Cover Story
SLO goes its own cinematic way
Ask a real estate agent or someone from the Visitor’s Conference Bureau to describe San Luis Obispo, and they’ll likely tell you that it’s ideally situated between Los Angeles and San Francisco more purgatory than actual destination. Too California for Sundance, not quite plastic enough for the Oscars, and not nearly European enough for Cannes,…
Local groups file Measure J challenge
Two watchdog groups on Feb. 28 announced a formal challenge to Measure J, the county-voter-approved initiative to allow commercial development of local rancher Ernie Dalidio’s property. Citizens for Planning Responsibly (CPR) and the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County filed a petition asking the San Luis Obispo Superior Court to determine the measure’s legality.…
Detox is on the way
On a quiet street in a San Luis Obispo neighborhood, a nonprofit recovery group is poised to take a leap of faith to fill a gaping void. With no obvious source of funding so far, Project Amend is preparing to become an affordable, state-licensed residential rehab facility for people with drug and alcohol addictions. Detox…
Skin and ink
Seth Souza was one treatment short of having a tattoo completely removed when the Liberty Tattoo Removal Program closed its clinic due to the retirement of its only volunteer doctor. From the time he began the program in the spring of 2004 until its closure in December 2005, Souza underwent nine laser treatments to remove…
Mobile-home dwellers win reprieve
With owners of some county mobile home parks considering selling off or closing their parks, many park residents have been worried about the future of their affordable housing. After hearing impassioned pleas from more than a dozen residents of mobile home parks from around the county, the SLO County Board of Supervisors with a 4-1…
Contest highlights affordable housing
If there’s an ideal scenario for building genuinely affordable housing on the Central Coast rather than the $500,000-mortgage variety that can wear the name it might go something as follows: Services such as gas and water lines would already be in place on the site, the buildings would be small and economical to build, and…
East meets West Coast
From the Boston Tea Party to a sweet staple of the Deep South, our nation has a long tea-related history. In fact, most people around the world enjoy different dried leaves steeped in water. Some even participate in ceremonies or rituals. Even in modern pop culture, teas have been big news. Remember hearing about the…
If it’s not one thing, it’s the other
Wal-Mart is coming! Wal-Mart is coming! No wait. My mistake. Wal-Mart isn’t coming! Wal-Mart isn’t coming! Hold on. That’s not right either. I think I’m missing something here. I’m going to try again, and I’m not going to use exclamation points, because I can’t keep up that intensity for long. It wears me out. Well,…
Diablo gets assessment timeline
Responding to a federal court order, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Feb. 26 ordered its staff to prepare a new assessment of the potential environmental effects of a terrorist attack on Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant’s dry cask storage project. The staff has 90 days to complete the study, which will explore the likelihood of…
Fast facts
Does your dog sit when you say “speak” or tear up the house while you’re gone? It’s never too late to teach your old dog new tricks. Every first Saturday of the month, Animal Services is hosting “Ask the Trainer” with trainer Linda Hardy. From noon to 2 p.m., Hardy will be on hand to…
Mediation leads to scheduling agreement
After months of fruitless negotiations and with the looming threat that their schedules at Sinsheimer Stadium would be decided by chance San Luis Obispo’s two semipro baseball teams have reached an agreement, SLO Parks and Recreation Director Betsy Kiser announced. “The results are, of course, wonderful,” Kiser said in an interview, # “because I think…
Runoff research reveals a whole bunch of crap
This season’s first sheeting rains started falling in Morro Bay at about 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 13. For most folks, the rain’s patter and accompanying lightning storm likely only triggered a sleepy desire to pull the blankets up tighter. Yet for an intrepid group of volunteers, the downpour signaled time to dress and caffeinate on…
Letters
The ’60s are over, man It was no surprise when I read your interview with Bob Banner (“Skin is skin or is it?” Feb. 15) that he would launch into an anti-American tirade while discussing nudity. Banner and his ilk never seem to tire of whining and sniveling about how bad our country is while…
Foul ball
Sinsheimer Stadium in SLO was 100 percent full in the past during June/July, with Babe Ruth getting “priority” choice of playing time, then the Blues scheduling their season (with Babe Ruth making some concessions to accommodate their schedule), then the Central Coast Men’s Adult Baseball League picking up the remaining usable space. “Usable” means weeknights…
