Cover Story
Targeting trafficking: SLO County’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force aims to prevent minors from getting coerced into sex work
Find help Reach out to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at (888) 373-7888 or text “Be Free” to 233-733 if you or anyone you know is being forced into any form of work. In 2024, there were at least 18 arrests related to human trafficking in San Luis Obispo County. More than half of…
SLO County and city need to do a better job of listening to residents
I was delighted to read the article about Cal Poly and Cal Fire teaming up to give the state of California more shade trees (“Cal Poly partners with Cal Fire to bring more trees to disadvantaged California communities,” Dec. 5). “Trees provide people with all kinds of epic ecosystem services. They provide shade—so the temperature…
The big lift
I’m pretty sure some people who bought property in Los Osos years ago to build their dream homes have died waiting for permission to break ground. Afterall, the residential building moratorium has been in place for 35 freakin’ years! Of course, this decades-long wound to the Los Osos community was largely self-inflicted. Sidewalks, anyone? Nah.…
Los Osos receives greenlit Habitat Conservation Plan alongside historic building moratorium lift
Los Osos recently broke free from its 35-year-long building moratorium complete with California Coastal Commission approval, but the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors wants eager landowners to think of—and pay for—the local habitat they’re about to disturb. “Without the HCP [Habitat Conservation Plan], all the work completed to create the regulatory framework for…
BOEM looks for public comment on latest offshore wind study
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a new round of public comment following a draft environmental impact statement assessing the impacts of offshore wind energy development. The draft programmatic environmental impact statement is an additional step in BOEM’s regional analysis, one that the agency chose to undertake to help identify and ensure a…
Paso Robles City Council tabled its decision to get rid of employee parking and will review again in six months
Downtown Paso Robles employees and business owners still have four designated employee parking lots—at least for another six months. At the Paso City Council’s meeting on Dec. 17, the council decided to table its decision to eliminate employee parking after listening to public comment, despite city staff reporting that the permit program had a lack…
ECHO to expand its housing and meal services in Atascadero
The El Camino Homeless Organization wants to provide more food and beds to Atascadero residents in need. The City Council approved the nonprofit’s services expansion as a consent item at the Dec. 10 council meeting, amending the zoning code for the emergency shelter located at 6370 Atascadero Ave. to allow 30 more beds and 20…
Rape investigation leads SLOPD to 1,500 images of child porn
A woman’s distress call to the San Luis Obispo Police Department about allegedly being raped by a man she knew led to law enforcement’s discovery of a massive amount of child pornography material. On Oct. 24, she reported that she had been raped by an acquaintance named David Randall Quintero at an undisclosed address on…
The SLO Noor Foundation offers free health care for those without insurance
After he relocated from Afghanistan to the Central Coast, Dr. Ahmad Nooristani was surprised by the lack of health care available for people without insurance. In an effort to change that, he founded the SLO Noor Foundation to offer free health care for the uninsured. SLO Noor Foundation Practice Manager Barbara Alarcon said the company…
Carry-On is implausible nonsense but thankfully free with your Netflix subscription
CARRY-ON What’s it rated? PG-13What’s it worth, Anna? Stream itWhat’s it worth, Glen? Stream itWhere’s it showing? Netflix Jaune Collet-Serra (Orphan, Unknown, Non-Stop) directs this screenplay by T.J. Fixman about a mysterious terrorist known only as Traveler (Justin Bateman) who blackmails LAX TSA agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) into allowing a dangerous suitcase through security…
Family-run Korean pop-up Seoul Food gets ready to dish up more hours near Cal Poly
Get fedFind out more about Seoul Food’s hours, location, and menu by visiting seoulfood.kitchen. You can order takeout in person during business hours, preorder food on the website for pickup, or order food from Harvestly for delivery. Myndful Kitchen Collective is located at 977 E. Foothill Blvd. in SLO. Two perfectly formed dumplings peer out…
Black Doves
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Netflix Created by Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project), Giri/Haji), Black Doves is a compelling action thriller about international espionage and political intrigue. The storyline, as it moves back and forth in time to offer the characters’ backstories that give context to their present actions, can feel…
The SLO Movement Arts Center blends local history into classic Christmas ballet The Nutcracker
Celebrate SLO The Nutcracker: A San Luis Obispo Story takes the stage at Cuesta College’s Harold J. Miossi Cultural and Performing Arts Center on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 21 at 2 and 6 p.m. Find tickets at cuesta.universitytickets.com. Find out more about the San Luis Obispo Movement Arts Center by visiting slomac.com.…
The Day of the Jackal
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Peacock Ronan Bennett (Public Enemies, Top Boy, Gunpowder) created this spy thriller loosely based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel of the same name. It follows The Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), a ruthless assassin, and Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch), the relentless intelligence officer determined to catch him. It’s…
Get ready to party with the locals when The Mother Corn Shuckers and Cuesta Ridge play Morro Bay’s The Siren on Dec. 20
If you like your Christmas beer-soaked and bluegrassy, The Siren has just the doubleheader for you when it presents Merry Shucking X-Mas with The Mother Corn Shuckers (TMCS) and Cuesta Ridge on Friday, Dec. 20 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18.48 at tixr.com). Led by Che Miller, TMCS formed in 2009 and plays what they call “BeerGrass.”…
Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast holds annual youth art exhibit
A showcase of art by young members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast opened at the Santa Maria Town Center on Dec. 13 and is scheduled to remain on display through the end of December. Every year, the local Boys & Girls Clubs organization hosts activities related to the National Fine…
Floral design students and teachers from Nipomo and Santa Maria contribute to Rose Parade
On Dec. 7, more than 100 floral design and advanced floral design students and teachers from Nipomo High School, Santa Maria High School, and Pioneer Valley High School’s FFA programs joined forces with Kiwanis International and the Phoenix Decorating Company to help prepare floats for this year’s Rose Parade in Pasadena, aka the Pasadena Tournament…
Forward motion
As organizations committed to both the health of our region’s ecosystems and the well-being of our communities, we feel compelled to respond to SLO County 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding’s recent editorial regarding the Lopez Dam lawsuit (“‘Scorched earth’ tactics,” Dec. 12). While we respect the supervisor’s concerns for water security, his characterization of the…
