The Santa Barbara News-Press’ mission since it announced a relaunch has been to be a countywide news agency.
In this edition, we begin our coverage of the Santa Barbara County Fifth District Supervisor’s contest. The district encompasses Santa Maria, Guadalupe and the unincorporated area of Tanglewood.
Cory Bantilan is running for the seat against Santa Maria City Councilwoman Maribel Aguilera and Santa Maria-Bonita School District board member Ricardo Valencia. The current supervisor, Steve Lavagnino, is not seeking reelection.
Bantilan serves as Lavagnino’s chief of staff.
If no candidate receives 50.1% of the vote in the June 2 primary, the top two will move on to the November ballot.
The News-Press will provide coverage of the contest, including interviews with candidates and overall stories about the race.
As we build out our newsroom, we will provide even more coverage on the issues that matter to residents in North County. We are in the process of hiring our first two reporters to strengthen our coverage.
More than 50 people have applied to work in our nonprofit newsroom. It’s exciting that so many people locally and throughout the state want to work at the News-Press.
We are committed to building the right team that covers the news throughout the county.
Joshua Molina
News-Press Editor
Top read of the day
Santa Barbara Planning Commission advances short-term rental measure despite misgivings
By Chris Woodyard • Santa Barbara News-Press
The proposed ordinance is aimed at regulating homes and units rented to vacationers and others for less than 30 days, such as those offered through Airbnb.
4 stories creating buzz
Local voices
‟I’m a little uneasy in the direction that we’re going. I want to ensure that if we’re doing this and we’ve taken 10 years to do this, let’s do it right.”
— Devon Wardlow, speaking about the city’s short-term vacation rental policy
Must watch
Josh Molina talks with Cory Bantilan about his bid to replace Steve Lavagnino on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors
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