On a special “Back to School” edition, Santa Barbara Country Superintendent of Schools Superintendent Susan Salcido returns to Newsmakers TV for a conversation of about local districts are responding to a new set of urgent and demanding challenges inflicted by the Trump Administration’s attack on public education, from the looming threat of immigration raids and cuts in federal funding, to the assault on longstanding policies and programs put in place to protect the civil rights of all students. Plus: we try and fail to dent her deep-seated optimism.

The normal chaotic hijinks of the Santa Barbara City Council have accelerated into warp speed and sheer lunacy in recent weeks, as Josh Molina and Ryan P. Cruz join the genial host on this week’s episode of Newsmakers TV to try to make sense of the Gang of Seven’s words and actions on recent key budget, housing and immigration issues. And Callie Fausey discusses her exclusive reporting on the State Street Fiesta stabbings, shedding light on big systemic problems at the courts and on the county’s policies over bail for criminal suspects.

Callie Fausey, Christiana McDermott, Josh Molina and Nick Welsh join the genial host for a fast-paced recap of all of Santa Barbara’s top local news stories, from the financial impacts of Trump Administration cuts being felt by public schools, Planned Parenthood and public broadcasting, to post-mortems of this year’s Fiesta, which could yield a re-imagining of Old Spanish Days, to the latest on the housing front, from vacation rental conflicts to a new vision for Paeo Nuevo. Plus: $55/hour to afford to live in Santa Barbara?

The Independent’s prize-winning columnist and editor Nick Welsh joins the genial host for a one-on-one conversation that takes a deep and detailed dive into the tangled legal, political and policy affairs involving the Sable oil company’s effort to restart offshore oil production and pumping through Santa Barbara County. Plus: updating the myriad of immigration-related matters surrounding Trump’s loutish deportation crusade on the Central Coast.

On the eve of Fiesta, tensions in the community are high over ongoing indiscriminate arrests and harassment of people by brown skin by federal immigration thugs agents, and on this week’s edition of Newsmakers TV, Ryan P. Cruz, Nick Welsh and Josh Molina join the genial host to discuss how Trump’s brutal deportation regime may impact Santa Barbara’s biggest annual civic celebration. Plus: an end to the landlord-tenant battle at 215 Bath Street, another twist in the twisted saga of the Sable offshore oil pipeline, and new transit developments on Cliff Drive and on the 101.

Ryan P. Cruz and Josh Molina go behind the scenes on their reporting about a week of fear and intimidation triggered by federal immigration raids on two Central Coast cannabis operations, while the genial host tweaks Supervisor Joan Hartmann for her now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t approach to voting on the biggest environmental issue facing Santa Barbara County. Plus: the story of how Josh came to channel Simon Cowell on his latest podcast.

An outraged Rep. Salud Carbajal returns to Newsmakers TV with a full, detailed account of his confrontation with federal immigration officials in Carpinteria last week, warning that Donald Trump is orchestrating from Washington military-style raids by Immigration and Customs Service agents as public displays of pure, partisan political power - in furtherance of his use of ICE as an internal police agency that backs his authoritarian project to transform U.S. democracy into an autocracy.

The Independent’s Christina McDermott and Nick Welsh join the genial host for a deep dive into the two hottest stories on the sizzling housing beat – what the future portends for several hundred elderly tenants in two downtown properties long-operated by the Battistone family, and the outrageous proposal to despoil Santa Barbara’s most iconic location with an eight-story apartment tower next to the Mission. Plus: how the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s tax bill are likely to hammer local health care services.

L.A. Times political columnist Mark Z. Barabak joins the genial host of Newsmakers TV for some robust punditry about the state of America on the eve of the nation’s 249th birthday, and how his naturally sunny disposition is being affected by Trump’s provocations, Gavin Newsom’s chameleon act, the disappearance of civility, people making positive change, and his abiding faith in voters.

Chris Meagher made his bones in Santa Barbara, as both a newspaper hack and a political flack, and over the past two decades built a successful career and a splendid reputation as a national communications strategist and political consultant. In an interview with the genial host, he offers an insider’s perspective on the Biden White House and provides clear-eyed perspective on where the government – and the nation – is going under Trump.