DUI suspected in downtown rollover - Santa Barbara News-Press

Good morning, Santa Barbara ☀️

Here’s what we have for you today:

SUV rolls during Monday evening rush hour in downtown Santa Barbara; suspected DUI, according to authorities. Tom Schultz reports.
Santa Barbara prepares for El Niño dangers as it welcomes Creek Week. Kaitlin Sweeney reports what’s ahead.
In a Santa Barbara City Council battle for downtown, experience collides with new ideas. I was at the scene of the Independent’s forum.
We’re fully entrenched in election season. Our News-Press staff is out there and will continue to cover this year’s contests—from school boards to board of supervisors. If your organization is holding a forum and want us to know about it, please shoot us an email. We believe it is important to provide as much election coverage as possible as a way to participate in our Democracy. The readers, the residents and the voters can only benefit from news coverage and we are here to tell you about it. 😊

Joshua Molina

News-Press Editor

Stories you should know about

A ‘super’ El Niño is about to crash into California: Here are 9 essential ways to prepare. (Los Angeles Times)

Picking a fight with the media: News outlets Trump banned from White House file lawsuit. (Politico)
Analysis: How President Trump has cracked down on dissent since the killing of Charlie Kirk. (New York Times)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on 2028: “Life doesn’t wait for you to be ready.” The New York congresswoman talks possible presidential run. (New York Times)

Looking back

All of this election coverage has me reminiscing. One candidate I covered back in the early 2000s was Babatunde Folayemi. He was an activist who worked with youth. He shocked the political establishment by winning a seat on the City Council—before district elections. Folayemi was the first Black candidate to win a seat on the board.

If you knew Folayemi, you knew that he was smart, kind, gracious—and he liked to hug. He greeted everyone warmly and with love. Of all the City Council members I have covered in 25 years, he was the most quotable, always speaking from the heart. He encountered some health problems during his first term and was not re-elected. But he left a legacy, both as an activist and a councilmember. He proved that someone could win even if they were outside of the political establishment and that sometimes simply connecting with voters is enough.

The story below is from 2003, and his re-election campaign effort, where he talked about his health problems and his passion for public office.

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