Opinion: Starting SLO on the road to recovery
By Dawn Ortiz-Legg In late November of 2020, I was honored to be appointed as the 3rd District Supervisor for the county of San Luis Obispo by Gov. Gavin Newsom. As I have called this district home for more than two decades, my constituents’ concerns are my number one priority. From the onset of taking Read More →
Region’s unemployment rate flat in January as COVID surged
The tri-county region’s unemployment rate was 7.4% in January, the same as in December, as the region and state endured the second month of the winter COVID-19 surge. California’s unemployment rate was 9% in January, down from 9.3% in December, according to data released March 12 by the state Employment Development Department. The national unemployment Read More →
SLO County leaders eyeing Diablo Canyon site for green energy
With the decommissioning of Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant approaching, a new partnership has been announced to try turn the site into a hub for clean energy on the Central Coast. REACH—the Regional Economic Action Coalition, an economic planning nonprofit for San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County—is working elected officials, county government and Read More →
California lifts stay-home orders as ICU capacity grows; COVID remains “widespread” in region
California Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the state’s regional stay-home orders Monday morning, paving the way for the return of outdoor restaurants service and a few other business activities. Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are now back in the “purple” or “widespread” tier of the state’s color-coded pandemic regulations—the most restrictive level, but Read More →
Unemployment in region, state rose in December as pandemic worsened
The tri-county region’s combined unemployment rate shot up from 6% in November to 7.4% in December as a wave of COVID-19 cases brought the most widespread business closures since the spring. The rest of the state suffered a similar fate, with California’s unemployment rate going from 8.1% in November to 9% in December, according to Read More →
Two Central Coast economic development nonprofits to merge
The economic development groups Reach and the San Luis Obispo Economic Vitality Corporation announced a merger on Dec. 17, one that will bring the EVC under the Reach banner in a combined effort to improve the economies of San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County. The boards of both Reach and the EVC Read More →
‘Light at the end of this tunnel’ as health workers get region’s first vaccines
Four Ventura County health care workers received their initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 16, in front of the county’s Public Health Department offices in Oxnard. The four healthcare workers were Juliana Svolos, a certified nursing assistant from Adventist Health Simi Valley; Gavin Jones, a registered trauma nurse who works in the emergency Read More →
