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Last-Minute Gift Guide 2023
Last minute gifting is a rite of passage in my family. We’re really good at it, and you might be, too. But sometimes it’s nice to have a little help coming up with ideas and places to shop. That’s why we’ve got the annual Last-Minute Gift Guide ready just for you! Permanent wonders Tattoos and…
Paso Robles approves homelessness plan
Paso Robles has a new standard to guide the city’s efforts to deal with rising homelessness after its City Council voted 4-1 on Dec. 5 to approve the Paso Robles Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness. A product of nearly two years of work toward a collective city and San Luis Obispo County goal to address…
Rock on! Stocking stuffers for the music lover in your life
If you’re like me and have friends who play the guitar or bass, shopping for the perfect gift can sometimes be overwhelming and beyond budget. But you don’t have to get them the instrument they’ve always wanted: There are easier (cheaper) ways to give. Here are some recommendations and places to get practical stocking stuffers…
Arroyo Grande’s new city manager starts in January
After spending thousands of dollars on a national search to find the best city manager for Arroyo Grande, its City Council decided on a local candidate. During its Dec. 12 meeting, the city announced that Matthew Downing will take over the job from interim City Manager Bill Robeson on Jan. 8, 2024. “I’m very humbled…
Recount requester cross-examines clerk-recorder
Darcia Stebbens—the San Miguel resident feuding with San Luis Obispo County over an unpaid debt stemming from her requested manual election recount—cross-examined the county clerk-recorder on Dec. 7 while representing herself in court. For roughly two hours, Stebbens asked County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano about the cost of retallying votes for last year’s 2nd District Supervisor…
Morro Bay to vote on encampment enforcement
On Dec. 12, Morro Bay City Council intended to vote on three new ordinances to address the city’s growing homeless encampment problem. “This situation is a large, serious public health and safety problem,” resident Loyce Tobler said via public comment letter. Approval of one of the proposals—an urgency ordinance—would have given the city immediate authority…
Cracking the elderberry code
With the help of nearly $5 million in federal funding, a Santa Barbara County elderberry farming experiment kicked off in November, aiming to make the locally grown medicinal plant more widely available on the West Coast. Spearheaded by the White Buffalo Land Trust, a regenerative farming-focused nonprofit founded in Summerland five years ago, the project…
SLO CASA, Fin’s Seafood Restaurant partner on a toy and funding drive to help kids in the foster system
Fin’s Seafood Restaurant owner Bruce Van Vort’s personal history with the foster care system was one of the drivers behind his business’s first partnership with San Luis Obispo Court Appointed Special Advocates (SLO CASA). “I have five adopted children that were all in the foster care system at one time,” he said. “They were homeless,…
Holiday spirits: Three local spots highlight the best alcohol gifts
San Luis Obispo County’s local breweries, distilleries, and wineries make the perfect spots to sit down, have a drink, and think about what to give friends, family, or co-workers for the holidays. Taking such a break may help you conclude that the perfect gift might just be a good ol’ fashioned drink. Lucky for you,…
Not a team player
Serving on a government board is a team sport. It demands leadership, compromise, and civility. Oceano has a Community Services District board member who is the antithesis of this and shows a pathological need for attention. To Charles Varni, it does not matter what sort of attention he is getting. Good or bad, as long…
Leave the World Behind drips with tension and dread
LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Glen? Full price What’s it worth, Anna? Full price Where’s it showing? Netflix Co-writer and director Sam Esmail (Comet) helms this thriller about a cyberattack. The story focuses on the Sandfords—mom Amanda (Julia Roberts), dad Clay (Ethan Hawke), and kids Rose (Farrah Mackenzie) and…
We are doing nothing to prevent further harm in Gaza
Like many people, I have been disturbed by the events in Gaza. I always viewed the occupation of Gaza as wrong, but I did not understand the extent of the harm imposed upon Palestinians until the recent events unfolded. I am ashamed of being European because European governments are doing absolutely nothing, and I am…
Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence
What’s it rated? Not rated When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Hulu When you send your kids off to college, you worry about the normal things: Will they eat anything besides candy and french fries for the next four years? Was that a beer bong you saw the last time you Facetimed? What most parents don’t…
America’s on a dark path
So now the Biden administration has bypassed Congress to provide military support to a religious state in a street fight with the terrorists of Hamas, who are funded by a religious republic, but that same administration is somehow unable in a similar manner to provide military support to the democratic secular state of Ukraine in…
Local Boys & Girls Clubs juror art contest, select regional qualifiers
National treasures In conjunction with the 2023-24 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Arts Contest, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast is currently hosting a kids art showcase at the Santa Maria Town Center. The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 19. A reception to celebrate the Mid Central Coast…
Responding to unravelling
There’s a new word in the world: Polycrisis. It’s a term describing the consequences of the Great Unraveling, as per the Post Carbon Institute’s report, “Welcome to the Great Unraveling”: “During the 20th century, and especially the latter half of the century, humanity’s increasing adoption of fossil fuels as sources of cheap and abundant energy…
May December
What’s it rated? R When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Netflix This is showing up on many critics’ best picture list, and for good reason: The performances are absolutely mesmerizing. The story focuses on a couple—Gracie Atherton (Julianne Moore) and Joe Yoo (Charles Melton)—whose notorious romance was tabloid fodder in 1992 when Gracie was 36 and…
Windmill tilting
Darcia Stebbens’ quixotic quest to slip out of paying for the vote recount she demanded in SLO County 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson’s 13-vote victory over retired orthopedic surgeon Bruce Jones marches on (and on) in court, where SLO County is suing Stebbens to recoup the remaining $4,448 spent in proving the initial vote count…
Local music nonprofit holds Jingle Jazz Holiday Party in Pismo
The Basin Street Regulars presents its 12th annual Jingle Jazz Holiday Party at the Pismo Beach Veterans Hall on Sunday, Dec. 17, from 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets to this holiday event—which features live music from the Riptide Big Band and the Jingle Belles, lunch, and Champagne—are available to purchase in advance at my805tix.com. Thanks…
Foo Fighter guitarist Chris Shiflett brings his Americana solo sounds to Club Car Bar
Chris Shiflett is a musical chameleon. Named “Americana’s biggest rockstar” by Rolling Stone, he cut his teeth in punk acts like No Use For A Name and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, but he also joined Foo Fighters as guitarist in 1999 after the release of their third album. At first, he was their…
Grover Beach raises water, wastewater rates after raucous meeting
Grover Beach’s City Hall was packed to capacity during a Dec. 11 City Council meeting, where a public hearing discussed rising water and wastewater rates to help pay for the Central Coast Blue project. Although the rate increases passed 3-2 with Councilmembers Clint Weirick and Robert Robert dissenting, more than 20 community members spoke against…
SLO realigns part of Prefumo Creek ahead of storm season
A row of houses sandwiches a chained-off dirt parcel on Vista Del Lago Road, almost obscuring it as someone’s front yard. Owned by the city of San Luis Obispo, that plot is a pathway to Laguna Lake. On a recent Tuesday evening, it led to a scenic twilit sight. Swatches of the mirror-like lake interspersed…
Permanent wonders: Tattoos and piercings make funky zero-hour gifts that last a lifetime
Did you put off getting a gift for the loved ones in your life who are looking to make a lasting change? San Luis Obispo County’s array of eclectic tattoo and piercing businesses can help you slide that holiday present in just under the wire. Cherry Blossom Tattoo Atascadero’s Cherry Blossom Tattoo offers gift cards…
