Cover Story
Autumn Arts Annual 2021
Summer’s over. It may not feel like it with the warmth of these late September days, but fall is here and so are those autumn events! And we’ve got all the fun festivities in SLO County and northern Santa Barbara County compiled into one calendar for you to peruse. Calendar Editor Caleb Wiseblood pooled music,…
Job applicants for District 4: Please step forward
Conservative supervisors neglected to include any requirement of prior election experience as part of their open invitation to apply for county clerk-recorder. This comes after they cast and allowed baseless hatred and accusations for outgoing Clerk Tommy Gong. Only four of the 44 applicants have any prior election experience! More troubling was the fact that…
Cayucos seeks more funding for Vets Hall restoration
Cayucos became quieter when its Vets Hall closed in 2016. Now, its residents and San Luis Obispo County staff are trying to upgrade the building for a much-awaited 2023 reopening. Greg Bettencourt is one such concerned resident. He said that the Vets Hall was the town’s social hub. “It’s the center of our town. If…
John Donegan
What a relief! At last a conservative point of view published in the New Times (“A curious phenomena,” Aug. 26). Will wonders never cease? I, too, am an outspoken conservative who has been “canceled” by a few friends who cannot argue with my logic and therefore have retreated from our friendship. Somehow they think it’s…
People of all ages benefit from free food programs on Central Coast
At Laguna Middle School in SLO, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) gathered around an outdoor picnic table with a dozen students on Sept. 16, eating a meal prepared by the school’s food services staff as part of a hunger tour of the 24th Congressional District. “The federal funding resulted in [Laguna Middle School] being…
Let’s trounce voter suppression
With a sense of helplessness, we watch events in Afghanistan unfold and wildfires rage in this great state. Meanwhile, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act are strongly beckoning us to repeal the greatest threat to voting rights since Reconstruction. Hundreds of new voting restrictions are being enacted in…
San Luis Obispo Symphony celebrates 60th anniversary with upcoming performance, Classics Reimagined: String Glory
In celebration of its 60th anniversary, the San Luis Obispo Symphony is holding a special concert, Classics Reimagined: String Glory, at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Saturday, Oct. 2, starting at 7:30 p.m. Concert attendees are required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test result (taken within…
The homeless
There has been a lot of handwringing and gnashing of teeth recently about the homeless problem. Who are they and what should we do about them? The most visible and problematic homeless are the substance abusers and mentally ill. The problem seems to be getting worse, as we see tent cities springing up in our…
Central Coast astronomer and former NASA scientist pens new activity book for children
Astronomy Activity Book for Kids: 100+ Fun Ways to Learn About Space and Stargazing, written by local astronomer and teacher Aurora Lipper, was released in mid-September. The book was published by Zeitgeist, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and is available to purchase through various outlets, including Amazon. The book features a variety of puzzles,…
Nowhere to go
“Brother, can you spare a buck?” (Inflation, amirite?) I think all can agree that SLO County’s homelessness problem is a big-ass issue. Do you like seeing people living on the street or panhandling? Do you want people camped in public parks and along waterways surrounded by trash? Pretty sure nobody does! What we can’t seem…
Teacher, parent outcry leads Cayucos school board to rescind its Let Them Breathe resolution
Jake Rideout was Cayucos Elementary School’s librarian for the past nine years and taught a STEAM course for the last six. But when the school district’s board of trustees passed a Let Them Breathe resolution last month, Rideout made the decision to leave the district. “I loved that school,” she told New Times. “It was…
Officials agree that new safe parking site is a major step to help the homeless, and there’s more work to do
San Luis Obispo County is finally actively addressing its homelessness problem, and the unhoused are feeling the growing pains. In August, the county Administrative Office partnered with 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson and 4th District Supervisor Lynn Compton to open up unused land on Kansas Avenue, outside of SLO, where homeless people living in vehicles…
Cry Macho finds director and star Clint Eastwood in a sentimental mood
CRY MACHO What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Fair Oaks, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10, Sunset Drive-In, and HBO Max What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby) directs this neo-Western about Mike Milo (Eastwood), a former rodeo star and horse…
Clickbait
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Netflix Nick Brewer seems to be the typical family man, so when he’s abducted and humiliated publicly online, those closest to him are sent reeling. His level-headed and cautious wife, Sophie (Betty Gabriel), is protective of their two sons’ exposure to their father’s predicament, and his…
Copshop
What’s it rated? R When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 Co-written and directed by Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The Grey, Boss Level), Copshop delivers an action-filled crime drama. On the run from an assassin, con artist Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) tries to hide in a small town jail by punching…
Resilience, restoration, and relaxation are the common threads in New Cuyama, an ideal day trip or weekend getaway
The Cuyama Buckhorn Roadside Resort, newly renovated with Wild West motifs and plenty of mid-century modern flair, is what brought me to New Cuyama for the first time on a recent road trip, and that aesthetic will certainly bring me back in the future. But the 24-hour trip ended up being more than just lounging…
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation steps up during COVID-19 to help families of local children battling cancer
Pediatric cancer is already one of the worst predicaments that a child and family can face. Having to contend with that illness and a global pandemic at the same time is almost unthinkable. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Senior Development Director Brittany Avila Wazny with the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation—which has served families…
Night Shift Cookie Co. to showcase hand-decorated creations at SLO Public Market storefront
Satisfy your sweet tooth For more information, visit nightshiftcookieco.com or follow the company on Instagram or Facebook @nightshiftcookieco. Hours and a grand opening date will be announced in October. For a complete list of SLO Public Market tenants, visit slopublicmarket.com. Alexa Smith loves Halloween. So it’s no surprise that she chose October to open her…
Prime concert season marches on with three big shows at the Fremont Theater
It’s prime concert season, and for the approximately 40 people who showed up at the Shots for Shows vaccination event last week at the Fremont Theater, they’re now closer to being protected from COVID-19 and part of the solution to keep live music going in SLO County. “More than anything, we increased awareness a tiny…
Have a nimble attitude
Flexibility is the ability to bend without breaking. I work at a local gymnastics facility, and I see so many clients who think “flexibility” is only about doing backbends or the splits. Nope. Flexibility isn’t just physical. Sometimes we need to do some mental limbering-up as well. From bent knees in a cartwheel to a…
Shandon farmworker housing project—largest in recent history—gets approval
The largest farmworker housing project in recent San Luis Obispo County history got the greenlight from a county hearing officer on Sept. 17—paving the way for development on Shandon farmland that could house up to 240 laborers. Brodiaea Inc.—a Harvard Management Company subsidiary—filed the project application with the county in 2018. The company wants to…
Hey, Jordan Cunningham!
For a guy who likes to talk a big game about supporting the middle class and advocating for the job force, you sure threw nurses under the bus with your letter to the Health and Human Services asking to wipe out our staffing ratios. Nurses have been working the last 18 months with crushingly high-acuity…
Grand View Apartments’ former tenants settle lawsuit for $4 million
Two years after filing their class action lawsuit for slum-like living conditions at the Grand View Apartments, former tenants of the Paso Robles complex settled the case for more than $4 million. “We can’t undo the harm that the tenants of Grand View Apartments suffered, but we are very happy that they will receive some…
Thank you, election workers
The Sept. 14 recall election presented real challenges to our SLO County election officials. In the short span of two months they sent vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters, found polling places in communities throughout the county, and recruited and trained staff and volunteers to run the election. With COVID-19 still raging, they instituted health…
Heidi Harmon gets threatening nude email on her last day as mayor
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon ran her final City Council meeting on Sept. 21 with police protection, after she received an email earlier that day of a threatening and sexualized nature that included nude photos. “Tonight, instead of ending my term as mayor running this meeting, I’ll be ending my term talking with our…
