Cover Story
Speaking up: Local podcaster Chris Lambert shares his story and where his hit docuseries on Kristin Smart could take him next
Orcutt—just south of Santa Maria—might be the last place on Earth you’d expect to find America’s most popular independent podcaster. But that’s where Your Own Backyard creator Chris Lambert grew up, lives, and pieced together the hard-hitting 10-part docuseries that investigates the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. The 33-year-old spent a year and a half…
Riders of Justice
What’s it rated? Not rated When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Hulu I’ve been wanting to see this since it was released in May, but it didn’t come to local theaters. Now it’s finally streaming for free with a Hulu subscription. Written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen (Men & Chicken, Adam’s Apples), it’s a black…
State law on mail-in ballots will overrule SLO County policy
A new state law that makes permanent a pandemic-era requirement to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters will supercede a recent San Luis Obispo County policy that sought to dial it back. Assembly Bill 37, authored by Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), sailed through the Legislature this summer and was signed into law by…
Some Lucia Mar school district parents allege that new personal development program is actually critical race theory
A small number of dissenters in San Luis Obispo County’s largest school district fear social and emotional learning is a “Trojan horse” masking critical race theory (CRT). The group of concerned parents and community members were vocal when talks of including personal development lessons in Lucia Mar Unified School District (LMUSD) curriculum made the rounds…
Central Coast beekeepers help preserve colonies and produce ‘liquid gold’
The buzz For more information on the Central Coast Beekeepers’ Alliance, visit its Facebook page @ccbaslo. For details on the Golden Oak Honey and Pumpkin Festival, visit pasoroblesdowntown.org. Reach Jeremy Rose at californiabeecompany.com and on Instagram @pursuingpureflavor. Message Erin Holden via Facebook or Instagram @queenbeecaramels. California is the place to be—if you’re a bee. With…
Grover Beach will open emergency temporary housing
San Luis Obispo County greenlit an emergency pallet shelter program in the city of Grover Beach to temporarily house its growing homeless population. The proposal led by the 5Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC) would put 20 cabins (also known as pallet shelters) on a lot at 286 16th St. Miriam Shah, a 5CHC board member and…
Morro Bay ordinance strengthens home gun storage requirements
All gun owners in Morro Bay must follow new requirements for storing firearms at home. At a Sept. 28 meeting, Morro Bay City Council passed a safe storage of firearms ordinance requiring guns in residences to be either stored in a locked container, disabled with a trigger lock, carried by the owner or an authorized…
Sheriff Parkinson acknowledges systemic racism in Unity report
SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said that the county showed “powerful indicators of systemic racism” in a Unity Committee report published for the Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 24. His acknowledgment is a volte-face after claiming in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that he had “never seen any indication that systemic racism…
Offshore wind brings Central Coast closer to becoming renewable energy hub
Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) believes the Central Coast can become the clean energy capital of the United States, and a recently signed bill brings the region one step closer to developing offshore wind power. Cunningham’s offshore wind generation bill, AB 525, was signed into law on Sept. 23. It’s California’s first commitment to…
A light of hope: National Alliance on Mental Health
National Alliance on Mental Health’s(NAMI) parent-to-parent instructors have experience helping loved ones with mental illnesses, and they can provide insight to other families facing similar issues. Santa Barbara County NAMI President George Kaufmann is one of the instructors for the parent-to-parent program at the national nonprofit’s new Santa Maria location, which opened in 2020 and…
Famed character actor and Cambria resident Nehemiah Persoff pens an insightful and engaging mini memoir
Behind the scenes You can find longtime character actor and Cambria resident Nehemiah Persoff’s book, The Many Faces of Nehemiah, on Amazon. Few actors can boast of a five-decade-plus career in Hollywood, but Cambria’s Nehemiah Persoff can. In films such as On the Waterfront (1954), The Wrong Man (1956), Some Like It Hot (1959), The…
Have courage
To whoever fills the empty seat on the San Luis Obispo City Council, you must not make the same mistakes. A just future depends on defunding the police. We’re used to people telling us to get real and to stop dreaming of a better world. It doesn’t bother us. We simply refuse to let their…
Anne Grannis teaches two-day sculpting workshop at Art Center Morro Bay
The Morro Bay Art Association (MBAA) hosts Quick Studies in Clay, a two-day workshop led by instructor Anne Grannis, on Saturday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. both days, at Art Center Morro Bay. Attendees will use water-based clay to sculpt a whole figure, torso, or bas-relief from a live…
Not alone
In my pregnancy with twins, I spent the first many weeks struggling over what was right for me; abortion or bringing two children into my life. I needed the opportunity and freedom to be able to choose them, and choose my life with them. And I am not alone. Equal access to abortion care everywhere…
SLO Gallery holds public reception for new group exhibition, Viewpoints
The opening reception for Viewpoints, a new group show at SLO Gallery, takes place on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition features a variety of artworks from four participating artists, Kim Snyder, Rod Baker, Barry Lundgren, and Janice Pluma, who offer their own unique perspectives “on nature’s many faces,” as described…
Ray of hope
Breaking news: Systemic racism exists in SLO County, like, officially! Most of us already knew that, but there were some in positions of power who didn’t—like SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson, who was very concerned last year about law enforcement in SLO County getting flak over systemic racism that didn’t exist: “We’re being trashed over…
Aïda Reid to discuss new novel, Eyes of Eve, at Coalesce Bookstore
The Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay is hosting a book-signing event with novelist Aïda Reid on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 2 to 4 p.m. Reid will be signing copies of her newest book, Eyes of Eve, a historical thriller that takes place in Nazi-occupied France in 1940. The novel follows a young girl during a…
After two reschedules, Brett Young plays Avila Beach on Oct. 2
After being rescheduled from Oct. 16, 2020, to May 15, 2021, and then rescheduled again, it appears that country pop singer Brett Young is finally coming to the Avila Beach Golf Resort this Saturday, Oct. 2 (6 p.m.; all ages; $52 to $110 plus fees at eventbrite.com), with Maddie & Tae and Filmore opening. Young,…
Nine Perfect Strangers weaves a tantalizing New Age mystery
NINE PERFECT STRANGERS What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Hulu What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Based on Big Little Lies novelist Liane Moriarty’s 2018 novel Nine Perfect Strangers, this new series developed by David E. Kelley and John-Henry Butterworth introduces us to health and wellness…
Lularich
What’s it rated? TV-14 When? 2021 Where’s it showing? Amazon Prime If you’re a woman in your 30s and have a Facebook account, you most likely have gotten endless invitations to online LuLaRoe sales where other women hawk the “buttery soft” leggings, skirts, shirts, and dresses in varying degrees of obnoxious patterns. While this isn’t…
