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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Santa Barbara's top cops are spreading a sobering, holiday message this season: 'Do not drink and drive.'

Santa Barbara Chief of Police, Kelly Gordon, and Santa Barbara County District Attorney, John Savrnoch, stopped by our news station Wednesday afternoon. They're putting out a Public Service Announcement (PSA) as people gather for holiday festivities.

Chief Gordon said so far this year, the Santa Barbara Police Department alone, has made nearly 300 arrests for DUI (Driving Under the Influence), predominately involving alcohol. Each of the 296 arrests involved a collision.

Both Gordon and Savrnoch want to drive home the message that one bad decision can have devastating impacts.

"It surprises me that in the year 2025, with as many options as there are out there, with as much education has been done with all of the dangers and everything that's been talked about when it comes to driving under the influence, that we still see this as such a huge problem in our community," said Gordon.  

"If you are ever out and you have to ask yourself, 'Am I okay to drive?' The answer is obvious no," said Savrnoch. "Make a plan to stay sober and drive. Make a plan for what happens if you do get caught up in the party, but make the plan before you're under the influence. Because plans made under the influence are notoriously horrible plans."

Savrnoch said drivers convicted of a first-time DUI potentially face tens of thousands of dollars in court and attorney fees and, insurance. He added, the risks of losing your license and your job are very real.

"The reality is, that the consequences can be very, very severe all the way up to death," said Gordon. "And for myself and the officers, the last thing we want to do is give a notification to a family member that their loved one has been killed or seriously injured because of drunk driving, whether it's them behind the wheel or someone that they have injured as a result of their actions behind the wheel."

Savrnoch said behind drug-related crimes, the crime of committing a DUI ranks second.

"And there is absolutely no excuse for it," he said.

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VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – On Thursday, the 1983 rape conviction of Richard Luna was vacated after recent DNA testing of evidence collected at the time proved the perpetrator was someone else.

Since 2022, the Ventura County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative has conducted an ongoing review of previously untested kits and for the first time, a wrongful conviction has been overturned shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release Thursday.

"While we can’t undo the past, we can use the power of DNA technology to exonerate the wrongfully convicted," said District Attorney Nasarenko. "This case underscores our responsibility as prosecutors to examine the integrity of our convictions and seek justice on behalf of those who served time for crimes they never committed."

According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, testing was overseen by the Ventura County Sheriff's Forensic Services Bureau and the DNA profile developed by the test was matched to a person already in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) that wasn't Luna.

After the results definitively showed Luna did not contribute to the biological evidence collected at the time, the District Attorney's Office contacted Luna, the survivor, and the Ventura County Public Defender's Office about the findings noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

On Thursday, the court approved the motion to vacate Luna's conviction and found him factually innocent shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Due to the statute of limitations, the person who was identified will not be charged in connection with the 1982 sexual assault added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

In 1983, a jury convicted Luna of sexual assault and he was later sentenced to six years in state prison.

The Ventura County District Attorney Office shared that it established the Conviction Integrity Unit to review credible claims on innocence to provide an extra layer of review outside of the appellate process.

Since the testing of untested kits began, almost two dozen kits have confirmed the identity of the convicted suspected added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - With land use, financial and legislative conflicts all in the forefront, solving the on-going housing crisis is going to be as challenging as ever in 2026.

At the annual Coastal Housing Coalition conference, several experts spoke about the status now and the requirements they face for future projects.

Panelists included analysts, architects, land use, and property attorneys and those with legislative experience.

The majority of the new units either proposed or permited are in Santa Barbara and Goleta.

The keynote speaker was Mikey Taylor, the Mayor Pro-Tem for the City of Thousands Oaks. He is also an entrepreneur familiar with multi-unit housing, single family homes and business projects.

He said cities on the South Coast need to have someone on their council who knows about real estate and can deal with the intricate details facing elected bodies.

He did not have a direct answer when asked about the on-going stalemate with the Paseo Nuevo proposed redesign to add over 230 units, some of them affordable. Currently the city has a subcommittee meeting with the development and financial teams on the project to design something that would replace the vacant Macy's store on the corner of Ortega Street and State Street.

A week ago, it was in front of the Santa Barbara City Council for a hearing that lasted more than five hours.

Taylor said he was encouraged to see large companies begin to invest in housing projects to use for their employees and begin long-term options for workers, especially those who are making lengthy daily commutes to their homes in more affordable areas.

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

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