Cover Story
Messy introspection
Imagine that a friend—maybe a casual acquaintance or coworker—had graded your college papers and exams. That’s instead of a professor with a cold, critical eye. The whole experience would have been a lot easier, but the drive to study and truly understand the material might have been subpar. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where…
Clubs: 5/2
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…
Fresh off the hook!
Living alongside the spectacular Pacific Ocean, as most locals do, it is no surprise there is at least one sushi bar—and usually two—in towns up and down SLO County. It’s noteworthy, however, when a sushi bar can set itself apart from most of them. That’s exactly how I reacted to the newest eatery in Morro…
A modest proposal
It’s April 17, and I’m sitting in my car, touching up the only make-up a chapstick lesbian like myself needs (mascara and a couple of uneven eye pencil lines). I take a look in the car’s rearview mirror and come to the horrifying conclusion that after an hour without brushing my hair, it has become…
It was all a dream
Twenty-six years ago, founder Steve Moss challenged readers to write a story in 55 words or less. Billed as “the world’s shortest stories of love and death,” the contest launched a new genre, sometimes called “flash fiction,” and spawned a host of imitators (what’s up, Monterey County Weekly). Every year, the submissions pour in.…
All hail Caesar!
The Met: Live in HD, a series of live transmissions from New York City’s Metropolitan Opera to theaters around the country, concludes its 2012-2013 season with a simulcast of Handel’s Guilio Cesare at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center. (The series, presented locally by Opera SLO and Cal Poly Arts, picks up again when the…
Good bad taste
Xanadu is kind of a funny story. The campy, satiric musical is based on an unfortunately far less self-aware film of the same name, starring Olivia Newton-John. That legendarily bad film, boasting music by Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra, is in turn inspired by the 1947 film Down to Earth. Xanadu is a copy of…
The art of excess
I’ll never get to see The Tubes circa 1975 play live. I won’t see lead singer Fee Waybill (born John Waldo Waybill) don his alter-ego Quay Lewd to sing The Tubes’ signature song “White Punks on Dope,” their heavy metal parody and nod to their rich, young, San Francisco fanbase. No, the band’s heyday of…
If you were to cook dinner to impress someone, what would you make?
Michael Jackson unemployed “I’d probably say tamale pie. It’s like a meatloaf layered over cornbread. Then you put that in the oven—and bam.” Reid Cain Dr. Cain’s Comics and Games owner “Grilled salmon with pasta and white sauce, because it’s my fiancée’s favorite.” Alex Hallend Cal Poly Downtown Store employee “I would make pesto pasta…
Quail Crossing 2011 Pinot Grigio Santa Ynez Valley
I found this delicious, refreshing Italian white at the Costa de Oro (CDO) tasting room in Santa Maria. Attractive aromas and flavors of stone fruits, minerals, and floral notes are nicely balanced by zingy citrus. Not surprisingly, it’s made by the very talented CDO winemaker Gary Burk for Linda and Vince Gomes, who own Quail…
Meiomi 2012 Pinot Noir
This impressive Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown in Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma counties. I found it beautifully balanced and far superior to the previous 2011 vintage, which was too ripe. It’s made by Joseph J. Wagner, a fifth-generation farmer whose grandfather founded Caymus in Napa Valley. The Wagners have farmed winegrapes in…
Park it elsewhere
It’s a solid service offered to the men and women who served our country—and one that’s historically been offered at military bases across the nation as a way to thank and support veterans and their families. As far back as the various veterans affairs and military base personnel who spoke to New Times for this…
Words from the wise
For a small Buddhist congregation run from a converted residence, the San Luis Obispo Bodhi Path Center has a surprisingly easy time attracting world-renowned teachers. According to Michelle Schaffner, who helped initiate the SLO chapter, Tibetan masters like Shangpa Rinpoche, Lama Jampa, and Shamar Rinpoche, founder of the international Bodhi Path movement, have led meditation…
Tickets, please!
Locally developed website Lavaseats.com is on its way to being Stubhub.com’s competition without tacking on all those pesky fees, at least according to co-owners Ryan Cohen and James Kirschner. The entrepreneurs are working hard on their up-and-coming business, which sells big-event tickets at a significantly lower price than what’s found at other third-party websites. They…
Correction
In the weeks since an article following up on coverage of a North County drug bust was published (“Movers and Tweekers,” April 11), a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office located a previously elusive case file for Leobardo Aburto Ortega, who on March 21 entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to distribute…
District cuts worry counselor-supporting parents
Parents and teachers packed the room to greet members of the San Luis Coastal Unified School District board as they met on April 23 to approve final revisions to the 2013-14 proposed budget, delivering a list of program reductions and lay-offs. After originally planning to make deep cuts in February in order to close a…
Judge tentatively clears the way for Wal-Mart
Legal efforts to halt the construction of a Wal-Mart supercenter north of downtown Atascadero appear defeated for the moment. Judge Jac Crawford issued a preliminary ruling on April 19 denying citizens group Save Atascadero’s petition to force city officials to redo the environmental assessment of the project. The ruling, if adopted as a final decision,…
Arroyo slaps ‘Band-Aid’ on police station, staffing
With their dream spot for a shiny new police station tied up in another project, the Arroyo Grande City Council approved a plan on April 23 to repair their shabby, overcrowded digs and expand the parking lot. “We’re making the best of a bad situation,” Mayor Tony Ferrera said. “This is essentially a Band-Aid. It’ll…
A word of warning
As I sit here stitching up my panniers from my beautiful Kona touring bicycle, I conclude that it is time to quit drinking … again. I keep crashing my baby and periodically look stupid. It has to stop. I do not think it would be so bad if only I could afford a better quality…
Hulk smash Second Amendment jurisprudence
Lou Ferrigno did not die, but he had to make us think that he was dead until he learned to control the raging spirit that dwells within him. The former bodybuilder and co-star of the CBS series The Incredible Hulk—from which that melodramatic opening line was cribbed—became a reserve sheriff’s deputy in Los Angeles and…
A quarry would ruin Santa Margarita
I have lived in Santa Margarita for 16 years. I moved here because it’s a quiet, beautiful little town. I’m very concerned about the proposed Las Pilitas Quarry, which, if it is approved, will certainly destroy the whole character of our residential community. Every day for up to the next 58 years, 273 double gravel…
I’m mailing my vote for Christianson
As a resident of downtown SLO for 35 years, I am pleased to support Carlyn Christianson for the vacant City Council seat. Carlyn has for decades volunteered for many city committees and civic efforts along with being a member of our business community. She is an engaged, energetic and intelligent woman, a credit to San…
Court shoots down dust rule challenges
A San Luis Obispo County judge dismissed two separate challenges to a locally implemented rule that could lead to fines against the state department of parks and recreation should air quality on and downwind from the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area dip below safe standards. The two lawsuits, filed by the off-highway recreational vehicle…
‘Clean nuclear’ is impossible
I take great offence that New Times published the article by David Deick (“Radio-phobia,” April 18). The statements made are so misinformed that it is frightening. For example, Mr. Deick denies the negative health effects of high levels of exposure to radiation, which all M.D.s and scientists have documented. Thousands have contracted cancer and have…
Cougars & Mustangs
The Jack and Nancy Sullivan Fund, established in 2003 to honor the memory of former Cuesta College Student Michael Mihalakis, who lost his life in a Humvee accident while serving in Baghdad, has received a $3,000 donation from the San Luis Obispo Elks Lodge. The fund benefits local veterans by providing them with Cuesta parking…
Settlement will allow De Vaul to rebuild Sunny Acres
It’s certainly not the end of the story, but everyone involved seems to acknowledge that it’s one hell of a milestone. After years of back and forth played out in court, the county and rancher Dan De Vaul reached a tentative settlement on April 23, providing something of a happy ending to a lawsuit De…
The council needs Christianson
I strongly recommend Carlyn Christianson for San Luis Obispo City Council. Our city’s future is at stake. During the next two years, the council needs her knowledge and insight, as we update the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE), which will guide the City’s development for the next 25 years. With more than 10 years’…
Big-box shopping isn’t local support
As a downtown Atascadero business owner, I was not impressed with Newton Morales’ take on why “local” businesses do not thrive (“I see opportunity,” April 11). As he stated, he shops at the “local” Starbucks, Vons, and Albertsons and used this as his example of “thriving” businesses. These are corporate companies, not “local” businesses. Buy…
The city certainly has a type
I completely agree with Shredder that downtown SLO has a unique “culture” (“‘Culture’,” April 11). During daylight and evening hours, that seven-by-four-block area is truly dedicated to commerce and related portrayals of our “happy city.” However, after 10 p.m., when most of the displaced people have found a squat for the night, these 28 square…
Cue laugh track
You really can’t beat sitcom shtick. The husband always forgets to take out the trash. The wife knows best. Junior has two dates to the spring fling. Life lessons abound. Everyone’s well-intentioned, dull, and just the slightest bit racist, sexist, and homophobic. Hey, that’s America! Appeal to the lowest common denominator and you can’t go…
Long way
As the city turned to silky darkness, a crowd gathered at the Hanoi Bicycle Collective in northern Vietnam. The focal point: Jeremy Scott. On his 15th month riding his bicycle from London to New Zealand, Scott stopped to present a slide show of his journey thus far. Living in London for close to 10 years…
Bites: Time to grill the cheese, part II
On April 20, I ate approximately nine grilled cheese sandwiches and I am not ashamed. It wasn’t like I had some surplus of cheese and bread in my kitchen, or some weird dietary issue that required me to eat only carbohydrates and dairy—but let’s face it, that would be a convenient excuse. I was actually…
Love, immigration, and Congressional representation
While I was studying medieval history at the University of Oxford, I met the girl of my dreams. Although we met as students in England, she was from the Netherlands and I was from California. Over two years in Europe and the two summers in the United States we spent together as a couple, I…
