Cover Story
Pandemic adjustment: Everyone’s life is a little bit different now. Get a view into the changed lives of some Central Coast residents
Every single person on the Central Coast has felt the impacts of the novel coronavirus and resulting stay-at-home orders attempting to prevent its spread. No one is immune, not just to COVID-19, but to the disruption of day-to-day routines. The pandemic has completely changed lives, at least temporarily, but it’s affected everyone just a little…
Key takeaways from SLO County’s COVID-19 readiness report
Today, San Luis Obispo County received the green light from the state to move deeper into Phase 2 of California’s COVID-19 reopening plan, which brings back dining in at restaurants and shopping in at retail stores under new safety guidelines. The county earned this approval by submitting an “attestation of readiness” to the state. Authored…
Eviction moratorium continues in Santa Barbara County
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors extended the county’s moratorium on evictions for those who can’t pay rent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic during its meeting on May 19. To qualify for eviction protection, tenants must be able to prove that they are unable to pay their rent because of a loss…
Pismo Beach passes ordinance requiring face coverings in businesses
Starting at 5 p.m. on May 20, all employees at Pismo Beach businesses will be required to wear face coverings while in publicly accessible areas where appropriate physical distancing isn’t possible. The new requirement is part of an urgency ordinance passed unanimously at a Pismo Beach City Council meeting on May 19, where council members agreed…
Local organizations ask state legislators for more help for undocumented Californians
More than 60 representatives of local organizations and elected officials signed a letter to state Assemblymembers Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) and Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), as well as state Sen. Hannah Beth-Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), calling on these state legislators to help immigrant families excluded from federal and state safety nets during the COVID-19 crisis.…
Lompoc could provide residents with utility bill relief
Lompoc residents struggling to pay their utility bills may receive some relief depending on how the City Council votes on two items during its May 19 meeting. The first proposes the city use about $2.3 million from a greenhouse gas allowance reserve fund that the state pays into to provide all utility ratepayers in the…
SLO County warns parents about online predators
When San Luis Obispo County school districts closed their classrooms due to shelter-at-home orders, public education moved online. Now, on top of schoolwork, children and young adults are using the internet to socialize even more than they did before the pandemic. According to SLO County officials, the current public health crisis created expanded avenues for…
SLO County, TMHA give away mental health ‘care packages’ at drive-throughs
COVID-19’s impact on our health isn’t just physical; it’s mental. “It is such a stressful time for so many people,” said Caroline Johnson, communications coordinator at the San Luis Obispo County Behavioral Health Department. “A lot of folks are having anxiety, whether that be from financial struggles, not seeing their families, or maybe a big…
Cannabis tax revenue hits $6.7 million in Santa Barbara County for 2019-20
Unlike the businesses forced to close during the stay-at-home order, the state government deemed cannabis cultivation essential, giving Santa Barbara County an unaffected revenue stream as it faces losses in sales tax and transient occupancy tax. According to a staff report for the Board of Supervisors’ May 19 meeting, Santa Barbara County collected $1.9 million…
Newsom is destroying our economy
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s draconian lockdown orders are driving California into a recession. California is expected to face a $54.3 billion deficit over the next year, and who knows what San Luis Obispo County’s deficit will be. Unemployment is expected to rise to 18 percent with 1 in 5 Californians without jobs. May’s unemployment is expected…
Silencing science
“Plastics”—the one word of advice a parental friend offers to young, adrift Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 film The Graduate. It so happens the world took that advice to heart—so much so, we’re choking on it. Today, plastics accumulate insidiously: bread bags, meat wrappers, product overwrap, dry cleaning bags, shipping air pillows—plastic bottles for liquids,…
Sanctuary overboard!
Apparently the SS Montebello, an oil tanker that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off of the Cayucos coastline on Dec. 23, 1941, isn’t cool enough. And, sadly, it’s the only shipwreck off San Luis Obispo County to even make it into Wikipedia. I mean, sure, it’s not as sexy as the Honda Point disaster…
Justin Vineyard & Winery founder Justin Baldwin takes tasters on a virtual wine tour, historical narrative included
Drink up Learn more about how you can taste with Justin Baldwin by finding Justin Vineyard & Winery on Facebook or Instagram and visiting the winery’s new Virtual Tastings webpage. You can schedule your own private session—although it might not be with Baldwin—by going to justinwine.com and hovering over the “Visit” tab. I wasn’t sure…
Amid meat shortages, local membership-based beef delivery services thrive
Meat-processing plants may be feeling coronavirus impacts—resulting in a product shortage—but membership- and delivery-based meat services are thriving. Local company Larder Meat Co. delivers subscription-based boxes containing 10 to 14 pounds of pasture-raised dry-aged beef, chicken, and heritage pork in a variety of cuts. Co-owner Grace Lorenzen told New Times that they source their meat…
NOAA reevaluates Chumash marine sanctuary proposal
After waiting five years, proponents of a Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary on the Central Coast will have to convince federal officials that their proposal is deserving of continued consideration. Since its submittal in 2015, the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary application has not progressed out of the “nomination” phase to the “designation” phase within…
Paso Unified considers banning cellphone use in class
Whenever the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us and students return to school, those in the Paso Robles Unified School District might face stricter rules when it comes to cellphone use in class. The Paso Robles board of education is considering a new electronic device policy that would prohibit the use of cellphones, smartwatches, and other…
Paso Robles’ Gateway project raises traffic concerns
The draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Paso Robles Gateway Annexation Project was released to the public in March for community input, and the Templeton Area Advisory Group (TAAG) is raising concerns over the potential for increased traffic. Proposed on 170 acres at the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 46 West, the project…
SLO County must follow state’s framework for reopening economy
San Luis Obispo County is bound to the state’s framework for reopening its economy, despite its work over the past month to develop a localized START Guide. While the county hoped that the state would allow local jurisdictions to chart their own paths forward from the COVID-19 crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom is approaching the task…
How to Fix a Drug Scandal
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Netflix Erin Lee Carr (Mommy Dead and Dearest, Dirty Money) directs this four-part crime documentary that chronicles the 2013 Massachusetts drug lab scandal, one involving Annie Dookhan, who in her competitive desire to be the best lab technician and a favorite among law enforcement tampered with…
‘May Flower’ art initiative injects color and life into downtown SLO
Downtown San Luis Obispo may not be booming right now, but it’s blooming. Bright orange poppies, purple lupines, and other wildflowers pop from the dozens of storefront windows they’re painted on. An explosion of color and creativity enlivens what’s become an otherwise eerily deserted Higuera Street at the hands of COVID-19. The May Flower Initiative…
Life Below Zero
What’s it rated? TV-PG When? 2013-present Where’s it showing? Disney Plus and National Geographic If you told me I’d find a reality TV series I liked, I would have told you you’re crazy. The genre is, generally speaking, annoying. Survivor, Big Brother, Idols—I couldn’t get into any of them. Life Below Zero, however, follows seven…
The SLO Film Fest reaches out virtually and plans for its future
Exactly nine weeks ago, writer-director Lawrence Kasdan graced our cover (“And the award goes to … ,” March 12, 2020), and we looked forward to seeing his films and watching him receive this year’s King Vidor Award from the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. Last week the festival posted a video on its website…
Unfinished Business releases a nostalgic song and video
Local ’60s-style rock band Unfinished Business, which formed in 2003, is best known for their cover versions of classic songs from The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, and The Animals, as well as Motown hits from James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, and others. The group’s song list is ridiculously long,…
Morro Bay-based storytelling slam, The Reboot: Storytelling Reimagined, goes virtual
The Reboot: Storytelling Reimagined, a monthly storytelling slam group that previously met monthly at the Top Dog Coffee Bar in Morro Bay, is getting its own reboot, so to speak. The group premieres its foray into the virtual realm starting May 15, through a Zoom meeting (the first is scheduled to run from 7 to…
HBO’s Run offers mystery, comedy, and midlife crises
RUN What’s it rated? TV-MAWhere’s it showing? HBO Created by Vicki Jones, this HBO limited series is about Ruby Richardson (Merritt Wever) and Billy Johnson (Domhnall Gleeson), who as college lovers made a pact that if one of them texted the word “RUN,” and the other responded with “RUN,” they’d both drop everything they were…
Clark Center for the Performing Arts promotes membership donations to support the venue during its closure
Without income from events during its temporary closure, representatives of the Clark Center for the Performing Arts stressed that membership donations are “more important than ever,” in a recent newsletter from the venue. The Arroyo Grande nonprofit is now offering a $10 concessions gift card (which includes purchases of beer and wine) to any patrons…
Relief needed
According to the SLO County Workforce Development Board, more than 23,500 people in SLO County filed new unemployment claims between March 14 and April 25. The devastating ripple effect means 23,500 fewer patrons of local small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat; 23,500 of our neighbors and loved ones stripped of their income; 23,500…
Central Coast physicians stand with public health
The Central Coast Medical Association stands firmly in support of our public health servants and their recommendations throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Based solely on science, these policies are in place to protect the health and safety of our communities as we hasten a return to “normal life.” As health professionals, they are driven by the…
