Category: keyt-local-news

Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – American Riviera Bank has opened a new round of down payment assistance with support from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.

The program focuses on middle-income, first-time buyers navigating Santa Barbara’s tight and expensive housing market.

Qualified applicants could receive grants that make homeownership more attainable in an area where median home prices remain well above the state average.

Officials remind buyers that funds are limited and tend to run out quickly once applications open.

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Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Ashlee Buzzard appeared in court today after she failed to appear at the last two hearings.

Buzzard is charged with murdering her 9-year-old daughter Melodee.

Prosecutors say the Vandenberg Village woman shot her daughter during a road trip in October and left her body in rural Utah.

Buzzard has pleaded not guilty.

Under advisement from Buzzard’s public defender Erica Sutherland, Judge Dunkle began Wednesday’s hearing by admonishing the media.

Dunkle reiterated the press’s restrictions to still photos only, and prohibited any photos of her in handcuffs or appearing to be in custody.

Buzzard and her attorney remained seated on the side of the courtroom, next to the door leading to holding.

Public defender Erica Sutherland made a motion challenging a search warrant related to the case.

Prosecutors want the document to remain sealed to the public while the judge considers the motion.

Judge Dunkle set Buzzard’s next court appearance for April 1st.

A ruling will be made on the motion that day, and they will possibly schedule the preliminary trial hearing.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A family-owned Santa Maria business is helping to raise funds for the family of a little girl who lost her life last weekend.

On Friday the 13th just before 3:00 in the afternoon, one-year-old Leilani Diaz Vazquez was being pushed in a stroller by her 20-year-old mother at the intersection of north Broadway and Fesler in Santa Maria.

At the same time, an 18-year-old Santa Maria resident in a car was making a right turn onto Broadway.

Witnesses say the signal turned green for traffic and displayed the “walk” emblem simultaneously, and the mother and daughter were struck by the turning vehicle as they entered the crosswalk.

Management of Family Motors, the business occupying that corner, say police response was immediate.

The mother and daughter were rushed to the hospital, the mother having suffered multiple broken bones.

One-year-old Leilani Diaz Vazquez died at the hospital.

The community is building a memorial display at the intersection, with posters, flowers, candles, stuffed animals, and even food items.

“The little girl’s father was out here on Saturday taking donations from, the community that was pulling up to show their support,” says Alexander Orellana, one of the managers at Family Motors Of Santa Maria. “So what we ended up doing was creating these little boxes, these donation boxes for them so they can more easily accept the donations.”

Donations can be dropped off in person any time during business hours.

A GoFundMe is also active, and can be reached through this link.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The long awaited Santa Barbara segment of the freeway widening project is on its way.

In the next few week, significant changes will take place. Already there’s been pre-construction work including tree removal.

The project will involve a continuation of the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in both direction similar to what drivers see in the previous sections in Montecito and Carpinteria.

There will also be new ramps, including a southbound on ramp at Cabrillo Boulevard and a new crossing for the train. This will end the prolonged problem of a low sitting bridge at Los Patos Way, which has been hit by high profile vehicles many times.

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) will receive an update Thursday morning at its meeting in Santa Barbara.

The widening project has been years in the planning and construction phases based on funding availability and other factors from sources including the federal government and locally approved taxes specifically for this transportation project.

For more information go to: SBCAG

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

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The 78th annual Santa Barbara Orchid Show kicks off March 20th to the 22nd at the Earl Warrens Showgrounds.

The show has fragrance, color and beauty from the moment you walk into the venue. This year’s theme is “Orchid Escape.” The event invites attendees to immerse themselves in a lush paradise where rare and exotic orchids from around the globe transport you to another world.

Show manager, Olivia Sorgman, joins you Morning News to talk about the upcoming show and what to expect.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A group of concerned students supporting Blood Cancer United are hosting a community fundraiser all day (Wednesday) at Renaud’s Bakery on Coast Village Road in Santa Barbara (Montecito).

The benefit is part of their effort to raise funds for blood cancer research.

Students Jack Hyatt from Dos Pueblos High School and Sebastian Fabio from Santa Barbara High are leading a seven-member team participating in Blood Cancer United’s Student Visionaries of the Year campaign.

Croissants for a Cure at Renaud’s on Coast Village Road to raises money for those fighting blood cancer.

Their goal is to raise $200,000 for Blood Cancer Research.

Renaud’s Bakery will donate 20% of sales above what the bakery would typically expect for that day, with proceeds supporting Blood Cancer United’s research initiatives.

“We set a goal of $200,000 in seven weeks, and my thinking behind that was, you make a large goal, and if you don’t hit it, you’ll get close. So, we’re doing pretty good,” said student co-leader Jack Hyatt.

He is working with student Sebastian Fabio who says they have learned as they raise money that blood cancer is, “more common than I thought it was. Everyone’s one or two connections away from blood cancer, which is pretty tragic. But it was the reality. “

The statistics being used in their presentations have made and impact. Hyatt says, “every three minutes, somebody is dying of a blood cancer. And I didn’t realize how prominent it was. I’ve really built an understanding about what this campaign is actually going to do and how it benefits people.”

At Renaud’s the owner was impressed with the effort and wanted to help with a portion of the days income. Renaud Gonthier said, “yes I was very impressed with the presentation. I think it takes a lot of courage when he’s that young to go and talk to business owners and kind of introduce yourself and work a pitch.”

Blood Cancer United, formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, is a global leader in funding research for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and other blood cancers. Research funded through the organization has helped significantly improve survival rates for patients over the past several decades.

To donate or learn more, visit https://pages.lls.org/svoy/calso/svoygc26/TeamJackandSebastian.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – It looks like a changing of the guard in the Channel League.

Flynn Chenoweth and Vonn Forrest each scored three goals to lead Santa Barbara past Dos Pueblos 8-5 in an early league showdown.

The back-to-back Channel League champion Chargers saw their 20-game league win streak end that went back to 2023.

Chenoweth scored all three of his goals in the first half as the Dons led 5-2 at the break.

(Parker Mercado helped the Dons to 4 second quarter goals. Entenza Design).

The Dons stretched the lead to 7-3 in the third quarter behind two goals from Forrest to complete his hat-trick as Santa Barbara improved to 5-0 on the year after winning their league opener.

DP is 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in league.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Channel League boys tennis rivalry match was delayed for about an hour due to the heat where temperatures reached 97 degrees.

But once it began the Santa Barbara Dons had too much firepower for San Marcos winning 12-6.

Dons singles players Beckett McManigal and Huxley McGetrick each went 3-0 to lead the way for the victory.

The Royals kept the match behind the doubles team of Jacob Cantrell and Cade Campbell who went 3-0 on the day.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) The city of Santa Barbara hopes to make more money from storefront cannabis sales.

Santa Barbara City Councilmembers voted in favor of a higher cannabis tax on Tuesday.

Customers will pay two percent more in taxes on recreational purchases from stores in the city.

The increase, from 6 to 7 percent, won’t impact medicinal sales.

City administrator Kelly McAdoo said it is intended to help the city balance it’s budget.

“When the cannabis tax rate went into affect initially it was set at 20 percent by the voters, and the council took a small step today to raise it from 6 percent to 8 percent,” said McAdoo.

She expects it to raise a good amount of cash.

“We think it will raise somewhere around $125 to $300,000 a year for the general fund,” said McAdoo.

The cannabis tax increase is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

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Jarrod Zinn

AVILA BEACH, Calif. (KEYT) – The construction of the Avila Beach Drive interchange project is officially completed.

A brief ribbon cutting took place this afternoon, signifying the completion of ten years of process from planning to now.

Last September, the access ramps were reopened when the roundabout was completed, which has successfully smoothed out traffic patterns.

The park-n-ride was the final piece of the project.

Locals as far as Morro Bay including drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians have already been vocal about their appreciation of the long-awaited updates.

“There was a time when this intersection, when you crossed it, you felt like you were taking your life in your own hands,” says Dawn Ortiz-Legg, SLO County’s 3rd District Supervisor. “I would say that if there was ever a question about roundabouts, this is a place to come visit to see. When you have five legs coming in to one intersection, this shows you the beauty of a roundabout to slow people down and to be able to not have back up.”

Now it’s providing easier access from Highway 101 to Avila Valley Barn, Sycamore Hot Springs, the Bob Jones Trail, and multiple access points to Avila Beach and Pirates’ Cove.

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