Category: keyt-local-news

Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – “I’m very excited to have found my prom dress. it’s so pretty!” said Senior Jasmine Odair, as she held the dress she will be wearing to her senior prom.

High school students throughout Santa Barbara smiled ear to ear as they picked out a prom dress and accessories for their big night.

For over 20 years the Assistance League of Santa Barbara has been helping girls prepare for prom night, from different styles of dresses to accessories to volunteers ready to help style them. All free of charge.

“We also have a selection of shoes that they can keep, we ask them to return the dresses and the jewelry and wraps,” said Kathryn Dinkin, Prom Co-Chair Assistance League. 

“I was just really surprised there were so many options and this was actually the first one i saw and it was hanging on the wall so i felt like it was just mean’t to be,” said senior at Santa Barbara High School, Jasmine Odair.

Once the girls try on the dresses they can come and pick out a pair of shoes and they can pick out a clutch or a purse to go with the dress.

The assistance league decorated the boutique this year, giving it a Wicked theme because “Everyone deserves a prom dress.”

“Their faces just light up when they find the dress they say ‘oh my gosh this is so pretty’ and they come in with their girlfriends and their moms,” said Dinkin.

Students in northern Santa Barbara county are also able to borrow a dress.

“We’ve had girls from Orcutt and north county show up as well as girls from Santa Barbara high school, Dos Pueblos, and we are expecting a whole lot more,” said Dinkin.

The prom boutique is open Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The last day to pick out prom attire is May 21.

Click here to follow the original article.

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The Clean Air Express bus connecting northern and southern Santa Barbara county has added a new mid-day schedule and it’s starting off free.

Lauren Bianchi Klemann with the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments says, “our riders were looking for a mid-day option and we were excited to offer this mid day route as a test to see what the demand is.”

The mid-day bus runs the route twice. It has two stops in Santa Maria, one in Buellton, two in Goleta and three in Santa Barbara. It’s mainly been a morning and evening service until now.

One of the riders on board for free is a regular user from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara with a monthly pass at $160 dollars. Chris Smith is a downtown Santa Barbara worker who lives in Orcutt. He saves 126 miles of driving, gas costs, and wear-and-tear on his vehicle every day.

“I love it. It’s convenient. It saves gas and money,” he said after getting off from his trip Wednesday morning.

Some employers have offered incentives to cut the costs even more and reduce the number of cars  overall on the road.

Smith said for his day-to-day use, “in the morning – if I start early – I start at about 7:00 am. I get here about 6:40 am. In the afternoon, I get off about 4:00 pm so I catch the bus at 4:10 pm.”

The Clean Air Express also has another level of convenience with all the major locations it connects to at the transit centers, for those who need to go somewhere else on their route.

It’s not just for workers, anyone can ride. 

Bianchi Klemann said, “this mid-day connector route gives you more flexibility to travel on your own schedule instead of just the early morning options.”

Information on the Clean Air Express and other transit options can be found on the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments web page with a link to the Clean Air Express.

That agency is coordinating these transit systems with the help of taxpayer money specifically for this purpose.

Bianchi Klemann said, “the launch is made possible by state dollars but also measure A which funds Clean Air Express in general. That’s the half cent sales tax measure that we passed in 2008 with over 80% of the voters.”

The free rides are only through the end of the month.

For more information go to : The Clean Air Express or SBCAG

Click here to follow the original article.

Jarrod Zinn

GROVER BEACH, Calif. – Grover Beach city leaders say wastewater rate increases are coming for local residents.

Much of the public has seen this coming.

The city has been indicating a need to raise rates for quite some time now.

And right now, there’s an opportunity for residents opposed to a rate increase to make their voices heard.

Demands are growing on the aging wastewater system.  

It was first built in 1965, and it’s last overhaul was in the mid-80s.

“This system was put in 85, 86, I believe. It’s pretty antiquated. This lift station basically collects all the sewage via gravity being that we’re in a hilly area, everything runs downhill to this point and then it gets pumped back the other direction to get to another gravity point. It’s all analog,” says Billy Haas, Public Works superintendent.

Grant funding has had to be allocated to several other important community projects recently.

But city leaders say even with full grant funding, they would still need to raise rates to fully fund operations and upgrades.

A series of rate increases are being proposed over the next 5 years.

“We’re proposing to increase sewer rates by about $2.28 per month for year one, rising up to about $16 more a month by year five in order to make sure our sewer system works for our community today and for tomorrow,” says Matthew Bronson, Grover Beach city manager.

Additionally, some crucial street repairs are ready to start, but the city wants to fully update the wastewater system beneath them first so they’re not cutting into the fresh pavement for the sewage upgrades.

“Last year they told us they were going to repave the streets and they never did. And they’re repaving Grand and fixing it up. But the homeowners that live here, some have million dollar plus homes, and yet our streets are like third world country streets. So it’s like who has mismanaged the money that’s supposed to go to take care of our streets?” says Valerie McGill, who lives in Grover Beach.

Under Proposition 218, a grace period is underway, during which city administration will send letters and make announcements that residents’ rates will be increasing July first.

If 50% or more of the population have one valid reason per property why they cannot meet the higher rates, the city will not be authorized to adopt the change in rates.

Community members have until the public hearing on June 9th to submit any protests—in writing only.

Informational sessions are scheduled for May 8th and May 28th.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Eric Anthony made his final start against rival San Marcos count with a complete game 5-3 win as Santa Barbara stayed tied for first place in the Channel League.

The senior Anthony, who recently signed to play at the University of Puget Sound, escaped several jams including the final inning.

San Marcos entered the top of the seventh inning down 5-2 and managed to push across a run and had the bases loaded but Anthony turned them away.

The Dons scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI double by Cruz Lorca, a safety squeeze, a bad throw and a wild pitch.

San Marcos took advantage of two throwing errors in the top of the third to plate a pair of runs to jump back into the game.

But the Dons stayed in front thanks in large part to Anthony who had 6 strikeouts on the day.

The Dons are now 8-2-1 in the Channel League which ties them with Ventura with 3 games left.

Santa Barbara plays at San Marcos on Friday.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – San Marcos boys volleyball was not in the sharing mood.

After dropping a lopsided first set at Santa Barbara, the Royals won the next three sets to complete a season sweep over the Dons and claim the outright Channel League championship.

A loss to Santa Barbara would have created a 3-way tie for first place with Dos Pueblos who now ends up second and the Dons in third place. All three teams are CIF-SS playoff bound.

The Dons celebrated Senior Night beforehand and then opened with an impressive 25-15 first set victory.

Hayes Costner led the way in that opening set win.

But the Royals bounced back to take set #2 behind the strong play of sophomore Matteo Burdick.

With Luke Zuffelato booming several kills the Dons led for much of the third set including a 22-18 advantage late.

But the Royals stormed back and captured the third set 25-23 on a powerful kill by Calvin Frissel.

San Marcos held off the Dons in the fourth set 26-24 and celebrated the championship.

Click here to follow the original article.

Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – First round CIF-Southern Section Beach Volleyball results

Division 2:

Santa Barbara 5, Foothill Tech 0 (SB at St. Joseph/Lakewood on Thursday)

Dos Pueblos 4, Hillcrest 1 (DP at Wilson/LB on Thursday).

Division 3:

Laguna Blanca 5, Bell Gardens 0 (LB hosts Pacifica Christian/OC on Thursday).

Mayfair 3, Bishop Diego 2

Camarillo 3, Irvine 2 (Cam hosts Canyon/A on Thursday).

Costa Mesa 4, St. Bonaventure 1

Click here to follow the original article.

Dave Alley

GUADALUPE, Calif. — Guadalupe school officials toured the district’s still-under-construction junior high school and Early Learning Center (ELC) on Tuesday morning, getting a chance to see firsthand the soon-to-be-completed project.

Officials taking part in the 45-minute walk-through included members of the Guadalupe Union School District (GUSD) Board of Trustees, along with Superintendent Dr. Emilio Handall and Guadalupe Mayor Ariston Julian.

“We saw tremendous progress on all the different buildings, from the classrooms to the gymnasium to the Early Learning Center,” said Handall. “All of the necessary utility lines are being placed in and installing the field as well, so got a lot of things going on simultaneously.”

The effort to build a third school campus to join Mary Buren Elementary School and Kermit McKenzie Intermediate School has been a goal GUSD has been working on for 30 years.

In January 2024, after gathering the necessary funding, groundbreaking took place on a 17.6 acre site located in the Pasadera housing community.

“I think it’s very exciting for us as board members, as a school district because our community has waited for this for so long,” said Board President José Pereyra. “It’s a big investment. We’ve needed it for a long time. Both of our campuses are pretty impacted now with students, so having this third and fourth campus will allow us to expand and provide better services for our students.”

In addition to the junior high school, the project also includes what will be an entirely separate campus for the new ELC, which will be located adjacent to the junior high school, on the south end of the property.

“The Early Learning Center was actually a bonus that we threw in using state funds and federal funds,” said Handall. “We believe this is going to be a tremendous opportunity here in town to bring in all of our three and four-year-old students to give them a head start before they get to kindergarten. That project is very personal to me because I felt that there were so many students coming to us that weren’t ready for kindergarten. Now they’re going to have at least two years to come into kindergarten fully prepared to meet all of the necessary standards that need to be met. We are super excited about that.”

During the tour, the school leaders went into several rooms and buildings throughout the campus, including the highly-anticipated 11,000 square feet multipurpose building/gymnasium, as well as classrooms and the administration building.

“I went to school in the old City Hall that was built in 1929 and to see that as a comparison to what we have going here, it’s just a one thousand percent difference,” said Julian. “What a joy this is going to be for the families who live here and for the kids that come here. They’re going to see this as the community cares about them and the school district cares about them. It’s a big investment in kids. As they go to Righetti (High School) and as they go to Pioneer (Valley High School), they’re going to be well prepared after they get through our school system here.”

The tour came just a few days after the construction site was damaged by vandalism inside the junior high school gymnasium and administration building.

According to the builders, the damage was significant, but not enough to derail the opening of the junior high, which is slated to be ready for first day of school in early August.

“It was a little bit of a setback, but in talking to the construction folks, we’re still on track,” said Handall. “If anyone knows about who who inflicted the vandalism, we’d love to know. If you let the Guadalupe Police Department know, we’d love to find out who actually vandalized our campus. We’re moving forward and we know this is just a bump in the road.”

Once the new school is built, GUSD will adjust the configuration of its three campuses.

The new junior high will be for students in the 7th and 8th grades, while Kermit McKenzie Intermediate School will be for students in 4th through 6th grades.

Mary Buren Elementary School will be for students in kindergarten through third grades, and the new ELC will be for preschool and transitional kindergarten students.

The new junior high will be named Guadalupe Junior High School and will accommodate just under 500 students and include 16 classrooms, plus the multipurpose building/gymnasium and library.

The ELC will support about 200 students on its site adjacent to the junior high school.

Handall said the cost to build both sites will be about $50 million, with funding provided through a variety of sources, including the passage of two school bonds over the past several years.

Click here to follow the original article.