Category: keyt-local-news

Allison Winslow

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – A local robotics team, “Team Octobots” – comprised of Santa Barbara County high school students – took home second place at the FIRST Robotics Southern California State Championship in Anaheim earlier this month.

Over 30 high school students battled their way to the finals, beating out higher seated teams. They lost only to the third globally ranked “Team High Tide.”

In a press release, team captain and Dos Pueblos High School senior, Zeo Pereira, shared what this win means to him.

“That moment meant a lot to me, especially after a season of early mornings on school nights, up until 3:00am at robotics, and then back to school at 9:00am for several days at a time. It was a big mental battle. I’m proud of the growth our team has shown.”

Now, the team is turning its sights to the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston, Texas, set for April 28-May 2. The call has gone out for community help in getting all team members to the competition. The team hopes to raise $50,000 dollars to cover the travel costs.

If you would like to support the team, visit their Give Butter page to make a donation.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Light is getting smaller, and far more powerful.

Researchers are developing LEDs so tiny they’re nearly invisible, yet capable of doing work once reserved for lasers.

“The fundamental idea is to take an LED … replace things like lasers, but also try to make displays better. Make AR displays more efficient make your lighting more efficient,” said doctoral student Roark Chao of UC Santa Barbara.

This breakthrough could change how massive amounts of information move through servers powering AI and cloud systems.

The technology is still evolving, but the impact is already coming into focus.

Unlike traditional systems, these devices push out more usable light while wasting less energy.

Researchers also found stronger performance, improved direction, and a sharper beam — all from something barely visible to the eye.

“It’ll be a huge improvement for everybody in lighting in the future of energy conception everything,” said analyst Yukina Warner of UC Santa Barbara.

The same technology could soon power faster data, thinner screens, and entirely new digital experiences.

From lab concept to real-world impact, the pace of progress is accelerating.

And in a world demanding more speed and less energy, the smallest innovations may carry the biggest weight.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The newest commuter train service between Ventura County and Goleta is set to roll on May 4th.

It’s been years in the planning by local leaders and transportation agencies before this latest concept picked up enough steam to create a workable schedule to and from locations where thousands of employees travel on weekdays.

The plan had to fit the most common shifts and currently workers can make it in from, for example, Oxnard to Santa Barbara and Goleta jobs by about 8 a.m.

The goal is to reduce peak hour congestion which has been frustrating for thousands of commuters for years. On many weekdays the freeway speeds through Carpinteria to Santa Barbara go down to 10-20 miles per hour.

A special meeting was held with agencies including the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), Metropolitan Transit District (MTD), The Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency and BCycle. About 200 participants registered for the event at the Hilton Garden Inn in Goleta.

During the session, they broke out into groups to go deeper into their concerns and challenges to get employees out of their cars and on to a train.

Incentives suggested included free or reduced transportation from the train stops to their work places. They also wanted to see if employers would pay employees to work on the train via the online web resources. Essentially that would have them on the clock.

Offering free coffee and meals was also a perk.

The commuter route would originate in Simi Valley at 6:15 a.m. with stops in Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta ending at 8:11 a.m.

Those who need bus service from Santa Barbara would get it for free with their train ticket. Large buses will make stops by the County Administration Building, the Santa Barbara Courthouse and Cottage Hospitals. There would also be buses for the Hollister Ave. corridor in Goleta which has thousands of employees many in the tech industry.

Adding a commuter train to the travel options for workers in Ventura County who commute to Santa Barbara and Goleta has been a lengthy process which almost included Metrolink extending up to Santa Barbara for the first time. That option started and stopped but the time slot on the tracks was still available from Union Pacific which owns and maintains the tracks. It provides access for passenger rail service such as the Pacific Surfliner and with that additional train

As the owner, Union Pacific controls freight traffic as a priority and manages access for passenger rail services like Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner.

For more information go to: SBCAG

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

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Students at Arellanes Elementary School in Santa Maria helped plant a new tree for earth day this morning.

Santa Barbara County’s Parks Department and Urban Forestry Division partnered with the offices of 5th district supervisor Steve Lavagnino for the presentation.

For the 23rd annual event recognized by Tree City USA, students witnessed and directly participated in the planting of a young fern Podocarpus, known to be a low-maintenance evergreen tree.

Arellanes is a dual-campus school with the junior high directly adjacent to the elementary campus.

Officials say the kindergarteners who helped plant it today will get to see how much the tree grows before they graduate to high school.

“This is our 23rd year, and we rotate it amongst our five districts,” says Udy Loza, road maintenance manager for County Of Santa Barbara Public Works. “This year was in district five, It gives you a lot of satisfaction to our entire department, from Chris Sneddon all the way down to our maintenance team. A great pride of what we do for our community in the county of Santa Barbara.”

Another tree will be planted this Friday to celebrate Arbor Day.

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Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Santa Maria celebrated the 50th anniversary of its transit system with a special event that took place Wednesday afternoon on Earth Day.

The event was held for three hours at Machado Plaza in downtown Santa Maria and included booths from several other Santa Maria city departments, such as Recreation and Parks, Utilities, Library and City Rangers.

Created in 1976, Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMRT) has become a bus service the city describes is “a nationally recognized and award-winning fleet.”

“Fifty years of public service is a testament to the City of Santa Maria’s commitment to its residents,” said Gamaliel Anguiano, Santa Maria Transit Services Manager. “The service has evolved quite considerably since its inception.”

Anguiano explained SMRT, which previously was known as Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT) prior to a 2022 rebranding, had humble roots when it first got rolling five decades ago.

“Public transit started in Santa Maria originally as a van providing service up and down the Broadway corridor,” said Anguiano. “Since then, public transit has grown tremendously, not only throughout Santa Maria, but entire Northern Santa Barbara County. It continues to this day to be a very vital and important lifeline for many in our community, who choose public transit as their preferred mobility option.”

One of the biggest changes SMRT has implemented over the past few years has been a transition to the an all-electric fleet, an accomplishment that has put Santa Maria at the forefront of public transportation in the nation.

“We are noow fully transitioned to 100% electric, and only the second city in all the country to accomplish this important milestone,” said Anguiano. “We’ve seen tremendous growth in our ridership, especially since implementing some of the service changes back in 2022 and implementing this new fleet of electric busses and we’re projected to provide a million rides by 2030.”

In addition, SMRT’s daily service now extends far beyond Santa Maria, going to locations well outside the city border.

“Public transit users are not just limited to the city limits of Santa Maria,” said Anguiano. “Their needs extend beyond our city limits and so we are a regional provider with service into Southern Santa Barbara County and even into San Luis Obispo.”

To celebrate its golden anniversary, SMRT is allowing all passengers to ride for free today on Wednesday, April 22nd.

In addition, for the next 50 days through June 12th, regular bus fares for the general public will be only 50 cents and 25 cents for qualifying seniors or disabled persons.

“It’s our way to give back to the people of Santa Maria for supporting us for all of these years,” said Tim Mai, Santa Maria Transit Outreach Coordinator. “We understand that the cost of living is very expensive. Everything is getting more expensive. So, kind of throwing our fares back the way they were before.”

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – San Marcos made quick work of rival Santa Barbara as the Royals capture a third straight Channel League championship.

San Marcos swept the overmatched Dons 25-17, 25-10, 25-22 to finish off an undefeated 10-0 league season.

(The Royals will enter the CIF-SS playoffs with an impressive 25-2 record. Entenza Design).

Matteo Burdick led the way with 13 kills followed by Owen Willer with 9 and Koji Hefner tallied 8. The lone Royals senior Hefner was honored before the match.

Santa Barbara was led by five kills each from Hayes Costner and Kristian Dybdahl.

The Dons are CIF-SS playoff-bound with a 17-7 mark.

In other volleyball results, Dos Pueblos swept Ventura 3-0, Bishop Diego sweeps Foothill Tech 3-0 and Oxnard 3, Rio Mesa 0.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –

CIF-SS High School Girls Beach Volleyball First Round Playoffs:

Division 3: Dos Pueblos 4, Downing 1: Chargers are at Camarillo on Thursday in second round.

Division 4: Bishop Diego 4, Costa Mesa 1: Cardinals play at Pacifica Christian on Thursday in second round

High School Baseball:

Rio Mesa 2, Dos Pueblos 0

Oxnard 5, Ventura 4

High School Softball:

San Marcos 8, Pacifica 1

High School Boys Lacrosse:

Santa Barbara 20, San Marcos 2: Dons share Channel League title with Dos Pueblos

High School Girls Lacrosse:

San Marcos 15, Santa Barbara 2: 30 straight league victories for Royals

High School Boys Golf:

San Marcos 339, Ventura 368

Santa Barbara 403, Pacifica 459

Bishop Diego 205, Grace 218: Cardinals repeat as Tri-Valley League champions

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Jacaranda trees are in bloom.

The purple flowers line many streets in Santa Barbara, including Carrillo.

It looks like purple rain when the flower petals start to fall.

The petals cover sidewalks and cars.

One tree near Santa Barbara City Hall is shedding flowers in the parking lot.

Love them or hate them, the blooms only last a couple of weeks.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Barbara City Council voted in favor of an updated resolution to re-affirm the city’s response to ICE.

The 6-1 vote followed a couple of hours of discussion.

The resolution promotes community safety, diversity and public trust in response to Federal Immigration Enforcement.

Mayor Randy Rowse voted against the plan due to signage that will mark public and private spaces in city facilities.

Rowse said he thought it would be confusing.

The resolution dropped a portion regarding Flock cameras.

The third party vendor’s cameras will be discussed in August following a July break.

“We want to be able to do more against ice so they don’t kidnap our neighbors who we really love um so I am happy this is a step forward but more steps need to be taken and getting rid of the Flock cameras I think is super important,” said Beckett Stabus-Friedmann.

Friedmann, who said he is with the Democratic Socialists of America, spoke during public comments.

Larry Behrendt of Indivisible Santa Barbara spoke, too.

He favors the signs and anything the city can do to help.

“It was a positive step forward by our city to express their values that all are welcome here and that we want to do everything a city can for everyone to be safe here,” said Behrendt.

During the discussion, one city council member said ICE has taken 97 people within city limits and 387 in the Tri-County area to date.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Barbara Literary Festival will write its first chapter on May 2nd-3rd.

Posters about the festival are going up all in Downtown Santa Barbara.

The first festival will celebrate storytellers at multiple venues including The Lobero Theatre, the former Karpeles Manuscript Museum and the Environmental Hub.

It is the brainchild of local author, filmmaker and actor Leslie Zemeckis.

“It is the first one in Santa Barbara and I kind of modeled it off the film festival, Roger Durling is a great friend and to see what he has done for film in Santa Barbara, I want to do for books, not quite on his level, I mean, that is a few years out,” said Zemeckis, “but we have amazing authors and storytellers and screenwriters and it was really important to me to get this young element, so we have this big ‘Romantacy’ panel with a hot actor, so I am very excited about that.”

Actress and author Muriel Hemingway will moderate a Women’s Health, Wealth & Happiness panel that includes author Leslie Lehr, who happens to be KEYT reporter Tracy Lehr’s sister.

Leslie Zemeckis will appear on our News Channel’s morning show on April 28th.

For ticket and author and panel information visit https://www.santabarbaraliteraryfestival.org

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