Biden adds Ventura County to disaster declaration area

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

President Joe Biden has extended his major disaster declaration to include Ventura County.

Issued after the recent storms, the declaration has covered Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

The addition of Ventura County was pushed by U.S. Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, over the past few weeks in the aftermath of heavy storms and flooding across the Central Coast.

public’s help to find a missing juvenile.

Alberto Rafael Cabrera Corona, 14, was reported missing by his father on Jan. 27, after leaving his home the night before and not returning. His parents last saw him at 8 p.m. Jan. 26.

Lompoc police officers received further information that on the early morning hours of Jan. 28, the vehicle Alberto was allegedly traveling in became stuck in the mud at the far west end of Lompoc.

Sgt. Jorge Magana said on Thursday that Alberto was with two known subjects in the vehicle and that all three left the vehicle.

While walking back to Lompoc, they disagreed on which way to go, so Alberto walked northbound and the other juveniles walked eastbound and reached Lompoc, Sgt. Magana said.

He added that Lompoc police detectives have conducted numerous interviews and have been following up on potential leads but have yet to locate Alberto.

Alberto is 5 foot 8 inches, weighs 120 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black beanie, white long sleeve shirt, gray zip-up jacket, black pants and black Nike Air Force 1 shoes.

If you have information on Alberto’s whereabouts, call the Lompoc Police Department at 805-736-2341.

— Katherine Zehnder

State Route 1 to be closed

LOMPOC — A rock scaling operation on State Route 1 near Lompoc will continue next week and will result in a detour for travelers on Tuesday.

According to Caltrans, there will be a hard closure from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. of southbound Route 1/ North 12th Street at the junction of State Route 246 and State Route 1 in Lompoc.

Travelers will not be able to go south on State Route 1 but can continue east on State 246 in Buellton to reach southbound Highway 101.

Caltrans said crews will rappel down the hillside above the roadway to dislodge debris and rock. Clean up will follow before reopening the roadway to travel. This road work also took place on Jan. 26.

Rock scaling is performed as a preventative maintenance measure to help ensure the safety of all travelers, according to Caltrans.

Message and directional signs will be in place to alert travelers in the area. Caltrans advises motorists to allow extra time during their commute.

Updates go on Twitter to @ CaltransD5, Facebook to Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram to @Caltrans_d5.

— Katherine Zehnder