Cover Story
Live music is back: Venues all over SLO County have shows lined up for this week, including Carbon City Lights at SLO Brew Rock
Now that live music is back with a vengeance, it’s time to support it, and this week there are tons of opportunities, so let’s take it in order starting with Thursday, May 13, when the SLO Vibes Trio brings its bebop and Latin jazz to SLO Brew Rock (6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; free). Headed by…
SLO wins $1.7 million grant for Anholm neighborhood bikeway
San Luis Obispo recently secured a state grant that will help fund the construction of its Anholm Neighborhood Greenway—a hotly-contested bike project that will establish a protected bike lane down Chorro and Broad streets, connecting downtown SLO with Foothill Boulevard. The $1.7 million grant covers about 70 percent of the project cost, according to the…
Carbajal pushes for relief for special districts
Special districts provide water, wastewater, fire protection, health care, parks and recreation, and more to about 2,000 California communities, but they have been left out of federal relief since the onset of the pandemic. “As a result, 42 percent of special districts have had to scale back the essential services they provide and 1 out…
As Santa Maria area students return to campus, Public Health plans vaccine clinics
As more high school students return to campus, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department hopes to partner with local schools as early as next week to encourage vaccination for those who are eligible. County Department of Behavioral Wellness Chief Quality Care and Strategy Officer Suzanne Grimmesey explained that before the county can implement these…
Four Sisters Ranch hosts a pop-up art show, Art, Wine, and Expansive Views
Local artists Mike and Rosemary Bauer are organizing an outdoor pop-up group show, Art, Wine, and Expansive Views, to be held at Four Sisters Ranch Vineyards and Winery in San Miguel on Saturday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This one-day exhibit will feature a variety of artworks from participating artists, including the…
Exterminate All The Brutes
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2021 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Filmmaker Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) helms this four-part series that reexamines Western civilization and its path to the New World, revealing the truth behind our history rather than the whitewashed version we’ve told ourselves. With brutal clarity, Peck demonstrates the reality…
SLO County will dismantle COVID-19 mass vaccination clinics in June as vaccine demand drops, rates lag
San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Penny Borenstein looked pained at a May 5 press briefing when a reporter asked for an update on the county’s progress toward COVID-19 herd immunity, five months into the vaccine rollout. “Locally, we are really falling behind,” Borenstein said. “The state average at this time is 61 percent…
Pet connections: A Central Coast social media group assists in pet shelter adoptions
In 2020, individuals all over the state took a leap of faith and adopted furry companions to help them endure the ebb and flow pandemic life. Colorado State University researchers released a report in November 2020 that found bonding with a pet during the stay-at-home orders reduced feelings of anxiety and depression. Survey participants were…
Organized partisans
Why is it that far-right Republicans are more organized than the rest of us? Progressive-Dems have plenty of causes to push their desire for equality to new levels of activism. But all they seem to accomplish is protesting and talking. There was the whole controversy over Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board member Chris…
Inexcusable atrocity
Anyone listening to the April 20 SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting would have heard the members state their intention to ask Public Health Director Dr. Penny Borenstein about the use of vaccine passports in our county during the May 4 meeting. And during the May 4 meeting, Borenstein was indeed asked about vaccine passports…
Have confidence in SLO County elections
The League of Women Voters supports making voting as easy and accessible as possible for all registered voters. We were disappointed in the May 4 decision by the SLO County Board of Supervisors to not expand vote-by-mail and early voting. We were pleased that the supervisors voted to increase funding for ballot processing equipment, high…
The coming mess
Last month I wrote about the racist roots of the filibuster and the oppressive nature of its structure systematically designed to stifle legislation and keep our communities disenfranchised (“Undemocratic process,” April 15). A system created not to uphold First Amendment rights, but instead to oppress the people that it impacts the most. My fans in…
Deceased shooter who killed SLO police officer had a mental health crisis, his mother said
Caroline Wichman of San Jose said she tried to warn San Luis Obispo city authorities about the declining mental state of her 35-year-old son, Edward “Eddie” Zamora Giron II. After losing two jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Giron fell into isolation and started exhibiting worsening signs of a serious mental illness, she said. In late…
Locals are raising money for an Atascadero family that had to jump through incredible hoops to mourn their daughter mid-pandemic
Want to help? Need help? You can donate to Liz Gillingham’s fundraiser for the Hibbles online here: bit.ly/3f3NY57. If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health crisis, call the Central Coast Hotline at (800) 783-0607. To receive LGBTQ-plus-specific services, call or text the Trevor Project at (866) 488-7386 or visit GALA’s…
Lucia Mar teachers support board members facing recall
A South County teachers union is siding with three Lucia Mar Unified School District board members who are facing the threat of a recall election for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to community members on May 5, Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association President Cody King called the recall effort a “witch…
Local nonprofit successfully preserves Morro Bay open space
The Morro Bay Open Space Alliance purchased Cerrito Peak, also known as Eagle Rock, from the city of Morro Bay in April, a move that will preserve the open space for residents and visitors alike. During the May 11 Morro Bay City Council meeting, nonprofit co-chair Glenn Silloway spoke during public comment, saying that the…
Grover Beach approves tiered water rates
Recently approved changes to the water rates in Grover Beach are aimed at conservation, and they could lead to big costs for big water users. At a meeting on May 10, Grover Beach City Council unanimously approved a tiered water rate system that will bill high water users at a higher rate per unit of…
Paso Unified begins changing its board elections, lacks community input
The Paso Robles Joint Unified School District approved changing its election system from at-large to by-trustee-area in 2019, a process that started with two hearings and zero input from the community thus far. Paso Unified intends to transition to by-area elections by the 2022 election cycle. Under at-large elections, candidates must reside within the school…
Wolff Vineyards follows the principles of people, planet, and prosperity for a holistic approach to sustainability
Sip sustainably Find your way to Wolff Vineyard at 6238 Orcutt Road in San Luis Obispo. The tasting room is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Yellow-topped Jerusalem sage, white irises, and the first buds of lavender rustle in the warm afternoon wind flitting across Wolff Vineyards’ outdoor patio. Winemaker Jean-Pierre Wolff says…
Morro Bay Art Association’s latest show Broken Nature taps into pandemic emotions, Earth’s destruction, and peaceful reflection
Put some thought in Ponder human existence and its impact on the planet in Broken Nature at the Art Center Morro Bay through May 24. The Morro Bay Art Association gallery is open from noon to 4 p.m. every day. Visit artcentermorrobay.org for more information. Frozen berry packages, Target shopping bags, and skinny Subway sandwich…
Wrath of Man takes you on a wild, gritty ride to revenge
WRATH OF MAN What’s it rated? R When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Bay, Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Sunset Drive-In What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Based on the 2004 French film Cash Truck, Wrath of Man is co-written and directed by Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels;…
SLOMA collaborates with Los Angeles gallery on new group exhibition, Atmospheres Deep
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) presents Atmospheres Deep, a new group show co-organized by SUPERCOLLIDER, a Los Angeles-based gallery known for curating immersive exhibits that celebrate both science and art. This multimedia exhibition premieres on Saturday, May 29, and is scheduled to remain on display through Sunday, Aug. 1. Richelle Gribble and…
Sasquatch
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Hulu Under the guise of searching for firsthand accounts of Sasquatch sightings in the wilds of Northern California, filmmaker Joshua Rofe follows journalist David Holthouse as he explores the lore of a Sasquatch that killed three farmworkers, which he recalls from his days working on a…
