SB Shockers: 3,000 Join Anti-Trump Town Hall; Supes Mull Spike in Their Own Pay
Hannah Beth Jackson drops by to join Newsmakers TV's all-star panel in breaking down and analyzing the top local stories of the week in Santa Barbara
The chaos, corruption and cruelty that have defined Donald Trump’s first weeks in office, and unfolded with savagery, speed and indifference to the Constitution, surprisingly so far have met with scant political opposition.
So it is notable that, last week in Santa Barbara, 3,000 people took part in a community town hall convened by Indivisible Santa Barbara to “Stop the Coup,” and give voice to ways and means of standing up to Trump’s gangster government.
“Democracy is being dismantled,” said Hannah Beth Jackson, former longtime state legislator and lifetime liberal firebrand. “This is a cancer on our society.”
Jackson was a featured speaker at the big event last Saturday, which drew national cable news attention , as1,000 people showed up in person while several thousand more participated online. And she joined the gang on this week’s episode of Newsmakers TV, to discuss what citizens can do, at a time when the Democratic Party is flailing in its floundering effort to coordinate and coalesce around a strategy and tactics befitting an effective opposition party.
Ryan Cruz, who covered the town hall, also has been reporting and writing on the impact on local Latino and immigrant communities of Trump’s mass deportation threats. On this week’s panel, he reprises his reporting on the town hall and on an impromptu mass demonstration on Milpas Street, as well as the atmosphere of dread afflicting Eastside and Westside neighborhoods.
In non-Trump news, Josh Molina discusses his big scoop of the week, a proposal from county staff that members of the Board of Supervisors give themselves a $56,000-a-year raise, to bring their annual salary to about $171,000. It doesn’t take a genius political pundit to foresee public outcry over this one, but fortunately our all-star panel is ready to offer several political approaches to handle and finesse the matter.
Plus: How “Beauty and the Beast” kept Josh from covering the anti-Trump rally.
All this and more, right here, right now, on Newsmakers TV.
Check out the new episode below, or by clicking through this link. The podcast is on Soundcloud here, and also available on Spotify, Apple and other platforms. TVSB, Channel 17, airs the show every weeknight at 8 p.m. and at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. KCSB, 91.9 FM, broadcasts the program at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.