Category: keyt-local-news

Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The ongoing federal government shutdown will ground all military performances and displays at this weekend’s airshow in Santa Maria.

The Central Coast AirFest is scheduled for this upcoming Saturday and Sunday on Oct. 18-19 at the Santa Maria Public Airport.

Due to the current government shutdown, organizers are having to make adjustments to the schedule of participants at this year’s event.

“Unfortunately, our main line act, which was the F-35 Demo Team has been cancelled,” said Jim Bray, AirFest spokesman. “We just got officially the word on that just yesterday because of the government shutdown. The F-18, also a military aircraft, has had to back out, as well as the KC-135 tanker, which is a very impressive aircraft. It also had to back out.”

While the military aircraft will no longer be a part of the show, organizers point out there will still be an impressive array of planes on hand, plus replacements are being lined up as well.

“I think it’s important that that folks know out of the 75 aircraft that are scheduled to be here for the event, probably ten were military, so that the airshow will definitely go on and it’ll be definitely, just as fun with all the aerobatics and all the static displays,” said Bray. “We’ve got some aircraft coming in and and we’ll be posting out on the website pretty shortly.”

Now in its fifth year, the AirFest has become a popular annual event for aviation enthusiasts. Last year’s show was attended by 20,000 spectators.

For those who come out to the show this weekend, organizers say they will see an impressive show that will be full of high-adrenaline and heart-pounding action.

“We got a full schedule,” said Steven Hinton, Planes of Fame Air Museum President. “We have a lot of warbird flying and a lot of aerobatic. We brought a, team in from Florida with three P-51’s going to do an airshow. They’re called the Jack Aces formation aerobatics. We’ve got MiG-17, B-25’s and Mustangs. We got a P-40, P-47, 233, Ace Maker Airshow. We got a lot of a lot of things planned. It’s going to be a great show.”

Gates open each day at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.

Flying performances will last from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. both days.

The Central Coast AirFest will also include sevearl commercial vendors selling merchandise, as well as food and drink.

Parking is free and children 11-years-old and under will be admitted without charge.

General admission is $35 and includes standing room access (no reserved seats/spots), access to event restrooms, kids zone and static aircraft displays.

For more information, click here to visit the Central Coast AirFest official website.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Excitement is in the air as students meet Salva Dut — the real-life hero behind A Long Walk to Water.

“They were literally jumping out of their chairs … they could not process the fact they the many they read about was coming her … were just so excited to meet this really inspiring man,” said teacher Amanda Olson of Vieja Valley Elementary School.

The sixth graders raised money to bring clean water to families in South Sudan — the same mission Salva started years ago.

“In the other part of the world they don’t have clean drinking water and it’s very important for children like this to understand that water is very important and they should take care of the water,” said founder Salva Dut of Water for South Sudan.

For the students, it’s the moment the story came to life — meeting the man whose courage inspired their classroom project.

“And even though they’re children that they can put their voices together, and they can put their energy together to create real change in our world,” said teacher Alexa Mannion of Vieja Elementary School.

Teachers hope their students will cherish all they’ve learned from this book for years to come.

“I’m very excited to see these children step out of their comfort zone and reach out to the world to support others. It’s total responsibility for this children to be able to see the humanity to help others,” said Salva.

For Salva, it’s proof the next generation is already creating change one drop at a time.

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Scott Hennessee

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – What if there were a way to put out fire without water, foam, or any other substance? What if it could be done with sound?

While the concept may seem too good to be true, it has been shown to work in a controlled setting. 

Now, a new company, lead by a local man fueling it’s growth, is refining ways to knock out flames and embers before they can grow – helping protect homes and infrastructure from fire.

“We’re on a mission to create a paradigm shift in the fire suppression industry,” said Sonic Fire Tech Head of Business Development and Santa Barbara County resident, Remington Hotchkis.

“It sounds like magic,” Sonic Fire Tech co-founder and CEO, Geoff Bruder said. “It’s just physics.”

To show their products in actions, Sonic Fire Tech recently rented a house in the Hope Ranch area here in Santa Barbara. Their home protection system is built into the ducts of a home’s gutter system.

“In order for a fire to exist, you need three things. You need heat, fuel and oxygen,” Bruder said, then explaining how sound can put fire out. “We’re basically just vibrating the oxygen faster than the fuel can use it. And it breaks the chemical reaction. So the fire can’t exist.”

Bruder set a small tree on fire to demonstrate to Your News Channel just how their home protection system operates. Flames were extinguished in about 30 seconds.

“So what the sonic Fire Tech system is,” Bruder said, “is the only autonomous home protection system that works without using water or foam or anything else that is a limited resource.”

The acoustic generator box plugs into the wall, with a backup battery in the event of a power outage. The sound wave runs through a ducting system in the gutter, sending out a cone of acoustic energy that disrupts flames detected by a sensor made by a company called Optect, overseen by CEO Alex Hudson.

“We detect it so sensitively,” Hudson said. “That even if it’s obscured behind bushes or through vegetation, it’ll pick that up within half a second.”

The sensor sets off a high pitched sound. The acoustic generator has a low rumbling sound to it, but the sound wave itself is at such a low frequency that humans can’t hear it. Hotchkis says the 22 Hertz infra- sound is inaudible to land animals as well, with the exception of wolves and elephants. They are marketing the effective range of the sound waves at 30 feet.

Company PG&E is beginning to show interest in this new technology. 

“We work with them within the framework of what we call epic projects,” said PG&E Senior Manager of Wildfire Risk Operations, Hayk Hovhannisyan. “These are formalized projects where we partner with startups and smaller companies that develop innovative technology.”

The power company sees it as a potential way to enhance community resilience to wildfires, and to protect their infrastructure.

“If we have technology like this at the base of our transmission structures and if there’s a fire that is approaching our infrastructure we can extinguish this fire pretty quickly and safely,” Hovhannisyan said.

The Lake Fire approaching his Santa Ynez Valley ranch home last summer led Hotchkis to the front lines of a fight to protect his community. When the smoke cleared, he started to seek innovative solutions to protect homes and other structures from fire. 

“I found myself at MIT in a very competitive entrepreneurship program where I won that program coming out of it with an idea to build a business that leveraged a directed energy system to suppress fires, namely embers,” Hotchkis said. “I went to that program a week after the LA fires erupted and burned my former community of Altadena. We lost our family house down there.”

Motivated, and educated first hand on fires, Hotchkis found Bruder and his patent on a sonic suppression system.

“After a few conversations we decided to join forces,” Hotchkis recounted. “So I joined Sonic Fire Tech as head of business development with the goal of getting this technology out of the lab and into the hands of those who need it.”

Hotchkis says they have sold a few dozen units to protect homes in Santa Barbara County, greater Los Angeles and the Lake Tahoe area – although, none have been installed yet. He said they are working with architects on the projects to design each system to fit the style of each home, with installations beginning next year. The cost of one of these systems is between one to two percent of a homes value.

At some point, Hotchkis hopes home insurers will see the value of the technology, bringing insurance companies that have left California back and helping lower monthly premiums.

Hotchkis says the company has sold additional systems to protect a chemical storage facility, aircraft hangers, and a data center.

Sonic Fire Tech is also marketing a mobile pack that weighs about 50 pounds and runs on a battery they say lasts for two hours. It’s main purpose would be to put out spot fires with sound waves. PG&E is exploring it’s potential value and San Bernardino County firefighters recently tested it.

We reached out to Santa Barbara City and County Fire departments. Having not tested the products, they declined comment.

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Mike Klan

LA JOLLA, Calif. (KEYT). – The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer team remains unbeaten in conference play (and in their last eight matches overall), though the implications of Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw at UC San Diego are hardly straightforward. On the upside, the Gauchos maintained their unbeaten streaks despite being down a player for the final 25 minutes of action, thanks in large part to Kaden Standish’s remarkable long-range goal. However, the downsides are that the Santa Barbara defense let the Tritons score an equalizer after Standish’s screamer, dropping two points rather than rescuing the one. Also in the “bad news” column is the matter of who received the 55th minute red card: phenomenal freshman goalkeeper Owen Beninga. He will now miss the Gauchos next match, at Cal Poly on Saturday; he was specifically picked to start September’s edition of the Blue-Green Rivalry because of how well his skills counter the Mustangs’ gameplan.

HOW IT HAPPENEDThat 55th minute sending-off lit the powder keg for the frantic finish to the evening, though pressure had been building throughout the night. The two teams played to a stalemate in the first half despite combining for 15 shots, with the hosts accounting for nine of those.

It was the visiting Gauchos, despite sitting eight spots higher in the conference table entering the match, who began proceedings on the back foot, with the Tritons enjoying more possession and chances for the first half hour of action. The home team saw a couple of shots blocked by Santa Barbara defenders in the seventh minute but could not test Beninga until the 26th, firing a long-range drive that required the rookie netminder to tip it over the crossbar. The Tritons manufactured another shot on target shortly afterwards, but it was a much simpler catch for Beninga the second time around.

Meanwhile, the Gauchos managed to put up two shots in the first thirty minutes, neither of which troubled UC San Diego’s goalkeeper. In the 17th minute, Eddie Villeda went close with a free kick from just outside the penalty area, and it took 13 more minutes before the Gauchos registered another attempt: a flicked header from Zac Siebenlist that lacked the power or accuracy to provide a real threat.

Still, the action did become more balanced from the 30th minute on, with Santa Barbara finally starting to establish a foothold in the game. After being out-shot, 7-2, in the first 30 minutes of the game, the Gauchos put up four attempts to the Tritons’ two in the final 15 minutes of the first half. One of those Gaucho shots required a save, albeit a simple one after Ocean Salari’s attempt was deflected. Siebenlist also had a shot blocked from close range in the 40th minute and Calle Mollerberg put too much loft on his drive from the top of the penalty area in the 45th minute. The teams went to the break scoreless.

Ten minutes after they returned to the field, the Tritons split the Gaucho defense to put a forward through on goal, albeit about 30 yards out. Beninga was brave, rushing off his line to meet the threat, but he was out of his penalty area before reaching his opponent, meaning he could not smother the ball with his hands, and he mis-timed his sliding tackle. For denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity with a foul, he was issued his marching orders.

Luke Skinner came on to replace him at the cost of one of Santa Barbara’s outfield players, though thankfully the free kick the Tritons won from Beninga’s foul went harmlessly high. The hosts did manufacture two scary moments shortly afterwards, putting a shot off the post in the 58th minute and forcing Skinner to get down to his left quickly with another long-range effort. Afterwards, the Gauchos steadied themselves, not letting their numerical disadvantage noticeably impact their ability to keep the ball.

Mollerberg did have to race 40 yards back to make up for his own giveaway with a great slide tackle to block a shot in the 67th minute, but three minutes later, it was the Gauchos’ turn to punish a defensive mistake, which Standish handled. The junior made a great read to pick off a lazy pass from the Triton defense, then took three touches to set himself up about 30 yards from goal and blasted a shot into the top corner with his less-favored left foot.

With a one-goal lead to preserve, the Gaucho defense once again dug in. However, like on Saturday, they were not able to hold out, conceding an equalizer in the 82nd minute. Their numerical disadvantage did not help in the search of a late winner, though Standish nearly provided another moment of magic in the 90th minute, winning the ball in the Gauchos’ defensive midfield area — about 60 or 70 yards from goal — and trying to chip the Tritons’ out-of-position goalkeeper. His Hail Mary attempt had the distance but not the accuracy, going just left of the net.

BY THE NUMBERSAfter Wednesday night’s action Santa Barbara now sits in third place in The Big West standings after wins for Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State Fullerton elsewhere. They remain a single point ahead of arch rivals Cal Poly.The Gauchos’ draw is their third in a row and sixth this season. No Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer team has ever tied seven matches in one season, including Big West and NCAA Tournament matches.With the draw, Santa Barbara extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches; the last time the Gauchos went that long without defeat was 2022.

UP NEXTSanta Barbara will have to quickly reset and prepare for their toughest road trip of the season, as the Gauchos visit Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo for the second leg of the Blue-Green Rivalry on Saturday, which Beninga will miss due to his red card. Kickoff from Mustang Memorial Field is set for 4 p.m. with the match set to be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats are also available through ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT). – Big time high school boys basketball will be in Santa Barbara this weekend for the Battle by the Beach.

Santa Barbara High School head coach Greg Zuffelato is running a 46 team tournament with schools from all over the west coast attending including Utah Prep, PHH Prep, SoCal Prep, Crossroads and LaMirada.

Some of top recruits in the country will be playing such as Gene Roebuck, Shalen Sheppard, Mekhi Robertson, Julius Price(St. Joseph), Anthony Felesi, and Trevon Carter.

Santa Barbara plays Utah Prep on Friday at 7:30 pm and Crossroads on Saturday at 4pm.

Games are taking place at Santa Barbara, San Marcos, Dos Pueblos and the Page Youth Center.

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John Palminteri

SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, Calif. (KEYT) – The crafty creations of scarecrows for the fall season have taken over the Santa Ynez Valley.

It is the annual Santa Ynez Scarecrow Festival and Competition in six locations throughout the scenic valley. It’s also called the Scarecrow Fest, for short.

The creations are located at the front entrances of businesses who each made a special scarecrow for the competition, and not all are the type you would see in a field of corn.

They are being judged by the public using a form on a QR code at the base of each scarecrow.

They can be found in Buellton, Ballard, Solvang, Los Olivos, Los Alamos and Santa Ynez.

Categories include several categories including the spookiest, humorous, and use of natural material.

Many are impressive works of art that have passersby taking pictures, selfies and inquiring about the competition.

Madison McClung was visiting over the weekend and said, “I think it is so fun and celebratory.  Things like this in this day and age are not this much fun anymore and to see something like this. When we walked by it immediately caught our attention and we said how fun is this.     It makes you feel like it is part of a small town.”

At the end of the month the Harvest Cup winner will be awarded as the top prize in the Santa Ynez Scarecrow Fest.

The competition goes until October 31.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Controversy is growing over two proposed housing projects near one of Santa Barbara’s most cherished landmarks — the Old Mission.

A community coalition called SAGE is urging the city to slow down and reconsider large-scale developments planned for the area.

The group says more than 400 letters of public feedback were just submitted to city planners — double the number reported earlier — reflecting growing concern from residents who fear the projects could threaten the Mission’s historic character and natural surroundings.

One proposal calls for an eight-story, 270-unit building directly behind the Old Mission, far exceeding the area’s 30-foot height limit. Another would add a six-story, 53-unit complex on Grand Avenue.

Both are being pursued under the Builder’s Remedy, a state provision that allows developers to bypass some local zoning rules.

Community members — including architects, planners, and fire safety advocates — warn the projects could worsen traffic congestion and wildfire evacuation risks.

SAGE attorney Marc Chytilo says the city must ensure the public stays involved every step of the way:

“The city’s process has to be carefully constrained here because the law only allows five public hearings for each of these projects, so it’s important that the city preserve its opportunities to engage the public at times when there is something significant.”

City officials say both projects remain under review, with more public hearings expected in the coming months.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.(KEYT) Artist renderings went on display at the first Paseo Nuevo Redevelopment Open House on Wednesday evening.

The poster-size images show the architectural designs that are not a done deal.

It will be up to the City of Santa Barbara to enter an agreement with investment firm Alliance Bernstein and Georgetown Company to develop the area between State Street and Chapala and Ortega and Carrillo.

The Planning Commission has already raised questions about the plan and now members of the public are welcome to ask questions, too.

The project would include the old Macy’s parcel and a part of Parking Lot 2, but it would not include the old Nordstrom.

The designs show renderings of more than 230 market rate housing units in the Macy’s parcel and 80 affordable apartments in the parking lot parcel.

Under a density bonus law the height could be up to 75 feet or seven stories.

Open house visitors gave it mixed reviews.

“In my humble opinion this is very good for Santa Barbara and again it accommodates the low income, plus the regular residents,” said Michael Afshar of Santa Barbara.

 “This should be a public forum where the people can get up and say their piece, that is not happening today this in my world we call a snowjob,” said Brad Sweeney of Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara State Street Master Planner Tess Harris encourages people to share their opinions in a survey available online and on city handouts.

“Those surveys will go to both the city and the applicants after the next two days to look at and try to incorporate in the development going forward,” said Harris.

City Administrator Kelly McAdoo hopes people see the positives.

“There has been a lot of talk about how this could be a catalyst project for downtown and for State Street and I think really as a city we need to be focused on bringing more residents into downtown building housing because that will help us build the diversity of uses and really create a vibrant downtown.”

Another Open House will take place from Noon-1:30 p.m. on Thursday Oct. 16.

For more information visit https://www.santabarbaraCA.gov/PaseoNuevo

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Alissa Orozco

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Actor Adam Sandler will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award at this year’s Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

On February 5th, Sandler will join Leonard Maltin for an on-stage conversation about his iconic work and career, including his latest film Jay Kelly, where he stars alongside fellow actor George Clooney. Sandler has received immense praise throughout his career, dating back his comedic roles on SNL in the 90s.

Over time, Sandlers has expanded on his abilities as a comedian, actor, writer, producer and musician – continuing his comedy in tailor-made movies like The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer, and stepping into more powerful performances for Uncut Gems and Jay Kelly.

Established in 1995, the Modern Master Award honors individuals “who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry.”

Sandler has starred in numerous box office hits that have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, and earned him nominations for two Critics Choice Awards, two Gotham Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and five Emmy Awards. In 2023, Sandler became the 24th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Previous Modern Master Award recipients included Angelina Jolie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Robert Downey Jr., Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, and Christopher Plummer.

The 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place February 4 – February 14, 2026. 

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Jarrod Zinn

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – San Luis Obispo is hosting an annual event for leaders in commercial district revitalization across California.

City leaders  from across the state are here. 

With a focus on what they call “the main street approach,” leaders from as far as Eureka have come to downtown San Luis Obispo for the California Main Street Conference.

Exhibits, presentations, and networking opportunities are filling the next three days in downtown SLO at iconic spots like the Palm Theatre, SLO Museum of Art, and Mission Plaza.

“We are so excited to be able to show off our amazing city, our amazing downtown, and what it takes to make things be amazing,” says LeBren Harris, C.E.O. of Downtown SLO.

Subjects such as key trends, best practices, and cutting-edge strategies for various facets of economic development including housing, tourism, promotion, and streetscape improvements are all covered throughout the conference.

“Downtowns are the identity of the city, and these downtowns are very much part of the beginning of the city,” says Blake Fisher, Downtown Redding’s Main Street coordinator. “And so what we’ve been working on in our downtowns now for revitalization efforts are just a small portion of the history that we’re seeing from when downtowns were established to coming up in the future.”

Sprung from “Main Street America,” the California Main Street Conference has a four-pillared approach which includes design, economic vitality, promotion, and organization.

“Under those four pillars, we give them the tools to strengthen their internal organization and build their board and community support, recruit volunteers, and basically build their capacity as organizations,” says Brooke Fox, California Main Street’s state coordinator.

The SLO county Chamber Of Commerce’s mixer at Mission Plaza Wednesday evening concluded the conference’s kick-off day with brand-new tables and chairs, adding even more vibrance to the heart of downtown.

“I’m looking forward to exploring this beautiful Main Street and learning what I’m learning here and taking it back to Redding, California,” says Fisher.

Registration is open to anyone interested in revitalization efforts, and there are two more full days of the conference.

For more information about the conference including a full schedule, event maps, and registration, visit the California Main Street website by clicking here.

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