Category: keyt-local-news

Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Even as the Santa Barbara County Fair continues on through the weekend, the Santa Maria Fairpark is already strategizing for the future.

Over the past few months, the Fairpark Board of Directors has started the process to create a new community-based partnership that will boost usage at the downtown facility.

“We’re trying to work more closely with both the (Santa Maria Valley) Chamber and the City,” said Todd Ventura, Santa Maria Fairpark Interim CEO. “We’re a major footprint in town here and the city needs more green space. The city needs more parks and recreation areas and all of those kinds of things as our our community continues to grow.”

Santa Maria Assistant City Manager Chuen Wu pointed out the two entities are just now in the preliminary stages of potentially having recreational opportunities and events held in the venue.

“It’s in the works,” said Wu. “We’re having those conversations with conversations about opportunities and possibilities. Certainly they have the space and a venue and so many times it’s finding the right programing that fits our community, that resonates with residents and visitors.”

As the Fairpark looks to add events and other ways to maximize its potential usage, Ventura emphasized what the facility means to the both Santa Maria and the surrounding area.

“It’s important for our entire community,” said Ventura. “It’s a gathering area. It’s an area of focus. I think the success of the Fairpark long term is important, especially as the North County continues to grow and outpace growth in South County.  Let’s face it, population base, tax base, all the other things are very much North County related, and so we need a place up here where people can come and they can congregate and they can gather that safe. It’s consistent, it’s clean, it’s readily available for everybody.”

Within the last few weeks, the Fairparks has held the first ever Santa Maria Comic Con and the annual West Coast Kustoms Cruisin’ Nationals car show.

The two events are exactly the type of gatherings the the Fairpark, City and Chamber are hoping to attract on a regular basis.

“Certainly the city is certainly having more conversations with the Fairpark about tourism, economic development, ways to leverage a partnership to bring more visitors to the Santa Maria area, and whether that’s through events or there’s some long term plans that we’re talking about that would ultimately help Santa Maria be a place for just more more things to do, more activities, so it’s we’re having more conversations for sure.”

As for the present time, the Santa Barbara County Fair continues through Sunday, July 12.

Gates open at 2 p.m. on Friday and noon on the weekend with the fair closing each night at 10 p.m.

For more information about the Santa Barbara County Fair, click here to visit the official website.

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Alissa Orozco

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – On Thursday night, the weather in Santa Barbara could only be described as picturesque. Sunny 70s and not a cloud in the sky – making it the perfect night for a concert at The Bowl. Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic seemed to think the same during their performance. Saying the views of the Santa Barbara coastline reminded them of home back in Australia.

The pop rock duo from Sydney, Australia sold out the Santa Barbara Bowl with their band, Royel Otis, and performed a roughly hour-long set that had the crowd both jumping and swaying.

But before that, the group made sure to do some sight-seeing at one of the city’s most popular destinations: Dargan’s Irish Pub & Restaurant. The musicians were spotted playing a couple rounds of pool, both with friends and some locals.

Decked out with custom backgrounds, the groups got fans moving with their known hits like “Oysters in the Pocket” and “Sofa King,” along with covers of “Linger” by The Cranberries and “Murder on the Dance Floor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Maria held a big event with lots of  helping hands for seniors.

The support ranged from health care to finance at the second annual Senior Expo.

Today’s attendance was even higher than the first expo last year.

The free event saw between five or six hundred people at the Joe White Memorial Gymnasium at Allan Hancock College.

For the second yearly expo, Community Partners In Caring worked with Allan Hancock College and Dignity Health to provide the event in the gym.

“Last year it happened to pour rain the day of our event, and it was in March,” says Midge Nicosia, Community Outreach and Special Initiatives Manager for the North Santa Barbara County Community Partners In Caring. “So we moved it to July with the help of Hancock and the availability of the gymnasium.”

Admission and parking were free for all attendees.

“We also have Care Connection in the parking lot roaming around to help people that are having a difficulty getting to the front door,” says Nicosia.

101 vendors represented everything from health care to financial planning to ways to support independent living for seniors.

Another category was “assistive technology.”

One example is an electrotherapy device that helps people cope with spine and joint challenges.

“I work for In-Home Support Services,” says Lupe Rosas, I.H.S.S. Social Services Supervisor. “I’m a supervisor overseeing the social workers that do go out to the field and assess our clients and approve them. And then I work closely with the Public Authority. They help hire the providers that can help the client stay safe in their homes.”

This initiative aims to centralize knowledge for those navigating senior care and disability resources.

In addition to plenty of booths, the expo presented a variety of free services and live entertainment.

“In December of this year I’ll be 90,” says Santa Maria resident Beverly Scofield. “And I’ve been accused of wanting to be the center of attention. But my heart is in making everybody laugh. I was here at the first one, and I enjoyed it enough to come back the second time.”

There were free services like haircuts.

We got to meet Finley the therapy dog.

Entertainment came in the from of a magic show courtesy of the Central Coast Conjurers, and serenading by the saxophone of Jose Rendon.

“I really feel that everybody here was here for one thing, to make our lives better,” says Scofield. “And I do appreciate it.”

Organizers are very pleased with the event and are already planning to do this again next year.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) –  Lights, camera, action! “Anything Goes” is coming to Santa Barbara City College this weekend! 

“Anything Goes” is one of the most beloved musicals of all time where a love-sick stowaway faces a host of obstacles on the race to romance. A crew of sailors, chorus girls, millionaires, a preacher in tap shoes and public enemy number 13 round out the cast.

The Morning News is joined by actors Austin Escamilla and Atalia Zahrndt who share all the excitement coming up!

Performances begin this weekend and will continue until July 25th at the Garvin Theatre Santa Barbara City College’s West Campus. Tickets are still available.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Santa Barbara Humane joins your Morning News with the most adorable Boxer puppies.

Blueberry and and Strawberry joined Mackenzie Lake at the desk and are eight-week old boxer mix puppies. Their siblings also include the sweet Lychee and Papaya, all just as cute and scrumptious. They arrived from Bakersfield Animal Care and are ready to find their fur-ever home.

Events to look forward to with Santa Barbara Humane is the car show on July 25th at their Santa Maria Campus and Downtown Friday nights in Santa Maria.

Visit Santa Barbara Humane for more dogs and cats looking for their home.

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Mike Klan

IRVINE, Calif. (KEYT) – UCSB pitcher Calvin Proskey dominated on the mound for the Santa Barbara Foresters but the bullpen could not hold a late lead in a 6-5 setback to the Orange County Riptide.

Proskey pitched five innings of 1-hit, shutout ball with 9 strikeouts and no walks.

The Foresters led 4-0 after six innings but the OC Riptide scored two runs in the seventh and four more runs in the eighth inning.

Santa Barbara scored a run in the top of the ninth but fall a run short as they lose for just the fifth time in 25 games this year.

Brady Janusek had two hits and drove in three runs for Santa Barbara.

The Foresters host the Conejo Oaks on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Santa Barbara High School.

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News Channel 3-12

Below is a press release from CalTrans regarding ramp closures throughout San Luis Obispo County that will begin Monday, July 13th.

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Travelers will encounter full overnight closures of several on and off-ramps in San Luis Obispo County beginning Monday, July 13. 

The closures will take place at different on and off-ramps along Highway 1 and US 101 from 7:30 pm to 7 am at these locations:

HWY 1:

South Bay Blvd. northbound and southbound off-ramps

Morro Bay Blvd. northbound and southbound off-ramps

Main St. northbound and southbound off-ramps

San Jacinto St. Intersection northbound and southbound off-ramps 

Yerba Buena St. Intersection northbound and southbound off-ramps

Old Creek Rd./Studio Dr. Intersection northbound and southbound off-ramps

13th St. northbound and southbound off-ramp

Cayucos Dr. northbound and southbound off-ramps

Highway 41 northbound and southbound off-ramps

HWY 101:

Prado Rd. northbound off-ramp

Madonna Rd. northbound off-ramp and southbound on and off-ramps

Crews will be removing existing ramp striping and replacing the delineation configurations.

Travelers are advised to take alternate on and off-ramps during the closures. Message and directional signs will alert travelers in advance of the ramp closures. The work is expected to be completed by August 7.

Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.

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Jarrod Zinn

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) – San Luis Obispo County’s well-known multipurpose Bob Jones Trail will soon literally connect the ‘City To The Sea,’ as its namesake suggests.

The trail currently exists in two separated segments.

On Tuesday, the SLO County Board Of Supervisors approved $10.5 million in state funding to Souza Engineering Contracting for the first phase of the Bob Jones Trail connector construction project.

“The state has a program of active transportation,” says Helene Finger, Friends Of The Bob Jones Trail President. “And we were one of the recipients of that funding. So it’s not local funding.”

After decades of planning halted by funding delays and routing concerns, construction is expected to finally begin next month.

“I recently moved some bookshelves in my office. And behind them were some maps from 1991,” says Dawn Ortiz-Legg, District 3 Supervisor for the county of SLO. “Big maps in the old style, where they’re trying to pin together a lot of the mapping of what the Bob Jones trail could look like. And it’s been remarkable that we were finally at this point.”

The trailhead is at the corner of Higuera Street and Prado Road, and currently halts at Los Osos Valley Road.

Officials say a separate project will eventually link that access point to the nearby Octagon Barn.

Courtesy: thebobjonestrail.com

“The trailhead here has been envisioned to be like a community meeting space,” says Finger. “So it can serve as a stopping point. Or it could be a starting point.”

The historic Octagon Barn will serve as the entry to the connector trailhead, adding 4 and a half miles of constructed multipurpose trail, ultimately linking visitors to the Ontario Road staging area, right around the corner from the recently completed park ’n’ ride on Avila Beach Drive.

“We came out here just to go see the beach because it had a great viewing,” says Luis Reyes, who lives in Bakersfield. “And also, the Bob Jones Trail great for just exercising, just seeing all the trees and forest area. It’s really nice.”

From Ontario Road, the famous trail leads to the Avila Beach access point, and is visited year-round by many cyclists, walkers, runners, and tourists.

While the work starts soon, and will take about a year and a half, timing for that last section is not yet determined.

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Patricia Martellotti

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Children from low-income families in Carpinteria now have access to free swim lessons through a new pilot program designed to improve water safety.

The Carpinteria Children’s Project has partnered with Rincon Swim School to provide free swim lessons for scholarship students, removing a financial barrier that can prevent children from learning an important life skill.

In a beach community like Carpinteria, organizers believe swim lessons are especially important because they help children build confidence in the water while learning essential safety skills.

The pilot program is currently serving scholarship students through the Carpinteria Children’s Project and marks the beginning of a new partnership focused on expanding access to swim education.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – There may be a career in fashion in the future for many young people in Santa Barbara that previously never considered it as a option.

The Restorative Justice Education Center with Faith Based Alliance and The Wakefield Believe Big Charitable Foundation are collaborating.

A $2,500.00 donation has been made to the Restorative Justice Education Center with Faith Based Alliance & Menchaca’s Embroidery Youth Project (NBCC). This program will help empower and educate our youth in fashion design, art, sowing, embroidery and entrepreneurship. It helps educate and empower our at risk and financially challenged community.

Pastor Jerry Menchaca with the New Beginning Community Church said, “What we are doing here  is adding layers to these children’s lives we are educating them.  We are empowering them and giving them the opportunity  to learn something that will stay with them for  a lifetime.”

The young people have expressed an interest in clothing design, repairs, material reuse and making larger dreams come true in the area of fashion, costumes and cutting edge designs for the future.

Sponsors of this project are, Grant House Sewing Machines, Menchaca’s Embroidery, New Beginning Community Church, Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, See International, the Santa Barbara Zoo, Espero Wines, Bethel Church, The Methodist Church, and the Salvation Army of Santa Barbara.

Thursday at La Casa de la Raza on the Santa Barbara Eastside, Wakefield presented the check for the program and said, “these young people they want to start sewing they want to start making clothes they believe if they learn how to sew they can start  businesses. They might even want to get into the  fashion industry.” He is using the new foundation for positive community programs, mainly for young people to set them on a successful life and employment path.

Former Santa Barbara City Councilman Grant House with Grant House Sewing Machines has Grant House been buying machines the kids can easily learn on. He said, “this is a skill they can use for the rest of their lives. It also makes it so they have a chance to be with their community other kids.”   

He has seen programs like this have success on many levels when he was on the City Council.   “They themselves have a sense of they can do this and that will transfer into the future.  It really makes a difference.”

One of the kids ready to start sewing sees his grandmother sew at home. Gabriel Lazcano said, “she is a seemstress, she makes and fixes clothes   dresses and everything you can think of. ” He said he wanted to help her.

Also on site is a collaborative art program with a large mural kids can work on together. Combined with sewing it gives them ways to express their creativity going forward.

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