Cover Story
Volunteers 2025
With 2025 just getting started, some people are choosing to do what they do best: volunteer. The work that volunteers do in their spare time accomplishes so much in the region. From dishing out food that serves houseless residents a meal to making sure students can cross the street safely before and after school, the…
Locals Joe and Justine Florence hope for a February launch of Shrine Brewing at SLO’s Duncan Alley
It’s hop-pening! Shrine Brewing, located at 3197 Duncan Road, unit B, in San Luis Obispo, will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. For more information, visit shrinebrewing.com. Stay tuned for Shrine’s soft-opening announcement on Instagram @shrinebrewing.…
So-Cal country act Johnny Marfa and the Lights play a free afternoon show at Morro Bay’s The Siren on Jan. 11
I love a good band story, and Venice, California, country act Johnny Marfa and the Lights sure has one. Marfa was born in New Mexico and raised in Texas, and he calls Fort Worth home though his band is based in SoCal. “Once, some yuppie jackass questioned his Texas roots after a sunset gig in…
Grover Beach citizens are heroes, not drama queens
In 2024 direct democracy won battles in San Luis Obispo County. Atascadero residents voted to continue to elect their city treasurer. Morro Bay citizens said no to battery energy storage in their industrial area. But nowhere in the county were citizens more active than in Grover Beach. In 2024, Grover Beach voters fought for direct…
Don’t Look Back tells the story of a generation
I recently saw Don’t Look Back at the Palm Theatre and felt like I had time traveled to my youth. While a college student at Columbia University, I hung out in Greenwich Village at coffee houses, jazz and folk music clubs and at bars where Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet, was said to hang out.…
Nosferatu delivers a creepy gothic parable of disease
NOSFERATU What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Colony, Downtown Center, Park, Stadium 10 Writer-director Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman) helms this retro iteration of the classic vampire tale focusing on Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), who’s haunted by vampire Count…
A day of mourning
On Inauguration Day this year drums will be muffled, black ribbons unfurled, and flags will be at half-mast to honor the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. That day could also be considered a day of mourning for democracy, for that will be the day that formerly impeached, convicted felon, draft-dodger, con artist, and yet…
The Sticky
What’s it rated? Unrated When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Amazon Prime The incomparable Margo Martindale stars as Ruth Landry, a sugar maker who’s being pushed to her limit by Leonard Sr. (Guy Nadon) of the Syrup Federation. While this series is based on the true story of a $18 million maple syrup heist, this version…
Kumbaya-yaya
“A new year and a new you” was the vibe at the Jan. 7 SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting as one new and two reelected board members were sworn in. It was all hugs and smiles and kumbaya, baby! It’s also like the board members collectively had their minds erased of all the vitriol,…
It’s What’s Inside
What’s it rated? R When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Netflix Writer-director Greg Jardin helms this sci-fi black comedy about old college friends with complicated histories who get together at a pre-wedding party that devolves into a nightmare when one guest, Forbes (David Thompson), shows up with a suitcase containing an experimental device that allows users…
SLO County court rules against Coastal Commission in favor of Cambria landowners
The California Coastal Commission’s legal interpretation of San Luis Obispo County’s local coastal plan sealed two Cambria landowners’ victory in a lawsuit over coastal development permits. The commission’s decision to deny their permits and the ensuing litigation set back property owners Alireza Hadian’s and Ralph Bookout’s retirement home builds by two-plus years. “When a powerful…
San Miguel aims for more urban forestry
More trees could sprout up in San Miguel after the Community Services District (CSD) opted to develop a downtown landscaping plan. On Dec. 19, the San Miguel CSD board voted unanimously to request proposals from local developers to update its current water and wastewater master plan and develop a new master plan for streetlighting and…
Templeton Library received $3,741 in donations to keep it out of the red
The Templeton Library had its first year of balanced finances thanks to community members who donated more than $3,700 to keep it out of the red. Templeton Community Library Association President Melinda Reed said that by the end of the year, the association realized it only had a $3,600 budget deficit, so she took to…
San Luis Obispo’s Mission Community Services Corporation helps people realize their dreams
Mission Community Services Corporation headquartered in San Luis Obispo may host California’s “best kept secret” in the form of its Women’s Business Centers, but the 28-year-old nonprofit doesn’t turn away anyone who’s looking to uplift themselves. “In California, we have 22 … a really large number of Women’s Business Centers,” SLO County Program Director Patti…
Community members express mixed feelings about banning offshore oil drilling
Promoted as a win for environmentalists across the nation, President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will protect more than 625 million acres of federal waters from oil and gas drilling sounds like hypocrisy to some Central Coast residents. On Jan. 6, Biden enacted the protection through an executive order, which U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa…
The Atascadero Printery Foundation is committed to restoring its namesake building
Prop up the printery Volunteer to restore the Atascadero Printery at volunteerslo.org or email volunteer coordinator Mary Rush at glmrush@charter.net. Interested participants can also call her at (805) 952-5602. Atascadero native Mike McNamara kept a keen eye on the historic Atascadero Printery ever since the San Simeon earthquake rocked its foundations into disrepair in 2003.…
Board of Supervisors welcomes Arnold’s successor, Heather Moreno
After three terms in office, San Luis Obispo County 5th District Supervisor Debbie Arnold smoothly transitioned into retirement while former Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno assumed the seat as her successor. “It was a funny feeling coming in those doors for the last time after 12 years where we worked up here … on this dais…
The People’s Kitchen of SLO has served the hungry since 1984 with the help of volunteers and 40 local organizations
Get in the kitchen To learn more about volunteering for the People’s Kitchen of San Luis Obispo, visit slopeopleskitchen.org/forming-a-serving-group. Donations can be made via the website, or checks can be mailed to 793 Foothill Blvd., suite A, No. 22, San Luis Obispo, 93405. Hundreds of locals are getting a free hot meal 364 days a…
Local author Froggy Phevoli writes Side Effect, a young adult sci-fi story
Get your copy You can buy a copy of Side Effect on Amazon at amazon.com/Side-Effect-Froggy-Phevoli/dp/B0DJVJBPD1. Follow them on Facebook and X. Zack Connor can read minds, but the 16-year-old’s superpower comes with a downside. Whenever he reaches into someone’s thoughts, his own thoughts are revealed. He doesn’t know where his power comes from, and his…
The Dana Adobe needs volunteers to help preserve the history of the 130-acre property
Walk through history Learn more and apply to volunteer at the historic Dana Adobe in Nipomo at danaadobe.org/volunteer. The adobe is located at 671 S. Oakglen Ave. The Dana Adobe, a 187-year-old ranch that was once home to Capt. William Dana, is one of the oldest standing buildings on the Central Coast, and its history…
See coastal sights at Cambria Center for the Arts
The Cambria Center for the Arts (CCA) presents a new exhibition, The Local Scene—Sightings Along the Central Coast, which focuses on local land- and seascapes and hangs at 1350 Main St., Cambria, through Feb. 23 (gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday noon to 4 p.m.). The public is invited to an artists’ reception on Saturday,…
Palm Theatre hosts Fincher film fest
The SLO Film Center at the Palm Theatre presents the films of David Fincher during their Flickerhead Friday Night Feature series every Friday at 7 p.m. On Friday, Jan. 10, see 2002’s Panic Room starring Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, and Forest Whitaker, about a divorced woman and her diabetic daughter who must hide in their…
