Cover Story
2017: Political tension knocked SLO County out this year
From protests to arguments over land-use policy, it certainly felt like the political nastiness encompassed at the national level trickled down into San Luis Obispo County. As cities grappled with what to do about marijuana, community service districts debated water policy, and the county dealt with more deaths in the jail, South County found itself…
525,600 minutes: A year in review for SLO County arts
While the dumpster fire that was 2016 may have spilled over into 2017, it wasn’t all bad. Here in San Luis Obispo County, the arts scene also had its downs with the cancellation of the beloved PasoArts Fest and President Donald Trump’s travel ban preventing a filmmaker from Iran from attending the SLO Film Festival.…
Cheers to (really) green beer at 7Sisters Brewing Co.
Sister, sister In addition to serving its own Seven Sisters-inspired brews, 7Sisters Brewing Company has other local brewery and cidery offerings on its taps, including Two Broads Ciderworks of SLO and Naughty Oak Brewing of Orcutt. Check out the event calendar this winter: It’s chock-full of happenings, including open mics, Friday pint nights, a monthly…
SLO Brew hosts NYE masquerade ball
End 2017 and start off 2018 being whoever you want to be at SLO Brew’s New Years Eve Masquerade Ball. Ring in the New Year at the place to be on Dec. 31. Break out your best mask and get ready to dance into 2018 with guest DJ Bayati, coming out from Las Vegas to…
Nifty!
Mobile mini farm: Kara Strauss, founder and owner of Bloom Microgreens has put a zippy new spin on the farm-to-table lifestyle. Her new functioning mobile micro-farm is housed in—of all things—an old school bus. Yes, the Bloom Micro Farm Bus is coming to SLO County this 2018! The build-out of the bus is underway with…
Host an out-of-town actor
Giving back to the arts doesn’t always have to mean writing a big check. Instead, the SLO Repertory Theatre is asking members of the community to open their homes to traveling actors. The theater is seeking host homes for some actors and directors who will be coming to San Luis Obispo in 2018. Some of…
New Year News
Champagne will flow: Join Foremost Wine Company in SLO for a magical evening of food, wine, and festivities this Dec. 31 from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Two prix fixe menu tickets are available: one that includes food, wine pairing, party favors, and a Champagne toast at midnight as well as a more budget friendly…
Catch a screening of ‘Wasted! The Story of Food Waste’
You know that niggling sense of guilt that creeps up when your eyes are bigger than your tummy and more of the plate’s contents go into the trash instead of your mouth? Well, it may be justified. GleanSLO will host a viewing of Wasted! The Story of Food Waste at the Palm Theatre on Jan.…
Hello and farewell
Two bold broads: The brainchild of a biologist/gardener and a home brewer/engineer, SLO based Two Broads Cider takes luscious See Canyon heirloom apples and turns them into dry, hard cider deliciousness. These ciders inspired by European taste, but made locally right here in SLO County. Together, the gals hope to promote the appreciation of good…
Holiday magic: Ending the season at Cambria Christmas Market
Santa Claus is coming to town (next year) For updates and information on the upcoming 2018 Christmas Market, visit cambriachristmasmarket.com. It was the eve before Christmas Eve, and guys, I was not feeling it. Due to an unseasonably busy December, I hadn’t gotten around to putting up many festive ornaments, never mind an entire tree.…
You don’t have to be a vegan to eat vegan!
I adore vegan food, but I could take or leave most vegans. OK, before you send the hate mail, I am just kidding. Partially. I have plenty of vegan friends, including one of my best and oldest buddies. My husband once was one in his youth (now he’s the biggest Jocko’s Steakhouse groupie you’ll ever…
Ear candy: What you should have listened to in 2017, according to the staff at Boo Boo Records
I’ve been feeling like my repertoire of music needs a definitive update. And after the staff members at Boo Boo Records provided New Times with their Top 10 releases of 2017, I felt like I just needed to throw everything away and start over. But thankfully, Jan. 1 is almost here, and now I have…
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ delights audiences
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Ryah? Matinee What’s it worth, Karen? Full Price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Stadium 10, Park, Galaxy, Bay Editor’s note: New Times Arts Editor Ryah Cooley and Staff Writer Karen Garcia stepped in for Glen and Anna Starkey this week. In Star Wars:…
What’s the most memorable thing that’s happened to you in 2017?
Pat O’Grady certified public accountant “It would have to be my vacation with my wife of 55 years. I went hand gliding for the first time at 77.” Amy Lopez visitor “Donald Trump, because he ruined the news for me. I used to listen to nothing but the news. Now I don’t want to because…
Guilty Pleasures: Free Willy
When? 1993 What’s it rated? PG Where’s it available? DVD, Streaming on Netflix Now that the forced family fun of the holiday season is over, it’s time to sit on the couch and decompress. Let the inevitable scroll through Netflix commence. I landed on Free Willy, you know, amusement parks, whales, angsty teenagers—it totally seemed…
Persist and resist with the Women’s March
“Resistance is futile,” intoned the Borg, a malevolent race encountered by the Starship Enterprise. Well, it’s been a Borg year, starting with corrosive dread (as poet Kevin Clark puts it) following the election, and continuing day after day after day with attacks on civil rights, voting rights, immigrants, women’s health, reproductive rights, health care, and…
Film listings 12/28/17 – 1/4/18
ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD What’s it rated? R Where’s it showing? Park, Galaxy New All the Money in the World follows the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother Gail (Michelle Williams) to convince his billionaire grandfather (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom.…
A gear-grinding year
My reflection on 2017 is more like confusion and a shocking realization that I live in an alternate reality than someone, say, who isn’t considered to be a liberal freedom-taking snowflake. Really, it’s like we—and by we, I mean wet, shivering office machines like myself and the other side (those politically incorrect cogs who buy…
Ballot initiative seeks prohibition on water banking in SLO County
Two Creston residents and a former congresswoman are behind a budding citizen ballot initiative to ban groundwater sales and exports out of San Luis Obispo County. Filed with the County Clerk-Recorder’s Office in mid-December as the “SLO County Groundwater Protection Ordinance,” its backers—Greg Grewal, Frederick Hoey, and Andrea Seastrand—say the measure would provide needed “insurance”…
A mother from Grover Beach faces deportation in January
Neofita Silva has been battling with immigration since 2005, but she recently received notice that she will be deported on Jan. 3. “I’m concerned because my kids are living in a stressful environment. It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s something that worries me because I don’t know what will happen if it does,” Silva said…
Wildfires will continue to be ‘big ticket issue’ for SLO County APCD
As SLO County prepares to ring in the New Year, local air pollution officials are looking back at how past wildfires impacted local air quality. An annual report by the SLO County Air Pollution Control District listed wildfires as one of the main contributors to air quality standard exceedances in 2016. While the data is…
County opens Los Osos sewer service discount program
Low-income Los Osos residents who are paying on average nearly $1,000 per year for wastewater service can shave 20 percent off the bill by enrolling in a new county program signed off by the SLO County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12. Service discounts are available to both property owners and renters in the service…
Eric Dobroth selected as SLO County Assistant DA
A long-time local prosecutor with several high profile cases under his belt will now serve as SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow’s second in command. Dow announced on Dec. 27 that he’d appointed Deputy DA Eric J. Doborth as his office’s new assistant district attorney. Dobroth, who has been with the SLO County District Attorney’s…
