

Cover Story
Winning Images 2022: Animals, people, places, and more made the cut in New Times’ annual photo contest
Pictures often encapsulate a scene that can’t be replicated. Taken in the right light, at the right time, in the right spot, a photograph is as unique as the person who took it. Those images capture an event and keep it forever, just as it was—faces, light, motion, and landscape. Since 1994, New Times Media…
Which recipe will reign supreme at the ninth annual Macaroni and Cheese Festival in Avila Beach?
More cheese, please The Macaroni and Cheese Festival will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. on June 18 at the Avila Beach Golf Resort at 6464 Ana Bay Road. For tickets and more information, visit themacandcheesefest.com. Follow the festival on Instagram @themacfest. Paso Robles’ own “Cheffry Jeffry” and “MacDaddy” will be pulling out all…
Slow Money SLO is the loan facilitation nonprofit giving a leg up to many beloved small businesses
Melissa Hanson, the co-founder and CEO of Kelpful—a local cooperative that sustainably farms seaweed for food and self-care—knew her products were synonymous with uniqueness. But even after relatively successful stints at farmers markets in 2020, Kelpful still needed to be profitable. “That was gonna take some capital to buy equipment, pay rent for a larger…
New York artist Camille Hoffman’s new exhibition See and Missed at SLOMA is joined by her new public art piece
Immerse yourself Camille Hoffman: See and Missed is currently on display at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art through Aug. 22. An accompanying sculpture related to the show’s themes is also installed on the grass outside the museum. A “moving meditation” led by instructor Jevon Rowden takes place this Saturday, June 18 (9:30 to…
SLO Rep brings roller rink musical, Xanadu, to the stage
The San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre presents its production of Xanadu, which premiered in June and is scheduled to run through Sunday, July 3. Based on the cult classic film, Xanadu follows the journey of a Greek muse, Kira, who descends from Mount Olympus to Venice Beach and falls in “forbidden love” with a mortal.…
Public trust
“Transparency, accountability, and public trust.” That is what SLO city and county officials promised the community after the May 10, 2021, shooting deaths of SLO Police Detective Luca Benedetti and Eddie Giron, and the wounding of a second detective, Steve Orozco. They broke their promise. For a year, the city’s narrative has not changed. When…
Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center holds guided hike with photographer Chuck Jennings
On Saturday, June 18, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center will host a guided photography hike through the open dunes, from 5 to 7 p.m. Prolific dunes photographer Chuck Jennings will share photography tips throughout the hike. Participants can register for the event at my805tix.com (registration is required to attend). Attendees are asked to bring water and…
Ignorance isn’t bliss
John Donegan is fortunate that, as far as I know, there are no state laws that make it a crime to be ignorant. Else, he’d be in danger of being incarcerated. His diatribe (“A medical miracle,” June 9) about Merck’s decision to update its legendary “manual” to reflect 21st century thinking by replacing “gender dysphoria”…
Multiple comedians set to perform at Morro Bay Veterans Hall
SLOFunny, an upcoming live comedy show, will be held at Morro Bay Veterans Hall on Saturday, June 25, at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Stand-up comedians featured in the program include Adam Yenser, Sina Amedson, Nick Cobb, Brett Riley, and Suli McCullough. Yesner, who also serves as the show’s host, has previously written comic material for…
Celebrating six decades of service
The League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County celebrates its 60th anniversary this month. Marking this landmark, we both celebrate our history and reaffirm our mission to educate voters, protect voting rights, and defend our democratic institutions. Since 1962 we have provided voter services and educational programs to enable voters to make informed…
Day passes are still available for the Live Oak Music Festival June 17-19 at El Chorro Regional Park
Did you miss getting full festival passes to the Live Oak Music Festival this weekend—Friday, June 17, through Sunday, June 19—at El Chorro Regional Park? I’m sorry, but it’s not like I didn’t warn you. Music fans are clearly hungry for the sights, sounds, and camaraderie of a live and in-person music festival, and camping…
A hundred percent renewable energy for how long?
There have been opinions written lately about the grid experiencing 100 percent renewable energy but no mention of when or how long this occurred. The grid needs reliable, sustainable energy not just spotty, occasional renewables which cannot fulfill the need for consistency. Renewable energy is not 100 percent unless it’s 100 percent all of the…
Time to shop
Mickey Mouse, Luke Skywalker, and Deputy Dog all had their chance to step into elected office in SLO County. So did Anyone but Dan Dow, Anyone but Ian Parkinson, and Xbox. Hey! We’re equal opportunity here in this county—if you couldn’t tell by the clerk-recorder appointment process last year, the write-in candidates voters scribbled onto…
Jurassic World: Dominion is a fitting conclusion to the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies
JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION What’s it rated? PG-13 What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Regal Arroyo Grande In what’s being billed as the final installment of the Jurassic Park/World franchise, co-writer/director Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) depicts a world set four years after the…
SLO County completes third day of ballot counting
Counting ballots for the statewide primary races is a slow and steady process. Starting at 9 a.m. on June 14, around 20 employees worked studiously at the elections office in the San Luis Obispo County Government Center, the silence punctured only by the rustle of ballots and the wheeling in of yet another rack of…
The Baby
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2022 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Everywhere Natasha (Michelle de Swarte) looks there are babies. Whether it’s poker night with her girlfriends suddenly infiltrated by their infants, pregnancy announcements, or her sister Bobbi’s (Amber Grappy) desperation to become an adoptive mother, Natasha can’t escape. When she goes to unwind at…
Los Osos group pushes to incorporate in face of redistricting issues
A group of residents in Los Osos thinks now might be the perfect moment for the unincorporated area of SLO County to start thinking seriously about becoming a city. “I feel like it’s a good time with the redistricting that kind of left our community orphaned during the election and not really having a representative,”…
Under the Banner of Heaven
What’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2022 Where’s it showing? Hulu Created by Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar) and based on Jon Krakauer’s 2003 nonfiction book of the same name, Under the Banner of Heaven unravels the mystery of the 1984 murders of Brenda Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her infant daughter while also offering a…
Superior Court denies hemp industry’s petition to reexamine county rules
San Luis Obispo County’s hemp industry received another blow in the years-long fight against restrictive hemp cultivation rules. On May 25, county Superior Court Judge Tana Coates denied a petition for writ of mandate filed by the Coalition of Agricultural Rights—a group described as a “Wyoming nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, formed to support the hemp…
Pool noise drives Paso’s short-term rental complaints
Four properties generated almost 70 percent of the 84 calls made to the Paso Robles short-term rentals complaint hotline over the last three years. Most of those calls are noise complaints related to swimming pool use. But the Paso Robles City Council decided against changing the city’s short-term rental ordinance to restrict pool and hot…






