Cover Story
Health care access: Cambria’s health care district looks for ways to boost primary care services in town
Forty percent of Cambria’s roughly 6,000 residents are 65 or older. Health care access in the remote coastal town includes an ambulance service, a clinic, a specialist, a medical lab, and a concierge physician. The nearest medical facility is 23 miles away—in Templeton. To fill the gap of primary care services, in 2016 the Cambria…
PG&E project in Santa Maria to last two months, could cause traffic delays
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company began a two-month-long project on Oct. 19 to upgrade equipment along a four-mile section of the company’s Mesa-Santa Maria transmission system circuit. The project, which is expected to be completed by Dec. 19, will increase the height of nine transmission towers—the tall structures that support power lines—and may result…
Oceano Dunes to open to street legal vehicles on Oct. 30
The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) is partially reopening to vehicles on Oct. 30 after a near seven-month ban on vehicle entry, but the phased reopening plan is a compromise that neither off-roaders nor conservationists are happy about. On Oct. 20, State Parks announced plans to reopen the Oceano Dunes to vehicles in…
Pirate’s Cove parking lot and management project gets permit
San Luis Obispo County is a step closer to implementing its latest plan to clean up and manage Pirate’s Cove beach. On Oct. 16, SLO County issued its Parks Department a permit to carry out what it has described as a bare-bones project to restore the popular clothes-optional beach to its natural state and improve…
Proposition 19 would fund fire protection by limiting property tax savings on inherited properties
As explained by the California Voter Guide, Proposition 19 expands property tax savings for certain homeowners. Those over the age of 55, disabled people, and victims of wildfires or disaster would be allowed to transfer the tax base of their current home over to a replacement residence. Right now, that tax portability is far more…
Special Districts continue to be left out of COVID-19 relief
The U.S. House of Representatives released an updated version of The Heroes Act on Sept. 29, addressing some of the needs that have developed since the bill was passed in May. However, that update didn’t include the changes that special districts have been advocating for. The updated version of the bill proposes $2.2 trillion to…
2020 Census ends abruptly after Supreme Court ruling
After an unusual year, the 2020 U.S. Census count is officially over. A Supreme Court ruling on Oct. 13 put an end to an extensive legal battle over this year’s census count schedule and how long the survey should remain open. The Trump administration initially proposed an extension of the census deadline in April in…
Reelect Vessely
Port San Luis has a long history of providing a safe harbor and essential services to the Central Coast. Bob Vessely embraces the vision of the port district’s founders to become economically viable while serving the public. As a hub for coastal activities along the central and south coast of San Luis Obispo County, Port…
SLO prepares for another clear-out of Bob Jones homeless camp
Just five months after the last homeless camp cleanup on the Bob Jones Trail, the city of San Luis Obispo is preparing for another in the same area slated for Oct. 19, a move that’s drawing criticism from homeless advocates due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recent positive cases at the 40 Prado Homeless…
More sales tax needed
There is clear contrast among the candidates for Morro Bay mayor and City Council in the critical area of city revenue. Over the past 10 years, Morro Bay has decreased its total employees by 12 percent, while the demands for city services increased. When the global pandemic seriously slashed revenue, drastic cuts were made, and…
Safe in SLCUSD—stay with incumbents
After the SLO Expressions First Amendment controversy in Spring 2017, San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) created the Common Ground Advisory Task Force (CGATF), “a divergent group of students, district employees, parents, and religious and civic leaders” to provide “recommendations and practical suggestions to ensure all students, regardless of their background, feel respected, included,…
Ballot signature mismatches cause voter anxiety
If you’ve turned in your Nov. 3 election ballot and received an alert that it’s been rejected due to a signature mismatch, don’t panic. San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong said that the alert may be premature and remedied by his office through the normal course of ballot processing. “It’s a timing issue that…
Can you live without wild things?
In 2014, Dave Foreman, a co-founder of Earth First! and former Sierra Club board member, wrote: “One-third of the nation’s land is yours and mine. Not the timber companies’. Not the land and cattle companies’. Not the mining companies’. Not the rich folks’. Not the land speculators’. Ours. One-third of the acreage of the United…
Doulas explicitly allowed in SLO hospitals for first time since spring
For nearly six months now since the pandemic hit the Central Coast, expecting mothers have been allowed only a single visitor during childbirth at local hospitals, forcing patients going into labor to choose between family, friends, and hired supporters like doulas. But this fall, some hospitals on the Central Coast are easing visitor restrictions and…
Although COVID-19 has significantly changed Paso’s annual Harvest Wine Weekend, there’s still plenty to celebrate
Celebrate the harvest Visit Adelaida Vineyards and Winery, Castoro Cellars, or ONX Wines online at adelaida.com, castorocellars.com, or onxwine.com to make a reservation for Harvest Wine Weekend, Oct. 16 through 18. Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance has more harvest weekend event listings on its website at pasowine.com. Every year, Adelaida Vineyards and Winery christens its…
The Third Day is a tasty surreal horror fantasy
THE THIRD DAY What’s it rated? TV-M What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? HBO Creators Dennis Kelly (Utopia, Pulling) and Felix Barrett helm this TV miniseries about a mysterious island inhabited by a cultish group of people. Told in two distinct storylines of three episodes each,…
Dozens of SLO County artists invite you to see their work on a Virtual Open Studios Tour
Join the tour Thanks to the SLO County Arts Council and Arts Advocates, you can visit artists’ studios virtually this year through the Arts Obispo website, at artsobispo.org/open-studios-art-tour, through Dec. 31. According to organizers, “Virtual Open Studios Arts Tour is aiming to bridge the gap between artists and the community, in a time where everything…
Purple Mountains
What’s it rated? Not rated When? Friday, Oct. 16, at 6:45 and 8:45 p.m. Where’s it showing? Virtually at SLOMotionfilm.com or in person at The Mountain Air Josh Murphy directs this documentary about pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones, whose love of the mountains and winter sports turned him into a reluctant environmentalist. It follows his mission…
Studios on the Park hosts fiber art exhibit, True Blue: Sew to Speak
Studios on the Park in Paso Robles presents True Blue: Sew to Speak, a fiber art group show that explores women’s history, ecology, and personal truths, through Monday, Nov. 2. The show’s title is inspired by the exhibit’s predominant palette of blues, co-curators Julie Frankel and Melinda Forbes explained in press materials from Studios on…
Class Action Park
What’s it rated? Not rated When? 2020 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Dreaming big never seemed so dangerous as it was in the 1980s when Action Park took over the New Jersey countryside, and teenagers were handed the keys to some very sketchy rides. From a Tarzan swing into freezing spring water to Miami Vice-style…
Readers Choice voting open for 12th annual New Times Music Awards
New Times will accept votes toward its Readers Choice Award from this year’s annual New Times Music Awards through Monday, Oct. 19. Visit the voting page to view the list of different artists to vote for and submit your picks for first, second, and third place. Links to samples of the artists’ music are also…
Local Republican Party offices face scrutiny for ballot collecting operation
The San Luis Obispo County clerk-recorder paid a visit to the Republican Party of SLO County headquarters in Atascadero on Oct. 14 to “clarify” with party officials the procedures for lawfully collecting ballots and submitting them on behalf of voters. Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong’s visit occurred a day after news broke that the California Republican Party…
Central Coast musician Easton Everett has a new World Beat song getting radio play in L.A.
Visually, Central Coast musician Easton Everett has a decided Fee Waybill of The Tubes vibe, but the eclectic performer throws a wide musical net as he works the ins and outs of world music, Americana, and neo-folk genres. His most recent album, Somewhere North of Summer, finds the artist fluently picking his way through instrumentals…
Transparency and accountability
Thank you so much for the opportunity you provided last week (“OCSD candidate addresses 1999 felony embezzlement conviction,” Oct. 8) in allowing me to address head-on all the whisper campaign activity surrounding my name and my two-decades-old crime. I have never not been accountable for the poor decision I made 21 years ago. I accepted…
For the love of Maulks!
Are you on Nextdoor, the “neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods, and services?” Perhaps you’ve followed the sad saga of Maulks. “Siamese three legged cat missing since Saturday,” Kelly Anderson posted on Aug. 26. “He’s very friendly. If you’ve seen or have found him please message me!!!!” Sure enough,…
Rideshare companies dump $180 million in Proposition 22
Proposition 22 on this year’s California ballot reexamines whether gig workers for app-based transportation and delivery are independent contractors or if they’ll continue to be categorized as employees, which state law currently requires. The proposed law, created by Uber, Lyft, Instacart, and Doordash, would exempt app-based transportation and delivery companies from providing employee benefits to…
Delayed due to COVID-19, the 12th annual Tour of Paso bike race will be held on Nov. 1
The Tour of Paso, an annual bike race that benefits local families going through cancer, typically takes place in late March, when the sun is out and wildflowers are blooming. Not this year, though. Instead, the race was one of the first local events to be postponed by COVID-19. Like so many event organizers at…
A tireless advocate
Our city is facing difficult times, while our state and nation are increasingly polarized. More than ever, we need honest, rational, and balanced leadership. For this reason, I’m happy to see that Jan Howell Marx, our former mayor, is in the race for one of the two open seats on the SLO City Council. I…
Phillips 66 refinery employee appointed to APCD hearing board in 6-5 vote, leading to concerns about potential conflict of interest
For the last two decades, Cal Poly environmental engineering professor Yarrow Nelson has served as a member of the SLO County Air Pollution Control District’s (APCD) hearing board, using his background in scientific research to help the district navigate air pollution conflicts and emergencies, including the ongoing dust mitigation efforts at the Oceano Dunes. But…
