting stronger, getting more confident. It’s been just such a thrill for the families, therapists and outsiders to see.”

Courtesy: Selena English

“It’s been really special for the families and for the kids,” said Fisher.

Fisher, who was diagnosed with Acute Flaccid Myelitis, a rare polio-like illness at 17, invited the community to celebrate the third anniversary of her Inclusive Arts Clubhouse.

“We recently increased our staff,” said Jana Brody, Development and Operations Director of the Grace Fisher Foundation. “We are adding a musical therapist to our programming and we are just continuing to grow and partner with 20 non-profits in town.”

Grace Fisher and her team are thriving and the Clubhouse is flourishing. See for yourself at the April 12th anniversary celebration from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at La Cumbre Plaza.

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Jarrod Zinn

ORCUTT, Calif. (KEYT) – A student at Pine Grove Elementary School in Orcutt is accused of bringing a firearm on campus.

Officials say the situation may have been scary but it was handled quickly and smoothly.

The call was made around lunchtime yesterday when a fellow student alerted a staff member who immediately called law enforcement.

Sheriffs were on the scene at Pine Grove School in Orcutt shortly after 1:00 Wednesday, responding to a call that a student had a firearm.

“I think anytime you have an incident like this, it it’s unsettling,” says Dr. Holly Edds, Orcutt Union School District Superintendent. “Our staff immediately put protocols in place that we have practiced and trained for.”

District officials say the incident was resolved smoothly within a short time span.

“The risk was assessed that there was no imminent threat at the time,” says Dr. Edds. “And so the incident was handled and contained very quickly. From the time it was reported from that student that reported it to a staff member to when the incident was resolved, it took less than ten minutes.”

Responding deputies recovered an unloaded firearm, and no ammunition was found.

“The firearm was unloaded, there was no ammunition, so there was no ability or plan to use that firearm on campus,” says Raquel Zick, spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office says this incident is a strong reminder of how important it is to speak up, and that the student who alerted school staff did the right thing.

“We did not place the school into any of the standardized response protocols,” says Zick. “The firearm was booked for safekeeping and deputies will be following up on the ownership and safe storage of that weapon.”

The names of the juveniles involved will not be released.

“The reality is children make mistakes,” says Dr. Edds. “But they don’t learn from them when we discuss them publicly. So we’re working closely with law enforcement. We’re working closely with the families to address what happened.”

District officials say they’re proud of the way the staff handled of the situation.

The Sheriff’s Office says the investigation is ongoing, and they’re working with the district to determine appropriate follow-up actions.

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A groundbreaking is scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon for a new innovative healthcare facility for seniors that is described as a first-of-its-kind for the Central Coast.

The new facility is called Central Coast PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) and is being developed by Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, Inc. (CHC).

The local nonprofit organization operates a myriad of healthcare services, including medical, dental, and behavioral health care throughout Northern Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Central Coast PACE will occupy a portion of the large building located adjacent to the CHC corporate headquarters at the corner of Blosser Road and Betteravia Road in Santa Maria.

The well-known 30,000 square foot building is connected to the Santa Maria Police Department and was the previous home for Lockheed Martin for many years earlier, as well as UPS, and most recently, Rabobank.

In a release, CHC described Central Coast PACE has a facility designed for individuals aged 55 and older who qualify for nursing home-level care but prefer to remain at home. Clients will receive fully integrated, interdisciplinary care including primary and specialty medical services, dental and optometry care, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, behavioral health services, and more. CHC added all services are coordinated through a dedicated care team and tailored to each participant’s individual needs.

“CHC has long been committed to caring for our communities across every stage of life,” saidRon Castle, CHC Chief Executive Officer. “Bringing a PACE program to the Central Coast is a natural extension of our mission and strengthens our ability to provide coordinated, whole-person care for seniors who deserve to age with dignity, respect, and support.”

CHC expects Central Coast PACE to accommodate up to 400 clients and said the site is ideal since it is positioned in an area where there is a clear and growing need for expanded senior healthcare services.

Groundbreaking for the project is set to take place at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.

CHC is projecting construction will take about a year to complete with the grand opening planned for sometime in 2027.

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Mina Wahab

SOLVANG, Calif. (KEYT) —Natasha Ruiz calls herself the “Tattoo Artist for Hats.”

She is the owner of Flame Kissed — a full-service mobile hat bar.

She left the world of law and accounting in 2023 to blaze a new trail, quite literally.

Each hat is carefully treated with heat to create singed edges, smoky gradients, and charred textures.

The result? – A one-of-a-kind piece that reflects each client’s personality.

“Every hat tells a story. Every hat is done differently. You can go very fine with the burning, or you can go very thick and hot with the burning. It gives different effects. And also we torch it. We distress the hats. There’s a lot of fun things that we can do,” said the pyro artist and milliner,” said Ruiz.

The majority of hats are made from wool.

“So leather requires a lot more energy and lot more heat to actually get a deep burn than the felt does. I burn very hot on felts, so I can I can go faster. I can doodle faster,” said Ruiz.

Many of the hats showcase the beauty of the Central Coast.

“So wildflowers definitely by far, anything that grows in California — a lot of people are very crazy about the local wildlife here. So, flowers, hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies… poppies,” said Ruiz.

The customization is what makes it special.

“When I talk to people, I’ll hear a story coming through. Tattoos often give it away. That’s where I usually start. If someone has a little tattoo here or there, I’ll be like, ‘hey, do you want that on there [the hat]?’ ‘What is your connection with, let’s say, a butterfly or something?’ And then we start a story on the hat,” said Ruiz.

Ruiz’s hat tells a story of resilience and forging a new path.

“This is actually my grounding hat, as I’d like to call it. It’s got the North Star, as in finding my own North. I went through a lot of hard times. A nasty divorce to add on top. And that North Star is always been one thing. It’s like you have to find your own path in life,” said Ruiz.

Ruiz is currently working out of her home in Buellton, but she will be opening up a store front called Flame Kissed Atelier on Grand Avenue in Los Olivos in May.

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Mike Klan

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KEYT) – The Mustangs took a 3-run lead into the bottom of the eighth inning at Loyola Marymount but left LA with an 8-7 loss.

Former Santa Barbara City College player DJ Ghiorso won it for the Lions with a walk-off hit off the wall in left field to score Jaxson Wall in the bottom of the ninth inning as they celebrated an end of a 7-game losing streak.

It was a wild eighth inning that saw Cal Poly scored four times to lead 7-4. Dante Vachini singled in two runs in that frame. He had 3 hits and 3 RBI for the Mustangs who drop to 14-9 on the season.

But LMU answered back with a 3-run 8th inning setting the stage for Ghiorso.

Cal Poly left 11 runners on base.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The underdog had plenty of bite and talent but Bishop Diego could not pull off the upset over large school San Marcos.

The Royals held off the Cardinals in four exciting sets (25-17, 28-26, 23-25, 25-18) in a matchup of two teams that are undefeated in their respective leagues.

Owen Willer led San Marcos with 16 kills while Matteo Burdick added 13 kills as they improved to 17-2 on the season. The Royals lead the Channel League at 6-0.

(Owen Willer delivered a big performance for the visiting Royals. Entenza Design).

Bishop Diego got huge performances from their two outside hitters Damien Krautmann and John Michael Flint who tallied 24 and 21 kills respectively.

The Cardinals are 14-4 on the year and lead the Tri-Valley League at 5-0.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Mental health professionals, media literacy advocates, parents and teens applaud the landmark verdict against social media platforms.

The Los Angeles case that held Meta and Google liable began 3 years ago when the plaintiff was just a teen.

The now 20-year-old said she was under 10 years of age when YouTube and Instagram platforms led to depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia that causes people to focus on perceived flaws.

Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness leader, Suzanne Grimmesey, said parents can help their children by setting a good example when it comes to screen time.

“It is always good conversations to have with children to understand the negatives, that a large amount of screen times can have and that is everything from your eyesight to the negativities of just being too connected to that world,” said Grimmesey.

Starshine Roshell, who was recently named The California State Advocate for Media Literacy Now, said this holds platforms accountable.

“These lawyers for this case went after the architecture of the platforms; looking at how they are built and how the algorithms are actually designed to keep us watching, and to have consistent scrolling, and these beauty filters, and all of these different things built into the tool that can really impact the mental health of our students,” said Roshell.

She said media comes at kids like a firehose daily, especially those with phone in their pockets.

A section the Communications Decency Act called Section 230 treated social media platforms as publishers that are not responsible for the content that their user’s posts.

Roshell calls the young woman at the center of the California case courageous.

“Attorneys put up a 35 foot picture of all of her social media pictures over the years and asked the jury to take a look at that and that was really impactful for them, I think it had a big impact, but I also think that must have been really hard for her to see that,” said Roshell.

She said the $6 million penalty is nothing for the tech giants, but the other case in New Mexico is much larger.

That case orders Meta to pay $375 million for failing to prevent child predators on the site.

Media Literacy Now is advocating for the passage of a California Assembly Bill 2071 to add digital literacy instruction for students.

Roshell plans to write about it in an upcoming “The Truth Fairy” column in the Santa Barbara Independent.

Radio broadcaster Lisa Osborn co-created “Moment of Truth” media literacy workshops.

Osborn also noted that social media content flowing across platforms has been shielded by Section 230 that went into effect before Facebook and other platforms were created.

She said now is the time to revise it.

“Now it’s been proven, we see tech giant manipulating their users in ways that can be harmful, even deadly,” said Osborn, “This jury verdict should be a wake up call to parents and lawmakers to set reasonable guidelines.”

A high school senior visiting to tour UC Santa Barbara, feels encouraged by the recent court rulings.

Katlinh Do, of Riverside, said just being outside, strolling on State Street with her mother, helps her take a break from social media that can be distressing.

“I really like going out and I feel like it is good to take a break from social media because I personally don’t think it is good for me, I feel a lot of the time I end up obsessing the detail because of it,” said Do.

She know nature and the outdoors are good for mental health.

Even though the tech companies plan to appeal, these high profile cases could convince them to change how they do business.

For more information on Assembly Bill 2071 Pupil instruction:digital wellness, visit https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – As the extended heat wave continues to bring unseasonable weather conditions to the Central Coast, it’s also presenting challenges for the local agriculture industry.

“It is has been extremely challenging this March,” said Satellite Farms owner, Randy Sharer. “We’ve come through what will be the warmest March along the Central Coast in the last 150 years, and it’s had a dramatic affect on what we do out here in the country.”

Sharer, who has farmed the Santa Maria Valley for more than 40 years, described how the crops try and stay cool while they sit under the bright sunlight for hours.

“Plants being a living thing, they’d sure like to get in the shade, but plants don’t have legs, so they’re stuck (in the ground),” said Sharer. “Humans and mammals sweat, but plants transpire, which is they’re pulling moisture out of the ground and circulating through their plant to stay cool and maintain moisture just like we humans do.”

According to Sharer, some of the crops are more resilient to the heat, such as strawberries and broccoli, others are more susceptible to damage.

“We have trouble with lettuce,” said Sharer. “As lettuce is transpiring, they’re also pushing salt out to the tips of the leaves,” said Sharer. “Broccoli, we don’t ship leaves, but lettuce has leaves and that’s where we get temperature burn, so it is problematic to deal with quality in the marketplace.”

Another recent concern Sharer added has been the higher than usual nighttime temperatures.

“Plants resperate in the evening when it’s warm, much like a dog does during the day,” said Sharer. “If you’ve ever been around a hot dog panting a lot, that’s what plants do when they’re resperating carbon dioxide, which in turn, that carbon dioxide isn’t available to convert to photosynthesis in the morning, so it really does have an effect on what we do as far as production.”

Another significant issue the heat brings to the fields each day is the toll it takes on the people who are working for hours in the challenging environment.

“This heat is just difficult for folks to be working in,” said Sharer. “We make sure we have plenty of ice every morning to keep the flow of water going into our folks, and we provide shade during their breaks, and we’re constantly monitoring the weather for the safety of the folks that work out here in the country.”

As for the local grape crop, the warmer than normal conditions have not been detrimental to the health of the plants.

“The heat really has accelerated everything growth wise,” said Kevin Merrill, Mesa Vineyard Management Manager. “We’re two weeks to even more ahead of schedule here. As you can see, the vines are growing really fast. They look great. We’re a little nervous for this time of year, though, for having them out so far.”

Merrill worried should the weather take a dramatic turn in temperature in the days or weeks ahead, it could potentially cause significant issues to the crop.

“At this time of year, we’re so susceptible to frost damage here,” said Merrill. “April, we can get quite a few freezes. We have the frost protect the vines, and at this stage, it makes it tricky because the vine the growth is so tall that if we turn the sprinklers on now, you could break these canes. You could lose the fruit set and so that’s a real concern, and as far out as these grapes are to get a frost now would be devastating.”

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