Everybody hook up!
Oh, how the entertainment biz is incestuous! It’s like a bed-hopping, ’70s key party! Take, for instance, Uh Huh Her, the indie electro-pop duo whose name is taken from a PJ Harvey album, and whose two members will metaphorically hook up with anybody! Camila Grey, formerly of lo-fi act Mellowdrone, has played keys and bass…
Girls, booze, and contraceptives!
It’s 9 a.m. on Sunday, July 17, and I’ve got a spicy hot Bloody Mary sitting in front of me at McCarthy’s Irish Pub. It’s day two of the “Women of McCarthy’s” calendar shoot, and the place is jumping! Except for the early morning sun beating down on the patio, it feels like a Saturday…
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
San Luis Obispo sign artist Sean Beauchamp, of Southpaw Sign Co., has been painting signs since he was 13 years old. Beauchamp’s early sign-painting adventures included working in an L.A. sign sweatshop and as a resident sign painter for a traveling Mexican circus. Culled from 28 years of sign painting, Beauchamp’s work is currently on…
Keepers of the books
Stumbling upon a child-sized ironing board in her mom’s attic triggered a mix of bemusement and shock in Los Osos artist Christina Troxel. After all, what kid irons? The thing couldn’t have been more than a foot tall. “They really conditioned us from a young age to be mothers and homemakers,” Troxel remarked. Decorated in…
Might as well face it!
Two people cram their lives into separate boxes to a frantic, angry beat. A gay man, fed up with his own shyness, tries on new identities in a boutique clothing store. A virgin, sick of being chaste, longs for sex. And the player, at the height of his game, just keeps on playin’. They’re the…
CLUBS
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 Each Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: 750 Mattie Road, Pismo Beach and in the Arroyo Grande Village, 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Pismo: Live music Mon.-Wed., 6-9 p.m.: Tennessee Jimmy…
Rusack 2009 Chardonnay Santa Barbara County
This graceful Chardonnay from a consistently good producer is well worth seeking out. You’ll find it layered in delicious flavors and hard to stay away from the glass when you’re drinking this fine white wine. The grapes for this vintage came from three cool climate vineyards in Santa Maria Valley: Bien Nacido, Sierra Madre, and…
Laetitia 2009 Pinot Noir Reserve du Domaine
A dense, dark wine is powerful yet elegant. Beautifully balanced with notes of blackberries, boysenberries, black cherries, and plummy notes, it’s highlighted with the racy notes of strawberry and raspberry. Interesting notes of smoke and spice weaved through it linger on the long finish. Quite delicious—though it’s early to be drinking this young vintage—it’s a…
From their Pi-Whole to yours
I love pizza, like most Americans, but I’m way too picky to say just any warm and cheesy pie will do. First of all, I want a toothsome crust and prefer those that are at least partially whole wheat, like Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos or Zero Zero in San Francisco—both of them…
Glory, glory hallelujah!
I’ve got a new favorite thing to do in Pismo Beach. I used to enjoy selling Gucci knock-offs to families from Bakersfield out of the back of my scooter, but that can’t really compare to this new gig. It was a Tuesday night, and I was loaded on cherry cough syrup. When you go to…
Courtney Mellblom
NEW TIMES Can you describe what Earth University is and does around the globe? MELLBLOM EARTH University is an international, nonprofit, privately funded, four-year university in Costa Rica. The university is surrounded by a rainforest reserve in the province of Limon. The mission of EARTH University is to facilitate grassroots environmental change. Currently, the student…
Where are the Cindy Sheehans
Where are the peaceniks now? Where is the outrage? Obama has illegally put our men and women in harm’s way in Libya, supporting and pushing for control by the Muslim Brotherhood, possibly the most radical terrorist organization in the world. We have absolutely no business being there in the first place. At least George W.…
Come out, angels, and help the homeless
I realize that after years of reading about Sunny Acres, Dan De Vaul, and the ongoing feud between him and SLO County code enforcement, there seems to be little hope for the 20 residents living there after Aug. 20 if these disagreements are not fixed. (It seems like our county officials who can go home…
Are we really an oil county?
Yes, the scene is ever changing for those of us trying to evaluate oil exploration and/or extraction in the Huasna Valley. It is an ever-changing challenge to track down the participants, but there is a message here for the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission, SLO Board of Supervisors, and for the residents of San…
Preserve the little bit of rural country left
How can a permit be issued to Excelaron with all the Class I, non-mitigated impacts on the DEIR? This is an agricultural/residential area, not uninhabited open space. This project will impact everything. Oil spills and wildfires are unavoidable impacts, and they will happen, and there is no going back to “pristine” after they occur. We…
What business is SLO County in?
Thank you, New Times, for considering the sensitive issue facing the Huasna Valley (“We’ll get back to you,” July 21). I attended four of the five meetings referred to in Colin Rigley’s story, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why the county would approve a project that may do so much…
You made some assumptions about New Times
Recently a woman made several (in my opinion fallacious) assumptions about New Times worth addressing (“This ‘Holocaust’ presentation is infuriating and hurtful,” June 2). She was upset about a musical that was advertised in a prior New Times edition because it ended up making a statement tying the genocide of abortion to the holocaust of…
Heaven Can Wait is heaven for horses
Robert A. McDonald’s “Grandson of a King” (June 30), was both an entertaining piece about a horse with a famous lineage and an insightful attack on the cruelty of the horseracing industry. Unfortunately, it lacked any contact information for the equine rescue sanctuary where “Red” lives. My wife and I had already heard about Heaven…
Your study program wish is granted
I was reading the July 21 New Times, and Jessie Becher in the “Street Talk” column mentioned she wanted to create a “teach and learn study program for foreigners.” The Literacy Council for San Luis Obispo County does teach and tutor many English second language learners from all over the world. We are always in…
Repeal binding arbitration in San Luis Obispo
We served together as elected members of the San Luis Obispo City Council from 2004 to 2008. The two of us were often on opposite sides of issues. But we are of one mind on mandatory binding arbitration. Binding arbitration as now required in the city charter is a distorted way to decide how much…
A cream come true
Sometimes the stars align and the universe provides certain signs that are impossible to ignore. For surfer and family man Joel Pace, all signs pointed to Chai Cream Ale. In college, Pace worked odd jobs at cafés and coffee houses, where he gathered experience brewing tea and the ability to discern quality ingredients. He also…
Cougars & Mustangs
After more than four frustrating months of spoiled athletes and greedy team owners arguing over out-of-this-world paychecks, the National Football League lockout is finally over! And that means big business for several former Cal Poly football players. Former Mustang wide receiver Dominique Johnson is expected to sign an undrafted free agent National Football League contract…
Trials and tribulations
This is how Jeff Lind sees it: He’s innocent, and he can prove his innocence—has proved his innocence, in fact—so there doesn’t have to be a trial. Actually, he questions whether the courts have any jurisdiction over him at all. Lind, an Orcutt resident who works in San Luis Obispo as general manager of an…
Cops vs. councilman
The war over binding arbitration in San Luis Obispo is heating up and getting weird. While the usual bric-a-brac of electioneering—signs and political advertising—are slowly popping up around the city, a back story of the struggle between the police association and leaders of the binding arbitration repeal movement is bubbling up to the surface. The…
Paso considers sales tax hike
Citing a need for supplemental revenue, the Paso Robles City Council is considering a sales-tax increase, an initiative that could go before voters in November. On July 19, the council asked city staffers to develop different options for how they might allocate extra revenues from a tax hike. The issue is scheduled to come back…
PG&E’s seismic studies shake up fishermen
Pacific Gas & Electric is gearing up to begin its long-anticipated in-depth studies of the seismic landscape surrounding the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, but some people who have been calling for the studies are now crying foul over the method the utility proposes to use to conduct them. The belated studies have held up…
Defendants in Myers murder trial ask for case dismissals
Four of the five defendants accused of kidnapping and murdering 15-year-old Santa Maria resident Dystiny Myers requested to have their cases dismissed. On July 25, attorneys for defendants Cody Miller, 22, of Fresno; Frank York, 20; Jason Greenwell, 21; and Rhonda Wisto, 47, of Nipomo, filed a motion seeking to dismiss the charges against their…
Suspects are charged in Arroyo Grande cross burning
Four suspects were charged in connection with a cross burning outside the house of a black woman in Arroyo Grande. All four were charged with arson, cross burning, terrorism, and conspiracy to commit cross burning. Jeremiah Leo Hernandez, 32; Jason Wayne Kahn, 36; Sara Kay Matheny, 24; and William Michael Soto, 20, pled not guilty…
NCAA investigates Cal Poly tennis program; coach resigns
Cal Poly tennis coach Justin McGrath resigned July 25 amid an NCAA investigation into Cal Poly’s tennis program for alleged rule and ethical violations. You wouldn’t know there was an investigation if you looked at the Cal Poly website. “Cal Poly men’s tennis coach Justin McGrath announced today that he has stepped aside from his…
Orcutt annexation goes to vote
Turns out community organizer Lory Farrior didn’t get enough votes to stop the annexation of her Orcutt Road neighborhood into the city of San Luis Obispo. But she did trigger a special election, so the residents of her neighborhood can decide whether they want to be part of the city. Farrior needed to get half…
A community mourns the passing of a Cal Poly professor and L.A. Times reporter
Any recent Cal Poly journalism graduates worth their salt will have a story or two to tell about George Ramos. A former L.A. Times reporter who traded in his notebook for a gig as chair of Cal Poly’s Journalism Department, Ramos, 63, passed away at his Morro Bay home over the weekend of July 22.…
What’s the best way to spend a summer’s day on the Central Coast?
Derek Menesez high school student “Probably in SLO shopping or at the beach.” Caitlin Knoll high school student “The fair. All of the concerts and the rides are spectacular.” Clyde Loraing retired social worker “Eat light, but eat well, and have something refreshing to drink like iced tea or lemonade; and then telephone the people…
