Category: keyt-local-news

John Palminteri

MONTECITO, Calif. – It was timed to get in and out at the lowest tide of the day, and that’s how a beached vessel was removed from a Montecito Beach Friday.

It started at 4:30 a.m. with a crew from Marborg Industries and the non-profit Heal the Ocean, which funded the removal.

The owner was not able to deal with the wreckage. It was on the beach for more than a week.

The heavy equipment and a roll off to collect the vessel came in from Santa Barbara’s East Beach around a tight point under the cemetery and made it to the western end of Butterfly Beach.

The vessel was a 30-foot sailboat.

It was crushed and scooped up in just a few minutes.

After that, the team of workers went thorough the debris location to collect the splinters by hand to make sure the beach was cleared of hazards when the project was done.

They made it out as the tide was beginning to rise again.

Marborg and Heal the Ocean have responded several times to rid the beaches of crashed boats that are left unattended.

This insures they are not a risk to the public or the environment.

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Andie Lopez Bornet

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- A severed cable made it impossible to call 911 in Santa Barbara County and parts of San Luis obispo counties earlier this week.

Officials encouraged texting 911 as a workaround, and they want folks to know this is an option even when phone lines are working.

On Tuesday, emergency phone lines and air traffic control towers on the central coast were knocked offline when a fiber line was cut on De La Vina street in Santa Barbara

While lines were out of service, the option to text 911 was still available. an option some may not be aware of.

Officials say the service is essential for those in danger, or have other circumstances that make speaking difficult.

“A lot of community members that benefit from text to 911-if you’re hearing impaired or if you have a speech impairment that makes it difficult for you to communicate,” said Raquel Zick, Santa Barbara County spokeswoman. “If you’re in a situation where you can’t talk either because you don’t want to be heard because maybe you’re hiding, you can still communicate without being over heard.”

Your Newschannel went to the Santa Barbara county Sheriff’s Dispatch Center to see what the 911 text service looks like

“All of these outages affect services in different ways so this is just another opportunity for us to outline that when services are impacted in one way our communications dispatch center has many different ways that we can pivot to make sure we are available to answer calls for service,” said Zick.

“Call if you can, text if you can’t. So if you are unable to speak or talk text us, otherwise if you can call us, call us,” said Dispatch Supervisor, Ben Johnson.

Ben Johnson has been a dispatcher for 20 years.

He says including a precise location helps them work faster when receiving text messages, because text to 911 doesn’t automatically give a location the way a phone call does.

When texting 911, it’s best to stick to actual text and avoid other media like pictures and emojis.

After the recent outage it is a good reminder of the ongoing availability text to  911 option, made available in many different languages including Spanish.

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Christer Schmidt

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. – Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner will be temporarily suspending service north of the Goleta station due to the La Cañada Honda Bridge Replacement Project. 

The closure will allow Amtrak to work on the 127-year-old steel viaduct over Honda Creek in Santa Barbara County.

All rail from the Goleta train station through the San Luis Obispo station will be closed.

An alternative bus route will be made available during the closure. Bus connections will be available for southbound trains 774 and 794 from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara, and for northbound trains 761 and 779 from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo. The buses will follow Route 17 between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, with stops in UC Santa Barbara, Solvang, Buellton, Santa Maria, and Grover Beach.

In addition to these bus connections, Route 17 will operate on its normal schedule and route. 

The closures will last from August 1st to August 16th.

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John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City Fire Department put its newest and most sophisticated fire apparatus into service Friday. It is a truck with a ladder reach of 107 feet.

“This apparatus is capable of reaching the tallest building in the city, which is the Granada Theater,” said Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Chris Mailes.

The truck was ordered in 2022 in anticipation of future needs.

It has a cost of $1.67 million. If it were to be ordered today, the price would be $2.28 million.

The crew from the previous truck transitioned their equipment after a morning ceremony, which included pushing the truck into the station house (with engine assist). That is a tradition.

This vehicle will be able to handle fire calls for all mid-rise or high-rise buildings primarily in the city of Santa Barbara, but also on mutual aid to Montecito and Carpinteria which do not have a ladder truck. “Having an aerial ladder attached to an apparatus that can extend over even a smaller building. It is by far the safest for the crew to operate. So that ladder goes up quite often,” said Mailes.

There are four in the county with the next closest in Goleta. The other two are in Solvang and Santa Maria.

“This rig has to be really, really maneuverable up to the narrowest streets of Santa Barbara,” said Mailes. It also has to make its way into the State Street promenade or for example, behind the Granada Theatre.

Fire Captain Bob Kendall said many response functions will not change, but there is a learning curve with some of the new designs and technology. “They learn mostly the equipment and everything that’s on it when they go to their engineer task. They learn how to operate it and operate safely, effectively, quickly.”

The truck has battery powered equipment stored in the side compartments.

It has a “clean cab” that will be free of fumes that could lead to health problems.

The fire truck was build by Pierce Manufacturing in Wisconsin. A special team from the fire department went back in person to make the precise order for the needs of the Santa Barbara community.

From the order and manufacturing, the rig was delivered to a site in Ontario for final testing and then it came to Santa Barbara.

It will operate out of Station 1 on Carrillo Street.

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Jarrod Zinn

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly held the swearing-in ceremony for its new police chief this morning.

The new chief brings plenty of experience, and the previous one was promoted.

Last year, previous Cal Poly police chief George Hughes was promoted to vice president of public safety for both this campus and the one in Solano, and today he officially swore in his successor for SLO’s campus police chief.

Robert Plastino brings nearly three decades of experience in public safety with the Santa Barbara county sheriff’s office in various capacities.

“I was the chief deputy of law enforcement operations there,” says Cal Poly’s new police chief Robert Plastino. “So handled patrol from Carpinteria up to Santa Maria out to Cuyama and then all of our detectives in our detective bureaus.”

He also worked for public safety at Isla Vista, giving him a range of experience and knowledge of the central coast.

“The university is like a city,” says Chief Plastino. “I mean, it’s its own city. It’s got almost everything you can think of, you know, in the way of what a city might have. So it’s very similar. And I kind of look at it from that perspective.”

After Plastino was sworn in by Hughes, Plastino then swore in a total of six new officers which included a canine unit named Dex.

“Our previous K-9 Zeus retired about a week ago and Dex is coming in, bring in a fresh new perspective from the K-9,” says Cal Poly Public Safety’s executive director Anthony Knight.

Public safety officials for Cal Poly say this event was somewhat rare since new chiefs don’t come along often, but the old chief isn’t really leaving, either.

“I’m excited to be here,” says Chief Plastino. “I have got a great department to work with. I have a great boss that has stood in my shoes before, which is unusual. That’s not something that normally happens. Chiefs come in and they don’t get to work directly for the previous chief. So that’s a positive. That means that it’s going to be a seamless operation.”

Cal Poly public safety leaders are encouraged by the smoothness of this last year, and they look forward to working with the student body as much as the community to enhance student experience and maintain safe operations.

Chief Plastino says the middle of summer is an ideal time for him to get settled, before normal classes resume in about a month’s time.

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Tracy Lehr

CAMARILLO, Calif. — A member of the Class of 2025 remembers dancing along to her favorite artists as a kid.

Sarah Ysordia still requests their music today.

But she can’t hear the songs, and she can’t see herself in the studio mirror.

That didn’t stop her from minoring in dance at California State University Channel Islands.

CSU Channel Islands faculty and staff welcomed her into the dance program.

“I was scared. I wasn’t sure how the resources were going to accommodate me,” said Ysordia. “I asked Heather, ‘Can I be in this program?’ and she said, ‘Yes, of course.’ And that just kind of changed the whole world for me—especially accepting who you are.”

Heather Castillo is a performer, and the Program Chair and Associate Professor of Performing Arts at the university.

“Our motto is ‘Dance for everybody,’ because to dance is to be human. When someone tells me they can’t dance, that is not true.”

Castillo, an award-winning dancer who has performed in television specials for Disney, believes we all dance every day—when we walk and even when we talk without using our hands.

“When I met Sarah, I remember her shaking. She was shaking, and she said, ‘Would it be okay if I came and danced?’ And I said, ‘Of course.’ And in that conversation, I said, ‘You should be choreographing—you have so much to offer.’”

She beams with pride just watching her unique student.

“In the absence of sight and hearing, she moved so purely from feeling,” said Castillo.

The program has used fans and scarves to help center Sarah on stage.

“Sarah has also been a great gift in just teaching us what it means to move from feeling so purely inside—the gift to us,” said Castillo.

At her 2025 graduation ceremony, Sarah translated the “Star-Spangled Banner” in a tactile form of American Sign Language as a gift to her classmates.

“I am emotionally grabbing the emotion of the flag, and I am wrapping it around the shoulder. I am making the stripes with my arms and shooting the stars out of the air,” said Ysordia.

Sarah lost her hearing and then her vision at a young age due to Usher syndrome—but she didn’t lose her balance, which is sometimes affected by the inherited condition.

She hopes her perseverance inspires others.

“I would tell you there have been days and times I wanted to quit because of my disability, and it kind of gets in your way. But I had to remind myself to take it day by day.”

Sarah has performances lined up this summer, including one in Las Vegas. Then she plans to teach dance while pursuing a master’s degree.

“Remember—your dreams will come. It will happen one day. And it did. It really did.”

If she has her way, she’ll dance with Janet Jackson someday.

And when people applaud her performances, they also stomp their feet on the percussive dance floor on campus—so Sarah can feel their appreciation for her talent.

For more information about the CSU Channel Islands Dance program, visit csuci.edu.

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Mina Wahab

OXNARD, Calif. — Former NASA astronaut, José Hernández, energized hundreds of students eager to hear his life’s story on Wednesday at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. It’s part of Oxnard School District’s summer enrichment opportunities in STEM and literacy. “They can see someone that speaks like them, looks like them, and perhaps came from the same socioeconomic background that they’re coming from. And so it empowers them to say, ‘hey, if he did it, why can I?’” said Hernández. Hernández spoke in a mix of Spanish and English telling stories of his upbringing as a child of Mexican immigrant farm workers. “He achieved his goal and now I could achieve my goal when I grow up,” said 5th grader Isabella Rivera. “He definitely defied the odds and defied gravity. I mean, being up in space. So it was really cool,” said Special Education Paraeducator Daney Jacksper.

Hernández’ message of hope and perseverance comes during a politically tumultuous time, especially in Oxnard.  “The raids and everything with the whole ICE thing, a lot of kids have been staying home and not coming to school as much. A lot of families are staying home just in fear for their life and their safety,” said Jacksper. “The political world is a big Pendulum swings one way, then it swings those opportunities may not be here now, but they are going to be here other. And so what we’ve got to focus on ourselves, prepare ourselves for future opportunities,” said Hernández. A hit movie was made about Hernandez’s life, called “A Million Miles Away.” Hernández got his masters degree from UC Santa Barbara and now serves as a University of California regent.

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Ivania Montes

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – One of Santa Barbara’s most car-centric roads is getting a major transformation. The city is moving forward with a $27 million project to redesign a 3.1-mile stretch of Cliff Drive — making it safer and more accessible for pedestrians, bicyclists, and students.

The plan includes four new traffic signals, fourteen crosswalks, curb extensions, safety lighting, and a fully separated bike path.

This project aims to make the area safer for students and pedestrians, especially local schools around the area including Santa Barbara City College.

The city also plans to make changes near the Mesa strip mall, home to several businesses including Taco Bell. The area will be converted to a one-way with angled parking to improve traffic flow and create a more walkable space.

Cliff Drive was originally built as a highway by Caltrans and was only relinquished to the city after years of lobbying in the early 2000s. After over a decade of community engagement, planning meetings, and grant applications, the project is finally moving forward.

”It’s revolutionary because we are transforming this reall high speed road way into a local street,” says, Jessica Grant, Supervising Transportation Planner. “That really honors the safety for all road users whether you are driving, walking, or biking.”

The city has secured $27 million through California’s Active Transportation Program.

The project will go before the Santa Barbara City Council on July 29 for an environmental determination — a key step before moving into the final design and right-of-way phase.

If approved, construction could begin as early as 2026.

This project will close the final gap in the 30-mile Coastal Bike Route, connecting UC Santa Barbara to Ventura County.

For more information on the plans and timeline you can visit their official website.

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Michael Yu

Santa Barbara, Calif.- A southbound semi-truck caught fire late Wednesday evening on Highway 101 near the Bailard offramp south of Carpinteria and was successfully extinguished early Thursday morning with no injuries.

The semi-truck’s driver pulled over to the right shoulder of southbound Highway 101 when they noticed smoke coming from the vehicle and he was busy fighting the fire when first responders arrived on the scene at 11:52 p.m. shared the California Highway Patrol.

The fire was successfully extinguished without any injuries and two lanes were shut down as part of the overhaul of the scene until they reopened at 10:43 a.m. Thursday detailed the California Highway Patrol.

For the latest on road conditions across the state, visit Caltrans’ Quickmap.

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Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The city of Santa Maria will be issuing a record number of citations this year for the use of illegal fireworks on the 4th of July.

More than 100 citations for illegal fireworks are expected to be issued this year in Santa Maria, compared to 63 from last year and just over 20 the year before.

“The three years that I’ve been here, there’s been a prevalent use of illegal fireworks here within city limits,” says Brad Dandridge, Santa Maria’s fire chief. “Once again, this year was no exception.”

Officials say the spike in citations indicates better vigilance on the part of fire prevention efforts, not necessarily an increase in use of fireworks.

“Every year we’re increasing the numbers,” says Chief Dandridge. “It just means that we’re identifying more and more. Hopefully, there comes a time where the numbers reduce, which means that there aren’t as many illegal fireworks use within the city.”

Just a few days before the holiday, 100 pounds of illegal fireworks to be sold were confiscated and an arrest was made, a case currently in litigation.

Since 2022, the City of Santa Maria and its Fire Prevention personnel have partnered with a third party team whose aircraft are equipped with high resolution video and GPS technology.

“The company that we contract, they have the capability of using multiple aerial devices from drones to actual fixed wing airplanes,” says Chief Dandridge.

In order to avoid duplicate citations, fire prevention personnel are reviewing multiple angles of video footage from that night provided from sources both in the air and on the ground.

“We want to leave the aerial fireworks to the professionals,” says Chief Dandridge. “Although it may be fun, there’s hazards, not only safety but also a danger to our community. Luckily, this year we didn’t have any fires that were initiated by the illegal firework use. However, there were communities around this immediate area that weren’t as fortunate.”

Property owners deemed responsible for launching illegal fireworks will be issued a citation and fined $1,000 per violation.

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