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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - At the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s South County facility in Goleta, yesterday’s leftovers are finding a new purpose — feeding local farms instead of landfills.

A powerful new industrial composter can process up to 400 pounds of food waste a day. Spoiled produce and uneaten meals are fed into the machine, where heat and motion break them down in hours, transforming scraps into nutrient-rich compost ready for the next growing season.

“This machine’s like a garbage truck on steroids — only it feeds farms, not landfills,” said one Foodbank worker. Another added, “We’re saving tons from the landfill and growing the next harvest instead.”

Volunteers help shovel the finished compost into bins, where it will eventually enrich local farm fields. The project, funded by a $1 million CalRecycle grant, is part of California’s broader effort to reduce greenhouse gases and cut food waste.

“It grinds, mixes, cooks — all on its own. Big machine, big impact,” one worker said.

What once filled dumpsters is now feeding the soil, closing the circle from scraps to harvest — right here in Goleta.

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LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) - The Lompoc Police Department is heading into 2026 with some new enhancement initiatives.

There are two separate programs worth noting: one for traffic safety and the other is bringing drones in to assist First Responders.

Some upcoming enhancements to traffic safety are courtesy of grant funding from the state provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and a pilot program for drones to assist first responders will begin in the coming months.

The $35,000 grant was awarded to the Lompoc Police Department to increase DUI checkpoints, expand field training to officers for recognizing impairment, and enforcement operations focused on the worst of traffic behaviors.

The goal is to reduce traffic violations, and incidents resulting from them.

The two-year pilot program for Drones as First Responders initiative will be getting its practical start in the next few months, after some strict procedural guidelines are agreed upon for protection of privacy.

The drones will not be patrolling proactively, but will be docked at their station until emergency calls come in where they will be determined useful.

Additionally, the drones will first fly at a specific altitude and the cameras on them will be aimed only at the horizon until arrival at the scene itself.

The Drones as First Responder program will be thoroughly reviewed at the end of the two-year pilot phase before renewal.

Overall, these new programs are expected to streamline operations for Lompoc police to increase public safety and reduce incidents that call for their involvement.

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