Cover Story
Education today: For this year’s annual back-to-school issue, we cover pesticide use in schools, vaccine rates, a new scholarship fund, and arts education
The 2019-20 school year is about to be in session. And now that summer’s over (I know, sad face), we thought you should get informed about some things you might not already know. For this year’s annual Education Today issue, we talk about how schools around SLO County are addressing pesticide use on campuses and…
ECHO gets Atascadero’s OK to increase services
Atascadero residents and local organizations submitted 99 letters in support of El Camino Homeless Organization’s (ECHO) request to transition to a 24-hour facility, increase programs, and increase its number of beds from 50 to 60. Elisa Becerra was the only person who spoke against the request during the City Council meeting on Aug. 13. Becerra…
Tin Canteen features homemade pasta and Napoli-inspired pizzas among its casual, tasty, and wholesome Italian meals
Tin trattoria Established in October 2018, Tin Canteen is a casual Italian gastropub inspired by the best seasonal, local ingredients. Starters, pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches are featured on this frequently changing menu. Tin Canteen is located in Tin City, next door to Etto Pastaficio and Field Recordings Wines at 3070 Limestone Way, Paso Robles. Hours…
Morro Bay Historical Society hosts documentarian Tom Walter
The Historical Society of Morro Bay hosts a presentation with filmmaker Tom Walter at the Morro Bay Presbyterian Church on Sunday, Aug. 18, from 4 to 6 p.m. Walter is the producer of From Tbilisi to Morro Bay to the Big Screen, a documentary exploring the life of Botso Korisheli, who founded the San Luis…
Brother of man searched by SLO police had probation search terms
While facts remain scarce about the July 10 arrest of a couple whose house was searched without a warrant by San Luis Obispo police officers, law enforcement officials continue to claim that a computer database glitch is what ignited the situation. SLO city and SLO County District Attorney’s Office officials reiterated on Aug. 14 that…
Oysters of Morro Bay
Shucks! Did you know National Oyster Day was celebrated on Aug. 5? Luckily, you didn’t miss out. We still have the whole month to shuck ’em and barbecue ’em. Oyster farming in Morro Bay began in the early 1900s and has been part of the bay’s rich aquaculture ever since. These days, there are about…
Central Coast Shakespeare Festival stages an evening of family-friendly summer fun
Plan ahead The Central Coast Shakespeare Festival’s season is over for this year, but mark your calendar for next summer’s productions. Visit centralcoastshakespeare.org for more information. It’s a little after 6:30 on a warm August evening. We’re pulling into the parking lot on a hill above the Filipponi Ranch property, and we’re being warned to…
Arroyo Grande moves to ban vaping in some public spaces
The city of Arroyo Grande is working to update its smoking and tobacco retail ordinances to include cannabis products and electronic cigarettes, the latest of a number of jurisdictions in San Luis Obispo County that are doing the same. Arroyo Grande’s City Council voted unanimously at a meeting on Aug. 13 to introduce an ordinance…
Seasonal eats
Do you enjoy floating? Cypher Winery Lounge, 740 Pine St. at the Paso Robles Train Depot, presents Ethereal and Oysters on Aug. 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. The folks at Cypher will be pairing their Ethereal white Rhone blend with seasonal oysters on the half shell from Pier 46 in Templeton. Six oysters and…
The Kitchen boasts a terrific cast but a terrible story
THE KITCHEN What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Don’t bother What’s it worth, Glen? Don’t bother Where’s it showing? Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 Andrea Berloff directs this film based on the comic book series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle about the wives (Elisabeth Moss, Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish) of 1970s Hell’s Kitchen…
Wilshire Hospice sued for alleged discrimination
A former employee of Wilshire Health and Community Services is alleging that her request for reasonable accommodations for her disability was denied and she was fired because of it. A lawsuit filed on Aug. 8 against Wilshire Health and Community Services Inc. alleges that Victoria Thorp was discriminated against, harassed, and wrongfully terminated. Thorp began…
Food causes
Create a soy candle from a repurposed Seven Angels Cellars wine bottle on Aug. 18, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at Seven Angels Cellars, 830 Templeton Road, Templeton. Candles materials, a glass of wine, small nibbles, and a vineyard tour by owners Greg and Pamela will be included in the $40 Eventbrite ticket fee, a…
Guilty Pleasures: The Hangover
When? 2009 What’s it rated? R Where’s it available? Netflix Yes, I do feel some guilt over how much I enjoy The Hangover, the 2009 comedy hit starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis (his breakout role), and Ed Helms, whose box office success spawned two awful sequels. Why? Because at the end of the day, this…
Congressman Carbajal talks gun control and impeachment at recent town hall in Santa Maria
When U.S Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-SantaBarbara) grabbed his orange tie, he was talking about guns. “Orange is the color of those committed to gun control in this country,” he said. He was addressing his constituents of the 24th Congressional District at an Aug. 8 town hall in Santa Maria following a string of three mass…
Misc. nibbles
Time for a potluck designed for gardeners. SLO Natural Foods Co-op, 2494 Victoria Ave., SLO, is holding its next Produce Exchange and Coffee Chat at the Co-op, from 10 to 10:30 a.m., on Aug. 17. Trade tomatoes for arugula in an informal setting. If you don’t have a garden, you can still participate, says the…
Film Listings 8/15/19 – 8/22/19
THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2 What’s it rated? PG Where’s it showing? Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 New Thurop Van Orman directs this animated adventure comedy based on the mobile puzzle game. In this second installment, the feud between the flightless birds and green pigs escalates. Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Rachel Bloom,…
Babes Ride Out, a female motorcycle community, is coming to Santa Margarita Ranch
Anya Violet has had a love for two wheels since she was old enough to ride dirt bikes. That passion grew when she began riding motorcycles around 2013. It was during that time that she met her now partner, Ashmore Ellis. The two were new to riding motorcycles on the road, and they gained confidence…
SLO’s new construction displaces longtime residents
I am writing to express the great disappointment I feel over the new construction projects in San Luis Obispo and the one at Foothill Boulevard and north Chorro in particular. You see, my 94-year-old father lives there and is now being evicted. He is a veteran on a fixed income who has lived in his…
We need America back
This is not the America where I was born, where we memorized the quotes on the Statue of Liberty, “give me your tired, your poor,” where our church regularly delivered clothes and food to migrant camps in southern Arizona, where my father would spend his Saturdays teaching the kids to draw with paper, paints, and…
Saving the future
What separates San Luis Obispo County from Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Santa Barbara counties is that electricity users in those counties receive (or will soon receive) an annual 3 percent savings on their bills, some $4.4 million last year, and we don’t. These counties, along with 23 cities (including every city in SLO…
‘Renawable’ energy production won’t do much
If the author of “Community choice is the real deal” (Aug. 8) is truly concerned about the local economy, he might want to give some thought to the hundreds of millions (over 20 years) of lost local tax revenue; the loss of more than a billion dollars a year in indirect economic benefits; and the…
Statewide rent control
It sounds wonderful at first, but go deeper. We will end up with a shortage of available rentals. Rent control will make it worse. It has already happened in several California communities with rent control. First, rental homes will be sold as the rent will not cover the increasing costs of taxes, insurance, and repairs.…
Stoking the fires of division
Conservatives call it “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Trump calls it “fake news.” Progressives call it their patriotic duty to protect the nation from “a lawless president, a tyrant, a dictator,” the “reincarnation of Hitler.” President Trump bears a good deal of responsibility for the chasm of political division within our nation. His mercurial temperament, his coarse…
More questions than answers
As a member of Atascadero’s City Council, I would like to respond to a recent letter to the editor regarding “Elected officials should have done basic research” (Aug. 8). The letter implied that “the council wasn’t doing its job” when it delayed voting on the proposal for community choice energy. I don’t think most citizens…
A parade of asshats
When your job is making fun of fools, here on the Central Coast it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Let’s start with über-conservative Andy Caldwell, who wants to be a politician even though he’s made a career of lambasting politicians. On Aug. 12, good ol’ Andy announced he wants the 24th U.S. Congressional District…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our Aug. 8 news story, “Database error leads to warrantless police search and arrests.”
SLO County schools rethink pest mitigation amid ongoing Roundup controversy
In 2016 and 2017, nearly 80 schools and child care facilities in SLO County used pesticides to keep gophers, cockroaches, weeds, and other pests off campuses and out of classrooms. According to data collected by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, nearly half of those schools used Roundup, a controversial weed killer that is at…
Steve Miller Band bassist talks about their Aug. 22 Vina Robles show
Pardon my fandom, but I always get a kick out of knowing famous musicians have settled down on the Central Coast—from Jon Anderson of Yes, to Keith Roberts of the Young Dubliners, to Ed Cassidy of Spirit, to Merrell Fankhauser of The Impacts, Fapardokly, HMS Bounty, and Mu. Another famous SLO County resident is Kenny…
San Luis Coastal launches scholarship fund in honor of late educator Andrea Blanco
Give back To donate to the San Luis Coastal Educational Foundation’s Andrea Blanco Legacy Fund, visit slcef.org/donate. Proceeds will go toward scholarships for disadvantaged local youth and their pursuit of higher education. For nine nights in a row in June, students and former students, young and old, gathered together at Laguna Middle School in San…
SLO Rep’s Greater Tuna shows off cast’s acting chops
Swim on in The comedic play, Greater Tuna, will show at the San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre through Aug. 25. Tickets range from $20 to $37. Visit slorep.org to purchase tickets and see more information about the show. Right now, tickets to Greater Tuna can be purchased as part of the theatre’s season package (which…
Education Today 2019
The 2019-20 school year is about to be in session. And now that summer’s over (I know, sad face), we thought you should get informed about some things you might not already know. For this year’s annual Education Today issue, we talk about how schools around SLO County are addressing pesticide use on campuses and…
Statewide immunization policies increase the number of local students receiving vaccinations
Since legislation passed in 2015 eliminating the ability to claim a personal belief for exemption from immunizations, the number of San Luis Obispo County students who start school with the required amount of vaccinations has increased. Now, another bill is in the works that could change the way parents or guardians can request a medical…
Love inspires North County artists
On display The Love art exhibit, featuring the works of members of the Paso Robles Art Association, will be on display at Studios on the Park. Visit studiosonthepark.com for more information. Husbands and wives. Brothers and sisters. Sons and fathers. Moms and daughters. Man and dog. Love is the common theme connecting them all. “There…
Homeless project may not end up at Hillside Church
A low-income housing and homeless services facility planned for southern San Luis Obispo County is one step closer to being developed somewhere other than its originally proposed and controversial location at Hillside Church in Grover Beach. At a meeting on Aug. 13, the SLO County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ensure that grant funding…
The SLO County Office of Education collaborates with nonprofits to bring more art into local schools
Support arts education OperaSLO’s upcoming performance of South Pacific on Oct. 12 and 13 will feature kids from the community working alongside nationally acclaimed Broadway stars, according to OperaSLO General and Artistic Director Brian Asher Alhadeff. He will be visiting local schools with the professional performers in the weeks leading up to the show. Learn…
SLOPE exhibits South County paintings in Arroyo Grande
The San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment (SLOPE) hosts a new South County-centric exhibition at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande. It opens Saturday, Aug. 31, and runs through Tuesday, Oct. 29. This group show features plein air paintings from SLOPE members Dennis Curry, Jan French, Sandi Heller, Bernie Kurtz,…
Caldwell announces jump from pundit to politician
After decades of talking politics, Andy Caldwell is diving in. The longtime radio personality and op-ed scribe announced his campaign for the 24th U.S. Congressional District on Aug. 12, setting him up for a potential 2020 showdown with incumbent Democrat Salud Carbajal. “He’s driving voters away from himself,” Caldwell said. “His party wants Medicare for…
33 ain’t a bad age to be!
Celebrating 33 years of informing and entertaining San Luis Obispo and beyond. Thanks to all our advertisers, supporters, and you, dear reader, for sharing our commitment to quality journalism! Read more about the history of New Times here.
Latino Outreach Council holds scholarship benefit at DANA Adobe
The Latino Outreach Council (LOC) of SLO County hosts Fiesta Latina, a benefit dance to support the LOC Scholarship Fund, at the DANA Adobe Cultural Center in Nipomo on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 4:30 to 10 p.m. The event features live entertainment, including performances from Melania Espinoza and Roger Rodriquez, a live and silent auction,…
