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.

The Santa Barbara News-Press this week named Josh Molina the first editor of the newly-launched, digital incarnation of the historic local news operation and, in his first extensive interview, he talks with Newsmakers TV about the vision for the new News-Press and its impacts on the media landscape, speaking emotionally about his deep roots in the community, long journey through a tumultuous period in the industry, and views on the importance of maintaining venerable values of credibility and fact-based reporting.

In a special Three Amigos episode of Newsmakers TV, Josh Molina and Nick Welsh join the genial host for droll stroll through the week’s top news stories in Santa Barbara, from the foggy future of Paseo Nuevo, simmering conflict over a homeless navigation center and private sector pushback on the city’s waterfront leasing policies, to the latest chapter in the endless story of the North County jail, a hopeful development in the saga of State Street’s future and a new twist in the tragic saga at UCSB.

The Santa Barbara City Council’s refusal to endorse a controversial redevelopment plan for the Paseo Nuevo shopping center has left the hugely consequential land use issue in limbo, and on this week’s edition of Newsmakers TV, Josh Molina and Ryan P. Cruz break down what comes next, as Christina McDermott reprises her reporting on the latest injuries inflicted on local communities by the Trump Administration. Plus: Jerry rants about what’s ultimately behind the mob boss president’s immigration policies.

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.

As City Council prepares to vote on a new plan for Paseo Nuevo, City Administrator Kelly McAdoo, State Street Master Planner Tess Harris and two of their key consultants join Josh Molina, Nick Welsh and the genial host for an in-depth and detailed conversation about the finances, housing and design impacts and implications of the project, Santa Barbara’s most complex and consequential land use issue of this century.

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.

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.