Category: keyt-local-news

Dave Alley

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The News Channel 12 Turkey Drive kicks off on Monday, starting a four-week campaign to help support thousands of Central Coast families and community members in need.

The annual fundraiser is scheduled to run through Tuesday, Nov. 20 and will once again benefit clients with Good Samaritan Shelter and the SLO Food Bank.

“We are so excited to kick off another season,” said Kirsten Cahoon, Good Samaritan Shelter Homeless Services Director. “It’s our favorite time of the year around Good Samaritan to just really see our community and see how much our community supports us and the people that we serve every day.”

The Turkey Drive has been an important outreach campaign for News Channel 12 for more than 20 years and has helped provide a traditional holiday meal for thousands of families and individuals over the past two decades.

“Giving out turkeys is yes about nutrition, but mainly it’s about dignity and the ability for people to celebrate during a time when people have time loved traditions, that they want to participate in with their families,” said Savannah Colevans, SLO Food Bank Communications Senior Manager. “By donating a turkey, by donating money, that allows us to buy turkeys and you’re really helping people be able to participate, instead of having an empty table.”

Online contributions can be made now through Nov. 20 with donors able to select which non-profit organization they would like to support financially.

“We always encourage folks to donate online,” said. Colevans. “The SLO Food Bank has a lot of purchasing power through food rescue, through buying in bulk through, deals that we get through various connections, and so with your funds, we’re able to multiply them to buy multiple meals with each dollar provided.”

The fundraiser culminates with an all-day collection on Thursday, Nov. 20 with several in-person drop-off locations, including at the News Channel 3-12 Santa Maria station, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Lompoc and SLO Food Bank warehouse in San Luis Obispo.

“These donations are so important,” said Cahoon. “Every year the need just grows and the amount of people that are asking us for assistance grows, so we’re really excited to see the community come out like they always do. I am so incredibly grateful every year to see the community and so many familiar faces that have really made this their tradition with their families or their businesses. It’s really beautiful and really shows the season of giving for us. It just really makes me grateful to be part of this amazing community.”

Another way to contribute is through the purchase of a “Turkey Buck” at participating area markets, including California Fresh Market in San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach, and Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo.”

Turkey Bucks purchased in San Luis Obispo County will be directed to the SLO Food Bank, while those in Santa Barbara County will go to Good Samaritan Shelter.

For more information about the NewsChannel 12 Turkey Drive or to donate, click here.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – A temporary water intake line will be going through repairs for about four weeks in the coastal waters off Santa Barbara where it starts the flow into the Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant.

The Offshore Desal Pump Platform Stabilization Project is a vital link to two offshore intake pump structures.

The pump structures are located about half a mile offshore in approximately 35 feet of water just east of Stearns Wharf.

Pacific Maritime has a 270-foot-long barge named Ocean Protector loaded with necessary equipment and materials.  The barge will be to the East of Stearns Wharf for about a month.  That includes the rocks, the crane and the crew which will be on board 24 hours a day.    There are also divers.    It will be a 50-year strengthening plan.

The plant was constructed in 1991 as part of the original plan to add a new water source. After some use, the plant went quiet.

In 2016-2017 the plant was reactivated. City of Santa Barbara Director of Water Resources, Joshua Haggmark said desal is,  “behind the scenes, quietly providing about 30 percent of the city’s water so it’s playing a really important part of that.”

It was then discovered that one of the screen platforms were suspended about 18 inches above the sea floor, leaving space beneath the structure. They are not braced properly for the strongest storms. 

The project will implement a permanent repair in part using the large rocks around the pipeline at the precise location where sea water is brought in.

The Federal Government provided 75 percent of the project  cost of just over $5-million dollars, plus there’s financial help from a partner, the Montecito Water District. 

Now was the time to do the work, not during an emergency or a break.

Haggmark said, “and that could really compromise our ability to operate our plan and take a long time to coordinate and get out there  we have to do a lot to protect the environment when we are out there and it is  much better to do it in a planned situation.”   

From the facility on Yanonali Street the desal water is not blended with existing water. “it goes right into the system and pretty much anyone in the downtown area is primarily getting desal water right now,”   said Haggmark. The desal plant process had sophisticated filters used worldwide. Some minerals are added back into the water.

The actual screens at the intake were carefully designed and are regularly cleaned to make sure they are efficient and sea life is protected.

Haggmark said, “it’s a tight weave but it really keeps anything out from being pulled into the system.”

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Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Residents in Vandenberg Village are becoming increasingly concerned about the welfare of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard.

Now the FBI is involved, and the search radius has grown significantly.

We’ve learned Melodee’s father passed away when she was a baby, and posts on social media indicate her mother Ashlee is known to struggle with her mental health.

The young girl was reported missing on October 14th by administrators at Lompoc Unified School District, after observing an unusually long extended absence.

Law enforcement officers say Ashlee Buzzard, mother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard is being uncooperative with the investigation, and her family says she won’t even speak to them, despite their efforts to check on Melodee.

“Throughout the investigation and up to this point, Ashlee has not been cooperative with the investigation, has not been able to provide us a reasonable explanation or evidence of Melodee’s well-being or location for that matter,” says Raquel Zick, spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

In cooperation with the FBI, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has determined through investigation that Melodee was last seen in a rental car with her mother Ashlee on October 7th.

“We’ve been able to confirm a sighting as recent as October 7th, so we’re now looking from October 7th to when she was reported as missing to law enforcement on October 14th,” says Zick.

Detectives have determined that Ashlee may have driven Melodee in a white Chevrolet Malibu outside of Santa Barbara county, possibly as far away as the state of Nebraska.

The rented Chevy Malibu is no longer in Ashlee’s possession.

“That’s the thing,” says Kandice Valrie, who lives In Lompoc. “If she’s out of state, she has to be with, hopefully somebody that’s a family and there’s no known relatives for the mother. Other than her mother. And we don’t know where she’s at. I haven’t heard anything from her.”

Despite the community’s high level of interest, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s office is asking them to stand down from their own search efforts to allow investigators to do their jobs.

“Our job is not to interfere with the investigation,” says Valerie. “We’re just trying to find Melodee. We don’t want to cause any harm or mess up anything.”

The most recent known photograph is reported to be approximately two years old, and neighbors say her hair may be shorter and she may be thinner than in the photo.

If any members of the public have seen Melodee or if they have any information at all, they are encouraged to contact the sheriff’s criminal investigations division. 

Those wishing to remain anonymous can provide information through the tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online by clicking here.

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Tracy Lehr

MONTECITO, Calif. (KEYT) The Crane Country Day Fair took place on Sunday.

Crane School in Montecito has been hosting the event for decades.

It is a Fall favorite of families, especially those with young children.

It included face painting, a petting zoo and cupcake walk and more.

“All the families from crane come out also community members and friends all gather together and really celerate fall there’s games there’ delicious food and really it is just all about brining community together. With a big senses of fun it is kind of like a big old fashioned fair and everybody is out here to have a great time,” said parent and teacher Alexa Hughes.

After playing plenty of games kids and parents didn’t leave empty handed.

Volunteers stocked a Country Kitchen with homemade goods and treats that people to purchase.

They also had a chance to pick up Crane clothing and hats and more.

For more information visit https://craneschool.org

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The community-favorite ‘Boo at the Zoo’ is back!

It gives families a jump start on Halloween fun.

The Santa Barbara Zoo kicked off the event on Friday and it will be back next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

People are encouraged to come in costumes and perhaps get their faces painted.

Then they can trick-or-treat and participate in a fun story. 

“We’re encouraging our guests to help our Lt. Mariposa and Detective Rosa Cruz find Miss Micro Trash who has been polluting our habitats with her trash,” said the Santa Barbara Zoo’s Head Coordinator Belle Gillium.

By helping they can collect trading card to get an extra special prize.

For Boo at the Zoo ticket information visit http://sbzoo.org

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Mike Klan

Montecito, Calif. (KEYT). – The Oakland Soldiers marched into Santa Barbara announcing a new basketball team plus they unveiled plans for a spring event that will bring thousands of hoop fans to the area.

The Soldiers are adding a Santa Barbara squad to its growing franchises throughout California.

President and executive director of the Oakland Soldiers Mark Olivier was on hand for this groundbreaking announcement.

“For 35 years, the Oakland Soldiers AAU Program has been elevating basketball participation and development in communities throughout California. Basketball on the Central Coast has been underserved for many years now but we know the talent, resources and the local support is very much here,” said Olivier. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring the Soldiers Basketball program to Santa Barbara and the entire Central Coast and look forward to making further announcements of just how involved we plan to be in this community for many years to come.”

Established in 1990, the Soldiers organization has helped produce nearly 70 NBA players, such as LeBron James, Aaron Gordon, Chauncey Billups and Kendrick Perkins. The organization has also supported the development of hundreds of international professional players and Division 1 student-athletes, including a number of former UCSB men’s basketball players.

The new spotlight on Santa Barbara is one of the many reasons why Darnell Campbell — the director of the Central Coast Soldiers (and its local-circuit counterpart, Pro/spects), founder of LevelUp, and the newly minted boys basketball coach at Laguna Blanca School — is so excited for this overdue investment in the Central Coast community.

“(The Soldiers) resume speaks for itself with some of the alumni that they have played professionally and in college,” Campbell said. “This program has really changed lives for families and communities. Now, we will get the maximum exposure for our guys and girls through platforms like the Nike EYBL — now they can showcase themselves.”

The coaching backbone of the Central Coast Soldiers is in part why the area was chosen for the expansion, with Campbell (Laguna Blanca, LevelUp, Pro/spects), Cassandra Gordon (Santa Barbara High legend, star at Georgetown and Loyola Marymount universities, and European professional basketball player), Eric Lee (coach and co-owner of The Void on State Street and in Ventura) and Taylor Adnan (coach and CEO of Rad Sourcing, a U.S.-based boutique manufacturing firm) all providing both elite coaching, as well as support for players and families off the court.

For Gordon, she remembers well being that elite-level athlete trying to balance her aspirations of competing at the highest of levels with the grueling commitment it took to do so.

“Being a kid playing basketball, growing up Santa Barbara and the 805 in general, has always had talented athletes, but we’ve never had a platform like this, or like an EYBL-level club team here in the city that can give kids exposure in the competition that they deserve,” Gordon explained. “Especially if they have aspirations of playing at the next level, this is huge. (Before) if kids wanted to play at the next level or play on a circuit like this, they would have to travel outside of Santa Barbara to join a program.

​​”Firsthand, I know growing up, I had to travel to deep L.A., specifically Lynwood, three or four times a week. It took three to four hours to get down to practice, coming home at midnight, still trying to do my homework in the car on the way down, and waking up the next morning for early practices. This is amazing, what we’re doing now and putting together and just, you know, giving the kids a chance and an opportunity to play at this level, and not having to leave Santa Barbara.”

Darnell Campbell has used the past nearly decade to help countless number of youth athletes hone their skills through the LevelUp program he founded locally.

With that now comes a new, local-circuit venture in the Pro/spects, which was created to send teams to local and regional/non AAU competitions. These teams would be considered the “G League” to the Soldiers’ “NBA” status.

The team will begin practicing and playing this week, with future tournaments and opportunities for Central Coast players to participate in the near future.

‘Soldier Day’ will come to Santa Barbara on April 18, 2026, at UCSB’s Thunderdome. The event will bring every Soldier team in the organization — nearly 100 — to Santa Barbara, with each team featuring 8-10 athletes. The event will bring an estimated 6,000 people to the Central Coast from across California, including teams from as far as Sacramento.

(The Oakland Soldiers franchise contributed to this article).

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT).

NCAA Men’s Soccer:

UCSB 1, Cal Poly 0

NCAA Women’s Soccer:

UCSB 1, Long Beach State 1

Cal Poly 2, UC Irvine 1

NCAA Women’s Volleball:

UCSB 3, CS Fullerton 0; UCSB 3, UC Irvine 1

Cal Poly 3, UC Irvine 0; Cal Poly 3, CS Fullerton 0

NCAA Men’s Water Polo:

UC Irvine 10, UCSB 9

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Tracy Lehr

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KEYT) – Thousands of people attended “No Kings” protests up and down the Central Coast and around the nation on Saturday.

News Channel’s Kevin McClarty captured some of the march in Santa Barbara.

“There are so many things that have happened, so many videos of how people are being treated. We had ICE come here in Carpentaria, pick up people. There’s a lot of more concern,” one protester said.

Tensions in the small community of Carpinteria have been high since initial federal agent spottings and arrests earlier in the year.  

In July, federal agents stormed marijuana farms outside of Camarillo and in Carpinteria arresting hundreds of people, including 14 children, and the enforcement operation led to multiple injuries and one man, Jaime Garcia -a worker at the Camarillo location- died from head and neck trauma days after falling 30 feet during the raid.

“My uncle Jaime was just a hard-working, innocent farmer. He has his wife and daughter waiting for him. He was chased by ICE agents, and we were told he fell 30ft,” wrote his family in a GoFundMe post. “He was his family’s only provider. They took one of our family members. We need justice.”

The first ever “No Kings” rallies took place around the country in June protesting the Trump administration and immigration enforcement – but protesters say the threat is still prevalent, and only getting harsher.

Just this week, Leo Martinez – a volunteer with immigrant rights group VC Defensa – was hit multiple times by ICE agents driving an SUV while tracking federal agents in Oxnard.

Community members gathered in Alameda Park in Santa Barbara to join the demonstration – arriving in the thousands.

While many attendees shared they feel fearful for the future, they won’t let that feeling overpower their fight.

“They’re trying to keep us down and shut us up, but we’re not going to shut up and we’re not going to go home and hide in our homes,” a protester said.

The Trump administration has condemned these demonstrations, with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson referring to these weekend’s events as “Hate America” rallies.

“I think it’s very concerning when I hear that these are ‘Hate America’ protests because they’re not. They’re people that really love this country,” a protester said.

“I think we’re enjoying being American, actually. I think the First Amendment gives us the right to say what we want and to demonstrate,” said another protester.

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Alissa Orozco

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A motorcycle vs. pedestrian collision resulted in major and fatal injuries of two Santa Maria men Saturday night.

On Oct 18th, around 8:35pm, Santa Maria Police, Fire Department, and emergency medical responders were call out to the intersection of Broadway and Williams Street in Santa Maria where a traffic collision had occurred.

A 25-year-old male pedestrian and a 32-year-old male motorcyclist were found lying the intersection upon arrival – both with significant injuries.

According to the Santa Maria Police Department, the pedestrian was crossing eastbound in the north crosswalk of Williams Street when he was struck by the motorcyclist traveling northbound on Broadway. Initial impact caused the pedestrian to be thrown in the roadway and the motorcyclist to be ejected from his motorcycle.

Both were transported to Marian Regional Medical Center for treatment, where the pedestrian unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. The motorcyclist was left with serious injuries and is receiving treatment.

An investigation is in the works by the Santa Maria Police Department Traffic Unit, and preliminary findings indicate that alcohol may have been a factor in the collision.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has additional information is asked to contact Officer Medrano at (805) 928-3781 ext. 1139.

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Mike Klan

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -(KEYT).  It was a day for defenders in San Luis Obispo on Saturday, as Haruki Utsumi scored the only goal and the UC Santa Barbara Men’s Soccer team’s back line shut out Cal Poly to claim the Blue-Green Rivalry and three crucial points for the Gauchos with a 1-0 victory. With the result and September’s 0-0 draw at Harder Stadium, Santa Barbara wins the season series against their arch-rivals, 1-0 on aggregate, the sixth time in the last seven seasons that the Gauchos have claimed the Blue-Green Rivalry.

Santa Barbara’s three center backs — Utsumi, Drew Kamienski and Calle Mollerberg — were all tremendous on Saturday, Kamienski’s unflappable composure complementing the other two’s tenacity perfectly to anchor the defense. The wing backs — Eddie Villeda, Kaden Standish and Colby Renton — gave all of their energy to fulfill their duties both offensively and defensively, though both Ramses Martinez and Zac Siebenlist might have managed to cover even more ground as they spent the afternoon pressing and pestering the Mustang defense. And in goal, Luke Skinner’s performance was exactly what the Gauchos needed: confidence playing the ball in the air and a couple of huge close-range saves to preserve the clean sheet.

HOW IT HAPPENEDIt helped that Santa Barbara came out in the driver’s seat, enjoying the majority of possession and largely controlling the game in the first half. They had to weather one early Mustang storm, but basically as soon as the Gauchos had finished fending that off, they took the lead at the other end. Utsumi’s goal, like the first two of his career in Blue and Gold, came from a corner kick. The kick itself went short to Villeda, who took two touches to evade his defender and then fizzed a low cross into the penalty area. Utsumi was waiting at the near post and just had to redirect the ball into the far corner netting.

After taking the lead, Santa Barbara remained on top, and they looked like doubling their advantage in the 21st minute. Standish found Steinar Bjornsson with a cross, and the Icelander made the smart choice to head the ball back across goal, where both Siebenlist and Martinez were waiting. Siebenlist got a touch to the pass, not to control it for himself but just enough that it fell kindly for Martinez to volley toward the back post. It may have been going wide in the end, but the venomous shot drew a last-ditch block from the Mustang defense.

There were a couple more storms for the Gauchos to weather on the road to halftime, as the Santa Barbara defense did well to keep Cal Poly from getting a shot on target in a 34th-minute goal-mouth scramble, blocking two shots then watching a third sail harmlessly high. In the 42nd, Skinner had his first big moment as a diagonal ball split the Gaucho back line to give the Mustangs a one-on-one. The Englishman stood his ground well for a crucial and impressive save at close range. As the final seconds of the half ticked down, he made two good plays in the air to keep Cal Poly from delivering the ball to his back post, first punching away a cross, then making a clean catch to snare another pass out of the air.

The game’s script flipped on its head for the second half, with the Mustangs testing Skinner and the Santa Barbara defense far more after halftime than they had before it, as the hosts enjoyed the majority of the possession and control of the match in the second 45 minutes.

The Gauchos did create a couple of chances to score, with Villeda getting the best of their second-half looks in the 54th minute but just lacking power on his shot. A minute later, the Mustangs clanged a drive off the crossbar as Santa Barbara did just enough to repel their attacks. They dodged a bullet in the 73rd minute, when Skinner came off his line to punch away a cross, only for it to fall to a Mustang right on the edge of the penalty area. Thankfully, the shot went safely wide of the post.

Also thankfully, the Gauchos had started to get better at disrupting Cal Poly’s attacking flow by that time; the hosts still spent plenty of time on the ball, but Santa Barbara was able to rattle off a couple of counterattacks or long balls the other way to force the Mustangs to start their build-up from scratch.

In the crucial final 10 minutes, the time in which the Gauchos had conceded late equalizers in each of their last two matches, Santa Barbara’s defense made three key plays to secure the win. In the 81st minute, it was Kamienski stepping in at exactly the right time to intercept and clear away a pass intended for a Mustang just six yards from goal. In the 84th, Skinner again raced off his line to punch away a cross and earned a free kick in the process, allowing Santa Barbara to slow the game down. The 87th minute saw the Gauchos’ final and decisive defensive stand. Mollerberg headed away back-to-back deliveries aimed at the six-yard box, and when the Mustangs recycled the ball and got off a shot, Skinner made another tremendous close-range stop. Cal Poly got one more shot from the rebound, but striker Nicolas Willumsen was back to block it. That would be the Mustangs’ final attempt of the evening.

BY THE NUMBERSIn total, Skinner and the Santa Barbara defense faced 14 Cal Poly shots. Skinner saved two and the defense in front of him blocked an additional seven of them.The Gauchos’ committed and tenacious defending secured their seventh clean sheet of the season, matching their total from 2024; two more will see this year’s squad enter the program’s all-time top 10 for shutouts in a single campaign.Four of the five Gauchos who started the match in the back line finished it there, with Utsumi, Kamienski, Mollerberg and Villeda all going the full 90 in the match.With the win, Santa Barbara (at least temporarily) re-takes the lead in The Big West standings, with 12 points. Cal State Bakersfield (11 points) and Cal State Fullerton (10 points) face each other later Saturday night; a win for either would see them take top spot off the Gauchos.

UP NEXTSanta Barbara plays its final home matches of the regular season next week, hosting Sacramento State on Oct. 22 and UC Irvine for Senior Night on Oct. 25 at Harder Stadium. The Hornets and Anteaters played earlier Saturday, with UC Irvine winning, 3-0. Tickets for both of next week’s matches are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets, and UC Santa Barbara students get in for free.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)

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