Category: keyt-local-news

Joey Vergilis

OJAI, Calif. (KEYT) – On this week’s Walkthrough with Joey, Nordhoff’s standout junior quarterback Michael Dennie discussed the Rangers’ return to the postseason and the journey that got them there.

“It feels good,” Dennie said. “It’s kind of a relief that we’re finally here. It feels like the season’s gone by really fast. But now that we’re here, we’re just preparing for Buena Park.”

It’s been a breakout year for both Dennie and the Rangers, who bounced back strong after an early setback.

“We’ve been working really hard,” he said. “We had that first loss, we thought we were going to win, we under-prepared, and after that, we didn’t really let that happen again. This year’s been going by really fast for us, and we don’t want it to end. We want to go all the way, and we’re going to make sure it happens.”

Dennie’s season hit a high point in Week 9 when he set the Nordhoff single-game passing record with 504 yards and six touchdowns in a dominant win over Carpinteria.

For most players, shattering two school records in one game would be a night to remember, but for Nordhoff’s rising junior gunslinger, it was just another Friday under the lights.

“That night, it was just like any other,” Dennie recalled. “We prepared for it, did our thing before the game. We had our running back, Desi Canfield, out that week, so I knew I’d have to step up. My guys were making plays out there and helping me out a lot. I wasn’t going for stats, I just wanted to win. I didn’t even know I broke the record until I got taken out in the fourth and somebody told me.”

For Dennie, there’s something special about every home game under the lights in Ojai.

“When I’m there, I like to look around before the game, like, ‘This is what I’m fighting for,’” the 6-foot, 170-pound signal caller said. “I love the scenery. When we’re out there playing, you can just look around, we’ve got the meadows right next to us. Hopefully soon we’ll have our new stadium up, and it’s going to be real fun next year.”

Before every Friday night, Dennie keeps things simple with his tight end, Elliot Sheets.

“Me and Elliot like to go to Subway, get our sandwiches, then head back to my house,” Dennie said. “We’ll watch some film, relax, make sure our bodies are right before the game.”

After a record-breaking regular season, junior QB Michael Dennie has the Rangers dreaming big. 

The first step in that dream happens tonight in Round 1 of the CIF-SS Division 13 playoffs, when the Rangers head to Orange County to take on the Buena Park Coyotes at 7 p.m.

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Mike Klan

WESTWOOD, Calif. (KEYT) -UCLA’s three-guard lineup of Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice and Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens each scored 20 points or more in the third-ranked Bruins’ 85-50 rout of UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.

Jaquez shot 7 of 11 from the floor for 21 points and had six rebounds, Rice made all seven of her free throws for 20 points to go with eight rebounds, and Kneepkens finished with 20 points. Jaquez and Kneepkens each hit four of UCLA’s 10 3-pointers.

The last time at least three players scored 20 or more for the Bruins was on Nov. 12, 2023, against Bellarmine. In that 113-64 win, Jaquez had 30 points, Charisma Osborne 24, Lauren Betts 22 and Londynn Jones 21.

The Bruins (2-0) got 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists from Betts in their home opener at Pauley Pavilion. They were coming off a 24-point win over San Diego State in their season opener Monday.

Rice and Jaquez combined for 26 points the last time the teams played on Dec. 3, 2022. The Bruins have won eight in a row and are 17-2 all-time against coach Cori Close’s alma mater.

Olivia Bradley led UCSB with 11 points. Julia Puente-Valverde added 10 while in foul trouble.

The Gauchos (1-1) trailed 21-17 after the first quarter.

UCLA dominated the second, outscoring the Gauchos 30-9 to lead 51-26 at halftime.

The Gauchos were outscored 23-17 in the third, when UCLA ran off 16 straight points, but by then they were down 31 points. They were held to just seven points in the fourth.

UCLA controlled the boards, 43-24, with all 10 Bruins grabbing at least one rebound. The Bruins had 10 steals and 22 assists to eight for UCSB.

Betts’ sister, touted freshman Sienna Betts, missed her second straight game with a lower leg injury.

Up next

UC Santa Barbara plays at Seattle on Sunday.

UCLA plays No. 6 Oklahoma in Sacramento on Monday.

(Article courtesy of Associated Press).

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –

CIF-Southern Section Division 1 Quarterfinals: Dos Pueblos 11, Buena 10

Lucas Neushul scored a team-high 5 goals including one in overtime.

CIF-Southern Section Division 1 Quarterfinals: Loyola 13, San Marcos 10

Jack Kramer scored a team-high 5 goals as San Marcos ends year 18-15

(Pepperdine-commit Will Stuart scored 2 goals for the Royals. Entenza Design).

Dos Pueblos is at Loyola on Wednesday in CIF-SS D1 semifinal.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT). –

CIF-Central Section Division II Final: Central Valley Christian 3, Arroyo Grande 2

CIF-Central Section Division III Final: Bullard 3, Nipomo 0

CIF-Central Section Division V Final: Morro Bay 3, North 0

CIF-Southern Section Division IV Final: La Canada 3, Ventura 2

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Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Word is reaching us of new sightings in the multi-state search for Melodee Buzzard, missing now from her Vandenberg Village home for more than 3-weeks.

The mystery surrounding the 9-year-old’s disappearance has captured national attention.

Investigators say they’re focusing on stops the Buzzards made during a three-day road trip.

We’re hearing about new leads being pursued along the route Melodee and her mother, Ashlee, took last month across multiple states.

Surveillance images show Melodee and Ashlee wearing wigs the day they rented a white Chevy Malibu. 

“It’s a crazy situation and horrible,” says Abbigail Harris, who lives in Junction, Utah. “And the little girl should be found.”

Investigators determined the three day trip took them as far away as Nebraska.

“Why are you changing your license plate?” asks Rilee Pinneo, who lives in Green River, Utah. “But then you come back and you’re not willing to talk about it or your daughter or anything.”

Employees at a gas station in Green River, Utah say Santa Barbara county sheriff’s investigators asked for video surveillance footage that falls right within the timeline and roadmap.

“We are the oasis in the middle of nowhere. Right? You’re coming from so far either way,” says Pinneo. “It’s just super like, suspicious, like. Why are you making her wear wigs? Why are you wearing wigs?”

And in Garfield county, Utah, an employee at another gas station says she saw Ashlee leave with an unidentified woman with purple hair.

“There’s a lot of nature, a lot of woods around here,” says Harris. “So it’s like if this is where she was the day before she got home. Who knows? You know, anything could happen.”

Santa Barbara county sheriff’s investigators and the FBI are asking for the public’s help in locating Melodee.

The Santa Barbara county D.A.’s office is also assisting in the investigation.

If you have seen Melodee or have any information, you can call the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division (805) 681-4150.

Those wishing to remain anonymous can provide information through the tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online at https://www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/.

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John Palminteri

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – There could be some more high density housing in some areas of the South Coast, including around Carpinteria. 

Some locations mapped out for the changes are controversial.

The California Coastal Commission is discussing the Santa Barbara County plan to rezone locations on Bailard Ave., Via Real and Foothill. 

It’s about 31 acres in total.

The Carpinteria City Council is concerned about the impacts on parking, traffic, population and city services with the additional homes and the needs linked to those sites.

The Commission is meeting in Sacramento.

Public comments are being take via Zoom to speak to the commissioners prior to the discussion and vote.

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

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The final show of the Santa Barbara Bowl season ended with classic rockers last night.

Coming in with their famous long beards, ZZ Top wowed the audience with their hits that date back to the 1970’s.

They performed with a colorful set, specially crafted guitars including one with fur on it, and had many sing along songs such as “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Gimme All Your Lovin”.

For fans leaving the bowl last night it was a thrilling end to the season.

“The weather was good, the crowd was good. The drinks could be a little cheaper, but all in all a great night,” said musician Maitland Ward.

DJ and Entertainer Scott Topper said, “ZZ Top was the first concert I ever went to in Philadelphia at the spectrum. It’s amazing. The sparkly outfits, the bubbles, the felt guitars. It was was just incredibly awesome.”

Prior to ZZ Top hitting the stage, the opening act was Night Ranger.

And a surprise guest, Chubby Checker came up to sing “The Twist”, a song he debuted in 1960.

The bowl concerts begin again in the spring.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Attention all artists in Santa Maria!

A new project is accepting submissions.

Its for the Transit Center.

It is part of the city’s Public Art Master Plan.

A large, curved, blank wall at the Santa Maria Transit Center will be a canvas for an upcoming mural project.

“This art will cover a blank canvas that’s really gives a local artist an opportunity to show what Santa Maria is all about through their creative works,” says Dennis Smitherman, the City of Santa Maria’s Recreation Services Manager.

But you don’t need to be a painter or professional artist.

You’ll just need to be able to capture your art in a digital format.

“This is a little bit different,” says Smitherman. “We’re actually looking for digital submissions for a mural so we can put it on vinyl and hang it appropriately on this mural as it is really a curved wall and an interesting shape. So we’re looking to help artists in that aspect.”

City officials are seeking designs that reflect Santa Maria’s rich history and culture of wide-ranging diversity.

“We want to see proposals of all types,” says Gamaliel Anguiano, City of Santa Maria’s Transit Manager. “We have a beautiful, broadly diverse community with many different perspectives. Please bring us those perspectives. Make our job difficult to award this project to at least one artist.”

The selected design will be transferred into a high resolution vinyl overlay and mounted on aluminum panels, to cover this wall.

“The mural is just one of several beautification and enhancement projects we’re doing for our transit center,” says Anguiano. “It is our goal to implement this mural hopefully for the beginning of the New Year.”

All production and installation costs will be covered by the city, including a stipend to the selected artist.

Submissions for the mural will be taken over the next three weeks.

To see all the details about the project, you can visit the City of Santa Maria’s website by clicking here.

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Permits will soon be required for drivers who park their vehicles on a number of residential streets located near Pioneer Valley High School (PVHS).

On Tuesday night, Santa Maria City Council approved a resolution that will establish preferential parkingprivileges for residents in the neighborhood north of school.

According to the city, the new parking district is intended to address ongoing parking issues caused by high school students parking along residential streets.

“This all started because a resident contacted me and we took this item to our Traffic Committee, which is held here at Public Works (Department) every single month,” said Zoe Glick, Santa Maria Senior Civil Engineer. “The concern was that there’s a lot of student parking, uninsured drivers parking in this neighborhood, so they are not necessarily following roadway laws. They’re not parking appropriately and they’re getting heavily impacted now that school is back in session, so several residents have brought up concerns, about having available parking in their neighborhood and safe parking.”

George Clark, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1999, five years before Pioneer Valley High School opened, spoke with News Channel 3-12 on Wednesday, and said it was his wife Gaylen who spearheaded the drive to develop a parking permit district around the neighborhood.

“My wife went to the city and got the forms to fill out,” said Clark. “We had to get 85% of the people in our neighborhood sign a petition saying we’d like to have we got exactly 85%, and we had to submit it to the commission that takes care of the roads and stuff. Then they gave it to the city and the city okayed it last night.”

Clark added he has long been frustrated by the students who have parked around his home inside of at the school’s on-campus parking lot.

“There’s a lot of chaos with the kids walking back and forth,” said Clark. “They throw their trash and there’s cars all the time. There’s a lot of traffic. I don’t think some of the kids have driver’s license yet. One of the kids, I asked last year why he’s parking here and he said he didn’t have a driver’s license, so he shouldn’t even be driving. It’s disruptive. Usually, there’s two big trucks parked in front of my house and it’s frustrating.”

The permits will cost $7 and will allow residents to park without restriction during school hours while limiting non-resident parking.

Each resident will be allowed to purchase up to five permits, which will be good for five years.

“It’ll be nice to not have to worry about people parking in in front of our house all the time, said Clark. “Just like it used to be. Quiet and no cars in our streets. When we have friends over and stuff, they’ll be able to park. We are very happy. We were at the council meeting last night and found out that they approved it, and my wife was real happy because it was a lot of work to get all the petitions signed.” 

According to the Public Works Department, it speaks with the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District monthly and has been working with the district and the school to address the issue.

“PVHS offers plenty of designated parking for students, and we strongly encourage everyone to take advantage of the on-campus spaces provided,” Kenny Klein, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Public Information Officer said in a statement. “Students are also reminded to be respectful of our neighbors as they travel to and from school.”

Klein added students are able to obtain a free school parking pass if they have a current driver’s license, registration, insurance and parent/guardian signature.

The Santa Maria Public Works Department expects the new permit policy to go into effect in Jan. 1, 2026.

“If you do not have a permit and you do not have it displayed on your vehicle, we do have traffic. employees that work through the police department, that will either come and check the neighborhood on occasion and they will answer phone calls,” said Glick. “You don’t have to call 911. You can call the police department and they will send somebody out there to verify that if there is a vehicle parked on one of those streets without a permit, they will be receiving a ticket, so it’s going to be pretty much neighbor enforced and through periodic checks through the police department.”  

The streets where the new permits will be required includes Seneca Street, Hearst Court, Donner Court, Domingues Street, Mammoth Drive, Horseman Court, and Rios Court.

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