Cover Story
Closed after 45 years: The Graduate shuts its doors after decades of providing live music, dancing, and grub
About five weeks before all hell broke loose, I wrote about Norwegian dungeon synth artist Mortiis playing a live show at The Graduate on Feb. 9 (“Take your black metal thrashing under Mortiis’ dungeon synth at The Grad,” Feb. 6, 2020). I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the last live music…
Cal Poly will require students in campus housing to test negative for COVID-19 before moving in
Before Cal Poly starts its fall quarter on Sept. 14, thousands of students who plan to live on campus have to test negative for COVID-19 before they’re allowed at the school. In an Aug. 26 press release, Cal Poly announced that all students who hope to live on campus this fall will first be required…
SLO County survey to ‘guide the future of COVID-19 testing in our community’
San Luis Obispo County public health officials are asking locals to fill out a short COVID-19 testing survey—available online—that will help “guide the future of testing in our community,” according to an Aug. 24 county press release. Open through Sept. 2, the survey asks questions about the respondent’s age and area of residence, COVID-19 testing…
Caravan protest at California Men’s Colony calls for better treatment
On Aug. 22, more than 50 individuals gathered—socially-distanced—at Santa Rosa Park in San Luis Obispo to take part in a caravan rally and protest from the park to the California Men’s Colony (CMC) in an effort to raise awareness about the recent COVID-19 outbreak at the state prison. Citing safety concerns of prisoners unable to…
Guadalupe to hold proposed sign ordinance workshop
It’s been 40 years since Guadalupe last touched its sign ordinance, but the city hopes to soon change that. A workshop will be held at 5 p.m. on Aug. 25 at Guadalupe’s City Council Chambers to gather public and city council feedback on a new draft sign ordinance. The current ordinance, part of the city’s…
Santa Maria to celebrate women’s suffrage centennial
For nearly 100 years, activists and reformers fought to win the right to vote for women in the United States. On Aug. 18, 1920, the women’s suffrage movement finally won, and the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, declaring for the first time that some women had equal rights, including the right to vote.…
North County businesses should stop all outdoor work until air quality improves, APCD says
As intense wildfire smoke continued to hover over North County on Aug. 21—the third day in a row of hazardous air quality there—the SLO County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) issued a press release “strongly recommending” postponing all outdoor work north of the Cuesta Grade until the skies clear. Smoke from multiple Monterey County wildfires…
Time for an Equal Rights Amendment
On Aug. 18, we observed the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote after more than 100 years of struggle. Think how different our country would be today if women couldn’t vote. On Aug. 26 we’ll celebrate Women’s Equality Day, a day to celebrate suffrage but also to re-focus on the need for…
Successful re-entry takes a village
We need to help ex-inmates succeed in their return to our communities. The LA Times provided a thoughtful call to action in its editorial on Aug. 5, “California is releasing prison inmates in droves. It needs to help them re-enter society.” I’ve learned through facilitating projects in the criminal justice system and some volunteer work…
It’s getting slippery for Big Oil
Katie Davis, chair of Sierra Club’s Los Padres Chapter (Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties), recently described what it was like to live through the Refugio Beach oil spill five years ago: “You can’t completely clean up an offshore oil spill. The oil sinks into the marine environment, damaging fragile underwater ecosystems, killing or contaminating fish…
Smoke up!
Did 1st District Supervisor John Peschong just save the SLO County cannabis industry? Is up down, black white, wet dry? What kind of topsy-turvy world are we living in? On Aug. 18, Peschong voted against his perpetual allies, 4th District Supe Lynn Compton and 5th District Supe Debbie Arnold, who voted to approve amendments to…
Familiar faces and newcomers join a crowded SLO city election race
A dozen candidates have filed papers to run for the San Luis Obispo City Council this fall. The pandemic-backdropped race will feature two incumbents, a former mayor, and an eclectic mix of both familiar faces and newcomers to local politics. Three seats are open—Mayor Heidi Harmon and Councilmember Andy Pease are seeking reelection, while Councilmember…
Farmworkers in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties remain vulnerable as the COVID-19 crisis continues
After five months of living with the pandemic, farmworker advocates say that agricultural employees, which the state considers to be essential workers, continue to be vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. At the start of the pandemic, the main concern was getting enough personal protective equipment for farmworkers and getting local public health information to Spanish and…
Grover Beach business assistance microgrant program provides lifeline to struggling owners
A few long weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, Julia Powers was starting to lose hope. Like so many other business owners, Powers had to temporarily close her Grover Beach-based yarn and knitting store, Let’s Knit, in mid-March because of COVID-19. But as other businesses and restaurants pivoted to online sales or takeout, Powers felt stuck.…
Cambria’s The Cabin offers a virtual display of fine arts
Welcome to The Cabin Take a virtual tour of The Cabin’s show on its Facebook page at facebook.com. Everything about “upset Apple cart,” a new exhibit showing at Cambria’s The Cabin through August, is a feast for the senses. As you approach the venue, you’re greeted by a fence installation by Andres Martinez (Cambria/Mexico) constructed…
Arroyo Grande cancels local November election
At a special meeting on Aug. 18, the Arroyo Grande City Council voted unanimously to cancel the city’s Nov. 3 consolidated general municipal election, which usually determines who will serve on City Council and as mayor. The decision was made possible only after no competing candidates registered to run against the incumbents by the Aug.…
Gallery at Marina Square announces three featured artists for September exhibition
Starting Sept. 1, Gallery at Marina Square in Morro Bay will begin showcasing fine art photography by local artists Karen Peterson, Terry Garvin, and Gregory Siragusa. This joint exhibition will remain on display through Sept. 29. “Art is important. It can relax, inspire, elate, motivate, and hundreds of other things,” Garvin said in a press…
SLO County supervisors shelve cannabis ordinance changes
During the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors’ contentious four-hour hearing on Aug. 18 to consider a package of new rules for the local cannabis industry, cultivation applicant Tim Reed called in to the meeting to speak about what the stakes were for him. “We’ve spent well over $80,000 in the effort,” Reed said.…
Wilshire Health and Community Services presents an original podcast, Wisdom from the Porch
Wisdom from the Porch, an original podcast produced by Wilshire Health and Community Services, is available to listen to online for free at wisdomfromtheporch.org. The series features six episodes so far and focuses on the exploration of healthy aging and lifestyle choices for senior adults and their families. “As we age, choice is vital. Emotions…
Atascadero City Council candidate defends opinion column
Co-owner of 13 Stars Media and Atascadero City Council candidate Nicholas Mattson is under fire for an opinion series he wrote for one of his papers, The Atascadero News, in July. The four-part series, “House on Fire,” details Mattson’s view on the impacts of COVID-19 locally and nationally, local and state responses to the virus,…
First Cow depicts the power of friendship
FIRST COW What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Prime Video, Vudu, Fandango Now, iTunes Director Kelly Reichart (Meek’s Cutoff, Wendy and Lucy) helms this story co-written for the screen with Jonathan Raymond based on his novel The Half-Life, about two men—skilled baker…
County’s Paso Basin boundaries will remain the same
After hearing backlash from landowners, on Aug. 18 the SLO County Board of Supervisors scrapped a plan to revise the boundaries of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin so that the county’s boundary matched the state’s. While the revision would’ve aligned the basin maps as stakeholders start to implement a 20-year sustainability plan mandated by state…
Generation Kill
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2008 Where’s it showing? HBO, Amazon Prime HBO’s gritty overlooked gem, Generation Kill, offers a look inside the toxic masculinity, misogyny, and racism of a Marine recon battalion as it prepares and ultimately invades Iraq in 2003. It focuses on Sgt. Brad “Iceman” Colbert (Alexander Skarsgård), his obnoxious second Cpl.…
Power outages could hit SLO County during heat wave
California’s hotter than usual temperatures are more than just a sweaty nuisance, they could lead to widespread power outages throughout the state and in SLO County. On Aug. 14, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) released a series of “flex alerts” warning state utility companies that rotating power outages would likely be necessary throughout the…
Project Power
What’s it rated? R When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Netflix Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman co-direct this sci-fi action film about an experimental drug that when taken gives five minutes of a superpower, though each user is affected differently. One might become bulletproof while another may acquire chameleon-like camouflage. When the drug arrives on the…
Constructive energy
A whale of a lot of years ago I read about how in the past, in some parts of the South, once a year, white people would gather up buckets of whitewash, and without being invited, go into the Black parts of town and whitewash the shacks that the people were living in. The objective…
Catch and eat: Rockfish are on the menu straight out of the Pacific Ocean
Fishing regulations Visit the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website, wildlife.ca.gov, to find out more about recreational fishing regulations, where to buy a permit, bag limits, and the fish that are off-limits. A Pacific rockfish by any other name is cod, snapper, and any one of the more than 70 species that swim about…
A little humor about that coin shortage
After hearing about the nationwide coin shortage, I cannot help but wonder how it must be affecting laundromats, since that is where most of my coins end up being spent. But why are laundromats still coin operated? Why only quarters? If they insist on staying coin-operated, can we allow them to discriminate against other denominations?…
Paso pushes community-led outreach to slow the spread of COVID-19
As the number of positive COVID-19 cases rise in Paso Robles, the city is once again calling on the community to adhere to safety guidelines with a focus on the Latino community. At the Aug. 18 City Council meeting, City Manager Tom Frutchey said the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department has been tracking…
