Cover Story
Consuming the unknown: Fentanyl poisoning is getting legislative attention
Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a series documenting the prevalence of fentanyl in SLO County. The second, “Purchased largely online, fentanyl deaths are increasing,” was published March 4. March 23 was a difficult day for many parents who were seeking justice for their loved ones at the California Capitol, including Central Coast…
Grover Beach man charged with 2019 murder of Oceano resident
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Grover Beach man for the murder of Larry Bross, a 90-year-old Oceano resident who was killed in his home during January 2019, according to authorities. David James Krause, 41, faces a second-degree murder charge for the alleged killing. Krause was already in SLO County Jail on…
Nonprofit provides free Wi-Fi access in Cambria
Cambria Technology Collective, an information technology (IT) support and services nonprofit, expanded its free Wi-Fi project along Main Street in Cambria on April 4. The expansion provides internet access to electronic devices along the cross street of Tamson, near the Cookie Crock. It also covers the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority Route 15 bus…
Participation trophies
Long ago, when our society was still cohesive enough to at least have a few common points of consensus, the one thing that most of us could agree upon was the desirability of maintaining a meritocracy. Recognizing that some people are better at some things than others are, whether by talent or by effort, we…
SLO County sticks with plan for new Paso Robles water basin rules
San Luis Obispo County supervisors are proceeding with a new regulatory framework for pumping water in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin that organized agriculture opposes. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on April 6 to move ahead on an environmental impact report for a proposed ordinance that would replace the existing ordinance, which essentially prohibits…
Mother of Exiles
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” …unless you’re talking about Central and South American kids. Then send ’em back! Is it just me, or do others…
Nomadland explores the nomad culture, a side of homelessness not often seen
NOMADLAND What’s it rated? R When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Hulu What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Chloé Zhao (The Rider) directs and adapts for the screen Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, about modern-day “houseless” people. The central character is Fern (Frances…
See singer-songwriter Steve Key and friends livestreamed from an Orcutt house concert on April 11
Singer-songwriter Steve Key is best known locally as the producer of the long-running Songwriters at Play series, which hosted three or four shows a week before COVID-19 at various locations throughout the county. These days he’s playing weekly at Sculpterra, bringing in a few guest players to trade songs with. He’ll be there on Saturday,…
The Sunlit Night
What’s it rated? R When? 2019 Where’s it showing? HULU David Wnendt directs Rebecca Dinerstein’s screenplay based on her novel about Frances (Jenny Slate), an aspiring painter who takes a job helping Nils (Fridtjov Såheim), a famous artist, create a barn installation in Norway. Frances is tired of her everyday life. Her parents are separating,…
Experience virtual reality via Cuesta College’s Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery
Altered reality VR-To-Go headsets are available for reservations with pickups and drop-offs scheduled for Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Email emma_saperstein@cuesta.edu to schedule an appointment. Cuesta College’s Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery’s next virtual student show will go live on May 13 at cuesta.edu. I’m floating above a Venetian canal. It’s…
Godzilla vs. Kong
What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2021 Where’s it showing? HBO Max, Bay, Park, and Sunset Drive-In Adam Wingard directs this creature feature about the mighty King Kong squaring off against fearsome Godzilla. It’s loud. It’s dumb. It’s pure fantasy. If you’re watching this film for the human characters, prepare to be disappointed, but if you’re…
Five local artists chosen to paint utility boxes in Santa Maria from pool of SLO and SB county-based applicants
The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department recently held a call for artists to paint traffic signal utility boxes in and around the city, which was open to both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo county residents. Applicants were encouraged to pitch artworks based on themes that tie to Santa Maria’s social, cultural, and/or historical…
I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival goes virtual to benefit the Children’s Creative Project
The I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival is adopting a virtual platform for its 35th annual event, scheduled to debut on Saturday, May 29, and run through Monday, May 31. Funds raised during the event will benefit the Children’s Creative Project (CCP), a nonprofit that serves roughly 50,000 students in more than 100 public schools…
News of potential unaccompanied migrants on the Central Coast sparks support and outrage
Central Coast community members took to social media to express their sentiments on the prospect of the Camp Roberts Army National Guard base becoming the eighth site to house unaccompanied migrant children in California. In an April 1 briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services sent requests to…
Morro Bay Mushrooms grows several varieties of oyster mushrooms that are out of this world
Fresh fungus Pick up a variety of oyster mushrooms at one of the local farmers’ markets that Morro Bay Mushrooms sells at, including San Luis Obispo’s Saturday market, Cambria, Morro Bay, and Arroyo Grande. For an up-to-date schedule, visit morrobaymushrooms.com or find @morrobaymushrooms on Instagram. “Feel that,” Morro Bay Mushrooms owner Rosa Zunino tells me.…
A second death in Mitchell Park worries homeless advocates
On April 5, Michelle Mansker received a worrying message in the early afternoon. “I got a text around 2:45 from one of the unhoused people in Mitchell Park, and it was saying something was going on, the cops were there, and could I come down,” Mansker, who volunteers with SLO Street Medics, said. “I got…
Equality Act supports human rights
Morro Bay resident Willow Kawamoto, describes the Equality Act as a powder keg. “The result is just an explosion of its own, encompassing so many different aspects of what it means to be a part of the LGBTQ community,” Kawamoto said. “And it’s now obviously affecting children.” The Equality Act, passed by the House of…
Pozo Saloon owners’ cannabis project denied
Owners of the famed Pozo Saloon saw their hopes to establish a commercial cannabis farm on a Pozo family ranch dashed on April 6 when the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors rejected the project. In a split 2-2 vote, the supervisors allowed a prior Planning Commission decision to deny the cannabis project stand.…
Organizers say Stop AAPI Hate rally is more than just a one-day event
More than 300 families, friends, and individuals—wearing masks—gathered at Mitchell Park and marched through the city of San Luis Obispo’s downtown on April 1 to shout their support for the Asian American Pacific Islander community (AAPI) and call for unity. The Stop AAPI Hate rally and march was organized by Kaela Lee, Mia Shin, and…
ASH data breach more extensive than initially reported
A data breach at Atascadero State Hospital appears to be more severe than state officials initially thought, as the investigation into what happened remains ongoing. On March 18, the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) announced that an employee with access to Atascadero State Hospital data servers improperly obtained more than 1,400 patient and former patient…
Local shortage of substitute teachers intensifies amid COVID-19, leading to wage increases
Several months deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, Brandon Cruz decided to take a leap in August 2020, accepting a position as a long-term substitute teacher in the Lucia Mar Unified School District. Cases of COVID-19 had just ramped up again locally, and most local school districts had accepted that much of the 2020 school year…
Something to remember
Some of our friends are still grieving the loss of their loved ones. Some are still trying to recover from the virus. A dear friend of mine is still struggling with COVID-19 side effects, working to get her sense of smell and taste back. Still, the most tasteless comment comes from our own state Assembly…
Polystyrene should be banned in SLO County
As a small group striving to improve lives through environmental awareness and actions, we were shocked and dismayed by the recent Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) decision to postpone implementing the SLO County ban on polystyrene and expanded polystyrene (aka Styrofoam). This decision is a backward step for environmental responsibility on the Central Coast, and…
State Parks’ economic dunes study was debunked
Your reporting on the upcoming SLO CAL/South County Chambers of Commerce economic study of the “indirect and induced” profits the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) “brings to neighboring communities” mentioned the previous survey commissioned by State Parks, once brandished everywhere as proof that off-road activity at the Oceano Dunes is vital to the…
Are you a climate-hating paper now?
I ask that rhetorically because I don’t believe you are, but if I didn’t know better I would think so after reading Ron Fink (“Rethink renewables,” March 25) and Mark Henry’s (“The year the music died,” March 25) editorials in March. I see the two most prominent opinion pieces both trashing renewables with many factual…
Federal relief funds should go to farmworkers
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that President Joe Biden signed into law in March, local governments across the country are receiving financial assistance to help repair our badly frayed national social safety net, damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump administration’s mismanagement. Our San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors…
