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Volunteers 2024: Hands-on help
January means that it’s time for New Times’ annual Volunteers Issue. Maybe one of your New Year’s resolutions is to give back to your community. Healing hounds The local Alliance of Therapy Dogs chapter spreads compassion through volunteer Elise Mebel and her therapy dog Moosh BY BULBUL RAJAGOPAL Advocacy and Assistance MICOP, CAUSE volunteers can…
To Be Honest Bev Co. in San Luis Obispo launches a booze-free, hemp-infused gin alternative
Give it a shot For more information on To Be Honest Bev Co. and its inaugural Focus beverage, including recipes for mocktails, visit tobehonestbev.com and follow the company on Instagram @tobehonestbev. Stay tuned for new product releases. “As part of the sober-curious movement, many are seeking alternatives to foster a healthier relationship with alcohol,” according…
Affordable housing project receives money reallocated from mental-health organization
Stretched thin on money for one of its affordable housing projects, the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo (HASLO) teamed up with Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA) to bridge the funding gap. Despite receiving $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and the city of SLO’s Affordable Housing Fund combined, HASLO paused construction of…
Seminal hardcore punk band Black Flag plays The Siren on Jan. 18
I got into Black Flag during their Henry Rollins era (1981 to 1985), but they formed back in 1976 by the band’s only continuous member, Greg Ginn (guitar and primary songwriter), who first called his band Panic. They continued through a number of personnel changes—if I count correctly, the band has had 26 different members—with…
Morro Bay City Council, Embarcadero brewery clash over rent rates
A large group of residents, employees, and fellow business owners came out to support Three Stacks and a Rock Brewing Company during a Jan. 9 City Council meeting. The outpouring of support followed Jan. 7 Facebook and Instagram posts from the brewery calling for people to rally against what they alleged was an unfair rent…
Heading for worse
The drama from Oceano is so extensive that it continuously reverberates throughout the county. Every week, newly elected Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) board member Charles Varni publishes verbose, sanctimonious, and self-victimizing diatribes every time someone disagrees with him. Varni completely melts down in a feedback loop of replaying his grievances against the district while…
Nipomo residents work on an alternative Dana Reserve option
More than 50 community members attended the first Nipomo Action Committee meeting of the year, where they discussed creating an alternative map to propose for the Dana Reserve project—one that would hopefully balance residents’ concerns and the developer’s needs. Alison Martinez told New Times that the turnout at the Black Lake Community Room on Jan.…
State Parks takes risks in Oceano
Before the last big storm, heavy rain and high tides were predicted by the weather forecasts. The disastrous washout on Oceano Beach should not have been a surprise. Several trailers and vehicles were dragged into the ocean where they lost all their contents: provisions, pots and pans, plastic wear, trash. The debris ended up in…
Public health survey spotlights difficulties for senior residents, people with disabilities
Being overlooked by physicians and insurance providers for their medical needs and being subjected to unaffordable and inaccessible caregiving and rural transportation services are some of the many issues San Luis Obispo County’s residents with disabilities and senior citizens face on a regular basis. A public health survey conducted by the Independent Living Resource Center…
There has to be a better solution than tossing old equipment
With more than 16 years of employment with the San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) I became familiar with its practices, professional outlooks, and pernicious policies. I try to keep abreast of what is going on at the schools after retirement, and I recently discovered an enormous 20-yard dumpster full of new and slightly…
Parents’ rights advocates speak out against potential state tackle football ban
A recently proposed California State Assembly bill that would ban tackle football for children under 12 by 2026 is under fire by North County parents’ rights activists. “California legislators are having a hearing on Wednesday at 9 a.m. regarding banning youth football for 12 and under,” Templeton parent and school board member Jennifer Grinager said…
Vote to save democracy
Three years ago, we all witnessed a violent mob descend on the Capitol, costing people their lives, because one man—Donald Trump—spread lies about a “stolen” election. The Jan. 6 insurrection was an attack on our democracy and our freedom to vote. Our nation came dangerously close to a coup orchestrated from within the Oval Office…
Throw the bums out?
I don’t know why anyone gets into politics. Not only is it a thankless job, it’s a precarious one. You’re always one decision away from a recall attempt. Are politicians simply masochists who like being whipped by John and Jane Q. Citizen? They’re constantly forced to make unpopular decisions. Their constituents think they’re wasting the…
Ferrari offers a thrilling account of racing icon Enzo Ferrari’s pivotal 1957 season
FERRARI What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Glen? Full price What’s it worth, Anna? Full price Where’s it showing? Colony, Downtown Centre, Park, Stadium 10 Michael Mann (Thief, Manhunter, Heat, Collateral) directs this historical biopic about automotive legend Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver), who in the summer of 1957 saw his professional and personal life…
Fargo (Season 5)
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2023 Where’s it showing? FXNOW, Hulu, and other streaming services The beloved series based on the 1996 feature film Fargo is back with season 5. As an anthology series, Fargo brings us fresh storylines each season about characters who live in a connected universe with seasons past. This time we…
Healing hounds: The local Alliance of Therapy Dogs chapter spreads compassion through volunteer Elise Mebel and her therapy dog, Moosh
Handlers welcome Volunteer to be an Alliance of Therapy Dogs tester and/or observer at therapydogs.com. Keep up with Moosh’s therapy dog adventures on Instagram @mooshthetherapydog. Elise Mebel’s 30-year tenure as a seasoned volunteer took her from working with therapy horses and their riders in Maui to canine therapy with help from her dog, Mooshum. “He…
Saltburn
What’s it rated? R When? 2023 Where’s it showing? Amazon Prime Writer-director Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) has done it again with Saltburn, a devilishly slick examination of class and power. Barry Keoghan stars as Oliver Quick, a new student at Oxford whose classification as a scholarship student along with his earnest desire to fit…
Advocacy and assistance: MICOP, CAUSE volunteers give back to historically underserved communities and rally for change
Get involved For more information on volunteering with the Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), which serves SLO, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, reach out to ana.huynh@mixteco.org or visit mixteco.org/contact. To learn more about Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), visit causenow.org. CAUSE Santa Maria is located at 120 E. Jones St., No.…
Camera, a new movie filmed in Morro Bay, screens at The Bay Theatre on Jan. 20
See it first Camera, a heartwarming family movie starring Beau Bridges and filmed in Morro Bay, will be shown in a charity screening at The Bay Theater on Saturday, Jan. 20, 5 p.m. only. Director Jay Silverman, young star Miguel Gabriel, and composer Dave Holden, among others involved in the production, will attend the screening.…
40 Prado looks for warming center volunteers
Want an opportunity to help out unhoused people? Cecil Hale from Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) has just the opportunity for you: volunteering at 40 Prado Homeless Services Center’s warming center. “It’s a time outside of our normal nighttime hours for those who are looking to avoid the rain and colder weather,”…
California Poet Laureate holds readings in Nipomo, Santa Maria
The Coastal Dunes California Writers Club presents a poetry reading with California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick at the Nipomo Community Library on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 10:30 a.m. Herrick will appear at the Santa Maria Public Library the following day for an additional reading, co-sponsored by the Santa Maria Arts Council and the Santa Maria…
Farm to stable: SLO County animal lovers have more than dog- and cat-focused organizations to volunteer for
Volunteer there • Help a turtle in need by visiting the Turtle and Tortoise Rescue’s website, turtleandtortoiserescueofarroyogrande.org, and filling out a short volunteer form. • To volunteer at Happy Hen Sanctuary, head over to happyhen.org and send an email to Sherstin Rosenberg at sherstin@happyhen.org to express your interest. • Volunteer to care for SLO County…
Exit Pursued by a Bear adapts Dostoevsky for the stage
A local theater group is retelling Crime and Punishment with a unique spin in Arroyo Grande. Performances of Punishment Play, an original play written by Orcutt resident Weston Scott and inspired by a passage from Dostoevsky’s novel, will be held Jan. 19 through 28, on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at both 6:30 and 8 p.m.…
Grover Beach City Council members threatened with recall attempt
Upset at the Grover Beach City Council for voting to raise water and wastewater rates to help fund the city’s portion of a water reclamation project, a group of residents is organizing a repeal of the vote and wants to recall three council members. A Grover H2O spokesperson, former city Mayor Debbie Peterson, told New…
