Cover Story
Summer Guide 2022
In-person activities, festivals, celebrations, live music, camps, and more continue to multiply as we cross our fingers and watch pandemic restrictions retreat behind us. There’s so much happening that it’s hard to keep tabs on it all, but we’ve got you covered! Calendar Editor Caleb Wiseblood collected as many events as he could and put…
The Hub project gets SLO city approval, faces appeal
A budding collaboration between eight local businesses is poised to bring an eclectic mix of food, drinks, games, and entertainment to upper Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo—if it can clear a neighbor’s appeal. On May 11, the SLO Planning Commission gave the green light to Central Coast Brewing and its partners to establish The…
Wendelin Van Draanen’s latest release The Peach Rebellion is an easy-reading historical novel with a lot to teach
Pick your fruit The Peach Rebellion is available in hardback at the downtown San Luis Obispo Barnes & Noble. Author Wendelin Van Draanen will be there on Sunday, May 29, between 1 and 2 p.m. Peach fuzz. That soft outer layer surrounding peach skin makes a few appearances in Wendelin Van Draanen’s recently released novel,…
SLO County’s CalFresh enrollment rate one of the lowest statewide
In 2020, San Luis Obispo County had one of the lowest CalFresh participation rates in California, according to data released earlier this month. But community partners like the Department of Social Services and SLO Food Bank are looking to change that. CalFresh is California’s federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.…
Palm Theatre screens Tiny Vineyards, a documentary on home winemaking
On Thursday, June 2, the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo will host a special screening of Tiny Vineyards, along with a Q-and-A with the film’s director, Joseph Daniel. Tickets—priced at $15 each—to the event include admission to a wine reception at 7 p.m. before the screening, which starts at 7:30 p.m. The wine reception…
New Paso basin water regulations would ‘exacerbate overdraft’
A new set of proposed Paso Robles Groundwater Basin rules would result in more vineyards and a spike in basinwide pumping, which would “exacerbate” the aquifer’s overdraft, according to a draft environmental impact report (EIR) released on May 20. The draft EIR, commissioned by San Luis Obispo County, analyzed the impacts of a proposed new…
LiLA Creative Community’s next Women’s Morning of Renewal event focuses on macrame art
Instructor Lindsey Altman will guide participants during an upcoming macrame workshop on Saturday, May 28, from 10 a.m. to noon at LiLA Creative Community in Arroyo Grande. This class is part of the venue’s ongoing Women’s Morning of Renewal series. The monthly event takes place on the last Saturday of each month and invites attendees…
A group of Cal Poly industrial technology students handcrafts high-end lamps for stylish outdoor fun
The drone of a drill and the whir of a gigantic water jet punctuated the busy silence in Cal Poly’s industrial technology workroom. Nearly a dozen students flitted to and from a large wooden workbench. Some wore fluorescent orange utility jumpsuits, and all sported safety goggles. Tools and several half-constructed oak and galvanized steel lamps…
By the Sea Productions presents Church and State in Morro Bay
Director Janice Peters is helming By the Sea Productions’ latest staged reading, Church and State, which runs for one weekend only, from Friday, May 27, to Sunday, May 29. Tickets are $15 each and are available in advance at my805tix.com. The venue is located at 545 Shasta Ave., Morro Bay. Visit bytheseaproductions.org for more details.…
Ocean Front Pizza in Cayucos is open and baking some of the freshest pies around
Find your pie Find Ocean Front Pizza’s menu online at oceanfrontpizza.com. Order pie by phone at (805) 995-2979 or visit the restaurant at 156 1/2 Ocean Front Ave. Cayucos. Open Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Ocean Front Pizza stops taking phone orders at 7:30 p.m. After spending a few decades wearing…
Up and coming alt-country star Joshua Ray Walker plays BarrelHouse Brewing on May 28
I caught Joshua Ray Walker live when he opened for Charley Crockett, and on Saturday, May 28, he’ll be the main attraction when Numbskull and Good Medicine bring him to BarrelHouse Brewing (6 p.m.; all ages; $20 plus fees presale at eventbrite.com or $25 plus fees day of show). In the past three years, he’s…
Men is weird, unsettling, and engaging
MEN What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 Alex Garland (writer-director of Ex Machina and Annihilation and writer of 28 Days Later …) helms this psychological horror film about Harper (Jessie Buckley), who after a personal tragedy…
Our Flag Means Death
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2022 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet left his wife, children, and life of opulence behind to sail the seas and fulfill his fantasy of life as a pirate. Unfortunately for Stede, pirating is a messy, dangerous job—not something he’s really built for. He wants to read…
Waterman
What’s it rated? Not rated When? 2021 Where’s it showing? PBS Isaac Halasima (The Last Descent) directs this documentary about Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, a five-time Olympic medalist and native Hawaiian who’s credited with introducing surfing to the world. The film uses archival materials and reenactments with Duane DeSoto starring as Duke, as well as interviews…
A housing problem
Like many issues humans face, homelessness is as complex as we make it, and so are the solutions. Is it about mental health? Maybe. About 50 percent of the local homeless population reported psychiatric conditions or PTSD. But plenty of people deal with mental health struggles while in a home. Is it about substance abuse…
The old switcheroo
Do you have any idea how hard it is piss off a nonprofit? They’re filled with really nice people trying to do really nice things for people in need. They’re like saints or angels who have to beg for money to keep their programs going—programs that wouldn’t be needed if our government and social safety…
Water and sewer rate hikes pass in Cambria despite public opposition
Five hundred Cambria residents turned in protest forms opposing water and sewer cost increases, but it wasn’t enough to stop the rate hike. The Cambria Community Services District (CCSD) held a hearing during its May 19 meeting to gather community input about the increases, which will raise water rates by 19.2 percent and sewer services…
Eto Park rededication pays tribute to Eto family, Japanese American experience in San Luis Obispo County
Born in California, Ron Eto Kikuchi was just 18 months old when he was imprisoned by the United States government, solely on the basis of his Japanese ancestry. Ron and his mother, Susy Eto Kikuchi Bauman, were taken first to Colorado and then to Arkansas under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which forced…
Nonprofits question county’s handling of Rescue Plan funds
In March, when San Luis Obispo County opened a window for local nonprofits to apply for COVID-19 recovery grants funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Big Brothers Big Sisters of SLO County CEO Jenny Luciano joined dozens of other nonprofit leaders in applying for aid. The pandemic had taxed local youth and families…
Dolphin Bay Resort faces lawsuit over alleged sexual battery
A lawsuit against a Pismo Beach spa resort identified a trend allegedly rising in the United States: abuse at the hands of massage therapists. “Negligent and/or intentional improper touching committed by massage therapists is a national epidemic, with hundreds of reports of such conduct by therapists occurring throughout the country,” stated the complaint filed on…
