Cover Story
Redwood bones: A local couple purchased one of the oldest buildings in Oceano, intent on refurbishing its former glory
It doesn’t look like much now, but the small and dilapidated shack that sits at 1600 Ocean St. in Oceano is one of the town’s oldest and most beloved buildings. Longtime community members say there’s a lot of history on that property, which is across the street from the Great American Melodrama and has housed…
New play structure coming to Santa Maria park
Santa Maria kids will soon have a new playground to enjoy. The city announced that it will be replacing the outdated play structure at Rodenberger Park with a colorful new one that features slides, a swing set, and a reservable field and fitness course. “We went around and assessed all the playgrounds, and decided that…
Walk-ins now accepted at two SLO County COVID-19 vaccine clinics
Appointments will no longer be required at a couple of San Luis Obispo County’s COVID-19 vaccine clinics, as demand for the vaccine tapers. On May 4, SLO County Public Health Officer Penny Borenstein announced the walk-in option for the county’s clinics at the Paso Robles fairgrounds and the South County Regional Center in Arroyo Grande.…
Pismo rescinds offer to purchase Main Street homes to make room for parking
Juliet Kussman and Michael Rex have lived in their rental near the intersection of Main and Dolliver streets in downtown Pismo Beach for more than two decades. The location is perfect—just a few blocks away from the beach but far enough from the pier that their street isn’t constantly overrun by traffic and tourists (or…
Judge’s order temporarily prevents foreclosure on Atascadero theater
Two weeks before Atascadero’s Cinema Square was slated for foreclosure, on April 22 a San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order halting it. The order is welcome news in the city, Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno said. “The economic health of Galaxy Theatre and the other Colony Square businesses is critical to…
SLO city reports a slight decrease in crime in 2020
Overall crime in San Luis Obispo decreased by 5 percent in 2020, according to an annual city crime report, though some individual crime categories fluctuated dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to 2019, SLO saw a 58 percent increase in stolen vehicles, a 22 percent increase in aggravated assault, and a 24 percent increase in…
Thursday night farmers’ market to return May 6
For more than a year now, San Luis Obispo residents have been deprived of their beloved Thursday night farmers’ market, which, unlike other smaller outdoor markets, has remained closed for the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic due to safety concerns. But there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel: The market will be back…
Dairy Creek’s Toptracer gives SLO County golf a shot in the arm
San Luis Obispo County Golf Superintendent Josh Heptig likes to describe the new Toptracer facility at Dairy Creek Golf Course as a combination of a driving range, bowling alley, sports bar, and pinball machine. “It’s ridiculously fun,” Heptig told me on April 22, the afternoon before I went to try it myself. “You don’t have…
Laura-Susan Thomas, director of the Ann Foxworthy Gallery and guest curator at SLOMA, discusses two ongoing virtual exhibits
On point and online Visit sloma.org to view Finding Spaces, a collection of artworks created by members of The Painters Group at SLOMA. Allan Hancock College’s Fine Art Student Show is available online at hancockcollege.edu/gallery. Both shows will remain available through the end of May. “I think having multiple tasks, at least for me, keeps…
Cambria Center for the Arts presents a virtual fundraiser, Spring for the Arts, and silent auction
On Sunday, May 16, the Cambria Center for the Arts (CCA) will stream a virtual benefit event, Spring for the Arts, starting at 4 p.m. This program will feature musical performances, a live art demonstration, and a short film screening. Proceeds raised during the event will support proposed upgrades for the CCA, including a new…
Art Social 805 hosts outdoor Paint Night event at STASH Local Goods
Art Social 805 presents one of its next outdoor Paint Night events, A View to the Pines, on Thursday, May 6, from 6 to 8 p.m., on the back patio of STASH Local Goods in Cambria. Each participant will be able to use their own paint station during the event. This workshop is suitable for…
Housing first
This is the first time I have written to the paper, but Shredder’s “Kick ’em when they’re down” piece (April 22) really riled me up. I am absolutely ashamed and astonished at the total lack of compassion or solutions for our unhoused residents. Shredder hit the nail on the head over and over in the…
The Serpent is a convoluted but compelling fictionalized look at real-life serial killer Charles Sobhraj
THE SERPENT What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Netflix What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price This limited eight-part series is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix chronicling the crimes of real-life French serial killer Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim), who murdered young tourists between 1975 and…
Now it’s tantrum time
At the April 20 SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting, 1st District Supervisor John Peschong, 5th District Supervisor Debbie Arnold, and 4th District Supervisor Lynn Compton voted to agendize a hearing at which the county could decide to pull out of the Integrated Waste Management Authority. No one is unclear on the reason why. The…
Becoming Ruby and Pedal Through
What’s it rated? Not rated When? Saturday, May 1 (doors at 7 p.m.; films at 8:15 p.m.) Where’s it showing? Central Coast Brewing and slomotionfilm.com SLO Motion Film, Bike SLO County, R.A.C.E. Matters SLO, and Central Coast Brewing (1422 Monterey St., SLO) are teaming up to bring you two short films focusing on inclusion in…
Waterspiracy
Call me cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs™ but the little water banking conspiracy theory that’s been hanging over the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin for years suddenly sounds plausible. Here’s the gist of it: Big landowners on the east side (cough, cough, Harvard Investment Group) of the Paso basin want to essentially bank water for themselves and…
Mortal Combat
What’s it rated? R When? 2021 Where’s it showing? HBO Max, Downtown Center, Park, Sunset Drive-In Directed by Simon McQuoid, this most recent installment in the Mortal Combat franchise follows MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan), whose career seems to be fading fast. It’s all but over … except just maybe he’s the only offspring…
Instrumental jam band supergroup Circles Around the Sun plays SLO Brew Rock on May 6
Triptastic instrumental jam masters Circles Around the Sun are coming in for a landing at SLO Brew Rock next Thursday, May 6. These far out LA cats are consummate musicians who last year dropped their third studio full-length, a self-titled follow-up to 2018’s Let It Wander and 2015’s Interludes for the Dead. Before COVID-19 came…
Straight Out Of Paso pays homage to everything the area represents, from Rhone varietals to cowboys
Outdoor hang Try Straight Out Of Paso at 1336 Railroad St., space B, in Paso Robles from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Check out the wines at sopwine.com. On just about every single business trip to wine events across the country, Edgar Torres hears himself explain to yet another person that California wines…
Shandon-San Juan Water District applies for Nacimiento and Santa Margarita lake water
A North County water district representing irrigated agriculture near Shandon is asking the state for allocations of Lake Nacimiento and Santa Margarita Lake water, which it proposes to pipe into the nearby Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. While pitched as a potential solution to the Paso basin’s overdraft, the proposal is already getting blowback from two…
Labor contractors, advocacy organizations agree that the Farm Workforce Modernization Act is the right step forward—now it needs to pass the Senate
Alexandra Allen, owner of Main Street Produce and Freshway Farms, has operated her Santa Maria-based businesses alongside her husband since the ’70s. Only in the last few years did they start using the H-2A program, which allows foreign agricultural workers to work in the U.S. on a temporary visa. “The H-2A program has been around…
