In the first show of 2021, the Newsmakers TV gang returns with inside analysis and behind-the-scenes commentary on the biggest local news stories in Santa Barbara.
Just three days into the New Year, a still unsolved shooting episode on the Eastside claimed the lives of two neighborhood teenagers, and Nick Welsh reports that law enforcement authorities are investigating possible connections between that incident and an outbreak of gunfire on the Westside the following night and a downtown stabbing incident a few days earlier.
Delaney Smith has the latest on the local surge in Covid infections, hospitalizations and deaths, and Josh Molina talks about how the pandemic's impact on public school students has generated a new proposal for grading, as some struggle with online learning efforts and there's still no date for a return to classrooms on the horizon. Plus the latest political scenarios, speculations and gossip, with Mayor Cathy Murillo and three city council members seeking new terms in this year's Santa Barbara election.
The panel also remembers the third anniversary of the deadly Montecito debris flow, which will be commemorated tomorrow. You can watch the special, award-winning TVSB documentary about the tragic event, produced by Melinda Burns and Newsmakers producer Hap Freund, on our YouTube channel below, or via this link.
If you're reading on the blog, watch the new panel show via YouTube below, and if you're an email subscriber click through on this link. The podcast version is here.