OXNARD, Calif. (KEYT) – St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard went on lockdown after a bomb threat Friday night.
The lockdown initially began around 6:30 p.m. and ended around 9:00 p.m. when Oxnard Police couldn’t find any explosive devices.
No arrests were made and no injuries came from the false threat, according to St. John’s Medical Center.
Click here to follow the original article.LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Lompoc named Kevin Shay its new Fire Chief after serving as Interim Fire Chief since March 26th this year.
In those four months, Shay helped lead the LFD during organizational change while remaining focused on long-term improvements and reliable emergency response, according to the City of Lompoc.
Lompoc City Manager Dean Albro mentioned his excitement at the new appointment:
After careful consideration of all applicants, Kevin Shay was selected for the position. His extensive firefighting experience and years of service to the Lompoc community demonstrate both his commitment to public service and professionalism. Chief Shay’s dedicated leadership will benefit both our community and the Lompoc Fire Department. I look forward to working with Chief Kevin Shay in his new role as Lompoc Fire Department’s fire chief.
Dean Albro, Lompoc City Manager
Shay brings 20 years of experience in fire service, 18 of which he has spent in Lompoc through operational, training, EMS and administrative leadership roles, according to the City of Lompoc.
Alongside his work with the LFD, Shay also helps train future firefighters as a faculty member at Allan Hancock College, according to the City of Lompoc.
Shay mentioned his own gratitude, humility and responsibility in taking on the role of Fire Chief for the City:
“It is an incredible honor to serve as fire chief. This department has given me opportunities throughout my career that I will always be grateful for. I am humbled by the confidence the city has placed in me, and I look forward to continuing to serve alongside the men and women of this department. Our responsibility is to provide dependable service every day, regardless of the challenges we face,” Shay said. “That starts with taking care of our people, making informed decisions and keeping community needs at the center of what the department does. We have a great department, and I am excited about what we will accomplish for both our department and the city of Lompoc.”
Kevin Shay, Lompoc Fire Chief
Shay’s first official day in his new role is Saturday, August 8.
Click here to follow the original article.SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – In Santa Maria, the elected city leaders have given themselves a raise.
It was a close vote: 3 – 2 in favor.
One of the no votes, Richard Batalla, is officially launching his campaign for the city council seat he was appointed to fill.
But he was on the losing end of the vote that will give Santa Maria’s elected leaders a 20 percent raise.
Mayor Alice Patino joined council members Gloria Flores and Maribel Aguilera to vote in favor of a $341 per month raise.
Starting next year the mayor will make about 2300 a month, council members 2050 a month.
“City Council actually does not get paid a salary,” says Maribel Aguilera, District 4 Santa Maria City Council. “We get a stipend to serve our community and it is truly public service.”
Patino and Flores think the city can afford it despite its budget deficit.
“I’m the one that proposed this,” said Councilmember Gloria Flores from the dais on Tuesday. “And—but it comes along with city council. So I believe that we need to pass this as council and take care of our city council and our mayors that come on board.”
Aguilera says it won’t benefit her but subsequent council members, as her term ends in November and she is running for county supervisor.
“It’s important for the next person who is coming behind me to be able to get a little bit of a benefit,” says Aguilera. “Like I said, this is not a raise. It’s just an incremental increase, and it is for posterity purposes.”
Council member Gloria Soto expressed opposition to the timing of the increase in light of the city’s budget woes.
“At the moment, as we’re having these conversations with employee groups where we’re asking them to understand the state of our city budget, I just in good faith, cannot support this,” said Soto from the dais.
Richard Batalla was appointed to fill the District 1 seat after Carlos Escobedo vacated, and he voted no at Tuesday’s meeting.
“I think we should have waited, maybe in December, bring it up to the drawing board,” says Batalla.
Batalla must campaign to remain in the seat until the current term ends in 2028, and he strongly emphasizes he isn’t serving for money.
“All my intentions for this position is to be transparent with the community,” Batalla says. “I’d rather have that money go through something that’s actually going to benefit somebody in the long run, like our youth.”
Batalla’s campaign which kicked off at Oakley Park pits him against two other opponents.
Whoever wins that race will get more money come January.
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Click here to follow the original article.SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Hundreds of incoming freshman across the Santa Maria Valley are getting ready to enter high school next week when the new academic year begins.
On Thursday, Aug. 13, the 2026-27 school year begins in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD) at its four campuses, Santa Maria High School, Righetti High School, Pioneer Valley High School and Delta High School.
In preparation for the new year, some of the schools are holding orientation events for incoming freshman to better prepare them for the transition to their new school.
On Friday, Pioneer Valley is welcoming more than 800 9th graders to campus for the school’s annual “Link Crew Freshmen Orientation.”
During the event, upperclassmen will help guide freshmen class through a series of team building activities.
A key element of the event is each group of students is given a tour of the sprawling Pioneer Valley campus, which is home to nearly 3,400 students, making it the largest school on the Central Coast.
Link Crew is a year-long class that is designed to help provide a smooth and positive transition onto campus for freshmen and new students, as well as build and foster school spirit and culture.
The orientation allows freshmen to help create new friendships and connections, not only with other incoming new students, but also their Link Crew leaders as well.
In addition to taking part in the activities, students also will pick up their class schedule for the upcoming school year.
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Click here to follow the original article.CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The play yards at Carpinteria Children’s Project are getting a new purpose.
The spaces are being rebuilt into outdoor classrooms, giving children more ways to learn through nature and play.
“We wanted to encourage the kids and the staff to spend more time outside. We have been doing a lot of professional development to teach our staff the importance of learning while being outdoors,” said executive director Teresa Alvarez of the Carpinteria Children’s Project.
The new spaces will take lessons beyond the traditional classroom.
Children will be able to explore, create and learn through hands-on activities built into the outdoor environment.
“We also want a space that feels comfortable and beautiful and is full of nature experiences for the kids that come to school here,” said Alvarez.
The project is designed around the way young children learn through movement, curiosity and interaction.
“Really fostering that creativity in the natural way that really develops their imagination,” said director of early learning Guadalupe Perez of the Carpinteria Children’s Project.
“Research shows that kids do a lot better when they’re out in nature, exploring, and playing and moving their bodies in different ways than they would inside of the classroom. For several years, it’s been a dream and now we’re super excited that it’s coming true,” said Alvarez.
Construction is expected to be finished by the end of the year, turning what was once a traditional play yard into a new part of the school day.
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Click here to follow the original article.SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Carmelinda and David Valencia’s love story lasted nearly four decades, but the history that connected them stretches back hundreds of years.
The couple first met as students at Bishop Diego High School. After graduating, they went their separate ways, never expecting their paths would cross again.
Years later, a chance encounter at the post office changed everything.
“Then one day, I was in the post office and he was waiting on me, and we sort of just connected right there,” Carmelinda Valencia recalled.
As they spent more time together, conversations about their families uncovered something unexpected… a shared connection to Santa Barbara’s earliest history.
“As we started seeing each other more, we started talking about our families and the history of them, and it seemed to fascinate us both with each other’s history,” Carmelinda Valencia said.
David’s family traces its ancestry to the Barbareño Chumash, while Carmelinda’s family descends from some of the region’s earliest Spanish settlers.
“He goes back centuries and centuries,” Carmelinda said. “His grandmother, Mary, was very involved in helping to preserve the Barbareño Chumash culture, where my husband was a part of that culture.”
Through the work of David’s grandmother, Mary Yee, and later his aunt, Ernestine Ygnacio De Soto, the Barbareño Chumash language, traditions and history were preserved for future generations.
Carmelinda’s family history is equally intertwined with Santa Barbara’s beginnings.
“Captain Jose Francisco Ortega helped establish the Presidio in Santa Barbara. He was my grandmother’s ancestor. My grandfather was related to Corporal Jose Ignacio Rodriguez, who served during that same time,” she said.
Together, their family histories tell the story of Santa Barbara’s earliest communities, dating back to the establishment of the Presidio in the late 1700s.
“My grandmother was related to Ortega, and my grandfather was related to Corporal Rodriguez. Later, our families came together. So yes, we go back that far to the 1700s, when the Presidio was established in Santa Barbara.”
Today, the influence of both families can still be found throughout Santa Barbara, from historic landmarks and street names to cultural traditions that continue to shape the community.
“Celebrating any culture or history is positive because you’re trying to keep that history alive,” Carmelinda said. “I think it all has value because it’s a way of carrying forward the legacy of all that history that occurred and that we need to remember.”
David died in November 2025, but Carmelinda says his presence remains with her every day.
“I feel like he’s with me all the time. When I’m home, he’s everywhere. He’s in every room, every bookshelf he built, every room that he painted,” she said.
Reflecting on their 37-year marriage, Carmelinda says the secret was simple.
“My husband always used to say we’ve been married 37 years, and it felt like yesterday. We just enjoyed each other’s company. If we had differences, we worked through them. It was good.”
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Click here to follow the original article.SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – For the 103rd year, hundreds of horses, floats, clubs, organizations, and carriages all honoring Santa Barbarian culture and history will make its way down Cabrillo Blvd for the annual Desfile Histórico.
News Channel’s very own John Palminteri will lead the parade as this year’s Grand Marshal!
The parade will kick off at 12:00pm, and you can watch it LIVE below or on the KEYT Youtube Channel.
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Click here to follow the original article.SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The bells rang out at the Santa Barbara Old Mission Thursday morning to signal the congregation to come in for La Misa del Presidente.
It was a special mass for El Presidente Colin Hayward who heads up Old Spanish Days 2026.
Hayward and his wife Monica led a processional into the church and took his seat in the front row for the mass that filled every pew.
Many of those attending were in their Fiesta attire for a mass that goes very deep for them during the annual event that dates back to 1924.
A special reception took place after the mass with El Presidente, the Old Spanish Days members, the spirits and those attending.
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Click here to follow the original article.PASO ROBLES, Calif. (KEYT) – The California Mid-State Fair (CMSF) has reported its 80th anniversary was a rousing success, showing an impressive jump from the past year in both the amount of people who attended the fair and grandstand entertainment.
According to the CMSF, 433,208 fairgoers attended the 12-day event, which ran from July 15 through July 26.
This year’s attendance marked a 12% increase from last year’s amount, which drew 366,216 guests.
In addition, CMSF said grandstand entertainment drew 90,527 concertgoers, marking a 9% increase from 2025.
The amount does not include the sold out performance of Chris Stapleton, who appeared during a special pre-fair show on Tuesday, July 14, the night before the fair officially opened.
Stapleton drew more than 14,000 spectators to the Chumash Arena, pushing the overall total this year for grandstand entertainment to 105,011, a 26.5% increase over last year.
Musical acts this year who performed in the Chumash Arena was Old Dominion, Ice Cube with Warren G, Lainey Wilson Eric Church, Megadeth, Howard Jones with Wang Chung, Willie Nelson, Treaty Oak Revival and Three Dog Night.
Other metrics included a 3% increase in food and beverage concessions, which the CSMF indicated may be due in part to the success of the new Happy Hour promotion, a pilot program that included every food and beverage vendor offering a $5 menu item at the start of each day.
The Junior Livestock Auction enjoyed immense success, generating a record-breaking $4.02 million in sales.
Nearly half that amount, $2.4 million went towards Market Steers, Hogs, Lambs and Goats, while $1.1 million was raised for 117 Replacement Heifers.
The Industrial Arts Auction brought in $203,150 for 59 projects.
The CMSF said majority of sales generated by the live auctions go directly back to local students with a small portion going back to the Fair to help fund operations.
While most fair numbers were up from 2025, the carnival did report a small dip.
The Helm & Sons Carnival generated $1,621,93, a slight decrease of 4% from last year.
However, fair officials said the “free carnival rides on Opening Day” promotion continued to be very well attended, and Carnival Wristbands hit an all-time high with 15,036 wristbands sold by local non-profits.
“This year’s Fair had a special kind of magic,” said Colleen Bojorquez, CMSF Chief Executive Officer. “Between celebrating our 80th anniversary and an ‘80s theme, an incredible entertainment lineup and a community that showed up in a big way, it felt like people were excited to be here. That’s what the California Mid-State Fair is all about – holding on to the traditions that define the Fair while continuing to add fun new twists year after year. We have to thank everyone who made it happen – our Board of Directors, the Heritage Foundation, our staff, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, exhibitors, auction buyers, competitors, entertainers and most of all our attendees. I have to say it was a blast.”
While the 2026 CMSF is now completed, officials said planning is already underway for the 2027 California Mid-State Fair, which is scheduled for July 14-25, 2027.
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Click here to follow the original article.SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Fiesta Pequeña took over the Old Mission Santa Barbara Wednesday night.
“I love to see everyone that’s still dancing. I used to dance with them when I was a kid but it’s amazing to see them as adults still up there,” said Anna McNeil, a former Pequeña dancer who was watching the show with family and friends from the Mission lawn.
McNeil said she danced flamenco, tango, salsa and samba at Pequeña for over 10 years.
Spectators told Your News Channel they arrived as early as 6:00 a.m. to secure spots for the show.
Spirit of Fiesta Jenna Ramriez opened the show this year followed by Junior Spirit Penny Hernandez.
This marks the 103rd Old Spanish Days.
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