Cover Story
Wipes clog pipes: What you wipe with is your business, but what you flush could cause problems for everybody else
Unless you were involved in the early (and seemingly irrational) COVID-19 toilet paper stockpiling frenzy, you’ve probably noticed that the paper product we once took for granted has become near impossible to find. Grocery store shelves where hoards of toilet paper once sat are now empty, toilet paper vendors on Amazon and eBay are sold…
SLO the virus
Get your latest local news and information regarding the COVID-19 health crisis from our award-winning journalists. We’re also here for you to tell the stories from our community. Please feel free to share any local notable news, ideas, stories, events, images, or positive actions deriving from the current nationwide crisis. You can send them to…
SLO arts organizations adjust to closures and uncertainty during COVID-19 pandemic
San Luis Obispo’s art scene is reeling from event cancellations, postponements, and closures due to the state’s directives aimed at tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (SLO Rep), Performing Arts Center of San Luis Obispo (PACSLO), and Clark Center in Arroyo Grande have all called off shows amid coronavirus concerns,…
Santa Maria warns of impact to safety services with projected tax revenue losses
With more than half of its own hourly workers furloughed, the city of Santa Maria is expecting to lose about $3 million of anticipated sales tax revenue—including a little less than $2 million of Measure U revenue—as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark van de Kamp, the city’s public information manager, said this projected…
COVID-19 is changing the local childbirth experience
These are uncertain times for everyone, but for many pregnant women and expecting families, those feelings are especially magnified. With COVID-19 spreading across the nation and social distancing measures in full-force, many local hospitals are limiting visitations and human-to-human contact as much as possible. For individuals about to give birth, that means most family members,…
Cuesta nursing students on track to graduate despite pandemic
Second year students in Cuesta College’s registered nursing (RN) program are just nine days of clinical experience away from graduating. Director of Nursing Marcia Scott said she’s determined to get them there on schedule by May 22. After COVID-19 initially shuttered their classrooms and kept them out of hospitals, Cuesta nursing students are now poised…
SLO retail shops look to phone and online sales to stay in business
Local businesses that aren’t on the list of “essential” businesses allowed to remain open are finding ways to remain operational. According to the San Luis Obispo County website readyslo.org, retail stores are not on the list of essentials, but they are on the county’s list of businesses allowed to provide limited services. Although brick-and-mortar shops…
Santa Maria Area Transit suspends fares, reduces route schedule
Santa Maria Area Transit (SMAT) announced that as of April 1, and until further notice, fares for all SMAT services are suspended to encourage social distancing between transit drivers and their passengers. “We do consider transit an essential service,” Transit Services Manager Austin O’Dell told the Sun. “We wanted to make sure that we’re providing…
Cal Poly awarded $6.7 million for Technology Park expansion
The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded a $6.7 million grant to the Cal Poly Corporation so it can expand on the existing Cal Poly Technology Park. The grant, according to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, is expected to create 150 jobs and spur $20 million in private investment. Cal Poly’s Technology Park is located…
What We Do in the Shadows
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2019-present Where’s it showing? FX, Hulu Based on the hilarious 2014 comedy horror film of the same name, this sitcom-like TV series follows three vampire roommates living in New York City. Season 2 is set to premiere on April 15, so now’s the time to catch up with Nandor the…
Oceano’s Measure A-20 gets a recount
Oceano’s fire tax Measure A-20, which would have funded its end of the Five Cities Fire Authority joint powers agreement, was 11 votes shy of meeting the two-thirds requirement to pass. The Oceano 911 Committee for Measure A-20 requested a recount on March 30. Committee member Karen White told New Times via email that the…
Nutritional defense: What fuel are you putting in your body?
Learn more For personal nutritional consultations, you may reach Stephanie Olsen at Sound Body Nutrition, SLO at (805) 233-2245; Kathy Kaufmann-Alderete, Pismo Beach at (805) 295-6270; and Connie Rutledge, SLO at (805) 440-6869. It’s not the hand sanitizer, the E.T. hazmat suit, the sci-fi mask, or the fast-tracked frankenvaccine that’s going to be the super-forcefield…
New fees loom for SLO County cannabis growers
With the COVID-19 crisis taking center stage, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors delayed a scheduled discussion on March 24 about the state of local cannabis oversight and permitting. As of March 9, SLO County had issued 31 total cannabis permits, while more than 130 applications remain in process. Though the discussion was…
Take profit out
Every family in America has a horror story to tell around our current health care system. You know what it is. The high cost. The inability to be seen. The denials. The long waits for appointments. The cost of the cure. Many, who have cancer, have gone bankrupt trying to save a life. We all…
Big Big SLO consolidates live local streaming concerts on one website
Paul Irving of Big Big SLO is an idea man. He sees a need and he fills it. That’s what he did with his free monthly music listing, and that’s what he’s doing now with SLO House Party, a new website where over the next five days he’ll host more than 50 30- to 45-minute…
Keep your distance, but keep moving
Clearly, stay-at-home mandates (except for shopping, doctor visits, etc.) can drive people crazy. But what drives me a little crazy are those mandates that are imposed on our trails and beaches, without them having been clearly thought out. My wife and I do a lot of walking … everywhere. It’s essential to stay somewhat busy,…
Oceano beach closed to vehicles
Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area is closed to vehicles. Yesterday I walked, safe and undisturbed, the entire length of the beach and a good stretch of the dunes. Their vastness, peace, and beauty eased my pandemic anxiety for the time being. However, I also realized the extent of the destruction done by motorized recreation…
Meanwhile, let’s save the world
We can slash fossil fuel extraction and consumption. We can ramp up solar panels, electric cars, public transportation, and walkable neighborhoods. We can zero out the cheeseburgers. But around the world, the realization is growing: In the face of twin crises of climate and extinction, to ensure the survival of threatened species and successfully combat…
Paso Robles teacher creates free online art lessons, perfect for the quarantine
Stormy Capalare would normally be in her Virginia Peterson Elementary School classroom where she works as a transitional-kinder teacher, but like most of us, she’s instead at home with her two boys, trying to keep them busy in these trying times. Capalare is also the art teacher for Centennial Park, and a certified Positive Discipline…
SLOMA seeks California artists for upcoming statewide Romancing the Adobes exhibit
Romancing the Adobes, an upcoming California-wide juried exhibition at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA), has extended its entry deadline (originally May 3) to May 31, at noon, in light of complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists throughout the state are welcome to submit artworks that celebrate the historic California Adobes, as…
Pastels USA announces W. Truman Hosner as 2020 judge of awards
Artist W. Truman Hosner has been announced as this year’s judge of awards at the 34th annual Pastels USA, an international exhibition co-hosted by the Pastel Society of the West Coast and the Morro Bay Art Association (MBAA). A native of Detroit, Hosner worked as a professional illustrator for several years after earning his Bachelor…
Academy of Dance holds variety of virtual dance classes
The Academy of Dance in San Luis Obispo is currently hosting a wide selection of virtual dance classes through Zoom—in ballet, jazz, contemporary dance, musical theater, and other areas. Dancers of all ages are welcome to participate in the classes, which vary from day to day (check the academy’s Facebook page for the daily class…
New Times speaks with a local emergency physician about COVID-19
Editor’s Note: Staff Writer Karen Garcia spoke with Dr. Brad Knox, an emergency physician at Sierra Vista and Twin Cities hospitals, over the phone. Knox, who is also the chair of Sierra Vista’s Department of Emergency Medicine, agreed to do a Q&A. Answers have been edited for clarity. New Times: How has the virus impacted…
Closed and confused
Golf courses are open but boat launches are closed. Recreation with a club on the one hand and recreation with a rod on the other. Only one is in a clearly defined location that you cruise around in via a golf cart that you borrowed, while the other takes place in the Pacific Ocean in…
Closed by COVID-19, Granada Hotel becomes Granada Grocery—offering wine, food, and hand-picked essentials
When San Luis Obispo’s shelter-at-home order closed the restaurant at Granada Hotel & Bistro, owner Kimberly Walker just didn’t feel right about keeping the hotel side of her downtown business open. “Granada started as a bistro and we built our business on our food and beverage program, so it’s really hard to separate one from…
Education Foundation launches COVID-19 fund for families
When Erica Flores Baltodano heard that schools in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District were closing indefinitely to help stop the spread of COVID-19, she knew some students would struggle more than others. “Right now, a lot of our families are going to be impacted severely by school closures,” Baltodano told New Times. “And…
Netflix’ Tiger King is a batshit-crazy look into the world of unsanctioned zoos
TIGER KING: MURDER, MAYHEM, AND MADNESS What’s it rated? TV-MAWhere’s it showing? Netflix Rebecca Chaiklin and Eric Goode direct this seven-part documentary about big cat owners who run roadside zoos and attractions. The main character is Joe Exotic—aka Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage—a gay polygamist with two husbands who sports a dyed-blond mullet and a six-shooter pistol…
SLO County boat ramps close before rockfish and salmon seasons
For recreational fishermen on the Central Coast, the beginning of spring usually means the start of rockfish and sport salmon fishing seasons. But this year, due to coronavirus-related safety concerns, SLO County’s usually bustling boat launch ramps are empty of hobbyist fishermen and boaters hoping for a catch. Missy Lintner and her husband run the…
Taboo
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2017-present Where’s it showing? FX, Hulu, Amazon Prime Now in its second season on FX, the BBC’s fictionalized historical drama centers on adventurer James Keziah Delaney (Tom Hardy), who after disappearing into Africa for 10 years and being presumed dead, turns up in London upon the death of his father…
Rural communities find ways to help one another and keep track of county COVID-19 updates without internet access
Find assistance • To apply for assistance from the Creston Women’s Club, visit bit.ly/2x8us56 or call (805) 316-1884. • To give Caliwala Market & Deli your grocery wish list for pickup, email Erin Inglish at caliwalafoods@gmail.com. For same-day fulfillment, email Erin by noon. Curbside pickup is from 4 to 6 p.m. Temporary hours include 10…
