What SLO County was talking about June 8-14: Book bans, Steve Hilton

From politics to book bans, San Luis Obispo County readers had a lot to say this past week.

Here’s a look at the five Tribune stories that drew the most comments from June 8-14 — and where you can jump into the conversation.

SLO County Democrats map out their November strategy

More than 100 people packed the Odd Fellows’ Chorro Lodge in San Luis Obispo on Saturday for a Democrats-only town hall featuring some of the Central Coast’s most prominent lawmakers.

SLO County Democratic Party chair Tom Fulks set the tone early: “We want to eradicate MAGA from every corner of our democracy.” Lawmakers discussed pushing back on the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks, the restart of the Sable Corp. oil pipeline and ICE enforcement actions — including 22 anti-ICE measures recently advanced in the Assembly.

»» Read the story, see the comments

Supervisors say no to DA Dan Dow’s funding request

In a 3-2 vote, the SLO County Board of Supervisors rejected District Attorney Dan Dow’s request for five new positions totaling $857,839 — a decision that came three weeks after Dow issued a formal notice that he might sue the county over the budget.

Supervisors Jimmy Paulding, Bruce Gibson and Dawn Ortiz-Legg cited fiscal uncertainty and the need to live within the county’s means. Dow said his office was “disappointed” but “not disgruntled,” and told The Tribune the DA’s Office has “no plans at the moment” to sue — though the department is still assessing the impact, which could mean not pursuing certain theft and drug offenses.

»» Read the story, see the comments

Steve Hilton’s campaign stop raises eyebrows

Tribune editor Joe Tarica pressed Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton on Central Coast issues during a recent campaign stop in San Luis Obispo, and Hilton’s answers got readers talking. Hilton called offshore wind development off Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay an “insane scheme,” dismissed onshore wind and solar mandates and voiced support for renewed drilling off the California Coast.

When pressed on oil spill risks, Hilton pointed to the Moss Landing battery plant fire as “catastrophic … actually much worse and longer-lasting damage than from anything we’ve ever seen in Santa Barbara” — a comparison the Tribune editorial board pushed back on, noting the 1969 Santa Barbara spill released roughly 3 million gallons of crude oil and helped launch the modern environmental movement.

»» Read the story, see the comments

Lucia Mar board rejects effort to ban book

For the third time this school year, the Lucia Mar school board considered — and rejected — a request to remove a book from a district library. In a 5-2 vote Thursday, trustees upheld a review committee’s decision to keep award-winning author Toni Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye” on the shelves at Arroyo Grande High School.

Appellant Jennie Merritte said the novel’s depictions of incest and sexual abuse posed risks to trauma survivors and could “perpetuate shame, self-hatred and destructive behavior.”

Arroyo Grande English teacher Nicholas Kennedy wore a “Probably reading Toni Morrison” T-shirt to the meeting and defended the book as “a really powerful piece of literature.” Recent high school graduate Orion Schmidt, the only teenager to speak, said reading Morrison’s “Beloved” shaped him into a better human.

»» Read the story, see the comments

Hilton’s policy positions — and his $12.8 million war chest

A second Tribune opinion piece dug deeper into Hilton’s candidacy as he heads toward a November matchup with Democrat Xavier Becerra. Once known for his clean-energy advocacy as a top adviser to former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Hilton has reversed course — opposing California’s renewable energy mandates and subsidies while backing fossil fuel drilling.

His campaign has raised $12.8 million from tech entrepreneurs, investors, crypto supporters, conservative media and grassroots donors. Hilton’s “housing choice” pitch would scrap state-mandated zoning in favor of letting communities opt in to development — and, when pressed on where workers would live, he floated building entirely new towns and cities.

»» Read the opinion, see the comments

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.

• • •

Join the conversation. Have thoughts on any of these stories? Your neighbors are already talking. Scroll to the bottom of local articles on sanluisobispo.com to share your perspective.