Today Penny and I went to where I take Penny for her run and did some wildlife photography. I had to get gas today and about the cheapest place I have found is on the corner of Santa Rosa and Foothill. It is sad for the business owners who struggled through coronavirus shutdown to now have to be further hurt by the protests and looting.
San Luis Obispo County reported seven new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county’s total to 278 confirmed cases as of June 2. It is the largest single day increase in a month.
Four people are hospitalized, including three patients who are in the ICU. Seventeen people are recovering at home and 256 people have recovered. San Luis Obispo County has had one death attributed to COVID-19.
The health department reports that a total of 11,269 coronavirus tests have been conducted so far at both the public health lab and at private labs.
There are currently three sites in San Luis Obispo County offering free coronavirus testing.
To make an appointment at the testing clinics in Grover Beach or Paso Robles, visit https://lhi.care/covidtesting or call 1-888-634-1123.
The site in Paso Robles will be open until June 5. It will then move to a new location in the city of San Luis Obispo.
The third site is a pop-up clinic. It is open in Cambria but will move to Los Osos on Wednesday, June 3, and Thursday, June 4. To schedule an appointment, visit readyslo.org.
For more information on the county’s COVID-19 response, visit readyslo.org.
San Luis Coastal Unified School District just released a first draft of its plans to reopen.
Since mid-March, schools have been closed amid COVID-19 and students have had to adjust to distance learning.
The draft, unveiled Monday, details three plans.
Plan A is the preferred plan. This plan includes traditional in-person school structure with extra safety precautions and a distance learning option.
Plan B is combined in-person and distance learning with social distancing and smaller class sizes.
Plan C is enhanced distance learning. This plan would mean every student is in full distance learning similar to Spring 2020.
The school district says a decision will be made by August 1 as to which plan will be implemented. The draft can be altered as needed.
This Friday is the last day of school before summer break. Students will resume classes on August 17.
A U.S. flag is once again flying in front of Santa Maria’s City Hall after it was cut down during a protest that turned destructive Sunday night.
Veteran and Santa Maria resident Larry Hyslop says he watched it happen on Facebook Live.
He says a group of four guys tried putting the flag back up, but they were jumped by some protesters.
So Hyslop and the Band of Brothers veteran’s organization decided to replace the flag at City Hall.
“There were people thanking us over here in the parking lot for getting it back and then when these Band of Brothers, when they put that next one up there… we still have hope in our community, you know. We don’t have to be afraid, we’re together,” Hyslop said.
The Band of Brothers placed a flag in the City Hall bell tower as well as replacing the flag that was cut down from the flagpole.
At least three businesses in downtown San Luis Obispo were vandalized Monday evening.
At about 10:30 p.m., police received a report that the windows of three businesses along Marsh Street had been broken.
Police say someone in a white vehicle drove past the businesses and fired either a BB gun or a pellet gun at the storefronts.
Windows at Central Coast Surfboards, Founders Community Bank, and Shoe Palace were shot out. It’s believed some items were also stolen from Shoe Palace.
Some protesters were taken into custody Monday evening as San Luis Obispo police started to disperse a six-hour long protest.
Starting at around 6:30 p.m., police blocked off the intersection of Santa Rosa and Walnut Street as protesters began to march to the area.
At around 8 p.m., officers gave protesters several warnings to disperse after police said the protest was declared an unlawful assembly, citing public safety risks.
Officers said they would start arresting those who did not leave the area.
Police fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse the crowd and a KSBY reporter at the scene witnessed some water bottles and a rock thrown at officers.
A few people were taken into custody while the crowd dissipated.
Law enforcement was expected to remain on scene throughout the downtown area overnight.
The protest started with a rally at Mission Plaza at 2 p.m. Protesters then marched through the downtown area, stopping in front of the San Luis Obispo Police Department, where officers took a knee with the demonstrators.
From there, the crowd continued marching, making their way onto Highway 101, causing authorities to block traffic in both directions.
Protesters said they hoped for police and community members to understand their message.
“We want them to understand that we are scared, that we are just black people and we want them to understand us and care for us,” said Cheyenne Brown, protester.
“We just want to make it clear that here and around the nation we will not stand for police brutality that affects blacks and people of color and that’s kind of what we’re here representing today,” said another demonstrator.
In a statement released late Monday night, city officials said police took action to disperse the protesters because there was concern for their safety if they were to march onto the highway again, particularly in the evening hours. Police said they had also received various reports of planned property damage.
Bird exploring for food in the brush.
A ground squirrel on alert as we approach on the dirt road.
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