Cover Story
One big beautiful forest: SLO County’s federally owned land faces development threats from the Trump administration
As the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers aim to free up federal land for development, areas within the Los Padres National Forest are in their sights. But local nonprofits and lawmakers are advocating to prevent major changes in the area. The future of federal land once depended on the Trump administration’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,”…
The Groves on 41 stands out with over a dozen delicious olive oil flavors
Offering an olive ranch Located at 4455 E. Highway 41, the Groves on 41 offers more than a dozen olive oil flavors. Along with receiving a plethora of awards, the olive oil has been rated as one of the healthiest on the market. The Groves on 41 can be found on Facebook and Instagram under…
Local artist Ellen November will memorialize your home in fabric
Immortalize your abode In between her many other ongoing fabric art series, San Luis Obispo resident Ellen November is accepting commissions for home portraits created with fabric and thread. She works with clients to incorporate what’s important to them. Visit her website at ellennovember.com, email her at ellen.november@gmail.com, or call (301) 383-6912. Our homes represent…
Gallery at Marina Square hosts a July 12 reception for three new featured artists
Morro Bay’s Gallery at Marina Square—located at 601 Embarcadero, suite 10, and open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.—has announced its July featured artists: photographer Gregory Siragusa, oil painter Patricia Newton, and jewelry and small works artist Hope Myers. All three will be in attendance during an artists’ reception on Saturday, July 12, from…
San Luis Obispo should look to New York
A few weeks ago, I stood in front of the SLO County government building in downtown San Luis Obispo alongside fellow Code Pink activists to mark the anniversary of the Nakba and to mourn the more than 15,000 Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces. Some of us held signs bearing the names of the children.…
The majority of us aren’t in the American Dream club
George Carlin once suggested that the concept of the American Dream is a tool used by “the owners” to keep people placid and focused on trivial things, preventing them from realizing how rigged the system is against them. “It’s a big club, and you and me ain’t in it.” This concept has never proved to…
We’re less polarized than politicians think, but we need to talk to each other
Thanks to Glen Starkey for his article “Let’s agree to agree” (June 19) about a unique opportunity to create a reasonable conversation between the left and the right about gun culture. Nobody in the arts news business is better than Starkey, always clueing locals in about upcoming concerts, movies, poetry and visual arts, but this…
The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ will destroy us
I am a lifelong Republican. I have developed a new reason to hate getting older. It means I will have only a few more opportunities to vote against all of the elected buffoons from the top down who voted for this “Big, Beautiful Bill” that will destroy our country. The only reason for anyone to…
F1 The Movie follows an older driver taking another shot at greatness
F1 THE MOVIE What’s it rated? PG-13What’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhere’s it showing? Bay, Colony, Downtown Centre, Fair Oaks, Park, Stadium 10 Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Only the Brave, Maverick: Top Gun) directs this story he co-wrote with Ehren Kruger (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Ghost in the…
The Ballad of Willis Island is a charming comedy about memory and friendship
What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Peacock This film is charming from start to finish and full of fun, earnest, and quirky characters. Charles (Tim Key) can think of no better way to spend some of his lottery winnings than to have his favorite musicians brought to the island for a reunion…
Our similarities are stronger than our differences
I thought I’d take a break from all of the grievances, divisions, and outrage of our culture wars, and write about how, despite all the opportunistic goading by our politicians and media, we actually all get along with each other pretty well. This allows me to recount a few of my favorite stories from my…
Hit-making soft rock duo Air Supply plays Vina Robles Amphitheater on July 12
I like classic rock bands that know where their bread is buttered. When someone comes to an Air Supply concert, they don’t want to hear a minor hit like “Goodnight” off their 2003 album Across the Concrete Sky. You’re there for the hits … the monster hits! Air Supply plays Vina Robles Amphitheatre on Saturday,…
In the dark
I’ve been champing at the gears since I heard about the election fraud allegations against Gaea Powell—the candidate who was so easy to hate. Her two runs for Arroyo Grande mayor were full of holier-than-thou accusations against local governing bodies about everything from First Amendment rights to favoring the LGBTQ-plus community to vaccines and mask…
Deep Cover follows a trio of improv comics doing undercover police work
What’s it rated? R When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Amazon Prime Tom Kingsley (Black Pond, The Darkest Universe) directs this British comedy about unsuccessful improv comedy actors Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard), Marlon (Orlando Bloom), and Hugh (Nick Mohammed), who’re recruited by Det. Sgt. Graham Billings (Sean Bean) to buy counterfeit cigarettes from a nearby vendor,…
Cuesta College’s City to the Sea half marathon and 5k races are back
Interested in running 13.1 miles from SLO to Avila? You’re in luck, because Cuesta College’s City to the Sea half marathon and 5K races are back after taking a hiatus in 2024. This year, Natalie Rodriguez is helping organize the Nov. 16 event. She became a leader in the San Luis Obispo running community when…
Former Arroyo Grande mayoral candidates faces nine counts of election fraud charges
Two-time Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate Gaea Powell faces nine criminal charges from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office alleging election fraud in the 2022 and 2024 election cycles. Filed on June 24, eight of those charges are felonies and one a misdemeanor. In July 2022, while living in unincorporated Arroyo Grande outside the…
Candidates emerge for SLO County’s 2nd and 4th District supervisor races
Vying for the San Luis Obispo County 2nd District supervisor seat next year, SLO Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Dantona, like sitting Supervisor Bruce Gibson, is no stranger to recounts. In 2000, the then-28-year-old Dantona, demanded a recount of votes cast in the race for a Rancho Simi Valley Parks District seat. Dantona lost to…
Parking in Paso Robles is now completely free after eliminating employee parking
All parking in Paso Robles is officially a free-for-all after the City Council voted to eliminate its employee paid parking program. Its decision on the matter had been nearly a year in the works after city staff brought the parking program to the council’s attention in August 2024 and said it was more expensive to…
Caballero battery plant announces local donations after residents expressed safety concerns
With the Caballero battery energy storage plant now fully operational, owner and operator Alpha Omega Power announced donations to a Nipomo high school and 5Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC). But residents are still wary of the facility. On July 1, Alpha Omega Power said it will donate $5,000 to Central Coast New Tech High School as…
Governor Newsom loosened restrictions of CEQA, hoping to allow more access to affordable housing
For decades the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has required public agencies to consider the environmental consequences of a proposed project to prevent avoidable environmental damage. But those rules are a bit more lenient now. On June 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the 2025-26 state budget amid an estimated $2 billion deficit, according to the…
