Cover Story
Burnt out: Shifting winds toss the Chimney Fire back and forth between Hearst Castle and Lake Nacimiento
Check out more images of the Chimney Fire. First, a red glow appeared on the hillside. Then, ash started sprinkling down from the night sky. When that sprinkle turned into a hail, Jerry Parker of Bryson Hesperia, a community north of Lake Nacimiento, knew that the Chimney Fire was closing in on his 7-acre property…
Three on trial in alleged beating of Hancock College student
Three Nipomo men are facing multiple felony charges after they allegedly beat and severely injured another man during a confrontation in a Nipomo neighborhood last year. Javier Chang 20, Noe Chang Leon, 24, and Francisco Mendoza, 20, appeared before a jury in SLO County Superior Court Aug. 22 for their trial. They are accused of…
Candidates challenge mayor in Morro Bay
The small but politically active city of Morro Bay may see an exciting election heading into November. Two candidates are taking on incumbent Mayor Jamie Irons, and four candidates are running for two open City Council seats. According to election filings, Betty Winholtz and Tina Metzger both filed papers to run against Irons, who also…
Protein, please!
He has the meats: Back in May, local Chef Jensen Lorenzen and his wife, Grace, launched Larder Meat Co., a monthly subscription-based meat delivery service featuring curated boxes of fresh, frozen, local chicken, pork, and beef. Their mission was twofold: to seek out the very best ranchers producing the highest quality product on the Central…
Calivore Sprint Co.’s Big Sur Gin and Big Sky Cafe’s Hibiscus Iced Tea
Unless you’ve been hiding under a juniper tree somewhere, you already know that gin is way cool again. I mean, it’s been cool for years now! Why this change of heart, you ask? The new wave of craft gins are totally herby, never medicinal (think gypsy, not grandpa). Spearheaded by a few good Cal Poly…
Rolling in the green: Morro Bay’s Avocado & Margarita Festival spans soil and sand
Farmer Bill Coy reaches his suntanned arms up and into a sea of glossy orange-green leaves in search of a perfectly ripe avocado. Victorious, he palms the plump, bumpy black fruit, which gives way to the touch only ever so slightly. “Avocados didn’t take off in California until the Hass was discovered,” Coy says, inspecting…
Inga Swearingen plays an album release concert on Aug. 27 at the Clark Center
Singer-songwriter Inga Swearingen opens her new album, Let Me Call This Home, with a cover song: The Police’s 1979 hit “Message in a Bottle.” Like Cassandra Wilson did on her 1993 album Blue Light ’til Dawn on tracks such as Robert Johnson’s “Come into My Kitchen” or Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey,” Swearingen has completely reinvented…
Blast from the Past: Hell Hunters
When? 1986 | Where? DVD | Rated? Not rated. The ’80s were a special time for movies—an especially bad time! So much schlock came out full of silly plots, mindless action, and gratuitous nudity. Hell Hunters is exactly that sort of trashy fun. A group of Nazi hunters is searching for the South American redoubt…
Studios on the Park exhibits entirety of apRoberts and Christopher’s ‘Exquisite Corpse’
Sometimes the individual parts are greater than the whole, and sometimes it’s a close tie. Such is the case with graphic artists Jimmy apRoberts and Brian Christopher’s Exquisite Corpse piece, which is 8 feet tall and 30 feet wide and hangs above the coffee bar at Kreuzberg Coffee Co. in San Luis Obispo. It’s a…
September is National Library Card Sign Up Month
Ah, September. School is back in session, summer sunlight still remains, but the weather has cooled just a touch. It’s the perfect time to curl up with a good book. And lucky for us, September is National Library Card Sign Up Month, a time to make sure everyone has a free library card. Throughout the…
Seeking mini stars: Enrollment is openfor SLO Little Theatre’s Academy of Creative Theatre
Think your tot’s got what it takes to be the next big acting sensation? Then hurry up and get that kid enrolled in the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre’s Academy of Creative Theatre. The program is currently accepting registrations for its fall 2016 theater classes. A total of five different after-school theater classes designed for…
Breath and sky: Get away from the coast with a trip to the Eastern Sierras
I roll my windows down simply to feel the heat: a wave of new weather to rid my bones of the fog-enshrouded cloud of 60-degree coast behind me. The gauge on my dashboard climbs above 90, and continues its upward push as I hit Cuyama, skirt around Bakersfield, and reach for Tehachapi. By the time…
Passing through: Artist Erin Hanson paints dreamy, impressionistic Paso landscapes
About six years ago, California native artist Erin Hanson couldn’t even tell you where Paso Robles was on a map. Today, she’s painted 300 landscapes of the agrarian (and steadily becoming trendy) town’s rolling hills and sprawling vineyards. She first laid eyes on the oak-filled hamlet during a Valentine’s Day weekend getaway with her boyfriend…
Atascadero Walmart is on track, city says
Walmart is still coming, Atascadero. That’s at least what city officials are saying after the Atascadero Planning Commission approved a one-year extension for the project’s parcel map on Aug. 16, yet again raising doubts about the retail giant’s commitment to Atascadero. Phil Dunsmore, Atascadero’s community development director, told New Times that the delay isn’t an…
Viewer Discretion: Santa Ynez Flames
The Rey Fire in Santa Barbara County has burned more than 30,000 acres and is 34 percent contained as of Aug. 24, according to Cal Fire reports. PHOTO BY AMANDA ROMERO
What do you think San Luis Obispo needs?
Cori Matherly San Luis Obispo “Less big name stores downtown and more small businesses.” Josh Payne New Times reader “SLO needs to bring back Mardi Gras. A large outdoor live music venue would be nice as well.” Rich Jordan Pantera fan “Cal Poly to be moved out into the desert.” Susie and Mark Barnum San…
Clubs 8/25/16 – 9/1/16
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Rd. in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on…
Comfort clothes: SLO-based Scissor Clothing designs stylish, wearable pieces
The Central Coast isn’t known as a fashion mecca by any standard, but for designer Kate White, fresh out of fashion school in New York in 2006, San Luis Obispo was where she wanted to be. “In school I just felt drawn to California,” White said. “I would joke and say I’d lived here in…
Thin blue line
Have you noticed an increase in incidents of police shooting people—frequently unarmed people of color? It seems to be happening more and more frequently, or maybe the media are just covering it more, or maybe it’s about cellphone videos, or maybe it’s a combination of all three. Well, not according to Lompoc Police Chief Pat…
Oil trains and children
My 8-year-old granddaughter and her younger brother live several stone throws away from the railroad tracks in SLO. From their living room window they used to watch the trains go by, and she enjoyed playing a guessing game about how many cars would there be in the train. She would wave at the people she…
Save Camp AG
The Camp Arroyo Grande property is one of the hidden gems of the Central Coast. Tucked unassumingly in a small canyon just above the village of Arroyo Grande, its rustic buildings, oak tree-studded hill, and historic tabernacle are both a surprise to new visitors and a reassuring experience of nostalgia for returning families. Camp AG…
We need laws that push clean energy
Along with the news of steadily worsening floods in the east and fires in the west largely attributable to burning of fossil fuels, comes recent word of the opening of “America’s first offshore wind farm” producing clean renewable energy. This event holds promise of “a new American industry that could … make a huge contribution…
Issues local candidates should address
SLO Town is often thought of as a place with few if any real problems or social maladies. And it’s true there aren’t many that are easy to see at first glance. But a closer look reveals much. For instance: • An underbelly, still, of chronic homelessness. The homeless are kind of hidden now because…
What is balance?
The scene: Studios of the NNN (Nazi News Network), Berlin, 1933. “Good evening. I am your host, Wolfgang Tod. Tonight on ‘Important Issues’ we look at the question of whether Jews caused Germany to lose World War I and should therefore be exterminated. “Speaking for the government we have the minister of propaganda. For the…
Drink to comedy: J. Lohr partners with Juice Media to bring millennials into the fold
Typically, when one thinks of a wine connoisseur, it is a middle-aged or older person that comes to mind. Millennials are rarely thought of as wine drinkers, but J. Lohr Winery in Paso Robles is hoping to change that through a series of comedy videos titled #YouKnowJLohr. J. Lohr partnered with Juice Media to create…
Take initiative: Voters will check boxes on gun safety, capital punishment, marijuana
I don’t know how to put this, but November’s election is kind of a big deal. And, believe it or not, it’s about much more than Hillary versus The Donald—especially here in California. Our voters will face a jam-packed ballot come Nov. 8, featuring the most initiatives (17 to be exact) we’ve seen since 2000.…
Rental rebels: Scofflaws ignore Arroyo Grande’s vacation rental laws
If you are looking for a home or room to rent for a short vacation in the Five Cities area, the map included in the Arroyo Grande City Council’s Aug. 9 regular meeting packet is a good place to start. The map shows a satellite view of the city punctuated by 14 blue and red…
Correction
• In the Aug. 18 news brief, “Chimney Fire scorches 30 homes,” South Shore Village resident Lee Johnson’s age was misprinted. Johnson is 89.
Two dead in suspected murder-suicide in Morro Bay
Morro Bay Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting deaths of a man and woman in Morro Bay on Aug. 22. Police released the names of the victims, 36-year-old Angelica Ramos and 47-year-old Bryan Keith Tuck Aug. 23. While the investigation is still ongoing, police believe the deaths are the result of a…
Arroyo Grande residents protest potential sale of historic camp
History and commerce are hurtling toward a head-on collision in Arroyo Grande, and the city’s residents want their elected officials to know they’ll take history over commerce. A total of 15 residents spoke at the Arroyo Grande City Council’s Aug. 23 regular meeting, urging the council members to intervene in the possible sale of Camp…
Medical marijuana industry concerned over possible new planting ban in SLO County
Advocates, patients, and members of the local medical cannabis industry were on high alert leading up to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors’ Aug. 23 meeting, where the board was scheduled to consider a draft urgency ordinance that could mean a ban on new cultivation come Christmastime. The controversy surrounding the ordinance hinges…
