SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) The Santa Barbara County Water Agency is hosting its 27th Annual Waterwise High School Video Contest.

This years theme is "Grow Beyond the Grass: Replace Your Lawn to Save Water, Support Nature and Keep Yards Cool."

The lengthy theme was selected to highlight the importance of sustainable outdoor water use and the benefits of transitioning away from thirsty lawns.

The Santa Barbara County Public Works Department Public Information Officer Lael Wagerneck said students are encouraged to enter 30 second videos in English or Spanish.

"The Santa Barbara County water agency works with different donors to provide cash prizes to the schools and the students and so it is great that the students can do something creative and is both a benefit to community by promoting conservation and there is a little prize with it."

Prizes range from $150-$500 for student award and $300-$1,000 for school awards.

Sponsors include Corollo Engineers, La Buena 105.1 FM, Geosyntec, Enviroscaping and Dudek.

The recent rainfall may have washed drought worries away, but Wagerneck said that doesn't mean people should relax their conservation efforts.

"While Cachuma is spilling right now it is important to conserve water all year and every year because Cachuma spilled in 2011 and by 2016 it was down to 6 percent capacity so even though we have a lot of water right now without five years we could be back down to single digits so it is important that people conserve water and that is why this contest is so important because it supports conserving all year," said Wagerneck.

Wagerneck conserves water at home by have drought tolerant plants and an artificial lawn.

He said he also takes quick showers and turns the tap off while brushing his teeth.

Some of those concepts have been promoted in past contests.

Past winners includes students from Dos Pueblos High, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School and Pioneer Valley High School.

They included animation, musicals, parodies, mysteries and thrillers.

When the contest first began students used VHS tapes, now they can use their Iphones and edit on their phones or laptops.

Organizers hope more schools and students will enter this year.

The winning vidoes are likely to be shown in local movie theaters before films and on local TV and video monitors at gas stations.

Students may find a link to application packets, award winning videos examples and a how-to-video by logging onto, https://waterwisesb.org

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. March 6th.

Winners will be announced in the Spring.

Your News Channel will have more on the Waterwise contest tonight on the news.

The post Waterwise Video Contest Open to Santa Barbara County High School Students appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – On Thursday, Your News Channel will invite State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson and former Santa Barbara City Councilman Dale Francisco in what is anticipated to be a heated discussion on recent world events.

The two will represent both sides of the political discussion on topics such as the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and U.S. involvement in Venezuela, immigration crackdowns and protests across the country, and Trump pushing for U.S. acquisition of Greenland.

Tell us what you think in the chat box above.

The post News Channel 3-12 Talks Venezuela, ICE, Greenland – But What Do You Think? appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Martin Herrejon Vieyra of Santa Paula was convicted of eight felony counts related to the molestation of two children he knew through family over multiple years.

Specifically, Vieyra was convicted of six counts of lewd acts on a child, one count of rape by force, and one count of penetration using a foreign object as well as multiple special allegations including that he took advantage of a position of trust, the survivors were under the age of 14 at the time of the abuse, and that he had multiple victims detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release Monday.

Vieyra had access to two of the sexual abuse survivors through a familial relationship and abused the first survivor between 1996 and 2005 and abused the second survivor from 2012 to 2020 shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Both were under the age of 14 at the time of the abuse which was first disclosed in 2022 added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

After Vieyra was charged in February of 2025, a third survivor came forward the same month to share that Vieyra had sexually assaulted her in 1991 when she was living with her family in the same home as Vieyra noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Vieyra is currently scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 10 where he faces 110 years plus 16 years in state prison and he remains in custody without bail after it was revoked following his conviction stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

The post Martin Vieyra convicted of eight felony sex crimes involving children he knew through family appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Luis Medina

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KUNA) – Los bomberos lograron contener rápidamente un incendio en un resort de Palm Springs el lunes por la tarde.

El incendio se reportó inicialmente alrededor de las 11:10 a. m. en la cuadra 2800 de S Palm Canyon Drive.

“Los bomberos de Palm Springs respondieron a un incendio estructural de 2 alarmas, contenido en una sola unidad en el tercer piso”, se lee en un correo electrónico del Departamento de Bomberos de Palm Springs. “Los equipos están realizando comprobaciones para determinar si se produjeron exposiciones adicionales”.

No se reportaron heridos.

The post Bomberos controlan incendio en resort de Palm Springs appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Luis Medina

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KUNA) – La Junta Directiva del Distrito de Riego Imperial aprobó aumentos en los programas de asistencia de pago del Distrito, lo que permitirá que más clientes califiquen en 2026.

Funcionarios del IID informaron que, en dos de los programas de asistencia más utilizados de la agencia, los clientes elegibles ahora pueden tener ingresos muy superiores al umbral federal de pobreza y, aun así, calificar para recibir una asistencia de pago significativa. Esto ayuda a garantizar que el servicio eléctrico esencial siga siendo asequible para los hogares más necesitados.

“Nuestros programas de asistencia son muy útiles para muchas familias, y las actualizaciones de nuestros programas pueden ayudar a aún más clientes”, declaró Karin Eugenio, presidenta de la Junta Directiva del IID. “Realmente queremos asegurarnos de que todos los que califican aprovechen la asistencia que ofrece el Distrito”.

En 2025, los programas READY y CARE del IID alcanzaron la mayor cantidad registrada de clientes con ingresos calificados, atendiendo a más de 12,670 participantes y entregando más de $8.3 millones en asistencia financiera solo a través de estos dos programas. Basándose en este éxito, el Distrito sigue centrado en ampliar la difusión y la participación en 2026 para garantizar que el apoyo llegue a los clientes que más lo necesitan.

Detalles sobre los programas de asistencia actualizados:

LISTO. Los requisitos de elegibilidad de ingresos (para el programa de Asistencia Energética Residencial Diseñado para Ti) permiten a los clientes ganar hasta el 200 % del Nivel Federal de Pobreza de 2026, más $10,000 adicionales. LISTO ofrece a los clientes que cumplen los requisitos un descuento mensual del 20 % y un descuento del 30 % para personas mayores.

CARE (Asistencia al Cliente para Emergencias Residenciales): Los clientes inscritos en el programa READY que se vean desconectados pueden recibir hasta $500 de asistencia anual, equivalente a $125 por trimestre. Esto representa un aumento respecto a los $450 anuales de 2025.

SHIELD (Descuento Vital de Salud e Ingresos Energéticos para Personas Mayores): Los requisitos de ingresos aumentaron del 200 % al 322 % del Nivel Federal de Pobreza de 2026. SHIELD ofrece un descuento mensual del 30 % a personas mayores que cumplan los requisitos y cuyos gastos médicos o farmacéuticos superen el 10 % de sus ingresos anuales.

EASE. El período de renovación del programa de Asistencia Energética para Equipos Especiales (EASE) del IID se amplió a tres años, en lugar de cada dos. EASE está disponible para todos los clientes que califican, independientemente de sus ingresos, y reduce las facturas mensuales de electricidad en hogares donde alguien depende de equipos médicos que funcionan con electricidad.