Category: keyt-local-news

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – The sweeping coastal bluff known as “More Mesa” has a large section of just over 200 acres that is privately owned and could be developed in the future.

The More Mesa Preservation Coalition (MMPC ) is working to raise money to preserve the area. Some of the area is an environmentally sensitive habitat.

The group says there is increasing pressure to possibly rezone the area or open up space for housing, especially with new state demands.

They say protection, including those under the Coastal Act, could be weakened. A large section is currently for sale for $65 million.

The MMPC wants the area preserved for hikers, walkers, bikers, equestrians and many others who enjoy this open space.

Recently they held a concert at the Lobero Theatre with the Doublewide Kings. About 650 people attended in a sold out show.

A short film about More Mesa was shown and an introduction helped the participants learn about what the status is and the uniqueness of the area.

For more information go to: More Mesa

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Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Some of the top high school basketball players in the country took the court at the Thunderdome for the Oakland Soldiers AAU Showcase.

Highlighting the afternoon was the jersey retirement of NBA top prospect AJ Dybantsa. The former Soldier starred at BYU as a freshman this past season.

Last October the club expanded and opened up a Central Coast Soldiers branch led by coach Darnell Campbell.

(AJ Dybantsa (second on the left) shared his journey with the youth players during a Q&A session. Entenza Design).

He also judged a slam dunk contest won by professional dunker Chris Staples over high school player Brevynn Montana. Staples jumped over Dybantsa for his winning slam that received a perfect 10 score across the board.

In the three-point contest final high school player Trevor Dickson edged UCSB senior guard Aidan Mahaney 9-8.

Dybantsa signed some autographs for the young players and fans on his way out of the Thunderdome.

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Michael Yu

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – Firefighter crews are on the scene of a crash involving two semi trucks on highway 166 east of Pine Canyon.

Authorities say the collision happened at 9:50 pm Monday night and involved an offset head-on crash between the big rigs.

Two people were evaluated at the scene for minor injuries, but neither was taken to the hospital.

Highway 166 is currently closed in both directions as crews work to clear the trucks and contain a small fuel leak.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and no other injuries have been reported.

Drivers are urged to avoid the area and use alternate routes.

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Tracy Lehr

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) Stanley Issac Clothier was born April 8, 1921 in Montana.

On Sunday, his family, friends and elected leaders celebrated his birthday with a cake and more.

In 1942, he joined the Navy where he studied radar and joined the “Special Task Group 1” that developed remote control drones attached to bomber planes.

With the help of the GI Bill he studied electrical engineering at the Univ. of Minnesota where he met and married Lucille Hanson.

While raising a family he started several companies including Stan Clothier Co., Clothier Herold Company and DataLink.

Decades ago, they started splitting their time between Santa Barbara and LaQuinta.

Since his wife died in 2011, he has taken comfort in the company of friends and family including grandchildren.

In addition to travel he loves to golf and has even had a hole in one.

On April 8th Clothier turned 105 and marked the occasion at a party with his Shadow Hills friends.

Clothier is an example of the American Dream.

With a twinkle still in his eye, he credits breathing and good parents for his longevity.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Senior Day was perfect for the San Marcos Royals.

The Royals swept rival Dos Pueblos 5-0 to complete a perfect 12-0 Channel League season.

Before the matches 16 San Marcos seniors were honored.

The Royals #1 team of Cora Loomer and Evyn Miller won their match 21-15, 21-9.

San Marcos’ #2 team of Reese Paskin and Alina Stapf won 21-14, 21-17.

Rounding out the matches #3 Royals team of Paige Hoadley/Charlotte Hastings cruised 21-6, 21-13; #4 Royals team of Lila Westmacott/Isla McClintock won 21-11, 21-19 and #5 Royals duo of Malia Hetrick/Jordan Schmoller won 21-17, 21-16.

Overall San Marcos is 23-2 on the season.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – It’s a San Marcos sweep for Athlete of the Week honors at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table luncheon at Harry’s.

The girls winner is senior lacrosse player Josephine Grossman and the boys winner is junior volleyball player Matteo Burdick.

Grossman tallied 15 goals in three wins for the Royals.

Burdick was named the MVP of the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions after leading San Marcos to the championship. He had 25 kills in the 5-set championship match win over Burbank-Burroughs.

The Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award for Bishop Diego High School was presented to Mateo Williams.

The junior plays football and basketball for the Cardinals and carries a 3.38 GPA.

(Mateo Williams shows off his award with Bishop Diego Athletic Director John Muller (left) and award sponsor Dave Pintard (right). Bryan Cornet photo).

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Tracy Lehr

VENTURA, Calif. (KEYT) – Many members of the Catholic faith are offended by President Trump’s recent posts aimed at Pope Leo.

It puts church leaders in a difficult position.

A Truth Social post from President Trump criticized the Pope, calling him “weak,” and a “loser.”

The Pastor of Mission Basilica San Buenaventura said the timing following Easter should put the focus on peace.

“We are praying for everyone, we are praying for peace and we ask that everyone stop and take a little pause and let their hearts speak to what is important in our lives,” said Fr. Tom Elewaut.

Fr. Tom Elewaut prefers to think about past relationships.

Elewaut recommends the book “A Pope and a President” by Paul Kengor, PhD. about the close relationship between President Reagan and Pope John Paul II.

He has a signed copy and has heard the authors Dr. Paul Kengor and Robert Orlando speak at events at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley and the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara.

Elewaut also said it is worth remembering Vice President J.D. Vance became a Catholic last just year and visited the Vatican and met with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday 2025, the day before he died.

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Andrew Gillies

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – Mayor Randy Rowse announced Monday afternoon that he will not be seeking reelection and will finish the remainder of his current term as Mayor of Santa Barbara.

Rowse shared a statement with Your News Channel on Monday:

It has been a pleasure and a great honor to serve the people of Santa Barbara over a nearly 14 year career on Council. While I’m proud of much we have done and mindful of how much there is ahead, I have made the decision to finish my career at the end of this term. My reasons are strictly personal and are not related to any issue or individual, it’s just my time to move on. I will continue to focus on my office and now can do so without the distraction of running and maintaining a campaign simultaneously. I truly love this city and have enjoyed the opportunity afforded to me. I’m not going anywhere and plan to be engaged in city issues and events in the future.

Rowse later took questions outside of his city hall office.

He was surprised the news spread so fast after he visited the clerk’s office.

He reiterated that he put a lot of thought into the decision to drop out of the race.

“I have been thinking about this for a long long time it is nothing to do with any subject, issue or personalities, it is a personal decision, I have some stuff in this stage of my life, I think it is time to move on and do something else,” said Rowse.

He said his family would have supported him either way.

Rowse attended a library event on Monday with Congressman Salud Carbajal and said he will stay involved with the city he loves.

“I plan to stay engaged, I might be more effective on the outside than the inside and I really like the ability to help people from time to time, but I really think I can do that on the outside as well,” said Rowse.

He recalled being on the council for 9 years and then taking a break before running for Mayor of Santa Barbara.

Rowse said after some negative campaign adds he received more campaign contribution.

He ended up raising about $315,000 for a job that pays $75,000 a year.

The former owner of the Paradise Cafe had a business owner’s perspective.

“Being in business doesn’t confer genius on anybody, but it gives you perspective and when you’ve signed the front of paychecks and when you’ve had to have the pressure of making payroll, from time to time, it’s a different, a different perspective, it’s something that you can’t get otherwise and so very few of us really get to have that perspective.”

The city’s 51st mayor hasn’t always been on the winning side of close controversial votes including votes to keep a portion of State Street closed or the 4-3 vote to create a Rent Stabilization ordinance, but he has high hopes for Santa Barbara.

He said he won’t miss the long meetings, but he will miss being mayor when the time comes.

Due to the city’s move to even year elections his 5th year as mayor comes to a close in 2027.

Rowse, 72, told Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts via zoom Monday evening that he will have time to write, sail and do other things septuagenarians do.

He mentioned he has had knee replacement and has been called “The Grumpy Old Walrus.”

Interested candidates have until this July to file the paperwork with the City Clerk’s Office in order to make the ballot.

With Mayor Rowse’s departure, the race to be the next Mayor of Santa Barbara currently comes down to City Councilmembers Eric Friedman (District 5) and Kristin Sneddon (District 4) who are the only two candidates to file campaign finance paperwork for the now-open race confirmed the Santa Barbara City Clerk’s Office Monday.

Friedman walked by Mayor Rowse during his comments outside city hall, but chose not to comment on the Mayor decision.

Rowse will try to get things done with the budget before his term comes to close.

The mayor plans to enjoy his role without the pressure of a campaign until the next mayor takes the oath of office.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A simple stop in downtown Santa Barbara could help save lives.

A community blood drive is returning to Paseo Nuevo, giving residents and visitors an easy way to donate and support patients in need. The Vitalant bloodmobile will be set up Friday at De La Guerra Place, right in front of the Paseo Nuevo Cinemas.

Organizers say the goal is to make donating as convenient as possible, with both appointments and walk-ins welcome throughout the afternoon.

Incentive is also part of the push. Anyone who donates blood between April 6th and April 30th will be automatically entered for a chance to win one of two ten-thousand-dollar gift cards.

Community leaders say events like this bring people together while making a direct impact on local healthcare needs.

The drive runs from 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., with sign-ups available online through Vitalant.

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Mike Klan

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – UCSB is making a bold move to leave the Big West and the Gauchos will rise in the west with the West Coast Conference.

At a press conference at UCSB, WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson announced “When you enter a place like this today, you get a little bit of a sense of the energy and the excitement for what this day brings. But I will say this to you that today is an exciting day for the West Coast Conference as well. I’m honored to officially announce that UC Santa Barbara has accepted our invitation to join the WCC.”

Jackson said the WCC tried in the past to lure UCSB but they were turned down. But the change of UCSB leadership in 2025 from Chancellor Henry Yang to Chancellor Dennis Assanis produced a different tone.

“We first reached out to UC Santa Barbara well over a year ago with no success, and when the change in leadership happened we decided to take a shot again,” said Jackson. “We found an enthusiastic caller on the other end of the phone this time, certainly it’s been a process to get to this day, but it’s one that was done with like minds in terms of coming together as partner to this day.”

“We have been at places both, me and my wife Eleni where athletics is indeed the front porch of the university,” began Chancellor Assanis. “When we arrived, the first event we had with students was at our Thunderdome. We basically said, look, we have everything here. It’s brewing. It’s ready to ignite. Let’s give them the opportunity. Yes, that was an active objective from day one. Again, we believe it’s such a catalyst for other wonderful things that can happen for the university, the ability to tell our story and share it with audiences nationally. I was looking very quickly, talking with our athletics director. How can we relay this story to other audiences and can we do it right now in the conference. Where we are, which we obviously value, but it does have some geographic limitation that doesn’t quite fit the vision we had. We really want to expand and compete at the highest levels, and give others the opportunity to do that. We’re attracted to the fact that the WCC gets multiple bids to get in the big dance. Those were factors, but as to how the dancing happens, we were not the ones who danced first. I know the WCC has expressed interest in Santa Barbara before, so the rest is history.”

Kelly Barsky, The Arnhold Director of Athletics, added “We’ve been going through a national landscape for a couple of years now of change and adjustment. Our focus has always been around how do we support the student athletes, the coaches, the programs, the people, the community of UCSB and ensure that we’re positioned strategically and appropriately. In terms of when is the moment, there’s been an open evaluation for a number of years as we continue to look at what UCSB needs, what do we bring, and how do we continue to grow, and then a moment all aligned. A moment aligned with, I mentioned the great leadership of Chancellor Assanis, it aligned in working with Stu. It aligned in working with some of the WCC, presidents, colleagues. There, that is we looked at for all the reasons we talked about the markets being able to share our story, the alignment in investment academics, athletically.”

UCSB will become a full member of the WCC on July 1, 2027 and will be the 12th school along with UC San Diego, Loyola Marymount University, University of the Pacific, Pepperdine University, University of Portland, Saint Mary’s College, University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University Seattle University and Denver University.

The Gauchos will still compete in the Big West during the 2026-’27 season.

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