Cover Story
Despite COVID-19 tenant protections, many evictions have gone ahead in SLO County
The patchwork of local and state laws passed to protect tenants during COVID-19 never amounted to a full-on “moratorium” or “ban” on evictions. Just ask San Luis Obispo renter and single mother Loring Chanel Wiley. Wiley lost her duplex apartment in SLO on Aug. 26 when SLO County Sheriff’s deputies showed up at her residence…
Northern Santa Barbara County cities vote in new and old faces, according to semi-official election results
As voters trickled into the Edwards Community Center, one of Santa Maria’s seven polling places, on Nov. 3 it appeared most were there to drop off mail-in ballots. Only a few were there to cast their votes in person. Bolinda Rodriguez dropped off her and her daughter’s mail-in ballots. She said she felt better about…
SLO County adopts plan for mental health care at jail
San Luis Obispo County is working to reduce the number of residents with mental illnesses in its jail and provide better treatment to those who are behind bars. On Nov. 3, officials outlined a strategic plan to do just that. The county’s three-year plan, part of its participation in the national Stepping Up initiative to…
Morro Bay revises emergency management policies to include COVID-19
The city of Morro Bay isn’t unique in its move to drastically shift normal operations to adapt to life during a pandemic, but the city did enact its Morro Bay Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to support the city, San Luis Obispo County, and State Public Health Emergency Declarations starting March 16. Morro Bay Fire Chief…
Santa Barbara County calls Halloween weekend an overall success
Despite the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department being forced to close its Drive-Thru Boo! Trick-or-Treating event early due to an unexpected number of cars, Santa Barbara County officials said that Halloween weekend was overall a success. “For [the public health department], the biggest area of worry for Halloween was Isla Vista,” Suzanne Grimmesey said…
SLO County vote centers open Halloween through Election Day
More than 100,000 ballots are already cast in San Luis Obispo County in the Nov. 3 election—about 55 percent of all registered voters—but those who’re still waiting to fulfill their civic duty now have another 23 locations to do so. On Oct. 31 at 9 a.m., SLO County opened its “vote service centers”—fully staffed facilities…
Hundreds of vehicles hit Oceano Dunes to celebrate reopening, despite lawsuit and protests
After a seven-month ban on vehicle entry, the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) opened its gates to street-legal vehicles on Oct. 30, a day that was met with celebrations, protests, and even a lawsuit. Flag-toting trucks lined up by the dozens outside the park’s entrance kiosk before sunrise on Oct. 30 in celebration…
Judge orders Pismo Beach to refund developer for excessive fees
A SLO County Superior Court judge recently ruled in favor of a developer who sued the city Pismo Beach over excessive development impact fees the city charged for a storage facility project. In a Sept. 16 ruling, Judge Tana Coates determined that Pismo Beach violated state law when it charged developer William Kendall hundreds of…
Paso Robles’ Paderewski Festival, Nov. 6-7, goes virtual
I think it’s safe to say Polish pianist, composer, and eventual Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski is Paso Robles’ most famous resident. I mean, Frank and Jesse James were just passing through, and isn’t Josh Brolin’s ranch technically in Templeton? Paderewski moved to California in 1913, and right before the start of World War I,…
Morro Bay Art Association holds annual Winter Faire and Fine Craft Show at Art Center Morro Bay
The Morro Bay Art Association presents its annual Winter Faire and Fine Craft Show, which will open at Art Center Morro Bay on Thursday, Nov. 5, and run through Jan. 4, 2021. This traditional group exhibition will feature an assortment of paintings, photography, pottery, sculptures, jewelry, fiber and glass art, and other media. Admission to…
Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery and Cuesta College Student Art Circle co-host Alumni Series
In collaboration with the Cuesta College Student Art Circle, the Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery is launching its Alumni Series, a new bi-monthly Zoom webinar series that will feature graduates of both Cuesta College’s and Allan Hancock College’s art programs. The first entry of the series, slated to take place over Zoom on Thursday, Nov.…
Multicultural cuisine pops up in Benny’s Kitchen, a few hours at a time
Find a pop-up Look for Bap Jo and Hawker’s ever-changing menus and updates on Instagram @bapjokorean and @hawker_eatz, respectively. Bap Jo is in Benny’s Kitchen every other Saturday afternoon with its next shift on Nov. 7. Pre-order for pickup at bapjokorean.com. Hawker is in Benny’s every other Wednesday afternoon with its next shift at Benny’s…
Services in Atascadero could change if Measure D-20 isn’t approved by voters this November
Atascadero voters will choose whether to support Measure D-20 on Nov. 3. The Essential Services Transactions and Use Tax is a 1 percent sales tax designed to fund emergency services and some general city services. If passed, the measure’s funds are expected to bring in nearly $4.5 million annually, with yearly independent audits to ensure…
The real story about Cambria’s water facility
For nearly 40 years, the opponents of a sustainable water facility, like Ms. Tina Dickason (“Vote for no growth,” Sept. 24) and her predecessors, have blocked Cambria from relieving its chronic water shortages by propagating unfounded fear that supplementing our inadequate natural water supplies will lead to rampant population growth and runaway rate increases. Sadly,…
Myth busting proves a myth
Opinion columnist Al Fonzi, like anyone else, has a right to his own opinion, but not to his own facts. Beware the unsubstantiated statistics used to attempt to prove a point. In his recent opinion column, “Myth Busting II” (Oct. 8) Fonzi insists that “a majority of [Congressional] Democrats voted against that [1960s civil rights]…
In defense of a cheaper option
I am a Morro Bay City Council candidate that “Cheaper in the long run?” (Oct. 22) criticized. My stance is: Staying at the current plant site is a superior, affordable option for the very reasons the writer identified. It will comply with the discharge order and reduce the high rates the incumbents have forced upon…
We need to reduce money’s political influence
The League of Women Voters regrets the recent decision by the SLO County Board of Supervisors to propose raising the per person donation cap to $25,000 for candidates for county offices. This is a step backward. We should be moving toward reducing the influence of big money in politics not abetting it. Reducing the influence…
Grover Beach mayoral candidate facing three misdemeanor charges
Longtime Grover Beach resident and court reporter Elizabeth Doukas is competing with incumbent Mayor Jeff Lee in this year’s November election, but the candidate is also facing a battle in SLO County Superior Court, where she’s fighting three criminal misdemeanor charges in incidents that appear to be related to a years-long dispute with her neighbors.…
Andy Caldwell is a lunatic
It sure would be terrific if some local media organization would inform the citizenry that Andy Caldwell is a freaking nut. Caldwell is currently running for Congress. But a few months before the pandemic, I happened to catch an hour of his show. He was advocating that we invade Mexico. I’m not kidding. Neither was…
An open letter to Dan Dow
Disclosure: I am not running for any office at this time. Your accusations that SLO Mayor Heidi Harmon’s public statement regarding your blatant partisanship in your ongoing prosecution of Black activists only serve to underscore your inability to recognize your role in perpetuating the systemic racism these activists are trying to bring to light. Have…
‘Preserve the SLO Life’ sues city over Froom Ranch approval
A San Luis Obispo residential group concerned about the speed of development and a lack of infrastructure to support it filed a lawsuit against the city challenging its recent approval of Froom Ranch, a mixed-use project proposing hundreds of new units near Los Osos Valley Road. The group, Preserve the SLO Life, and two nearby…
For you?
My father, a nearly 99-year old lifelong Republican, has only once in his life not voted for his party’s candidate. During World War II, he was a young Navy officer navigating the USS Miller DD 535. In the midst of heavy action in the Pacific—service that would forever extract an emotional toll—Dad voted for his…
San Simeon has a vacancy to fill on its district board
The San Simeon Community Services District announced on Oct. 14 that its vice chair and board member resigned, leaving the district to fill the vacancy. During the virtual board meeting, chair and board member Gwen Kellas read former vice chair John Russell’s resignation letter in which he cited a potential conflict of interest and his…
Mammon
Money ruins everything, even marijuana. Remember the good old days when weed was illegal? It seemed so simple then. Want some weed? Go to a weed dealer and buy some. Done and done. Then came the gray area of medical marijuana in 1996 with Prop. 215, and suddenly every pothead in California was conjuring up…
Creepy Crafters is online community market for makers of the macabre
Brad Golden has always been a big fan of two things: art and Halloween. As a kid, Golden spent hours reading creepy comic books and scouring magazines for the perfect Halloween costume essentials. Back then, he said, if you wanted something like glow-in-the-dark vampire fangs, you’d have to order it from a catalog. Golden soon…
The Haunting of Bly Manor slowly raises the creep factor of gripping supernatural horror story
THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR What’s it rated? TV-MA What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Netflix Set mainly in 1980s England, this supernatural horror thriller created by Mike Flanagan and loosely based on Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw follows Dani Clayton, an American…
Dayspring can remain head of Natural Healing Center while lawsuit moves forward, judge rules
A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge ruled on Oct. 21 that local cannabis businessman Helios Dayspring may stay at the helm of his Natural Healing Center brand while a fraud and misconduct lawsuit filed by his top investor plays out. Judge Tana Coates denied investor William Szymczak’s preliminary motion to install a neutral…
Get Organized with the Home Edit
What’s it rated? Not rated When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Netflix Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin bring their special brand of organization onto your screen to inspire viewers to unpack their lives and reinvent their spaces. Big fans of sorting by color and use of containers, these two bright and bubbly ladies transform everything from…
Meet Leann Standish, SLOMA’s new executive director
Help the SLOMA team You’re invited to the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art’s eighth annual Sustaining Society Event on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. Attendees will also get to meet the museum’s new executive director, Leann Standish, and will learn how the museum is overcoming ongoing challenges while working toward future goals, and…
Poltergeist
What’s it rated? PG When? 1982 Where’s it showing? Netflix and Amazon Prime “They’re here.” Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) directs this 1982 horror classic about a family’s home that’s haunted by paranormal activities. Co-written by Steven Spielberg and Michael Grais, it follows Steven and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams), who’ve…
