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Bishop’s Peak 2008 Chardonnay Central Coast
This excellent, value-priced wine offers forward-fruit flavors thanks to stainless-steel fermentation. Aged in neutral French oak, it has tasty tropical fruit notes with pineapple and apricot, and is nicely nuanced by notes of orange and lemon. I paired this with clam spaghetti with an olive-oil sauce and it was wonderful. It’s a good choice for…
What should the county do for homeless residents?
John Crowell retired “We should help them find shelters and get them off the streets. We need to find services for veterans and direct them to VA centers for help because there are a lot of them in need here. For the homeless children, we need to get them in touch with social services.” Katie…
Mike Rogers trains the trainers
Mike Rogers analyzes his clients like a scientist, treats them like a doctor, and works them as a personal trainer. His service, Elite Performance and Fitness, takes a comprehensive approach to helping clients become physically fit. Rogers has 15 years of experience in the fitness industry, having earned top certifications from the National Academy of…
One sad room
The smell of sweat and Pine Sol greets the hundreds of people who come to the visiting room of the county jail each week to meet their incarcerated friends and relatives. It’s a linoleum-floored, fluorescent-lit bridge between the somber confines behind bars and the bright world of greater freedom beyond. Some of the prisoners await…
None of your business: Many police raids are obscured
Imagine a dozen police officers descend on a neighbor’s house, tear the place apart, and cart away computers, books, and box after box of documents. Wouldn’t that arouse curiosity? That neighbor may never be charged with a crime, may never testify in any court case, and the only way to ferret what prompted the raid…
SLO moves to regulate newspaper racks
The city of San Luis Obispo is preparing a new city ordinance to regulate news racks and make media companies pay for part of downtown “beautification.” Under the new guidelines, newspaper and magazine distributors will have to eliminate their existing stands downtown and pay the city to build and maintain large “Chicago” style news rack…
Who composted?
After hundreds of neighbor complaints about smelly composting operations at Cold Canyon Landfill, the landfill operators are planning to shut down an 11-year-old recycling program. The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) is forcing Cold Canyon to comply with state odor requirements by Oct. 3 in response to hundreds of neighbor complaints and…
Morro Bay plant sold to NRG Energy
In part of a $1.36 billion deal, NRG Energy purchased a total of 3,884 megawatts of power in a deal that includes the Morro Bay Power Plant. The deal was announced on Aug. 13, but is still pending approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and California Public Utilities Commission. If it goes through, NRG…
Oceano CSD discovers mysterious bank accounts
Officials of the Oceano Community Services District are struggling to uncover how almost $368,000 in district funds were kept secret from the district’s board of directors and even the general manager. General Manager Raffaele Montemurro recently discovered five certificate of deposit accounts, the earliest of which was opened in 1991. The most recent account was…
That’s Senator Blakeslee to you
Former Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee defeated John Laird in the special election to fill the 15th District Senate seat left vacant when Abel Maldonado resigned to take the lieutenant governor post in May. With all 84 precincts in the five counties reporting, the former Assembly minority leader defeated his Democratic opponent with a commanding 48.8…
SLO approves bike recreation in asbestos-rich soil
img3818The San Luis Obispo City Council on Aug. 17 approved a donor agreement with a mountain biking group to develop a recreation facility in a city-owned area with a soil type rich with asbestos. The group, Central Coast Concerned Mountain Bikers, hopes to build a bicycle skills course in the Stenner Springs Natural Reserve, a…
Tangent 2009 Grenache Blanc Edna Valley Paragon Vineyard
Winemaker Christian Roguenant’s first vintage for this fabulous variety is a delightful white wine. It offers fresh fruit notes of nectarine, melon, and zingy citrus, with an impressive thread of minerality. It’s the rare kind of white that I would stock up on for its versatility. Because it’s not boldly flavored, choose lighter dishes to…
An Irish Pub blooms in Orcutt
A longtime friend, Steve Watson, South Central Coast District Manager for Southern Wine & Spirits, invited me to lunch in Orcutt. He was stoked about a new Irish pub that had opened a month earlier. When we arrived at Rooney’s Irish Pub on a recent Friday at 1 p.m., we chose to eat at the…
Clubs
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music on the patio at 5:30pm. 8/20: Usual Suspects. CAFÉ ANDREINI: 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 481-6117. Thurs.: Live music at 6pm. COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Dr., Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music Night every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. DOLPHIN…
America’s sweetheart
Katie Couric’s annual salary at CBS is more than the annual budgets of NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered combined. So, when I recently heard her ‘notebook’ radio piece on Air America “progressive radio” let’s just say I was steaming. Though she understands retired firemen and teachers have made sacrifices in their careers, she…
Legalizing drugs could diminish dangers
Norm Jackson evidently feels strongly the most effective way to minimize the harm caused by drugs is to prohibit them by law (“Legalizing marijuana makes no sense,” June 16). Didn’t we try that with alcohol, only to realize that prohibition caused more harm than before, including deaths and blindness caused by adulterated booze? Adulterated street…
Achadjian’s not the one
Like many people, I’ve been inundated with political flyers promoting the “extraordinary qualifications” of those seeking higher elected office. A little analysis makes me wonder about Katcho Achadjian, who supports him, and what he would really do if he’s elected to the Assembly this November. His record as a county supervisor gives me pause and…
Cortez is the one
Voters should focus on the SLO County Sheriff’s contest above all other races in the November general election. The June primary narrowed a large, diverse field to two finalists: Ian Parkinson and Joe Cortez. Both are Republicans but they’re distinctly different. The early favorite, Ian Parkinson, who’s a SLO City police supervisor, is tall, smooth-shaven,…
Cat rescuers desperately need help
Since November 2006, the Befriended Felines Rescue Alliance has rescued more than 900 cats from Animal Services labeled “unadoptable” by county shelter standards. We have placed the vast majority of them; many on barn and ranch properties for rodent control and others as family companions. All cats are spayed or neutered, tested, and vaccinated, and…
Don’t neglect tags
SLO County Golden Retrievers held the third Annual Goldens in the Park family fun day and fundraiser on July 11. It was our biggest event yet, with more than 200 Golden Retrievers and their families celebrating. We raised $2,800, which was split equally between Woods Humane Society and Animal Shelter Adoption Partners. We thank our…
Kindness remembered
Our family would like to acknowledge an act of kindness that occurred in your community. During the late afternoon of Monday, August 9, as we were walking our Afghan Hound down Shell Beach Road, she experienced a seizure, lost her balance, and was unable to walk. We were many blocks from our hotel and realized…
Prop. 13 hinders education but helps homeowners
Thank you for Frank DePasquale’s commentary, “Education: then and now,” (Aug. 12). Most people would agree California’s public schools have long been in decline. Like many other activists, DePasquale advocates striking Proposition 13 from the law. I’ve seen how Proposition 13 has gutted school libraries and deeply regret it. Still, we should examine both sides…
Don’t blame Proposition 13
Frank DePasquale’s commentary (“Education: then and now,” Aug. 12) couldn’t be more wrong about Proposition 13, which put the brakes on runaway, unaccountable, state and local government spending and taxing. Low- and fixed-income homeowners, many of them seniors, were thrown onto the streets before it was passed: funny how that was left out of his…
Remember the golden rule
Regarding Paul Kokoski’s letter (“Marriage ruling threatens Christians,” Aug. 12), such so-called “Christians” as he are the real threat to Christianity. Jesus was an activist, a liberal, and a progressive. Most Christians are respectful, tolerant, accepting people. Some are not. It is shameful for anyone to hide behind the Bible to judge, discriminate against, or…
Little orphan Annie
So I’m in a foul mood—again. Well, not really that foul, but everyone keeps telling me I’m in a bad mood so I’m playing along. Humbug! It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what precipitated this particular pouting session. My best guess so far is it’s all about Annie the dog. I think Annie the dog should…
Butch Boswell, Owner, Butch’s Guitar and Repair
NEW TIMES: How did you get your start as a guitar repairman and craftsman? BOSWELL: All of my life I’ve loved working with tools and crafting anything that came to mind, so much that I ended up going to Cal Poly and getting a degree in engineering. I’m incredibly fond of music as well, so…
Beware the assault on Internet freedom
“Net neutrality” has gained momentum among Internet users but has failed so far to attract much attention from lawmakers. Big players Google and Verizon recently jumped in together to seize control of the issue. For them, profits are at stake. For individual citizens, freedom is at stake. Net neutrality simply means all Internet users should…
Alternative Holidays
It’s a long lonely holiday oasis between the 4th of July and Halloween, but thanks to gimmicky pr firms, every day is now an excuse to celebrate. Aug. 19: National Aviation Day, Potato Day Aug. 20: National Radio Day Aug. 21: International Homeless Animals Day Aug. 23: National Sponge Cake Day Aug. 24: National…
Radioactive rock
Broken hearts! Swollen egos! Groupies! Roadies! Rock stars! A raffled guitar and high-end headphones! Miniskirts! Cool T-shirts! Free CDs! Children dancing! Sunshine! Nightlife! Decommissioned nuclear missile silos! What do all these things have in common? They’re part and parcel of this year’s New Times Music Awards, an event so potentially awesome I just peed my…
Roll out the red carpet
A few weeks back, New Times put out a call for young readers and writers to send in their own short reviews of Flipped, a book by local author Wendelin Van Draanen. We’ve selected three winners, who will each get to bring a friend or family member along to a fancy-dress red-carpet premiere at Fair…
The making of the Newtie
Genesis Bronze of Paso Robles was tasked with creating the bronze beast that is the 2010 New Times Music Awards trophy. Thanks to efforts of five artisans and a 50-step manufacturing process, the first-place winners of the competition’s various divisions will be awarded a trophy worthy of their artistic talent. John Kemple, owner of Genesis…
We will rock you…
It feels as though we’ve been working on the New Times Music Awards all summer (because we have) but they’re finally here this weekend. Proceeds will benefit the Arts Obispo Mini Grants program like last year, but unlike the one-night event of 2009, this year’s awards and showcases are stretched over five shows and venues…
