SLO burn
What’s that sucking sound? It’s either the 2.5 billion gallons of ocean water Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) draws in daily to cool its systems or it’s the sound of PG&E getting away with murdering what the California Coastal Commission estimates to be 2 billion larval fish every year. Now that the Coastal Commission has…
The couple behind a new wellness company encourages humans to return to their wild states
Erik Steinkamp and Keri Joy Waxer eat dandelions. Steinkamp, the chef in their relationship, prepares the flowers like he does most vegetables that he buys from the store or farmers market. Feeling a tad feral?For more details about Feral Future, visit feralfuture.com or @yourferalfuture on Instagram. Discover Feral Foods on shelves in San Luis Obispo,…
Paso Robles passes new food truck rules after spike in complaints
The Paso Robles City Council approved new regulations for food trucks on Dec. 16 following an increase in complaints from residents and business owners earlier this year. Between April and August 2025, the city received 49 complaints related to food trucks and street vendors, according to city staff. Complaints included generator noise, blocked sidewalks, downtown…
The Winterdance Celtic Christmas Celebration returns to the Octagon Barn on Dec. 21
Winterdance has become a beloved holiday tradition for many families because it captures the warm feelings of a traditional and idealized Celtic Christmas through classic seasonal music and lively Irish stepdance. For the 19th time, the Winterdance Celtic Christmas Celebration is upon us at the Milking Parlor of SLO’s Octagon Barn on winter solstice, Sunday,…
SLO County supervisors push back against Trump offshore drilling expansion
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors joined its peers in San Diego and Marin counties, among other coastal California regions, to fight the Trump administration’s offshore oil and gas drilling expansion efforts. The board authorized a three-pronged strategy on Dec. 17. It adopted a resolution rejecting new offshore oil drilling and seabed mining,…
SLOMA is raising funds for an audacious expansion
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) is poised for a major expansion that will occupy new gallery space on Higuera Street, right in the heart of downtown. It’s an audacious and ambitious project meant to enrich the arts scene and help revitalize the downtown area, and it marks an essential next step in…
Recent earthquakes near Templeton were likely aftershocks
A recent cluster of earthquakes have been felt near Templeton, but seismologists say the activity is likely part of a normal aftershock sequence following a larger quake last month. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, at least three earthquakes measuring magnitude 3.0 or higher have occurred near Templeton over the past two months—the most recent…
SLO Movement Arts Center presents The Nutcracker: A San Luis Obispo Story
The San Luis Obispo Movement Arts Center is once again mounting its SLOcentric interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker: A San Luis Obispo Story, playing three shows over two days in the Cuesta College Cultural and Performing Arts Center on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 20 and 21 (tickets at cuesta.universitytickets.com). SLO Movement is…
Destination wedding photographers’ Cayucos photo wins international competition
Cayucos provided the background for this year’s Wedding Photographer of the Year Lit! category winner. The dramatic image features a couple at dusk gazing into the Pacific as they each hold glowing lanterns. It’s the work of Micah and Sammie Chaffin. “My wife, Sammie, and I are elopement wedding photographers,” Micah explained, “and a photo…
Deadwood Revival Design gives local trees a second life
When a city tree comes down, most of it disappears into a chipper—mulched, discarded, and forgotten. But at Deadwood Revival Design in Paso Robles, that fate becomes a new beginning. For nearly a decade, the artisanal woodworking company has been transforming fallen urban trees into heirloom-quality furniture. Founded by former wildland firefighters Daniel Torres and…
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is another worthy entry into the whodunit franchise
Writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper, Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi) returns with the third installment of his Knives Out franchise about private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). This time around, the droll Southern investigator is brought in to solve the murder of Catholic Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), stabbed in the…
Sean Combs: The Reckoning examines the many personal and professional travails of P Diddy
Delving into Sean Combs’ past is not what the world needs right now; any attention is ill-deserved. Despite that, it’s nothing less than fascinating to see how the once big-time music mogul snaked his way up the proverbial ladder and became someone who believed himself untouchable. SEAN COMBS: THE RECKONINGWhat’s it rated? TV-MAWhen? 2025Where’s it…
You Got Gold: A Celebration of John Prine plays The Palm Theatre of San Luis Obispo on Dec. 20 and 21
Michael John Warren (Shrek the Musical) directed this concert documentary shot over two nights in Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in October 2022, two years after Prine’s death at 73. A mix of up-and-coming and top-tier performers cover Prine’s iconic material—or in some cases, such as Lucinda Williams and Kasey Musgrave, perform original songs inspired by their…
Trump’s deal-making benefits the world, not us
The international equivalent of the S&P 500 Index is the ACWI Index, which tracks large and mid-cap stocks in almost 50 developed countries and emerging markets. It usually performs similar to the S&P 500 and at times even underperforms it. This year, since Trump took over, the S&P 500 is up almost 18 percent which…
SLO County should ban tropical milkweed sales
The monarch butterfly is an icon with enduring strength and tenacity while flying thousands of miles. Sadly, wildfires, land development, and greedy people are killing the Western monarch. When developers flatten fields of milkweed and wildflowers, they should be required to mitigate and reseed but aren’t. One important thing we must do as a county…
A response to the funding cuts for music in San Luis Coastal schools
It’s time for our culture to dial down our obsession with sports and expand opportunities for personal development for students who have strong interests in other pursuits. It’s well known that, like athletics, participation in music, art, drama, and dance produces better academic outcomes and more well-rounded school graduates. These activities promote commitment to the…
Music has benefits that last beyond youth
On the importance of music, instrumental, and choral programs at the middle and high schools, people should realize the multitude of benefits to a happy, stable, prosperous life the arts do teach us. The list of benefits cannot be understated. The discipline of learning an instrument, to play in an ensemble as an important team…
We don’t need them, we don’t want them
The idea of building new houses, creating new jobs isn’t all that great if this offshore wind thing unfortunately unfolds. There will come a time when the construction jobs are done and the people who live in those houses will be off to other work. The noise, the bad air that will be present during…
The ideological spirit of California Supreme Court Justice Rose Bird lives on with Proposition 50
There is a lot of talk these days about gerrymandering, both in the context of Proposition 50 and in a pending challenge to a part of the Voters Rights Act of 1965 that requires that race be considered in redistricting so that a minority can be assured of districts in which they dominate. It seems…
