Cover Story
Behind the mask
#Masks frighten people. After all, many are created to scare away evil spirits or invoke power. A collection of masks old and new on display at the Steynberg Gallery demonstrate the rich history of mask making from around the world in an exhibition that both educates and elicits wonder. Many of the masks are positively…
Ms. Wright, you are wrong
In response to Naoma Wright’s letter in the March 31-April 7 issue, I would like to tell her that Mariann Cirelli has been working several low-paying jobs as a caretaker for disabled persons who cannot care for themselves, all the while seeking help from local agencies to get her mentally ill son into a facility…
Send them home
After earning such a favorable response from their “Faces of War” memorial piece that spent four months stationed in the window of Boo Boo Records, Melinda Forbes and YOUTEW (Young Objectors United To End War) are ready to drive their point home. The eight core members of this student activist group plan to fly to…
Kitty, walk a mile in my shoes
It’s sad to hear that people like Miss Crockett still exist in the world (“Pass the bug spray, please,” Letters, March 24-31). In today’s depressed economy, the majority of the population is “one paycheck away from losing it all.” I pray to God that you are not one of those individuals. The plight of the…
The buzz and the bite are back
Mosquito season is upon us – already. It’s earlier this year because of heavy rains and warm temperatures, which means that the possibility of West Nile Virus is also present. Before 1999 in this country, mosquitoes were merely an annoying and noisy pest, as anyone who loves the outdoors will attest. No rhyme is intended,…
Stop stealing my Marketplace signs
Desperate people do desperate things. Last week I installed a Stop the Marketplace, No on ABC sign in my yard. Two days later it was gone. I requested another sign, secured it firmly, and again a thief made off with it in the middle of the night! I have been told that others who are…
Local protesters covet international spotlight
As Michael Jackson’s black SUV rolled into the court complex parking lot on April 1, the din of sign-waving men, women, and children noticeably increased in fervor. The shouts and chants weren’t only from Jackson supporters. This time they were joined by about 50 members of the Santa Maria Peace Coalition, who took advantage of…
Porta-potties were not ‘a little fun’
I thought Pandora’s porta-potty antics were disrespectful to every sincere and concerned person in the community. No one on either side of the issue thinks this is a joke … except perhaps the developers poised to put 150-plus homes in new subdivisions as soon as the $150 million bid is approved. They can pass the…
Can’t we do better than this?
As a frequent visitor to the Central Coast, I make it a point to check up on the affairs of SLO. New Times has always been a good way to sample the pulse of SLO’s cultural and political life, but I was truly offended by your publishing the letter from Kitty Crockett in which she…
Duke is trying to help marine mammals
In spite of a longstanding contract impasse with Mayor Janice Peters and the Morro Bay City Council, Duke Energy is proud to announce the dedication of land for a new Marine Mammal Center triage facility. For $1 per year for 20 years, the Marine Mammal Center has leased land to build a state-of-the-art facility on…
Local protesters covet international spotlight
As Michael Jackson’s black SUV rolled into the court complex parking lot on April 1, the din of sign-waving men, women, and children noticeably increased in fervor. The shouts and chants weren’t only from Jackson supporters. This time they were joined by about 50 members of the Santa Maria Peace Coalition, who took advantage of…
Captain Otto will be missed
We were among them, my husband and I; those who were weeping as we watched the silent procession honoring one of our county’s very best – Captain Greg Otto. I could not help but think back to 22 years ago when Greg, a paramedic, would “go the extra mile” and transport the wounded and ill…
Shame on The Shack owners
I never thought I would be totally shocked by our out-of-control celebrity culture. That was before I heard that the San Luis sports bar that was once owned by the Petersons was for sale on eBay. I can think of many good reasons to own a sports bar in a college town – profitable business…
Real stores for real people
I am frustrated by reading letters recommending voting no on A, B, and C due to the boutiques, restaurants, galleries, and furniture stores in downtown SLO. Simply put: People who shop at huge discount stores do not shop at expensive boutiques or eat at fancy restaurants (maybe for a special occasion). People who shop at…
What the County’s Talking About This Week
Hazardous waste detected near Paso gas station Jeff Poel of the San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Services has a saying: “everything leaks.” So he wasn’t that surprised when a recent investigation found chemicals leaking into the groundwater from a Conoco gas station on Spring Street in Paso Robles. Recently officials found the contamination during…
Marketplace will impact downtown
The Shredder is too new in town to know whether previous shopping centers hurt downtown SLO (“Don’t mess with us, Texas,” March 31-April 7). They did. I arrived in town in 1970, shortly after Madonna Plaza opened. Downtown was a ghost town due to the shopping center’s sucking the blood out of it. About a…
It’s not worth it
I’ve got a lot of money riding on Los Osos. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I’ve started up a little gambling ring so people can place bets on local events now that March Madness is over. I’ve got 5-to-1 odds that Pandora Nash-Karner is going to get locked in one of her Honey…
Emotion vs. reason
Most people are already set in their ways and views about private-property rights and whether or not it is entirely a landowner’s prerogative to develop their land as they see fit. When it comes to land development, however, in cities and particularly with a project like The Marketplace, private-property rights are overshadowed by the obligations…
