Friday, May 24, 2013     Volume: 27, Issue: 43
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Panga Boat Bust 9/6

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Come for the  music, stay for the  friends

Cover Story

Come for the music, stay for the friends

BY GLEN STARKEY

Nearly 25 years ago, a group of friends--all DJs at KCBX, many of whom regularly attended the Strawberry Music Festival at Camp Mather in Yosemite—started pondering the idea of a similar festival on the Central Coast. “We started to wonder, can we do something like that here for KCBX?” said Haila Hafley-Kluver, who also had a hand in the creation of a day for ... [ Read More ]

Top 5 Articles

Cover Story: Come for the music, stay for the friends
Commentary: Good News, bad news
News: SLO City to students: Be 'civil' or pay big
News: Hats in the ring
News: AbelMaldonado strives to repeal A.B. 109
 
At New Times, we believe that homelessness is not a problem that can be attacked with money or plans. When we think of homelessness, we don't think of statistics; we think of people. We think of people who've had problems in their lives, and they all have a story to tell... Learn More
 

News

Hats in the ring

BY MATT FOUNTAIN

If you’re a registered voter in the city of San Luis Obispo, then by the time you read this, there may be a ballot for the June 18 special election sitting in your mailbox. ...

Twin Cities ranks high on a union list of costly hospitals

BY PATRICK M. KLEMZ

Templeton’s Twin Cities Community Hospital landed in the Sacramento spotlight May 14 with the release of a report by a nurses union pushing health-care reform. The Californi...

Dystiny Myers witness pleads; sentencing set

BY MATT FOUNTAIN

The District Attorney’s Office’s star witness in the prosecution of co-defendants Rhonda Wisto and Frank York has followed through with his plea deal and pleaded guilty—...

SLO City to students: Be 'civil' or pay big

BY MATT FOUNTAIN

They call it “community civility,” and it’s part of the city’s Neighborhood Wellness efforts, but the latest decision by the San Luis Obispo City Council to work more ...

Paso sewer connection fees come under scrutiny

BY PATRICK M. KLEMZ

The winning bid for the Paso Robles sewer upgrade came in $3.1 million under budget, but city staff warned that developers shouldn’t expect a major break on connection fees....

Fire season starts on the Central Coast

BY PATRICK M. KLEMZ

The Central Coast’s first major wildfire this season lasted almost a week and burned 4,346 acres in and around the Los Padres National Forest southeast of the Carrizo Plain....

AbelMaldonado strives to repeal A.B. 109

BY AMY ASMAN

Former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado recently made a stop in his hometown of Santa Maria to ask Californians to help him “end this crazy thing called A.B. 109.” Enacted in Octo...

Corrections

• A recent article (“Arroyo Grande hates on charter-bashing bill,” May 16) confused two South County municipalities’ interests in becoming charter cities. Grover Beach...

Cougars & Mustangs

BY CHRIS WHITE-SANBORN

As someone who once sort of learned how to give CPR—or at least was supposed to—I know all about medical stuff and how bodies do things. As a result, I’ve been poking a ...

Commentary

A shot to the heart

BY MAEVA CONSIDINE

If you’ve ever woken up in a rose bush, covered in glitter and wearing a banana suit, tequila was probably to blame. If you’ve ever found yourself in your living room watc...

Ranting on reporting

BY NICK POWELL

Four years ago, I stumbled into journalism almost on accident. Several drives—namely, my hopelessly egotistical dreams of writing the ninth Great American Novel,* my empty b...

Good News, bad news

BY PAUL RINZLER

There is a group of Christian fundamentalists who have embarked on an extensive and well-organized mission to evangelize elementary school children in SLO County and around th...

Letters

Congrats

Andrea Devitt

With Cuesta College’s graduation soon to take place, it’s important for all of us to remind ourselves how lucky we are for the California Community College System. The imp...

Pay the Chinese back

Ed Thoma

We’ve been sustaining Chinese cyber attacks on our companies for years, and more recently our government institutions. They have been traced back to the People’s Liberatio...

Shredder

Free market, baby!

Remember when those lunatics in spandex sped through town, cutting off access to your house and making that coffeehouse in Avila Beach so mad the owner pissed lattes for a wee...

Street Talk

What is the hardest musical instrument to learn?

Athena Fowler Ryan Albrecht Phil Clancy Simon Phillips

Strokes and Plugs

Run on

BY LAREINA GAMBOA

Can you ever say it’s not a gorgeous day out in the vineyards when you’re wine tasting? Whether you’re trying to stay dry from the rain or cool from the heat, sitting ba...

Arts

A journey into darkness with Xan Cassavetes

BY BRYCE WILSON

If you want to be a filmmaker with a name like Cassavetes, you have a serious legacy to live up to. But Xan Cassavetes, daughter of independent film legend John Cassavetes, ha...

The voice in the stone

BY ANNA WELTNER

It wasn’t Michelangelo’s David that struck choreographer Diana Stanton on her honeymoon in Florence, but his unfinished masterpieces, known as the Prisoners. These marble...

Old-school cool

BY GLEN STARKEY

It’s Saturday, May 18, 2013, but as I look around, it could just as easily be 1945—an America buoyed by winning World War II, increased economic prosperity, and a new sens...

Artifacts: Exotic exposure

BY ANNA WELTNER

Remember when I told you about local artist Jeff Claassen’s Kickstarter campaign, the Puzzle Painting? Well, it’s only fair to mention Santa Maria photographer Mark Velasq...

Music

Take a shine to Moonshiner

BY GLEN STARKEY

What does it mean to let go? Does it mean throwing off the shackles of the rat race and disappearing into nature? Embracing your dream? Surrendering to love? For Moon...

Film

Stunned!

Director J.J. Abrams helms the follow-up to his 2009 reboot of Star Trek. This time around, the crew of the Enterprise discovers evil within their midst, and Captain Kir...

Cuisine

Everything's coming up rosés

BY KATHY MARCKS HARDESTY

Are you macho enough to say you love pink wine? I am. If you’re also answering yes, you won’t want to miss this outstanding new Central Coast wine festival devoted to Paso...

Kathy's Pick

Costa de Oro 2011 Pinot Noir Gold Coast Vineyard

This estate-grown wine from winemaker Gary Burk is delicious and inviting. A tasty blend of plums, blackberries, and spice, it’s beautifully balanced and easy drinking...

Hot Dates

A succulently good time

Cactuses, like pet rocks, can seem hard to love. After all, a cactus does everything in its power to … uh … keep you at arm’s length. But cactuses and succulents are oft...

Master the brush

They say life is what you want to make of it. If that’s true, this New Times writer would be living in an earthquake-proof glass container filled with chinchillas and those ...

A hike a day

Lots of folks move to the Central Coast to be near our scenic and natural beauty. I personally moved here because I saw an episode of Oprah that said this was the happiest pla...