••• The Independent checks out the new Surreal Virtual Reality Studios on State Street: “There are your classic shoot-’em-ups, like the raft battle and another where you rob a bank, but users can also take a hot-air balloon over the Swiss Alps or plug into what’s called the Dream Academy.” Pictured above: the jousting game. (Also, there’s a two-for-one deal this Monday.)
••• Regarding two recent moves to control homeless encampments (one about shopping carts, and the other about personal belongings left on the street): “Mayor [Cathy] Murillo and Councilmember [Kristen] Sneddon joined forces to have both items yanked from further consideration by the [city] council’s Ordinance Committee.” The Independent article goes on to illustrate how unlikely it is that anything will be done about the area’s homeless problem.
••• Montecito Journal (Nov. 7 edition, not online yet) has more on the efforts to build the Randall Road Debris Basin. Here’s hoping it gets a better name someday.
••• Caltrans has developed “the Big Sur Highway 1 Sustainable Transportation Demand Management Plan. As the plan’s introduction says, the goal is to “preserve the rugged and scenic nature of the Big Sur experience for all people through balanced, adaptive management strategies that encourage the use of transit and active transportation to enhance the travel experience and support sustainable corridor access.” —San Luis Obispo Tribune
••• The Hi-Way Drive-in theater in Santa Maria could be in trouble. “The land it’s on is being posted for sale on the website of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services. The only other drive-in open on the Central Coast right now is in San Luis Obispo.” It’s amazing that any have survived this long. —KEYT
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