Category: keyt-local-news

Mike Klan

UC SANA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Nate Vargas slugged two of the Gauchos season-high 4 home runs and ace Jackson Flora stayed undefeated on the mound in an 8-3 UCSB win over Cal State Fullerton.

Vargas launched a solo home run in the third inning and a two-run blast in the eighth inning for his first multi-homer game of his career. Vargas, who knocked in four runs, leads UCSB with six home runs this year.

Xavier Esquer smacked a 2-run shot in the third inning while William Vasseur ripped a solo home run in the fifth.

Flora is now 8-0 on the season after allowing just one run in six inning as he lowered his ERA to 0.78 which leads the nation. He scattered 7 hits and struck out 8.

“(Flora’s sweeper) has always been good,” began UCSB head coach Andrew Checketts. “They were heavy right-handed today, they had one left-hander in there; he didn’t look like he had as good of a feel for the changeup today, so we were pretty heavy with that sweeper to get ahead. He did a good job of landing it, finishing guys off with it. He throws a little bit of a harder slider/cutter, which was good.”

“I’ve always been pretty good at supinating and spinning the ball, so it’s pretty easy for me to manipulate the ball going to my glove side,” Flora said. “With some work last year, it’s gotten better this year, just being able to separate it into two different pitches and work it. When hitters see spin, if they see the big breaker first and they see spin again they might think it’s the big breaker again and then all of the sudden it’s the short one, or they have to be geared up for a hard fastball and a hard slider, that doesn’t allow them to be comfortable guessing pitches or guessing speeds. So, somewhere between the heater and the sweeper, that’s been pretty effective and it’s probably my favorite pitch — the hard slider — to throw, so I like it.”

UCSB improves to 27-12 on the year and 13-6 in the Big West. The Gauchos are in a 3-way tie for first place with Cal Poly and UC San Diego.

(UCSB Athletics supplied the quotes).

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Mike Klan

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – It was a full house at Sovine Gymnasium as Dos Pueblos High School recognized 15 student-athletes that have committed to play their chosen sport at four-year colleges.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – It started in 1970 after a massive oil spill in the coastal waters and now the Earth Day Festival takes place again for two days in Santa Barbara.

It will remind the public of the environmental challenges on earth today and many forward-thinking solutions ahead.

The Community Environmental Council (CEC) and CarpEvents have organized events and food for thousands of people in Alameda Park Saturday 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Sundy 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Sean McArthur is the CEC Climate Projects Manager and says, ” the theme this year is ‘Our Power, Our Planet.’ I think in general, with environmental movements or any kind of movement, you need more than just one person’s voice. But if we all stand together, we take collective action, we’re able to do more mountains.”

The event will have a kids corner, a special stage for the youth who attend, a quiet space for parents and activities planned by a group of dads.

There will also be a large Green Car Show and ebikes available to check out and test drive. In some cases there will be special offers for those attending this event.

“This is the 25th year anniversary of the Green Car Show. It’s one of the longest running the green car shows in the country, which is fantastic,” said McArthur.

Olivia Sorgman, CarpEvents Manager said, ” If you’re shopping for a car and you’re trying to figure out what to get this is a great opportunity because we have all of the different car brands here.”

There will be no gas powered generators on site and the site will be solar powered.

There will be numerous booths and exhibits set up by environmentally focused groups and non-profits from throughout the area. Those who are looking for information or to join up with an organization can get a wide range of them at this festival.

Sorgman said, “So it is one stop shop for everybody, and we select our vendors specifically so that they are a part of, you know, aligning with our mission. “

On stage performers will include, The Doublewide Kings, Uncle, Spencer the Gardener, The Caverns, Cornerstone and False Puppet.

For those riding a bike, there will be a bike valet section.

For more information go to : Earth Day 2026

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Library week in Santa Barbara came with a family-friendly game night, off the downtown property and the outreach was in the Funk Zone.

Loteria for the library using the Mexican bingo game known as “Loteria” was redesigned to have Santa Barbara area images.

They included the mission, Stearns Wharf, Fiesta, Summer Solstice and yes — the library.

As they were called out from large cards, markers were placed on the game cards in front of the players and if you lined up a row you were a winner.

All the tables were full for this special event.

Nathalia Martinez was a winner and said, “it’s super fun to be out here supporting the community making sure the library gets funded and everyone known the library is there to be a service to the public.”

A Santa Barbara Public Library outreach employee Emily Cruz said, “I see a lot of returning folks who won last year and excited to win again a ton of new faces. We are excited too see out reach has been expanded with the new library on the go van.”

The Loteria winners were given a choice of several gifts including library tote bags.

They were also writing notes to local leaders about their love of the library.

The library on the go van was parked on site at Shalhoobs restaurant and racks of books were available for checkout along with other services.

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Caleb Nguyen

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A mountain lion sighting at the Los Prietos campground grabbed plenty of local interest last month.

One News Channel viewer sent in a photo of the creature up a tree after it had chased down some prey.

Several interested people took photos and videos of the mountain lion as it stared blankly down from its perch.

This is not the first mountain lion sighting in the local area and certainly won’t be the last.

For any photo or video submissions for newsworthy stories, visit the KEYT share website.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Maria Strawberry Festival is expanding the celebration this weekend with free admission and chances for free rides.

The popular event is bigger than it’s ever been.

In today’s world of high prices, the festival’s first use of free admission for the whole weekend is something families will definitely want to take advantage of.

Known for its evolving carnival atmosphere, the Santa Maria Strawberry Festival has celebrated the region’s strawberry industry for almost forty years.

“The Strawberry Festival is not just a carnival,” says Todd Ventura, Santa Maria Fairpark acting CEO. “It’s really about agriculture. It’s about our community. It’s about promoting and, celebrating the whole strawberry industry.”

Also combined with the annual Strawberry Dinner for the first time this year, the Santa Maria Fairpark is expected to be packed this weekend.

“We’re kicking off with the strawberry industry dinner, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce,” says Ventura. “So we’ll have 800 guests in the Convention Center tonight, celebrating strawberries. And then we’re going to have a Strawberry Festival for the next two days.”

The celebrations run with free admission at the front gates for all three days, Friday evening 6 to 10, and 2 to 10 on Saturday and Sunday.

this year, the festival has partnered with Helm And Sons Amusements for more rides than it’s ever had before.

“Not only is it our first time doing it, but we are also keeping the old tradition alive while still reinventing it,” says Chloe Parks, spokesperson for Helm And Sons Amusements.

Another new feature this year provided by Helm And Sons Amusements is a trivia game show happening every two hours, providing chances to win unlimited ride wristbands.

“If we’re not doing a game show, we’re either doing dance competitions or a deejay playing music, having like, little interactive dances and stuff too,” says Parks. “But all of our stages are always busy.”

Helm And Sons has set up approximately 26 rides at the festival this year, providing something for attendees of all ages.

Not to mention the traditional strawberry pies, beverages, and confections.

Organizers say the expanding community partnerships are vital to providing this event every year, and they are eager to see everyone out enjoying the beautiful Central Coast weather this weekend.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – It’s time to bring out those cowboy hats and boots, because the Buellton Brew Fest returns on Saturday, May 2nd at River View Park in Buellton.

The community favorite event will feature over 55 craft breweries, wineries, kombucha and more.

The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with the last pour at 4 p.m. Bus transportation will be available around Santa Barbara, Lompoc and Santa Maria.

Kathy Vreeland from Discover Buellton and Andres Nuñez from El Fuego Events joins The Morning News to share about what to expect for the event.

To purchase tickets visit their website here.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – This is an event for the James Taylor fans. The Granada Theater is hosting a tribute performance dedicated to the legendary singer this weekend.

It’ll be the perfect chilly evening to enjoy good company and great music.

Tariqh Akoni, Director of A&R at Santa Barbara Records and on the Board of Directors for the Granada Theatre joins the Morning News to talk about the upcoming event.

For more information on the event and ticket information head to their website.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Santa Barbara’s Restaurant Week begins today! Foodies can enjoy a number of restaurants for a discounted fixed price. It’s a foodie’s dream right in Santa Barbara!

To tell share about the week, The Morning News is joined by Executive Chef Roberto and Chef Lucas from the Lulio at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara.

You can learn more about restaurant week on their website.

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