Cover Story
For want of fish
When large numbers of marine mammals suddenly and unexpectedly begin stranding on beaches and dying, the incident is described as an unusual mortality event. While that term may be scientifically efficient and accurate, it does little to convey—at least in the recent case of starving California sea lions—the startling sight of limp forms dotting the…
What’s your favorite seafood?
Tom Hibshman retired “King crab leg. And lobster comes pretty close.” Jennifer Guernsey artist “Salmon, because my parents are from the northwest and it’s good for you.” Jordan Lewis student/employee “Lobster. My dad’s from New Hampshire, and we used to visit, and you can get two for the price of one back there.” Jason Bath…
Equine enterprise
The human olfactory system recognizes approximately 10,000 different scents. Those distinguishable odors include: garlic and onions simmering in butter; sandalwood; rain in summer; and horse sweat. OK, OK; so maybe sweatus eqqus is an acquired fondness. But, even the most urban of cowboys can appreciate the deeply savory aroma of well-oiled leather. Whether you ride…
SLO climate change!
Some people recycle; some don’t. Some ride their bike or walk; some drive. Some conserve energy; some waste it. The question is this: How do we get everybody to make a little effort to keep our planet habitable, because I can tell you this, when it’s Revenge of Gaia time, old mother Earth isn’t going…
Bloody Sunday!
It’s Sunday, April 14, and my wife Anna and I are joining three others—Young’s Market Company liquor reps Vic Vacanti and Ronnie Hester, as well as two-time Bloody Mary Contest winner James Palmese—to judge Sweet Springs Saloon’s 30th Annual Bloody Mary contest. It’s a rough job, but somebody’s got to do it. As we’re sitting…
Art takes a chill pill
You know what’s the problem with this modern world? People look at art too damn fast. Most viewers spend all of eight seconds looking at an art piece in a museum or gallery. What’s the rush, guys? Got somewhere to be? That’s what Phil Terry, founder of Reading Odyssey and CEO of Creative Good, wanted…
On the future of the organ
Pipe organist Cameron Carpenter has long lamented his instrument’s incredible immobility. And while it would be highly unusual for most musicians of Carpenter’s stature to advocate for the digitization of one’s instrument, in his case it only makes sense: a touring performer, Carpenter has long been required to play a different instrument every night. When…
‘To those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine’
Enchanted April begins with a beguilingly simple premise: Four bored Englishwomen rent an Italian villa. This description is just vague enough to pique one’s interest. One almost senses the presence of the unknown beneath its innocent simplicity, that perhaps the play’s potency is something that can’t be captured in a simple description, or that some…
Clubs: 4/18
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo…
Bites: Time to grill the cheese
On April 12, I attended a grilled cheese tasting and judging event at Gather Wine Bar in the village of Arroyo Grande with a few friends and fellow melty-cheese-smothered-in-bread connoisseurs. As judges, we were some of the select 40 deemed worthy enough to give our say over the glorious grilled cheese concoctions brought forth for…
La Vieille Ferme 2011 Rose France
This tasty dry pink from Southern France offers good quality at a bargain price. Notes of sweet strawberry and watermelon are refreshing and delicious. A versatile Rose, it’s perfect for the front porch or a picnic. Try it with salads with goat cheese and fruit, cold fried chicken, or a BLT. A good buy at…
Felten Cellars 2009 Pinot Noir San Luis Obispo
A delicious, easy-drinking Pinot offering a nicely balanced array of ripe red fruit flavors. Fruit forward with aromas and flavors of strawberries, raspberries, plums, and spice, it’s bright and pretty. A nice choice for an array of foods, it will complement grilled prawns, roasted poultry, bouillabaisse, or mushroom based dishes. Available for $28 at fine…
Pasión
I’ve loved Mexican food since I was a kid, and jumped at the chance to eat dinner at my best friend’s for her mom’s handmade tamales. But I developed a greater appreciation for it while living in San Francisco. The Mission District has excellent, freshly made foods at the taquerias, and it’s downright cheap at…
Still marching
Even as a little kid I hated the song about the marching ants. It was relentless and catchy, especially in the hands of an 8-year-old on the playground. But it wasn’t just the fact that a determined schoolboy with a snotty nose, perpetually untied shoelaces, and a fairly loose grasp of rhyming schemes could somehow…
Questions For: Cole Stevens
NEW TIMES What’s Tax Day like? STEVENS Well, it’s pretty busy, as you can probably imagine. We try to do a half-day. Leading up to Tax Day is really our busy time. Tax Day we try not to have a lot of clients come in. We’re finishing things up. We’re fielding last-minute questions from clients…
Some questions about weapons
The gun debate has been raging for many years with the highest tempo in recent memory probably reached in the last few weeks. Questions: If the United States or state government actually reached the improbable 99 percent effective score of removing all guns from its citizens, would that not result in 1 percent still being…
Kind words for a council contender
Having served on the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission with Carlyn Christianson for the past 2 1/2 years, I can attest that she is extremely knowledgeable about planning issues, does her homework, and is balanced and deliberate in her decision making. From the perspective of a North County rancher and Realtor who is naturally…
You’re rolling it wrong
Regarding Caltrans’ test-rolled stretch of Highway 1 and proposed results of that experimental “solution” (“SLOCOG tells Caltrans to shift gears,” April 4): There is no way possible for the results of a subject test-roll to provide any positive results, let alone a solution. Any rolling of asphalt, containing large rocks, using a multi-wheeled rubber roller,…
How to eat your companions
Regarding the April 4 cover story, “This little piggy was controversial”: For decades, I have raised pigs for companionship and the meat, which is so much better than store-bought. The pig pen is substantial, so pigs do not get out. They like being talked to and their bellies rubbed. They are very intelligent, friendly companions…
Geek Out: Infinitely better
If you’ve read Geek Out for any length of time, you’ll know by now that I’m, to put it mildly, a picky SOB when it comes to games. That said, there’s nothing whatsoever to be picky about when it comes to Bioshock Infinite. Set in an alternate-reality 1912 amid the floating city of Columbia, Infinite…
Radio-phobia
Let me start by saying I am a card-carrying, tree-hugging environmentalist, opposed to nuclear power for 30 years. I cannot sit back and watch our planet be destroyed to enrich those who control our energy. Global warming is not a hoax; having stuck our head in the sand for 30 years, we now have a…
Auf wiedersehen
Americans continue to feel economic hunger pangs even though the recession, as a cold statistical anomaly, ended a while ago. Indisputable evidence in key sectors tells us that the economy is expanding at accelerating rates. Even the single-family housing market—the industry that seemed as still as a stuffed bobcat just a year ago—started showing signs…
Cougars & Mustangs
Dear prospective Cal Poly students, Our enormous, past Mardi Gras celebrations may have been prohibited (as if prohibition and San Luis Obispo could ever be used in the same sentence), but we Central Coasters and our student population still know how to party! Aww yeah, man, let’s go wild and crazy tonight—I’m thinking we can…
Los Padres land-use designations up for review
Forest management is complicated. There are off highway vehicle users to consider. And environmental advocates. And land-use contracts, horseback riders, backpackers, and resource development revenue. The list goes on and on. When coming up with a land management plan, the Forest Service has to take the opinion of every one of its users and all…
What’s the big deal?
On April 2, an East Coast real estate investment firm bought $100.5 million worth of ownership interests in downtown San Luis Obispo from Copeland Properties. The deal matches Jamestown Funds—a national investor with a reputation for ambitious redevelopment projects—with one of the more protectionist and slow-growth cities on the California coast. To make matters more…
Geaslen is out as Oceano GM
Tom Geaslen, the somewhat controversial general manager of the Oceano Community Services District, was terminated “with cause” at a closed session meeting on April 16. Details of the termination weren’t immediately available as of press time, but according to the temporary settlement agreement, Geaslen agreed to reimburse the District $36,962.35 by April 24. The reason…
Wild Cherry Canyon deal wilts
A 14-year-old effort to conserve 2,400 acres of coastal open space became all but a lost cause due to delays in state funding needed to close the $21 million deal. The purchase of Wild Cherry Canyon by the SLO Land Conservancy and partnering groups would have allowed for the extension of Montaña de Oro State…
SLO skate parkin the works–finally
In a discussion of its major goals for the 2013-15 fiscal years, the San Luis Obispo City Council heard from staff that money had been set aside to finally get the wheels rolling on the construction of a much-needed new skateboarding park. On April 9, the council showed support for staff’s earmarking of roughly $1.2…
SLO Parking ordinance is around the corner
It’s been nearly a year since its local inception, and city officials and social services organizations have reported enough of a success to merit expanding the San Luis Obispo parking ordinance—designed to regulate overnight parking on city streets—in the near future. Ahead of the ordinance’s appearance before the city council in August, the public will…
SLO Botanical Garden suddenly cuts its executive director
After relocating from Singapore just shy of two years ago to be the executive director of the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, Mike Bush announced in a surprise e-mail April 10 that his job had vanished. “Yesterday afternoon in a cost-cutting decision, the Board informed me that my position has been eliminated,” Bush wrote. “My…
Paso Robles sewer project is strangely on target
If the recent history of sewer politics in San Luis Obispo County tells us anything, the project to upgrade the aging Paso Robles wastewater plant should be going horribly awry. The outlook for the project, however, remained rosy as the city officially wrapped up the planning phase on the $47 million undertaking at a groundbreaking…
SLO narc officer pleads not guilty
A San Luis Obispo Police Department narcotics officer facing criminal allegations of perpetrating a scheme to acquire and sell drugs while on the local beat is fighting the charges against him. In federal district court in Los Angeles on April 15, SLOPD officer Cory Pierce, 39, entered not guilty pleas to one felony charge of…
Judge: Retired Pismo officer systematically suppressed evidence
The results of a breath test for blood alcohol content won’t be admissible as evidence in the trial of suspected drunk driver Robert Scott Sproston, following San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge John Trice’s April 15 ruling that the arresting officer consistently and deliberately skirted due process. Motorists suspected of driving intoxicated commonly submit to…
SLO Tea Party rallies at Mitchell Park
It was a beautiful and sunny afternoon in Mitchell Park on April 14. The trees were rustling with a light spring breeze, dogs were chasing Frisbees, children were screeching with joy on a neighboring jungle gym—and the local chapter of the Tea Party was raffling off a Weatherby 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Roughly 50 red-blooded, flag-hoisting…
