Category: keyt-local-news

Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – There’s a new documentary that chronicles life after the 2023 Lahaina fires.

It follows residents and leaders as they rebuild their communities.

The screening will include a panel with Direct Relief and local experts.

The film shines a light on the strength, culture, and community coming back to life after the fires.

The screening is this Friday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m., at the Lobero Theatre.

For more information, visit: https://www.lobero.org/events/lahaina/.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – For decades, visitors have walked through a Santa Barbara museum to experience history up close. Now, the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is entering a new chapter—one that’s prompting reflection across the community as it prepares to leave its longtime home.

Inside the museum, moments that shaped the world feel almost within reach. From fragments of the Declaration of Independence to relics tied to Apollo missions, the collection offers a rare, intimate look at history—often just inches away from visitors.

“It’s the world’s largest privately owned significant manuscript collection,” said Director Norman Cohan.

For more than 40 years, the museum has welcomed the public free of charge, drawing visitors from across the country. Many describe the experience as both powerful and inspiring.

“I come from Fairfax, Virginia and this is just incredible to see all these historic pieces here,” said visitor Laurie Sullivan.

But that experience is about to change.

The Santa Barbara location will close its physical doors on April 5, as thousands of manuscripts are relocated to Florida. Some materials will also be digitized, allowing broader global access.

Local leaders say the loss will be felt.

“Artifacts from ancient Egypt… just a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t see anywhere else, and it makes me sad that they’re moving,” said Santa Barbara City Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez.

As the final days approach, visitors are being encouraged to take one last look before the transition.

“I hope people will come out and learn from the artifacts while they still can,” Gutierrez added.

While the building may soon go quiet, museum leaders say its mission will continue—reaching new audiences beyond Santa Barbara.

“Perhaps this can further the cause of enlightening humanity,” Cohan said.

The museum’s physical chapter in Santa Barbara is ending—but its history, and its impact, are far from over.

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Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Lompoc city councilman Steve Bridge, who’s accused of fraud, appeared for the fourth day of his preliminary hearing this morning.

Some of the most damaging testimony against the Lompoc councilman came from a private investigator.

Detective Ronald Murillo testified Steve Bridge claimed he “ginned up the invoices,” that he was the “guilty party,” telling the investigator his actions were “a little shady.”

A city utilities employee testified about how the city rebate program at the center of the case works.

Bridge is accused of defrauding the program.

The employee says a water leak rebate application at a house owned by Bridge was flagged due to an incorrect address.

That led to the discovery of additional oddities on other invoices and eventually to the fraud charges.

The hearing is scheduled to resume in three weeks.

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John Palminteri

ISLA VISTA, Calif. (KEYT) – With the potential of an unpermitted event called Deltopia, Isla Vista beaches will be closed from 8:00 a.m. Friday, April 3rd through Monday, April 6th at 8:00 a.m.

The beaches have been a source of health, safety and environmental concerns in the past when large events take place.

A social-media driven event known as “Floatopia” took place in 2009 at a time when the resources were not in place and the crowd size was overwhelming.

The county says, “the beaches at Isla Vista were left strewn with trash and debris, including human waste.”

The Deltopia event got its name when those gathering for a similar Spring Break weekend brought it up to Del Playa Drive, overlooking the ocean in subsequent years. It was not sanctioned and resulted in numerous medical calls for service, broke balconies and two deaths were listed as being connected to the activity.

This year the only permitted event is the Soltopia festival on April 4th, hosted by the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) in collaboration with UC Santa Barbara’s Associated Students Board. This event is at the top of the “loop” and free using park land and nearby areas. There are no beach activities.

There will be free admission, musical events, other art, food vendors and security. It is a public event and organizers have encouraged community members and families to attend. It was presented earlier this year to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

This event also encourages people to eat and shop in the Isla Vista community where the year-round economy struggles during school breaks. The community has about 20,000 students who attend UC Santa Barbara or Santa Barbara City College.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department through the Isla Vista Foot Patrol will enforce the beach closure and an ordinance banning amplified music.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. (KEYT) – Recreational vehicle owners may be able to spend the night closer to the beach soon in the City of Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara Harbor Commission is looking at new revenue options and RVs could be allowed in an area where they are currently off-limits for now.

The preferred site under review is the Palm Park to the east of Stearns Wharf. It is the same lot where the Skater’s Point skate park is located.

Restriping would take place and there would be room for an estimated 26 RV spaces.

In a presentation to the commission the process involved several steps including a change to the municipal code by the Santa Barbara City Council and a Coastal Development Permit from the California Coastal Commission.

Revenue from the lot area now is estimated at $348,000 a year and the plan would have to be developed with fees that exceed the current mark.

This idea came out of a request citywide for all departments to present new funding solutions at a time when overall, the budget is struggling.

The Waterfront budget is an enterprise fund and operates independently from the larger city General Fund.

Issues at the waterfront alone include new costs for dredging going forward, insurance increases for Stearns Wharf and a gap in leases including at the former Anchor Rose site which is empty.

RV parking fees in the future would be an annual source of income and a new revenue stream.

The Palm lot has 127 spaces in the eastern half right now.

In the area, RV parking is popular along the Rincon and Emma Wood State beach in Ventura County.

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

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Alissa Orozco

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – On Thursday, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) was granted a 20-year license renewal to continue operations at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant near Avila Beach.

The renewal was announced by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission during a virtual ceremony, officially determining Diablo Canyon as “safe and environmentally sound to operate for another 20 years.”

The plant was initially set to retire in 2025, but as the state’s largest source of clean energy, state officials directed Diablo Canyon to remain open to help reach California’s climate goals.

According to PG&E, the power plant helps meet nearly 20 percent of the California’s clean energy, providing energy to roughly 10 percent of the state’s population, or four million Californians.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A Santa Barbara nonprofit is turning soup into a lifeline for some of the community’s most vulnerable residents.

Organic Soup Kitchen is hosting its “Spring Souper Bloom” fundraiser at its distribution center.

The event brings the community together to support a mission rooted in nutrition and care.

For 17 years, the organization has provided medically tailored meals to those in need.

That includes low-income seniors and people battling cancer or chronic illness.

Now, the goal is to keep that critical support going strong.

Guests will enjoy an evening of seasonal soups and community connection.

Funds raised help deliver meals designed to support healing and overall health.

Organizers say demand is growing, but there’s encouraging progress.

“We’ve actually been able to lift our waiting list, which is huge for us, because it means more people are getting the care they need right now,” said marketing director Natasha Nazerian of the Organic Soup Kitchen.

The Spring Souper Bloom event is on Thursday, April 2 at 4:00 p.m., at the Organic Soup Kitchen in Santa Barbara.

For more information, visit: https://organicsoupkitchen.org/.

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Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Ashlee Buzzard appeared briefly in a Lompoc court room Wednesday morning as Judge Stephen Dunkle set the dates for two upcoming hearings.

April 22nd at 1:30pm is for a motion filed by Buzzard’s public defender Erica Sutherland last Friday to compel forensic discovery.

May 6th at 1:30pm is a hearing on Sutherland’s other motion to quash and traverse a search warrant.

The preliminary hearing remains unscheduled.

A resident of Vandenberg Village, Buzzard is accused of murdering her 9-year-old daughter Melodee on a road trip and leaving her body on a Utah roadside last year.

The upcoming hearings will be open to the public.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The new ADA ramp is now complete at Old Mission Santa Barbara after months of work.

It is on the front-right side of the landmark building in Santa Barbara.

The fundraising goal of $1.1 million was met and support came in from the parish and community at large.

This ramp is a natural extension of the original architecture. Stones from the same quarry as the church’s iconic façade were used in the project.

The ramp is open in time for Easter Services this weekend.

A special dedication will take place April 12 at 4:30 p.m. with an official blessing, ribbon cutting and reception.

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Jarrod Zinn

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – San Luis Obispo Regional Airport is starting off its Earth Month sustainability events with a parking lot clothing drive.

The donations are going to the Lumina Thrift Store, simultaneously reducing landfill waste and supporting victims of domestic violence.

On April 8th, airport workers will be participating in a runway cleanup event, enhancing airfield safety through environmental stewardship.

A decarbonization showcase and solar ribbon cutting is slated for the morning of April 22nd, celebrating major milestones for the airports’ sustainability efforts.

Smaller events and efforts take place throughout the month between the ones highlighted here.

“Our theme for this month is from Plan to Practice,” says Joe Goble, public information officer at San Luis Obispo Regional Airport. “So kind of seeing how our passengers and people in our community can get involved with the sustainability measures that we do here every day. donations like this, anyone can get involved. Whether you’re a passenger, whether you’re just a community member or a stakeholder of any kind.”

More information about the airport’s Earth Month events can be found by clicking here.

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