GOLETA, Calif (KEYT) - A beautiful, festival-worthy film about the Ellwood Bluffs is available for you to watch, from the comfort of home.

Courtesy: City of Goleta

"Ellwood Mesa: Beyond the Bluffs" was released to the public this week by the City of Goleta.

The 23-minute film premiered at the Wild and Free Film Festival back in November to a standing-room only crowd. It was a similar scenario on January 7 during a free screening at the Camino Real Cinemas. Turnout was so popular, the link was made available for people to share.

Packed theater / Courtesy: City of Goleta

The film's premise is a powerful one that chronicles how people throughout the community -- and beyond -- rallied to save the 200 acres of open space from development with large and small donations and tremendous spirit.

It also addresses Ellwood's declining Monarch butterfly population at the grove. 

The film was created as part of the Ellwood Mesa's 20-year anniversary as a preserve.

Courtesy: City of Goleta

Click here to watch "Ellwood Mesa: Beyond the Bluffs" short film.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Two of the top stars from the 2020 NBC World Series Champion Santa Barbara Foresters will be inducted into the team's hall of fame next month.

Jace Jung and Matt Mclain will be honored by the Foresters on Sunday, February 1 starting at 4 p.m. at the Cabrillo Pavilion in Santa Barbara. Foresters longtime medical advisor Dr. Chris Proctor will also be inducted at the annual Hall of Fame Hot Stove Dinner.

The dinner will also honor former trainer Kristy Lash, who herself is battling cancer, and the late Howard Cantor, a longtime volunteer and board member.

Jung was the Foresters MVP in 2020 hitting .404 and leading the team in home runs with 10.

McLain batted .436 in that sensational summer that most consider the best Foresters team of all-time.

The Foresters finished the 2020 season 30-4 and won all four of their World Series games by a combined score of 33-4.

They pitched a combined no-hitter at the NBC Tournament and they did not make an error in those four games.

“Matt and Jace were part of probably the most talented team in Foresters history, which dominated on the way to winning the NBC World Series championship as what some say was the best team in the long history of the NBC,” said longtime manager Bill Pintard. “And both players have gone on to see their Major League dreams come true.”

Dr. Proctor played a part in helping those players and the whole Foresters team navigate that 2020 COVID season, but that was just part of his more than 25 years making sure Foresters players are safe and healthy.

Together, Pintard and Proctor have seen more than 70 Foresters advance to the Major Leagues over the years, including the 2026 inductees. A former UCLA Bruin, has been a Cincinnati Reds shortstop since 2023, when he finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. (McLain’s teammates include former Foresters Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.)

Jung joined his brother Josh, also a Foresters Hall of Famer, in the Majors in 2024 when he made the Detroit Tigers. In Jace’s first season, he helped the Tigers make the AL playoffs as a second baseman.

“The Hot Stove is one of our most beloved traditions,” added Pintard. “It’s a way to honor people who have played a big part in our success, but also a way for us to gather and share memories and stories with each other, all while raising money to help the Hugs for Cubs.”

Individual and table tickets are available, as well as sponsorship opportun

Below is a press release from the County of Santa Barbara regarding the partial closure of Goleta Beach County Park.

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – Due to the recent storms, Santa Barbara County will close parts of Goleta Beach County Park beginning approximately January 26, 2026. An updated schedule with closure information and dates will be updated at the County Parks Department website www.sbparks.org when operational plans are further developed. 

Beach operations are expected to begin the week of January 26th. Work will continue until the storm response is complete and could occur 10 hours a day, seven days a week if necessary. Operations are estimated to continue through March 2026 but may be accelerated or delayed depending on inclement weather.

On Friday, January 9, the County of Santa Barbara proclaimed a local emergency in response to the storms that occurred between December 23, 2025, and January 3, 2026.   

The Winter 2026 beach operations involve sediment from the Goleta Slough watersheds only. The flood-control channels surrounding the Santa Barbara Airport, Old Town Goleta, and parts of the Eastern Goleta Valley have accumulated excess sediment due to winter storms. The channels and basins are designed to capture sediment and floodwaters to protect the community; however, the sediment must be removed to regain flood control protection. Goleta Beach is the designated transport site for the sediment to be re-purposed and placed along the shoreline to increase beach width and buffer the Park from wave impacts. 

The County follows environmental regulations to manage and protect wildlife and habitat during these beach operations. In the long term, this sand and cobble placement helps protect the Park from further sediment loss and erosion. The 2023 operation helped build up six more acres of beach to the Park's western end. With the additional sand, the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department has installed volleyball nets on the beach for the first time since 2013. These operations are conducted through Flood Control District maintenance permits and coordination with state and federal agencies.  

Sediment samples have been collected for processing. Further sediment samples and ocean water samples will be tested during operations. Weekly reports with information on sampling results are sent to regulatory agencies and will be posted at www.countyofsb.org/emergencybeachops

All Park visitors and members of the public traveling along the Obern Trail should practice safety and yield to trucks and other heavy equipment in the area. 

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Por Rafy Rivera, CNN en Español

A cinco años de que dejó el cargo como gobernadora de Puerto Rico, Wanda Vázquez Garced volvió a generar noticias este viernes luego de que un funcionario de la Casa Blanca dijo que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, planea indultarla en un caso de violación a las leyes de financiamiento de campaña que data de 2020.

La Casa Blanca argumenta que los cargos contra Vázquez Garced, quien se declaró culpable en agosto de 2025, partieron de motivaciones políticas y cita que la investigación comenzó en 2020, 10 días después de que ella respaldara a Donald Trump —cuando aún era presidente en su primer mandato—, aunque su arresto ocurrió en 2022, durante la administración de Joe Biden (2021-2025).

La Casa Blanca, ahora en una segunda presidencia de Trump, también dice que no hubo intercambio de favores ni sobornos en los tratos que Vázquez Garced sostuvo con un banquero también implicado en este expediente.

Vázquez Garced asumió la gobernación de Puerto Rico en agosto de 2019 tras la renuncia del entonces gobernador Ricardo Rosselló, quien dejó el cargo después de una serie de protestas y críticas contra su gestión.

Fue gobernadora interina de la isla hasta enero de 2021. En ese momento, fue la segunda mujer en la historia local en ocupar ese puesto.

Antes de encabezar la gobernación, fue secretaria del Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico y jefa de Fiscales en el sistema de tribunales.

Fue nominada en 2016 para la posición de secretaria de Justicia y asumió el cargo en 2017, según su semblanza publicada en la página web de la Asociación Nacional de Gobernadores (NGA, por sus siglas en inglés).

Previamente, durante sus años de formación, estudió en la Universidad de Puerto Rico, para después comenzar su carrera profesional en la división legal del Departamento de Vivienda. Trabajó como fiscal en varios niveles del sistema de tribunales de Puerto Rico, dice su semblanza.

La exgobernadora fue acusada el 4 agosto de 2022 de haber aceptado ofertas de soborno para beneficiar a ciertos empresarios. En ese entonces, los cargos impulsados por el Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos contra ella y otros dos coacusados fueron conspiración, soborno en programas federales y fraude en servicios electrónicos.

En aquel momento, Vázquez Garced se declaró inocente. Las otras personas involucradas fueron un banquero venezolano y un exagente federal del Buró Federal de Investigación (FBI, por sus siglas en inglés).

Tiempo después, los tres acusados alcanzaron un acuerdo con la Fiscalía, por el cual aceptaron declararse culpables de un cargo menos grave de violación a la Ley Federal de Campañas Electorales (FECA), que prohíbe aportes extranjeros a estos procesos bajo jurisdicción estadounidense.

CNN

By Kaitlan Collins, Hannah Rabinowitz, Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN that a grand jury has issued subpoenas for both men as part of the investigation. But Walz’s office had not received any notice as of Friday evening, according to another source familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear when Frey and Walz would receive the subpoenas.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

President Donald Trump and his administration have been critical of state and local officials’ response to unrest in Minnesota over the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with the president suggesting he might invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to the city to quell any violence.

The investigation, though, represents an escalation of the rhetoric, threatening possible criminal consequences for the two Democratic leaders.

Both Walz and Frey have openly rebuked the surge of federal activity in Minneapolis, with Frey delivering a public message for federal agents to “get the f**k out of Minneapolis.”

Walz did not confirm the investigation to CNN but accused the federal government of “weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents,” which he called a “dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday blamed the two Democratic officials for the unrest in their state and vowed to take action against them.

“Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement,” Blanche said in a post on X. “It’s disgusting. Walz and Frey – I’m focused on stopping YOU from your terrorism by whatever means necessary. This is not a threat. It’s a promise.”

Blanche visited Minneapolis on Friday alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, according to a post on Patel’s X account.

Patel wrote that his team was “working 24/7 here cracking down on violent rioters and investigating the funding networks supporting the criminal actors with multiple arrests already.”

CNN has reached out to Frey’s office for comment.

The investigation was first reported by CBS and affiliate WCCO.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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