A bit of breaking news on this week's edition of Newsmakers TV, with word that Superior Court Judge Donna Geck granted an injunction on Friday morning to halt the county's plan to implant more parking in a Montecito neighborhood near the Hot Springs Trailhead.
As growing throngs of people traipse up the trail to the hot springs, many drawn by reports on social media, the simmering conflict between neighbors and visitors boiled over when four homeowners hired the high-powered law firm of Cappello & Noel to go to court to force the Public Works Department to complete an environmental impact study before proceeding with their effort to create as many as 62 parking spaces on the street; that is what the judge just ordered, reports Josh Molina, who also explains why the controversy is a political problem for Supevisor Das Williams.
Nick Welsh goes behind the scenes on the Independent's just-out political endorsements for the June 7 election and details why the newspaper elevated the contest for the below-the-radar office of County Schools Superintendent, usually a guaranteed cure for insomnia, into Topic A in political circles, as incumbent Susan Salcido is challenged by PE teacher Christy Lozano, who's carrying the local banner for social conservative culture warriors around the nation.
Jun Starkey updates the Santa Barbara Unified School District's ongoing effort to help close the "Education Gap" between white and Latino students through a push for new bilingual language programs to help English Learners, and breaks down the three curricula now.being considered by the district; she also has the latest on YouTuber knucklehead Trevor Jacob, who crashed a small plane on purpose to produce a video that would, um, get lots of clicks.
And Ryan P. Cruz offers the latest on the race for Sheriff between longtime incumbent Bill Brown and Deputy Juan Camarena - Ryan will moderate the first debate between the two next week -- and also reports on the joint meeting of the SB City Council and Planning Commission, in which officials spit-balled ideas for financing and addressing the intractable problem of affordable housing, along with what to do about state government's demand for more than 8,000 new units to be built in the city. Sheesh.
Plus: Sea level rise, wind power and an around-the-horn on this week's huge news about Roe v. Wade.
JR
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