SLO the virus

For six years Verdin Marketing has held the 24-Hour Give, rebranding a nonprofit for free in 24 hours. However, in the spirit of a year that has called for change, the marketing firm is pivoting to raise awareness about local mental health services.

In partnership with the Transitions-Mental Health Association, the marketing firm is developing a campaign for the SLO Hotline through the month of December. The project is called The 2020 Give.

Similar to many companies, firm President and Chief Strategy Officer Mary Verdin told New Times that hosting more than 20 people in a conference room for the big planning session along with around-the-clock collaboration between people wouldn’t have worked this year due to COVID-19 pandemic restraints.

“But ultimately I decided that, though a rebrand has been very valuable for the past six give recipients, this year maybe there was something the community needed more. Our goal is to make an impact, and the opportunity in 2020 looked a little different,” Verdin said.

After doing some research about community issues, and looking at those exacerbated by COVID-19, Verdin said she found that mental health was an area affecting everyone.

She spoke with Transitions-Mental Health Association’s (TMHA) Jill Bolster-White, who said the number of calls to the SLO Hotline increased in the past several months and the calls to THMA for service referrals have increased as well.

The SLO Hotline is a confidential mental health guidance and crisis and suicide prevention telephone line that also provides mental health resource information. Calling the line is free and help is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“This is interesting because people didn’t know who or where to call, but they were familiar with Transitions-Mental Health Association,” Verdin said. “That’s where the discussion about SLO Hotline came in. People who have never needed support are looking for help, but they don’t know where to turn.”

Michael Kaplan, TMHA’s community engagement director, said that the longer COVID-19 lasts, the greater the cumulative emotional effects will be.

“We are seeing more calls related to both anxiety and depression, and the sense is they definitely stem from the impact of COVID-19,” he said.

One of the main reasons the nonprofit is excited to work with Verdin Marketing, he said, is that TMHA really wants to get the message out that the SLO Hotline is not strictly for crisis situations.

“Our call handlers are prepared to answer all variety of questions regarding mental health, and they have a fantastic database of local services at their fingertips. We hope that more and more of our neighbors will call SLO Hotline for the full spectrum of reasons. We are a great community resource for all things related to mental wellness,” Kaplan said.

Verdin said the campaign will hopefully also show that there are volunteer opportunities available for those who want to help and that TMHA can always use donations.

“I think the prevalence of sadness and depression is alarming, and many people feel this and may not realize that it’s something most people are feeling to some degree,” she said. “We can get through this, and it’s OK to lean on others.” ∆

While congratulating newly minted American citizens, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) also reminded those who attended his virtual Citizenship Recognition Ceremony about their duty to participate in democracy.

“By becoming a U.S. citizen, you too will have a voice in how our nation is governed. As a citizen you can serve on a jury, bring family members to the U.S., obtain citizenship for children under 18 years of age, apply for federal jobs, and become eligible for federal grants and scholarships. But most importantly, you can vote,” he said.

On the morning of Nov. 21, Carbajal virtually presented special congressional recognitions to 102 constituents, highlighting their attainment of becoming a naturalized United States citizen.

Santa Maria 3rd District City Councilmember Gloria Soto and her mother Soledad Soto attended. Soledad recently became a U.S. citizen.

Gloria said that her mother took the Oath of Allegiance to the country on the same day she passed her citizenship test in August.

“I had driven her down to LA early that morning, and due to COVID-19, my mom was alone during her short naturalization ceremony,” Gloria said. “Celebrating with other newly naturalized citizens and with Congressman Salud Carbajal was a very special experience even though it was virtual.”

She said the event allowed her family to celebrate Soledad’s momentous achievement together, as well as the achievement of the other individuals on the call.

“It’s important to acknowledge that we currently don’t have a clear path to citizenship in his country for all immigrants. Many undocumented immigrants will never have an opportunity to get their green card, let alone become naturalized citizens due to our existing immigration policies. And so, for those who have the chance to apply for citizenship, do it,” Gloria said.

The process may be daunting, she said, but organizations like IMPORTA in Santa Barbara County can assist immigrants with any and all questions—a service Gloria’s mom received.

Carbajal acknowledged that the process of becoming naturalized wasn’t easy as many had to study for the civics exam, learned the English questions, and were nervous to go through the interview process.

“Citizenship is the common thread that connects all Americans. We are a nation bound not by race or religion, but by the shared values of freedom and equality,” Carbajal said during the ceremony.

He encouraged attendees to register to vote to make their voice heard in their community and elect individuals who will represent their needs.

The ceremony was open to all new citizens on the Central Coast who took their oath between July 2019 and November 2020. ∆

After getting the nod from Gov. Gavin Newsom on Nov. 20 to serve as the appointed San Luis Obispo County supervisor for the 3rd District, replacing late Supervisor Adam Hill, Dawn Ortiz-Legg told New Times that she’s ready to get to work to represent South County residents.


“It’s bittersweet,” Ortiz-Legg said by phone on Nov. 24. “Adam was an enormous influence on District 3. When I went out to talk to folks about possibly being appointed, it was overwhelming how many people acknowledged Adam’s role. There’s a great legacy of Adam, but I want to take it from a fresh perspective.”

Ortiz-Legg, 61, is no stranger to local politics. In 2016, she ran as the Democratic candidate for State Assembly. Since 2018, she’s served as the SLO County planning commissioner for the 3rd District. She has a background in energy, working on the Topaz Solar Farm project in 2010 and currently works for PG&E. She serves as a board member for the local nonprofits One Cool Earth and SLO International Film Festival.

Ortiz-Legg received the appointment over several contenders, including Hill’s 2020 election challenger Stacy Korsgaden, Grover Beach City Councilmember Mariam Shah, and SLO City Councilmember Erica Stewart, among others.

Ultimately, Ortiz-Legg said she thinks it was her experience in both the public and private sectors, especially around climate policy and renewable energy, that earned her the appointment. She said she’s also known Gov. Newsom for years. He called her personally on Nov. 20 to share the news.

“He said ‘I think you’re ready and let’s do it,’” she said of the phone call.

Ortiz-Legg added that Newsom asked her questions about the culture and political landscape of SLO County.

“We talked about the lay of the land in the county in that it is uniquely moderately purple with this balance between the progressive and conservative values,” she said. “I’ve always called the Central Coast the Midwest of California. I feel there are real old-fashioned values held by all.”

When she thinks about joining SLO County’s often-divided Board of Supervisors, which is historically split along those political lines, Ortiz-Legg said she plans to bring a common-sense approach and a willingness to work with others.

“Sometimes I feel like when I’m listening to the political dialogue, I feel like people are talking in two different languages,” she said. “We actually believe very loosely the same things.”

The new supervisor added that she “loves to collaborate” and welcomes public input.

“There’s not an issue that doesn’t interest me,” she said.

Ortiz-Legg’s term is a two-year appointment, with the seat going up for election in the 2022 primary. She said she hopes to formally join the board for its Dec. 8 meeting. ∆

California counties that reverted to the purple tier of the state’s reopening guidelines, including San Luis Obispo County, are subject to a limited stay-at-home order that went into effect on Nov. 21.

A curfew requires that all gatherings with members of other households and activities conducted outside the home cease between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., except for essential activities.

In a Nov. 20 Facebook post, Paso Robles Police Chief Ty Lewis said that he had received a lot of inquiries about the new curfew order.

“There are many questions about enforcement as many see the order as unconstitutional, and unenforceable, and violation is a simple misdemeanor. Our [district attorney] has already indicated he will not file criminal charges on these executive orders except in the most egregious of circumstances,” Lewis stated.

The greater question, he said, “surrounds the potential for protests because there is a feeling that the order will invite and incite protests against it during the ‘curfew’ hours and how is law enforcement supposed to react to those.”

In an attempt to be transparent, Lewis said he was waiting for information and guidance from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services that would answer the community’s questions.

According to readyslo.org, San Luis Obispo County will enforce the state’s modified shelter-at-home order if a business refuses to comply with it. Businesses could face a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both. ∆

People traveling domestically within the United States don’t currently have to prove that they’re COVID-free to board a plane, but a new piece of legislation proposes to change that.

U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s (D-Santa Barbara) Fly Safe and Healthy Act, the first bill he’s introduced since his reelection, proposes to implement a temperature screening at airport checkpoints in an effort to make flying safer and disincentivize sick people from coming to the airport in the first place.

If passed, the bipartisan-supported bill would start as a pilot program in certain, designated areas, Carbajal told the Sun.

“Then, after 90 days, they will look at implementing it throughout the country,” he said.

If someone has a fever in an initial screening, that individual would then go through a second screening that will be further developed by the Centers for Disease Control and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Carbajal said. This screening would determine whether the person can proceed to board their flight or not.

“In some cases they will, and in some cases they won’t,” Carbajal said. “In certain instances where we do come across individuals who do have a temperature, we may have to provide limited rapid testing, for example. Those are the types of protocols that will have to be set up, not for everyone, but for those secondary circumstances where there’s a question whether individuals will be able to continue flying or not.”

According to a statement from Carbajal’s office announcing the bill, the program would include consumer protections, such as requiring “the TSA Administrator to protect travelers’ personal and medical privacy, exempt individuals who may have a fever unrelated to COVID-19, and accommodate individuals with disabilities or who observe certain religious practices.”

Carbajal said the goal of the bill is two-fold: to keep healthy travelers safe, and to prevent sick people from traveling by plane.

“If you’re sick, you should just stay home, because there’s a good chance that if your temperature is high that not only are you putting yourself and others at harm, but you may not be able to fly all together,” Carbajal said. “It really creates a higher adherence to people not flying when they’re ill.”

The bill drew inspiration from other countries that have already implemented health screenings at airports and are doing considerably better than the United States at containing the virus, Carbajal said.

“We’ve seen an administration that has denied that this was a pandemic, has failed to implement a comprehensive strategy or plan working with states, or provide any leadership,” Carbajal said. “This administration should learn a lot from the other countries and implement some of those procedures, which it has not done.” Δ

Fewer properties over the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin will be subject to severe water restrictions after the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted on Nov. 17 to revise the basin’s “area of severe decline,” eliminating roughly 37,000 acres.

The map change means that those properties removed from the “red zone” are now eligible to pump up to 5 acre-feet of groundwater per year (AFY) as an exception to a basin-wide moratorium on new pumping.

SLO County amended the map by using more recent groundwater data and a different definition of “severe decline.” For land to be included in it now, county well monitors must show a 50-foot or more drop in groundwater levels over a longer period of time between 1997 and 2017.

San Miguel landowners Robin Chapman and Robert Galbraith are among those now free from the red zone restrictions. The generational farmers had been barred from using any water despite providing well data that showed steady groundwater levels in their area.

First District Supervisor John Peschong said he was happy to see the family not included in the red zone anymore.

“That is good news there,” he said.

But the supervisors didn’t all agree on the policy change. Second District Supervisor Bruce Gibson, who was the sole dissenting vote, warned that the removal of land from the red zone would lead to more groundwater pumping from an already overpumped basin.

“We would expect pumping to go up,” Gibson said, “ ... even if a small percentage of sites take advantage of this. I think that’s a significant issue that gives me pause.”

Fifth District Supervisor Debbie Arnold countered that the region’s biggest irrigators, like grape growers, are already pumping the lion’s share of the groundwater. She felt that more exceptions would not change the overall picture.

“We’ve got tens of thousands of planted vines that are all being irrigated,” Arnold said. “Five AFY would probably allow you to have some horses on your property and/or some livestock, but it’s still a minimal amount of water usage.” ∆

Local Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions pharmacies are prepared to provide customers with a COVID-19 vaccine when it’s approved in the United States.

Albertsons Companies spokesperson Melissa Hill said once the vaccine has been authorized, its pharmacies on the Central Coast will provide the immunization to their respective communities.

Albertsons Companies is one of several national chains partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to maximize access to COVID-19 vaccines through the Federal Pharmacy Partnership Strategy for COVID-19 Vaccination. Others include Walmart Stores Inc., CVS Health Corporation, Rite Aid Corporation, Costco, and Walgreens.

The program enables pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians to provide vaccinations in retail and grocery store pharmacies, covering approximately 60 percent of pharmacies throughout the U.S., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In a statement, Albertsons Companies Southern California Division President Kevin Curry said the company’s pharmacy teams have been on the front lines throughout the pandemic, offering care and health solutions for their communities. At the beginning of October, the company began offering at-home COVID-19 saliva tests for customers.

“When a vaccine is ready, our pharmacists will play a critical role in administering this important public health service,” the statement said.

The future vaccine will be provided to customers at no cost.

In the face of increased demand, Hill said that pharmacists have protected a record number of people against influenza this season and can provide immunizations for illnesses such as measles, mumps, rubella, pneumonia, and shingles.

“Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions pharmacies will work with the CDC and the states in which they operate to streamline and optimize the delivery of the vaccine by working closely to coordinate, track, and monitor distribution,” she said.

When a vaccine is available customers will find contactless consent forms for the vaccine on the Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions pharmacy app. ∆

Starting Sunday, Nov. 15, Santa Ynez and Lompoc Valley residents might spot a low-flying helicopter in the sky carrying a large hexagonal frame.

It will be surveying groundwater resources in the eastern management area of the Santa Ynez River Valley Groundwater Basin.

A partnership between the Santa Ynez River Valley Groundwater Basin Eastern Management Area Groundwater Sustainability Agency and the Santa Barbara County Water Agency, the effort aims to get a more thorough understanding of local resources to better manage groundwater.

Matt Young, the Santa Barbara County Water Agency’s water resources program manager, said the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act passed in 2014 requires studying the groundwater basin.

“To meet those requirements you have to be able to describe the basin and describe how water flows through it, describe the water budget—how much is coming in and how much is going out—if it’s in balance, and then identify ways to keep it managed sustainably,” he said.

Agencies need to distinguish the geometry and shape of the basin as well as the aquifers within it that carry the water.

Young said, traditionally, agencies drill groundwater wells to gather data like that. However, that method is expensive and a long-term project. Data collected with aerial electromagnetic mapping technology can characterize and map out the layers and extent of clays, silts, sands, and gravels to a depth of approximately 1,000 to 1,400 feet below the surface. Existing well data will be used to verify the survey results. Surveys only take days to about two weeks, depending on the area.

A low-flying helicopter tows a large hoop transmitting a weak electromagnetic field. The field interacts with the ground and measures the response using a set of receiver coils attached to the hoop.

The helicopter will fly back and forth along regularly spaced lines to cover a distance of approximately 497 miles. Once combined and calibrated with well data and existing knowledge of surface conditions, the dataset can be used to map out the “course” materials (sand and gravel), “fine” materials (silts and clay), and bedrock to show the structure of the groundwater system.

Although the technology has been around for a while and was mostly used in the mining industry, Young said it’s relatively new to groundwater. Recently, it was utilized in Paso Robles (Paso Robles Groundwater Basin) and Pismo Beach.

The two agencies involved in the study are currently preparing their groundwater sustainability plans and will release documents in the next couple of weeks describing the hydrogeological conceptual model—the current understanding of basin geology and condition.

Young said the aerial study results will inform and modify those plans, and likely be part of the draft groundwater sustainability plans coming out next summer.

He encourages interested residents to attend and get involved with Santa Ynez Valley Groundwater Basin meetings. ∆

Dozens of Cuesta College students, faculty, staff, and San Luis Obispo community members called for board President Pete Sysak’s resignation at a special meeting on Nov. 12—the second time this month that community members have spent hours at public meetings doing so. But Sysak made it clear that he won’t be stepping down.

Sysak is the latest SLO County public official to be criticized for sharing controversial posts on his personal Facebook page—where he identifies himself as a Cuesta College trustee—that contain everything from totally false information, to anti-LGBTQ -plus and anti-Islam sentiments, and messaging comparing Black Lives Matter protesters to thugs. At the Nov. 12 meeting, Sysak addressed the issue publicly for the first time.

“I was accused of being a racist, homophobic, an ablest, anti-choice, xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and an old man,” Sysak said at the meeting. “I will state for the record that I am a supporter of all lives matter—for Black, Latino, Asian, LGBTQ, people of color, the unborn. I'm against discrimination, hate crimes, and racist groups. And I'm against defunding the police department, and blue lives do matter.”

Sysak called himself a “proud American conservative” who served in the United States Army, spent 27 years in law enforcement, and who has served his community in many different ways for several decades.

“It is important to acknowledge that communication from both sides of the story is part of solving problems in society,” he continued. “My social media sharing of differing views on this was meant to provoke communication from both sides of the issue. Sadly, these posts have inflamed certain progressive left groups, resulting in their incendiary and untrue comments that have spread throughout the community.”

Sysak pointed to a Facebook post he shared recently that many interpreted as a defense of the Proud Boys, a far-right organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as an extremist hate group. The meme Sysak shared depicted a group of men—both white men and men of color—alleged to be members of the Proud Boys, and asked how such a diverse group could be considered white supremacists.

“At this point I was immediately identified as a racist supporter,” Sysak said at the meeting. “Another view I shared on Facebook was a video of Tianna Arata, a Black Lives Matter organizer and supporter from Cuesta College, a former student. During a BLM protest march in 2020, she was filmed throwing our American flag on the ground and dancing on it in a reverent and a demeaning manner. As an American, she has a right to protest peacefully. Well, I believe her actions were hateful and disrespectful to our country and community. Though I cannot speak for other veterans, I was deeply offended by her anti-American actions.”

Sysak went on to say that in his time at Cuesta, he’s worked to bring new programs and services to campus for all students, including those who are historically underserved and underrepresented. 

“These verbal and written attacks have been an assault on my character and integrity,” he said. “I will not be bullied by these attacks. I will continue to support my community and the college community to the best of my ability.”

The statement was met with shock and anger from community members in attendance, many who said they were students or faculty of color or members of the LGBTQ-plus community. They said they couldn’t feel safe on a campus led by someone with Sysak’s mindset. Cuesta’s other trustees condemned Sysak’s actions as misrepresentative of and insensitive to the campus community. They unanimously called for his resignation.

“Trustee Sysak, this is about our college,” trustee Mary Strobridge said at the Nov. 12 meeting. “This is about our students and faculty and staff, and we can't go on with this hatred or, you know, what your posts said. It made a statement, and it didn't make a statement that was good for our college. And because you did put that you were a trustee of the college, it falls on the college, it falls on the trustees, it falls on everyone here. And so, for me personally, I ask you to please resign.”

Sysak refused to resign several times throughout the meeting.

Outgoing trustee Angela Mitchell, whose term ends this year, pleaded with Sysak to get educated about racial equity.

Mitchell was also criticized in September after the Cuesta board of trustees postponed the approval of a resolution to affirm the board’s commitment to equity and anti-racism. During a meeting regarding the resolution on Sept. 2, Mitchell took issue with the inclusion of wording like “systematic racism,” which she said implied that everyone in society is racist. Sysak agreed, and added that he’d like to scrap phrases like “centuries of institutional racism” that were included in the original draft of the resolution.

That conversation, which many students found troubling, is what brought the community’s attention to Sysak’s Facebook presence.

Mitchell has since apologized for what she said in September, and said she misunderstood the terminology included in the resolution and the bigger issues of equity it attempts to address. Mitchell said she’s been working to learn about systemic racism and white privilege ever since, and at the Nov. 12 meeting, she suggested Sysak do the same.

“And I’m saying this out of the kindness of my heart,” Mitchell said to Sysak at the meeting, “but you do have misogynistic tendencies and you dismiss women on a regular basis and I’ve watched it since you’ve been on the board. And I blame myself for not saying anything about it sooner. But I didn’t really know what to say or how to address it. But now I am and I really want you to look at that.”

When Sysak questioned what Mitchell was suggesting, she went on to say that she decided not to run for reelection this November because of Sysak’s dismissive behavior toward women.

“You know most of that, I’m sorry, I can’t understand and it’s very garbled,” Sysak responded to Mitchell. “And I’m gonna have to have somebody interpret for me because you’re so emotional I don’t know what you’re saying.”

In lieu of Sysak’s resignation, the board voted unanimously to create an ad hoc committee—consisting of trustees Strobridge and Patrick Mullen—to review Sysak’s social media posts and recommend further action from there. ∆

Arroyo Grande could be in line to get more much-needed affordable housing.

At a meeting on Nov. 10, Arroyo Grande City Council discussed the potential for a mixed-use development on a 2.16-acre site near the intersection of Oak Park Boulevard and Chilton Street proposed by the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo (HASLO).

The Nov. 10 presentation was an effort on HASLO’s part to get early feedback from City Council and community members on a draft application for the project. A formal application hasn’t been submitted. As currently drafted, the development would include 66 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units geared toward those with an annual income at or below 80 percent of SLO County’s median income; 1,000 square feet of commercial space; an outdoor children’s play area; a common community space; and a barbecue area for residents.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to try to further improve Arroyo Grande’s housing situation,” HASLO Executive Director Scott Smith said at the meeting, “especially for those people who are struggling, having great difficulty even paying basic rent in spite of working one full-time job, sometimes two full-time jobs.”

Smith said a project like the one proposed could go a long way in helping Arroyo Grande meet the goals and requirements outlined in its Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the state mandate that determines how many houses a city needs to build in a certain time frame. In Arroyo Grande’s upcoming housing element, Smith said it could be required to allow for the building of about 400 low- and moderate-income housing units.

HASLO recently wrapped up work on another affordable housing project in Arroyo Grande at 224 Halcyon Road. While Smith said that helps, it’s not enough.

“I can just tell you the need continues to be extreme,” he said at the meeting. “We had several hundred applicants for 224 Halcyon. It’s only 20 apartments and one of those is a manager’s unit. So it helps, but it’s just a tiny drop in the bucket.”

At the meeting, City Council members offered suggested changes to the project proposal but were generally supportive of the plan.

“I hope that you choose to submit a formal application and take the project through the staff advisory committee, Architectural Review Committee, and Planning Commission for approval,” Councilmember Jimmy Paulding said. ∆