Cover Story
Hail Mary: Gov. Gavin Newsom pushes legislation to save Diablo Canyon from closure with help from $1.4 billion loan
The future of Diablo Canyon Power Plant—and nuclear power in California—hung in the balance this week as state lawmakers debated a last-minute legislative deal that aims to extend the plant’s life to 2030, scrapping a prior decommissioning plan, amid fears of looming power shortages. The legislation, which came at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom,…
Rock legend Elvis Costello & The Imposters play Vina Robles Amphitheatre on Sept. 1
You either appreciate Elvis Costello or you’re wrong. Born Declan Patrick MacManus, the Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee started humbly in the early ’70s as part of London’s pub rock scene before being swept into the punk and new wave movement. His 1977 debut, My Aim Is True, remains…
Grover Beach to vote in first by-district City Council races
Grover Beach’s City Council races may feature two different kinds of doctors and a former wine and spirits distributor, but all candidates have local government experience. The beach city’s voters will participate in the first by-district elections on Nov. 8. Present Councilmember Robert Robert is running unopposed in the 1st District, but eligible residents in…
Breaking is an infuriating indictment of our treatment of veterans
BREAKING What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Palm, Stadium 10 Abi Damaris Corbin (Actors Anonymous) helms this story, based on true events, about troubled Marine war veteran Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega), who faced mental and emotional challenges when he tried to reintegrate…
Redistricting lawsuit held up by fight over county supervisors’ texts and emails
San Luis Obispo County officials handed over a single text message as part of discovery in a lawsuit that’s challenging the county’s 2021 redistricting map—and the group suing, Citizens for Good Government, isn’t buying it. For the past six months, Citizens for Good Government and county lawyers have butted heads over records in the case,…
The Most Hated Man on the Internet
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2022 Where’s it showing? Netflix Talk about a mother’s instinct and will to protect her children: Charlotte Laws is the type of take-no-prisoners warrior you want on your side. Hunter Moore (a scarily on-point name for this dude) started the website Is Anyone Up?, a revenge porn site that had…
Three candidates run for two Atascadero City Council seats, mayor unchallenged
Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno is ready to win another election, and she’s a shoo-in because nobody’s running against her. “I feel that our city team of community volunteers, our staff, our council, have all worked hard to meet the needs of our residents,” Moreno said. “An unopposed mayor means that we’ve listened to our community.”…
Day Shift
What’s it rated? R When? 2022 Where’s it showing? Netflix In his directorial debut, J.J. Perry helms this comedy-horror about Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx), a divorced pool cleaner with a precocious 10-year-old daughter, Paige (Zion Broadnax); and a disgruntled ex-wife, Jocelyn (Meagan Good), who’s threatening to move if Bud can’t pay for his daughter’s private…
Justin Vineyards faces lawsuit about ignored sexual harassment
Justin Vineyards & Winery is the object of public ire once again. After years of outrage over the company clearing acres of native oak woodlands, Justin Vineyards is now accused of ignoring claims of sexual harassment. On Aug. 25, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Justin Vineyards and its owner The…
Neil Mendoza’s SLOMA exhibit, Pretty Rubbish, comments on consumer culture
Think a little See Pretty Rubbish at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, 1010 Broad St. in SLO, through Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Find more information at sloma.org. Found objects combine with technology and software in Neil Mendoza’s exhibition, Pretty Rubbish, on display at the San Luis…
SLO County health and water facilities get backup Tesla battery systems
Electrification is the new mantra for California, as everything from cars, kitchen stoves, hot water heaters, and leaf blowers plug into the grid for their juice. Proponents say that electrifying our lives will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. But critical to achieving that is first securing a reliable power supply—something…
Five Paso Robles wineries showcase art by Erin Hanson during September and October
Adelaida Vineyards, Allegretto Vineyard Resort, Calipaso Winery, Pelletiere Estate Vineyard, and Rava Wines are collaborating with artist Erin Hanson on a unique Art and Wine Tour. Starting on Sept. 9, each venue will be showcasing a selection of Hanson’s contemporary artworks. The displays will remain up through Oct. 30. Tour visitors will have the chance…
Central Coast Square Dance Association starts new 12-week program
Learn to Square Dance, a new 12-week dance program, will kick off on Sept. 15 at the San Luis Obispo Guild Hall. The series will continue every Thursday through Dec. 15. Each class is hosted by the Central Coast Square Dance Association and will start at 7:30 p.m. Couples are welcome, but a dance partner…
Photoshop in SLO showcases photographer Karl Kempton in new exhibition
A collection of Oceano-based artist Karl Kempton’s dune photographs is currently on display in a new solo exhibit at the Photoshop in San Luis Obispo. The show debuted at the end of August and is scheduled to remain up through the end of September. Kempton is a poet, visual poet, writer, photographer, publisher, editor, and…
RIP, nuclear power
For the past 40-plus years we have been sitting on a nuclear time bomb. Nature has kindly provided us with a foreseeable future of what is in store for us—Fukushima, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island—and spared us from having to bear witness firsthand to her undeniable superpowers. These events happened despite all the precautions and preparations…
Diablo casts a shaky shadow
Listening to the radio last Saturday morning, a pleasing piece of Americana music ended, and an alien siren sound began. The interruption concluded with the announcement, “If this were an actual emergency … .” Cleaning out a drawer yesterday, I came across an envelope. Inside, were six now expired tablets of potassium iodide designed to…
New Times, cigarette ads are a letdown
I was surprised and disgusted, to open your August edition and find a full page ad for cigarettes!! Long, long ago I was a smoker. Long ago I watched it slowly kill my father. I also know how difficult it is to quit once you are addicted! For years you have been a valuable source…
Diablo Canyon is a major liability
Many years ago, while pursuing my degree in biology, I had a textbook that showed fault lines off the coast in the area of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The fault lines were more numerous than could be counted. How this plant ever got the “OK” to be built in the first place, in this…
Democrats are energized
So far this summer, our weather has been unusually mild, at least until this week, on this side of the Cuesta Grade. I’m occasionally bothered, but also kept cool by those meddlesome winds from the west. From the east, however, a shocking tornado swept across the nation just after the solstice: On June 23, the…
The Great American Recipe winner Silvia Martinez invites the public to join her in Morro Bay for potluck, cookbook signing
Say ‘hola’ to Silvia Meet The Great American Recipe winner Silvia Martinez at her potluck and cookbook-signing event at Del Mar Park at 3060 Ironwood Ave. in Morro Bay on Saturday, Sept. 10, at noon. Purchase the cookbook at shop.pbs.org, store.vpm.org, or wherever books are sold. Season 1 will stream on pbs.org and the PBS…
The money equation
As a last-minute push to save PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant from destruction makes its way through the California Legislature, the energy giant issued a warning to state residents due to an “extreme heat wave”: Flex that power, baby. “PG&E is prepared for the heat and, based on forecasts, doesn’t anticipate issues meeting increased demand…
Nationwide teacher shortage hits home for special educators in Lucia Mar school district
As Lucia Mar Unified School District’s academic year gets under way, it still needs 42 more special education paraprofessionals to support the 1,600 students with special needs. The shortage of educators isn’t anything new, as school districts across the nation have been plagued by teacher shortages since the Great Recession in the late 2000s. But…
Public safety, marijuana are top issues for Paso Robles
Paso Robles City Council candidates Chris Bausch and John Hamon are running unopposed in their respective districts, but incumbent Mayor Steve Martin faces competition from Michael Rivera, who ran for City Council in 2018 and lost. Rivera, a longtime resident of the Central Coast, faced scrutiny during the last election for ties with the Santa…
Grover Beach’s mayoral race is a face-off between Karen Bright and Stacy Korsgaden
No matter what, this year, Grover Beach residents will elect a female mayor for the first time since 2014. Stacy Korsgaden—a two-time candidate for San Luis Obispo County supervisor and insurance company owner—and long-running Grover Beach City Councilmember Karen Bright are fighting for the top city spot this November, as current Mayor Jeff Lee terms…
