Cover Story
‘Hands off’: Thousands showed up outside the SLO Superior Court on April 5 to protest the Trump administration
An estimated 5,000 people took to the streets on Saturday surrounding the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse rallying against the Trump administration and Elon Musk and demanding they keep their “hands off our courts.” The event on April 5 was a part of the national “Hands Off!” protest effort, which saw around 1,400 protest events…
Locally made surf film 300 Waves screens April 14 in the Bay Theatre
What’s it rated? Not rated When? Monday, April 14 (5 p.m. doors, 5:30 screening; $10 at the door or online at my805tix.com) Where’s it showing? The Bay Theatre of Morro Bay Local surfers can expect a nostalgic stoke next Monday when the Bay Theatre screens Leslie Girvin’s surf films 300 Waves and Rock to the…
Awarding-winning alternative rock act Carbon City Lights plays Rod & Hammer Rock on April 12
American author B.J. Neblett wrote, “We are the sum total of our experiences. Those experiences—be they positive or negative—make us the person we are.” That’s certainly the case for Michael Venia, frontman and songwriter-in-chief of Carbon City Lights, playing a SLO Brew Live show in Rod & Hammer Rock on Saturday, April 12 (doors at…
The Civic Ballet of SLO presents The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at the PAC on April 18 and 19
Off to see the Wizard! The Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo presents The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, an original adaption of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s novel of the same name, on Friday, April 18 (7 p.m.), and Saturday, April 19 (2 p.m.), in SLO’s Performing Arts Center. The 70- to 72-minute production is…
Attend a conversation with National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Tara Roberts on April 13 at the PAC
Meet National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Tara Roberts, the first Black female explorer ever to be featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine. On Sunday, April 13, Cal Poly Arts will present Tara Roberts: Written in the Waters, an event in the Performing Arts Center where she’ll discuss her memoir Written in the Water: A Memoir…
Fire in the Canyon author Daniel Gumbiner will discuss his award-winning novel on April 17 at Cuesta College
Daniel Gumbiner’s novel Fire in the Canyon has been named the 16th annual Cuesta College Book of the Year, and on Thursday, April 17, he’ll discuss his book in the Cuesta College Cultural and Performing Arts Center (5 to 7 p.m.; all ages; $22 at tickets.cuesta.edu; free for students by emailing cuestabook@cuesta.edu). “County of San…
America’s underbelly isn’t a pretty picture
I got a piece of cardboard and a marker. Printed out a picture I got off the internet of Alaa Quddoum, a 5-year-old girl. On one side I wrote “What Are Our Democrat Leaders Doing?” On the other side I taped the picture of Alaa and wrote “Your Tax Dollars at Work, Alaa Quddoum Aged…
We are not OK with what’s happening on Orcutt Road
Third District Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg is OK with a commercial landfill operating within 1,600 feet of homes on Hansen Lane. Our neighbors are not. For several years, an agricultural grading permit has been renewed for the same location as the green waste facility which went down to public outcry in 2016. This site near our…
Remove this tyrant from office
This week, our congressional representative, Jimmy Panetta (California’s 19th Congressional District), did not directly respond to questions about whether he supports impeaching Trump. This is upsetting, and I regret seeing this lack of foresight and leadership from my district’s representative. As a concerned citizen and voter from Paso Robles, it’s obvious to me that Trump…
Musk’s ways are too indiscriminate
Elon Musk is too freewheeling and indiscriminate for my tastes. For example, he fires federal nuclear safety inspectors and bird flu trackers as if they were common paper shufflers. Who needs protection from nukes and new epidemics? Musk doesn’t, so nobody else should either! Trump can now add book burning to his list of crazy…
Showdown at the not-so-OK Corral
We are approaching a constitutional crisis with a confrontation between a politicized and overreaching judiciary, and a reckless president who is smashing the political norms that have enabled our system to function. The balance of power between the three branches of government is getting shaky. Currently, the Republicans control both the executive and legislative branches,…
Signs of the time
How’s your culture war going, America? Right against left! Rich against poor! White against (pick your color)! Smells like mean spirit, and the fight continues! So, who’s winning? Let’s take the local temperature. Mmm, mmm, mmm! Unrepentant former SLO County supervisor candidate Michelle Marie Morrow is going to jail for 90 days followed by two…
SLO’s Bang the Drum Brewery asked to vacate after property owners stopped renovating its building
It’s time for “corporate scoundrels” to face the consequences of their inactions. That’s what one public commenter told the San Luis Obispo City Council on April 1 when speaking about the forced eviction of Bang the Drum Brewery, a local hot spot for beer, trivia, and karaoke. Although it wasn’t on the agenda, residents requested…
5Cities Homeless Coalition’s new partnership helps prepare fresh dinners for the homeless
People seeking shelter from 5Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC) every night recently started enjoying the food from the nonprofit’s first consistent cost-effective meal preparation program. A partnership between the nonprofit and the Lucia Mar Unified School District allowed 5CHC to access the Oceano Community Center’s kitchen. The kitchen made its 5CHC debut on March 31 when…
Judge reverses Board of Supervisors’ approval of Los Osos housing project map
In a win for champions of the long-term viability of the Los Osos Groundwater Basin, a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge ruled that San Luis Obispo County must vacate its approval of a tract map for a 98-housing unit development in Los Osos. Judge Craig Van Rooyen’s April 8 ruling granted a petition filed…
The Residence is a juicy whodunit
THE RESIDENCE What’s it rated? TV-MAWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhere’s it showing? Netflix Writer Paul William Davies—inspired by journalist Kate Anderson Brower’s 2016 book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House—created this TV miniseries about the innerworkings of the U.S. president’s living quarters in the White…
Paso water basin JPA waives rural residential fees at inaugural meeting
Now that four water districts over the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin have opted into a joint powers authority, its board alleviated rural users of water fees, leaving the cost primarily up to agricultural users. At the inaugural meeting of the Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority on April 7, consisting of the city of Paso Robles,…
A Body in the Snow examines the hoopla surrounding Karen Read’s murder trial
What’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Max The Karen Read case is all the rage in the true crime world right now, and this five-part series dives deep into the hazy events of the early morning hours of that January morning in 2022 outside of Boston and the fate of Officer John…
Coya grows into a new spot on Higuera, envisions a future of dishing up Peruvian cuisine and more
Celebrate Peruvian womenFind your way into Coya at 851 Higuera St. in downtown San Luis Obispo. Visit coyaperuvianfoodca.com for more information, or check out @coyaperuvianfood on Instagram. Coya is intent on highlighting the Peruvian woman. Everything in the new spot on Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo points to that. Copper plates, gigantic murals,…
