By Michael Williams, CNN

(CNN) — “Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz says he will not appear at the Kennedy Center after its board voted to attach President Donald Trump’s name to the venue — becoming the latest artist to push back against the president’s takeover of Washington’s most iconic performing arts center.

The Oscar and Grammy-award winning composer said in a statement, “The Kennedy Center was founded to be an apolitical home for artists of all nationalities and all ideologies. It is no longer apolitical, and appearing there has become an ideological statement. As long as that remains the case, I will not appear there.”

The center’s website had listed Schwartz as appearing in a gala with the Washington National Opera in May, and included a link to buy tickets to the performance, but it was removed from the website Friday afternoon.

In spite of the website listing the upcoming appearance by Schwartz, Richard Grenell, the president of the center’s board, denied that he had ever been signed to appear.

“He was never signed and I’ve never had a single conversation on him since arriving,” Grenell said in a post on X, calling reports of Schwartz’s cancelation “totally bogus.”

“He himself said last February he hadn’t heard anything on it,” Grenell said.

A spokesman for Schwartz said the composer and a person associated with the Washington National Opera had been in communication about his “possible participation” in a May gala, and they had last spoken in February 2025.

“Having not heard anything further after that point, he assumed—incorrectly, as it turns out—that the event was no longer moving forward,” the spokesman, Michael Cole, said in an email to CNN. Cole added that Schwartz had only learned Thursday night that the event was still scheduled.

The Kennedy Center opened in 1971, designated by Congress as a living memorial to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Schwartz attended the center’s opening.

But a stream of artists have canceled their appearances since Trump purged the center’s existing board and installed a slate of loyalists to oversee the center last year. Since then, the center has cut staff and reevaluated its programming.

More artists canceled after the new board voted last month to rename the center the “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” prompting threats of legal action from the Kennedy Center against some of those artists.

The move quickly raised legal concerns as to whether the board had the legal authority to rename the arts institution. But it’s unclear whether anybody looking to challenge the renaming would have legal standing to do so, experts previously told CNN.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - With over 30 inches of rain in some areas of the Central Coast since November 1st, this wet weather season is already one to remember for years.

Some of the more intense areas have been San Marcos Pass and Gibraltar Lake.

Another weekend of rain, at times very steady, has arrived.

This, combined with the winter King Tides during the full moon cycle – and there is likely to be more impacts to the coastline, creeks, and some of the two lane highways. Already tons of debris have been pushed out by the runoff and then pushed back on shore with the tides. This includes full sized trees.

Rainfall totals will vary from 1 - 3 inches along the already saturated coast.

The tides will be among the highest the area will experience. Saturday morning about 8 a.m. will be an active hour. Barricades are already up along the breakwater wall near the Santa Barbara Yacht club.

Just as one crashed boat has been removed from a Santa Barbara beach east of Stearns Wharf this week by Marborg, another is on shore by the volleyball courts.

(More details, photos and video will be added here later today.)

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - A sailboat you may have seen before Christmas on a Santa Barbara beach is now gone.

This large sailboat came ashore to the east of Stearns Wharf. The mast hit a protective fence and the dredging pipe while it was bobbing back and forth for days.

Earlier this week a Marborg Industries crew was hired to come in with a piece of heavy equipment and take the broken boat away in a dumpster. All of the remaining splinters and debris was removed by hand to make sure the beach was safe.

One day after this vessel was removed, another boat hit the beach further down towards the volleyball courts. It does not have hull damage.

That issues is now the focus of a boat-rescue plan.

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SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - The National Weather Service (NWS) is warning beachgoers about dangerous conditions along the coastline for the next few days.

A "Beach Hazards Statement" for Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties has been issued by the NWS through Monday morning.

According to the NWS, dangerous rip currents and elevated waves are expected along the Central Coast coastline.

It also said other impacts may include minor coastal flooding due to abnormally high tides between seven to seven-and-a-half feet, along with gusty southerly winds.

The conditions come with the arrival of "king tides," a seasonal occurrence when tides are at their highest and lowest point of the year.

Peak tide times are expected in each morning between 7 a.m. to 11 a. m.

With the Beach Hazards Statement now in effect, the NWS is advising the public to keep out of the water due to dangerous swimming conditions or to stay near occupied lifeguard towers.

Anyone who visits the coastline is also warned to especially avoid rocky areas along the coastline.

The post High Tides to Create Dangerous Beach Conditions Through Monday appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - One of the the first repair orders for Santa Barbara's Coast Village Road to start the year will be a repaired sign.

The wooden sign that welcomes the public to the popular street near Montecito was damaged in a car crash on New Year's Day.

It's the oldest of the two signs welcoming people to the area coming from west to east. Half the sign is still up and twisted. The bottom half is broken off and on the ground.

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