Cover Story
Back from the brink? Hi Mountain Condor Lookout volunteers and Cal Poly students help wildlife agencies track the endangered California condor
Condor love Get more information about condors by visiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Recovery Program at fws.gov/cno/es/CalCondor/Condor.cfm. Find the Hi Mountain Condor Lookout at condorlookout.org or on Facebook @condorlookout. At the first creek crossing, you know it’s not going to be a smooth ride up Hi Mountain Road. It’s steep and…
Paso Robles Unified has a new superintendent
Five months after Paso Robles Unified School District’s former superintendent resigned from his position, the district welcomes a new leader, Curt Dubost. At its May 14 meeting, the school board unanimously approved his three-year employment contract with the district. Dubost will begin his duties on July 1 with an annual salary of $180,000. Board President…
‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’ at PCPA takes on romance, ambition
On stage PCPA’s rendition of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder moves to the Solvang Festival Theatre from June 13 to 30. Visit pcpa.org for more information. Who says you can’t have it all? Now simply add in a spree of murders, a torrid love triangle, and a generous dash of British accents (and…
Industrial hemp is now allowed in SLO County
Starting this month, the San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for industrial hemp production—opening up a new market that had previously been limited to only growers tied to research institutions. The county’s May 3 announcement hit as long-awaited hemp regulations at the state level take effect. They require hemp growers to…
Brief Encounters weekend includes four one-act plays
The Cambria Center for the Arts Theatre holds Brief Encounters: A Weekend of One-acts on Friday, May 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, May 25, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Each performance includes four one-act plays, each from a different director and playwright. Works by Ray Bradbury, Shel…
Atascadero residents could see an increase cost in their wastewater services bill
The city of Atascadero is proposing to increase wastewater rates for all property owners connected to the municipal sewer system At the May 14 City Council meeting, the council unanimously approved six steps to begin the process of increasing the rates, which would go into effect Aug. 8. The sewer service charges have only been…
Edna Valley pop-up event showcases nine local painters
A private residence in Edna Valley hosts Art in the Gardens and Vineyards, a one-day-only art show, on Saturday, May 25, from noon to 5 p.m. This group show features original paintings from nine Central Coast-based plein air artists. Most of the paintings are of local scenes and will be available for sale as well…
Property ownership confusion engulfs Hillside Church
As the 5Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC) tries to complete a purchase of Hillside Church in Grover Beach to develop a homeless services facility, an ownership dispute at the church is breaking out, potentially threatening the sale. On May 6, William John Fleming, an opponent of the sale who claims he’s the president of Hillside Church,…
GNH Conference features Bhutanese art and live entertainment
Dancers from the Bhutanese Association of California will perform during the inaugural West Coast Gross National Happiness (GNH) Conference in SLO on Saturday, May 25. The event celebrates the Bhutanese concept of GNH, which was coined in 1972 to rival terms used to measure a country’s economy, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross…
Correction:
• The May 9 story “Templeton could soon vote to fund its fire department, county opted not to help” incorrectly stated the dollar amount of the proposed parcel tax. Residents would have to pay $180 per year per parcel if the tax is approved. Δ
Reconnecting with my sister in New York
When I was in elementary school, my sister was attending UCLA. In retrospect, it wasn’t a huge driving distance—maybe 45 minutes—but she was a young adult figuring out her next move and I was … I don’t know, playing kickball during recess. What I do remember us doing is sending each other letters on Sanrio…
Pinpointed: Water officials name alleged culprit of TCE contamination near airport
A nearly four-year-long investigation into how a chemical known to cause cancer showed up in the water of more than a dozen rural wells by the SLO County Airport has finally concluded with an alleged culprit. Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board investigators say that Noll Inc., a machine shop on Thread Lane, is…
Caltrans needs to step up
A lawsuit filed by a winery company put on hold the El Campo Road and Highway 101 safety improvements that were supposed to start today, May 13. It came as an unexpected and crushing disappointment to us. Vintage Wine Estates, the new parent company of Laetitia Winery, filed the lawsuit last week, blocking the construction…
Baywood Elementary could implement a dual-immersion program for 2020-21 school year
In San Luis Obispo County, there’s one school that offers a two-way immersion program, where students receive an education in English and in Spanish. Pacheco Elementary School has been a dual-immersion school for 23 years, and San Luis Coastal Unified School District officials think it might be time to start a second such program. Rick…
People need to help and learn about animals
Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor were submitted by middle school students enrolled in a journalism class at Cayucos Elementary School. People need to help animals. There are so many stray animals, and we need to do something to help. One way is to spay or neuter your dog or cat. If you…
Local pilates instructor creates supportive hub for women on the Central Coast
Pilates instructor and mother of three Natalie Garay is striving to build a foundation for mothers and all females locally. Currently Garay helps women rehabilitate physically and mentally after giving birth. She focuses on a female’s pelvic floor weakness, C-section rehabilitation, and any major abdominal surgeries. Garay is now working on two projects to expand…
A lack of females in tech
Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor were submitted by middle school students enrolled in a journalism class at Cayucos Elementary School. Did you know that most females lose interest in math, science, and technology when they hit middle school? As a female teenager, it is hard not to have other females my age…
A little bit of this
A little bit of that: Starting June 4, the Tuesday Farmers’ Market at the SLO Guild Hall will be moving to a new location under new management. The market will be moving to Farm Supply at 224 Tank Farm Road, a new permanent location. The Tuesday Farmers’ Market will remain at 2880 Broad Street and…
Fries and friends
Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor were submitted by middle school students enrolled in a journalism class at Cayucos Elementary School. Cayucos Deli is one of my favorite places to eat! It is a Mexican restaurant that is connected to the gas station minimart on Cayucos Drive. My favorite item to get is…
Taco Temple has more than gigantic tacos—it has gigantic slices of carrot cake, too
Get to the temple Taco Temple is now open at 1575 Calle Joaquin in San Luis Obispo. There, you can have some tacos and eat your cake too. The first thing Nicole DeWolf does when she gets to work at 5 a.m. is bake eight rounds of carrot cake, which will eventually become four cakes…
Wine history
On the loose: The Wine History Project is all about, well, history, obviously. This month, the project is celebrating 40 years of winemaking with the Hank Donatoni and the Art of Zinfandel panels at Donatoni Winery in Paso Robles. Hank established Donatoni Winery in Inglewood in 1979, but began his winemaking career a decade earlier…
Everybody wants to park in the shade but nobody wants to plant a tree
Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor were submitted by middle school students enrolled in a journalism class at Cayucos Elementary School. I think people should have to plant a tree every year because we are chopping down forests to make room for large and small farms and to harvest timber. It becomes land…
Spam Benedict
For some reason, Spam has made its way back onto my menu. I used to think: “Mystery meat in a can? Gross.” I guess I still think that, but for some reason, I’m definitely OK with eating it now—not on the regular, mind you, just every now and again, when I’m feeling right. I guess…
A question for our times
How are you feeling these days? If you’re like me, you might glance at a news headline and immediately feel anxious, angry, furious, or fearful. You might want to withdraw, wilt in despair, and try to protect yourself by turning off another spigot of empathy. I worry that our collective angst could lead to disaster…
‘Pokémon Detective Pikachu’ is for fans only
POKÉMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU What’s it rated? PG What’s it worth, Anna? Rent it What’s it worth, Glen? Stream it Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 Rob Letterman (Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens, Gulliver’s Travels) directs this adventure comedy about Detective Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), who comes to the aid of 21-year-old…
Grow up, people
I’ve been trying to paint my cardboard box since the beginning of the year, and all the rain we’ve been getting keeps washing it off. My neighbors keep complaining that the colors don’t match with the natural theme of the creek and are threatening to call the city of San Luis Obispo Architectural Review Commission.…
Blast from the Past: Raiders of the Lost Ark
When? 1981 What’s it rated? PG Where’s it available? Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, iTunes Nearly 40 years after its release, the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark is still as delightfully amazing as it ever was: A chiseled Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) literally whipping a pistol out of a dude’s hand. Alfred Molina…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our May 9 news story, “SLO saw major uptick in sex assault reports in 2018.”
Film Listings, 5/16/19 – 5/23/19
Editor’s note: Listings for Rodkey Theaters—Fair Oaks of Arroyo Grande (805) 489-2364 and Sunset Drive-In of SLO (805) 544-4475—were not available at press time. ARETHA FRANKLIN: AMAZING GRACE What’s it rated? G What’s it worth? Full price Where’s it showing? The Palm Pick Alan Elliott and Sydney Pollack co-direct this documentary about soul singer Aretha…
Little Feat headlines the 26th annual Avila Beach Blues Festival on May 26
“There’s something in the water around there,” Bill Payne said of the Central Coast during a recent phone interview. “That’s all I can tell you. You know [Grateful Dead lyricist] Robert Hunter was born in San Luis Obispo, right?” I did not know that, and I also didn’t know that Payne graduated from Santa Maria’s…
Former New Times staffer pens satirical ‘Anyone Can Be President’ book
Read on Anyone Can Be President by David Vienna is available on Amazon in paperback for $16.49. For more information on Vienna and his work, visit davidvienna.com. While the 2016 presidential election blew up the unity of the country like fireworks going off on the 4th of July, it did make one thing clear to…
Laetitia Vineyard & Winery is part of a suit to temporarily halt the El Campo intersection closure
May 13 should have been the day that Caltrans starting eliminating left-hand turns on Highway 101 at El Campo Road and three other intersections between Los Berros Road and Traffic Way, but a lawsuit filed by Laetitia Vineyard and Winery’s parent company has indefinitely halted the project. Vintage Wine Estates, which purchased Laetitia in March,…
