The Issues Desk
Santa Barbara County Issues
The fights that actually decide the county — who controls each one, where it's hottest, and what's at stake.
Housing
The county decided not to build. Everyone is paying the rent on that decision.
Public Safety
Everyone wants more deputies and a smaller budget. Pick one.
Oil & Energy
The county that birthed Earth Day still argues about oil every single month.
Water
There is no water issue. There are forty water issues, and they all sue each other.
Homelessness
Everyone agrees it's a crisis. Nobody agrees whose budget it's on.
Schools
Low-turnout school board races quietly run the county's biggest budgets.