TV Santa Barbara

On this week’s edition, Josh Molina and Ryan Cruz preview and handicap the vote for next week's City Council showdown decision on that controversial development plan for the Paseo Nuevo shopping center, while Callie Fausey reports “the threat is real” amid the Trump Administration’s move to open new areas off the coast of Central California to oil drilling. Plus: $8.3 million in public housing for new UCSB chancellor, an 18-story building proposed in Carp and Josh’s inside report on City Hall's attack on the massage therapy industry.

Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse checks in to offer his perspective on the two big issues that have consumed City Hall in recent weeks – the future of downtown development at the Paseo Nuevo shopping mall and the push by City Council’s liberal majority to impose a new set of strict rent control regulations on landlords and property owners. News-Press Editor Josh Molina joins the genial host to also interrogate the mayor about his 2026 re-election campaign.

Christina McDermott leads off this week’s edition of Newsmakers TV with breaking news, reporting that federal food stamp benefits appear to have restored, even as non-profits and other community groups were jumping into the breach to help thousands of local residents cut off by Donald Trump’s government shutdown. Nick Welsh also joins the genial host, recounting the latest remarkable turn in the Sable Offshore oil saga, while Josh Molina sorts through the complex, simmering feud over the future of State Street. Plus: new clues about the mysterious developers behind the outrageous plan for an eight-story tower behind the Mission.

In a special bonus edition of Newsmakers TV, City Council member Kristen Sneddon announced she will seek election as Santa Barbara’s mayor, setting the stage for an intriguing generational challenge to incumbent Randy Rowse that will be shaped by conflicts over rent control, the future of downtown and how the city should accommodate ever-increasing demand for more housing and greater density.

On this week’s episode, it’s a special tour of the Halloween hellscape the Trump Administration is creating in Santa Barbara, as Christina McDermott, Ryan P. Cruz, Nick Welsh and Josh Molina join the genial host for a conversation about cuts to food stamps and housing aid, neighborhood terror and political clashes stemming from immigration raids, and the mob boss president’s hand in next Tuesday’s special election and the ongoing fight over offshore oil. Plus: Ryan’s search for ghosts and the never-ending horrors of what to do about State Street.

Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse returns for a new “Ask the Mayor” episode, addressing questions from Josh Molina and the genial host about the controversial proposal to build housing at Paseo Nuevo; the new plan for the Sears site at La Cumbre Plaza; the state of State Street; the latest push for rent control; and a spate of bad news about the city budget. Plus: an update on his 2026 re-election plans.

It’s a big week on the housing beat, as Newsmakers TV’s All-Star Panel of Top Local Journalists features Christina McDermott, Josh Molina, Ryan P. Cruz and Nick Welsh breaking down all the latest about that monstrosity project proposed for the Mission, the City Council’s latest misadventures with rent control, and the icy response city planners had to the first-look development at Paseo Nuevo. Plus: a big court ruling on the Sable Oil pipeline, local impacts of the federal government shutdown and a shock new budget report out of City Hall.

Rep. Salud Carbajal checks in with Newsmakers to discuss the ongoing shutdown of the federal government. He breaks down the key health care issue that Democrats are pressing in the conflict, talks about some of the real-life, day-to-day impacts of the government being closed, and expresses deep concern over some recent actions Donald Trump’s “fascist administration.”

Our All Star Panel of National Political Pundits returns, as veteran journalist Carla Marinucci, author Dan Morain and media strategist Bill Carrick join the genial host for a deep dive into Proposition 50, Gavin Newsom’s not-so-secret bid for president, and Donald Trump’s destruction of the East Wing of the White House, among other matters, including the governor’s race, what’s up with Nancy Pelosi and fond farewells to two giants of California politics.

Our All-Star Panel of Top Local Journalists roves through the full range of politics and public policy stories animating Santa Barbara this week, as Nick Welsh offers a behind-the-scenes view of the Independent’s Yes-on-50 front cover editorial, Josh Molina sheds light on the city’s meeting-before-the-meeting on the big Paseo Nuevo development and Ryan P. Cruz breaks down the agendas of the city council members pushing anew for rent control. Plus: why supes punted on health department layoffs, why Montecito Union School District decided to settle a $7.5 million, decades-old claim of child abuse, and why Nick went long in this week’s issue on Good Samaritan homeless services.

In an exclusive interview, celebrated public health leader Dr. Peter Marks joins Newsmakers for a far-ranging conversation about the clear and present danger posed to the nation by Robert F. Kennedy’s purge of science-based health and safety policies. Dr. Marks recounts his own defenestration by RFK, after years of government service - including his pivotal role in developing the Covid vaccine - and offers a sobering forecast of what it will take to repair and restore fact-based practices to the task of keeping the U.S. public safe from unnecessary disease.

Assembly member Gregg Hart returns to Newsmakers TV to discuss his just-passed milestone legislation requiring the rogue Sable oil company to undergo full environmental review in its bid to restart the failed pipeline that caused the disastrous Refugio spill. Hart also offers his up-to-date assessment of the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle California’s efforts on climate; concerns about Gov. Newsom’s support for new drilling in the Central Valley; and the Nov. 4 special election campaign to pass Proposition 50, the Democrat’s response to the Texas Republican gerrymander of congressional seats, which Trump triggered to head off GOP loss of the House in the 2026 mid-terms.

It’s a special Three Amigos edition of Newsmakers TV, as Nick Welsh and Josh Molina join the genial host to break down the latest in this week’s top local news stories in Santa Barbara, including the showdown over expanding the Hilton Beachfront Resort, efforts by the city to find a new operator for the FARO homeless navigation center and the local multi-front battle to block Sable Oil’s restart of an antiquated offshore pipeline. Plus: the first you-heard-it-here-first gossip from the 2026 city council campaign trail.

State Senator Monique Limon returns to Newsmakers TV for an urgent conversation about Proposition 50, the one and only issue in the Nov. 4 special election, by which Democrats are trying to respond to Donald Trump’s efforts to redo the national political landscape in advance of the crucial 2026 mid-term elections. Characteristically for Limon, she explains her support of the measure in practical terms – what it means in federal funds for education, health care and emergency services for constitutents, as well as the need to respond to the threats and intimidation that the president has inflicted on communities with large Latino populations, like Santa Barbara.

On this week’s edition, our all-star panel of top local journalists checks in with a batch of scoops,, as Nick Welsh reprises his reporting on the closing of Santa Barbara’s most venerable housing shelter and Sheriff Bill Brown’s double data sets detailing his dealings with federal immigration agents; Ryan P. Cruz has an updated picture of ICE activities on the Central Coast; and Josh Molina has the fascinating story of how SB’s art museum is prep

On a special “Back to School” edition, Santa Barbara Country Superintendent of Schools Superintendent Susan Salcido returns to Newsmakers TV for a conversation of about local districts are responding to a new set of urgent and demanding challenges inflicted by the Trump Administration’s attack on public education, from the looming threat of immigration raids and cuts in federal funding, to the assault on longstanding policies and programs put in place to protect the civil rights of all students. Plus: we try and fail to dent her deep-seated optimism.

The normal chaotic hijinks of the Santa Barbara City Council have accelerated into warp speed and sheer lunacy in recent weeks, as Josh Molina and Ryan P. Cruz join the genial host on this week’s episode of Newsmakers TV to try to make sense of the Gang of Seven’s words and actions on recent key budget, housing and immigration issues. And Callie Fausey discusses her exclusive reporting on the State Street Fiesta stabbings, shedding light on big systemic problems at the courts and on the county’s policies over bail for criminal suspects.

Callie Fausey, Christiana McDermott, Josh Molina and Nick Welsh join the genial host for a fast-paced recap of all of Santa Barbara’s top local news stories, from the financial impacts of Trump Administration cuts being felt by public schools, Planned Parenthood and public broadcasting, to post-mortems of this year’s Fiesta, which could yield a re-imagining of Old Spanish Days, to the latest on the housing front, from vacation rental conflicts to a new vision for Paeo Nuevo. Plus: $55/hour to afford to live in Santa Barbara?

The Independent’s prize-winning columnist and editor Nick Welsh joins the genial host for a one-on-one conversation that takes a deep and detailed dive into the tangled legal, political and policy affairs involving the Sable oil company’s effort to restart offshore oil production and pumping through Santa Barbara County. Plus: updating the myriad of immigration-related matters surrounding Trump’s loutish deportation crusade on the Central Coast.

On the eve of Fiesta, tensions in the community are high over ongoing indiscriminate arrests and harassment of people by brown skin by federal immigration thugs agents, and on this week’s edition of Newsmakers TV, Ryan P. Cruz, Nick Welsh and Josh Molina join the genial host to discuss how Trump’s brutal deportation regime may impact Santa Barbara’s biggest annual civic celebration. Plus: an end to the landlord-tenant battle at 215 Bath Street, another twist in the twisted saga of the Sable offshore oil pipeline, and new transit developments on Cliff Drive and on the 101.

L.A. Times political columnist Mark Z. Barabak joins the genial host of Newsmakers TV for some robust punditry about the state of America on the eve of the nation’s 249th birthday, and how his naturally sunny disposition is being affected by Trump’s provocations, Gavin Newsom’s chameleon act, the disappearance of civility, people making positive change, and his abiding faith in voters.

The Independent’s Christina McDermott and Nick Welsh join the genial host for a deep dive into the two hottest stories on the sizzling housing beat – what the future portends for several hundred elderly tenants in two downtown properties long-operated by the Battistone family, and the outrageous proposal to despoil Santa Barbara’s most iconic location with an eight-story apartment tower next to the Mission. Plus: how the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s tax bill are likely to hammer local health care services.

Ryan P. Cruz and Josh Molina go behind the scenes on their reporting about a week of fear and intimidation triggered by federal immigration raids on two Central Coast cannabis operations, while the genial host tweaks Supervisor Joan Hartmann for her now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t approach to voting on the biggest environmental issue facing Santa Barbara County. Plus: the story of how Josh came to channel Simon Cowell on his latest podcast.

An outraged Rep. Salud Carbajal returns to Newsmakers TV with a full, detailed account of his confrontation with federal immigration officials in Carpinteria last week, warning that Donald Trump is orchestrating from Washington military-style raids by Immigration and Customs Service agents as public displays of pure, partisan political power - in furtherance of his use of ICE as an internal police agency that backs his authoritarian project to transform U.S. democracy into an autocracy.

Chris Meagher made his bones in Santa Barbara, as both a newspaper hack and a political flack, and over the past two decades built a successful career and a splendid reputation as a national communications strategist and political consultant. In an interview with the genial host, he offers an insider’s perspective on the Biden White House and provides clear-eyed perspective on where the government – and the nation – is going under Trump.

Digital news producer Lily Dallow returns to Newsmakers TV for an inside look at how she threw a spotlight on the brutal actions of federal immigration agents in the beating of an Orange County gardener, as she rejoins Nick Welsh, Josh Molina, Ryan P. Cruz and the genial host for a panel discussion of the perils of reporting in the Age of Trump. Plus: all the latest on two of SB’s more controversial housing developments, a slashing Grand Jury report on the county jail and some early prognostication on the issues in the mayor’s race.

It’s a special Three Amigos edition, as Nick Welsh and Josh Molina join the genial host to mark the 501st episode of Newsmakers TV, with a wide-roaming conversation about Santa Barbara connections to the extraordinary events still unfolding in L.A. as well as the latest on the breakthrough achievements of Monique Limón and Meagan Harmon, the nexus of housing and homelessness, and the heartbreaking, still-unsolved death of UCSB first-year student Liz Hamel. Plus: we were talking about the Refugio pipeline on the first shows 10 years ago and we’re still talking about it today.

On the eve of the “No Kings Here” nationwide mass demonstrations against the rogue Trump Administration, four leaders of Indivisible Santa Barbara discuss the plans and politics behind the local protest set for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on Cabrillo Blvd. near Chase Palm Park, where rally-goers will form a human chain along the waterfront in opposition to the cruelty, corruption and incompetence of the game show host president.

In a special, extra edition of Newsmakers TV, a dozen former colleagues and friends of Barney Brantingham meet online to offer memories, reflections and funny stories about the great Santa Barbara city columnist, who recently died at 93. Drawn from the SB News-Press diaspora, the group represents a gathering of the local journalism tribe, as they remember Barney as “the heart of the newsroom” who “loved Santa Barbara more than anybody I know.”

Board of Supervisors Laura Capps returns to Newsmakers TV with a warning that the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts in Medicaid and food programs not only threaten Santa Barbara’s most economically vulnerable citizens but also augur fiscal austerity, as county government begins its budget season. In a conversation with the genial host, she also breaks down the raging political and policy conflicts over oil drilling, both offshore and onshore, and talks about “setting a new course” on the cannabis industry.

Community Conversations | Dr Gaylee Beebe | President Westmont College

Community Conversations | Kelly McAdoo | City Administrator

805 Focus | Storytellers Children Center | Dr Gabriella Garcia

On a special Press Clips edition of Newsmakers TV. B.J. Terhune, California Managing Editor for the local news non-profit Newswell, joins the genial host for a conversation updating the project to “reimagine” the Santa Barbara News-Press and relaunch it as an online site, with all the latest on staffing, timing, planning and more.

On this week’s episode, Nick Welsh untangles the latest legal and political developments in the long-running saga of the Sable Offshore oil pipeline re-start, Josh Molina discusses why that eight-story blockbuster development aimed at the Mission won’t go away, and Ryan P. Cruz reprises the heart-breaking public service for three Dos Pueblos High School students killed in a tragic crash. Plus: a new shopping and dining hot spot in Carp, a look back 100 years at the earthquake that re-shaped the city and all the latest from the pizza and donut beat.

Santa Barbara novelist Jane Hulse returns to Newsmakers for a conversation about her just-out second book, “Outcasts of Essex,” a work that carries on the saga of Sarah Bennett, an independent-minded teenager navigating the personal and political cross-currents of Revolutionary War Era New Hampshire, introduced in her first book of historical fiction, “Prisoner of Wallabout Bay.” Hulse now is writing a third volume in the series, and her books not only showcase the author’s elegant writing style, but also reflect her deep knowledge and lifelong appreciation for the history of the New England small towns where she was born and raised.

Sheriff Bill Brown skipped a hearing of the Board of Supervisors this week, where a large crowd charged he is cooperating with federal immigration authorities, as Nick Welsh returns to Newsmakers TV to sort through the layers of federal, state and local laws and policies behind the matter, as Callie Fausey reports good news from the Santa Barbara Unified School District where layoffs from art and music teachers were rescinded, and Josh Molina explains why the SB City Council members voted to cut their pay. Plus: local impacts of Trump to date, Nick’s latest bike crash and Josh discovers a new pizza joint.

Newsmakers’ All-Star Panel of Veteran Political Pundits returns to dissect Trump’s first 100 days, as strategist Bill Carrick and political journalists Carla Marinucci and Dan Morain discuss the impact on the economy, California and the Democratic Party of White House policies that have disrupted national security alliances around the world, safety net programs throughout the country and constitutional rights and the rule of law across the nation. Plus: the genial host gets all misty about the Federalist Papers

Economics professor Peter Rupert, director of the UCSB Economic Forecast, joins the genial host for a conversation about how Donald Trump’s tariffs and other fiscal policies are transforming the global economy, disquieting business investment and threatening recession. Plus: what this all means for California, and a discussion of how local elected officials are making the housing shortage worse.

Political and legal fallout over the Sable oil pipeline circulated and spread this week, and Margaux Lovely and Nick Welsh return to Newsmakers TV with all the latest, as Josh Molina and Ryan P. Cruz reprise their City Hall reporting on housing, hotels and parking. Plus: county budget makers look to the Trump Administration with dread.

On this week’s episode of Newsmakers TV, SB Independent Editor in Chief Marianne Partridge, and Vicky Riskin, president and founder of Bluedot Living join the genial host to discuss their collaborative publication of the second edition of “The Santa Barbara Green Guide,” which highlights efforts to protect the environment and boost climate resilience, by people working in community. Plus: the latest on their reporting over the efforts by Sable Offshore to restart the pipeline that failed and caused the Refugio oil spill.

The biggest mystery arising from this week’s big Coastal Commission meeting, which ended with an $18 million fine levied against Sable Offshore, concerns the role of the Santa Barbara County Planning Department in approving the permit for the company’s pipeline. Margaux Lovely joins the genial host to discuss her reporting on the matter, while Josh Molina and Ryan P. Cruz discuss the latest developments in the mega-housing projects at La Cumbre Plaza. Plus: the Cookie Plug scandal, farewell to Ed. St. George and fond wishes for ailing SB City Council member Eric Friedman.

Brian Johnson, chief executive officer of the Board of Realtors, and City Council member Meagan Harmon join the genial host for an in-depth conversation about Santa Barbara’s proposed “right to return” ordinance, the latest landlord-tenant battle in the city, which would allow renters to return to their unit after a property owner makes major repairs or renovations, at no more than a 10 percent increase in the original rent they were paying.

Amid a recent batch of high-profile and contentious county government decisions, Gwyn Lurie returns to Newsmakers TV to recount her conversation about them with rookie First District representative Roy Lee, while Callie Fausey explains the astonishing story of how decades-old allegations of sexual abuse now threaten Carpinteria Unified school district, and Josh Molina reprises his reporting on huge City Hall payouts arranged to pry high-paid former executives out of their jobs. Plus: the inside story of that online catch-a-predator vigilante’s foray into Santa Barbara.

Public opposition is building to the re-opening of the offshore oil pipeline that ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio spill and Nick Welsh on this week’s edition reports on the big town hall, which included representatives of eight agencies of state government, while Josh Molina and Callie Fausey reprise a second, epic public meeting, as the Santa Barbara Unified School District board and administration heard hours of opposition to planned layoff notices for teachers. Plus casualties of Trump’s vigilante government, a big pay day for the city’s fired librarian and the latest on anti-renoviction legislation.

The battle over re-opening the pipeline that ruptured and caused the Refugio oil spill remains unsettled, despite an epic hearing before the Board of Supervisors, Margaux Lovely reports on this week’s edition of Newsmakers TV, as Josh Molina brings the latest on City Hall’s efforts to rein in evictions and e-bikes, and Ryan P. Cruz updates ongoing efforts to protect and defend immigrants from Trump’s mass deportation plans. Plus: Hot Springs trail, fire insurance and a spirited exchange over the appropriateness of elected officials using “wildfire” as a metaphor.

Former Mayor Sheila Lodge, who recently retired from the Santa Barbara Planning Commission after 36 years as a local government official, returns to discuss her future concerns and hopes for the city, using her long history in planning, development and land use issues as lens to examine current controversies, from the housing projects planned at La Cumbre Plaza to the e-bike takeover of State Street and the blockbuster monstrosity behind the Mission.

Liberal firebrand and ex-state lawmaker Hannah Beth Jackson joins the gang to reprise last weekend's extraordinary Santa Barbara town hall convened in opposition to Donald Trump's dismantling of the federal government, as Ryan Cruz brings the latest on how the community is responding to new deportation policies, and Josh Molina discusses the furor over a proposal to boost Board of Supervisors salaries by nearly 50 percent. Plus: an update on Josh's family priorities.

L.A. Times political columnist Mark Z. Barabak returns to discuss the early weeks of the new Trump Administration, including the scandalous pardons of January 6 criminals, the prominent role of tech bro oligarchs and the odious attempt to link disaster relief for L.A. fire victims with water policy and false allegations of voter fraud.

Fear, panic and uncertainty are rampant in Santa Barbara’s Latino community amid Donald Trump’s demagoguery over mass deportations, Ryan P. Cruz explains on this week’s edition, as Nick Welsh reprises his reporting on the huge challenge hiding in plain sight that is the community’s rapidly aging population, and Josh Molina breaks down that big brawl at City Hall over dividing up the financial windfall of the Measure I sales tax increase. Plus: the latest on food truck regulations, a new legal barrier to the 250-room planned hotel on Garden Street, and how Trump is channeling William McKinley.