Cover Story
Find your fun: Getting fit doesn’t have to be about the gym. It can include swordfighting and dodgeball
For our annual Health and Wellness issue, we decided to look for nontraditional ways of exercising. Adults don’t necessarily have to be relegated to the gym or a standard sports league to get that blood moving. Turns out, nontraditional recreational opportunities abound in SLO County, including sword fighting and dodgeball. We also looked into college…
Deadheads reunite—two Grateful shows are heading your way
I’ve never been much of a Grateful Dead fan, but I often feel like I’m in the minority. Has there ever been another band with a more rabid and devoted cult following? Deadheads are the most loyal fans in rock ‘n’ roll history, willing to follow their band from one show to another, often subsisting…
FEMA opens disaster recovery center at SLO Vets’ Hall
San Luis Obispo County residents impacted by the recent floods can now meet in-person with federal, state, and local officials about getting recovery assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) opened a disaster recovery center on Jan. 24 at the SLO Veterans Hall—a move triggered by President Joe Biden’s declaration of a major disaster in…
Art and Soul SLO celebrates queer culture by hosting events that provide a safe space for artistic expression
Express yourself Head over to Bliss Cafe, 778 Higuera St. in SLO, on Feb. 4 from 1 to 5 p.m. to experience an Art and Soul Fair featuring local businesses, artists, musicians, and more. For more information on the event and any future Art and Soul-hosted events, follow @artandsoulslo on Instagram or visit artandsoulslo.org. As…
Local organizations provide aid to displaced renters
SLO County renter and resident Julie Whitlow is between a rock and a hard place. The flooding that hit SLO County on Jan. 9 left her residence uninhabitable, forcing Whitlow and her 19-year-old autistic son to find more hospitable accommodations. “It was scary because he didn’t want to leave the house. He didn’t want to…
LA comedian Steph Clark hosts Los Osos comedy showcase
The inaugural SLOFunny Comedy Gym event, part of a new showcase series hosted by SLOFunny Comedy, will take place at Niffy’s Merrimaker in Los Osos on Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m. Each event in the series will feature a handful of local comedians and be hosted by a professional, touring comedian. Steph Clark, a Los…
SLO County DA charges Nathan Abate for sexual abuse
Close to a year after an influx of sexual assault allegations poured out against them, two San Luis Obispo County men are confronted by the law. On Jan. 19, Sheriff’s detectives arrested 34-year-old Nathan Abate—the owner of a barbershop in Atascadero—on charges of oral copulation with a minor and rape by use of drugs against…
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center holds annual walk dedicated to California’s Gold host
On Feb. 11, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center is inviting the public to join a docent-led walk at Oso Flaco Lake that will retrace the steps of California’s Gold host Huell Howser, who explored the site during an episode of his show in 2003. The walk is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Attendees will journey…
Atascadero Barrel Creek project gets pushback from residents
A proposed mixed-use development in Atascadero is getting some mixed reviews from residents. The project, commonly known as Barrel Creek, has been in the works for the past two to three years, city Community Development Director Phil Dunsmore said. Introduced by developer Eric Tienken and RRM Design Group as a way to introduce a “destination…
Missing offers enough twists and turns to keep most viewers puzzled to the end
MISSING What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee Where’s it showing? Colony, Downtown Centre, Park, Stadium 10 Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick (Searching) co-direct this cyber mystery about June (Storm Reid), whose mother, Grace (Nia Long), goes missing during a trip with new boyfriend, Kevin (Ken Leung),…
Clarification
In a Jan. 12 story, “The volunteers of Meade Canine Rescue & Sanctuary chip away at an insurmountable problem” (Jan. 12), New Times reported that “dogs in kill shelters, like the county’s San Luis Obispo Animal Services, typically have about a 72-hour window to be adopted before they’re put down,” which may be construed to…
1923
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2022-2023 Where’s it showing? Paramount Plus Creator Taylor Sheridan (Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River) has struck television gold again with this new entry into the Dutton family that started in contemporary times with Yellowstone (2018-present) as John Dutton (Kevin Costner) struggles to hang onto both his Montana ranch…
Correction
In the Jan. 12 Strokes & Plugs, “SLO-based designer redefines smaller living spaces with Room,” New Times misidentified Timon Phillips’ occupation—he’s a residential designer—and incorrectly referred to Nick Miller’s last name. New Times regrets the errors.
Tulsa King
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2022-present Where’s it showing? Paramount Plus Like 1883, 1923, and Yellowstone, Tulsa King is created by Taylor Sheridan. It stars Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi, a mafia capo who did a 25-year prison sentence to protect his boss, Pete Invernizzi (A.C. Peterson). When he’s finally released, instead of the hero’s…
California Conservation Corps members play critical role in local flood response
Isaac Vigil, 21, joined the California Conservation Corps last year to jumpstart a future career in wildland firefighting. But like most young Conservation Corps members in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, Vigil put all that on hold in mid January when historic floods hit the Central Coast. Vigil and dozens of his peers were…
Starkly similar: A Cal Poly professor from Mississippi reveals that young people’s sexual health awareness isn’t so different in California
Dr. Joni Roberts moved to California from Mississippi believing that sexual wellness awareness among young people on the West Coast would be higher. “If you’re familiar with sexual health in Mississippi, or in the South, in general, it is night and day, from Southern U.S. to the Western U.S.,” she said. “In Mississippi, it is…
We see a problem here
We went for a beach walk at Pismo Beach on Sunday, Jan. 8, and ended up collecting plastic bottle tops and other single-use plastic items. This is just a fraction of what was on the beach. Raymond and Linda Diepenbrock Arroyo Grande
Tip of the sword : Fight your way toward a healthier mind and body
Find your people Check out Central Coast Aikido Kendo at centralcoastaikidokendo.com. Visit hemaslo.com to learn more about Blackfriar’s School of Fence. Baseball, football, soccer, volleyball, tennis—the list is long when it comes to commonplace recreational sports. But when your body doesn’t move like it used to, set your sights upon a unique, sharper form of…
The truth about SLO County Animal Services
As a longtime volunteer at San Luis Obispo County Animal Services, I was very disappointed to read the completely erroneous statement by Glen Starkey that dogs at Animal Services “typically have about a 72-hour window to be adopted before they’re put down” (Jan. 12, “The volunteers of Meade Canine Rescue & Sanctuary chip away at…
Joyous chaos: SLO Dodgeball delivers childlike fun, great exercise, and an inclusive community
Join the fun Drop-in community dodgeball takes place weekly at the Ludwick Community Center in San Luis Obispo. During the month of January, games are on Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m. During the rest of the year, they are on Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Playing is free. Visit facebook.com/slododgeball for more information.…
Thank you for your generosity, SLO
I am writing to thank San Luis Obispo area residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season. Their generosity contributed to a successful shoebox gift collection season at drop-off locations for the Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child. Across the U.S., the project collected more than 9.3…
Don’t let SLO become the next San Francisco
Donegan’s argument that San Luis Obispo should heed the example of San Francisco’s homeless and vacancies situation is not without considerable merit (Jan. 19, “San Luis Obispo should heed San Francisco’s demise as a warning”). I, too, used to live in San Francisco. I worked as a reporter and producer at KRON-TV 4. I lived…
SLO County supervisors change priorities, policy directions
San Luis Obispo County’s new Board of Supervisors majority wasted no time on Jan. 24 making its imprint on the future of county policies and priorities. In a series of 3-2 votes made during its first regular business meeting of 2023, the Board of Supervisors set in motion a new agenda that seeks to undo…
New Times story reported misleading info about SLO County Animal Services
I’m an active six-year volunteer at SLO County Animal Services. In the New Times dated Jan. 12, an article titled “The volunteers of Meade Canine Rescue & Sanctuary chip away at an insurmountable problem” stated that “dogs in kill shelters, like the county’s San Luis Obispo Animal Services, typically have a 72-hour window to be…
County, federal services help agricultural community affected by floods
Tom Ikeda, a produce grower for the Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange (POVE) cooperative, is ready to wade through wet croplands and assess the damage caused when the Arroyo Grande Creek levee gave out. “We got so much rain in a short amount of time with very little drying time,” he said. “A lot of the…
Advocate to your city, county, or Congress member about just, true, honorable things
It’s tempting to vent my spleen in New Times about the newly elected GOP Congressman from Long Island, “George Santos.” He’s the inveterate liar who somehow won in a newly drawn district in November based on a campaign résumé that we now know to be a complete fabrication. He lied about virtually everything: his ethnicity,…
The big flex
Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men. The former SLO County Board of Supervisors’ conservative majority thought they were so smart using their power to vote in the so-called Patten map, a radical redistricting that partisan-gerrymandered our county to favor conservatives by guaranteeing them three of the five districts for the next decade.…
Humanity Wine Project of Paso Robles satisfies the palate and the soul
Sip and support Visit humanitywine.com or follow @humanitywineproject on Instagram and Facebook to purchase wines and explore charitable endeavors, including the organization’s Hearts for Humanity Valentine’s Dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. on Feb. 14 at Libretto, 1242 Park St. in Paso Robles. Humanity Wine Project of Paso Robles aims to bring partaking in delicious…
