Cover Story
‘Justice for Bubs’: Recent officer-involved dog shooting sparks transparency and accountability debate at the SLO Police Department
Three chalky, circular bullet marks form a straight line down the narrow concrete driveway of Nick Regalia and Riley Manford’s rental home on Santa Rosa Street in San Luis Obispo. Spaced a few feet apart, the dots outline the path that their dog, Bubbers, ran as he fled a SLO police officer who shot it…
Here’s what you can recycle in SLO 2020
Recycling reckoning The SLO County Integrated Waste Management Authority is urging the public to be more conservative about what it puts in blue bins. For a full recycling guide, visit iwma.com/guide. “When in doubt, we’ll sort it out.” That used to be the mantra in recycling, repeated over and over to the public by waste…
Friends of the Oceano Library holds membership meeting
A membership meeting to join the Friends of the Oceano Library takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 21, from 5 to 6 p.m. Attendees of the meeting will learn about various volunteer opportunities at the library and how to serve as a board member. There will also be a discussion on how the group can help…
Keystone cops?
Nothing to see here. Move along. It’s just a dog shot by a police officer through its scrotum in a populated residential area in broad daylight during an erroneous police call. No big deal. Four months ago, San Luis Obispo Police Department Officer Joshua Walsh responded to a possible burglary call that was really a…
Two former SLO County residents face off for seat in U.S. Congress
A former San Luis Obispo County resident and Mission Prep alumnus is squaring off against U.S. Congressman Devin Nunes in the race to represent California’s 22nd District. Dary Rezvani, a first-generation American and Democrat, was born in Fresno and lived there until his parents’ divorced while he was in junior high school. Shortly after that,…
SLO Food Bank is looking to fill its CEO position
In the second week of January, the SLO Food Bank announced the start of its search for the next CEO to lead the organization after a quiet leave from its former executive leader. “Former CEO Kevin Drabinski left the organization by mutual agreement earlier this week,” the Jan. 9 press release stated. New Times reached…
It’s now illegal for landlords to discriminate against Section 8 recipients, but enforcement could be tricky
After years of hard labor and loyalty, Carolyn Goodson left the company she’d been with for more than two decades with next to nothing. Goodson spent 23 years manufacturing cottage cheese and yogurt containers for a Los Angeles-based company that, when faced with significant financial challenges, abruptly moved its services to Canada toward the end…
How I rationalized spending an embarrassing amount of money on a day trip to LA
Do you ever say or do something and then instantly regret it? That’s how I feel essentially all the time—I’ve been told I lack a filter—and it’s especially how I felt after I scheduled an appointment with a semi-famous and very expensive tattoo artist … in the middle of the day on a Thursday ……
America’s Wine: The Legacy of Prohibition documentary reminds us that regulations from 100 years ago still vex local biz today
See for yourself It’s been exactly 100 years since national alcohol prohibition in America, which went into effect January 1920, and continued for 13 years. In recognition of this pivotal time in history, the Wine History Project of SLO County has arranged two screenings of America’s Wine: The Legacy of Prohibition, a documentary film about…
Flyjack low-cal hazy IPA
After the holidays, as we adjust our pants sizes and resort to baggy T-shirts to hide our well-earned beer bellies, many of us are looking for a healthy version of our favorite brewskies. Fortunately lower-calorie craft beers have been in for a while. On the 100th anniversary of Prohibition, in January 2020, it just so…
The Green will chill you out on Jan. 17, in the Fremont Theater
Reggae is a pretty chill genre, the kind of sounds you want on when you’re hanging out with friends with nowhere to go and all day to get there. When reggae isn’t challenging the power structure or praising Jah, it’s usually celebrating life and love, which is generally the case with music by The Green.…
Wine time
It is time again for the Wineries of 46 East to host the popular 19th annual Esprit du Vin, where 20 wineries will gather under one roof for an evening of delicious wine and cheese pairings, culinary delights and live music. The Spirit of Wine event will take place Jan. 18 from 6:30 to 8:30…
1917 is a remarkable cinematic achievement and a ripping good war story
1917 What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Fair Oaks, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 Co-writer and director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead, Spectre) helms this World War I epic about two young British soldiers—Lance Cpl. Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Cpl.…
Eat and learn
The Wellness Kitchen seems ready to seize the day with two new classes. One Ingredient, Three Ways with Sweet Potato, The Ultimate Comfort Food happens Jan. 16 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Wellness Kitchen, 1255 Las Tablas Road, suite 102, Templeton. Learn how to prepare nutrient-dense foods with the intent to create the…
Guilty Pleasures: Girl Meets World
When? 2014-2017 What’s it rated? TV-G Where? Disney Plus I have to confess that this show is one of the main reasons I opted to fulfill my daughters’ biggest wish to get Disney Plus as a Christmas gift. My girls—ages 10 and 13—and I got hooked on Girl Meets World while Netflix ran it, between…
For a cause
Here’s the scoop: On Jan. 22, from 5 to 8 p.m, your ice cream purchase from Doc Burnstein’s in Arroyo Grande or SLO will support Community Action Partnership of SLO County (CAPSLO). Δ Flavor writer Beth Giuffre is always eating and learning. Send kneadable knowledge to bgiuffre@newtimesslo.com.
The U.S. Census Bureau is looking to fill temporary employment positions locally
The federal census is around the corner. It’s slated to begin on April 1. The U.S. Census Bureau’s mission is to ensure everyone is accounted for, and everyone is counted once and in the right place. To reach that goal, the bureau is recruiting to fill hundreds of thousands of temporary positions across the country,…
Local playwright and former investigator David Norum brings awareness to domestic violence through original play
Break the cycle Templeton resident David Norum’s original play, My Name Is…, based on a domestic violence case he worked on as a district attorney’s investigator, can be viewed on his YouTube channel (search: David Norum). Local playwright David Norum’s original play, based on a true story of a domestic violence case, had two staged…
Impeachment: A political Rorschach test
With the joining of the impeachment battle, our nation finds itself separating into two bitterly brawling camps of partisans, each one viewing what are the same essentially undisputed facts through two vastly different lenses and, predictably, coming to two vastly different conclusions. The conclusions reached by individuals on such similar evidence are essentially functioning as…
SLO Museum of Art suspends plans for new building amid financial challenges
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) is suspending long-discussed plans for a $12 million new building, as its 2-year-old capital campaign missed its targets, resulting in financial instability at the downtown museum. The museum recently returned a $1 million donation from the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust because it failed to fundraise enough…
Film Listings, 1/16/20 – 1/23/20
All theater listings are as of Friday, Jan. 17 AN AMERICAN IN PARIS What’s it rated? G What’s it worth? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre on Sunday, Jan. 19 (4 p.m.) and Wednesday, Jan. 22 (7 p.m.) New/Pick Vincente Minnelli (Meet Me in St. Louis, Lust for Life, Gigi) directs this 1951 musical…
SLO Rep kicks off 2020 with all-student youth production of Shakespeare’s bloodiest play
On stage Macbeth will play at the SLO Repertory Theatre from Jan. 10 to 19, with showtimes on Wednesday through Saturday at 7 p.m., plus Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. It’s not every day that you get the chance to see a Shakespeare production acted out onstage. Today’s theater companies often pass up Shakespeare’s…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our Jan. 9 news story, “Survey shows support for sales tax increase in Grover Beach.”
Plans for a new probation building threaten survival of a child care center
San Luis Obispo County is moving forward with plans to develop a “health campus” on a slice of land near the intersection of Johnson Avenue and Bishop Street, but the project could threaten the survival of a child care center that’s been operating on the site for nearly 21 years. Several community members attended a…
Punished for speaking
Since I joined the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) board in 2018, I’ve been working to make our meetings more accessible and inclusive. I firmly believe in participatory democracy and that government bodies should always act in the open, making every effort to inform constituents on the issues while involving them in decision-making. I also…
Comedian Chris Franjola performs at Tooth and Nail
Tooth and Nail Winery in Paso Robles hosts Comedy Night with Chris Franjola on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. Franjola is probably best known as a former writer and frequent performer on the E!’s Chelsea Lately. During his eight-year run with the show, Franjola created some of the program’s most memorable characters,…
It’s National Mentoring Month
The board of directors and the professional team at Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Luis Obispo County are pleased to announce our 25th year of service to the county, and we invite the community to join us in celebrating this significant milestone during National Mentoring Month in January. Through generous community and volunteer support…
Morro Bay takes first steps in preserving its dog beach
Morro Bay is collaborating with local agencies and organizations to conserve its dog beach, and in doing so, the city is renewing a relationship with the Cayucos Sanitary District. Morro Bay’s dog beach is one of two beaches in SLO County—the other being Old Port Beach in Avila Beach—that allows off-leash four-legged visitors. “Especially on…
Cal Poly has a cat program
Did you know that there is a cat shelter nestled on the grounds of Cal Poly? I didn’t until I was desperately looking for a rescue group for my neighbor’s cat Bubba. Feline Network of the Central Coast referred me to the Cal Poly Cat Program (CPCP), and when I contacted them, they were eager…
Santa Cruz author hosts workshop and book signing at SLO Botanical Garden
Christian Schwarz, the Santa Cruz-based co-author of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, will host an informative Mushroom Discovery Workshop at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden on Friday, Jan. 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event will include a photography-based presentation on mushroom taxonomy and identification methods. Schwarz will also discuss the various mushrooms…
Check the facts, Al
Al Fonzi’s commentary in the Paso Robles Press (“A view from the top,” Jan. 1), distorts the facts. Specifically, Fonzi rails against, among other things, the new California law requiring solar energy on all new residential construction. He attempts to make readers believe this new law will make it difficult for young, new home buyers…
