Sunstone President Teddy Cabugos and Splash Nano Co-Founder Kalon Baird talk with Journalist Josh Molina about the effort to legalize hemp beverages. Cabugos and Baird have developed a hemp beverage and are working to educate the public and lawmakers about hemp.

Learn all about hemp beverages and their efforts to make it as ubiquitous as other drinks.

Josh Molina is an award-winning journalist who creates conversations around education, housing, pop culture, media, business and more. Check out this podcast by subscribing and visit www.santabarbaratalks.com to support this podcast financially. Follow Josh on Instagram @motownjoshnews

Santa Barbara City Planning Commissioner John Baucke talks about two La Cumbre Plaza housing projects with journalist Josh Molina, in the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks.

Baucke explains his concerns about a 443-unit project for the Sears side of the plaza. He also offers his views on the Macy's project on the other side of the mall. The conversation also shifts to affordable housing and Baucke's ideas for how create a redevelopment agency to help fund affordable housing. Baucke offers a smart take on what's happening with housing at La Cumbre Plaza and throughout the city. He also shares about his personal back story.

Joshua Molina is an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and college instructor who creates compelling conversation on issues of housing, education, politics, business and culture. Please subscribe to this podcast and follow Josh on IG at motownjoshnews. Please consider a financial contribution to support Molina's podcast series at SantaBarbaraTalks.com SBT is an LLC founded by Joshua Molina.

Brittany Zagic and Gareth Kelly join Josh Molina on the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks to talk about their effort to preserve Santa Barbara's Funk Zone. They are fighting against a 250-room hotel proposed for 101 Garden Street. The want the hotel reduced in size or turned into housing to help preserve the charm and culture of the Funk Zone. Check out their points and perspective in this episode. Also, documentary filmmaker Gareth Kelly talks about his film that highlights the people and power of the Funk Zone. Watch the film here: https://www.youtube.com/@bowlinefilms

Joshua Molina is an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and college instructor who creates compelling conversation on issues of housing, education, politics, business and culture. Please subscribe to this podcast and follow Josh on IG @ motownjoshnews. Please consider a financial contribution to support Molina's podcast series at SantaBarbaraTalks.com SBT is an LLC founded by Joshua Molina.

Rob Fredericks, executive director of the Santa Barbara Housing Authority, explains why he is halting new section 8 housing vouchers, the reasoning and who it affects. He also gives an update on the latest Housing Authority developments, including Bella Vista and Jacaranda Court, among others.

Joshua Molina is an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and college instructor who creates compelling conversation on issues of housing, education, politics, business and culture. Please subscribe to this podcast and follow Josh on IG at motownjoshnews. Please consider a financial contribution to support Molina's podcast series at SantaBarbaraTalks.com SBT is an LLC founded by Joshua Molina.

Santa Barbara Teen Star Naomi Jane Voigt, Chloe Voigt, founder of YouthClusive and Kian Strenn, San Marcos High School ASB President, open up about their views on the Santa Barbara Unified School District attempt to cut teacher positions instead of administration. The three talk about the epic 8-hour meeting that ended about 3 a.m. and how they felt disrespected and unheard by some board members, especially board member Bill Banning. Naomi Jane talks about feeling "silenced and diminished by an older man on the board." "In that moment, us students, at least I felt my power in that moment was taken away. My voice got taken away. My passion got taken away. I felt squashed."

Chloe said, "I am just offended by the fact that their job is to listen to us and make school a better place for us, but they don't want to listen to us."

Kian adds: "It seems that they just lost perspective on what it is that really matters at schools, which is clearly the students. The biggest impact on students is what you do with the teachers. It's not the administration. It's not the people at the district level. It's the teachers.

Check out this podcast to hear all their views on the proposed cuts, the mood among students, and where things are headed. Chloe also shares about her YouthClusive arts and theater program that she started at 13 years old. Naomi Jane talks about her experience winning Santa Barbara Teen Star and how she is using that platform to speak out for all students in Santa Barbara and beyond.

Joshua Molina is an award-winning journalist, podcaster, and college instructor who creates compelling conversation on issues of housing, education, politics, business and culture. Please subscribe to this podcast and follow Josh on IG at motownjoshnews. Please consider a financial contribution to support Molina's podcast series at SantaBarbaraTalks.com SBT is an LLC founded by Joshua Molina.

He's only 24, but already, Sullivan Israel is one of Santa Barbara's most influential people. He founded the local Strong Towns SB and has been advocated for safer streets for all types of transportation. Sullivan wants Santa Barbara to move away from planning with a car as the main focus and instead make all ways of transportation an equal option. He wants to bring more housing to the downtown Santa Barbara area because housing downtown, he says, will help revitalize retail on State Street. Sullivan isn't just a guy with ideas. He has degrees in civil engineering and urban planning and is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and UCLA. He attended Laguna Blanca school and guess what? He wants to run for Santa Barbara City Council, possibly even mayor. Check out this dynamic podcast with one of Santa Barbara's brightest stars.

Award-winning journalist Josh Molina creates dynamic and compelling conversations with the region's leaders on the issues of housing, transportation, education, business and culture. He formally worked at the San Jose Mercury News and now is a local journalist and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College. Consider a contribution to support his podcast by visiting www.santabarbaratalks.com and please subscribe on YouTube.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors want to increase their pay by $58,000 annually. They are set to vote on the matter Tuesday, Feb. 25. Conservative Andy Caldwell has been vocal about the proposed raise, calling it "obscene." In this podcast he talks with Josh Molina about the pay raise, why he objects to it, and why he believes it is a part-time job. Caldwell also discusses the controversial Santa Barbara County AMR contract, something he calls the worst moment he has scene in his more than three decades of following county government. The two also talk about Roy Lee, Bob Nelson, Steve Lavagnino and why Das Williams lose. Caldwell says he grew to like Williams, at a time when his early supporters left him.

Joshua Molina is an award-winning journalist who creates compelling conversations with dynamic individuals on the topics of housing, education, culture, art, politics and so much more. Please consider a contribution at www.santabarbaratalks.com to support these podcasts and following him on instagram at @motownjoshnews.com

Storyteller Leslie Zemeckis talks with Josh Molina about her award-winning, women-centered films that tell the lost stories of powerful women in history.

Her most recent documentary Grandes Horizontales tells the story of mid-1805s courtesans who accumulated wealth, power and property by breaking the rules, when women could now marry or work outside of their class.

From her website lesliezemeckis.com: "It isn’t for us to judge their choices but to reveal the answers behind the why and the what about these free-spirited, determined women that inspired decades of artists who tried to capture their likeness, their essence, their appeal."

She also talks about her body of work, including "Bound by Flesh" about conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, and the award-winning "Mabel, Mabel, Tiger Trainer" about the first female tiger trainer, Mabel Stark,

Zemeckis explains why she was called to tell the stories of women and the lessons we can learn from powerful women in the past. She also teaches writing and storytelling and recently returned to a full-time schedule at Santa Barbara City College.

Joshua Molina is an award-winning journalist who creates compelling conversations with dynamic individuals on the topics of housing, education, culture, art, politics and so much more. Please consider a contribution at www.santabarbaratalks.com to support these podcasts and following him on instagram at @motownjoshnews.com

Find Leslie Zemeckis at @lesliezemeckis

Developer Peter Lewis pulls back the curtain and talks about the blockbuster deal to sell the 81-unit Soltara Apartments in downtown Santa Barbara to UCSB. Lewis explains how the deal went down and why it was necessary to do so. He also talks about State Street housing, downtown, commercial conversions, and the Cost Plus World Market.

Joshua Molina is a journalist, college professor and podcaster who creates dynamic conversations on housing, education, transportation, business, culture and the issues of the day with community leaders and personalities. Visit www.santabarbaratalks.com to make a financial contribution to support this independently owned podcast. Also subscribe to IG @motownjoshnews

Newsmakers with JR editor Jerry Roberts talks about his switch to Substack as a distribution platform in the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina. Roberts explains what the change means, and his vision for the site, created in 2014 with Hap Freund, which provides analysis, commentary and enterprise journalism about Santa Barbara public affairs. Roberts also discusses the broader media landscape and his disgust with Donald Trump.

Molina and Roberts also talk about Roy Lee, Das Williams, Wendy Santamaria and what Sheila Lodge no longer on the Santa Barbara Planning Commission means for the city.

Check out the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina and consider a financial contribution to support these podcasts at www.santabarbaratalks.com. Also, please hit subscribe on YouTube.

Joshua Molina is a journalist and college instructor who creates dynamic conversations on the topics of housing, politics, education, culture and business. Please hit subscribe on YouTube.