Cover Story
Hard to access: If you don’t have a bank account, mailing address, or internet access, a stimulus check can be difficult to come by
When Abel Campos was released from the California Men’s Colony in January 2020 after roughly 12 years in prison, he didn’t have much to help him start his new life: no bank account, no job, no place to call home. Forced to live on the streets of San Luis Obispo, Campos tried to focus on…
SLO County sees increase in no-shows for vaccine appointments
Editor’s note: SLO County is not currently providing unscheduled vaccinations at its clinics at the end of the day despite the increased number of missed appointments. More and more people are skipping their scheduled COVID-19 vaccine appointments, according to the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, as officials plead with residents to call ahead if…
First case of a COVID-19 variant reported in SLO County
On March 19, the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department reported the county’s first positive case of the B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19, also known as the United Kingdom (U.K.) variant because it was first identified there. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) notified SLO County on March 18 that a resident had tested…
Re-introduced bill would reform parts of agricultural guest worker system
A piece of legislation recently reintroduced by U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal and a group of bipartisan House members aims to streamline the U.S. agricultural guest worker program and provide a path to legal status for farmworkers. Called the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, Carbajal told the Sun that the bill will be on the House floor…
Police search ‘prime suspect’s’ father’s home in Kristin Smart case
The Find Kristin Smart Facebook group lit up on March 15 and 16 with messages of hope and prayers for the Smart family during the SLO County Sheriff’s Office’s search of Ruben Flores’ Arroyo Grande home. The search warrant was served March 15 as a part of an ongoing investigation into the 1996 dissapearance of…
A new coalition is raising funds to help pay restaurants’ bills and employees in San Luis Obispo
Donate, join, apply Find the Central Coast Restaurant Coalition, SLO, on Instagram and Facebook @ccrc.slo. Learn more about the coalition, apply to become a member, or donate by visiting ccrc-slo.com. When Big Sky Café’s Greg Holt saw what was happening to his restaurant industry colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic, he knew he had to do…
Safe, sober, sad
What a difference a year makes. A year after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down businesses and pushed people into their houses, we’re still mostly shut down and stuck at home. Who could have predicted? SLO County has lost 253 people to the virus in the last 12 months with more than 20,000 residents who were…
WandaVision examines grief via an homage to TV sitcoms through the decades
WANDAVISION What’s it rated? TV-PG What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Disney Plus Set three weeks after the events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), WandaVision stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, an Avenger who can harness chaos magic to alter her reality. After losing…
The Investigation
What’s it rated? Not rated When? 2020 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Any true-crime fan remembers the ordeal of the “Submarine Murder” and the nitty-gritty details of the fate of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. This series brings to life the sad tale of the intrepid reporter and her ill-fated journey with Peter Madsen, a man…
Warrior
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2019-2020 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Andrew Koji stars as Ah Sahm, a Chinese martial arts prodigy who travels to San Francisco in the late 1800s in search of his sister, Xiaojing (Dianne Doan), who immigrated years earlier and is now known as Mai Ling, wife of Long Zii (Henry…
SLO hires new police chief, looks ahead to department’s future
San Luis Obispo City Manager Derek Johnson considers himself “an action person.” So last summer, as Black Lives Matter protests erupted in the city, criticism mounted against the SLO Police Department’s response, and former Police Chief Deanna Cantrell left the city in September, Johnson said he got to work thinking about the future and police…
40 Prado mural inspired by human potential
The permitting process to operate a brick-and-mortar cannabis dispensary in the city of San Luis Obispo was competitive, but Megan’s Organic Market managed to make the cut. As part of the application, market co-owner Megan Souza said they promised to donate a minimum of 20 company-sponsored employee service hours and $2,000 per month to organizations…
Save Oso Flaco
The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge website says: “Did you know? There are at least 26 imperiled plants and 118 imperiled animals that can be found on the refuge and surrounding dune habitats.” Save Lupinus nipomensis (Nipomo mesa lupine)! Keep out of the Phillips 66 Refinery buffer area! This is the very, very rare dune…
Struggling to understand
Since John Donegan’s recent column, “Orthodoxy and vanity” (March 11) is even more incoherent than usual, it’s hard to figure out his point. “Conservatism in science is not only desirable but necessary. Theories need to be vigorously challenged, especially where acceptance requires an expensive and painful reaction such as with anthropogenic (human caused) climate change.”…
SLO County waste agency repeals its own polystyrene ban
In late 2019, the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) passed a countywide ban on polystyrene—the environmentally harmful packaging material that includes Styrofoam. But just before the ordinance was going to take effect in April 2020, COVID-19 hit, and the IWMA board voted to delay its implementation. One year later—after a period…
Focus on the people
One year into California issuing the first stay-at-home order, we find ourselves on the slow but hopeful climb out of the severity of the pandemic, which has killed more than half a million Americans and wreaked havoc on the lives of countless more. While we spent much of the first year watching the federal government…
Tri-counties nominate locals for vacant Coastal Commission seat
Gov. Gavin Newsom is looking for a new Central Coast representative to serve on the California Coastal Commission, and San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties nominated a few familiar faces for the position on March 16. However, the vacant seat will almost certainly not be filled before a March 18 Coastal Commission meeting that…
Abstract Thoughts at Studios on Parks highlights the varying styles of four artists connected by color
Get abstract Abstract Thoughts with works by Jenny Ashley, Allen Cox, Jordan Hockett, and Burl Vreeland shows through March 29 at Studios on the Park. You can check it out virtually at studiosonthepark.org/events/abstract-thoughts or in person at 1130 Pine St. in Paso Robles. Pandemic hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from noon to 4…
Folk duo Bob and Wendy releases ‘When I Needed You,’ a new single paying tribute to those struggling to feed their families
Of the pandemic, people like to say, “We’re all in this together,” but a year in, it’s pretty clear this scourge has hit some people and families harder than others. “We’re on the verge of releasing ‘When I Needed You,’ the first single from our eight-song project, produced, engineered, and mixed by Damon Castillo at…
The Reboot presents COVID Stories: The Please Scream Inside Your Heart Edition
On Friday, March 26, The Reboot, a San Luis Obispo County-based group of local storytellers, will host a new, virtual program, COVID Stories: The Please Scream Inside Your Heart Edition, which will stream from 7 to approximately 8:30 p.m., via YouTube Live. Co-directed by Rocky Ross and Khader Abdi, this showcase will highlight several storytellers,…
Paso residents complain about parking, and parklets will be gone before 2022
Some Paso Robles residents argue that parking is still a substantial issue for seniors—prohibiting many from enjoying the downtown area—that’s been compounded by parklets. During the Paso City Council’s March 16 meeting, council members voted in favor of lowering the cost of the Senior Permit Pilot Program and voted to end the temporary parklet program…
Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles hosts its Aviation Career Day for middle and high school students
On Saturday, March 20, the Estrella Warbirds Museum’s High/Middle School Aviation Club holds its Aviation Career Day, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Attendees of the event will receive a guided tour of the museum and various opportunities to explore different career pathways in the fields of aviation. Students and their parents or guardians are encouraged…
Split SLO City Council votes in favor of continuing night hiking program
The San Luis Obispo City Council voted narrowly at its March 16 meeting to support an ongoing night hiking program at Cerro San Luis Natural Reserve (also known as Madonna Mountain)—which, pending an environmental review, would essentially make permanent a pilot program the city launched in 2018. Councilmembers voted 3-2 in favor of establishing a…
County to move forward with cleanup projects at Pirate’s Cove
Pirate’s Cove is getting a makeover soon, and it’s one that some community members say is long overdue. At a meeting on March 16, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to integrate Cave Landing into the county park system, allowing the county to enforce regulations and protections there that are followed…
