Cover Story
‘The Health Care Game’
Health care seems to be on everybody’s mind. Maybe it’s because of Michael Moore’s newest documentary, Sicko. Maybe it has something to do with the recent health care convention at the Madonna Inn CaliforniaSpeaks addressing three different state health care reform proposals. Or it could be the public hearing held by the state of California…
The Big Easy gets harder
When I was still a pup more so than now at least my car broke down in New Orleans and I stayed for a year with Thanksgiving marking my arrival and sending me off. The Big Easy has that effect on people. It welcomes everyone with open arms, and seduces with warm nights that turn…
Local bike racers go downhill fast
With a slew of local bike races already taking place this year, the cycling friendly town of San Luis Obispo will play host to another two-wheeled event when 16 of the world’s top racers roll into town to compete in the Jeep King of the Mountain 2007 Mountain Biking World Professional Championships on Aug. 18,…
Fast facts
The Kennels of Springdale in Arroyo Grande has launched a new web site that enables pet owners to watch their pet via web cam. Vacationers can log in and check up on their four-legged loved one over the Internet. The web site also offers detailed information about the services offered. The Kennels of Springdale is…
Three families, one wine
# When I heard about yet another new Central Coast brand appearing in local markets named Ancient Peaks it seemed a wannabe trying to cash in on the success of SLO County wineries. I chuckled, thinking at least it’s a name people can pronounce and remember. I became impressed, however, when I learned it was owned…
Party on, trend-bucker
Da-dum-da-dum. Da-dee-da-dum. It’s hard to write music. That string of syllables, for those of you with an untrained ear, is the wedding march. That tune’s been stuck in my head because I’ve been thinking: A great deal of what happens in politics comes about as a result of a marriage of personal conscience and political…
One man’s picnic utensil
Andy Warhol had his soup cans, Howard Kline has his sunglasses, Robin Bell has her plastic spoons, and David Edgar has his laundry detergent bottles. And all of them except the late Warhol will showcase their ability to transform mundane objects into elegant, humorous, and gritty works of art at the Art Center’s exhibit, Funky…
Letters
Virtual dissections are an enlightened choice As a biologist, I applaud people like Dr. Nancy Harrison for promoting dissection alternatives and encouraging students and educators to take advantage of these teaching tools (“No guts, no gory,” Aug. 9). Here are four “E’s” for why schools should replace traditional animal dissections with virtual dissections. Published studies…
Supes race could set records
If early fundraising is a guide, look for at least one superheated contest in the 2008 SLO County Board of Supervisors race. Still 10 months before the primary elections, recent campaign reports indicate that the contest for the Third District seat could be on pace to set records. Three of the five board seats are…
Sheriff’s detectives strike another marijuana farm
The San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department made its second biggest bud bust of the summer on Aug. 9 when it eradicated a gigantic garden on Toro Creek Road near Atascadero. Though officers were able to seize 3,667 cannabis plants, they were unable to apprehend the three suspects who allegedly cared for and guarded the illegal…
With rate hikes looming, one Los Ososite has sold
With the possibility of monthly sewer bills that seek more than $200 in Los Osos looming and uncertainty hanging like the morning fog, lifetime resident Lonnie Zavala said he’s had enough. “We just sold our home, and it had a lot to do with the sewer,” Zavala said. “We didn’t know whether our house was…
SLO Council says yes to Nacimiento, but voters may decide
The San Luis Obispo City Council decided at a special meeting to move forward with the Nacimiento water pipeline project, even as project bids came in close to $30 million over initial predictions. The five participants in the project Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, along with water purveyors for Templeton, Atascadero, and Cayucos were…
Governor wants stalled budget passed
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently brought his campaign to end a deadlock over the state budget to a Central Coast senior citizens center that could be forced to close this month without a check from the state. “We need to pass this in order to do many things to keep our communities safe,” Schwarzenegger said at…
Get help for those wedding woes
This place puts you in the mood for everything wedding-related. From the invitations and the dress to that perfect Champagne and chocolate truffle, owner Nicole Boughton has the details under control. # Boughton cares about brides. She wants to help relieve their wedding stress by providing everything they need in one place: The Wedding Gallery…
Mmm, Hot Buttered Rum
# Hot Buttered Rum has been described as a “rock band playing bluegrass instruments,” which sounds about right when you listen to the quintet’s newest offering Live in the Northeast. There’s the reggae-tinged “Return Someday,” or the psychedelica of “Desert Rat,” as well as covers of rock classics such as the Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues”…
