Unsafe and insane
Remember the good old days when the worst thing that could happen when setting off fireworks is you’d blow off a finger or lose an eye? Well, in Grover Beach, you could lose your house! Ridiculous, amirite? In an effort to curtail illegal fireworks, Grover Beach adopted an ordinance to levy fines on those caught…
A Paso Robles Winery offers a more accessible tasting experience for college students
McPrice Myers’ journey into wine started when he was working at a grocery store as a young adult. He later realized the introduction would save his life from tumbling along a “path for no good.” Have a tasteMcPrice Myers Wines is located at 3525 Adelaida Road in Paso Robles. It’s open daily from 11 a.m.…
Rural parents urge AUSD to keep second teacher at Carrisa Plains
Parents and educators from one of San Luis Obispo’s most remote communities told the Atascadero Unified School District (AUSD) board on April 21 that a proposed teacher cut at Carrisa Plains Elementary would deepen inequalities for rural students already facing long commutes and limited resources. During public comment at the board meeting, speaker after speaker…
Internationally renowned acoustic guitarist Tommy Emmanuel plays Fremont Theater
Considering his technical virtuosity, one would be forgiven for thinking Australian acoustic guitarist Tommy Emmanuel was thoroughly schooled in music theory. “This generation thinks that I went to a place like Berklee [College of Music] or that I was taught by some brilliant teachers, and nothing could be further from the truth,” Emmanuel said during…
Pismo Beach voters could decide on four-year terms for mayor in November
Future mayors of Pismo Beach might receive respite from the stress of frequent reelection campaigns. But that decision ultimately rests with voters. On April 21, the Pismo Beach City Council voted 3-2 directing staff to return with an agenda item proposing a ballot measure aiming to extend the mayoral term from two years to four.…
Meet filmmaking brothers Kyle and Carlos Plummer, Mike Farrell, and Haley Joel Osment
Our local film festival is a treasure for movie lovers, offering a slate of curated independent film, special events, and the chance to rub shoulders with filmmakers. Below, read about Cambria-based filmmaker brothers and their first feature film, and hear from a former child star about sustaining his decades-long career. The Brothers Plummer Once upon…
Council upholds approval for Ravine Water Park pool project
A proposed expansion at the Ravine Water Park in Paso Robles cleared a key regulatory step April 7 after the City Council unanimously denied an appeal and upheld the Planning Commission’s approval, allowing a “no splash” pool and hot tub addition to move forward. The decision followed a lengthy hearing that focused less on the…
Holly Beals is Studios on the Park’s April featured artist
There’s something quintessentially Californian about Holly Beals’ mixed media paintings. In Dive In Everyone, a row of longboards is lined up along a beach boardwalk. Their bottoms are made of text and advertisements from magazine clippings. Beals is a resident artist at Studios on the Park, and her work is currently featured in the gallery’s…
SLO County prepares for regional study to better deliver jail medical services
San Luis Obispo County is set to join a regional feasibility study to explore long-term options for improved jail medical services and delivery. At the April 21 meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved a memorandum of understanding with the Golden State Finance Authority to provide cost reimbursement for participating in the study. Staff told supervisors…
Laura Murphy is featured at Gallery at Marina Square
Gazing at acrylic painter Laura Murphy’s Hendrix is as close to a psychedelic acid trip as you’re likely to get from a painted surface. Vivid colors swirl and blend, suggesting movement. Murphy’s abstract paintings are on display through April in Gallery at Marina Square’s Upper Gallery II. “Laura Murphy’s art gives color and shape formed…
Left-Handed Girl is a stunning family drama shot on iPhone 13s
Shih-Ching Tsou (Take Out) directs this script co-written with her longtime creative partner Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Anora) about single mother Shu-Fen (Janel Tsai) and her two daughters, rebellious high school dropout I-Ann (Shoh-Yuan Ma) and precocious 5-year-old I-Jing (Nina Ye), who open a noodle stand at a bustling Taipei night market as they…
Valentina follows a young woman battling poverty and an oppressive system
Tatti Ribeiro directs this tale of Valentina (Keyla Monterroso Mejia), a young woman living on the El Paso-Juarez border whose life is a shambles. She’s broke, has unpaid parking tickets, and is caught in the OmniBase program—a failure to appear/failure to pay system that allows parking fees to compound, potentially leading to arrest and jail.…
Birds of War follows a love story that grows out of war coverage
Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak co-direct this script they co-wrote with story consultant Katie Bryer about their 13-year love story. She was a London-based BBC journalist from Lebanon, and he was a Syrian activist-turned-cameraman; the two connected during the Syrian civil war. The story is told through their exchange of increasingly intimate text messages,…
Trinity United Methodist Church builds a garden to bring the community together
Members of a local church recently turned a vacant lot on their Los Osos property into a community garden, which they unveiled on April 18. “Once we got the garden going, people just kind of showed up and said, ‘Oh you know, we want to be involved, or I want a garden bed,’” Trinity Educational…
Help keep Oceano Dunes free of vehicles forever
A federal court recently ruled that the California Department of Parks and Recreation violates the Endangered Species Act by allowing motorized vehicle use that harms shorebirds at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. The ruling also restricts that use. Since Tuesday, April 14, big signs at the Oceano beach vehicle ramp alert beach drivers…
SLO REP’s new facility will bring joy to future generations
I truly enjoy the magnificent oak at the corner of Palm and Nipomo. However, I am not an arborist, so I cannot speak to whether the arborist’s report that questions the viability of the tree through and post-theater construction is “malarkey” or not, nor whether “in all likelihood the tree would survive construction just fine”…
Pitting fire protection against parks is a false choice for Los Osos
Julie Tacker’s op-ed asks Los Osos voters to reject Measure B-26 to “support fire protection” (“Los Osos residents should fund fire protection, not parks,” April 16). The argument rests on a false choice and ignores the fact that 15,000 residents share a single 6-acre community park, a deficit more severe than in almost any community…
SLO REP should take over an empty Rite Aid building
There is a sometimes forgotten little corner in downtown that now has the locals’ attention. It is the site of the long proposed new replacement SLO REP theater on Monterey and Nipomo. It’s also the site of possibly the last remaining grand oak tree in the area. And it is grand. The long-standing agreement was…
Hey REACT: What about offshore oil?
Regarding New Times’ April 16 article “REACT Alliance urges federal refund of California offshore wind leases,” I have concerns about REACT. As energized as this nonprofit group is in opposition to offshore wind power, its website has literally nothing to say about offshore oil and gas development. The group casts itself as having a “singular…
Sticker shock at Diablo Canyon
Four years ago, nuclear power enthusiasts were high-fiving each other: They had forced a sudden U-turn in California energy policy by extending the operations of Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The true price of this decision is now rising to the surface. California’s last nuclear power plant was originally slated to close in 2025. PG&E had…
