What is government good for?
Screwing up everything.
Think I’m being hyperbolic? Look at the state of things.
We have Cal Poly‘s president—one of three university administrators called to testify before Congress—talking about antisemitism and Palestinian protests on campus in front of a congressional committee in Washington, D.C. Of all the prominent California universities that had issues with protests to make an example of for the political win, why Cal Poly SLO?
Not only that. The entire California State University system is now requiring protesters ask permission before protesting thanks to new rules implemented at the beginning of the school year (that’s an exaggeration, but it’s pretty close!). UCLA seems like a much more obvious choice: That campus was hit way harder by the protests, which were allowed to set up encampments on campus, and experienced actual violence between protesters, by protesters. But I guess the chancellor who oversaw all of that resigned, so who are the politicians going to call?
Jeffrey Armstrong!
He’s good at sticking his foot directly in his mouth when it comes to addressing students on campus, but is excellent at groveling to the powers that be. Free speech is definitely, definitively on the way out, and Armstrong is in the Capitol.
Thanks, Trump!
Lucia Mar Unified School District has become a rallying cry for both extremes in the debate over transgender athletes, with hundreds of people showing up at the district’s May 6 meeting to make their voices heard on the issue. All of the hullabaloo is over one female track athlete who had a big complaint about her transgender teammate.
Now, it’s going to be impossible for a school district to mediate between aggrieved parties the way it should be able to. Because the world is watching, and the pressure is on thanks to Fox News.
I’ve got to hand it to the transgender athlete, who spoke up during the May 6 meeting. After the shit they’ve been through over the last three weeks, I can’t image what it takes to stand up and speak—even anonymously.
“The danger doesn’t just come from other students,” she said. “Individuals like Shannon Kessler, Gaea Powell, and Mike Fuller are using their platforms to spread harmful misinformation and hateful rhetoric. They’re even involving members of the track team, handing them scripts designed to dehumanize and intimidate queer youth.”
Powell is the transphobic former Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate who basically showed porn during public comment at a SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting last year. She’s a real piece of work. I should have written that in all caps.
Fuller just got elected to the board. He tried to do the same during an attempted recall of sitting Lucia Mar school board members over their masking decisions during COVID-19. His ascent to power didn’t work that time. Maybe anti-trans is the winning platform.
And Kessler? You should check out her social media pages. It’ll tell you everything you need to know. She’s devoted to praying and Republicans, very proud of her time on the radio with Karen Velie and Dave Congalton talking about the issue and her 15 minutes of fame, and sells real estate. It’s all there.
“I’m definitely not a hater,” she said in a Facebook Reel. “You’re the one saying that.”
Her posts tack to one side of the transgender debate, and she’s been speaking at Lucia Mar board meetings about the issue since before Arroyo Grande High School athlete Celest Duyst spoke her piece about standing in the locker room next to a biological male. Kessler is the leader of Save Girls’ Sports Central Coast and crafted the flyer that started the latest political fray at the school district.
Although Kessler said in her little Facebook Reel that she was happy to engage in a civil discussion with anyone who may disagree with her viewpoint, she didn’t answer any questions from New Times. So, she’s not happy to engage with just anyone.
Her big push is to get local schools to comply with Trump’s executive order banning students from competing in sports that don’t align with their biological gender.
Thanks for making this difficult, personal conversation about a minority easier, Trump!
Kessler’s also a proponent of getting parents to keep their kids home from school in protest. How’s that working out? Attendance is apparently up at Lucia Mar. Nice work!
The shooting range that hugs Highway 1 between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay has been closed since December! No more target practice outdoors, people.
And while the SLO Sportsmen’s Association could arguably have done a better job of adhering to the contract it had with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to manage the property, why is the property and the services it’s deeded to provide to the public still closed?
Fish and Wildlife claims that it’s red tape. New regulations. Thanks, California! But, those new regulations didn’t magically fall upon the agency’s head on Dec. 31, 2024. The agency knew it wasn’t going to renew the association’s contract. It had plenty of time to get its red tape wrapped up nicely and put a contract out to bid. So what happened?
A scientist who was “anti-firearm” and wanted to keep the place as his own “private wildlife reserve,” according to an association member. Oof. Them’s fighting words. Δ
The Shredder is always prepped for battle. Send comments to shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in May 8-18, 2025.