Cover Story
Spring Arts Annual 2025
If you’re anything like me, a little bit of sun is all you need to never want to be cooped up in your house again. It teases me, forcing me out of my winter shell and into the world. Our annual Spring Arts issue is like that, too, a teaser of all the arts, food,…
A big opportunity for elected Democrats
We’ve all seen the many viral videos of town hall meetings during which Republican voters are haranguing their elected Republican officials over the gutting of federal programs crucial to American families. As a result, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has been advising Republicans to stop holding town hall meetings for their…
Chef Norwood Pryor launches Baby Bear Biscuits Southern Café at SLO Ranch Farms & Marketplace
Southern connection Baby Bear Biscuits Southern Café will be celebrating its soft opening at SLO Ranch Farms & Marketplace, 871 Froom Ranch Way, on March 21 along with several other new eateries. For a complete list of restaurants and hours of operation, visit sloranchfarms.com.Reach Baby Bear Biscuits at babybearbiscuits.co and follow the eatery on Instagram…
DOGE is a feral animal
We bought our first home in Arroyo Grande almost 50 years ago, and we usually had at least one cat. Life was good until we found that a feral cat had given birth to four equally feral kittens under our garden shed. I have a soft spot for any cat, but these were wild, hostile…
A $500,000 matching grant boosts SLO REP’s new theater capital campaign
Donate before June 30 Thanks to the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust’s generosity, through June 30, donations to the SLO Repertory Theatre will be doubled. Altogether, the project will cost $21.5 million, and there’s still $2.4 million to raise. More than 90 percent of the goal has been met to break ground in early 2026.…
Cal Poly commits to three new bachelor’s programs at Hancock College
Less than a month after introducing a new bill centered on postsecondary education, Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) withdrew from pushing it forward. Without reaching a single hearing, the proposal itself helped solve the problem the bill aimed to fix, Allan Hancock College President Kevin Walthers said. On March 17, Walthers shared a stage with…
Cal Poly Arts presents comedian Margaret Cho: Live and Livid on March 29 in the Performing Arts Center
Comedian, actor, and musician Margaret Cho will appear in her Live and Livid stand-up routine at Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 29 (7:30 p.m.; mature audiences; $40.40 to $67 at pacslo.org). Cho, of Korean descent, was born in San Francisco and came to prominence when she starred in the ABC sitcom All-American…
Brooke Warner will give the keynote address at the 41st annual Cuesta College Central Coast Writers’ Conference
If you’re considering attending the 41st Annual Cuesta College Central Coast Writers’ Conference (CCWC) on Sept. 26 to 27, it’s time to buy tickets. Early bird registration costs just $200 until April 30 at centralcoastwritersconference.com. The conference will include “more than 30 presenters [and] interactive breakout sessions focused on skill development in a variety of…
Novocaine is sweet, funny, bloody fun
NOVOCAINE What’s it rated? RWhat’s it worth, Anna? Full priceWhat’s it worth, Glen? Full priceWhere’s it showing? Colony, Downtown Centre, Park, Stadium 10 Co-directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen bring Lars Jacobson’s action comedy to the screen about Nathan “Nate” Caine (Jack Quaid), an introverted bank executive suffering from congenital insensitivity to pain. He uses…
Crip Camp traces the difficult road to disabled rights
What’s it rated? R When? 2020 Where’s it showing? Netflix I first heard about Crip Camp on a podcast that discusses documentaries, and not only did it sound like a wonderfully touching film, but it was executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, so I knew as soon as this came across one of my…
The Electric State is visually dazzling and a fun sci-fi comedy romp
What’s it rated? PG-13 When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Netflix Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Infinity War) direct this sci-fi adventure comedy set in a retro-futuristic 1990s alternative reality. After a war between robots and humans (no, not like Terminator … these bots look like they were designed by 1950s…
Numbskull and Good Medicine present Jason Eady at Club Car Bar on March 20
“I started out down around Dallas, Texas/ I was making a living until I up and left it/ Rags to riches is what it’s all about/ But running through the money’s how the money runs out// And every time things start to go my way/ I burn it down like a temple on Judgment Day.”…
Under pressure
Is it time for Shredder to shred itself? Perhaps I was wrong about Cal Poly’s musical moves when it comes to attacking the St. Fratty’s festivities that have clouded the university’s reputation around St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe the school’s plan worked. Or maybe law enforcement really stepped it up when it came to cracking down…
Cal Poly’s efforts to reign in ‘St. Fratty’s Day’ partying created a more peaceful weekend than recent years
After years of disruptive and disastrous events, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said the university’s efforts to rein in St Fratty’s Day this year was a success, calling it a relatively calm and peaceful weekend. “I am happy to report that, although there were some issues and areas of learning for our community, we achieved…
Arroyo Grande revamps ordinance after a two-year domestic well fight
Months after prospective Arroyo Grande resident Michael Harris fought to secure a permit to drill a water well on his property, the city’s changing its well-permitting rules. “During hearings associated with the consideration of the Harris well application in 2024, the City Council and staff noted that the existing ordinance would benefit from an update…
San Miguel opts out of Paso water basin JPA
The San Miguel Community Services District is the sole agency that opted out of the joint powers authority dedicated to making the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin sustainable. At its meeting on March 13, the San Miguel CSD board voted 2-2 to join the Paso Robles Area Groundwater Authority, after hearing five public commenters speak against…
Former county Social Services employee claims workplace hostility in lawsuit
The San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services and its director, Devin Drake, faced allegations of workplace hostility in a lawsuit filed by a former employee. The Feb. 21 complaint for damages came from Sara Zepeda who worked for the department for almost 16 years. Most of Zepeda’s complaint focuses on alleged mistreatment by…
SLO nonprofit Kid CAT helps those incarcerated as youth prepare for life beyond prison
Of the 2,000 people incarcerated at the California Men’s Colony, at least 258 of them are between the ages of 18 and 29—the youth offenders of the prison system. Michael Nelson was a part of this demographic, sentenced to life at the age of 15 for his crime. In 2018, after serving 20 years at…
A new ‘review’ of national monuments could impact Carrizo Plain
Once again, the federal government is looking at the nation’s national monuments as possible sources of oil and gas production, after doing exactly the same thing eight years ago and coming up with basically nothing. This time around, however, the current executive branch is joined by the efforts of a small but vocal group of…
