Mar 28 – Apr 7, 2019
San Luis Obispo County’s News and Entertainment Weekly
Cover Story
Where’s the care? Local families confront high costs, limited options for child care
Save the date Local families, employers, civic leaders, educators, regional planners, students, and advocates are invited to attend “Where’s the Care? Tackling our Local Child Care Challenge” on Wednesday, May 29, at Congregation Beth David in SLO from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. This town hall meeting, hosted by community groups including First 5 San Luis…
Sweet tooth
Go nuts: Fans of SLODOCO already know that the eccentric, creative, and delicious doughnut creator opened a second location on Tuesday, March 26, because every other media outlet in the San Luis Obispo County has covered it ad nauseam. But because we aren’t haters, I’m here to say that I am very excited about having…
Atascadero will charge its residents a fee for contaminating the recycling bin
In the city of Atascadero, if residents and commercial businesses overfill their recycling bins or willfully throw non-recyclables in the blue bin they could be charged a $50 fee, starting May 1. The council unanimously voted to amend the city’s agreement with the Atascadero Waste Alternatives to allow for the collection of fees at the…
Can season
Beer me: Barrelhouse Brewing Co. released two of its top sellers in a package that you can take almost anywhere. Sunny Daze and Mango IPA are now available in 12 ounce cans, with plans for more canned Barrelhouse goodness on the way. You can now take the cans along with that swimsuit-ready summer body to…
New digital tool could help sexual assault victims
An alliance of advocates, local law enforcement, and Cal Poly officials is trying to spread the word about a new tool for survivors of rape and sexual assault. On March 22, representatives from RISE SLO, the SLO Police Department, the SLO County District Attorney’s and Sheriff’s Office, Cal Poly SAFER, and others gathered to let…
Nipomo style
Bite this: Jocko’s Steakhouse is getting some upgrades. It’s got a new paint job, more covered outdoor seating for your long wait time, and a couple of new menu items. Cheese steak fries for one. And I’m not talking about the thick-cut fries. I’m talking about fries topped with Jocko’s delicious steak, cheese, onions, and…
Former employee sues Oaks Hotel for failure to provide proper breaks
A former employee of Oaks Hotel Paso Robles claims that the Oaks Hotel failed to provide him and other employees with proper rest breaks and duty-free meal periods. A March 15 lawsuit filed against the hotel alleges that over the past four years, it failed to provide Michael Wolf—and a class of all other similarly…
Take it to the salami shop
I’ll take a salami shop over a candy shop any day of the week. And on March 21, I did just that. For once in my weekday life, I was in Atascadero before Emporio Alle-Pia closed. So I stopped on by, because what else is there to do in the middle of a workday? The…
Paso Robles looks into other cities and how different election systems are working in those communities
Paso Robles residents could be voting for their City Council members through a by-district election as soon as 2020—unless the city can find an alternative. “Kind of uniformly, the community input has been no one is happy about having to move to district elections. We’re clearly being forced to do it,” Jim Cogan, assistant city…
SLOCOG staff recommends closing the El Campo intersection
The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) staff is recommending that four intersections between Traffic Way and Los Berros Road along Highway 101 should close. At a packed public outreach meeting on March 21, staff discussed the results of the second phase of the board’s $30,000 two-step assessment process to understand the implications of…
Animal Kingdom faces lawsuits and accusations of sourcing puppies from unethical mass breeders
It’s been less than a year since Jen Toste paid nearly $2,000 for a goldendoodle puppy she fell in love with at an Animal Kingdom pet store on the Central Coast. Since then, she’s spent roughly $10,000 on veterinary appointments, surgeries, and medications for that puppy, which was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia just months…
Jarrett Krosoczka uses graphic novel ‘Hey, Kiddo’ to tell family story of addiction
Read on Jarrett Krosoczka, author of Hey, Kiddo, will speak and sign copies of his book at the San Luis Obispo Public Library on April 10 at 6:30 p.m. The SLO Opioid Safety Coalition will also provide resources for programming at the event. Visit slolibrary.org for more information. Hey, Kiddo is available on Amazon for…
York Mountain cannabis project nixes outdoor grow to shed appeal
A medical cannabis cultivation project in rural west Templeton overcame its contentious neighborhood appeal on March 26 by agreeing to drastically reduce the size of the operation. Applicants for the project on 77 acres of agricultural land near York Mountain Road canceled plans for a 3-acre outdoor grow, moved its greenhouses, and made other tweaks…
Clock’s ticking: The Hourglass Project takes steps toward a stronger economy for the Central Coast
Under the shared belief that the economy’s problems are too big for any individual community to solve on its own, a coalition of Central Coast-based business and civic leaders decided to form a collaborative “action tank” to help create high-quality jobs throughout San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties, from San Miguel to Lompoc.…
Wine Country Theatre’s ‘Over the River and through the Woods’ zeroes in on family
On stage Wine Country Theatre’s staging of Over the River and Through the Woods shows through April 7 at the Park Ballroom in Paso Robles. Tickets range from $15 to $25. Visit winecountrytheatre.com for more information. As Bon Jovi sings, “Who says you can’t go home?” But sometimes you just need to get really, really…
County pursues more medication-assisted treatment
SLO County wants to make it easier for residents battling substance abuse, in particular, opioid addiction, to get medication to help their recovery. The SLO County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on March 26 to allow the county Health Agency to apply for a $150,000 grant from the California Department of Health Care Services that…
Student named runner-up at poetry recitation competition
San Luis Obispo High School sophomore Penny DellaPelle was named the runner-up for the California State Poetry Out Loud Championship, held in Sacramento on March 11 and 12. This poetry recital competition is the largest of its kind, representing more than 52 counties, 305 schools, and 60,000 students statewide. DellaPelle recited three poems at the…
Safe solutions
I am writing in response to the New Times’ March 7 article: “Grover Beach could have its first affordable housing project.” I am closely following the proposed homeless project at Hillside Church, only a half mile from our elementary school and a few doors down from my parents’ home. The plan (which is dependent on…
Sisters in Crime hosts annual writing conference
The Sisters in Crime Central Coast chapter hosts its second annual Writers in Action conference on Saturday, April 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the PG&E Energy Education Center in SLO. Guest speakers include Susan Tuttle, Judythe Guarnera, and Marilyn Meredith. Keynote speaker Mara Purl will begin the conference with her presentation titled,…
Bias and facts
As a former English teacher, I can testify that Al Fonzi writes correct English sentences. However, I would argue that his thinking is biased, as he limits his support to only the relatively few “authorities” who support his conclusions while ignoring the significantly larger body of “authorities” who contradict him. This places his essay, “A…
Paso High Theatre Company presents ‘Curtains’
Curtains, a musical comedy whodunit presented by the Paso High Theatre Company, opens Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. at Paso Robles High School. This play, set in the late 1950s, follows the mysterious death of a theater company’s leading lady, who dies onstage during a performance. The entire cast and crew of the show…
Calling out Trump is an act of patriotism
I found last week’s letter from Ellis Romero (“A warning to Congressional Dems and the irrelevant media,” March 21), warning Democrats and the media to stop attacking President Donald Trump, hypocritical. When you have a president who constantly attacks individuals, calls them names, insults them, belittles and demeans them, or attacks a deceased American hero…
Farm fresh: A trip to Blosser Urban Garden in Santa Maria
Californians are spoiled. As a native Californian, I’ve heard the sentiment from a lot of people living both in and outside the state over the years. The natural instinct is to protest the claim. Pointing out the cripplingly high cost of living and housing, the near-total lack of public transportation, seasonal floods and fires, and…
SLO has a responsibility to the birds and their habitat
The San Luis Ranch loggers have cut a large (10-foot) fire thorn on the bank of Prefumo Creek just below where the creek from Cerro San Luis comes in. This tree has been a heavy fruit producer and was loaded when cut. Every year, migrating flocks of robins and/or cedar waxwings spend a couple of…
Stop denying science or we’ll all go splat
The world changes constantly, both politically and our climate. There are obviously differences of opinion politically. These are useful and necessary, regardless of your politics. But on scientific matters, we depend on experts who have deeply studied a subject, whose findings have been checked and rechecked by other experts, and proven out as time and…
‘Us’ is both an effective horror-thriller and sociopolitical comment on American duality
US What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 Writer-director Jordan Peele (Get Out) helms this new horror thriller about a family—father Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke), mother Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph), and son Jason…
The ghost of J. Edgar Hoover
It’s been around 50 years since FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was finally retired from the FBI. Assuming the directorship in the Bureau’s earliest years, he turned a sleepy backwater in the federal bureaucracy into the most powerful agency within the federal government. Yes, even more powerful than the IRS, as the FBI received iconic…
Bingeable: Russian Doll
When? 2019 What’s it rated? TV-MA Where? Netflix Creators Leslye Headland, Natasha Lyonne, and Amy Poehler have come together to direct Lyonne (Orange is the New Black) as Nadia, a woman stuck reliving the eve of her birthday, and sometimes the next day if she plays her cards right. I’ll try not to give too…
Art of the deal
Apparently the only member on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors who paid close attention to our president’s crowning achievement before he became president—having somebody else write a book on dealmaking and then saying he wrote it—is 4th District Supervisor Lynn “Hammer Out A Deal” Compton. Our Negotiator In-Chief has pulled us out…
Film Listings, 3/28/19 – 4/4/19
APOLLO 11 What’s it rated? G What’s it worth? Full price Where’s it showing? The Palm, Fair Oaks Pick Todd Douglas Miller (Dinosaur 13) directs this documentary about the historic 1969 mission to land on the moon. Using archival footage, you’ll witness Cmdr. Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on their amazing…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our March 21 news story, “Nuclear safety expert talks risk, plans for Diablo Canyon spent fuel.”
Kick it root down: Celery root is a unique root vegetable to try during late spring
Rooting around Babé Farms is located at 1485 N. Blosser Road, Santa Maria. SY Kitchen is located at 1110 Faraday St., Santa Ynez. I have an unabashed love for ugly produce. For decades, Americans have been trained by commercials and mass marketing to believe that the best vegetables are the ones that look like they…
Get your reggae on with some of the greats
When I got my first cellphone at the age of 23, it was a flip phone. You could record sound with it and then set it to be the phone’s ringtone. Very techy! My first ringtone ever? “Steppin’ Out” off Steel Pulse’s Earth Crisis album. Very hippy! Well, I was in Santa Cruz, so don’t…
