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Helping hand: Volunteers assist seniors in need through Adopt a Grandparent
Want to volunteer? All Wilshire volunteers are background-checked, drug-screened, and provided with flu shots and tuberculosis tests. The next volunteer training is Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. RSVP to Jaime (805) 547-7025, Ext. 2214. You must be 21 years or older to volunteer as a driver. High school students can volunteer without a guardian, but…
CAT-astrophe averted! How a dedicated group of cat lovers has controlled SLO county’s feral cat population
Be the cat’s meow! Find out more about the Feline Network of the Central Coast by visiting felinenetwork.org. Without you even knowing it, the volunteers at the Feline Network of the Central Coast have probably saved your life! How? Female cats can produce three litters a year with an average of five kittens per litter,…
SLOMA shows three takes on one medium with Clay X 3
On display Clay X 3, featuring the works of clay artists Maria Teresa Rode, Catherine Schmid-Maybach, and Ariane Leiter, will be on display at the SLO Museum of Art through Jan. 20. Visit sloma.org for more information. Three girls walked into an art program at San Francisco State University and, decades later, three women’s artwork…
Here to help: SLO Noor Foundation offers free health care to the uninsured
When it comes to getting health care to its uninsured residents, the state of California has been doing better than most. A recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that the number of uninsured individuals in California dropped more than 10 points between 2013 and 2017, the largest decline of any state in the…
Cambria holds 17th annual Art and Wine Festival
The 17th annual Cambria Art and Wine Festival takes place Jan. 25, 26, and 27. The festival encompasses various locations in Cambria and features artist demonstrations, wine tasting, and shopping specials. The event begins Jan. 25 with an art show and silent auction at the Cambria Center for the Arts Gallery starting at 10 a.m.…
Cleaner coast: Hundreds show up for monthly beach cleanups hosted by ECOSLO
At the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo’s (ECOSLO) 32nd annual Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 15, more than 1,300 volunteers picked up 5,688 pounds of trash at 36 locations along SLO County’s coast. Mary Ciesinski, executive director of the nonprofit, knows it takes a literal village to pick up after itself, from tires on…
The Glampede presents ‘Anything Goes’
The Glampede hosts Anything Goes, a neo-burlesque revue and variety show featuring local performers, on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Rendarrio Vineyards in Paso Robles. This showcase doesn’t encompass a specific theme, as each performance will vary in theme, genre, and style. The acts will range from modern dance to theatrical…
Feeding the needy: Volunteers distribute no-cook meals in SLO
Since November of 2018, social worker John Klevins has been hitting the streets with San Luis Obispo Police Department officers as they make contact with some of the most vulnerable populations in the city. Klevins is assigned to work with the SLOPD’s Community Action Team, or CAT. The officers in CAT form contact with, work…
Morro Bay Massage and Wellness Center hosts writing workshop
Inner Workings presents Writing Through the Storm, a workshop led by expressive arts specialist and award-winning writer Devin Wallace. The workshop will be held Jan. 17, 24, and 31, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. each night, at the Morro Bay Massage and Wellness Center. The class focuses on Wallace’s method of using specific writing techniques…
‘Vice’ humanizes—and skewers—Dick Cheney
VICE What’s it rated? RWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhere’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Stadium 10 Writer-director Adam McKay (The Big Short, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers) helms this biopic dramedy about Washington, D.C., bureaucratic insider Dick Cheney (Christian Bale),…
Wanting pain to go away isn’t a crime
My wife has more things wrong with her back than the Trump administration has ethics problems. Her neurologist just shook her head when she spoke of bone spurs, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, herniated disks (yes, plural!), and sciatica. Her primary care physician had a similar response but at least, on request, referred her to a pain…
Hellraiser: Judgment
When? 2018 What’s it rated? Unrated Where’s it available? DVD, Netflix Horror movie fans know better than most how depressing it can be to watch a once great movie franchise slowly circle the drain. Whether it’s Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, or any other popular scary flick series, the diminishing returns…
Government is headed for history’s junk heap
There are parallels between the struggles for justice and pay equity by SLO County workers and the hundreds of thousands of federal workers currently being laid off or forced to work for no immediate pay because of would-be dictator Donald Trump’s racist/white nationalist fanaticism about wanting a “wall” across the entire southern border with Mexico.…
Film Listings, 1/10/19 – 1/17/19
AQUAMAN What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10, Sunset Drive-In Pick James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) directs this latest entry in the DC Extended Universe, Aquaman. The story centers on land dweller Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), aka Aquaman, the rightful heir to the…
The ‘smell test’
I find Ms. Jade Stone’s letter in the Dec. 27, 2018, issue of New Times highly questionable (“Something stinks in SLO County”). Her claim that U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s response to her request for help accessing health care through Community Care (Veterans Affairs) is at odds with my experience working as a staff member in…
You don’t have to check in to The Kinney Hotel to hang at Leroy’s
Let’s play at Leroy’s The Kinney San Luis Obispo and Leroy’s is located at 1800 Monterey St. in SLO. For more information, call (805) 544-8600 or go to thekinneyslo.com. If you are immune to nostalgia, you might pass by the vintage Skee-Ball machine without even a second glance. However, if you’re like me, you may…
We don’t need to cram the beach in Oceano with tourists
I was impressed with the article by Lucia Casalinuovo (“The removal of Oceano beach”) in the Jan. 3 issue of New Times. I also want to say that there are other factors—wind, storms, and sea tides—that can also affect the sand levels, too. I believe our beaches have become smaller in that they are areas…
Sunday snacking
Big plans: Sunday Funday at Baileyana Winery in Edna Valley is always a blast, so don’t miss the next one scheduled for Jan. 20 (unless you want to live with the FOMO). Hang for an afternoon of wine, music, and food provided by Hurricane Kitchen Food Truck (Bear Market Riot will provide the tunes; for…
In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most iconic and accomplished individuals in America’s civil rights movement. He gave a voice to the voiceless and made numerous ideas and dreams a reality when so many felt hopeless. While he was a man of great words, he was also a man of great actions…
Coastal cruising
The sound of silence: Winter is a great time to take advantage of Morro Bay’s chill environs! The Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival flocks to the coast this Jan. 18 through 21, you can check out a Monarch Butterfly tour at the Morro Bay Golf Course, and the Embarcadero restaurants are delightfully uncrowded (that means…
Carbajal calls out Trump for ‘fake’ immigration crisis on eve of televised address
As the nation waited to hear the Jan. 8 televised address from President Donald Trump on the issue of immigration, Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) pushed back against the administration’s rhetoric, accusing the president of creating a crisis in order to make good on his campaign promise to build a wall along the…
Gov. Newsom’s first words set to harm lawful citizens
Happy New Year! It’s 2019, and Gavin Newsom was just sworn in as governor of California. Both he and the Democrats in the state Legislature want to turn their far-left ideas into reality. Their priorities are: government-controlled health care system for all, including illegals; legalizing statewide heroin injection sites; protecting the failed high-speed rail project;…
Good taste
Don’t sleep on these tickets: The Cambria Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Cambria Art and Wine Festival from Jan. 25 through 27. Spend the day shopping, eating, sipping, and viewing cool works of art. The food and wine pairing event has sold out in advance, so be sure to get your tickets while…
Los Osos board candidate contests November 2018 election
A former Los Osos Community Services District (CSD) board candidate claims that the San Luis Obipso County clerk and the CSD deprived him and the community of a fair election due to a clerical error. Stephen Best formally contested the election in a document filed with the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office on Dec. 28. The…
Rules matter
“Aghast” (adjective: struck with amazement or horror –Webster’s) is an old-fashioned word. Now seldom heard, it was in wider circulation circa 1905, when the tract map for the Fesler Ranch was filed with the San Luis Obispo County Recorder. At that time, cars and movies were novelty items, women couldn’t vote, and there was no…
Beach wine a go-go
When you think of Central Coast wines, you probably don’t think of the literal coast. However, Cambria’s Stolo Vineyards and Winery conjures up this vision for me. The winery and tasting room is, in fact, the closest to the Pacific Ocean, just 3 miles from literal sand, palm trees, and seagulls. It’s also (as of…
Peschong’s firm netted $643,000 to defeat Measure G
John Peschong, a political strategist and San Luis Obispo County’s 1st District Supervisor, is known for his brevity in public. True to form, Peschong stayed mostly mum about his role in defeating Measure G, the 2018 ballot initiative to ban new oil wells and fracking in SLO County. Peschong’s consulting firm, Meridian Pacific Inc., was…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our Jan. 3 news story, “San Luis Coastal is concerned about teen vaping.”
Volunteers 2019
Volunteers give to others without expecting anything in return. They are selfless, empathetic, and hopefully kind. They’re important to a community like San Luis Obispo County, filling in the gaps where government can’t. That’s why we dedicate an issue to them every year, and this is it! In our annual volunteers issue, you can read…
Attorney General’s office will not take over dog attack case
The California Attorney General’s Office will not step in to prosecute the criminal case against a former Grover Beach police officer whose dog killed one person and injured another in a 2016 attack. A SLO County Superior Court Judge denied a motion to recuse the SLO County District Attorney’s Office from the case and ask…
Hello, hellhole
According to my Nextdoor app, my neighborhood is plagued by home burglaries, vehicle break-ins, cat mutilators, rabid wild animals (Mostly coyotes and skunks but was that a mountain lion?), 2 a.m. gunshots (Maybe firecrackers or car backfires? Does anyone know? Anyone?), weird strangers driving too slowly through the neighborhood, disrespectful strangers driving too fast through…
Atascadero says bye to parks commission
The city of Atascadero will dissolve its Parks and Recreation Commission to save on staff time, but the decision won’t eliminate the community’s ability to give input on future projects. City Mayor Heather Moreno said that the move would maximize the city’s resources in other areas while keeping the project evaluation process transparent. “It probably…
Swamp bluesman Ray Bonneville plays Painted Sky on Jan. 15
“Mamas sigh when children cry/ You don’t know the half of it child/ It’s alright, it’s ok/ on your side you got time/ By and by you’ll come to find/ your own way// Drawn in a palm/ a lifeline goes on/ like a river source to delta/ It don’t pause/ when it comes across/ a…
Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande city councils appoint new members
The city councils of Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande voted to appoint two women to fill seats left vacant in the wake of the November 2018 elections. The Grover Beach council voted 3-1 on Jan. 7 to appoint attorney Desi Lance to fill its vacant spot, while the Arroyo Grande City Council voted 4-0 on…
North County artists collaborate at Studios on the Park
On view Country Homes & Gardens will be on display at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles through Jan. 31. The artists, Dean Crawford, Deprise Brescia, and Deb Hofstetter will be in the studio on Saturdays in January from 6 to 9 p.m. Visit studiosonthepark.org for more information. She thought she had missed her…
