AUSD launches independent investigations amid principal’s leave
Atascadero High School Principal Nikki Baca has been on paid administrative leave for nearly a month. Since then, students, parents, and teachers have called for her return; her husband has accused district administrators of retaliation; and allegations of inappropriate comments have surfaced against Superintendent Tom Bennett. Now, the Atascadero Unified School District is conducting two…
Scott Newton is poised to be Pismo Beach’s next mayor
Pismo Beach City Councilmember Scott Newton is the frontrunner to be the city’s next mayor, according to the latest vote counts in San Luis Obispo County’s election. A supporter of the Central Coast Blue project, Newton’s served on the City Council since 2020. As of Nov. 10, he’d won almost 68 percent of the vote…
San Miguel CSD election results shift, candidates trade leads
The races for three seats on the San Miguel Community Services District (CSD) board remain close, with two candidates overtaking early leaders as additional ballots were counted. According to the Nov. 10 vote tallies, John McClure maintained his lead in the five-candidate race for two four-year seats, while Andrew Havard moved into second place, narrowly…
SLO County’s ambulance service proposals will open in January
January 2027 will kick off a competitive bidding process to find San Luis Obispo County’s next ambulance provider, with the contract awarded to the most cost-effective and efficient medical service provider. Following months of back-and-forth at local city council meetings between San Luis Ambulance—which has held the service exclusively for 80 years—and six cities demanding…
Witty raconteur John Craigie plays Cuesta College Nov. 20
Raconteur John Craigie mixes stories and music
Decisions, decisions
Nobody wants to need an ambulance, but when you do, you sure as hell expect it to be there for you. San Luis Ambulance (SLA) has enjoyed an 80-year monopoly as the SLO County service provider, but there’s been a cacophony of complaints about response times from fire chiefs, mayors, city managers, and community members.…
The stories we tell about ourselves
At Hoa Lò Prison in Hanoi, known to Americans as the Hanoi Hilton, my husband, Ted, and I first saw exhibits about Vietnamese resistance to French colonial rule. The exhibits described how Vietnamese prisoners were confined, abused, and tortured under French rule. They detailed the overcrowding, forced labor, starvation, and other horrors of prison life.…
Assemblymember Dawn Addis puts safety first
Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) deserves our respect and gratitude for standing up to the most powerful interests in our nation to demand accountability and ultimately our safety. The effort she is leading to get an independent review of recent embrittlement tests of PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant and questioning the extent of its use…
Publishing public records isn’t always responsible journalism
Every week, the Paso Robles Press publishes the “Red Light Roundup,” an exhaustive list naming every person arrested during the prior week along with the particular crime that led to the arrest. Although the feature states that suspects are innocent until proven guilty (albeit in very small print), that disclaimer does not undo the reputational…
More SLO residents should make the switch to an electric vehicle
San Luis Obispo is updating its climate plan, and we already have a lot to be proud of. Our city’s greenhouse gas emissions have gone down by 20 percent since 2005. We now have 10 electric buses, with more on their way as our diesel-powered buses age out. But we can do more, especially in…
Special education teachers change lives, but fewer are entering the field
San Luis Obispo High School teacher Julie McAdon has attended more funerals than she can count. After 24 years teaching children and young adults with significant disabilities and complex medical needs, the special education teacher has experienced the loss of many students she spent years caring for. “I started my summer … speaking at a…
Amanacer Coffee celebrates Mexican heritage through handcrafted drinks
For sisters Ashley and Stephanie Arevalo, the smell of freshly brewed coffee is familiar no matter where they are in the world. In Mexico, it’s an invitation to sit down with family. In Thailand, it’s an occasion to slow down and enjoy a conversation. On a coffee farm in Costa Rica, it’s the culmination of…
Los Osos photography studio Love Street Pictures will transport you to the ’70s
Ready to up your Christmas card game? Need to give your significant other a gift that says, “I’m a sexy beast?” Want a holiday portrait all your relatives will be talking about? Well, welcome to Christmas, Love Street Pictures style. “This is the third year that we’re doing Christmas on Love Street, and it’s just…
The Bunker’s got Art for All up on its walls through Nov. 30
The Bunker SLO is on a mission to reconnect people with the beauty of handmade work. In the annual Art for All exhibition this November, every single original piece on display is priced at or under $300. “Original art carries the soul, sweat, and lived experience of the person who created it,” Bunker owner and…
John Divola brings his renowned photography to Cuesta
Cuesta College students and the Central Coast community get a rare chance to take a gander at the images from one of photography’s most influential artists. The Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery presents John Divola: The Landscape and the Things in the Way through Dec. 11. For more than 50 years, Divola has worked between…
Wild Horse Nine is poignant wild fun set in the ’70s
Directed and written by Academy-award winner Martin McDonagh (In Bruges; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; The Banshees of Inisherin), Wild Horse Nine follows CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) from Santiago to Easter Island shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup. The longtime partners wrestle with their pasts; their bureau chief, MJ (Steve…
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare takes us on an unsanctioned mission targeting the Nazis in WWII
Apparently this action-comedy directed and co-written by Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Snatch, The Gentlemen) flopped when it came out in theaters. It’s such a swashbuckling tale—full of humor, action, adventure, bad people, good people, and rule-following people—I can’t imagine people not liking it. Plus, it’s inspired by a true story: Operation Postmaster, discovered when the…
Dead Poets Society is an oldie but a goodie
Everyone remembers one teacher who altered the course of their life. In Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society (1989), one private school teacher paves the way for an inspiring, emotional coming-of-age film set in late 1950s New England. Nothing beats a healthy dose of rebellion amid the rigid structure and rules of an all-boys prep school.…
The Restaurant at Edna brings farm-fresh dining and local wines to Edna Valley
While Edna Valley has long been famous for its vineyards, chefs Jeremy Fox and Matthew Schaler are bringing a fusion of Los Angeles dining and San Luis Obispo agriculture to the table. Nestled among 40 acres of vineyards along Biddle Ranch Road, the new culinary destination officially opened on Nov. 5. Led by partner and…
