Hurricane rerun ahead? - Santa Barbara News-Press

Good morning, Santa Barbara ☀️

Here’s what we have for you today:

Who is Anabella Lehne? Sofia Wallace has the story of the District 6 Santa Barbara City Council candidate.
Ready. Fire. Aim. Goleta City Council tries to refocus after a gun store opens near daycare center.
UCSB’s no longer the nation’s No. 1 party school, at least according to one ranking system.
The 2014 Hurricane Marie brought historic surf. Could 2026 Tropical Storm Marie bring the same?
And shoutout to reader Darin Garard, who correctly guessed Wednesday’s quiz question “NeoGuard.” He is a multiple-time winner! We had several correct responses, but Garard was the first to respond! 😊

The next generation of reporters

We are excited to see everyone at tonight’s Santa Barbara mayor’s debate at The New Vic Theatre, produced by TV Santa Barbara, in partnership with Newsmakers with JR.

Most of our News-Press staff will be in attendance to help and report on the event. While much has been discussed about the return of the News-Press, what has brought me the most joy so far is working alongside the next generation of Santa Barbara reporters.

If you have seen our News-Press social media channels, or my Instagram page, you have probably seen regular video updates of the newsroom, or our reporters out in the field gathering news. I have never witnessed so much joy in a professional newsroom.

What makes this experience as editor even better is that our full-time reporters are earning a living wage, with health insurance benefits, in Santa Barbara. We also paid our six summer interns $20 an hour for $20 hours a week, paid by the Sara Miller McCune Foundation. We are currently advertising to hire two more full-time reporters.

Professional journalism is difficult to produce because it is expensive. The fact that we have launched another news outlet in town—in 2026—is nothing short of a journalistic miracle. We have young journalists starting their careers, earning a living wage, happy and joyous every day to have the opportunity to be a journalist in this community. And ultimately who benefits? Not any single news outlet—it’s the community because we have more journalists holding the government accountable and shining another light on the community.

More journalism strengthens democracy.

I am rooting for our young News-Press journalists—so they can be here 20 years from now, and are able to create their own legacies. I am grateful that they can be paid a living wage. I am grateful that I was able to hire a veteran journalist like myself, Tom Schultz, who has a family, including a young child, and give him an opportunity to work in the field he loves, and as a mid-career journalist. We need journalists to stick around for decades and develop a mastery of the communities they cover.

I am rooting for all journalists in this town, no matter where they work. We need them, and it brings me unbelievable joy to watch my News-Press team tell the stories of a new generation, both the community’s and their own.

Joshua Molina

News-Press Editor

Stories you should know about

MapQuest gains massive new following after it pushes back against President Trump’s effort to rename Lake Ontario, “Lake America.” (Politico)

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America endorse Nithya Raman, Karen Bass’ opponent in the Los Angeles mayor’s race. (Los Angeles Times)

Michael Connelly and a team of true crime podcasters say they have solved the secret behind the Zodiac killer—using AI. (The Standard)

From the News-Press archives

We will crown a new mayor on Nov. 3. Back in 2009, Santa Barbara elected feminist Helene Schneider to the mayor’s spot. She replaced Mayor Marty Blum and served two terms as mayor, after she was elected to the City Council twice.

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