Cover Story
Women’s March SLO highlights pandemic-related reproductive health care access challenges virtually
Ever since the Women’s March SLO first hosted a march in January 2017, it has regularly organized events that highlight issues of inequality and focus on achieving meaningful change. Although group gatherings in person are no longer on the agenda, people can still get together virtually. “With COVID-19 and a stay-at-home order, like everyone else…
Santa Maria aims to ‘bridge the gap’ in blood donations
The city of Santa Maria announced an upcoming blood drive scheduled for June 9, and is encouraging community members of all blood types to sign up to donate. The pop-up donation center will be located at the Santa Maria Public Library from noon to 4 p.m. and run by Vitalant, a nonprofit blood service provider…
SLO County allows salons, barbershops, places of worship to open
Say goodbye to split ends and boxed hair dye, SLO County, because the moment we’ve all been waiting for is here: Salons are officially allowed to reopen. SLO County gave the green light to local salons, barbershops, and places of worship in an announcement released late in the afternoon on May 26, just after the…
Women’s March SLO initiates a campaign to promote wearing a face mask
San Luis Obispo County received the green light to continue through Stage 2 of California’s Resilience Roadmap, effectively allowing businesses to resume dine-in services and in-store shopping. As the local economy begins to reopen, Women’s March SLO County created a campaign to promote the continued use of face coverings in public spaces. On May 23,…
Santa Barbara County health order allows businesses to expand outdoors
After demonstrating that the Santa Barbara County is meeting state standards for safely reopening, and successfully gaining state approval to do so, County Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg issued a new health officer order on May 21 to officially allow additional business and workplace reopenings. “The types of businesses allowed to reopen in this latter…
Grover Beach increases focus on business retention and recovery
In January, the city of Grover Beach partnered with the South County Chambers of Commerce and officially started work on a project to cultivate and enhance economic development. The project is still on, but since COVID-19 hit, its goals have changed significantly. “So originally we had wanted to focus really on business attraction and expansion…
A misinterpretation of the Constitution
Andrea Seastrand (“Newsom is destroying our economy,” May 14) has a very narrow understanding of our Constitution. First, “God” is never mentioned; our founders created a government which received its rights and our freedoms, from “We the People,” of which one purpose, as stated in the preamble, is to ” … promote the general welfare…
Bob Jones homeless camp cleanup leads to controversy
The city of San Luis Obispo forced dozens of homeless individuals living in an encampment by the Bob Jones biking and walking trail to leave early on May 18, leading to concerns among some local homeless advocates about safety and human rights violations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. City officials and SLO police officers notified residents…
A bed tax with no tourists?
Isn’t it a bit hypocritical that the SLO County Board of Supervisors levied a tourism tax on those of us who offer our homes to others to visit, while at the same time, they are expending funds and promoting the idea that no one should be vacationing in SLO at this time? So how can…
Paso expands outdoor seating at city park, discusses parklets
As restaurants in SLO County prepare to open their doors for dine-in service, while following the 6-foot guideline and occupancy capacity, Paso Robles is looking to expand outdoor seating in the park for its downtown businesses and, potentially, via parklets. At the virtual May 20 meeting, Paso Robles City Council unanimously approved the City Park…
We are not ready for reopening
I disagree strongly that our county is in a position to reopen, even partially. Unlike many other California counties, San Luis Obispo County draws thousands of tourists every summer. I already see small numbers of people flouting the safety measures. How much will this increase when hundreds of people, all looking to have a good…
Morro Bay’s community radio station, The Rock, carries on through the coronavirus
Donate now! You can donate to Morro Bay’s nonprofit community radio station, The Rock, on its website, centralcoastradio.org. They’re giving away a Fender P-Bass signed by Sting in December. Anyone can register to win as many times as they want. Last month was supposed to be 97.3 and 107.9FM The Rock’s big annual fundraiser. The…
Unconstitutional and cruel
The preamble to the U.S. Constitution begins “We the People” not “we the experts.” The First Amendment to the Constitution enumerates the most important of our unalienable rights, rights you are born with that no government has the right to deny you without due process. That amendment begins with the statement: “Congress shall make no…
SLO County can open restaurants and retail
Restaurants and retail stores throughout San Luis Obispo County will be allowed to reopen their brick-and-mortar doors to customers in the coming days after the state approved a SLO County attestation of readiness for COVID-19 on May 20. With the approval, SLO County joins a majority of California counties that have earned permission to move…
Reject and unnerve?
It basically sucks to be homeless at any time, but imagine being homeless right now. Basic sanitation? Ha! Sheltering at home? It’s a lot easier if you’ve got one. In LA, the city’s leased hotel rooms to house its homeless population, and about half have gone unused. Sometimes the homeless don’t want officials’ help, in…
Teachers discuss teaching students who lack internet
R.A.C.E. Matters SLO hosted a live webinar on May 17 to talk about the challenges children of color are facing while distance-learning during the public health crisis and how teachers are working to aid them. The panelists consisted of K-12 teachers, a Cal Poly professor, and a SLO County school board trustee. Most speakers said…
Shadowlands’ new single, ‘Not Alone,’ inspires connectivity
“Open up your window now/ The streets are full of song/ Step out on your balcony/ And we will sing along,” Shadowlands sings on their stunning new single “Not Alone,” whose lyrics were inspired by videos of quarantined Italians singing to their neighbors from their balconies. “You are not alone/ The sun will kiss you/…
San Luis Obispo Public Library seeks art for new library card
The SLO Public Library, in collaboration with the SLO County Arts Council, has opened up a call for artists to have their work featured on a 2021 library card. Participants are asked to submit artworks with a literature-based theme or literary connections. Three winning artists will be chosen and will each receive $300. Recognition of…
A twelve-page list dictates the next step for SLO County’s food and drink establishments … if they can hang on till then
Timeline for opening As of May 20, SLO County restaurants had received the green light from Gov. Gavin Newsom to begin reopening dine-in service. View the state’s COVID-19 industry guidance for dine-in restaurants at covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-dine-in-restaurants.pdf. Excuse me if I sound like an Oklahoma farmer from The Grapes of Wrath, but writing about our food industry…
Summer concert series organizers hope to operate by July
For the past 14 summers in Arroyo Grande, residents of all kinds and ages have spent every other Sunday afternoon between June and September spread out on blankets and relaxing in lawn chairs in Heritage Square Park, eating, drinking, and listening to free live music. The Arroyo Grande Village Summer Concert Series typically starts in…
Amazon Prime’s Undone serves up magical realism with a mental illness twist
UNDONE What’s it rated? TV-MAWhen? 2019-presentWhere’s it showing? Amazon Prime Creators Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy helm this animated fantasy-drama about Alma Winograd-Diaz (Rosa Salazar), a troubled young woman who, after a near-fatal car accident, discovers she has a new relationship with time and space. Soon her dead father, Jacob Winograd (Bob Odenkirk), begins appearing…
The PAC at Home offers a variety of stay-at-home entertainment
The Performing Arts Center (PAC) in SLO currently offers various forms of stay-at-home content through its website, under the label The PAC at Home. The site includes links to behind-the-scenes videos—including one peek backstage when a Broadway tour of West Side Story made its way to the PAC—and several stay-at-home art activities for both children…
The Midnight Gospel
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Netflix File The Midnight Gospel in the frying-on-shrooms, late-night-dorm-room-discussion category. The surrealist animated series revolves around Clancy (voiced by Duncan Trussell), an outer-space podcaster with one listener, who uses his malfunctioning multiverse simulator to visit dying worlds and interview their inhabitants. In episode one, for example,…
SLO County reopens some campgrounds
Closed since late March, county campgrounds at Lopez Lake, Santa Margarita Lake, and Oceano Memorial Park have reopened to SLO County residents only. A county order issued on May 15 reopened the campsites and also set a 50 percent occupancy cap on all local lodging—hotel, motels, campgrounds, RV parks, and vacation rentals. Officials say the…
Big Mouth
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2017-present Where’s it showing? Netflix In Big Mouth, some seventh-grade friends struggle through puberty and its subsequent hormonal complications as they navigate adolescence. The leads are besties Nick Birch (voiced by Nick Kroll) and Andrew Glouberman (voiced by John Mulaney), who work through their feelings of insecurity and their near-constant…
Morro Bay Art in the Park cancels 65th annual Memorial Day Art Show
For the first time in 65 years, the Morro Bay Art in the Park Memorial Day Art Show—formerly scheduled to take place on May 23, 24, and 25—has been canceled. Co-presented by the Morro Bay Art Association and Steve Powers, the event was slated to include more than a hundred booths occupied by local artists…
Services and options change for people with disabilities and mental illnesses amid COVID-19
As a behavioral health navigator, Danielle Friedrich spent much of her time pre-COVID-19 sitting with people in need of support—listening to stories, offering information about local resources, and holding hands whenever needed. That was Friedrich’s favorite part of her job at Transitions-Mental Health Association: relating to people on a personal level, face to face. Showing…
Wine Institute and Paso wine alliance push for safe wine tasting reopening
While SLO County wineries are still allowed to operate on the production side, the industry’s hospitality side has seen losses, according to Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance (PRWCA) Executive Director Joel Peterson. Most wineries rely on wine tasters coming through doors, he said. “It’s been a pretty big financial hit, and our region is driven…
On the 15th anniversary of Endangered Species Day, SLO County has 47 federally listed threatened and endangered plants, animals to be mindful of
Flowering plants make up a majority of the species listed as threatened or endangered in San Luis Obispo County. One budding belle can only be found across 2 square miles in the county, according to Ashley McConnell, public affairs supervisor at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Ventura field office: The Nipomo Mesa lupine.…
Nice try, Andrea Seastrand
In your opinion piece (“Newsom is destroying our economy,” May 14), you try to blame Gov. Gavin Newsom for our current economic crisis. Come on now! Obviously, you are missing some links in your chain of logic. Yes, the shelter-in-place orders are devastating to our economy. But in case you haven’t heard, the U.S. has…
Facing budget shortfalls, local cities join statewide coalition to lobby for disaster relief
San Luis Obispo County cities are hurting from the coronavirus pandemic. Revenues like sales taxes and bed taxes, normally buoyed by Cal Poly students and tourism at this time of year, have vaporized with the current shelter-at-home orders. City officials across the county are now grappling with the budget implications. “The financial impacts have been…
The county’s hemp ordinance breaks from its own municipal code
This letter is to address the Board of Supervisors hearing regarding permitting industrial hemp to be grown in San Luis Obispo County. The actions taken by the board majority is a violation of property rights. The excerpt below came from Chapter 5.16—Agricultural Lands, Operations, and the Right to Farm of the SLO County municipal code:…
Masks help prevent the spread of COVID-19
Regarding the letter from the Central Coast Medical Association which supports the “science” behind decisions made by Public Health Director Dr. Penny Borenstein (“Central Coast physicians stand with public health,” May 14), I have to say, “Really?” Although I applaud her efforts to open up businesses, her lack of support for madating mask wearing in…
Dear Gov. Newsom
I recently came across a published letter to you from a member of our community demanding that our nearby Diablo Canyon nuclear plant be immediately shut down because that person is afraid of nuclear waste (“Dear Gov. Newsom,” April 23). Apparently that person is unaware or does not care that shutting the plant down early…
