Cover Story
State of the unions
Down with unions. Long live unions. Those two sentiments represent just about all you hear when you turn on the TV news or pick up a newspaper. Whether it’s the battles raging over union rights in Wisconsin or local fire and police unions facing off with the chamber of commerce, it’s easy to fall into…
What’s your preferred getaway vehicle?
Nicole Lafferby Parks and Recreation childcare director “A hoverboard from Back to the Future.” Shane McCutcheon chef “Well, if I seriously need to get away, my truck is the most reliable. But in terms of style, my Mustang [pictured] wins every time.” Amanda Bolen mother “A Corvette.” Garret Johnson customer service “A dune buggy.”
What is it good for?
The rusty, the worn, the tattered, and torn.” These are the preferred types of antique detritus mixed-media artist Erin Perry uses in her exhibit, “The Pity of War.” Perry’s art is featured at Cambria’s Allied Arts Gallery through May 1. The exhibit truly embraces the idea that one man’s trash can be another’s treasure. The…
Margerum 2006 Syrah Uber Santa Barbara County
This impressive Rhone red is aging so beautifully, I found it difficult to set the glass down. Well balanced and complex, this intriguing, layered Syrah has everything going for it: Bold, ripe aromas and flavors of blackberries, plums, and tangy boysenberries are weaved with spice, white pepper, and mineral notes. Winemaker Doug Margerum said it’s…
The government feeds on greed and power
I can’t believe there hasn’t been more coverage on the unjust gas price increases in the press and from our government. The average worker has had his wages cut, rising costs, and job loss, while the big companies continue to manipulate things so they make even more money at the worker’s expense. A barrel of…
Education and contraception minimize abortion
Planned Parenthood has been in the news lately. Locally, contraception and pregnancy testing account for 77 percent of its activity, while only 5 percent of its activity is abortion. In my opinion, contraception and sex education reduce the need for abortions. I support our local Planned Parenthood clinics and urge young people to utilize their…
Use the Internet to send a message to our crummy leaders
Ask the old-schooler like me the following: What’s causing all the unrest in the Middle East and South Korea? Those people there see how the rest of the world lives on the Internet and demand equal freedom and rights. Why did we go into Afghanistan and Iraq? It was to reset the U.S. dollar versus…
Stand up and say it could happen to us
In the wake of the ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima, our attention in this community, understandably, turns to our “own” nuclear power plant in Diablo Canyon. We were once able to tuck away our fears of a Diablo disaster and carry on. But now the threat is raw and tangible. It could happen here–to us.…
Thanks for exploring, dreaming, and discovering with us
We would like to thank Ashley Schwellenbach for including us in the second installment of Box City. Special thanks to Aaron Steed, the owner of Meathead Movers, for hosting such a unique and positive community event. We know that these free Box City events took careful planning and organization efforts, which must be commended. We…
Get a clearer picture of the Chernobyl tragedy
In response to Cecil Adams’ recent “Straight Dope” column on the safety of nuclear energy (“Is nuclear power safe?” March 31), it should be mentioned that recent studies have challenged the widely held belief that the Chernobyl “exclusion zone” is a paradise for wildlife. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, wildlife is…
We are paying for uranium–in more ways than one
Uranium is the primary fuel for nuclear power plants, as well as being a component in nuclear bombs. A recent “Straight Dope” column (“Is nuclear power safe?” March 31) stated that coal mining produces far more deaths than uranium mining. In one way this is true, since most uranium miners die at home from small…
Committed to improvement
I have worked at Atascadero State Hospital since 2002, and while I acknowledge that the hospital faces difficulties that are both common to many large bureaucracies and unique to an institution that serves mentally ill men who have a history of violence, I believe that the hospital administration is deeply concerned about patient violence, staff…
Cut!
Well, they finally caved. It only took a Category 7 nuclear disaster across the Pacific Ocean and a reality-television-scaled intervention from the likes of Lois Capps and the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility (“PG&E, you have a problem,” Capps pleaded, as the camera slowly zoomed in on the tears in her eyes. Cue heart-wrenching music.) for…
Yarrow Nelson
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Reduce our footprints now
From oil to coal to natural gas and now nuclear power: As one by one the use of these energy sources results in catastrophes, we keep searching for a safe alternative, but even if we champion solar, hydro, wind, ocean waves, wood, and other such renewable energy sources, our insatiable appetite for energy simply cannot…
Food trumps location
“Do any of you know the three most important things to consider when opening a new restaurant?” Jean-Michel Jeudy, vice president of food and beverage at the California Culinary Academy, asked in his opening lecture to my freshman class. Scarcely drawing a breath, the impatient Frenchman answered his own question, surely assuming we plebes were…
Snoqualmie 2008 Merlot Naked Columbia Valley
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Clubs & Meetings
Goin’ South … COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. ELMO’S NIPOMO SALOON: 131 South Thompson Road, Nipomo, 929-5362. Karaoke on Thurs. and Fri. at 8pm. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: 750 Mattie Road, Pismo Beach, 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music every Fri.-Sat., 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell, Doc Stoltey. GATHER…
How many cops does it take to screw dim bulbs?
Sunday, April 17, is Pozo Saloon’s annual 420 concert, and one would hope that after last year’s ridiculous sting operation by local law enforcement agencies, concertgoers will have learned their lesson. DO NOT SELL, TRADE, OR GIVE DRUGS TO ANYONE YOU DON’T KNOW PERSONALLY! Last year, eight people got caught in this little entrapment scheme,…
Hot, hot, hot!
I’m at D’Anbino Vineyards & Cellars’ downtown Paso Robles tasting room, transfixed by the sweeping Latin jazz sounds emanating from De La Bahia and the whirling figures tearing up the expansive dance floor when a pretty and incredibly fit blonde walks up to me and asks if I’ve molested anyone yet. “Whaaaat?” It takes me…
Abandoned hearts
“I do not ask to die, I crave more life.” The line from a Pushkin poem echoes in the dark, opening The Gin Game. Then, Elvis? Director John Pillow is a walking résumé and contradiction. I’m expecting a burly man, but what I get is a tiny, middle-aged hipster bedecked in denim. He’s in touch…
Bunnies on the brain
Thirty years ago, Mark Bryan painted Diablo Canyon melting down. He did this in the style of legendary folk artist Grandma Moses, his disaster scene fashioned after her images of quiet, rural America. Bryan displayed the work at his April 1, 2011, reception at Steynberg Gallery, where, amid recently resurfaced angst concerning the nuclear power…
Cougars & Mustangs
Notice the influx of high school students roaming the streets of San Luis Obispo? No, it’s not a massive senior ditch day; it’s Cal Poly’s 18th annual Open House (which the university cleverly dubbed “Polywood”). Highlights of the event take place on campus Saturday, April 16, as the university will showcase more than 200 clubs…
You know the drill
Skyrocketing oil prices are doing more than providing fuel for a rash of “pain at the pump” stories; they’re also being used to pressure the Obama administration into reopening oil-drilling operations off the Central Coast. On March 29, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced three bills in Congress that,…
Park ‘n’ pay? Pay ‘n’ park?
They’re going to build a parking lot here?” Suzanne Wieler asked as she got out of her car. She had maneuvered into her usual parking spot, not far from a city parking lot at Palm and Nipomo streets in San Luis Obispo. “It’s always empty anyway,” she said to a reporter. “Why would they do…
Put old vinyl to good use
Vinyl records are a sad casualty in the march of progress. They’ve been utterly obsolete since the advent of digital music, but for many people—collectors and DJs with their hip-hop music and baggy pants—the old ways of wax music retain a vintage appeal. Caleb Englert hopes to capitalize on that. “Styles change, but music itself…
Religious community has words for Blakeslee
As Republican State Sen. Sam Blakeslee—considered by many to be a moderate conservative—explained to the community how budget negotiations with Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown had disintegrated in the weeks prior, a mixture of clergy leaders and human services advocates called on the legislator to support the governor’s “modest” budget package. On April 8, Blakeslee discussed…
PG&E cries uncle
Nearly a year and a half after Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced it was seeking to relicense the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, the energy company has succumbed to pressure to delay its relicensing efforts. Though the utility hasn’t halted the federal process, it sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on April…
SLO city budgeting begins; sacred cows are worried
Now comes the hard part. The San Luis Obispo City Council began to plot how to deal with a $4.4 million (and rising) annual structural budget deficit at its April 12 meeting. As with the first stage of cooking a steak for a meal, it wasn’t fun to watch. The laborious process means the slaughtering…
Morro planning commissioner’s days are numbered
A couple dozen people lined up at the April 12 Morro Bay City Council meeting to support embattled Planning Commissioner John Diodati. But in the end, the council majority voted to amend its advisory bodies’ attendance policy, which will likely lead to Diodati’s dismissal. Under the new rules, if an advisory board member misses three…
Some students turn out to protest cuts
While faculty members and a few dozen students turned up to scream their lungs out over upcoming budget cuts to the California State University system, many of the demonstrators expressed frustration over a lack of student interest. The California Faculty Association and its Students for Quality Education affiliate organized the protest at Cal Poly’s University…
