Tip O'Neill once declared that all politics are local, pointing out that when it comes to streets, schools and taxes, we care mostly about how they affect us. Television is sort of like that -- when it comes to local television, it gets the most attention from viewers. So here's the local news, right up front.

Food Network is airing a "sneak peek" of a new show starring Gina and Pat Neely, which starts with a profile of Carlsbad Gourmet. The show, "Road Tasted With the Neelys," features handcrafted food from across the country that can be ordered online and shipped to consumers. The first episode focuses on four area companies.

Russ Bruhn, owners of Carlsbad Gourmet, said the Neelys visited several months ago and checked out all his products, which focus on strawberries as a main ingredient. The Carlsbad Gourmet item featured in "Road Tasted With the Neelys" is a Red Ruby Strawberry Bar-B-Que Sauce. The other companies and products are Firecracker Truffles from Chuao Chocolatier in San Diego, Whale Tails Tortilla Chips of San Diego, and Chewy Chocolate Cheek Cookies from Sweet Cheeks Baking Company in National City.

The sneak peek of "Road Tasted With the Neelys" airs at 11 p.m. Sunday on Food Network.

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The first of August is going to bring major changes to San Diego's channel lineup. On that day, local Fox affiliate XETV/Channel 6 will change into SD 6 The CW and will begin to broadcast CW programming, such as "Gossip Girl." KSWB/Channel 5, the CW affiliate, will morph into Fox 5 SD and will pick up Fox programming, including "American Idol."

KSWB dropped its local news team almost three years ago and outsourced its news to KNSD, but the new Fox 5 SD will create its own news programming and teams, including Arthel Neville and Chrissy Russo (formerly of XETV) in the weekday morning slot. Kathleen Bade (formerly of KFMB) will anchor the station's 10 p.m. weekday news slot, and Susan Lennon (formerly of KUSI) will anchor the station's 10 p.m. weekend news broadcast.

When XETV becomes SD 6 The CW, the station will keep its current news teams, including Marc Bailey, Lynda Martin and Ruben Galvan for its weekday morning newscasts, and Jim Patton, Heather Myers, Aloha Taylor and C.S. Keys for its 10 p.m. weekday newscasts.

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Fans of KFMB anchor Stan Miller have asked where he's been. According to station personnel, Miller is on a leave of absence and is expected to return Aug. 28. The station would not say why Miller is out.

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One last local note: Fans of Showtime's comedy "Weeds" may have noticed the show's setting, which was once in a fictionalized planned community called Agrestic somewhere near Los Angeles, has moved south to San Diego County. Although the screenwriters of "Weeds" haven't officially named where Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) has relocated her family, it looks very much like Imperial Beach. The show did refer to stops in Oceanside and Carlsbad. "Weeds" airs at 10 p.m. Mondays on Showtime.

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The role of Camp Pendleton Marines is featured in two programs airing this week. The first is a new seven-part HBO miniseries, "Generation Kill," based on the 2004 book of the same name by Rolling Stone correspondent Evan Wright. Embedded with the First Reconnaissance Battalion during the first 40 days of the Iraq War, Wright reported on the experiences of the Marines, focusing his story on six Marines from Bravo Company.

One of the Marines, Sgt. Rudy Reyes, will portray himself in the miniseries, and two others from Bravo Company, Sgt. Eric Kucher and Cpl. Jeffrey Carisalez, served as consultants. "Generation Kill" begins at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.

It's difficult to watch the next "P.O.V." documentary, "The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez," and not think of how tragic it is that an 18-year-old man lost his life because of missteps and misunderstanding.

Hernandez was shot and killed in 1997 by Cpl. Clemente Banuelos, a Marine on patrol near Redford, Texas, at the U.S.-Mexico border. Banuelos and the three other Marines with him were assigned to assist Border Patrol agents against drug traffickers, an operation begun in 1989 by President George H. Bush and bolstered by President Clinton.

Redford's population was just under 100, but a Border Patrol report to the Marines stated 75 percent of the residents were involved in the drug trade. However, "The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez" portrays a town filled with poor farmers and ranchers, and a Border Patrol agent assigned to the region says in the film that although he had heard the same statistic, he didn't believe it was true or what it was based on.

But the Marines, who trained at Camp Pendleton, didn't know the region, and the Redford residents didn't know that the Marines, who wore ghillie suits -- camouflage that blends into the surrounding foliage -- were even in the area. Hernandez, who walked his herd of goats to the Rio Grande every day, carried a .22-caliber rifle that day because dogs had been bothering the goats. At one point he fired into the bush, in the direction of the Marines, who didn't fire back but followed him down a road and fired when they believed he was raising his rifle to shoot at them again.

Filmmaker Kieran Fitzgerald emphasizes the tragedy of Hernandez's death without assigning blame. Marine Corps investigators and FBI agents interviewed for the film generally agree Banuelos took aggressive action to pursue Hernandez down a road, but also agree that Marine Corps training is meant to teach that reaction. Banuelos, who was the first military member since the 1970 incident at Kent State to kill a fellow American citizen, was never indicted for the event. He refused to be interviewed for the film.

"The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez," narrated by actor Tommy Lee Jones, airs at 10:30 p.m. Sunday on KPBS.

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Holly Hunter plays such an unlikable character in "Saving Grace" that it's hard to watch at times, but as an actress, she's always a thrill. Hunter returns for a second season as Oklahoma City police Detective Grace Hanadarko, who drinks too much, fights her own personal demons, and finds solace in her angel, Earl, played by Leon Rippy.

Grace has hunted down the priest who raped her and is seeking revenge. Her best friend, Rhetta (Laura San Giacomo), is trying to stop her from killing the man, all while Grace is trying to downplay the department's efforts to name her a hero for capturing one of the FBI's most wanted. It doesn't look like life is going to get easier for Grace this season -- she wouldn't want it that way -- but it does look like she's going to gain more insights into life with Earl at her side.

"Saving Grace" returns at 10 p.m. Monday on TNT. Spoiler alert: This episode takes a storyline from local headlines -- a police canine is injured during a fall from a bridge, mirroring what happened to an Oceanside Police dog this past New Year's Day.

Ann Zivotsky writes about television for the North County Times. Contact her at nctimestv@cox.net.