Atascadero

Monoliths are popping up around the world, and while some are still a mystery, local artists behind one that recently appeared in Atascadero are speaking out.

In response to the state’s stay-at-home order now in effect, local business groups are circulating an online petition, urging Governor Newsom to exclude San Luis Obispo County from the new lockdown.

Have you ever been to a fancy reception with wine flowing, an array of canapés made with all manner of produce from the Central Coast, charcuterie platters in various corners of the room alongside cheese boards large enough to climb? Did you ever notice that flowers adorned these platters and boards? Often, those flowers are edible. Playing With Food ventured up to Paso Robles to find out more about these culinary treats.

Rick Stollmeyer co-founded the San Luis Obispo-based company Mindbody. Earlier this year, Stollmeyer stepped away from his role as CEO of the tech company and transitioned to board chair. He's written a book on entrepreneurship, with business advice based on his experience over the years with Mindbody. Garrett Olsen of the San Luis Obispo County Food Bank gives us an update and shares the challenges of providing food for community members in need during a pandemic. Finally, Father Ian Delinger takes us to Loo Loo Farms in Paso Robles to explore their edible flowers on "Playing With Food."

After several years of planning and overcoming financial hurdles, construction is set to start this month on San Luis Obispo County’s new regional, public animal services facility.

By now, Central Coast voters should have received their November 2020 general election ballots in the mail—and this election is going to be like no other. Between the pandemic, new machinery, possible power shutoffs and operational changes, county election officials face a daunting job this year. KCBX's Greta Mart spoke with San Luis Obispo County's top election official, Tommy Gong, about what voters need to know. Click on the above listen button to hear their conversation.

Two San Luis Obispo County moms lost their sons this year after their teens took counterfeit pills that turned out to be fentanyl. Now, they are warning other families it’s not only people with addiction who fall victim from the dangerous synthetic drug. 

Zoos in California are welcoming the public back after being closed since mid-March. The gates of Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero reopened Wednesday, and director Alan Baker said it’s great seeing visitors again, since it was a bit eerie being at the zoo without visitors for so long.

A north San Luis Obispo County government office may close or possibly reduce services. The county’s clerk-recorder says time constraints and looming budget cuts are prompting reconsideration about operations at its small Atascadero office. But for north county residents who frequent the office, this may mean more expense and longer drives to San Luis Obispo to file documents.

Law enforcement officials say they have solved a pair of 41-year-old San Luis Obispo County cold cases by identifying a suspect in two Atascadero murders with the assistance of DNA evidence. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday they consider the now-deceased Arthur Rudy Martinez as the killer of 30-year-old Jane Morton Antunez and 28-year-old Patricia Dwyer in the late 1970s.

Progress has stalled on a planned new San Luis Obispo County animal shelter, as two cities voted this week to opt out of an agreement to share the cost of a new facility. 

Recently, 11 families got the keys to their brand new homes in Atascadero. A ceremony featuring local politicians and plenty of picture-taking marked the end of a year and a half long building process. The new homeowners had built their own and each other’s homes, creating close neighbor to neighbor relations along the way. 

An effort to save Atascadero's historic Printery Building is getting some help from San Luis Obispo County Tax Collector Jim Erb. 

The first relatively wet rainy season in years has local health officers looking for ways to control the number of mosquitos on the Central Coast. 

A group of Central Coast supermarkets are establishing recycling buy-back centers, as one local facility closes its door at the end of the month in Atascadero. 

The teen accused of threatening an Atascadero elementary school with a chemical weapon back in September will be tried as an adult.

Investigators are still evaluating the scene at an Atascadero elementary school, after threatening letters and a hazardous package were left on campus last week.