giving you the scoop on all the things. literally
Visiting friends & fam tired of the same old digs along SLO’s hotel row? Prepare to *maybe* add the Vesper Hotel to a growing list of new d-town SLOtels that includes Hotel Serra and Hotel SLO. The proposed 47-room hotel would be located above the Creamery commercial space with balconies overlooking the creek. With sushi, wine, hot yoga and a bar a stone’s throw away, who needs sightseeing in the happiest place in ‘murica?
Madonna Plaza, SLO’s beloved outdoor mall, isn’t what it used to be. The good-ol days of Gottschalks, Mervyns and Borders are long gone, now Sears is gone and Forever 21 called it quits. Eh. First, the blame was on our amazing downtown pulling shoppers away. Now, they say Amazon is killing retail.
So what’s next? With some locals asking for apartments, an ice skating rink, or a convention center, and obvious forces changing our concrete-scape, what better way to recover than a make over? With plans to bulldoze Sears and replace it with Ross, Michael’s, and Joe Schmoe’s Chain Store, that makeover may be coming soon. And there’s reason to get excited/your panties in a bunch as some fresh faces to SLO retail appear to be in the works including Sprouts and REI. But did you hear about the most recent rumor? Check out our Reveal.
Dang, summer is almost over. Luckily, there’s still plenty of music and sunshine to enjoy. Like tantalizing tannins with your tunes? There’s a varietal of choices: Laetitia, Baileyana, Claiborne & Churchill, Tolosa, Castoro Cellars, & Halter Ranch. Prefer hops with your bops? Head to the Mission! Want to meet the beats of the 90’s? Hey now, be an All Star. Able to stay stable past 9pm? Hit up SLO Brew. Care to wear bell bottoms? Get funky with Earth, Wind & Fire! #funkyfeline
Voters shot down the controversial housing ballot measure and it wasn’t even close. Proponents of the deceptive measure used some “fluffy language” and a promise to permanently rid the city of the RHIP (been there, done that). Downside: it cost the City $160K. Upside: the SLO Chamber, SLO U40 and the City Council did a great job mobilizing to educate people on voting no… so it looks like housing won’t become a full blown crisis. Um, yet.
SLO City Council opted for an internal selection over a national search to find a new City Manager to replace short timer Katie Lichtig. In a move that surprises zero, Asst. City Manager Derek Johnson is being vetted. Fit for the job and full of skillz it seemz, but we heard he works out too. Council wants to hear from YOU about this important position. Take the slim and trim 3-question survey by Aug. 30.
Pismo-ites can’t be stoked about the nasty stank coming from their beloved blue. Yet another colony of toxin-producing algae has formed off our coast, and besides offending our olfactories, these silent armies are infecting a nasty neurotoxin into our fish, sea lions, and other marine life — as well as the predators who eat them. (Mmm sashimi!) Sadly, these gross green globs of algae are getting larger, deadlier, and more common. In 2015, this infection spanned 650 ft deep, and stretched from the central coast to friggin Alaska, leading to toxic and dead marine life.
Our Energy Dept and EPA don’t wanna talk about it, but these little green goblins, while natural and normal, are aided by higher water temps, less water movement, more CO2, higher salinity and even more soil based nitrogen — all of which are associated with, ahem, climate change. Unless somebody figures out how to scoop it up and turn it into oil, we’re gonna need your help in speaking up to protect our coast, marine life, seafood … and our future.
#debbiedowner
Remember that oh-so controversial 7-story hotel Andrew Firestone proposed at Santa Rosa and Monterey? The one slated to be the grand Gateway to Downtown SLO? Nope? Welp, developer Nick Tompkins sure does, and now hopes to build a mixed use 3-story project in it’s place. Restaurant, retail and offices made the cut — but residential? Nah, ain’t nobody got time for that. Council supported workforce housing downtown, but drum roll please … the fees were probs too damn high! #GimmeJimmy
We already covered the controversial Measure B-17, but now the time’s a comin – clean out that mailbox and get your ballot in before Aug 22. SLO Chamber, City Council, and basically all the King’s horses and all the King’s men are anti, so educate yourself on this one before voting. Shame it took $160,000 and 29,000 special election ballots to get us here, but pull out your #2 pencil and exercise your right to vote! #murica
Can’t quite swing one of those schmancy brownstones on Marsh, but believe in living/working/playing in your city’s urban core? *Raises hand* Well Downtown SLO found all the important peeps so you can discover what’s in the works now and in the future for downtown housing, DT real estate trends, and challenges to developing residential downtown. Be there next Wed, 8/16 at the Library. No you lush, not that Library.