Rowse was on the losing side of a board vote that included five members of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and representatives from each city in the county. "That was the moment I dropped the mic," said Lowes. He joked that he came to the meeting with a "butter knife and a shield doily" because all the information had not been given to him before the meeting. Watch the full interview in the YouTube broadcast below. Williams and other board members say certain plans that could take years to develop slow down an application already filed by the Taylor family to provide nearly 700 cars for the state-facing Plaza parking lot. I didn't want that. city. Rowse and Molina then talk to City Hall and what has changed since they were elected mayor last November. He said his return to in-person meetings coincided with his election made a difference. "We're in the same room, making a difference," says Rowse. "Your meetings are much more effective. When you're talking to someone else in the office, you don't hang around. You're in the public eye and you have nowhere to run or hide. I think it would have been a better council about Rowse also participates in outdoor dining on State Street. He said a few blocks of restaurants have recovered since the city closed roads in the summer of 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic, but retail stores have not. "I don't know if the car will get it back," said Lowes. "But I know a lot of retailers who don't sign leases on closed streets." The mayor then talks about Ariel Calonne, new city attorney Sarah Knecht, former police chief Bernie Melekian, the results of the community building committee, and the morale of the city council. Rowse also reveals the new career status of his son, Brian Rowse, who left the Santa Barbara Unified School District to pursue a new technical career in the area.
Please consider donating to this podcast by clicking here. Click here to subscribe to Santa Barbara Talks. Josh Molina has been working as a journalist for his 20 years in Santa Barbara. He also covered San Jose City Hall for the Mercury News. Besides working as a reporter for Noozhawk, he teaches journalism at California State University, Northridge and Santa Barbara City. Subscribe to his You Tube channel for more content.