Cover Design by Alex Zuniga
Everybody knows that the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest story of 2020, with social and political tensions coming in a very close second—and almost certainly intertwined with the pandemic. Although California also had another record fire season in 2020, SLO County thankfully didn't. The happiest county on the California coast made national news several times this past year with SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson's and District Attorney Dan Dow's stance against Black Lives Matter protesters and COVID-19 regulations, the arrest and prosecution of protest leader Tianna Arata, and COVID-19 positive case numbers taking up the bulk of that national attention. Local residents seemed to take issue with everything—facing each other in the streets with protests and anti-protests, bickering online in divergent Facebook groups and catty Instagram stories, shouting about COVID-19 regulations or a lack thereof, and actively calling for elected officials to resign over their alleged behavior on social media. Those beefs were often fueled by the spread of facts, rumors, half-truths, and lies on Facebook and other platforms, leading to tense city elections, especially in the city of SLO. And the pandemic continues, as do social and political tensions. So who knows what 2021 will bring?