Cover Story
55 Fiction 2019: The shortest stories you’ll read this week
You can say a lot in 55 words. You can fight, forget, or love someone. Tell stories about global warming, eat your friends, or die. Make political statements. Riff on getting old. But there are only a select few who can do it well enough to get published! For the last three decades, New Times…
Cambria Center for the Arts stages Quilters
Quilters opens at the Cambria Center for the Arts Theatre on Friday, July 19, at 7 p.m. The plot of this play follows various frontier women as they share their stories of settling down in the West. The show runs through Sunday, Aug. 11, with performances taking place Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and…
Nautical Cowboy’s coconut shrimp
The other night, my husband and I realized we had visited the Nautical Cowboy so early that we were in the happy hour zone, which consequently is our happy-place zone as well. Before we shared a bowl of buttery cioppino, we ordered an appetizer of coconut shrimp served with a Thai-style chili dipping sauce. There…
Correction
The June 27 arts article, “Homecoming,” should have stated that artist Tony Girolo attended high school in Geneva when his family moved there for a time when Girolo’s stepfather was working abroad as a professor. Girolo had studio space at the Bunker in SLO, an arrangement the artist said ended about nine months ago. In…
SLO County airport adds direct flights to Las Vegas starting in October
Hordes of Central Coast residents took to their social media pages on June 26 to cheer the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport’s announcement that it will soon offer direct flights to Las Vegas, a move that could impact the Santa Maria airport’s limited flight options. Santa Maria Public Airport General Manager Chris Hastert said…
‘Midsommar’ disturbs and shocks
MIDSOMMAR What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? Downtown Centre, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 Writer-director Ari Aster (Hereditary) helms this mystery-horror about young American couple Christian (Jack Reynor) and Dani (Florence Pugh), who travel with friends to Sweden for a once-every-90-years festival, which…
Bingeable: Stranger Things 3
When? 2019 What’s it rated? TV-14 Where’s it available? Netflix The Upside Down is back, and America’s most cursed fictional town, Hawkins, Indiana, is in for another wonderfully frightening whirlwind of drama and destruction, in the third installment of Netflix’s Stranger Things, which came out July 4. Co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer made a huge…
Hot mess?
Recently, I saw that someone used the words “hot mess” to describe the storage of used nuclear fuel at Diablo Canyon Power Plant. Hot, yes, when initially removed from the reactor. The word mess can mean more than one thing. In the case of the nuclear fuel, it is not all over the place, “in…
Film Listings, 7/11/19 – 7/18/19
ALADDIN What’s it rated? PG What’s it worth? Full price Where’s it showing? Sunset Drive-in Pick Co-writer and director Guy Richie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) helms this live-action remake of Disney’s animated 1992 film of the same name. Mena Massoud takes on the title role as…
Thank you, from GALA
Thank you for the excellent reporting in the July 4 Pride edition of the New Times. I was delighted to see the in-depth coverage of important topics such as LGBTQ-plus mental health and body positivity! While Pride is celebratory, there are many battles still to come as we strive for equity and inclusion. As you…
Jurassic trek: Dinosaurs and their avian descendants reign supreme at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Museum mayhem The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. Call (805) 682-4711 or visit sbnature.org for more info. “All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!” “Yeah, but, John, if…
Downtown SLO drops plans for new property district amid backlash
The Downtown San Luis Obispo association announced July 9 that it has tabled plans to form a new property-based improvement district (PBID) that, if approved, would’ve funded cleaning and safety efforts in the city’s commercial and civic hub. After a surge in opposition to the PBID that grew “divisive,” the nonprofit’s board of directors voted…
Power of choice
Thank you to Karen Garcia for telling Ruzena Brar’s story (“Women’s care,” July 4). I do not believe any woman—be she a teenager or a 50-year-old professional—takes the termination of a pregnancy lightly. No woman should be judged by society for a thoughtful decision she feels she must make for her own health or the…
Keep dreaming
Al Fonzi has hit upon a novel solution to the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area air pollution problem (“Under siege,” July 4): Just move all the Nipomo residents in the path of the plume! That’s much easier than planting vegetation. Let’s follow his logic to its conclusion: 1) San Luis Obispo County owns the…
Local activist group aids displaced immigrants in Mexico
In the wake of local impacts from national immigration issues, several SLO County residents formed an activist group to raise awareness and educate the community. As part of that effort, members of Allies for Immigration Justice traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to provide support to Haitian immigrants who have been displaced. There, they also learned about…
Join the protest
This week brings fresh waves of shock and outrage around the world in response to The Guardian’s reporting on July 2 (“Texas migrant detention facilities ‘dangerously overcrowded'”) and follow-up reports and visits by elected officials and world leaders (“United Nations slams U.S. for detention facilities: ‘This should never happen anywhere,'” USA Today, July 9). The…
Ignore bogus reports
Please stop quoting the State Parks’ 2017 bogus Economic Impact Report. There has never been an independent, unbiased study of the financial impacts of the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area! The deceptive “report” issued by State Parks was conducted by a marketing firm, SMG Consulting, whose president is a self-proclaimed “adventure motorcycle rider.” The…
Bountiful: SLO County agricultural values hit all-time high in 2018
For the first time ever, San Luis Obispo County’s agricultural industry has eclipsed $1 billion in value. In a record-breaking 2018, local crop and livestock values totaled $1.04 billion, a 12 percent surge over 2017, according to the county’s annual crop report released this month. Since 2009, SLO’s agricultural economy has grown 66 percent, or…
Genetic trauma
Nationally and locally, issues of race quite literally afflict our body politic. At home here on our idyllic Central Coast, many white folks—who make up 71 percent of our community—can see racism, whether it comes in the form of frat boys putting on blackface, or, not that many years ago, Cal Poly students hanging a…
DA accuses SLO County clerk’s wife of embezzlement
The San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office is accusing Sherry Gong, 47, of three counts of grand theft embezzlement from the Atascadero High School Band and Pageantry Booster Club. In a complaint filed July 8 against Gong, who was the booster club’s treasurer, the DA’s Office alleges that Gong took a total of $32,554 from…
Australian trio Rüfüs du Soul brings live electronica to the Avila Beach Golf Resort July 18
Listening to Rüfüs du Soul’s new album, Solace, I can totally imagine a sea of people, hands over their heads, eyes closed, swaying in unison to the Australian trio’s live electronica and house music beside the Pacific Ocean at the Avila Beach Golf Resort next Thursday, July 18 (gates at 5 p.m.; 18-and-older; $39.50 to…
What’s in a name?
Uh-oh! New Times has stepped in it again! I haven’t seen this much vitriol since we published a meth recipe! Today’s hubbub is because we published drag queen Juicy CuntWhore’s full stage name in a Facebook post celebrating last week’s issue (“Pride 2019,” July 4). “I’m disgusted, outraged, and frightened for all of us! SLO…
Find a whole rainbow of foods in one place at Talley Farms’ winery, farm stand, and berry patch u-pick
Focus on farmin’ The Talley Farm Stand at Talley Vineyards is open June 29 to Nov. 3, every Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It offers fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, a u-pick berry patch, a pumpkin patch (in autumn), wine tasting at the winery, picnicking on the grass, and farm and…
55 Fiction 2019: The shortest stories you’ll read this week
You can say a lot in 55 words. You can fight, forget, or love someone. Tell stories about global warming, eat your friends, or die. Make political statements. Riff on getting old. But there are only a select few who can do it well enough to get published! For the last three decades, New Times…
Atascadero, SLO County won’t join Monterey Bay Community Power
Atascadero and unincorporated San Luis Obispo County residents will not have Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) as a choice for electricity in 2021—a decision that breaks away from the recent votes of six other local cities. On July 9, a divided Atascadero City Council opted not to agendize a decision to join MBCP, a public…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our July 4 Pride story, “The Central Coast has a thriving LGBTQ community, so where are all the gay bars?”
I scream for …
The Cliffs Hotel and Spa, 2757 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach, offers the most summer thing of all: ice cream. On Thursday, July 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. join them for Sweets Under the Stars, a posh, kid-friendly event where you can relive your childhood by grabbing a sweet treat from the SLO Mama…
Local artists return to SLO with Morro Madonnas art show
On display Morro Madonnas, featuring the work of Maysha Mohamedi and Maureen St. Vincent, will be on display at the SLO Museum of Art through Sept. 1. Visit sloma.org for more information. When Maysha Mohamedi walked into an art class at San Francisco State University years ago, the last thing she expected to find was…
Finger pickin’ good
Fine fingerpicker Martin Paris will be playing for Penman Springs Vineyard’s 2nd Friday event, on July 12, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 1985 Penman Springs Road, Paso. Railroad BBQ will make a stop for smoked tri-tip and bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapeños, and of course, there will be Penman’s wines … Also on July 12 at…
The Liar brings poetry and laughter to Morro Bay
Get your tix By The Sea Productions’ The Liar will show through July 28. Tickets range from $15 to $20. Visit bytheseaproductions.org for tickets and more information. What really constitutes a lie? Like a game of telephone, the truth gets a little blurrier each go-round in the farcical play The Liar, which playwright David Ives…
Mindbody is being sued for labor code violations
A former employee of Mindbody claims the company violated labor code by failing to properly pay him and others for their hours worked. A complaint filed on July 1 against Mindbody, alleges that Daniel Cardwell and all current and former hourly paid or non-exempt employees who worked for Mindbody any time during the period of…
Youth Legacy winner announced
The California Mid-State Fair and the James W. Brabeck Youth Legacy Fund announced that 17-year-old Isaac Lopez is the winner of the inaugural Youth Legacy Project and Scholarship of $20,000. Lopez will be entering his senior year this fall at Shandon High School. The contest was open to all high school sophomores and juniors planning…
Foodie fun
BYOM (Bring your own mat), because Castoro Cellars, 1315 N. Bethel Road, Templeton, is holding its July Yoga Brunch with in-house yoga instructor Lauren Udsen on Sunday, July 14, from 9 to 11 a.m. The all-levels yoga class begins with an 8:45 a.m. check-in and coffee and tea before the session. After the hour-long class…
Pinot and Paella Fest benefits PRYAF
The Paso Pinot Producers, organizers of the Pinot and Paella Festival, presented a check for $38,000 to the Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation (PRYAF) on Thursday, June 27. The funds were raised during the 16th annual event, which took place on Sunday, June 2. The festival has raised more than $450,000 for PRYAF and other…
Atascadero firefighters can now display their tattoos
The Atascadero Fire and Emergency Services will temporarily modify its tattoo policy, allowing firefighter personnel to leave their tattoos uncovered with some limitations. The temporary modification will be implemented on a trial basis, taking effect July 8 through Sept. 9. “It is common for the newer generation coming into the workforce to have tattoos that…
