There’s a new parody site around, and its sarcastic brand of satirical criticism is pointed directly at a certain segment of the Paso Robles community: Those in and around Chris Bausch, who’s running for City Council after attempting not to comply with Public Records Act requests that he was legally required to respond to, getting himself and the city sued, and costing beaucoup tax dollars in the process.
Karen Velie of CalCoastNews fame is also consistently featured on the site, much to this Shredder’s delight. But who’s behind the Paso Tattler? Inquiring minds are inquiring. But nobody seems to know. I’ve got a couple of guesses, but nothing I can tie up nicely in a bow.
What I do know for sure is that Gaea Powell—who also gets the Tattler treatment—is fighting for her physical freedom after getting convicted of election and voter fraud. And the judge must feel sorry for her and all the trouble she’s gotten herself into.
She finally got that court-appointed public defender she didn’t want, then wanted too late, and then wanted again. It’s the same lawyer she kicked to the curb so many months ago: Public Defender Andrew Jennings.
Oh, the irony!
Would you be embarrassed? I would, but I don’t think that emotion is part of Powell’s character.
Powell has filed so many pleadings and motions since she was convicted a couple of weeks ago that Judge Timothy Covello finally had to ask her what she wanted.
“Well, I want a lawyer,” she told him on Oct. 19, when she was supposed to be sentenced. So, he granted her request. And postponed the sentencing.
Lucky lady! Powell, of course, sent out a diatribe prior to the hearing. About freedom. About the conspiracy against her. About her anti-mammogram documentary. About the “woke DEI mob that has evolved into the Democratic Socialist party.”
She really is such a hero: “I did not begin challenging government corruption when I became a defendant. I became a defendant after years of challenging government power.”
And don’t forget after years of ranting about critical race theory, gender, etc., etc. Sheeple are real, people.
Her prosecution? Politically motivated by closeted Democratic Socialist SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow. He just masquerades as a Christian nationalist in public appearances and on social media to appease the masses!
The Constitution has got her back. It “draws the line.”
She somehow turns her fraud into the moral high ground. Kind of like how Velie turns her questionable ethics into the only true “investigative” journalism in town. Both live in a world of their own creation and blame others when they have to pay for the consequences.
Convicted of libel because fact-checking is not your thing? Blame the system. Convicted of election fraud because you registered to vote at an address where you don’t live? Blame the system.
But at least Powell has a sense of humor. She ends her diatribe with her resume: “former candidate for mayor, city of Arroyo Grande; business consultant, constitutional republic freedom fighter, and convicted felon.”
Oh wait, being a felon is actually her unironic badge of honor. I just think it’s funny.
You know what’s not funny?
What’s going on at Atascadero High School, which had a beloved principal placed on administrative leave on Oct. 15 with no explanation from Atascadero Unified School District, and people are pissed!
Of course, it’s a personnel matter, so the district simply can’t talk about it. Easy get-out-of-jail free card, amirite? It’s like police misconduct. Can’t talk about it. It’s a personnel issue. Lame.
Well, Principal Nikki Baca’s husband, Joseph Baca, had a lot to talk about. And he got the chance to say it during the Oct. 20 school board meeting. He didn’t hold back. Baca accused the superintendent, Tom Bennett, of making inappropriate comments about his wife’s appearance and ethnicity and of reprimanding her for questioning district leader’s decisions and her concerns about student safety.
“You call it a personnel issue, but this looks personal,” he told the board.
Shots fired! If true, that’s not a good look for the district’s fairly new superintendent.
Baca wasn’t the only one pushing back either. Students and teachers also spoke at the meeting, with one teacher criticizing the district’s lack of communication.
“Given that we have no information, … we at the high school are going to assume the worst of you,” English teacher Mary Corey said.
Not good, Atascadero. It’s the worst.
PG&E’s massively long Public Safety Power Shutoff wasn’t good either. Who shuts the power off for more than 48 hours and expects that people will be fine? Even with a warning, it’s outrageous.
Almost 9,000 customers across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties lost power, beginning just after midnight on Oct. 15—six hours earlier than expected. One woman almost died because of it.
“Even if we had been prepared, they still cut it off early, and she went six hours without oxygen,” the woman’s daughter-in-law said.
Luckily, a caretaker found her in time—passed out on the couch, “completely out of oxygen and struggling to breathe.”
PG&E’s response: Get a generator! It’s crazy that the public/private utility’s malfeasance caused wildfires that killed people and cost ratepayers big bucks, and those same ratepayers now have their power shutoff when it’s hot and windy outside. Slow clap, PG&E. ∆
The Shredder’s consumed by irony. Send some more to shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Pets 2026.
