Another one bites the dusty parking lot 

Looks like the Oklahoma Avenue Safe Parking Site's days are numbered. The county's pilot program, which began in August of 2021, isn't accepting new participants and the 70 or so current "residents" are eventually going to have to find somewhere else to be homeless.

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To be fair, the program was initially designed to offer participants 90 days of "temporary" parking on their pathway to permanent housing, except permanent housing has proved elusive. Some have parked there since the program's inception with no plan to budge.

The program itself has been riddled with problems such as a lack of services, infrastructure, and security. The idea now is to find somewhere for the 70 people to go, many of whom have complained about the case management they've received from Community Action Partnership of SLO (CAPSLO) and Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA)—two groups that have been trying to help with mental health and long-term housing.

"Many press reports have called it a failure," 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson told New Times. "I don't see it as a failure, but it's not a complete solution."

Not a "complete solution"? It doesn't seem to have been a solution at all. Are all these programs, all this money we spend, simply a Band-Aid on a gaping wound? Is homelessness in SLO County unsolvable? The county's facing a budget deficit; are we prepared to throw good money after bad?

Speaking of bad—hey, Kenney Enney, read the room, bro. Shortly after being appointed to the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) board of trustees, he/him was booted off the dais via petition signatures in December after some of his anti-they/them transgender-ain't-real social media posts prompted Paso parents to gather signatures to dump him. They needed 455 but collected nearly 800, setting up a special April 18 election for a new board member, which pits never-gonna-give-you-up angry Enney against angel Angela Hollander.

On the way to this special election, Enney's campaign has been marred by improprieties and litigiousness. His campaign materials used the PRJUSD logo to, you know, make it seem like he was still on the board or endorsed by it or something. The district issued a press release and made clear the logo's appearance "should not be misinterpreted as any kind of district endorsement whatsoever."

In apparent response, Enney filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), arguing that SLO County Superintendent of Schools James Brescia and the district violated the California Political Reform Act by "counseling, aiding, assisting, and preparing a citizen petition ... to remove complainant Kenneth Enney."

Dude, the residents of Paso don't like you. They really don't.

The FPPC summarily dismissed Enney's complaint, so now we're headed into the special election with ballots mailing on March 20 and voting due April 18. Judging from his behavior so far, Enney's not backing down, so get ready for a rumble.

In one corner in the black-and-white-with-no-shades-of-gray trunks, we have Enney, cattle rancher, transgender denier, and former Marine Corps officer: "You can't be something you're not because you say so and have surgery," he claimed on social media.

In the other corner in rainbow trunks is Hollander, former neonatal nurse, mother of two former Paso area school kids, and tireless education volunteer: "I'm strongly committed to respectful and collaborative civil discourse between our school employees, community members, and the board," she announced on her candidate website.

If they were competing in a steel cage death match, my money would be on the rhymin' trans-slimer, but they're running to sit on the perpetually troubled Paso school board where maybe a kindler, gentler, more inclusive approach to district management might be, I don't know, a good thing?

If you think kids struggling with gender dysphoria should be able to work it out in collaboration with their families and physicians, and that they/them should be afforded the respect of being addressed by the names and pronouns of their choice, Hollander is your she/her. If you believe transgenderism is "an attempt to recruit and convert children," as Enney claimed, vote for he/him.

And speaking of contentious votes, it looks like the Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard of broken dreams later called the Anholm Bikeway Plan and now dubbed the North Chorro Neighborhood Greenway is a go after the SLO City Council voted 4-0 to approve the controversial project initially proposed a decade ago and first approved in 2018 when it was merely expensive. It's now a $6 million-and-counting boon to the community or a total boondoggle, depending on who you ask.

The Anholm neighborhood, which the project bisects, is filled with notoriously vocal NIMBYs, so that opposition was expected, but now that costs have ballooned like an overinflated beach cruiser tire, a lot of citizens have voiced their complaints. The thing is, it's hard to stop a moving train, and this project improves pedestrian and bike safety and includes cool lighting and public art. It's going to be bitchin', dig?

Here's the thing, the city ostensibly delayed the project to get everyone's input, which it mostly ignored. Maybe the lesson is if you're going to ram through a controversial project, do it when it's cheaper. Now they're sticking taxpayers with a $6 million bill. Δ

The Shredder was promised hovercrafts and monorails. Send your complaints to [email protected].