Cover Story
This is only a test
The argument for standardized testing goes something like this: Standardized tests are an accurate reflection of a student’s knowledge; a quantifiable, computer-tabulated-with-little-or-no-margin-of-error assessment of where that student is excelling or lagging in each subject. Standardized tests tell us what our kids know and don’t know, and by extension where their teachers, principals, and districts are…
A life is a terrible thing to waste
Since I won’t be flying anytime soon – no offense San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, but I’m going to give that new engine in your commuter plane a little breaking-in time before I jaunt anywhere – I’ve got plenty of time to ponder my own mortality. Come to think of it, an emergency landing…
Man dies at Bishop Peak
A 21-year-old man died at Bishop Peak on Aug 9. According to a SLO Police Department press release, witnesses say the man stepped backward off of a rock and fell approximately 50 feet onto rocks and brush. Because of rough terrain and increasing darkness, it took rescue crews 30 minutes to reach the man. The…
Suicide at ASH
effery Fisher, a mentally ill prisoner at Atascadero State Hospital (ASH), committed suicide by hanging himself with a bed sheet on Aug. 4, said ASH spokeswoman Barrie Hafler. He was found on the floor with a bed sheet around his neck. There will not be any further investigations, Hafler said. Fisher was 41 years old…
Letters
Los Osos doesn’t need cell phone tower A couple weeks ago I read a letter in your Letters to the Editor that motivated me to action (“Los Osos has enough trouble as it is!” July 21-28). I am grateful to the writer for bringing to my attention yet another proposed cell phone antenna to be…
Busted, again and again and again
Local tobacco police are not too happy with the Laguna Lake Shell service station in SLO, and it’s not the higher-than-usual gas prices that have prompted their ire. It’s because the station has been busted three times, all within a year, for selling cigarettes to minors. “This is ridiculous,” said Trina Long, who is the…
Lots more oil wells to go in near Pismo
The same week a Texas company announced it was producing, nationally, 15 percent more oil than last year, San Luis Obispo County’s Board of Supervisors gave them more news to celebrate: After almost a year of debate, the company now has permission to drastically increase the level of operations at its Price Canyon property. The…
Not over yet
Although the Cuesta Grade improvement project was technically completed in October 2003, construction crews are back on Highway 101 this summer fixing a damaged section. Caltrans officials deny that the original project was poorly designed or constructed. Instead officials attribute the need for repairs to an unforeseen “preexisting slide condition inside the hill [that was]…
Los Osos bears witness
With the idyllic coastal community of Los Osos ready at last to roll out the bulldozers and pave the way for a cleaner, brighter future, what better time to take a nostalgic look back at the last 10 months of progress. By our estimates, no fewer than a dozen lawsuits related to the Los Osos…
Collision kills three French Vacationers
Last Saturday a collision on Highway 41 near Morro Bay killed three people and left two others seriously injured. Twenty-one-year-old Robyn Miller of SLO swerved into oncoming traffic in an attempt to avoid hitting a pickup that had slowed down to allow another car to make a left turn into a driveway. Miller and her…
A gentle man … a gentleman
One Christmas Eve maybe a decade ago, a man finished his work, looked around at those closest to him, and said, “I’m going to the downtown homeless shelter to help serve dinner. Anyone want to come along?” The small group immediately agreed, all except those who had unbreakable family commitments. The man was Peter Jennings,…
County to receive federal transportation funds
SLO County is set to receive $35 million in federal transportation money, most of which will go to widening Highway 46 East. The money comes from the signing of the Federal Transportation bill. Marta Bortner, spokeswoman for Caltrans, said that the money had been “about what [Caltrans] had budgeted for.” About $320,000 was set aside…
