SLO County

The state off-roading park at Oceano Dunes in San Luis Obispo County will partially reopen next week as part of a three-phase plan. The dunes have been closed to vehicles and camping access since mid-March.

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.

Despite an ongoing pandemic and wildfires causing smoky skies, people are still visiting the Central Coast—but overall tourism is sharply down compared to years' past.

The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way millions of Americans can vote this fall. States are expanding access to mail-in voting as a safer alternative to in-person voting, and some counties are making even further provisions to ensure voters can get their ballots in on time. San Luis Obispo County is no exception.

Some elementary schools in San Luis Obispo County are now filing paperwork trying to get permission to reopen for in-person classes in the fall. It involves asking for a waiver from the county public health department.

On this episdoe of Issues & Ideas, we hear from a SLO County infectious disease physician who is a key player in paving the way out of the pandemic shutdown; and from SLO supervisor Lynn Compton, who gives an update on the current status of the county's reopening plan. A founder of Lighthouse Atascadero talks about how the nonprofit has helped young people fight addiction since 1994, and how its programs have grown over the years. We’ll follow Father Ian as he hunts for local wild yeast in “Playing With Food,” capturing some yeast near a patch of poison oak and baking with it. And finally, we learn more about a fatal shark attack earlier in the month in waters off a state beach near Watsonville.

A popular, summertime Central Coast festival announced Thursday it is postponing until 2021. The management of another major SLO County event is taking a more wait-and-see approach on whether to go ahead as usual. Stay-at-home orders have laid waste to all planned concerts, festivals and events this spring, and now summertime ones are falling like dominoes—all triggered by the pandemic.

Central Coast conservative activist Kevin P. Rice claimed responsibility for an election-related robocall earlier this week that asserted to be associated with the Klu Klux Klan. The recorded phone call targeted voters in supervisorial District 3 on February 25.

A $26 million dollar convention center might come to Paso Robles. Members of the Paso Robles Event Center, Travel Paso and the City of Paso Robles met this week to explore the possibility of building a large-scale conference center at the Paso Robles Event Center on Spring and Riverside Streets. KCBX reporter Tyler Pratt spoke with the CEO of the Paso Robles Events Center to learn more about the proposed conference center, why the county might need  one, and why Paso Robles was chosen as the site.

This Friday is National Bike-to-Work Day, and local organizations are pushing hard to get you to consider using pedal power that day.