Salud Carbajal

Nearly a thousand people packed a Santa Barbara town hall at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara over the weekend. Crowds filled the main room, spilling into the courtyard and around the block. Residents pressed local lawmakers on how they would respond to President Donald Trump’s wave of executive orders and billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE activities.

During Donald Trump’s first week in office, the President spent no time keeping some of his campaign promises and local leaders are reacting. In his first week, President Donald Trump signed more than 200 executive orders on his first day.

A Southern California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would void a coastal commission decision limiting how many rocket launches by Elon Musk’s SpaceX are permitted at Vandenberg Space Force Base per year. That number is currently limited to 36. In October, the California Coastal Commission rejected a bid to increase the number to 50 launches.

The Biden-Harris administration officially designated the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. It’s now the third largest marine sanctuary in the country, and it could get even bigger.

On the third anniversary of the signing of a major infrastructure law, Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal promised to protect the legislation during the next Trump Administration.

A pair of Democratic Congressmembers from the Central Coast are cruising toward re-election. In southern San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County, Rep. Salud Carbajal is way ahead of his Republican opponent, Thomas Cole. In the north of SLO County, four-term Congressman Jimmy Panneta has a commanding lead over his rival, Republican Jason MIchael Anderson.

SLO County voters will choose a congressional representative for California’s 24th district in the upcoming election. This year Democrat Salud Carbajal is up against Republican Thomas Cole.

Plans to designate the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the Central Coast have been released. It's the final step to protect more than 100 miles of California coastline, from Gaviota to Pismo Beach.

Federal firefighters who battle blazes and work to prevent them in California are staring down a looming pay cut. A local representative is among those urging Congress to act before that happens.

Central Coast representatives have publicly endorsed Kamala Harris as the next Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden announced Sunday he will not seek reelection on the November ballot.