Cover Story
Carrots v. Cuyama: Commercial growers sued their neighbors over groundwater rights and the first hearing is coming up
Just as the Cuyama Unified School District stepped out of a financial crisis after years of budget struggles, Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms sued the district over groundwater rights. And if the district didn’t join in the adjudication case, it risked losing water rights altogether, Superintendent Alfonso Gamino said. “We have it in our budget…
Morro Bay voters want real local control
Opponents to a Morro Bay citizens’ initiative, which aims to preserve current land use designations on the Embarcadero north of Beach Street, accurately described the initiative in “A deceptive measure” (Aug. 10). However, they cleverly use the word “freeze” to imply that it would block any further development. Contrary to their claim, any proposal that…
Todo Bueno brings wok-seared Mexican food to the SLO Public Market
Just look up Todo Bueno is located upstairs in the San Luis Obispo Public Market on 3845 S. Higuera St. They’re open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check out their website todobuenoslo.com and follow them on Instagram @todobuenoslo. Two flights of stairs make Todo Bueno the San Luis Obispo Public Market’s hidden gem.…
Our local leaders are selling us out to transplants, visitors
For years I have been hearing that California has a “housing crisis.” Where is this growing demand for housing coming from? It appears to me that what California actually has is a “population crisis.” The marketing forces imposed on locals by an ever-increasing population of nonnatives is driving up the cost of existing housing and…
Colors of Conservation showcases paintings of the Central Coast to help preserve natural beauty
Get involved Colors of Conservation will be held at the Octagon Barn Center, 4400 Octagon Way, San Luis Obispo, on Aug. 25 from 5 to 8 p.m. and Aug. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on the San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment (SLOPE), visit slope-painters.com. To get involved with…
One topic is missing from the Oceano Dunes off-roading debate
I would like to comment on Adam Verdin’s letter (“Is it time we all shift our thinking on Oceano?” Aug. 3). He seems desirous of compromise about driving on local beaches and Oceano Dunes. Of his many points, I will address one and an unmentioned other. As a former economist, the economic study Verdin refers…
Touring comedian Ryan Stout headlines upcoming SLOFunny Comedy show
The Savory Palette in Morro Bay hosts SLOFunny Comedy on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 6:30 and 9 p.m. The early show is described as “rated light R” in press materials, while the late show is “rated very R,” while both are listed as including strong language and adult content. Both shows also include a lineup…
A word to the unwise about California’s clean energy
The California Energy Commission recently released its data on California in-state capacity and generation for 2022. According to its figures, clean energy (non-carbon-emitting) sources amounted to 50 percent of in-state power generation. But clean energy production has the potential to improve greatly because large hydro is currently producing far below its capacity, and Diablo Canyon…
Trump is a cancer on America
In response to the letter submitted to New Times by Bari St. James (“Trump needs to be held accountable,” Aug. 10), I couldn’t agree with you more! Donald Trump is a cancer to the United States of America. For three hours and seven minutes, this “so-called president” sat in front of the television watching the…
DANA Adobe and Cultural Center hosts talk with local researcher
As part of its Sunday Speaker series, the DANA Adobe and Cultural Center in Nipomo is hosting a talk with local researcher and librarian Colleen Beck on Sunday, Aug. 20, from 1 to 2 p.m. The title of the talk is Who Counted as Family: What Godparenting Meant for the Danas. Beck will present her…
Jules is a charming and very human sci-fi story
JULES What’s it rated? PG-13What’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhere’s it showing? The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo Marc Turtletaub (Puzzle) directs Gavin Steckler’s script about Milton (Ben Kingsley), a somewhat pathetic retiree living a quiet life in a small Pennsylvania town, when a UFO and its extraterrestrial pilot…
Happiness For Beginners
What’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Netflix Helen (Ellie Kemper) is desperate for a change in her life a year after divorce. She’s still fielding phone calls from her ex and can’t seem to find a way to happiness anywhere in her life. She signs up for a wilderness survival course along…
Joe Pickett Season 2
What’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2021-present Where’s it showing? Paramount Plus I loved the first season of Joe Pickett, which centered on a new-on-the-job Saddlestring, Wyoming, game warden (played with quiet determination by Michael Dorman) who navigated the politics of his small town rural community and its greedy power brokers, while also juggling his responsibilities…
Carrot kingpins
Who wants to reduce their groundwater pumping by 60 percent? Everybody who overlies the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin! Just kidding. They don’t, and they don’t have to. The 60 percent rule only applies to folks pumping water out of the Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin—a separate but equally-beholden-to-the-state overdrafted aquifer that touches San Luis Obispo County.…
Coastal Commission upholds appeal of Los Osos residential project on water use issues
The California Coastal Commission flexed its power over the decades-long local debate over water use and potential for new development in Los Osos. At its Aug. 10 meeting, the Coastal Commission upheld the Los Osos Sustainability Group’s appeal of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approval of a coastal development permit for a…
Atascadero parents respond to social media outcry over teacher’s LGBTQ-plus poster
After just one day into the school year, Atascadero’s school district was already facing culture war backlash against a teacher. On Aug. 14, the Gala Pride and Diversity Center posted on social media, calling on residents and parents to voice their support for Atascadero Middle School math teacher Jen Pence. “The Atascadero Unified School District…
A Morro Bay citizens group advocates for an initiative it claims could block construction of a battery storage facility
Barry Branin never fathomed that he would be an activist. “Participants in Citizens for Estero Bay Preservation are from a broad spectrum of political parties in Morro Bay,” Branin said in an email to New Times. “Seldom do you have communication from both sides of the aisle like this—working toward the same goal as we…
Grover Beach residents receive California Blackshirts flyers
The California Blackshirts—a group that demonstrated with a “White Men Unite” poster bearing Nazi-affiliated symbols in San Luis Obispo—have now hurled their messaging onto residential properties in Grover Beach. Grover Beach residents Paul and Jane Smith, who requested to have their names changed for safety concerns, found a plastic bag containing a California Blackshirts flyer…
SLO Food Bank buys 22 steers from the Mid-State Fair livestock auction to alleviate food insecurity
The fight against food insecurity in San Luis Obispo County recently gained new ground through a livestock auction at the California Mid-State Fair. With the help of a $100,000 grant from the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, the SLO Food Bank purchased 22 steers—young, neutered cattle raised for beef—through a series of bids at the fair on July…
Paso Mayor Steve Martin dies at 71 after private cancer battle
At the beginning of the Aug. 15 Paso Robles City Council meeting, the city announced that longtime Mayor Steve Martin had passed away the previous evening after a private battle with cancer. Martin’s longtime friend and former Atascadero Mayor Tom O’Malley read a statement prepared by Martin explaining the cause of his recent absences from…
Building confidence, resilience
What started as an artist’s dream in 1998—to introduce the joy of art to local youth—is now a flourishing reality at Paso Robles Youth Arts Center. As founder/artist Donna Berg imagined, Youth Arts has succeeded in opening young eyes to the kaleidoscope of opportunity provided by arts education. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the center…
Australian gender-fluid multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Tash Sultana play Avila Beach Resort on Aug. 23
I’m pretty sure the next seven days are packing in the most live music we’ve had since the pandemic, so let’s get cracking. Otter Productions Inc. and Good Vibez have teamed up to bring Tash Sultana to the Avila Beach Resort on Wednesday, Aug. 23 (doors at 4 p.m.; all ages; $47.58 general admission at…
