Cover Story
Intensive coverage: Conflict between Paso Robles officials spurs constant stories in two local media outlets
Conflict between Paso Robles city officials has produced story after story for two local media outlets since last August. That kind of constant coverage can lead to something Cal Poly political science professor Michael Latner calls “grift,” or over-dramatization. While it’s more common with national media, Latner said that local news outlets around the country…
The Brutalist masterfully explores an artist’s epic struggle for relevancy
THE BRUTALIST What’s it rated? RWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhere’s it showing? Bay, Downtown Centre Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux) directs this screenplay he co-wrote with Mona Fastvold about Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor and visionary architect László Tóth (Adrian Brody), who flees Europe in 1947 to…
Cambria artist Margaret Biggs presents Landscapes of My Mind at Edna Contemporary through March 5
Meet the artist Meet Cambria oil painter Margaret Biggs during a 5 to 8 p.m. artist’s reception for her new exhibition, Landscapes of My Mind, on Friday, Feb. 7, at Edna Contemporary Art Gallery (967 Osos St., SLO). The solo show hangs Feb. 5 through March 5, and the gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays…
Clark Center brings Great Gatsby ballet to the stage
If you attended an American high school, there’s a good chance F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 Jazz Age novel The Great Gatsby was part of the curriculum. Its exploration of gender, race, social class, inherited vs. self-made wealth, and its cynical view of the American Dream have secured its place as a Great American Novel. The…
San Francisco gallery features Cal Poly professor Lana Z Caplan’s Oceano photo exhibit
If you find yourself in the Bay Area sometime before March 1, head to the Harvey Milk Photo Center, where you can see Lana Z Caplan’s solo exhibition Oceano—for seven generations, a collection of photos that “tells the story of the Oceano Dunes through the dunes’ successive inhabitants, while interrogating photographic history and convention,” according…
Offshore wind ‘farms’ will create their own set of environmental issues
After more than two years of listening to virtue-signaling NGOs, climate apocalypse-shaming hipsters, politically driven energy opportunists, and just plain ignorant-of-the-facts state and local political “dignitaries,” I’ve just about had it up to here! I’m sick of digging myself out of the political mire on both sides and witnessing the shameful justification of a toxic…
A small group of us could change a lot of things
This is to thank Gary Freiberg for his opinion piece in New Times reminding us of the power of the people (“The price is wrong,” Jan. 16). Yes! Let’s start with having fewer eggs (or none at all until prices come down). Buy some nuts at the farmer’s market. Walnuts are shaped like our brains,…
Meta journalism
I’m writing about New Times’ coverage of CalCoastNews and the Tribune’s coverage of … well, each other and the controversy between Paso Robles City Manager Ty Lewis, who filed a $2.2 million complaint with the city in August that argues City Councilmember Chris Bausch created a toxic work environment and that CalCoastNews reporter, owner, and…
Dana Reserve developers hit with new lawsuit over environmental impact concerns
The Nipomo Action Committee and the San Luis Obispo chapter of the California Native Plant Society filed another lawsuit against Dana Reserve developer Nick Tompkins and the San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) over the potential discovery of a new manzanita plant in the Nipomo Mesa. Bill Waycott with the California Native Plant…
SLO Planning Commission approves new rotating safe parking plan
Safe overnight parking for homeless people living out of their vehicles will return to the city of San Luis Obispo—this time with blessings from faith groups and most of the public. The SLO Planning Commission greenlit five sites for a rotating safe parking site almost a year-and-a-half after city and Community Action Partnership SLO officials…
State, Morro Bay respond to Moss Landing battery plant fire with proposed regulations
When Citizens for Estero Bay Preservation put up signs for its ballot measure in hopes of blocking a battery plant, member Norm Williams said the safety of Morro Bay fueled its cause. “We’re all for green energy. We just want it to be done responsibly,” Williams told New Times. The preservation group’s worst fears for Morro…
Grover Beach residents question a lack of public safety improvements
It’s been 10 years since street work funded by Measure K-14 started in Grover Beach, and the city has completed work on nearly 380 blocks and more than 70 percent of its residential streets thus far, according to Greg Ray, the city’s public works director and engineer. Measure K-14 is the city’s street rehabilitation and…
The Brutalist masterfully explores an artist’s epic struggle for relevancy
THE BRUTALIST What’s it rated? RWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhere’s it showing? Bay, Downtown Centre Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux) directs this screenplay he co-wrote with Mona Fastvold about Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor and visionary architect László Tóth (Adrian Brody), who flees Europe in 1947 to…
Pismo Beach’s Coastal Surgical Institute wins state award for ambulatory surgical services
A Pismo Beach ambulatory surgery center (ASC) that provides same-day surgeries was recently recognized by the California Ambulatory Surgery Association. Twenty-one-year-old Coastal Surgical Institute won the state award for ASC excellence, underscoring its impact on cost-saving diagnostic and preventative procedures that were once done only in hospitals. “We do more cases than any other ASC…
How to Die Alone
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2024-present Where’s it showing? Hulu Mel can’t seem to get out of the rut she finds herself in every day. She’s got a good crew of people at work, including Rory (Conrad Ricamora), who she tools around with on one of those airport golf carts. But then there’s Patti (Michelle…
Back in Action
What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix After an 11-year acting hiatus, Cameron Diaz has returned to the big screen, but good grief, she couldn’t find something better than this derivative, silly, rote action comedy? Co-written and directed by Seth Gorgon (Horrible Bosses, Identity Thief), the film follows CIA spies Emily (Diaz)…
Customers showed up to support new Atascadero barbecue joint struggling amid downtown construction
Grab some ‘cue Chef Gregory’s BBQ Emporium, located at 6550 El Camino Real, is open Wednesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner and closes by 7 p.m. or when it runs out of food. Find its hours at chefgquesbbq.com. Chef Gregory Kalatsky rubbed a generous amount of his signature seasoning blend of cumin, coriander, and…
Dirty Cello brings live music to Morro Bay’s Bay Theatre on Feb. 2
The Bay Theatre is mixing it up this week by adding a live music concert to its slate of movies. On Sunday, Feb. 2, sit back and enjoy the cello-driven blues, rock, and Americana of Dirty Cello (2 p.m.; all ages; $20 at bit.ly/dirtycello_morrobaytheatre). Dirty Cello frontwoman Rebecca Roudman gave me the lowdown. “We’re performing…
