Something stinks: Giving PG&E a permit extension doesn’t guarantee our safety
This whole PG&E permit is not making any sense; I don’t believe for one minute that the California Coastal Commission, State Water Resources Control Board, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are working in our best interest and with an abundance of caution as their top priority. First of all, you don’t do business with…
An Orcutt baker is on a mission to deliver top-tier goods, minus the gluten
Melissa Bagley tries not to start her workdays before 6 a.m. If everything goes to plan, nine hours later she’ll be heading out the door to deliver dozens of freshly baked cookies, decadent cakes, and soft loaves of bread that customers ordered from her business, La Dolce Vita. Sans glutenTo purchase La Dolce Vita goods…
SLO County residents need more safety information about Diablo
As a lifelong resident of San Luis Obispo County and a member of a pioneer family with deep roots here, I am deeply disturbed by the SLO County Board of Supervisors’ recent letter to the California Legislature supporting a 20-year extension of Diablo Canyon’s operation. This action was premature and deeply concerning. According to the…
Post-Christmas blues awaits when Burning James brings a quartet to Puffers of Pismo on Dec. 28
Ready to dance off those holiday calories? Look no further than blues singer and guitarist Burning James Scoolis playing at Puffers of Pismo on Sunday, Dec. 28 (5 to 8 p.m.). “The combo that I’m bringing into Puffers is a powerhouse blues quartet,” James explained. “Besides me and my good friend Billy Baxmeyer on bass,…
Children need a green playing field, not a dog park
Recently, I listened to an NPR program, Central Coast Voices, that had city staff from the DEI Commission answering questions regarding communication with SLO city staff and voicing concerns at council meetings. I called in asking about the lack of the “child’s” voice in the city of SLO decision to establish a dog park and…
The Housemaid is twisted but ham-fisted
Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, A Simple Favor) directs this psychological thriller by screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine based on Freida McFadden’s 2022 novel of the same name about Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney), a troubled woman with a sketchy past who goes to work for a Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar), whose affluent household has dark…
SLO’s residents should get a discount on electricity rates
I totally agree with the Shredder on Diablo! Finally, someone who says the truth. I don’t understand people who call nuclear power “clean.” Instead of polluting the air for 10 years, it kills everything it touches for 24,000 years. Now that Diablo Canyon Power Plant doesn’t bring in any tax revenue to our county/state, it’s…
All Her Fault follows the fallout of a child abduction that reveals a buried family secret
Marissa’s (Sarah Snook) world turns into a nightmare when she shows up at the address provided by fellow mom, Jenny (Dakota Fanning), to pick up her young son, Milo (Duke McCloud), from a first-time play date. However, the nice older woman at the door (Linda Cropper) has no idea what Marissa is talking about, and…
Let’s spew out some big numbers for the people to love
President Trump’s recent staccato-like speech to the nation featured a host of big percentages, apparently to mask the little percentages in the 30s showing plummeting support for his economic policies. Our No. 47 boasted that the price of eggs was down 82 percent since March. Illegal drugs are down 94 percent. Also, 100 percent of…
Down Cemetery Road pits a wily private investigator against government conspiracy
Based on Mick Herron’s novel of the same name, this British TV series follows wily and resourceful private detective Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson) as she unravels a government conspiracy and searches for a missing child. The case centers on Sarah Trafford (Ruth Wilson), whose neighborhood is rocked by an explosion that kills her friend Maddie…
Let’s reject religious extremism and ultra-nationalism
I’m still hearing echoes of the Dec. 20 San Luis Obispo Master Chorale concert, when I joined the chorus and the entire sold-out audience in Miossi Hall to sing the magnificent Handel’s Messiah: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and…
OperaSLO and others will collaborate on a New Year’s Eve Super Gala at PACSLO on Dec. 31
If you want to send 2025 out with a bang, Maestro Brian Asher Alhadeff and OperaSLO have just the ticket for you on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo. “We have an amazing New Year’s Eve show,” Alhadeff said during a recent Zoom call. “Hold on a second. I…
Help yourself
Is next year the year that transportation dreams come true for you, San Luis Obispo County? The eight ball is in front of us, and we haven’t been able to catch it, thanks to a minority of voters who didn’t support a half-cent sales tax measure in 2016 and cities that wanted to put their…
SLOMA receives California Arts Council Art & Youth grant
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) can add $18K to its budget for K-12 programming thanks to a California Arts Council Arts & Youth grant. The nonprofit museum offers arts education opportunities like its free youth tour for “students and youth-focused organizations across SLO County, with a focus on historically underserved communities,” SLOMA…
Still/Moving, works by Adria Arch and Keith Wiley, are on display in SLOMA through March 1
Before their current SLOMA exhibition, Still/Moving, artists Adria Arch and Keith Wiley had never met. Instead, they worked together from afar, she in Boston and he in Atascadero, “connecting through images, ideas, and their shared love of movement and form,” SLOMA announced. “Together, their work becomes a conversation between small and large, heavy and light,…
Salinan tribe brings good fire back to Willow Creek in Paso Robles
Smoke drifted above the dry yellow star thistle at Willow Creek Conservancy on Dec. 16, curling upward in soft, deliberate plumes. Salinan Tribe of Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties members and firefighters stood on the land, drip torches in hand, watching as the flames followed a carefully planned path. The fire stayed small, controlled,…
SLOCOG restarts a transportation tax discussion for the November 2026 ballot
San Luis Obispo County residents could get another shot at passing a half-cent sales tax measure to build better roads after 2016’s Measure J failed. SLO Council of Governments’ (SLOCOG) Deputy Director James Worthley compared how SLO County fared over the past decade to its neighbors. “Santa Barbara’s had their tax for over 25 years.…
The We Love the Library podcast gives a voice to untold SLO County library stories
A library’s quietude is often echoed in its custodian of knowledge. Former KCBX Morning Edition host and producer Rachel Duchak is offering her podcast mic to them. “Librarians are wonderful, but they’re very quiet, introverted people,” she said. “So, they kind of needed louder megaphones for messaging about what’s in the library.” Five episodes deep…
San Luis Coastal OKs $5 million budget cut despite pushback
The San Luis Coastal Unified School District board waded through vocal opposition from students and parents and approved $5 million in budget cuts for the 2026-27 school year. The 6-1 vote, with board member Robert Banfield dissenting, happened on Dec. 16, roughly a month after music students and their parents learned of the proposed $150,000…
Paso Robles mourns Norma Moye, a force who helped shape the city
An enormous personality, flamboyant, and enthusiastic about everything is how Grace Pucci remembers the late Norma Moye. “She made everything she did into an occasion,” said Pucci, vice president of the Paso Robles Historical Society and a longtime friend. “Norma never let anything get her down. She loved Paso Robles so much; it was her…
Supervisors approve increased growth rate for Los Osos for 2026
Deviating from the recommendation of the Los Osos Basin Management Committee, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved increasing the 2026 growth rate cap for the coastal town from 0 percent to 0.4 percent. “Keeping the growth rate at 0.4 percent … is more than protective of the groundwater, couple that with the…
Morro Bay City Council appoints John Craig as new city manager
The Morro Bay City Council appointed John Craig as its next city manager following a recruitment that drew more than 70 applicants, the city announced Dec. 10. Craig is expected to officially step into the role after his swearing-in at the Jan. 13, 2026, City Council meeting. “I am honored to join Morro Bay and…
