Cover Story
A good fight: SLO County mourns the loss of Supervisor Adam Hill
As news of San Luis Obispo County 3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill’s sudden death spread through the county on Aug. 6, reactions poured in on every form of media. Locals expressed their shock while remembering Hill as a passionate and unwavering advocate for the poor, homeless, and otherwise vulnerable in the community. “What was extraordinary…
SLO County HSOC recommends eviction moratorium, predicts an increase in homelessness
The San Luis Obispo County Homeless Services Oversight Council (HSOC) is recommending that the county Board of Supervisors take several measures to help renters and landlords through the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendations include enacting a county eviction moratorium. “For those who have lost jobs or who have seen significant decreases in income,…
Eleven more Santa Barbara County jail inmates test positive for COVID-19
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced in an Aug. 15 press release that 11 additional inmates at the county’s main jail have tested positive for COVID-19. One of those individuals tested positive on Aug. 13, prompting the jail to test 130 additional inmates in surrounding modules. Of those tested, 10 more came back positive,…
SLO County and USGS ask landowners for help to study Adelaida groundwater
San Luis Obispo County and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are set to study the groundwater conditions in the Adelaida region of North County for the first time—and they’re asking local landowners for help. The two agencies inked a partnership last year to undergo the study, which will collect and analyze data on the water…
Tenet Health offers virtual ER visits
In an effort to continue providing health care services to the Central Coast community in person or on-screen, Tenet Health Central Coast recently announced its newest option for medical care, Tele-ER. Patients now have the option to visit the emergency room virtually and can speak to a board-certified emergency room physician 24 hours a day,…
Protesters in Santa Maria rally around Tianna Arata and Elias Bautista
Under an unusually stormy summer sky, community members gathered on Aug. 13 outside of Santa Maria City Hall to protest the arrest and recommended charges against Tianna Arata and Elias Bautisa. Arata, a prominent Black youth organizer in San Luis Obispo, and Bautista, a member of the Santa Maria Youth Abolitionist group, were both arrested…
Future uncertain for jobs, Foxen pipeline, ExxonMobil trucking after Phillips 66 announces Santa Maria refinery shutdown
Phillips 66, which operates a major Santa Maria oil pipeline as well as the Santa Maria oil refinery on the Nipomo Mesa, announced on Aug. 12 that it plans to shut down the refining facility starting in 2023. The announcement comes exactly one week after the Santa Barbara Planning Commission voted to approve a one-year…
Man admits to killing one of three Santa Maria city trees found dead in June
In late June, after Santa Maria city staff discovered three dead city trees that had been drilled into and injected with chemicals, the city started its manhunt for the tree killer or killers. Now the city says it’s found the culprit. Well, one culprit. Who admitted to killing just one of the three dead trees.…
California Men’s Colony COVID-19 outbreak tops 200 inmates
A COVID-19 outbreak at the California Men’s Colony (CMC) is now the largest active outbreak among all state prisons—with 208 inmates and several staff members infected as of Aug. 14. The outbreak began at the end of July, and the infection numbers have steadily increased over the past two weeks. On Aug. 14, CMC reported…
Friends of Oceano Dunes challenges closure of Oceano Dunes SVRA
A nonprofit that advocates for off-roading access in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) is taking to court to dispute the California Coastal Commission’s July 7 closure of the park to vehicles. The Friends of Oceano Dunes filed a civil lawsuit against the Coastal Commission, its executive director, and State Parks in SLO…
Time for change
We need not look any further than the three local law enforcement figureheads/leaders’ recent actions to see that systemic racism, irrational behavior, and actions and personal bias are very much alive and present here: • SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson openly supported gun-toting vigilantes in Arroyo Grande who stood on a rooftop with assault rifles…
Students will be learning from home this fall, but some Central Coast teachers will have to be on campus
Jennifer Dolan has been teaching English at Righetti High School in Santa Maria for more than two decades, and, like anyone, she has good and bad days. But for Dolan, the bad days are worse than most. About 15 years ago, Dolan was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a disorder that causes chronic muscular pain and can…
An abuse of power
Felony charges should be leveled against SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson and District Attorney Dan Dow for upholding and perpetuating institutional racism. To instead charge Tianna Arata for joining the nation in leading protests against 400 years of literally murderous inequality is a gross display of power. What is the “proper” way to protest injustice?…
Cal Fire and Red Cross rethink evacuation centers, base camps as fire season collides with COVID-19
On Aug. 1, Cal Fire issued an evacuation order to hundreds of residents east of Santa Margarita. The Pond Fire was threatening 450 homes in a remote area south of Highway 58. Emergency officials set up the nearby Santa Margarita Elementary School as an evacuation center. Responders waited and waited, but just one person showed…
Protests don’t belong to the police
San Luis Obispo has always been a place of quiet riot. While we were marching with candles during the Vietnam War, Isla Vista was burning down its Bank of America branch. That doesn’t mean that local protest should become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the police department, with full coordination and the police chief marching at…
Potential Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate claims incumbent mayor threatened her
An Arroyo Grande resident who planned to run for mayor this November claims she opted out after current Arroyo Grande Mayor Caren Ray Russom sent her a lengthy message encouraging her to reconsider. Lea Rigo-Hensley, a vocal advocate for off-roading at the Oceano Dunes and president of Freedom Ropes, a local business that sells tow…
Do Dow and Parkinson discriminate against Christians?
It is hard to understand how two of our own have made it to high office when they think the way that they do. Our numbers will be diminished if we don’t wear masks, social distance, and attend only small gatherings. Our extended families during the pandemic will become sick at a faster rate than…
HSOC to discuss rent relief as eviction protections dwindle
A number of counties throughout California have put rental evictions on hold for the pandemic, but SLO County isn’t currently one of them. With state protections coming to an end, leaders and community members throughout SLO County—including the Homeless Services Oversight Council (HSOC)—hope to see local protections in place soon. Although SLO County and Gov.…
I support Smart & Final’s managers
In New Times Aug. 6 news section, the lead article chronicled a lawsuit against the Arroyo Grande Smart & Final brought by Sandra Prager Balsamo in response to her being asked to leave the store when she refused to wear the required mask (“Local Smart & Final sued for alleged discrimination over a face mask”).…
SLO protester in national spotlight, DA Dow speaks at local NAACP meeting
On Aug. 7, a group of about 200 to 300 people wearing face masks gathered in front of the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse to participate in a nonviolent demonstration to support local activist Tianna Arata, who was arrested on July 21 and later released with formal charges pending. The group silently moved from the…
Not a hero
Tianna Arata is not a hero. She does not deserve special consideration from the legal system or anyone else. Ms. Arata led an unlawful protest, qualifying as a riot by law enforcement, onto the U.S. 101 freeway, blocking traffic lanes in both directions. She put the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people in…
Megan’s Organic Market is the first dispensary in the City of SLO
For Megan Souza and Eric Powers, opening the first dispensary in the city of San Luis Obispo has been a 10-year journey. From growing cannabis to operating a permitted delivery service and finally opening a storefront, Powers said he feels like it’s a homecoming. “This was kind of the idea since day one. After working…
Elections matter
You know what an election year without any challengers is? Bullshit. Yeah, I said it. The whole point of an election is choice. It really chaps my metal hide when the incumbents just get to walk back into their seats without the public getting the chance to weigh in. And that’s why Arroyo Grande Mayor…
Break out of your COVID-19 rut with a musical mystery series, A Killer Party
You’re pretty much trapped at home, sick of jigsaw puzzles, and tired of day drinking. Break out of your COVID-19 rut with A Killer Party—A Murder Mystery Musical! You can purchased the nine-part musical series for $12.99 (akillerpartymusical.com/cal-poly-arts) and receive “the full 85-minute filmed episodic musical, plus bonus behind-the-scenes footage including cut material and more,”…
Color explosion! Tom Sage presents seven works at Ascendo Coffee
Russian abstract painter Wassily Kandinski claimed, “Color is a power which directly influences the soul,” while Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde posited, “Mere color can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.” Seven new works by Tom Sage on display at Ascendo Coffee (974 Monterey St., SLO; open for takeout daily until…
Cal Poly Arts supports the Save Our Stages Act
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact the live entertainment industry, Cal Poly Arts is asking the community to contact their local representatives about the Save Our Stages Act, which would provide Small Business Administration grants to independent venues, promoters, and festivals affected by the pandemic. The grants would offer at least six months of…
SLOMA goes digital with Brushstrokes and California Sculpture SLAM exhibits
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) added two more digital exhibitions to its virtual offerings on Aug. 7. The Brushstrokes 2020 exhibit showcases 42 paintings created by members of both The Painters Group, an affiliated artist group of SLOMA, and Art Center Morro Bay. The featured artworks explore a variety of subject matter…
The Most Dangerous Animal of All goes in unexpected directions
THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL OF ALL What’s it rated? Not rated What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Hulu Created by Kief Davidson (The Ivory Games) and Ross M. Dinerstein (The Innocent Man), this documentary miniseries introduces us to Gary L. Stewart, a man in search of…
Rescue Cactus
What’s it rated? Mature When? 2020 Where’s it showing? chrisfairbankscomedyspecial.com LA comic Chris Fairbanks delights with his unique and hilarious brand of comedy in his new special Rescue Cactus. From raunchy to ridiculous and all the while relatable, Fairbanks takes his audience on a journey full of belly laughs over buried childhood traumas to throwing…
Only
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Netflix Writer-director Takashi Doscher (Still) helms this sci-fi romance set in the near future when a mysterious comet has released a virus on Earth that kills only women, some immediately and others after a brief illness. Will (Leslie Odom Jr.) tries desperately to protect his girlfriend,…
Amid the pandemic, Paso Market Walk opens on Spring Street with a little sashay and a wink
Food hub Paso Market Walk, an open market for shopping, dining, and gathering, is now open for your eating and drinking pleasure at 1803 Spring St., in Paso Robles. For more information on merchants, restaurants, and other delicious destinations, visit pasomarketwalk.com. Oh yes they did. They opened. Paso Market Walk really did it. On the…
