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Opponents of a controversial plan to build homes on a scenic section of the Gaviota Coast lost a court challenge seeking to overturn part of Santa Barbara County’s approval of the project.

A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge rejected arguments by a coalition of environmental groups that the county didn’t properly follow planning laws.

Project opponents say the ruling only affects the porting of the project north of the 101 Freeway.
The State Coastal Commission has yet to act on the development plans on the south side of the 101, and that would also affect the inland side of the project.

It’s expected the court decision will be appealed.

Opponents contend that the project is too big, and inappropriate for the area, and that the land should be preserved as open space.

More than 50 estate sized homes have been proposed on nearly 500 acres of land.

A regional effort to ban single use plastic bags in stores on the South Coast got a big boost today.

KCLU’s Lance Orozco reports Ventura County Supervisors agreed to be a part of a effort with other cities in the region, and Santa Barbara County to fund an environmental impact report for bag ban ordinances.

Click on link to listen to/download story: Plastic Bag Ban EIR

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating a standoff, a slow speed chase, and ultimately a confrontation which led to the shooting death of a man by law enforcement officers.

It started just after nine Monday night, on the 200 block of Broadway Avenue in Santa Maria. County Sheriff’s deputies responding to a 911 call were told by a woman she had been threatened by a man with a gun. A sergeant spotted the suspect at a nearby gas station, but the man said he had guns in his vehicle, and would not surrender.

He then drove away, leading deputies, CHP officers, and Santa Maria Police on a slow speed chase. The man stopped on Preisker Lane. Deputies say at first, he threw several guns out of his vehicle. But, they say he then got out, and picked up one of the weapons, leading officers to open fire, fatally wounding the man.

His name hasn’t been released yet. No officers were injured in the incident. The Sheriff’s Department isn’t releasing specific details of the shooting yet.

The Olympics aren’t the only appointment television viewing this week.

On Sunday night, researchers around the world will be watching as a space mission years in its planning leads to the landing of an unmanned rover on Mars.

The $2.5 billion dollar mission could potentially help answer some big questions, like whether there may have been life on the planet.

Some South Coast based companies played key roles in the Mars “Curiosity” Rover mission.
KCLU’s Lance Orozco talks with some of those involved about the excitement that’s building around the craft’s landing.

Click on link to listen to/download story: Mars Rover Landing

The former head of the agency in Santa Barbara County responsible for controlling mosquitos, and other pests has been arrested, amid allegations by prosecutors of financial wrongdoing.

KCLU’s John Palminteri has the story: Vector Control Official Investigation

It was an emotional day in Santa Paula yesterday, as hundreds of people attended a memorial service for a police officer killed in a traffic accident.

Kimberley Hemminger died July 22nd in a crash outside of the city, while she was off duty.
Law enforcement officers from throughout the region were on hand to pay their respects at the church service. The 33 year old woman had been an officer with the department for five years.

She was a passenger in a jeep which overturned. The driver of the jeep, Christopher Blankenship, was a volunteer reserve Santa Paula Police officer. He’s facing vehicular manslaughter, and DUI charges stemming from the accident.

A Ventura County man could spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of kidnapping, and threatening to kill a former girlfriend.

Federal prosecutors say Rudy Soto of Oxnard showed up at the victim’s Los Angeles home in September of 2010, telling her he had a surprise for her. The victim told the 25 year old man their relationship was over. Federal prosecutors say Soto then kidnapped the young woman, only identified in court documents as EC.

Investigators say as Soto’s accomplice, Erin Nicole Fisher, of Santa Paula drove them south, he told the kidnap victim they were going to Mexico, where he would kill her.

As they tried to cross the border, the woman screamed at the border checkpoint, leading to the arrest of Soto and Fisher by Mexican authorities. The victim was unhurt.

Soto was found guilty by a federal court jury of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and kidnapping. He’ll be sentenced in December.

Fisher has yet to be tried for the crimes.

Two men in a stolen vehicle were able to get away from pursuing police officers once this morning in Ventura County, but they eventually found themselves behind bars.

It started just before two this morning, near Mills Road and Main Street in Ventura.

A Ventura Police officer on patrol spotted the vehicle, but it ignored the patrol car’s flashing lights, and was able to get away from the scene.

Other officers spotted the vehicle on Main Street, and pursued it to near Market Street, and Portola Road, where the driver lost control, and it crashed in a field.

Police say Irvin Leon and Jay Lucero of Oxnard tried to escape on foot, but were arrested at the scene. The two were charged with parole violations, possession of a stolen car, and resisting arrest.

Investigators are trying to determine what led to the fatal stabbing of a Ventura County man, who was dumped off at the emergency room of Santa Paula Hospital by someone who then fled.

Guadalupe Fernandez was taken to the entrance of the emergency room just before midnight Saturday.

The Santa Paula man had been stabbed in the back. He died about three hours later.

Santa Paula Police are trying to figure out what led up to the stabbing, and where it occurred.

The economic downturn has meant that more people than ever have been turning to non-profit community health clinics for help, because they’re uninsured.

An estimated one in 15 people in America are using what’s what some call the country’s health care safety net.

A Santa Barbara County non-profit agency has just released what it’s calling the largest ever survey of these clinics, to see how they’re coping with the flood of requests for assistance.

KCLU’s Lance Orozco has the story.

Click on link to listen to/download story: DRI Non-Profit Clinics Survey

Link To Doctors Without Walls/Santa Barbara Street Medicine: http://santabarbarastreetmedicine.org/

Link to Direct Relief International Non-Profit Community Clinics Study:

http://www.directrelief.org/usa/state-of-the-safety-net/