Cover Story
Grass attack: Efforts to manage veldt grass in the Guadalupe dunes go aerial
A helicopter rises from behind the hills, fields of strawberries and broccoli stretching for miles into the distance. The pilot moves toward a specific target, then releases a foggy, wet dust from a 17-foot spray boom, carpeting the ground—and, more specifically, the plants growing there. Clouds of herbicide sink through the morning air, floating over…
The Rides of March delivers a smashing (not crashing) event March 27 to 29
What a weekend! I can still smell the two-stroke-oil-infused gasoline. It seems to permeate my skin, but it’s a grand memory of all the fun we had: It all starts around 7 p.m. when my wife, Anna, and I arrive for cocktails in Madonna Inn’s ritzy bar on Friday. I’m wearing a suit, and I…
What is your dream prank for April Fool’s?
Caitlin Adams teacher Saran Wrap on the toilet. Janet Nichols retired Snow delivered to my son’s front door. Jason Mendoza bartender Oreos filled with toothpaste. Kestrel Dabill artist Jacked up wig to make it look like you had a color mishap.
The San Luis Obispo City Council officially approves an odor ordinance
Despite opposition from some residents and two San Luis Obispo city councilmen, it’ll soon be illegal to make a stink in SLO. On an identical 3-2 vote, the SLO City Council officially adopted an ordinance at its March 31 meeting, stipulating “it is hereby declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance to cause or…
Six SLO County grocery stores change hands
Sometime in the first full week of April, six San Luis Obispo County Albertsons and Vons outlets will close. Roughly 46 hours later, they’ll reopen as completely different stores. In a deal that was first announced in late 2014, Bellingham, Wash.-based grocery chain Haggen acquired 146 stores in five states as a result of the…
Pelletiere Estate’s 2012 Lagrein and Ascendant Spirit’s Breaker Bourbon
How many times a day do you do something new and goosebump-inducing? Are you so bored at work you actually long for the “thrill” of an orderly fire drill? If you feel your wine game growing a tad stale, may I suggest to you this ravishing—and unique—2012 lagrein crafted by winemaker’s winemaker Amy Butler? Intense,…
Fresh!
Bread brothers: Brosh Sandwich Co. is finally open for business at 785 Marsh St. in downtown SLO! I am totally looking forward to trying The Oinker, which consists of marinated, slow-cooked pulled pork piled on sourdough and smothered with pepper jack cheese (see the whole drool-worthy menu at broshsandwichco.com) … SLO’s Thursday Farmers Market is…
Pucker up!: Libertine’s defiantly sour brews set to splash into SLO
Libertine Pub Brewer/Owner Tyler Clark approached our Monday morning interview in much the same way he approaches brewing his fiercely-beloved sour beers: With a free-flowing game plan, a lot of laughing, and a dash of blind confidence. He knows: You’ve got to pour out a few tanks to make good beer. Plus, no one likes…
Andrew Jackson Jihad brings its subversive folk-punk to SLO Brew on April 8
There’s something joyfully subversive about Andrew Jackson Jihad, a Phoenix-based folk-punk act playing SLO Brew on Wednesday, April 8 (8 p.m.; all ages; $15). Take, for instance, their song “Temple Grandin.” Perhaps you saw the 2010 biopic about autistic animal scientist Temple Grandin, whose affliction allowed her to see patterns in cattle behavior that led…
SLO County libraries host National Poetry Month events
T.S. Eliot may consider April to be “the cruelest month,” but we all know it’s the opposite. One, my birthday is in April (always a celebratory occasion). And two, April is National Poetry Month. As such, several SLO County libraries will be celebrating this affair with a series of readings, film screenings, and live performances.…
Steynberg Gallery presents Lena Rushing in solo show, Methods of Madness
Swallows falling from the sky, looming alligators, bats burrowed in candy cane-colored hair. These are just a taste of the fantastical details to be found in Lena Rushing’s new exhibit, Methods of Madness, at Steynberg Gallery. The last time Rushing showed at Steynberg was about two years ago and before that, she contributed a painting…
Intimately connected: SLO gallery Left Field presents its second art exhibit, Intimate Jest
Left Field prides itself on offering an extensive mélange of plants and novelty curios to the people of San Luis Obispo. Spiny succulents, prismatic objets d’art, and terra cotta earthenware are just a few of the bric-a-brac that can be found clustered together in the store. But just to the left of the entrance and…
Author Max Brooks visits Cal Poly to talk writing and his new graphic novel, ‘The Harlem Hellfighters’
When Max Brooks was 11 years old, he heard a story that has stuck with him ever since. At the time, a UCLA history grad student was working with Brooks’ parents (filmmaker Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft). After school, he would teach the young Brooks about all the stuff he wasn’t learning in grade…
Clubs 4/2/15-4/9/15
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. CUVEE BISTRO AND CHAMPAGNE BAR: 550 1st St., Avila Beach, 595-2245. Live music Thurs. and Sat. 6-9pm. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo…
Guys just wanna have fun …
I’m all for dudes just being dudes, hanging out, shootin’ the breeze over a few brewskis, robbing a bank or two, eating some feces, organizing a mayoral recall effort, maybe stealin’ some cash from a family trust. Y’know, just hanging out and enjoying the good life. As the proud inventor and proponent of the Pop-Tarts…
This is not an art controversy
I just read the New Times article “The debate of public art in SLO” (March 19), and have to say that there is no controversy regarding the utility box art at Broad and Pismo streets. First off, contrary to what Peg Pinard says, she does not represent the public (and certainly not me). The appropriate…
An ailing daily has killed good government
Will Bob Cuddy’s casting light on reasons for the rotten reportage of our daily alleged newspaper start a conversation on this subject (“A change is coming,” March 26)? Let’s hope so, for The Tribune’s failure to report what residents must know to become citizens is one reason SLO city government has become a corrupted cesspool…
The cost of closing Diablo Canyon
When Diablo Canyon is shut down, its electrical production will have to be replaced by another source of energy. It cannot be renewable resources, as the existing renewable resources are already accounted for in current production, so new renewable resources would have to be built to replace it, and resources like wind and solar are…
Really?
Are you Lucia Mar Unified School Board members for real? Are you really going to compliantly watch your superintendent treat your most vital resource, your teachers, as if they are adversaries? Are you really going to continue to watch and allow the compensation schedule for your teachers fall further and further behind that of other…
Maybe in the Old Testament …
In the St. Fratty’s Day incident, who pays for the damage to the garage roof? It certainly was not “an act of God!” — Susan Heinemann – Morro Bay
We do not want a Republican budget
Is it still the belief of those on the right side of the aisle that trickle-down economics is actually supposed to work? The new Republican-proposed federal budget suggests cuts in favor of reduced budget deficits, but those cuts only come in discretionary spending and entitlement programs. Little things like a reversal of the Affordable Care…
Booked on phonics: National Library Week kicks off April 11
The image of a library is generally that of a dour, hushed room filled with dusty, yellowed books, and a stern, bespectacled librarian glaring from behind a desk. In other words: not a very fun environment. But, much like Madonna, libraries are revamping their public image and moving into the 21st century. Guys, it’s not…
Cougars & Mustangs
Pandemonium erupted in the Cuesta cafeteria last week upon the discovery that the infamous Team Rocket, a criminal organization long believed to have disbanded, had vandalized a nearby men’s bathroom. At least, that’s what the unidentified Rocket Grunt may have wished would happen upon marking the door of the disabled access stall with the spray-painted…
Tinder by the Sea: Cambria and SLO County officials scurry to address fire dangers posed by a dying forest
View a video about the current fire situation in Cambria. In Cambria, where a hazardous mix of conditions has elevated fire risks, officials are facing a steep uphill battle. The village of roughly 6,500 people, affectionately called “Pines by the Sea,” is surrounded by one of three remaining Monterey pine stands in the United States.…
Corrections
• A recent article (‘Swirling sands,’ March 26) misstated a fact. A friend drove Jennifer Bouvette to the hospital on the night of Jan. 30. • A caption in the March 12 cover story on vaccines, “The vexing vaccine debate,” incorrectly identified the cause of whooping cough in a caption above a gram-stained micrograph. Pertussis…
Lucia Mar Unified Teacher’s Association authorizes strike
The Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association (LMUTA) voted on March 26 to authorize a strike in the midst of deadlocked salary negotiations with the district. The vote enables the union’s executive board to call a strike if a settlement with the school district isn’t reached during the next mediation session and the district opts to…
Paso Robles Planning Commission will reconsider rezoning for cardrooms
A zoning matter that quickly went from routine to contentious before the Paso Robles City Council in July 2014 has made its way back around and is again on the table for city officials to consider at the April 14 planning commission meeting. The Paso Robles Central Coast Casino (PRCCC), which operates a cardroom on…
Morro Bay attorney and former planning commissioner John Patrick Fennacy pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement, but was more recently arrested on a suspected DUI
A Morro Bay attorney and former planning commissioner who pleaded not guilty to charges of felony embezzlement has now been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. John Fennacy, who resigned from the Morro Bay Planning Commission in September 2014, was arrested on a suspected DUI near Cachuma Lake in…
After bailing out of SLO County Jail, Justin Silvernale has been arrested and charged in Monterey County
Days after his release from the San Luis Obispo County Jail on a $50,000 bail, 31-year-old Justin Silvernale was arrested in Monterey County. Silvernale was in jail facing 10 felonies and misdemeanors after an incident on Oct. 11, 2014, in Paso Robles. According to SLO County court records, he posted a bail bond March 17,…
