Cover Story
Urban farmers bypass corporate agriculture and take control of their food system
Everyone eats, but more and more people are beginning to question where their food comes from and how it’s produced. “Natural,” “gluten free,” “organic,” “rbST free,” “free range”—what do we make of all these labels? Are they marketing ploys? Do we really know what’s in our food? A rising trend in food production is actually…
A projectile goes through a window at Supervisor Caren Ray’s home
Sometime on the evening of June 29, an unknown perpetrator shot through a window in the Arroyo Grande home of District 4 Supervisor Caren Ray. Details about the incident are still scarce, but Ray told New Times that she (and her family) are safe and were completely unharmed. Ray discovered the hole in the window…
The (bad) luck of the draw: Getting tied up in the World Cup
I may as well be honest about it—I’m a fair-weather soccer fan. No, I won’t call it football and, no, I won’t watch the sport unless there’s nothing else on. That said, I make an emphatic exception for the World Cup. There’s something about the mixture of nationalism, drama, and gooooooooooals that’s extremely compelling to…
What did Adolf Hitler have to say about gun control?
In response to Art Tyree’s letter “Yosemite Sam Deniers and Tyranny Criers” (June 19): 1. English lesson. The amendment says, “The right of the people to bear arms … ” not the right of the militia, meaning individuals. Supreme Court case Planned Parenthood v. Casey states: “It is tempting, as a means of curbing the…
What are you looking for in your forever home?
Fluff cat, Woods Humane Society “Hello Darling, my name is Fluff and I am a 5-year-old spayed brown tabby who has called Woods home since October 2012. I’m quite a friendly outgoing lady who likes being talked to and responds in kind (I am very talkative). I can be very affectionate and loving but definitely…
Local stars Moonshiner Collective, Jade Jackson, and Chris Beland play on June 27 at SLO Brew
Former Still Time front man Dan Curcio’s new project, Moonshiner Collective, continues to evolve as the singer-songwriter collaborates with a variety of guest artists. First, there was multi-instrumentalist and looping artist Nathan Towne, but more recently Curcio has been working with drummer Ryan House. “We’ve been fine tuning a live show experience that combines the…
The Palm presents Peter Weir’s 1977 film, ‘The Last Wave,’ as part of their Take Two Live series
Apocalypse Now If you think Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia was the first film to use frogs as a sign of the end of times, think again. Raining frogs can be seen as early as Peter Weir’s 1977 apocalypse drama, The Last Wave, which will be screened this weekend as part of The Palm’s Take Two…
The very hungry honey bear: Josh Talbott shows ‘Toy Paintings’ and ‘Other Paintings’ at Linnaea’s
When Josh Talbott first placed a LEGO piece in his paintings, he was merely trying to create a sense of perspective. At that time he mainly painted insects depicted as jazz musicians, which he tried to sell to tourists in New Orleans. But that first red LEGO piece changed everything— for a while at least. “It…
For the records: How to tastefully store your vinyl LPs
I began collecting vinyl records as a kid more than three decades ago. This was a few years before the mass production of CDs when the options for music were vinyl, cassettes, and maybe 8-tracks, which were dying out. There was nothing like buying a new LP (I was never much of a singles collector),…
Clubs 6/26/14
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…
Shelf awareness: Is cutting down on clutter by clearing out books a novel idea?
“Do you know that books smell like nutmeg or some spice from a foreign land?” Ray Bradbury wrote that into his 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, putting his words–as authors do–into one of his character’s mouths. “I loved to smell them when I was a boy,” Bradbury wrote. “Lord, there were a lot of lovely books…
Kreuzberg’s house roasted coffee and Sextant Winery’s 2013 Pinot Gris
House roast, huzzah!: Kreuzberg’s house roasted coffee Say what you want about the disappearance of the chalk-covered walls in the women’s bathroom (poetic stuff, people). Kreuzberg, California is on the up and up; I like it. Earlier this month, the downtown SLO coffee shop, restaurant, and popular homework/hipster hangout began offering its own house-roasted…
Anatomy of a compost pile: Cultivating better home produce means getting your hands out of the dirt and into the soil
According to Nature’s Touch Harvest and Nursery Owner Melanie Blakenship, cultivating a quality compost heap is a lot like cooking lasagna: There’s a method to the madness, but no one-fits-all approach. It’s an apt metaphor. Both activities require similar abilities: an iron will (you must leave your “dish” alone until it is fully cooked), physical…
New, now
Fresh openings abound: Native Herbs and Honey will debut their Los Osos storefront (featuring oodles of sweet honey products and organic produce) with a grand opening shindig going down on July 1 (nativeherbsandhoney.com) … Vina Robles Winery has opened its new Signature Club Lounge for wine club members and a grand opening is slated for…
Ontario Ridge fight goes coastal
After months of testy statements, controversial construction, and strongly worded letters, the land-use conflict between exasperated hikers and a defiant landowner on Ontario Ridge is finally headed to a formal showdown. According to a recently released California Coastal Commission agenda, the commission will consider issuing a formal cease and desist order—as well as a notice…
Tress for success at Head Rush Salon in SLO
When Jennifer Herrera lost her basketball scholarship, and her shot at the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), she knew it was time to reevaluate the direction her life was going. And the place she found herself doing that was beauty school. Her mom, also a hair stylist, suggested that Herrera try it out. She never…
Cougars & Mustangs
Summer is icumen in, but that doesn’t mean the music events stop happening. Why, Resonance Vocal Ensemble, for example, has a concert on Aug. 9, though I’ll talk much more about it when we get closer. And, really, is it any surprise that the song doesn’t end? Let’s be honest here. Music is one of…
When is a room more than a room?: New Times offers up some solutions for those suffering from Empty Room Syndrome
When I went off to college, I moved into the dorms, met a lot of new people, and pigged out on all-you-can-eat cafeteria food. I was living the dream. A few weeks later, I got a call from my parents. They wanted to know about my classes and my new friends—it was pretty standard stuff—until…
The Benchwarmer: How to fit-proof your life by bringing the workout home
There are several things in this life I would like to not have to worry about, among them world hunger, an ever-inconvenient menstrual cycle, and being overweight. But after my college tour, I realized my weight was definitely a reason to worry. Three years ago, I graduated college at 180 pounds—mind you, I’m 5-foot-6, so…
Clarification
In the June 19 article, “Cerrito Peak project needs an EIR,” New Times reached out by email to the project applicant, Dan Reddell, and was later informed that Reddell had died on June 3.
Morro Bay voters will be asked to axe the city’s June election
Morro Bay voters will be asked this November whether to do away with the city’s June election for local offices. On a 3-2 vote, Morro Bay city councilmembers voted to prepare ballot language that, if voters approve, could override the 2006 Measure S-06, which established a June election. Councilmembers Nancy Johnson and George Leage voted…
Atascadero to place half-percent sales tax increase for road maintenance on November ballot
Atascadero may see better roads on the horizon, if voters are so willing. The City Council voted 5-0 on June 24 to place a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot for a half-percent sales tax increase to generate funds for road maintenance. Atascadero is the only city in San Luis Obispo County that has yet…
The SLO County Sheriff’s Office determined that heroin toxicity led to death of Timothy Richard Janowicz
Officials from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office have determined that “acute heroin toxicity” was the main factor that led to the death of Timothy Richard Janowicz, the third inmate to die in the SLO County Jail this year. Janowicz, who was booked into jail on Nov. 20, 2013, on drug charges, was found…
Paso water district bill flows through state Senate committees
The necessary legislation for the proposed Paso Robles Groundwater Basin Water District has made some steady advancements in Sacramento. Because the district has a hybrid board with categories comprised of both landowners and rural residents—something that isn’t yet written into state law—a piece of special legislation had to be written before the process can move…
San Luis Obispo residents file lawsuit against Cal Poly dorm
The Alliance of SLO Neighborhoods, a collection of residents who live in the Grand-Slack intersection area near Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, has filed a lawsuit to block a planned dorm project. On June 20, the members of the alliance filed a complaint with the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court against the California…
XX
Good people of San Luis Obispo County, the world is ending and I beseech you to completely and utterly lose your shit. Race like rabid greyhounds through your neighborhood’s quiet streets; confess your unrequited love for your neighbor’s wife; go to work and slap your boss in the face with a cold, dead fish and…
A brief history on ‘redskins’
Here is why I am tired of “Redskins.” In the winter of 1890, Lakota Chief Big Foot led his people away from the Standing Rock Reservation, where Sitting Bull had just been killed, because he was afraid for them, afraid there would be more violence. He was fleeing for the Pine Ridge Reservation when the…
Katcho’s reality problem
A political candidate has a lot of latitude when speaking in general terms about what he’s going to do in the future or cultivating an image as a political moderate and all around nice guy who is in favor of mom, apple pie, and multiple cars and/or chickens in pots and/or garages. But when he…
