It’s Friday and the kickoff to Memorial Day Weekend! Here’s a look at your holiday weekend forecast and all the fun events happening across the Central Coast.
- SpaceX is preparing for another launch today from the Central Coast. A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base this afternoon at 1:36 P.M., after a delay yesterday. Following stage separation, the rocket’s first-stage booster will attempt a landing on a droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. If today’s launch is scrubbed, backup opportunities are available tomorrow starting at 1:14 P.M.
- The man accused of leaving his son in a hot car in Paso Robles appeared in court yesterday for a pre-preliminary hearing. This court appearance comes as new federal charges are filed against Briant Reyes Estrada. While the federal complaint does not impact the local case, it includes an arrest warrant based on probable cause that Reyes Estrada committed a federal crime. That means if he were to post bond locally, the federal warrant could still keep him detained.
- A Santa Barbara man has been arrested for attempted murder. Police say a shooting was reported just after midnight Thursday on the 1100 block of Hutash Street. The suspect, 24-year-old Danyel Ramond Avalos, had already fled the area by the time officers arrived. He was reportedly also wanted in a separate domestic violence case. When officers arrested him yesterday afternoon, he was found with a loaded handgun and an extended magazine in his waistband. Avalos is now booked into county jail on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder.
Four months after her story aired on KSBY, 100-year-old Rosemary Dexter has raised $80,000 for ALF Food Pantry, thanks to national attention, including features on TV stations across the country and People.com. With her promise to match every donation, Dexter is just $10,000 away from her $100,000 goal to help purchase a new facility for the pantry. Her daughter, Carol Parente, says the outpouring of support came from both the local community and strangers across the U.S. Donations can still be made online or by mail, with instructions to include “Rosemary’s Fund.”
Nine Cal Poly engineering students are deploying a 30-pound aluminum ocean-powered generator in Morro Bay, designed to convert wave energy into electricity. Developed in partnership with the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, the buoy-like device generates about 10 watts of power, enough to charge radios and other low-power electronics, which could be useful in Navy reconnaissance missions. As the buoy moves with the waves, it activates an internal generator, and students will collect real-time data on its performance in sea-state conditions to evaluate its effectiveness in the field.
Hundreds of custom, one-of-a-kind vehicles are rolling into Santa Maria this weekend for the 44th annual West Coast Kustoms Cruisin’ Nationals. Open exclusively to American-made cars from 1965 or earlier, the event kicked off Thursday with check-ins at the Santa Maria Inn and features a Friday night City Cruise along Broadway from 7 to 9 P.M. The main car show takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Santa Maria Fairpark, with gates open from 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. on Saturday and 7 A.M. to 1 P.M. Sunday. Visitors can enjoy live music, a swap meet, model cars, roller skating, and more. Tickets are $20 at the gate, $15 for seniors, and free for kids 10 and under.
