Wasted

Disposing of hazardous wastes is kind of a bitch. You gotta load the hazardous waste into your vehicle without spilling it all over, drive to a facility that accepts it also without spilling, and show an ID as proof of residency. The SLO County Integrated Waste Management Authority allows residential addresses to dispose of up to 15 gallons or 125 pounds per visit at no cost … except your time and trouble. Sadly, it’s common for households to take the easy—and highly illegal—way out and dump waste down the drain.

According to a study by the nonprofit LR Foundation, “More than 2 in 5 households globally (41 percent) dispose of their waste in an uncontrolled manner.”

Obviously, communities should make it as easy as possible to dispose of hazardous waste, so it seems kind of crazy that Morro Bay is shuttering its current Household Hazardous Waste Facility before securing a new location. The facility has been accepting hazardous waste for 25 years, but it’s located at the former wastewater treatment plant that’s slated for demolition. 

Integrated Waste Management plans to eventually open a new location in the area, but when and where remains a mystery. In the meantime, North Coast residents should travel to facilities in San Luis Obispo, Nipomo, Templeton, or Paso Robles to dispose of their waste. Seeing as how 40 percent of households find it too troublesome to dispose of waste properly now, how’s this suspension of nearby services going to affect coastal residents and their communities?

Glug, glug, glug.

In unrelated news, on July 21, the SLO Fire Department had to respond to a hazardous materials incident at an unnamed business in the 3200 block of Broad Street. Apparently, a customer brought in items to sell including a container he or she thought contained silver, but when opened, silver liquid poured out. The customer and business employee attempted to clean it up before realizing it was toxic, elemental mercury. Whoops! It’s all fun and games until we’ve completely poisoned our environment, eh? At the time of this writing, the building was red tagged as hazmat workers needed to clean up the tiny spill and make sure toxic mercury vapors weren’t present.

Speaking of toxic, the Grover Beach “skyscraper” battle continues, and the next battleground is the upcoming November election where two candidates for the 1st District City Council seat are squaring off over a proposed building height ordinance on the ballot, which if passed would put the city out of compliance with California state law.

Kelvin Coveduck has been a vocal supporter of the measure to limit building heights. In fact, it’s almost the only reason he’s running. Robert Robert, the current 1st District council member, supposedly isn’t running for reelection, according to Coveduck, though Bob-Bob didn’t respond to New Times’ request for confirmation.

“He was on Facebook and decided to run, and then he pulled all his information off Facebook, and so I wanted to clarify that position because I had told him a couple months ago that I would not run against him as an incumbent,” Coveduck said of Rob-Rob. “We have our disagreements, but I felt he was a good City Council member.”

Playing nice? What’s going on down there, Grover Beach?

However, Coveduck decided to throw his hat into the ring when he realized that if Bert-Bert wasn’t going to run, Shilo Terek would run unopposed. Terek, 42, is a PG&E principal program manager and an opponent of the building heights measure. Build, baby, build!

“My concern is that the initiative creates permanent citywide restrictions that reduce flexibility for future officials and residents,” Terek said. “State housing requirements continue to evolve, and I believe that Grover Beach needs the ability to evaluate projects on their individual merits rather than being constrained by a blanket statement or any kind of limitations that aren’t easily adjusted.”

For his part, Coveduck, 65, said his campaign would be self-funded and won’t accept money from businesses and builders. The retired radiographer is also running on more transparency. 

“For example, if someone has a water bill that’s $30 to use the piping to the street, they’re charged $60. It doesn’t differentiate that if you have two dwellings,” he noted.

Sounds shady.

Speaking of shadiness and lack of transparency, what’s going on with local real estate kingpin John King of King Ventures and the pending RICO lawsuits against him? These are the kinds of legal travails that make being super rich seem un-fun.

RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law that in the cases against King seek civil financial penalties for acts performed by an ongoing criminal organization. Criminal? Racketeering? Yikes!

The lawsuits were brought by Wolverine Endeavors VIII LLC and Coronitas Holdings LLC, two creditors that claim they’re owed more than $20 million by King and his associates. They’re accusing King and his companies of ongoing fraud designed to protect his family’s assets from being seized by legitimate creditors.

King’s son, JG King; King’s late wife, Carole King; and King’s business partner and fellow developer, Rob Rossi; as well as King’s lawyer, Paul Metchik, are among those named in the suit. They deny any wrongdoing.

Don’t pop your corn quite yet, though. The trial doesn’t start until July 27, 2027. ∆

The Shredder must be disposed of responsibly. Drain its fluids and dismantle at shredder@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in 55 Fiction 2026.