air quality

Coastal Commission unanimously votes to eliminate off-highway vehicles at Oceano Dunes

By & • Mar 18, 2021
Courtesy of California State Parks Oceano Dunes District - Pismo Beach

Update March 18 10:00p.m.

The California Coastal Commission unanimously voted to end the use of off-highway vehicles (OHV) at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area during a 12-hour meeting Thursday, March 18.

‘Bizarro Beach’ or state park? What it’s like living next to California’s off-roading mecca

By Julie Cart/CalMatters • Nov 29, 2020
David Middlecamp, San Luis Obispo Tribune

Tucked into an otherwise quiet bend south of Pismo Beach, Oceano Dunes may be California’s most dangerous state park. Towns near the park, which draws more than a million trucks and dirt bikes a year, are besieged with air pollution, crime and accidents — even a mass shooting last year.

Smoky skies are hard on health and businesses

By Angel Russell • Aug 20, 2020
Angel M Russell

Smoky skies continue to blanket the Central Coast, creating unhealthy air quality in San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties that is affecting health and business.

KCBX Two-Way: Air quality on the Nipomo Mesa

By Greta Mart & Monica Vaughan • Aug 21, 2019
David Middlecamp/San Luis Obispo Tribune

Earlier this week, we heard from veteran NPR journalists Renee Montagne and Kelly McEvers, talking about the craft of journalism and a specific approach called solutions journalism, defined by some as rigorous reporting on effective responses to social problems. Next, we speak with a staff reporter from the San Luis Obispo Tribune about another approach, called engagement journalism, and a current project focused on air quality on the Nipomo Mesa, in south San Luis Obispo County.

Wildfires responsible for brown skies on the Central Coast

By Randol White • Sep 11, 2015
Fresno County Sheriff's Department - Sept. 7, 2015

Wildfires burning in the Sierra Nevada are responsible for the brown skies being seen over the Central Coast on Friday.