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Holiday Guide 2022: The Madonna tree, turducken, holiday movies, cookie decorating, turkey trots, and all the events of the season
It’s hard to believe that 2022 is in the home stretch, but the holiday season is here, which means food, festivities, friends, family, and fringe benefits—like gifts! As Thanksgiving bears down on us, New Times will get you prepared to tackle the bedecked, glittery world through New Year’s Eve. In our annual Holiday Guide, you…
EDM bad boy Borgore plays the Fremont on Nov. 17
Yosef Asaf Borger looks like a perfectly nice young man, but the Tel Aviv-born, LA-based producer, DJ, and rapper has worked hard to cultivate a reputation as an enfant terrible who calls himself the man who “ruined dubstep.” Some of his songs have been compared to sex, horror films, or farm animals. For instance, let’s…
We still have a long way to go to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act
I remember how things were when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. People with physical disabilities could not get on buses because they couldn’t climb the stairs or the bus couldn’t carry a wheelchair. It was hard to cross city streets because there were no curb cuts. Those with hearing impairments received…
Avoid a holiday tragedy
The holiday season comes with family gatherings, social time with friends, and office parties. These events can lead to life-altering consequences, like drunken driving. When I was 16 years old in 1992, a drunken driver hit me. I had a four-month coma, broken bones, paralysis, and brain injuries. My gait and speech are affected, and…
Footrace before feasting: Local turkey trots make for fun and healthy Thanksgiving traditions
Trot on If you’re thinking about getting a little exercise before or after tackling the beast of a Thanksgiving feast, you can find a turkey trot in your neck of the woods. • Pismo Beach: Supports the SLO Food Bank. It’s $25 for admission and a T-shirt to participate in person or virtually on the…
Tell SLO County supervisors that their Paso planting ordinance is bunk
The Paso Basin Land Use Management Area Planting Ordinance—understandably often shorthanded as PBLUMA—is now slouching toward the SLO County Board of Supervisors after receiving a beat-down from the county Planning Commission of a kind seldom seen in these parts. Here’s a taste from their recommendation of rejection: “The benefits of the proposed planting ordinance do…
SLO pastry chef navigates culinary borders, mastering German delicacies for the Cambria Christmas Market
For a visual and culinary feast Experience the Cambria Christmas Market at Cambria Pines Lodge, located at 2905 Burton Drive. The market is open Nov. 25 to Dec. 23 from 5 to 9 p.m. (closed Mondays and Tuesdays through Dec. 13). For tickets and parking instructions, visit cambriachristmasmarket.com. Follow the market on Facebook and Instagram…
Send in the clowns
I totally get Republicans and their suspicions of election fraud. Really, I do. They’re so sure their ideas are superior and held by the majority that they simply can’t conceive of there being enough liberal voters to beat their candidates and policies in a fair race. I get them because I was them. In 2016,…
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has colonialism and geopolitical intrigue in mind
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Glen? Full price What’s it worth, Anna? Full price Where’s it showing? Colony, Park, Downtown Centre Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Greed) directs this sequel to his 2018 film, Black Panther, about T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), king of Wakanda and protector of vibramium. This new film…
Alaska Daily
What’s it rated? TV-PG When? 2022-present Where’s it showing? ABC and Hulu Journalist Eileen Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) is out for redemption. Recently disgraced, she’s left New York for Anchorage—a big step down from her last job but a chance to repair her reputation. She soon learns that the far north hides its own set of…
Democrats Panetta, Carbajal lead local congressional races
The two congressional districts on the Central Coast are leaning blue, according to initial vote counts. U.S. Representatives and Democrats Jimmy Panetta and Salud Carbajal currently hold the most tallied votes for the 19th and 24th Districts, respectively. As of Nov. 16, vote counts show that Panetta received 69.4 percent of counted votes from the…
Inside Man
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2022 Where’s it showing? Netflix Written by Steven Moffat (The Adventures of Tintin) and directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin), the central conceit of this engaging BBC miniseries is the idea that anyone can become a murderer given the right situation—even mild-mannered English vicar Harry Watling (David Tennant) and…
SLO city signals interest in selling recycled water to Edna Valley
Could San Luis Obispo’s wastewater help save Edna Valley agriculture? That was the question of the night on Nov. 15 for the SLO City Council, which took a deep dive into the future of its recycled water program—including whether it wants to sell any “extra” water to Edna Valley to help neighboring farmers reduce their…
Atascadero author and curator Gordon L. Fuglie releases the definitive book on architect Julia Morgan
Significant history Julia Morgan: The Road to San Simeon, Visionary Architect of the California Renaissance by Atascadero resident Gordon L. Fuglie is available through online retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes and Noble. All too often when you hear the name Julia Morgan, it’s proceeded by “woman architect,” but a new book about the Hearst…
Glen Speck Elementary moves into renovated 17th Street campus
After years of negotiations, protests, and board meetings, Glen Speck Elementary School is moving into a brand new 17th Street campus, albeit temporarily. Paso Robles High School sophomore Moeni Basurto said her younger brother was excited to learn that he and his classmates would finally be able to attend a proper school. Basurto told New…
Upholding tradition: Meet the man behind Cerro San Luis’ Christmas tree of lights
Each December for the past half-century, the 1,300-foot-high Cerro San Luis mountain in central SLO suddenly gets 60 feet taller—and brighter—with the arrival of a towering Christmas “tree” of lights that sparkles at its peak. For the past 23 years, SLO County can thank one man for keeping the tradition going strong: Madonna Inn Senior…
Democrats lead in state Assembly District elections
The new 30th Assembly District is about to receive its first representative. The district—now covering the counties of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and parts of San Luis Obispo—will see leadership from either Democrat Dawn Addis or Republican Vicki Nohrden. Updated vote counts from all three counties showed Addis in the lead. With almost 150,000 votes counted…
Templeton Historical Museum celebrates Founder’s Day with tours, demos, and live music
The Templeton Historical Museum Society will host its Founder’s Day Celebration event on Saturday, Nov. 19, from noon to 3 p.m. The celebration commemorates the 1886 arrival of the first passenger train in Templeton, which marked the southern terminus of the train line from San Francisco to Los Angeles, according to press materials. During this…
SLO County to request extension on Bob Jones Trail grant
The Bob Jones Trail extension project is facing delays due to property acquisition challenges, and San Luis Obispo County plans to ask the state for a longer timeline to spend a $18.2 million grant—which would push the project out to 2027. SLO County received a coveted state transportation grant for the 4.4-mile trail connector in…
Clark Center for the Performing Arts brings Diane Rose Zink’s The Nutcracker to Arroyo Grande
Everybody Can DANCE and the Santa Maria Civic Ballet present their annual collaborative production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by Diane Rose Zink, at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m. Zink has helmed this unique iteration of Tchaikovsky’s…
Cambria CSD’s general manager resigns abruptly
Board members of the Cambria Community Services District (CCSD) were left scrambling to fill the general manager position after the John Weigold abruptly announced his resignation on Nov. 13. In his letter to the board, Weigold explained his decision to resign after three years on the job: He’s engaged and will be moving to the…
The weird, wild history of the holiday’s oddest food, the turducken
Somebody somewhere thought it would be a good idea to stuff a deboned chicken inside of a deboned duck inside of a deboned turkey. Who? That’s somewhat open to debate. Why? Why not. When? According to late celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme, a Louisiana legend, the “who” was he, and the “when” was in the late…
Local election races stand pat after Nov. 15 count
San Luis Obispo County tallied another 20,000 ballots in the general election on Nov. 15—pushing turnout to 50 percent—but the latest count didn’t change much in the local races. Except for one seat in a North County school board race, the same candidates who led after a Nov. 11 count also led after the Nov.…
Movie meltdown: Grab a cup of mulled wine or hot chocolate, and tune in to holiday movies to tune out
The world’s all doom and gloom these days. With the midterm elections somewhat behind us (not really) and the days getting shorter, sometimes it’s best to curl up on the couch and judge the denizens of a quaint small town as their holiday woes play out on-screen. Holiday movies are formulaic: They’re almost always set…
Central Coast-based veterans organizations raise $90,000 at annual golf fundraiser
In 2021, Welcome Home Military Heroes Founder Robert Tolan worked with Band of Brothers Founder Jeff Stone to start a golf tournament in the span of five weeks. “We had quite a bit of mistakes last year; none of us had ever played in a golf tournament. None of us had even really played golf,”…
Edible canvas: Attend an Arty McGoo cookie decorating class at Studios on the Park or online
Book a class Visit artymcgoo.com to sign up for Liz Adams’ monthly in-person classes or subscribe to McGoo U’s online classes. Find Arty McGoo on Instagram and Facebook @artymcgoo. If the icing on your sugar cookie tree cutout doesn’t really scream “Christmas tree,” it’s time to turn to that shaker full of green, red, and…
