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Santa Barbara mayoral candidates debate finances, housing and State Street at News-Press forum

Santa Barbara mayoral candidates debate finances, housing and State Street at News-Press forum

An estimated 240 people attended the event sponsored by the Santa Barbara News-Press and co-hosted with Newsmakers with JR’s Jerry Roberts

by Amanda Velasco • Santa Barbara News-Press September 4, 2026September 4, 2026

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Sep 4

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Thank you to everyone that came out to our Santa Barbara mayoral debate at the New Vic Theatre!

This was the first event of this kind that the News-Press has hosted. The debate was co-hosted by News-Press editor Joshua Molina and Jerry Roberts from Newsmakers with JR. It was also the first Santa Barbara mayoral debate of the 2026 election season. We had over 220 attendees!

If you missed the event, stay tuned for a recap article from reporter Amanda Velasco later tonight. Also, we will be posting videos of the candidates responses to specific questions here on our social media.

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Sep 3

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Impacts from the storm, such as rain and surf, are forecast for Sunday and Monday.

“We’re expecting, depending on the track, a good southeast swell of 6-8 feet,” National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Thompson said. That 6-8 foot swell is for Ventura and Santa Barbara coastlines.

Thompson said the chances of Marie making landfall are low.

“Legitimate chances are easily less than 5%, probably closer to 1-2% of any circulation maintaining itself and impacting anywhere in Southern California,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that they are using 2022 Hurricane Kay as a comparison due to the similarities between the two storms.

“Hurricane Kay was the most similar, it definitely will have potential for very high surf and possibilities of coastal flooding,” Thompson said.

Hurricane Kay produced a south swell, where waves approach the Santa Barbara coastline from the south. That swell angle slid waves between the Channel Islands, bringing sizable surf to Sandspit, East Beach, and underneath Stearns Wharf.

That swell angle isn’t the best for point breaks along the south county coast but novelty breaks can fire up. Beach breaks along the Pacific Coast Highway between Carpinteria and Ventura can also light up, looking more like left point-breaks than closeouts in some spots.

While the specifics of the swell will be highly dependent on the track Marie takes over the next few days, the storm should bring some waves during a time of year that usually sees smaller surf.

Read more at the link in bio.
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Sep 2

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Firefighters train at the historic Granada Theatre on State Street in Santa Barbara, California.

Video: Julianna Lozada
#santabarbara

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Sep 2

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Did you know we send out a daily newsletter written by our staff every morning? 📰📧

Sign up at the link in bio or at newspress.com

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Aug 30

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Julianna Lozada brings you the top news stories of the week! Subscribe to our newsletter to get all the news first in the morning! Video shot and edited by Amanda Velasco. visit newspress.com and linkin.bio

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