Amid the usual raft of sniping and cheap shots aimed at each other, the Newsmakers TV panel finds consensus in our latest episode about how badly City Hall bungled recent roll-outs of several controversial initiatives.
Nick Welsh describes the maladroit mess Mayor Cathy and her council colleagues made with their politically tone deaf efforts to seize parking lots for two contentious projects, without bothering to seek, let alone gain, neighborhood buy-in: One has been earmarked for a major, disputatious development for homeless people, while the other is eyed to pave the way for the big new cop shop – by displacing the Farmer’s Market, the only thing more popular in Santa Barbara than dolphins.
Josh Molina goes behind the scenes of Herself’s ham-handed move to cut short public comment from folks at council meetings – a measure squarely aimed at City Hall gadfly Anna Marie Gott, Alcaldesa’s chief and most vociferous critic; characteristically, Cathy insults our intelligence by swearing it’s not about Gott, but rather giving others a chance at the mike. Puh-leeze.
KCRW’s Kathryn Barnes also returns, and breaks down Hannah Beth and Monique’s efforts to improve emergency communications to residents about looming disasters and the Indy’s Tyler Hayden reads the tea leaves about what’s up with Bellosguardo – until he suddenly tires of talking about the issue and propels the whole discussion into bedlam.
It’s all right here, right now on Newsmakers TV.