Cover Story
Comrades, fall in
Click here to view our special Autumn Arts Annual 2009.
Should the U.S. send more soldiers to Afghanistan?
Mike Good artist “Hell no. History has shown that it’s the graveyard of empires. I mean the British went in there twice, the Russians went in there in the ‘80s, and now we’re doing it. And we set up the whole situation anyway.” Courtney Long restaurant manager “No. I think money could be used better…
Outlaw country!
Merle Haggard will forever be tied to his 1969 hit “Okie from Muskogee,” a tune that made him a hero to shitkickin’, hippie haters everywhere: We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee/ We don’t take our trips on LSD/ We don’t burn our draft cards down on Main Street/ We like livin’ right, and bein’ free.…
Nature vs. nurture
New Times What’s going on at this year’s outdoor painting festival? Muara Johnston This year’s festival, the eighth, has been expanded to a week-long series of events. The new events are the movie night, the Plein Air Concert with Café Musique and the Plein Air Poetry. We are also having the collectors’ party, which…
Chateau Ste. Michele 2008 Sauvignon Blanc
Fresh and crisp, this easy drinking wine offers tangy grapefruit and lime notes that are softened by sweet melon notes. It’s a great choice for light dishes, like beet-and-goat-cheese salad, angel-hair pasta with pesto and veggies, or pork chile verde. A good buy at only $6.99, at Trader Joe’s.
Rodney Strong 2007 Zinfandel Knotty Vines
This tasty Zinfandel from Sonoma County was grown on vines planted in 1904, hence its name in tribute to the gnarly old grapevines. A tasty wine that offers fresh raspberry and boysenberry aromas and flavors, it is slightly jammy but not overly so. It’s a delicious wine that drinks as easily alone as it pairs…
I love Asian cuisine
No matter where I am in the world with my husband Dan, when we dine in a sushi house we always order our favorite treats: maguro, hamachi, and sake sashimi (tuna, yellowtail, and salmon), and a rainbow roll to get some rice into the order. Then we try something new, usually a nightly special. But…
Dawn Ortiz Legg
NEW TIMES: According to a recent national survey, a majority of Americans are against escalating the war in Afghanistan. Should we be sending more troops there? LEGG: No. We oppose sending more troops because our increased presence is increasing anger in Afghanistan. We would like to see rather an increase in humanitarian aid as we…
Do I smell nuts to you?
The other day I stole a letter sent to New Times by a local family with a kid who’s severely allergic to nuts. We’re talking anaphylactic shock, dead in 20 minutes allergic. It’s a nightmare: They’re worried about sending him to school where nuts are everywhere, or trick or treating, or even baseball games. After…
Sewage sludge compost poisons gardens
For more than 10 years, SLO County has been wrestling with whether or how to allow spreading sewage sludge on land, due to the concentrations of toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, and infectious agents in the material. These contaminants pose short- and long-term risks for public health, the environment, and agriculture. Among those focused on local policy…
Condemn racism
When President Jimmy Carter, who grew up in the overtly racist “Jim Crow” South, announced, “I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a Black man, that he’s African-American,” Republican National Committee director Michael Steele leaped to the defense of GOP…
How dry is WOW
I am writing in regard to the recent inaccurate media coverage the Week of Welcome Program at Cal Poly has received. I was appalled to learn of this incredible program getting bad press in relation to new students partying and drinking. I personally know of few other student-run organizations at Cal Poly that work as…
Pipe down, Caldwell
I’m beginning to tire of Andy Caldwell’s campaign to unseat Sarah Christie, the planning commission chair. Caldwell, the pro-business, anti-regulations columnist and radio commentator who is the executive director of COLAB, accuses her of “bias” every chance he gets wherever anyone will give him time or space. However, I’ve been to enough planning commission and…
Solidarity forever
Kathy Johnston wrote another well-researched, balanced article (“Ground zero for ground water,” Sept. 17). She introduced readers to an issue of critical importance to folks in the North County: We are dependent on a groundwater supply that is limited and is significantly impacted. As she reported, we have moved beyond much of the usual…
Manufacturing consent
In response to the letter questioning CNN’s blasé Tea Bag protest coverage (“CNN got it wrong,” Sept. 17) well, they are Cable Nitwit News. Fox News, however, has a vested economic and political interest in the Tea Bag movement and therefore posts “uplifting or positive” articles about these “grassroots” protests. Fox News conceived, promoted,…
Everybody look what’s going down
In response to the letter from Gina Bautista (“CNN got it wrong,” Sept. 17) I want to point out that an important reason the protests of the 1960s are generally regarded favorably is that, in large part, those protests were in the name of very positive steps forward toward social equality: civil rights, women’s rights,…
We all count
We’ve had a buffet of opinions and arguments lately regarding health care and, sorry; I want to add one more. Those who call themselves patriots who would deny others the compassionate care they enjoy—shame on them! They might as well come out from behind their flags and burn the stars and stripes. There is right…
We deserve two or more great gardens
I am proud and pleased to serve as a member of the SLO Botanical Garden board, as I serve as Department Head for the Cal Poly Horticulture and Crop Science Department and also as Director of the Cal Poly Gardens and Leaning Pine Arboretum. We have and should continue to have a highly complementary and…
No gondolas, please
Liz Scott-Graham claims “Botanical Garden won’t be Disneyland” (Sept. 17) yet she admits the plans include a gondola, a tram, zip lines, a 2,500-person amphitheater, a 10,000 square foot restaurant, and much more. I’m no expert on botanical gardens, so I queried Google about “Botanical Gardens Gondola” and discovered there is not another botanical garden…
Story driven
“I look at it as: If I were going to a conference, what would I want?” Central Coast Writers’ Conference Director Cathe Olson reflects. Olson is the author of Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love. And what she wants, she gets: incredible writers and teachers who will lead more…
A lesson in sludge
Morro Bay High School officials responded quickly when questions were raised about the safety of the school’s garden during the first week of school last month. Researcher David Broadwater met with a science teacher at the school after an Aug. 13 article in New Times revealed that some of the raised beds where vegetables…
Wrongful-death lawsuit filed in hazing case
With a criminal trial still creeping forward in the hazing death of Cal Poly freshman Carson Starkey, Starkey’s parents have filed a civil lawsuit naming many more parties than the four fraternity members facing criminal charges. On Sept. 21, Starkey’s parents—Scott and Julia of Texas—filed a wrongful death complaint against the national and local…
DeVaul case stumps jury
A jury convicted Sunny Acres Ranch owner Dan DeVaul on Sept. 22 of two charges of misdemeanor safety violations and acquitted him of two other counts. The jury deadlocked on five more, setting the scene for a possible retrial if DeVaul and the prosecutor don’t agree on conditions for sentencing. The jury convicted DeVaul…
Sheriff’s deputy charged with DUI
A San Luis Obispo County senior sheriff’s deputy was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after an altercation on Sept. 6 near the 100 block of El Camino Real in Arroyo Grande. James Martin Lesperance, 45, of Pismo Beach was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, and…
