Cover Story
Prevention and protection: California and its communities search for ways to combat the next catastrophic wildfire
Save yourself • The next Cambria Fire Safe Focus Group meeting is planned for Aug. 15 at the Vets Hall, 1000 Main St. • Visit the North Coast Emergency Preparedness website at 247ncep.com to learn more about how to prepare for a wildfire or who to contact for more information. Fire seasons in 2017 and…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our July 18 cover story, “Unlivable: Tenants loudly demand habitable living in their North County apartment complex.”
Humankind Fair Trade in SLO celebrates 10 years of giving back globally
HumanKind Fair Trade’s storefront in downtown SLO stands out from the rest with its ever-changing window display. Currently, it holds a large, colorful No. 10 and a tree—both handmade. The number signifies 10 years of making a difference as a storefront and nonprofit. The shop is also unique in its efforts to work with developing…
Catch some acts at the California Mid-State Fair before it closes July 28
If you haven’t been up to Paso Robles yet for this year’s California Mid-State Fair, time’s running out! It closes this Sunday, July 28. There’s still plenty of music, both free with your fair admission and ticketed, so let’s get started. On Thursday, July 25, husband-and-wife country duo Thompson Square plays the Fort Frontier Stage…
Farmhouse Motel in Paso sued for bedbugs
A guest of the Farmhouse Motel in Paso Robles claims that motel management knew there were bedbugs in the room they assigned her and did nothing about it. A complaint filed on July 22 against the Farmhouse Motel and its owner, Kevin Lee, alleges the hotel knew it had a bedbug infestation, which resulted in…
Melodrama regales audiences with comic tales of How the West Was Really Won
Go west! How the West Was Really Won shows on alternating nights with Poppa Pia! through Sept. 22. Tickets range from $23 to $30. Each show includes two intermissions and a vaudeville review. Visit americanmelodrama.com for tickets and more information. Once upon a time, the Central Coast—and all of California, really—was a lawless wasteland. But…
Embrace the twerk
I’ve figured out the next monument for the city of San Luis Obispo. It’s not an old white man with racist tendencies, which is a novel idea, I know, but keep your pants on. She’s a woman of color who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She put on a show at the California Mid-State…
Paso Robles artist Kathie Sinor creates pieces out of everyday objects
On display Color Me Red will show at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles through July 31. Visit studiosonthepark.org for more information. An old piece of jewelry. Keys. The tiny pitcher for the coffee creamer. That old necklace. Seemingly, all these things have nothing in common. But to Kathie Sinor, these are all potential…
Lion King: Love it or hate it
THE LION KING What’s it rated? PG What’s it worth, Karen? Full Price What’s it worth, Caleb? Rental Where’s it showing? Bay, Downtown Centre, Fair Oaks, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10, Sunset Drive-In Editor’s note: Staff Writer Karen Garcia and Calendar Editor Caleb Wiseblood took over Split Screen while the Starkeys enjoyed the week off. Jon…
South County Poetry features Janice Konstantidis
Poet and short fiction writer Janice Konstantidis, president of SLO NightWriters, is the featured poet of South County Poetry’s next reading. The event takes place at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Arroyo Grande on Sunday, July 28. Guests can socialize and enjoy complimentary snacks between 5:30 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. Konstantidis will read for a…
Underrated: Shutter Island
When? 2010 What’s it rated? R Where? Amazon Prime, iTunes, DVD OK, OK, I know what you’re thinking: “How is Shutter Island, a movie directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio—two of the most well-known people in the biz—underrated? Do you even watch movies?” Well, no, not really. But it’s not because I’m too…
TMHA seeks art for Opening Minds exhibition
Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA) is seeking art inspired by living mentally well for consideration as the featured piece in the 2020 Opening Minds art show. This competition is open to individuals of all ages either in recovery or with loved ones in recovery from mental illness and/or a substance use disorder. Only one piece of…
Film Listings 7/25/19 – 8/1/19
All theater listings are as of Friday, July 26. THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE What’s it rated? R What’s it worth? Full price Where’s it showing? The Palm Pick Writer and director Riley Stearns (Faults) helms this story about mild-mannered Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), who after being attacked decides he needs to learn to protect himself. He…
Ubu’s Other Shoe hosts reading of The Antipodes
Ubu’s Other Shoe presents a staged reading of Annie Baker’s The Antipodes at the SLO Repertory Theatre on Friday, July 26, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, July 27, at 2 and 7 p.m. Director Gregory Gorrindo helms this rendition of the satire, which centers on a group of people brainstorming ideas with no immediately clear…
Hello to the new
Goodbye to the old: Bang the Drum Brewery is moving to a (soon to be announced) new location. To honor the five years at 950 Orcutt Road in SLO, they are holding a free Farewell For Now Celebration on Saturday, July 27, from noon to 10 p.m. with 10 hours of live music, two hours…
Fig Cafe’s delicious culinary experience includes training and employing adults with disabilities
Creating opportunity Fig Cafe at Courtney’s House is a nonprofit, full-service cafe and workplace for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Book an event at figgoodfood.org, or go in for brunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fig is located at 311 6th…
Excellence
Totally tubular: Il Cortile Ristorante and La Cosecha Bar and Restaurant have been honored with Wine Spectator’s 2019 Award of Excellence. They are the only downtown Paso Robles restaurants to be honored, marking the sixth win for Il Cortile and the third win for La Cosecha. The awards will be featured in the August issue…
The ABCs
One, two, three: Are you curious which fruits, spices, herbs, cheese, and chocolates go with three different varieties of Parrish wines? On Friday, July 26, from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Estate chef Rachel Ponce and Director of Wine Experiences Vanessa Igel will be teaching an intro class on wine and food pairing basics on Friday…
Summer solved
It was 100-and-a-million degrees and I was headed down Morro Road in A-town with a sweet tooth and a Top Gun-level “need for speed” (aka coffee). That’s when Tina Wisberg, the cheery, take-charge owner of drive-through local favorite coffee house Brew-it, read my mind and told me I needed to try the most popular drink…
Shutoffs aren’t the answer
The devastation of climate-change-induced wildfires is real and will continue to get worse as we see new fires eclipse previous fires in size, destruction, and deaths. Shutting off the power will prevent some of these fires, but are the impacts acceptable? California is embarking on a statewide experiment that we have not fully planned for.…
SLO County rescinds cannabis permit for York Mountain Road
A few months ago, it was one of San Luis Obispo County’s first permitted cannabis farms. Now, beleaguered by an appeal, lawsuits, and bad blood, a proposed cultivation site in west Templeton is dead for the time being. On July 16, the SLO County Board of Supervisors rescinded Frank Ricigliano, Roberto Covey, and Laura Gardner’s…
Dunes driving hurts Oceano
The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area does not provide a safe, healthy, and sustainable form of recreation, but it unleashes an unchecked lust for entertainment and diversion that is destroying Oceano, its beach, and dunes. I have been a resident of Oceano for over 30 years. I have seen neighboring towns become cleaner and…
SLO City Council to ban public art of individuals in wake of Roosevelt controversy
Monuments and statues honoring individual people will soon be explicitly prohibited on San Luis Obispo city property. At a July 16 meeting, the SLO City Council agreed to amend the city’s public art policy to exclude works of specific people. Council members argued that most individuals, especially those from history, are too complex and controversial…
Returned to rightful owner
Should someone be punished for finding something of value in a restroom and not turning it in to the store right away? I would say only if that object is illegal and known to cause harm. Thanks Skeeter et al. for returning the SLO police chief’s gun to the rightful owner. Paul Cappellano San Luis…
Lyle not so Lovett
Actually, the July 7 concert at Avila Beach Golf Resort was good. He’s a great artist. It’s the concertgoers who disappoint. Here we are with a bunch of 40- to 60-year-olds, and all around my wife and me are chronic loud talkers. Two gals right in front of us in their lawn chairs were yacking…
Cambria preps for potential PG&E shutoff
The Cambria Community Services District unanimously voted on July 18 to spend nearly $50,000 on a backup generator for its water distribution system. It will serve as a power source if the district’s electricity is shut off as part of PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoff program. District staff evaluated its backup power supply and found…
Good sense versus gaslighting
Thank you for printing the two essays on immigration, which offer a vivid contrast. San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon (“Our ‘never again,'” July 18) stands against the ongoing attempt to destroy our pride in being a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, by an administration that holds both in total contempt, along…
Grange organization claims SLO Guild Hall wrongfully took its property
The California State Grange, a nonprofit organization, and local chapter SLO Grange No. 639 claim the San Luis Obispo Guild Hall knowingly took over its property at 2880 Broad St. without consent. A complaint filed on July 17 against the SLO Guild Hall alleges that the organization wrongfully asserted control over the property, the items…
A thank you
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the New Times team and to Heidi Harmon for publishing the “Our ‘never again'” commentary on July 18. I am honored to be a part of a community that is led with such integrity and compassion. I thought the letter was incredibly thoughtful,…
They’d rather not discuss it
Community choice energy is about consumer choice, renewable energy, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and local energy generation instead of the utility model of coal, gas, and nuclear-generated electricity from afar. It means municipalities can fund building retrofits, transportation electrification, and energy efficiency programs. And all of that means local economic development. Almost all the cities…
Another riverbed fire hits Paso Robles
Firefighters extinguished another brush fire in the Salinas Riverbed on July 22 in Paso Robles, less than a week after the city declared the river a public safety emergency. The fire started around 6 p.m. in the riverbed just north of the Highway 101 and Highway 46 east intersection. A crew of 62 firefighters from…
