Cover Story
Here today: Nine Tibetan Buddhist monks sojourn in San Luis Obispo County
Highlights of the Gomang Monks visit to San Luis Obispo County Buddhism holds that ignorance is the root of suffering. Due to the forces of ignorance, beings are trapped in a cycle of misery. We are born, we become ill, we age, we die. We are born, we become ill, we age, we die. We…
How concerned are you about Lyme’s disease?
Valerie Mantzoros Yoga Instructor/Owner of Undercover Cookies “My sister had Lyme’s disease, but I’m not concerned about getting it.” Kate McKinnon Cuesta graduate “I guess I’m not really too concerned about it because I don’t really put myself in situations where ticks are present.” Julia Hickey Reporter/Artist “From what I’ve heard in the news, I…
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell play Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Of all the shows at Vina Robles Amphitheatre’s inaugural season, the one I’ve been looking forward to most is Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers with Edie Brickell, next Tuesday, Oct. 8 (8 p.m.; all ages; $38.50 to $88.50; vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). I’ve been a fan of Steve Martin since his stand-up days, and in high…
Ubu’s Other Shoe stages ‘Third’
On Oct. 3 and 4, Ubu’s Other Shoe—a series of staged readings at the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre—will present Wendy Wasserstein’s Third, directed by Kerry Mayling and starring Patty Thayer and Tony Costa. At the play’s center is Professor Laurie Jameson, a staunch feminist and academic superstar at a New England college. Jameson is…
100 Thousand Poets for Change fills Steynberg Gallery with poetry lovers
View a video from the 100 Thousand Poets for Change event. You know what goes great after three margaritas? A nap, yes, that goes great. One more margarita, sure, why not? Listening to four hours of poetry? NO! That’s a terrible idea! It’s like the Bataan Death March of poetry! But here it is, Saturday,…
Photographic adventures: New tour offered at the Santa Margarita Ranch
Jim Vincolisi is stoked. It’s just after 7 a.m. in Santa Margarita, and the fine art photographer, gallerist, and now tour guide is wide awake, greeting each bleary-eyed participant on his newly established Santa Margarita Ranch photo tour. I’m the first to arrive at the tour’s meeting place, the Margarita Adventures office, where Vincolisi’s van…
Eight days of peace, love and movies at Austin’s Fantastic Fest
Editor’s note: New Times’ film critic Bryce Wilson lives and works in Austin, Tex., where he occasionally gets to do things too awesome not to write home about. In this case, Wilson brings tidings from Fantastic Fest, where he caught early screenings of several films that will eventually be playing in San Luis Obispo County.…
Clubs 10/3 – 10/10/13
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…
Bioneers Conference brings food education and inspiration to SLO
If you ever find yourself in conversations with your friends, family, co-workers, or complete strangers about food—what diet you’re on, what you avoid, what you “try” to eat—you owe it to yourself to put the upcoming Central Coast Bioneers Conference, held Oct. 25-27 at The Monday Club in SLO, on your radar. This event is…
Ancient Peaks 2011 Zinfandel Paso
Grown in Santa Margarita Ranch, the southern-most part of the Paso Robles AVA, I found this delightful zinfandel amazing on its own and perfect for pairing with food. It offers pretty, ripe flavors of briary blackberries, black cherries, and spicy pepper notes. It’s a tad high in alcohol but you won’t notice given its balanced…
World class: The Paso Robles food scene has no limits
I’ve watched Paso Robles grow into a world-class destination for wine and food connoisseurs with feelings of awe and respect. Of course it all comes to down to one source, the great, artisan wineries in Paso wine country that captured the media’s spotlight. News stories that pointed out all of the boutique wines made in…
Wise Owl in Cambria is every book lover’s dream
As if Cambria wasn’t already a beautifully calm environment, there’s a new gathering spot quickly becoming a second home for locals. Walking into the Wise Owl is like walking into that guesthouse you’ve always dreamed about. Wise Owl is welcoming, and casually comfortable, with a touch of sophistication. Maybe it’s the wine and cheese talking,…
Cougars & Mustangs: NANOWRIMO is just around the corner
College, as I’m sure we all know, is a very stressful time. It’s a time of growth, and discovery about who or what you want to be. Undeclared is the most popular major, right? The college student’s life is turbulent! With all of this worry and uncertainty, possibly with its longtime side-effect of excruciating self-doubt,…
Cover Me!: Enrollment opens for a new era of health insurance
If you don’t have health insurance by March 31, 2014, you’ll be breaking the law. But don’t worry; it’s good for you. And it’s good for society at large. At least that’s the spirit behind the law. By now, most people seem to know where they fall when it comes to the Affordable Care Act,…
Growing pains: Cal Poly leaders want to expand, but some say they’ve jumped the gun
When Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong stepped out on the Cohan PAC stage on Sept. 16 and boldly proclaimed that the university should add between 4,000 and 5,000 students by 2022, it was the start of an effort that will likely define the university’s next decade. While Poly’s top brass is largely in lockstep…
Correction
An article about the Morro Bay City Council’s approval of hiring an attorney to advise them on personnel matters (“Morro Bay will seek legal advice,” Sep. 26) incorrectly stated who will select the attorney. Mayor Jamie Irons will be the sole person doing the hiring.
Clarification
An article about San Luis Obispo’s Land Use and Circulation Element Task Force (“Winners and LUCErs,” Sept. 26) listed the names of task force members and their various professions and affiliations. Due to concerns from one task force member, New Times would like to clarify that they are participating in the process as private residents.
Supervisors put off a Paso groundwater ordinance extension
After a summer of collaboration and sobering thought among those impacted by the dropping water levels atop the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, progress may come to a screeching halt if county staff, basin overliers, and county supervisors can’t reach an agreement on key pieces of an ordinance meant to offer relief from the deepening crisis.…
SLO Council will re-examine a vacation rental ordinance
After receiving substantial public comment over their past few meetings and being prodded by the Chamber of Commerce, the San Luis Obispo City Council officially agreed to reevaluate a 1988 law that bans vacation rentals in the city. “I think it’s too big of an issue to just say ‘no,’” Councilwoman Carlyn Christianson later told…
Paso council pushes ‘Gateway’ development forward
Paso Robles City Council members, emphatically denying the existence of any municipal water supply issues, voted unanimously on Oct. 1 to take the next steps in developing a 270-acre site on the southwestern edge of town. If San Francisco resident Michael Furlotti, who owns the land, gets his wish, the site currently used for cattle…
A ‘blackballed’ SLO City critic is appointed to an investment panel
Following what some locals considered to be a not-so-secret snub over a citizen appointment to an oversight committee, the San Luis Obispo City Council narrowly appointed outspoken critic Steve Barasch after he laid down a scathing public condemnation of their alleged efforts to block his participation in city affairs. The city has previously taken heat…
County quietly settles excessive force claim
A claim resulting from a display of excessive force by a former San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy has resulted in a very quiet settlement. The Office of County Counsel confirmed to New Times that it reached a mediated settlement agreement with four claimants in August, resulting in a $150,000 payout. In January, attorney James…
SLO residents call for anti-pot ordinance
Leff Street residents raised a stink at the Oct. 1 San Luis Obispo City Council meeting over a neighbor—presumably a medical marijuana patient—who is allegedly harvesting a number of plants in the backyard of his rented home. Citing concerns over the usual gamut of safety issues, proximity to children, and, of course, the smell, three…
Proactive health
Thirty-five health-care vendors came to the Veteran’s Memorial Hall in San Luis Obispo on Oct. 1 as part of a health-care expo, the result of a collaboration between the city and county of San Luis Obispo. The vendors answered questions about health-care reform and retirement from approximately 250 state, county, and city employees. County Benefits…
He never calls me back
I once got put in jail for “spamming” the Do Not Call registry. Which was actually just a misunderstanding about the nature of the registry. I thought—and this is mostly based on the name—that the registry was a list of contacts you don’t want calling you. Being the type of person who avoids conflict, responsibility,…
I need fashion advice
I confess that I am not especially familiar with the matter involving the firing of city personnel in Morro Bay. As such, I’m curious as to why the story on it by Jono Kinkade in the Sept. 26 edition (“Morro Bay will seek legal advice”) makes mention of “no lack of Acapulco shirts” worn by…
Prostitutes are here to stay
In the Sept. 26 New Times, Steve Kobara’s letter (“Don’t settle for empty sexual calories”) states emphatically that prostitution should not be legalized. He characterizes the four young people who expressed a contrary opinion, clearly off-the-cuff, in the “Street Talk” in a prior New Times, as “not too bright.” Mr. Kobara goes on to shoot…
City of SLO says ‘NO VACANCY’ to visitors
Currently in the city of San Luis Obispo, it is illegal to host a traveler in your own home for less than 30 days. This outdated law needs to be revised to encourage a new class of traveler to visit “The Friendliest Town In America.” Doing so does not mean that the current ban on…
Seismic shift?
If sunlight truly is the best disinfectant, PG&E must feel like it got a mouthful of bug spray from the light beam focused on its Diablo Canyon “ground motion” modeling by an obscure state body known as the Independent Peer Review Panel, or IPRP. The IPRP advises the California Public Utilities Commission on Diablo Canyon…
