When COVID-19 forced schools to close in March, Rosemary Cummings and her Nipomo High School agriculture students missed out on the most exciting time of their year. Usually on weekends between March and May, Cummings and 50 or more students travel to compete on college campuses across the state as part of the Future Farmers […]
PETER JOHNSON
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As most of the economy stalls, construction and development on the Central Coast carry on
When COVID-19 struck, Coastal Community Builders had just sent out a newsletter to thousands of prospective homebuyers. After years of planning, the Pismo Beach-based development company had finally broken ground on San Luis Ranch, a 580-home community on the former Dalidio Ranch in San Luis Obispo. A March project newsletter gave an optimistic progress report […]
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Sanders, Warren supporters mobilize local Democratic voters ahead of the March 3 primary election
Inside the small community room at Maramonte Park in Santa Maria, about 10 classroom-style chairs are arranged to make a semicircle. As people and members of the press trickle in around 7 p.m. on Feb. 20, they’re greeted with smiles from women wearing Warren for President T-shirts, who sign them in at a folding table […]
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Plan ahead: Seminars on aging help seniors and their families prepare for the future
Since the very start of Nancy Puder’s successful 40-plus-year career in real estate, she’s had a special relationship with senior clients. “They’re attracted to me, and I’m attracted to them,” Puder said. “I’m not sure why. I’ve always connected with older people.” Over the course of those years working with the older clientele, Puder said […]
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Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea discusses evocative new memoir
There’s a particular Red Hot Chili Peppers song lyric that has always stuck in my mind as the perfect encapsulation of the story and spirit of maybe the rock band of my lifetime (and my favorite growing up). And no, it’s not “suck my kiss,” or “give it away,” or “under the bridge downtown.” It’s […]
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Rep. Carbajal holds fundraising lead over Caldwell
With a year to go in the 2020 election, 24th District Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) is off to a big financial head start against his Republican challenger, radio host and political commentator Andy Caldwell. As of a Sept. 30 campaign finance filing deadline, the second term congressman and former Santa Barbara County supervisor had […]
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Women’s March SLO co-founder announces run against Jordan Cunningham
Greeted by a raucous San Luis Obispo Guild Hall crowd of more than 100 people, Dawn Addis opened her run for state Assembly on Nov. 7 like she did her political life in 2017 as a Women’s March SLO organizer: surrounded by energized local progressives. “In 2017, millions of us took to the streets knowing […]
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Sheriffs’ dive team members recount a harrowing call-out to the Conception boat fire at the Channel Islands
As soon as the news broke on Labor Day, Sept. 2, Scott Smith of Nipomo started anticipating the call. Earlier that morning, the Conception, a 75-foot commercial dive boat, had caught fire off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, killing all 33 passengers and one crew member on board. The charred vessel—and the remains of […]
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Community Choice Energy arrives on the Central Coast
The expansion happened fast. In the span of a year, 10 Central Coast cities and Santa Barbara County all had voted, one after the other, to join as members of Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP), a growing Community Choice Energy (CCE) utility that currently serves Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties. It started with […]
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Dispensary owner faces charges in Los Alamos cannabis probe
One of 805 Beach Breaks’ owners is facing criminal charges in Santa Barbara County as part of an investigation into a cannabis farm in Los Alamos that was raided by law enforcement in March. Brian Touey is one of three growers being charged in connection to the site at 9676 Harvest Road, which housed hundreds […]
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Sending a signal: Locals register concerns about fracking public lands
Vandenberg Air Force Base. Tepusquet Canyon. Morro Rock. The Santa Lucia Mountains. Irish Hills Natural Reserve. What ties this short list of Central Coast places together? They all have public lands that are within the control of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and are included in the BLM’s 2014 Central California resource management […]
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SLO Jewish community to hold annual ‘Hanukkah Downtown’ in wake of Pittsburgh massacre
Mission San Luis Obispo may be best known as a landmark of Catholicism, but for eight nights in December, Mission Plaza transforms into an ecumenical hub. The 5-foot-tall wooden menorah holding burning candles stands right next to a towering lit-up Christmas tree. A “spin the dreidel” station is steps away from Santa Claus’ house. Traditional […]