Cover Story
Cleaned up? Atascadero team offers services to homeless residents, but encampment cleanups push some to other areas
After years of finding syringes and human waste on the ground, experiencing knocks on her front door asking for money, and a home invasion two years ago, one Atascadero resident is fed up with the homeless encampments near her home. She lives close to Stadium Park and thinks it’s about time that something is done…
SLO’s zero traffic collision goal paves way for public comment
San Luis Obispo wants severe collisions to be a thing of the past after traffic-related accidents killed 21 people within city limits since 2019. The death count is the highest year-over-year total since SLO rolled out its Traffic Safety Program 20 years ago, and the city is now moving forward with a 2016 City Council-approved…
Paso Robles City Council candidate wins over incumbent
According to final election results, newcomer Kris Beal won a seat on the Paso Robles City Council after a close race against incumbent Sharon Roden. Final election results show that Beal received nearly 44 percent of votes for the 1st District seat, while incumbent Roden trailed behind by 126 votes. Third candidate Linda George came…
SLO Superior Court feels budget pinch and reduces service levels
San Luis Obispo Superior Court is feeling the pinch as Gov. Gavin Newsom tightens the state’s purse strings to address California’s anticipated $46.8 billion budget deficit. Newsom signed a budget in July that cut $97 million from state trial courts for fiscal year 2024-25. Now, SLO Superior Court must scale back services in response to…
‘Scorched earth’ tactics
As the supervisor representing South County, I am deeply concerned about the recent lawsuit and court decision against San Luis Obispo County regarding the county’s operation of Lopez Dam. This lawsuit is a judicial end run around the county’s years-long administrative process with the state and federal agencies that are responsible for regulating endangered species…
San Luis Obispo should heed the recent NorCal earthquake as a warning
If the 7.0-magnitude earthquake 30 miles off the northern California shore was not a wake-up call for residents of San Luis Obispo, are they waiting for the one that could possibly strike 30 yards off the coast of San Luis Obispo? Seismologists have long warned that an overdue “Big One” (7.8 magnitude or higher), which…
PCPA’s Beauty and the Beast is a sweeping spectacle
Certain as the sun The Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) presents its production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the Marian Theatre through Dec. 22. Visit pcpa.org for tickets or more info. The Marian Theatre is located at 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. If there’s one tale as old as time that ages particularly…
Jazz Jubilee Central Coast 2024—a big success!
The Basin Street Regulars Hot Jazz Club has been promoting jazz on the Central Coast with monthly dance concerts and an annual festival for almost 50 years. BSR also provides scholarships to Jazz Camp for young musicians who are interested in furthering their knowledge of music and jazz—learning from the pros! This fall, the Basin…
Pryor Baird and supporting acts hold acoustic holiday shows in Atascadero and Orcutt
As Christmas approaches, so do two chances to see Pryor Baird live in concert without venturing outside of the Central Coast. The prolific blues and country musician with local roots, widely known for his time on NBC’s The Voice, will perform in Atascadero on Friday, Dec. 20, at 6:30 p.m., and in Orcutt on Saturday,…
San Luis Obispo’s bike lanes are unsafe for pedestrians
I read Richard Schmitt’s opinion piece, “Wrong Side of ADA” with great interest and agreement with his stance. I, too, have serious concerns about many of the bicycle lane changes within the city. I have heard from several business owners downtown that they themselves or their customers have experienced close calls or accidents caused by…
Nightbitch is a hilarious and emotional examination of motherhood
NIGHTBITCH What’s it rated? RWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhere’s it showing? The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo Writer and director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) helms this magical-realism/horror-comedy based on Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel about a woman (Amy Adams) who pauses her art career to…
Drama queens
Grover Beach is turning over a new leaf, according to recently elected Mayor Kassi Dee, who promises to help rebuild trust between the community and its City Council. And if the groans accompanying one particularly vocal Grover H2O member’s turn at the microphone—it was Brenda Auer—during public comment on Dec. 9 are any indication about…
Interior Chinatown
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Hulu Oh boy! An adaptation of a book I read for my book club has come my way! If you’re unfamiliar with movie script formatting, this book may pose a challenge; however, the television show is here! Interior Chinatown follows the story of background character Willis…
Christmas at the Ranch returns with more lights, sights, and Disney train cars
A nearly 2-mile train ride through Santa Margarita Ranch can get you within lap-sitting distance of Santa Claus. You might get serenaded by carolers as you head into his barn—or distracted by the Pig Iron’s bar cart, the fire pits waiting for marshmallow roasting, Central Coast Trailrides’ ponies, or the crafty Christmas marketplace. However, Christmas…
Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary stakeholders start preparing for the future
A decade after its application to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sanctuary nomination process, the 4,543-square-mile Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is official. “The exciting part about this is the namesake for a lot of Chumash community members,” Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Chair Kenneth Kahn told New Times. “It’s certainly quite…
Dear Santa
What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Paramount-Plus Bobby Farrelly directs this comedy about sweet but dyslexic sixth-grader Liam Turner (Robert Timothy Smith), who’s too old to believe in Santa Claus but writes his annual letter anyway, accidently addressing it to “Satan.” The next night, “Santa” (Jack Black) shows up, offering him three…
Up+Adam’s Christmas Jingle Jam raises money for a needy local family at Rod & Hammer Rock on Dec. 13
Imagine being kids who’ve suffered staggering losses and are now being cared for by a senior guardian on a fixed income. Christmas isn’t looking great this year. Will there be a Christmas at all? Well, for one local family dealing with hardship, the answer is yes, all thanks to Up+Adam’s Breaking & Entering Christmas. Media…
New book Sideways Uncorked is an ode to the 20-year-old movie that made pinot noir a star
For wine and film aficionados Order copies of Sideways Uncorked via publisher Applause Theatre & Cinema Books at applausebooks.com and meet authors Kirk and Mira Advani Honeycutt at upcoming book-signing events in Paso Robles—Dec. 21, 1 to 3:30 p.m., at Spare Time Books; Dec. 21, 4 to 8:00 p.m., at Tudor Wines; and Dec. 28,…
Failed Paso City Council candidate files claim against city
Former Paso Robles City Council candidate Linda George filed a $500,000 personal injury claim against the city, requesting that City Manager Ty Lewis be terminated. George, who lost the 1st District City Council election, presented her 18-page “writ of mandate” to the council at its Dec. 3 meeting. Its goal is to compel the city…
A new city council promise to reunite the Grover Beach community
A chaotic year was followed by an emotional night for the Grover Beach City Council on Dec. 9 as residents bid farewell to three council members and look to new leaders to help repair the community’s divide. New Mayor Kassi Dee, who takes the city’s reins from Karen Bright and beat out Debbie Peterson and…
