Category: keyt-local-news

Beth Farnsworth

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT)- Traditionally, today – a fall Friday – would be the first day of harvest for local wine growers.

Instead, due to the affects of El Niño, this is the last day of harvest; at least for the team at Margerum Wine Company.

We met up with Douglas Margerum, Owner and Director of Winemaking at Margerum Wine Co., in his tasting room on East Mason Street off lower State Street.

He called weather changes in recent years “dramatic.” And, perhaps not in the way you might think.

Margerum said the last five years were the coldest vintages on record. 

Douglas Margerum, Owner and Director of Winemaking at Margerum Wine Co

He pointed to Santa Barbara County’s unique topography: it is the only east-west running mountain range in North America. That means the local valleys – Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Maria Valley and, Los Alamos Valley – open directly to the ocean, which creates, what Margerum called “a incredible maritime influence.”

“It’ll be 85 or 90 during the day, it’ll be 45 or 50 at night,” said Margerum. “So, that really slows down the ripening, so you get longer hang times and the fruit develops at a more complex and interesting way to make wine.”

This year, under climate changes from El Niño, conditions in the three local valleys are putting our region on an international wine map. Margerum is hearing similar things about the wine industry from other wine makers, journalists, and restaurateurs.

“It was such a surprise to have this wine region actually getting colder,” said Margerum. “It’s one of the only wine regions, overall, getting colder because of climate change.”

Now, mix in warming trends from El Niño, and that’s impacting this year’s vintage and time-lines for growing and harvesting. 

“El Nino has affected this vintage tremendously. We started picking in very early August, some people were picking in July. We had one vintner in Santa Barbara County picking sparkling wine in June – which is absolutely unheard of. But, El Niño just created such a different change in the climate that we were getting bud break in February, which is also unheard of.”

Normally, that happens at least one month later.

Margerum said climate impacts from El Niño in France are changing up wine laws, particularly in Champagne, to determine exactly which grapes can be planted and where.

Historic changes are also happening in the wine industry across the pond.

“You go across the channel into the southern England, they have the same soils,” (as Champagne, France). “They’re now growing sparkling wine with chardonnay and pinot noir, which would’ve been unheard of 20 years ago,” said Margerum. “But, some of the wines coming out of that region are incredible because now they’re the same climate that Champagne was.”

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Caleb Nguyen

LONE STAR RANCH, Calif. (KEYT) – A solo driver suffered major injuries and needed extrication after their car fell 60 feet over the north side of Highway 154 just before 2:30 p.m Friday.

Drivers were advised to exercise caution in the area and use alternate routes if available after closing Highway 154 in both directions for 45 minutes.

First responders took the patient to Cottage Hospital and more information on the crash will be provided once available to Your News Channel.

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Caleb Nguyen

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office shared an update to an in-custody death that happened on Sept. 15th.

The Coroner’s Bureau is now classifying 68-year-old James Edward Murphy’s death as a homicide and charged another inmate, Peter James Anderson with murder in connection to an assault.

The assault happened at the Main Jail on Sept. 6 around 6:30 a.m. after which Anderson, 46, reported an injury to his hand and deputies questioned how the injury occurred, according to the SBCSO.

SBCSO deputies later found Murphy injured and took him to a hospital where he stayed for two days for treatment.

Murphy returned to custody on Sept. 8th and a court ordered his release to a placement, though that placement was still pending, according to the SBCSO.

Deputies transferred Murphy to the Northern Branch Jail on Sept. 10th where he stayed until he was found unresponsive in his cell on Sept. 15.

Paramedics tried life saving measures after finding Murphy unresponsive for nearly 45 minutes before declaring him dead around 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 15.

The Coroner’s Bureau determined Murphy’s cause of death as heart disease contributed by blunt force trauma after an autopsy on Thursday.

The Sept. 6th assault was under criminal investigation when the SBCSO issued a notice of Murphy’s death on Sept. 15.

The SBCSO did not include the assault information in its initial release of Murphy’s death due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.

The subsequent investigation and autopsy findings led to the classification of homicide charges against Anderson, who SBCSO deputies already booked for felony domestic violence without bail on Aug. 24.

Anderson remains in custody and received additional felony charges of murder and elder abuse in connection to Murphy’s death, according to the SBCSO.

Anderson remains held without bail at the Main Jail and both the criminal investigation and Sheriff’s Office’s separate administrative reviews remain ongoing.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – September is AFib Awareness Month, and doctors in Santa Maria are highlighting early warning signs.

Atrial Fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat condition, increases a person’s risk of stroke fivefold.

One in four adults over age 40 is at risk for developing atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib.

Left untreated, the condition can lead to heart failure and other severe cardiovascular complications. 

Dignity Health operates medical facilities offering cardiac rhythm services in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria.

Dr. Brett Gidney, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Dignity Health Pacific Central Coast Health Centers, emphasizes that early detection is essential for effective treatment.

Medical care for AFib involves addressing individual risk factors rather than relying on a standard approach. 

Dr. Gidney notes that care plans are customized based on a patient’s overall health profile.

“Having atrial fibrillation doesn’t automatically mean someone’s unhealthy, perfectly healthy people can end up with this problem,” says Dr. Gidney. “And it can affect their quality of life or their ability to engage in athletics or just day to day living. But it’s a solvable problem, and we have many, many ways to approach atrial fibrillation to solve it.”

Local medical centers utilize electrophysiology labs and offer procedures such as catheter ablation to manage cardiac rhythms.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara-based Direct Relief is sending another round of emergency medical supplies to Hawaiʻi as Hurricane Nolo moves closer to the islands.

The storm is expected to bring heavy rain and a threat of serious flooding to Hawaiʻi Island and Maui, communities already dealing with repeated severe weather this year.

Direct Relief has shipped a third emergency stockpile of medicines and essential medical supplies to Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center. The shipment is part of the organization’s Hurricane Preparedness Program and is expected to arrive ahead of the storm.

The health center used much of an earlier stockpile while providing mobile medical care following Hurricane Lala.

Additional emergency medic packs and personal care items are also being sent to help healthcare teams support families who may be displaced by the storm.

Direct Relief has also provided solar lights and water purification supplies to Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaiʻi for use on Hawaiʻi Island and Maui. The equipment is intended to help communities prepare for possible power and water disruptions.

The latest shipments continue Direct Relief’s response to a series of storms that have affected Hawaiʻi this year.

Since the Kona low storms began in March, the Santa Barbara-based humanitarian organization has provided more than $820,000 in medical aid to communities across the islands.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The Santa Maria Planning Commission rejected a permit that would have allowed alcohol sales at the Regal Edwards RPX theater.

The commission voted 3-1, making the decision final.

Regal Entertainment Group has a few more days to appeal the city’s decision but the corporation has made no statement or announcement of intent to do so.

Across California, 55 other Regal theaters offer beer and wine in cans for customers to consume while watching movies.

The proposed permit would have allowed patrons to buy beer and wine at the concession stand in the Santa Maria mall’s theater lobby, making it the 56th location in the state to do so, but local officials chose not to approve the plan.

Plans concerning alcohol availability near the downtown district have traditionally faced intense local examination regarding their impact on family settings and youth-oriented activities in adjacent public areas.

Several youth advocates affiliated with Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley spoke against the proposal at the September 16th Planning Commission meeting.

“We at Fighting Back are big supporters of the Regal Theater,” says Gabi Delgado, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley’s coalition coordinator. “And our main concern wasn’t with the theater. It was with the potential threats that alcohol would bring to the community as a whole. So that is really where our students were concerned with. And they were the ones leading this whole initiative. It wasn’t the adults.”

City planning commissioner Tim Seifert noted that he originally viewed the permit as a potential benefit for the community before changing his perspective during the session and voting against the proposal.

With the permit denied, the theater will continue operating under its standard business model and will not be offering alcoholic beverages.

We reached out to Regal Entertainment Group’s corporate offices for comment but have not received a response.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –

Girls Tennis: Santa Barbara 11, San Marcos 7: The Dons dominated much of the doubles action with Kate Hashbarger/Lucy Kronberg going 3-0. Violet Marr/Kana Wolf went 2-1. In singles both Keren Monroy and Haily Wight won two of their three matches for the Dons.

San Marcos #1 player Tate Jaeger stayed perfect in Channel League play so far. She went 3-0 for the Royals and is 12-0 in four league matches.

Dos Pueblos 15, Channel Islands 3: The Chargers went 8-1 in singles and 7-2 in doubles.

Thirteen Chargers contributed to winning the doubles bracket. Addy, Taylor, Devon, and Nikita each paired with two different partners and got two wins a piece.

“I think the pairings in the doubles bracket really showed our versatility to play with success with a variety of partners,” said DP head coach Alan Richter. “Of course a big bow to our singles girls for their performance.”

Flag Football: Dos Pueblos 35, Rio Mesa 0: Ruby Streatfeild led the offense throwing 4 touchdown passes and rushing for a 42 yard touchdown as well. Streatfeild connected with Brooklyn Hedricks for 2 touchdowns.

Jane Gibson and Hazel Burgess also caught touchdown passes as DP moves to 15-2 on the year.

Defensively, CiCi Moccardini had an interception. Yaretzi Arredondo had a pass breakup and Makyla Watt added a sack.

Ventura 6, San Marcos 0: Scarlett Holian and Victoria Aldana each had an interception for the Royals but the visiting Cougars scored late in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

(Scarlett Holian had 9 catches for the Royals but they could not find the end zone. Entenza Design).

Santa Barbara 26, Buena 0: Elina Stump scored two touchdowns and had several sacks for the winning Dons.

Girls Volleyball: San Marcos 3, Buena 2: The Royals won a 5-set Channel League match at home.

(Aeryn Alexander (#9) and Harper Dees each had 15 kills for the Royals. Entenza Design).

(Anja Firestone rises at the net as the Royals won their first league game of the season. Entenza Design).

Dos Pueblos 3, Del Sol 0: The Chargers are 3-0 in the Pacific View League after sweeping the Jaguars 25-13, 25-17, 25-9.

The Chargers were especially effective from the service line, scoring on nearly 72% of their serves and using several long serving runs to keep control of the match.

Freshman Stella Valentine had three aces and put together several serving runs throughout the night. Allie Ben-Yaacov was a force from the service line, finishing with four aces.

At the net, Charlize Welch finished with seven kills, four aces and a solo block. Faith Harrison led the Chargers with six kills and two aces, while senior middle Maya Rider had a strong showing with five kills and a solo block.

Laguna Blanca 3, Villanova Prep 0: Lauren Kenny had 12 kill and 9 digs in the sweep for the Owls. Maritt Blabey added 11 kills and 8 digs for the 12-9 Owls.

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John Palminteri

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Facing a fierce winter weather forecast, a Carpinteria family is getting badly needed help with new housing from Habitat for Humanity for Southern Santa Barbara County.

The non-profit has a program to help those who own manufactured-type homes before 1976 that are in dangerously run down conditions.

Director of Philanthropy and External Affairs for Habitat for Humanity Susan Renehan said, “this is a brand new program for us which  is whole home replacement program for mobile homes.  The state of California understands that mobile homes are naturally affordable housing.”

One of the first changes will be in Carpinteria where the Gonzalez family has seven members under one leaking roof.

Barbara Gonzalez said, “the roof, two years ago, it fell and my brother, he does construction, and he fixed a part of the roof but he says  this is not going to last you guys.”

The new home comes at a critical time with harsh weather likely and safety, a risk.

Juan Gonzalez said, “we are a poor family  and we feeling good right now that we are getting a new home.” He thanked everyone who was able to put the program in place for their family.

The Habitat program was made available and they qualified. That also includes taking part in some of the moving parts that includes the move out and at times some of the improvements to finish off the new home.

The mobile home park where the current structure sits, is on Carpinteria Ave. and could be in a flooded area if the worst of the El Niño rains come all at once and during a higher tide from the ocean nearby.

Habitat says the new housing will meet current code standards and be elevated appropriately to be above any possible pooling rainwater.

Mike Davis is the Habitat for Humanity Construction Director. He said, “we are going to be placing the family safely in another location  while this is going on. This is going to take about six weeks. We will be pulling the home and doing site work as necessary to accept a new home.”

He said there would not be shared space for the kids sleeping and the living room space.

“To create a place for their kids to grow and for the family to thrive means the world to me,” he said.

Macy’s homes in Ventura County is assisting in the project with a specially built home that is simplified to make the collaboration work and provide the upgraded living for this family. It will also give them the room to add storage and other amenities that will work for their specific lifestyle.

Throughout Southern Santa Barbara County, Habitat says those in need can apply for assistance in home repairs and possible replacements where it can be worked out through financial assistance and the on going help of volunteers who take on these projects.

Renehan said, “if their looking around their home and saying I am not sure if  my home would qualify but it needs a lot of work  please keep in touch with us.”

Barbara Gonzalez said, the program is very possible for others. “If there is more family out there, like us they should apply and   don’t think twice. Just go for it .”

For more information go to: Habitat for Humanity.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A trip to Santa Rosa Island delivered more than an island view.

Warmer ocean conditions helped bring a colorful mix of marine life close to the surface during a recent Island Packers boat ride through the Channel Islands.

Passengers spotted a large sunfish glowing in the water along with pink jellyfish and flying fish darting near the boat.

Then came the biggest surprise.

Dozens of dolphins appeared alongside the vessel, racing through the waves and surrounding passengers on both sides.

The unexpected wildlife show gave those onboard a close-up look at the rich marine life surrounding the Channel Islands.

Island Packers crews regularly travel these waters and keep an eye out for wildlife along the way, but conditions can make every crossing different.

For passengers on this trip, the journey to Santa Rosa Island became part of the adventure itself.

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Joey Vergilis

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – If life gives you lemons… you don’t just make lemonade, you throw a massive 2-day festival! 

The 33rd annual Goleta Lemon Festival is taking over Girsh park this weekend – Saturday, September 26th and Sunday, September 26th from 10am to 6pm – and the best part is the festival is completely free to attend and they have free parking! 

Citrus roots run deep in Goleta, the Lemon Festival honors the area’s citrus heritage that dates back to about 1875, when Sherman Patterson Stow of Rancho La Patera planted California’s first known commercial lemon orchard in Goleta.

The Goleta Lemon Festival hosted by the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce is the city’s biggest community event of the year and is expected to welcome more than 40,000 people over two days.

Festival Chairman, Tony Vallejo, joined your Morning News to preview the upcoming weekend that only grows bigger with every upcoming year.

“We’ve never seen anything bigger. It’s the biggest interactive safety street in the south coast. We’ll have first responders from all branches. They’ll all be there with their equipment. Along with the first responders themselves, and they get a chance to meet with the kids, anybody really. I go and play with the equipment too, and they will let them handle some of the equipment, and they’ll be there all weekend, so it’s a lot of fun,” said Vallejo.

For many of the 40 non-profits involved, this weekend is a major fundraiser, so every lemonade you buy supports the local Rotary Club.

There’s an endless amount of lemon-inspired food to wash down that lemonade or craft Lemon Beer including lemon churros, lemon tamales, and lemon meringue pie. You can also find standard festival favorites like BBQ and corn dogs.

The highlight of the weekend very well could be the lemon pie-eating contests that happen Saturday and Sunday at noon with local elected officials, T.V. and radio personalities and local celebrities judging the the light-hearted competition.

“I guess if I had any advice I would say be prepared to get a little bit of pie up your nose because they go face down in those things. Can’t use your hands, so it’s just dig in. So it’s a lot of fun.” 

Music will run all weekend with rock, country, blues, funk, and more. Area 51 plays the UCLA Health Stage on Saturday, and Goodlanders play on Sunday.

For all you Classic Car lovers be sure to check out the 19th Annual Goleta Fall Classic Saturday from 9 to 3. Along with corvettes, camaros, and trucks, this year it adds European and Japanese imports for the first time.

There’s plenty of activities and stations for kid’s including the largest interactive Safety Street on the South Coast where kids can meet first responders and get hands-on with the equipment. The Kids zone Also, with an all-inclusive wristband Kids can enjoy the Kids Zone with bounce houses, rides, games, bubble fun, euro bungee, mini golf, and the rock wall.

Wristbands are $30 online before Thursday, September 24, or $40 at the festival.

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