KCLU Radio

01/15/2026

Volunteers with Carpinteria Seal Watch help protect the seals during their pupping season. The beach is closed from December to May to allow the seals sanctuary and protection.

Harbor Seals and their pups are being kept safe from disturbance by volunteers.

01/15/2026

Aaron Holmes pleaded no contest to first-degree murder for his role in a 2015 crime spree that left one man dead.

Prosecutors say the 30-year-old man was part of a crime spree.

01/15/2026

The more than half-century-old facility doesn’t meet ADA requirements. The jail’s intake and reception center will be renovated, and permanent space will be added for a pre-booking area, room for clinicians, and additional space for attorneys to meet with their clients.

Construction is expected to start later this month.

01/14/2026

The Japanese launched bomb-carrying balloons that could reach the U.S. carried by the jet stream. They hoped the bombs would ignite massive forest fires. An estimated 300 balloons reached North America, including at least two in Ventura County. One went down near Saticoy, the other near Oxnard. But since they were launched in the winter, none of the balloons caused fires.

It was 81 years ago this week that balloons launched from Japan, equipped with bombs, were found in Ventura County.

01/13/2026

Since 1994, 24 people have taken their own lives or attempted su***de from the Arroyo Simi overhead bridge in Moorpark. A new barrier system is the latest project aimed at improving safety along the bridge. The westbound 118 will be closed from 11 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday between Princeton and Los Angeles Avenues.

Crews will make safety improvements on an elevated stretch of the 118 in Moorpark, leading to overnight closures on Friday night.

01/12/2026

Some parts of the county received more than 22 inches of rain, which caused widespread flooding and property damage. The county’s losses from relief efforts and repairs are estimated at $7.5 million.

The declaration opens the door to potential state and federal disaster relief support.

01/12/2026

Officials with the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County say the preserve is at over 300 percent of normal rainfall this season. Recent storms caused Arroyo Hondo Creek to overtop roads and bridges, and other parts of the preserve had landslides and rockslides.

The Arroyo Hondo Preserve sustained extensive damage from recent winter storms. It will be closed until at least the end of January.

01/12/2026

NPR’s Up First was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Podcast category. KCLU General Manager Mary Olson was part of the celebration at NPR West this weekend, posing here with NPR Morning Edition host (and fellow Hoosier) Steve Inskeep. Although NPR didn’t win the Golden Globe, everyone was excited for the first-ever nomination for NPR (and loved the tongue-in-cheek shout-out from winner Amy Poehler!).

01/11/2026

Here's one of the top stories KCLU covered this week:

He was the Man in Black. And from 1961 to 1966, Johnny Cash was also the man in Casitas Springs.

The iconic performer designed and built a 4,500-square-foot ranch-style house in the small town north of Ventura with his first wife, Vivian, as a secluded retreat from fame.

Lisa Kenton is the current owner of the property. She bought the house a couple of years ago and recruited a local designer to restore it.

"We brought it back to the glory as much as we could," said Kenton.

Johnny and Vivian had four daughters while they lived here.

Kenton confirmed that some of them returned more recently for a visit.

"When [daughter] Cindy came in, she just froze, and she's like, 'I feel like this house just hugged me'. And then she just cried," she said.

For this story and more visit kclu.org

01/10/2026

The vacancy created by Brownley is expected to create a scramble to fill her seat. Voter registration in the 26th Congressional District leans heavily Democratic.

Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley of Westlake Village was first elected in 2012. She didn't say what led to her decision.

01/10/2026

Ricki Newton of Oxnard pleaded guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter. She was racing a friend home in August of 2023 on the 101 in Montecito. She was traveling at more than 110 miles an hour when she lost control of her vehicle.

A 77-year-old Santa Paula man was killed in the 2023 crash.

01/08/2026

The California Arts Council has named downtown Oxnard a California Cultural District. The state-designated districts aim to showcase cultural diversity and the unique artistic identities found in local communities.

Oxnard in Ventura County was named by the state.