SLO City Council refines confidentiality policy for elected officials
San Luis Obispo City Council clarified its protocols to prevent future misconduct—accidental or otherwise—in the wake of Mayor Erica Stewart sharing a confidential SLO County grand jury report. Council members unanimously adopted a resolution at the Sept. 15 meeting that revised the council policies and procedures manual to include two specific guidelines about how an…
Port San Luis Harbor Patrol moves to unarmed safety model
A nearly 20-year era of armed peace officers patrolling Port San Luis is coming to an end. Port San Luis Harbor Patrol officers will give up their status as California peace officers and stop carrying firearms under a new public safety model. Harbor Patrol will still respond to emergencies and enforce harbor and boating rules,…
Grover Beach will discuss easing poultry ban in October
Keeping poultry in Grover Beach could soon become a reality again. The City Council is gearing up for a discussion on Oct. 26 to loosen the ban on housing domesticated birds like chickens, turkeys, and ducks on residential and commercial properties. Until then, locals with poultry can rest easy. At the Sept. 14 City Council…
Templeton school board race draws contrasting candidates
Templeton Unified School District voters will choose between two incumbents and a newcomer this November. Candidates are highlighting issues including declining enrollment and academic performance along with familiar debates over parental rights and LGBTQ-plus students. Two at-large seats are up for election, with incumbents Janel Armet and Jennifer Grinager seeking another four-year term against Forrest…
Read all about it
Maybe I’m biased, but I think newspapers are vital to communities and essential for functioning democracies. Daily papers, especially, serve to inform the public and act as an important check on government, which is why watching The Tribune shrivel and shrink feels tragic. If you haven’t heard, the Trib’s parent company, McClatchy, recently laid off…
Foothill Boulevard needs the right fix, not a cheap one
Unlike some residents, I appreciate several aspects of the transformation of Chorro Street: using plant containers to separate bikes from cars, planting trees, decorating the underpass to make this once dreary stretch more welcoming for pedestrians. My main objection—and it’s a big one—is the unreasonable cost for a project that may not have been necessary…
You don’t have to take our word for it: How SLO County protects your vote
There is no shortage of information or opinions about elections right now. Court cases, proposed changes to election laws, national political debates, and claims on social media can make it difficult to separate what is actually happening from what might happen. For voters, all of that noise can lead to a reasonable question: Can I…
Oceano Airport to host second annual Girls in Aviation Day
For a few hours this September, young people will be able to get closer to aviation than watching airplanes pass overhead. The San Luis Obispo County Department of Airports is bringing Girls in Aviation Day back to Oceano Airport for a second year on Sept. 19, giving children and teens a chance to climb up…
Two longtime Arroyo Grande residents vie for the mayor’s seat
November’s election will determine a new mayor in Arroyo Grande for the first time since 2018. After eight years in the seat, Mayor Caren Ray Russom chose not to run for reelection, making way for fresh leadership. Russom’s preferred candidate, commercial property manager and real estate broker Glenn Martin, shares her roots in public service…
After more than a decade, Cambria’s drought project gets coastal approval
For an emergency water project, Cambria’s Water Reclamation Facility has spent a remarkably long time waiting. Built during a severe drought in 2014, the facility has since been studied, redesigned, challenged, and subjected to regulatory review as Cambria wrestled with how to protect its limited groundwater supply without damaging the sensitive habitat surrounding it. After…
See Daniel Medina’s drama Below Sycamore at Cal Poly on Sept. 18-19
Playwright Daniel Medina, whose original drama Below Sycamore plays at Cal Poly this weekend, moved to Los Osos a few years ago—a welcome return from when he last lived there. “When I was a boy, just like in the play, I got kicked out of my house by my grandmother, and she sent me up…
Visit SLO Mission Plaza Sept. 19 for Paint the Plaza
Treat yourself to a colorful trek through temporary art when Downtown SLO’s inaugural Paint the Plaza comes to the SLO Mission Plaza and the Broad Street dogleg (between Palm and Monterey Streets) on Saturday, Sept.19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to Downtown SLO, the event is “a community chalk art festival celebrating the…
Meet SLO’s Box Art program artists on Oct. 3
You’ve no doubt seen them, the colorful graphics adorning traffic and utility boxes throughout the city of San Luis Obispo. They’re part of the city’s Public Art Box Art Program originally managed by the Parks and Recreation Department and founded in 2010, making it the oldest utility box art program in California. Launched as an…
Moms Club screens on Sept. 28 in Fremont Theater
Rocky Romano and Miranda Winters spent more than five years following a grassroots network of suburban mothers who mounted a resistance campaign against dark money political groups engaged in coordinated, right-wing disruptions at Southern Califonria school boards designed to target LGBTQ-plus and other marginalized youth. (90 min.) Glen Would you be surprised to learn that…
In Teenage Wasteland, a teacher inspires students to uncover a conspiracy
It’s hard to believe that the ’90s were 30 years ago, but that’s where this story starts with a group of teens, a teacher, and a town cover-up. When students and teacher Fred Isseks decide to make a documentary about a local environmental scandal in New York, most of the other students and staff aren’t…
In Mayday, a U.S. Navy pilot shot down in the USSR is aided by a former KBG agent
Co-writers and directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein helm this action adventure set in 1987 about U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Ryan Reynolds), who’s tasked with flying on a recon mission in an SR-71 Blackbird over the USSR as the Cold War rages. When he’s shot down by a MiG and ejects,…
The PAC in SLO celebrates 30 years with a gala event Sept. 26
When talk of building a performing arts center in San Luis Obispo began in 1958, it no doubt felt a bit pie in the sky. SLO’s population was about 18,000 then, and Cal Poly had about 5,000 students. We were too small to fund such a venture. It wasn’t until 1984 that the idea gained…
Mee Heng Low closes the chapter on a century of noodles
In 1927, Gin Jack Keen opened Noodle Boom, serving Chinese-American noodles and stir-fry. After generations of ownership and a name change to Mee Heng Low, the 99-year-old historic noodle house permanently closed on Aug. 29, leaving the restaurant’s building awaiting an uncertain future. As the last remaining Chinese-owned establishment in San Luis Obispo’s historic Chinatown…
