🚧 $51M Highway 101 Maintenance and Wildlife Crossing Planned
Caltrans plans a major project to improve U.S. 101 between Dos Pueblos Creek near Goleta and the Gaviota tunnel. The work will preserve 65.3 lane miles of pavement, stabilize embankments, upgrade lighting and guardrails, and replace aging sign panels. A new wildlife undercrossing and fencing will also be added to...
Traffic Alert: Police Urge Drivers to Avoid Section of Coastal Santa Barbara
UPDATE: At 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Santa Barbara Police stated the area was cleared and traffic was moving normally. The update also stated the area was on Shoreline Drive, not on Cliff Drive as police previously stated. Later the police department issued a longer statement explaining that around 12:40 p.m., Santa...
Rising Fuel Prices Spiking Interest in Electric Vehicles
March 25, 2026 12:20 pm Published March 24, 2026 7:55 pm. SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Long-time and current electric car owners are feeling pretty good about their purchase amid recent spikes in gas prices. As fuel prices rise, car buying service, CarEdge, detected a 20 percent hike...
Ventura Hills Nature Preserve sparks controversy over access and sustainability
Less than a mile from Ventura High School (VHS) is a property formerly known as Mariano Rancho, and recently opened to the public as the Ventura Hills Nature Preserve. Ventura Land Trust (VLT), a non-profit organization, bought the property in 2020 and has been establishing new trails and preparing the property for...
Solvang Chamber turns to Forster for fresh direction
The Solvang Chamber of Commerce has named Brian Forster as its new executive director, marking a leadership transition after a decade under outgoing director Tracy Beard. Forster began the role Feb. 16 after his selection in late January. A communications graduate of University of Akron, Forster brings more than two...
Hard Lesson: Declining enrollment prompts VUSD to consider school closures in 2027-28
Peggy Maryanski taught in the Ventura Unified School District for 20 years, mostly as a kindergarten teacher, and worked at a variety of schools across Ventura. Her adult daughter also attended VUSD schools where Maryanski was involved in school site councils and parent-teacher organizations. But Maryanski didn’t...
Street renaming debate, gun found at school, and street vendor crackdown
Good morning, Central Coast. Take a look at the top headlines in our communities this morning: DUI crash simulation at AHS: Students at Atascadero High School...
Dorothy F. Largay and Marybeth Carty Selected as Persons of the Year
Dorothy F. Largay and Marybeth Carty have been selected as the 83rd Persons of the Year for the Santa Barbara area. They will be honored for their longstanding commitment to volunteer leadership and community service at a luncheon on Wednesday, April 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Santa Barbara...
Hats Off To Natasha Ruiz: Buellton Pyro Artist Blazes New Trail with Mobile Hat...
SOLVANG, Calif.—Natasha Ruiz calls herself the “Tattoo Artist for Hats”. She is the owner of Flame Kissed— a full-service mobile hat bar. She left the world of law and accounting in 2023 to blaze a new trail, quite literally. Each hat is carefully treated with heat to...
Elementary school student in Orcutt brings a gun to school
An elementary school student brought an unloaded handgun to Pine Grove Elementary School in Orcutt on Wednesday morning whicl led to a law enforcement response. Another student notified a school staffer of the firearm. A school employee then contacted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Shortly after 1 p.m.,...
