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Learning through nature
Editor’s note: Schools and school programs throughout the state—including the Central Coast’s environmental education programs—are closed as of March 13 in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. But the values behind these programs remain an asset for local teachers, schools, and children to look forward to once the programs resume. As of press time,…
Santa Barbara County firefighters quarantined after possible COVID-19 exposure
Four Santa Barbara County firefighters who responded to a medical emergency on March 24 are in quarantine after the woman they assisted began exhibiting symptoms in line with COVID-19 after she arrived at the hospital. The patient was tested for the virus, and is awaiting results that may take up to 48 hours. Fire Department…
Downtown SLO business owner starts petition calling for rent and mortgage payment freezes
Like so many other local business owners in the past week, Maryalice Hamilton was forced to shutter her downtown clothing store, Blackwater, in San Luis Obispo following COVID-19 orders affecting non-essential businesses. “After you’ve been in business 15 years, you always feel like your business is essential,” Hamilton told New Times. While Hamilton has shifted…
Bus rides in SLO and Morro Bay are now free
There’s not a whole lot of positivity coming out of the coronavirus outbreak, but here’s one good thing: Bus rides in San Luis Obispo or Morro Bay will be free of charge for the duration of the coronavirus emergency. SLO Transit announced that as of March 23, its bus rides will be free to all…
805UndocuFund reactivates to provide financial assistance to undocumented Central Coast residents affected by COVID-19
In response to the increased community spread of COVID-19, Future Leaders of America (FLA) announced Tuesday that the 805 UndocuFund will reactivate to provide financial support for undocumented individuals and families. The joint venture between FLA, Mixteco/Indigenous Community Organizing Project (MICOP), and the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) was originally established in…
Santa Barbara County supervisors to vote on eviction moratorium
As thousands of people deal with a loss of wages related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is weighing a measure that could provide them with some breathing room. At its March 24 meeting, the board will vote on an urgency ordinance that would temporarily prohibit any evictions involving people…
Pismo Preserve closes to keep public safe during COVID-19 pandemic
After monitoring visitor use, The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County announced on March 23 that it will close the Pismo Preserve until further notice. Executive Director Kaila Dettman told New Times that the conservancy has been tracking the executive orders, restrictions, and guidelines from local and state agencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.…
An untimely recess
The afternoon of March 13 was an ominous one, as one after another, public schools and colleges across San Luis Obispo County announced plans to close down for weeks to come. Classrooms will be shuttered for at least the last two weeks of March and some until mid-April, a countywide effort to prevent a coronavirus…
Cattlemen’s Association annual Western Art Show on hold
The opening reception for the 30th annual Western Art Show and Sale in Paso Robles has been postponed in light of the coronavirus crisis. Valeriy Kagounkin was the featured artist of this year’s showcase, presented by the San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen’s Association. This group exhibition featured works from more than 40 other artists as…
Wine Time
J Dusi Wines was scheduled to host its Zincursion event on March 22, but due to the state’s COVID-19 related request, the winery is currently closed for wine tastings. Starting March 17, you can still come by to pick up wine club orders and purchase wine at the tasting room, and they are offering curbside…
Great American Melodrama suspends Sherlock Holmes
The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville’s production of Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of the Four opened on Thursday, March 12, and was scheduled to run through Sunday, April, 26. As of March 16, the show is temporarily suspended in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. No dates were listed for when the show would resume.…
Miss Teaberry’s Baked Goods
I finally found the perfect allergen-free doughnut coming from a certified home kitchen producer in our very own SLO County. Rhanna and Kelli Lincoln are the Miss Teaberry’s bakers and mother-daughter duo who specialize in the most heavenly, healthy doughnuts I’ve ever tasted (called “Halos” of course). They’re so super sweet and silky, I had…
South County Poetry cancels next open mic at Arroyo Grande Library
South County Poetry’s next monthly open mic reading at the Arroyo Grande Library, originally scheduled for Monday, March 23, has been canceled. The following reading is currently still scheduled for Monday, April 27, and will feature guest poet Nixson Borah. The group meets at the library on the fourth Monday of every month (except for…
Town-gown 2035
Editor’s note: While the Cal Poly campus is closed now through spring quarter due to measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, the university’s plans for the future of its programs and expansion are still in the works. Cal Poly’s 2035 Master Plan, which after years of fine-tuning is slated for final California State University…
Bloodshot offers action packed but mindless entertainment
Dave Wilson directs this sci-fi action film with Vin Diesel as Ray Garrison, a slain soldier brought back to life and outfitted with regenerative powers, making him virtually indestructible. Unbeknownst to him, he’s part of a secret project carting out extrajudicial killings, though he thinks he’s avenging his murdered wife (Talulah Riley). Glen This is…
Stroke treatment
On Nov. 14, 2019, Ingeborg Pendley, 90, was getting ready to go to Michaels with her two daughters, Linda Persons and Jodi Pendley, to buy yarn when Persons realized something was off with her mother. “All of a sudden [Persons] said, ‘Mom look at me.’ My cheek, I guess, was all red and droopy, so…
Film Listings, 3/19/20 – 3/26/20 (Music, Arts & Culture)
Editor’s note: By now you’re no doubt aware that local theaters have closed for the foreseeable future, so we’ve selected a few of the best films available at either Redbox or on Netflix. Select Redbox and Netflix listings as of Friday, March 20 EX MACHINA (2014) What’s it rated? R What’s it worth? Full price…
Strange times
The world feels like a weird place to be right now. Quiet and full of anxiety. Questions about the future hang in the air, unanswered, as we wonder what the next couple of months hold in store for our communities, state, and nation. Maybe there’s a little solace in knowing that we are facing the…
Park the snark
Are you on Facebook? You’ve no doubt seen the memes: “Hey libtards, when Trump’s $1,000 check arrives, send it back because he’s not your president” or “Hey right-wingers, when the government’s $1,000 relief check comes, send it back because that’s socialism.” Really, people? We can’t even come together in a crisis? Can’t we tamp down…
Dear mainstream media
I am not sure when the mainstream media walked away from journalism, but please understand you’re killing this world! If what you want to stand for is division using your purchased air time for pushing political agendas, giving yourselves to hyperbole, conjectures, or injecting your own opinions, well then, that is fine—and I’m sure Hollywood…
DOUBLE DRAGON
When? 1994 What’s it rated? PG-13 Where? Amazon Prime, Tubi It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel like watching Double Dragon, a colorful, escapist, post-apocalyptic martial arts adventure that recently got added to Amazon Prime (free for members). My fascination with this 1994 video game adaptation—part of that early…
No more Fukushimas
On March 11, the ninth anniversary of the start of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel held a web-only-participation meeting in order to avoid potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. I applaud the decision to be proactive in the coronavirus pandemic. But we must also address the greater threat to the…
Treachery
One candidate is branded a hermaphrodite, a criminal, and a fool; the other an atheist, a half-breed, and a coward. Wait. Are we talking about the upcoming presidential election between Trump and presumptive nominee Joe Biden, or possibly recent candidates for supervisor here in San Luis Obispo? No, actually, these character assassinations were made in…
Oceano reconsiders CSD committee assignments
On Feb. 27, the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) met to reconsider committee assignments after it had banned, with a highly controversial motion, director Cynthia Replogle from all assignments for this year. However, regardless of much debate and protest from both the public and some directors, and again with a single hurried and confusing motion,…
Public safety limits in-person contact
Just as local law enforcement and fire agencies are working to limit the spread of coronavirus among public safety personnel, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is facing a potential outbreak. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced on March 17 that 13 employees are in quarantine at their homes because of a Main Jail…
Ride-On transportation available
Ride-On will continue to provide door-to-door transportation throughout San Luis Obispo County during the coronavirus crisis. We have lowered our regular rates. We can provide rides for children, seniors, veterans, individuals in wheelchairs, low-income residents, and the general public. For the safety of the public and our drivers, we will not transport individuals with symptoms…
COVID-19 disrupts the lives of the older community
On March 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom called for all senior citizens, 65 and older, and residents with chronic conditions to stay home in an effort to protect vulnerable populations from the coronavirus. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, about 20 percent of the population in San Luis Obispo County is 65 and…
Canceled!
Was R.E.M. prescient back in 1987 when they released “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”? Some of the song’s lines sure seem so: “Team by team, reporters baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped/ Look at that low plane, fine, then/ Uh oh, overflow, population, common group/ But it’ll do,…
SLO Public Health ‘implores’ medical community to embrace COVID-19 testing
San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Penny Borenstein didn’t mince words about the urgent need to ramp up local testing for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In two separate public addresses on March 17, first in front of the SLO County Board of Supervisors and again at an afternoon press briefing, Borenstein urged the entire…
SLO Rep presents Every Brilliant Thing, a play about loss, depression, and suicide prevention
Worth the wait Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Every Brilliant Thing has been postponed and is now scheduled to open on May 12 and run through May 24. Visit slorep.org for updates in the coming weeks. “Given the rapidly changing situation, we won’t know until at least March 29 if we will be able to…
Spirits in the Bee Box
What happens when a really amazing chef opens a distillery? Food appears. Education seeps in. And then all the people who normally wouldn’t want to visit a distillery come out to the new hangout on Traffic Way. Carrying out a stunningly pretty bottle of organic Forager gin, I left Central Coast Distillery with a new…
Wine Country Theatre’s To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday charmingly explores love, loss, and moving on
It’s not every day you get the chance to sit at a table, sip wine, and nibble on cheese while watching an award-winning play performed on a ballroom stage—and because of COVID-19, it’s likely such a chance won’t come again for a few more weeks, at least. But on Friday, March 13, about 50 people…
County to finish Oceano drainage project
For Oceano residents, the recent rains once again mean days of wading through flooded roads, yards, and basements. But a soon-to-start paving project along Highway 1 is expected to help. The San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Works announced on March 17 plans to begin paving a number of streets near the intersection of…
Cambria wants its skatepark back
The recent removal of the Cambria skatepark on Main Street is causing some residents to ask for its return. Buddy Campo, 34, told New Times that he’s been a resident of Cambria his whole life and remembers the park being in constant use. “They recently tore it down, in the last six months, and like…
Sign of the times
On March 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked wineries, bars, nightclubs, and brewpubs to close their doors to customers to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The governor’s request is not mandatory as of March 16, so check each venue’s website or get creative. The governor also asked restaurants to limit their venues to half-capacity or…
