What fresh new heck awaits us in 2025? Who knows, but looking back on this past year suggests they’ll be no shortage of cluster f-bombs exploding around the county. Come along, friends. Let’s revisit a few of our county’s kerfuffles.
It feels like I’ve been waxing spasmatic about Grover Beach all year long. Back in January I wrote about former Mayor Debbie Peterson‘s crusade to squelch the Central Coast Blue sustainable water project and its accompanying proposed water rate hikes, and her attempt to recall Mayor Karen Bright and Councilmembers Dan Rushing and Zach Zimmerman. Two of the recalls failed, Peterson’s bid to win back the mayorship failed, but she and Grover H20 succeeded in making sure the city’s water woes remain status quo. Good luck, new Mayor Kassi Dee!
Remember the county’s sad attempt at transitioning unhoused car campers off the streets and into permanent housing via the temporary safe parking site at Oklahoma Avenue? It floundered, and when the county tried to get the last remaining people outta there, the SLO County chapter of the California Homeless Union sued and settled. The county and its cities seem to remain unable to fix our ongoing homeless crisis.
Cal Poly employees and the California Faculty Association held the world’s shortest strike against the California State University system, pissing off a lot of employees who thought their union folded too quickly and didn’t get them the rights and raises they deserved. A concerted effort to entice union members to stop paying dues and quit their union continues. Now, the CSU system has guidelines in place restricting protesting on its campuses and requiring protest signs to get administrative approval. How’s that for free speech on public university campuses?
Remember Paso Robles‘ attempt at paid parking? People didn’t understand how the system worked, got expensive tickets, and were basically howling mad. Paso eventually canceled the program and is in the process of refunding parking fees and citations collected between Feb. 6, 2023, and Feb. 6, 2024. Dig out those credit card statements. It was a mess and still is a mess, like San Luis Obispo‘s attempt at gouging downtown parkers $4 an hour. After outcry from the public and business owners, the city reduced rates to $2 an hour for parking structures, $2.75 an hour for meters in the downtown core, and $2.25 an hour for metered downtown perimeter parking.
The San Simeon Community Services District abdicated its throne and decided it couldn’t manage its community, and on May 20, 2024, it applied to the San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for dissolution. Way to go! The process is ongoing.
St. Fratty’s Day returned with a drunken kerplop, with green-clad college kids flooding the streets around Hathway Avenue starting at 4 a.m. to booze it up, climb utility poles, and damage property. Kids also caused damage to campus buildings, making Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong so disappointed he wrote a public admonishment. Bad, students! Bad!
Hey! Let’s keep Diablo Canyon Power Plant running forever! “No way,” says Mothers for Peace! “Yes way,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed Senate Bill 846 into law, keeping the plant open. California’s last remaining operational nuclear plant was scheduled to shut down one reactor in 2024 and the other in 2025, but now it’s going to keep operating until at least 2030, and maybe longer. I’ll be hoarding anti-radiation pills (potassium iodide) and watching … or maybe evacuating, depending on earthquakes around the aging, embrittled facility.
Hey, look! A Pride flag! Freak out, everybody! Once again, controversy erupted in Arroyo Grande when the city took public comments about its plan to fly the rainbow flag at City Hall and Heritage Square Park in June. One resident, recently failed mayoral candidate Gaea Powell, argued that the flag equates to political speech and advocation of a political stance. The city flew it anyway. Raise your hand if seeing the Pride flag turned you gay.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a lot of people really despise 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson, who squeaked out a win by 13 votes in 2022 despite being the victim of gerrymandering, mudslinging, and dark money. Darcia Stebbens paid for a recount. The county took her to court for an outstanding balance, and a judge ruled that the county actually owed Stebbens money! The Committee to Support the Recall of Supervisor Bruce Gibson (what a mouthful!) tried to recall Gibson but couldn’t gather enough signatures. I figure if you’ve got people that hopping mad, you must be doing something right. Go Bruce! Good luck in 2026!
The Citizens for Estero Bay Preservation and Measure A-24 effectively stripped the Morro Bay City Council of rezoning power. Why? Because they wanted to stop Vistra Corp from building a battery storage facility at the old power plant. Slow clap, because Vistra bypassed the city and took its application straight to the state.
Meanwhile, some people are up in arms about offshore wind farms proposed in Morro Bay and Avila Beach. Can someone hurry up and invent a truly clean energy source so we can argue about something else? Δ
The Shredder’s opinion nerf gun is locked, loaded, and ready for 2025. Wish it good luck in the New Year at shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Year in Review 2024.
Great wrap-up Glenn!! You nailed it.
Speaking of Debbie Peterson’s attempts to send Grover Beach backwards, a friend sent me a pic of a yellow flyer she and her minions Auer and Storton were circulating this weekend. They are again (shocking I know) misrepresenting (that’s lying to us common folk) information to the fine people of Grover Beach in yet another attempt to manipulate the selection of an open council seat. Where did these grifters get their start? Driveway sealing? Taking taxpayer funds to lower a water bill? I guess I should be thankful I don’t live in Grover but know that these cons and their shenanigans will be temporary in the scheme of things. Hang in there Grover Beach. Happy New Year!