Cover Story
Waiting to fish: New regulations delayed the 2020-21 Dungeness crab season, forcing crab fishermen to rely on staples like black cod
On Dec. 14, 2020, longtime local fisherman Bill Blue sat next to his boat, Brita Michelle, on the dock in Morro Bay. The fishing season for Dungeness crab had been delayed due to “low meat quality” and was slated to open on Dec. 23. “It’s just lost days in the ocean so it affects everybody’s…
Hundreds in rural SLO County and Santa Maria lose power in PG&E shutoff
Gusty winds and dry conditions caused PG&E to preemptively cut power to hundreds of households in rural southern San Luis Obispo County and Santa Maria on Jan. 19—part of the utility’s first wave of Public Safety Power Shutoffs in 2021. The shutoff, which spans seven Central California counties, is impacting 462 customers around Huasna, Suey,…
SLO County ICU bed capacity decreases due to staffing
Local ICU bed capacity in SLO County dropped by 15 available beds on Jan. 11, according to new data released by San Luis Obispo County. SLO County Public Health made the adjustment after consulting with local hospitals and changed the number from 53 total licensed ICU beds to 38 licensed and staffed ICU beds. Previous…
CenCal Health earns top marks among Medi-Cal providers for prenatal and postpartum care
For all the parts of everyday existence that were put on pause during COVID-19, one didn’t go anywhere: the miracle of life. “Our number of in-hospital deliveries has stayed steady,” Dr. Karen Hord, deputy chief medical officer at CenCal Health, told New Times. “We haven’t had any clinics or hospitals close for this essential care.”…
Mural concepts are unfolding in Atascadero as part of the Equality Mural Project
Donate today! Money is currently being raised to create 10 new murals in Atascadero. You can view the design concepts at 6100 El Camino Real, suite B. The gallery space was donated by Z Villages and the public can view the work by appointment, masks required. Contact zoe@zvillages.com. Donations are being accepted via Venmo @equalitymuralproject,…
SLOMA presents Grease, Water, and Stone: An Ocean Works Retrospective
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) is showcasing a variety of lithography prints in its current Gray Wing exhibition, Grease, Water, and Stone: An Ocean Works Retrospective, which premiered on Friday, Jan. 8, and is scheduled to remain on display through Sunday, Feb. 28. This retrospective features lithographs created for Ocean Works Press…
Art Center Morro Bay hosts Zoom workshop with mixed media artist Lisa Agaran
Art Center Morro Bay presents Painting with Paper, a virtual two-part workshop with instructor Lisa Agaran, on Friday, Jan. 29, and Saturday, Jan. 30, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. both days. Participants will learn how to create works of art from old textbooks, greeting cards, wrapping paper, and other materials fit for repurposing. Agaran’s mixed…
Convicted SLO County stalker eligible for release in April
An Atascadero man accused of stalking, harassing, and abusing roughly 30 men and women will likely be released from prison in April of this year, almost three years earlier than his victims expected. Josiah Johnstone was convicted of a felony count of stalking and felony criminal threats in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on…
Bates Motel offers a compelling origin story for Psycho
BATES MOTEL What’s it rated? TV-MA What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Netflix This contemporary prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic, Psycho—which was based on Robert Bloch’s 1959 horror novel about isolated motel caretaker Norman Bates and his domineering mother—is set in modern day Oregon…
Atascadero wants community input on sales tax measure spending
An overwhelming 58.6 percent of Atascadero residents voted in favor on the November 2020 ballot for sales tax Measure D-20, which will generate $4.5 million annually for the city’s general fund revenue. And residents have nine more opportunities to voice their thoughts on how the funds should be allocated. The first of 10 meetings kicked…
Superintelligence
What’s it rated? PG When? 2020 Where’s it showing? HBO Max When the fate of the world falls on average Carol Peters’ (Melissa McCarthy) shoulders, antics ensue. Superintelligence, an AI voiced by James Corden, has chosen to study Carol in his ultimate decision to either enslave, save, or destroy humanity. Proving people are good isn’t…
Volunteers 2021
In our annual Volunteers Issue, Assistant Editor Peter Johnson talks to the El Camino Homeless Organization about its new North County shelter and Staff Writer Kasey Bubnash writes about senior services organizations struggling to provide the same level of care with higher demand and fewer volunteers. Read all the stories in the issue here!
Performing arts groups get clearer guidelines—but much still impossible due to virus
Three months after the local performing arts industry issued a plea to health officials for more clear and reasonable regulations to follow during the pandemic, arts groups are now allowed to record live performances without audiences, as well as host drive-in, movie theater-style concerts. But that’s about it. In November, the SLO County Public Health…
Trash talk
Trash. Well, humm. It’s not something that I would have thought to discuss during a cocktail party or pleasant gathering of friends. Not that we can have cocktail parties and gatherings in these times of COVID-19. My career has afforded me the chance to work in downtown SLO. Since I returned home from my adventures…
Enola Holmes
What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Netflix I smell a franchise coming. Harry Bradbeer (Dickensian, Fleabag) directs this story based on young adult author Nancy Springer’s book The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery, the first in a series of mystery novels about Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes’ precocious younger…
Misguided delusions
I have a few thoughts regarding the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Congress coordinated by Donald Trump and his team, and carried out by his supporters. First, to the sadly misguided dupes who believe every conspiracy theory they hear from the far-right extremist media that have infected our nation like a creeping, oozing…
Paso school district discusses grand jury financial crisis report
The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District is working to address the questions, concerns, and recommendations raised in a recently released SLO County grand jury report that details what led to the district’s second financial crisis since 2012. Over the course of two January meetings that clocked in at almost eight hours total, the district’s…
My California forecast
With the beginning of a new year, many of us tend to not just review the past year, but to look ahead to what the coming year may bring. So, where is the state of California headed? Even a casual follower of the news has noticed that a lot of companies are leaving the state,…
SLO diversity task force unveils recommendations
The San Luis Obispo Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force presented its final policy recommendations to the SLO City Council on Jan. 12—the culmination of four months of meetings centered on how SLO can improve its climate for underrepresented ethnic groups. The 12-member task force—assembled in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests…
The Big Lie
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” That’s why so many people think the McRib is edible. They’ve been told it is. But the seasonal sandwich isn’t our biggest lie problem right now. The big enough lie is the assertion that our last election…
SLO County DA appeals disqualification from Tianna Arata case
The California Attorney General’s Office appealed a SLO County judge’s decision to disqualify the SLO County District Attorney’s Office from prosecuting Tianna Arata and six other defendants who were present during a July 2020 protest. On Jan. 8, the Attorney General’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office filed separate appeals of the Dec. 11, 2020,…
Baywood’s Zen Mountain Poets release two new singles on ReverbNation
Baywood’s very own psychedelic neo prog folk jazz act Zen Mountain Poets recently released two new singles, “Emily’s Song” and “Mysterious,” and they want you to hear them at their ReverbNation page (@zenmountainpoets). “Emily’s Song” opens with multi-instrumentalist Robyn Saxer’s French horn solo before moving on to some of her sparkling keyboard work. The vocals…
ECHO puts out call for volunteers as it expands homeless services throughout North County
Help out the homeless To sign up for a volunteer shift at the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO), visit echoshelter.org/volunteer or call (805) 539-7858. Volunteers can choose from a variety of roles with flexible hours. ECHO is looking for more volunteers as it grows its programs and services. “Volunteers have always been the cornerstone of…
Templeton Hills Community Farm is a place to gather, learn, nourish the land, and be nourished by its bounty
Sundays in the field Templeton Hills Community Farm is hosting a one-year anniversary celebration on April 18 and is open for volunteers on Sundays at 930 Templeton Hills Road in Templeton. Visit the farm’s Facebook page @grow.give.serve to learn more about what’s growing and how and when to volunteer. Red wigglers squirm between brown leaves…
Volunteer programs geared toward at-risk populations were hit hard by COVID-19 safety restrictions designed to protect their clients
[image-2] Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit locally in March 2020, Central Coast Home Health and Hospice had almost 70 volunteers on its roster who helped provide much-needed companionship and respite to hospice patients and their loved ones. Now the program is almost nonexistent. The activities and services offered through the Central Coast Home Health and…
