Cover Story
Cutting down catastrophe: Cambria slowly scrambles to confront a pressing fire danger
California is burning. In some parts of the state, it’s the slow, long burn of dehydration, brought on by the worst drought on record. Trees are drying and dying, grasses are a pale brown, and shrubs are more brittle than they’ve ever been. In other places, that dry vegetation is fueling flames as fire sweeps…
Fire on the mountain: Cuesta blaze continues to burn
View a slideshow of photos from the Cuesta Fire. UPATE: CalFire lifted evacuation orders at 5 p.m. on Aug. 19. The fire has now spread to 3,500 acres, is 20 percent contained, and is expected to be put out on Wednesday Aug. 26. A thick cloud hung low across the town of Santa Margarita…
Your home is threatened by a fire, and you have to evacuate. Your family and pets are safe. What one material possession do you take with you?
Jenny Morris student “I have a suitcase filled with old cards and notes from my friends. I’d take that.” Janet Becker business owner “Family photos would be at the top of my list.” Oscar Martinez PG&E employee “Probably my classic 1965 El Camino.” Liliana Monge aspiring writer “I’d take my notebook with my writing in…
MapYourVoice.org facilitates reporting and data collection of sexual assault
Most victims of sexual violence don’t report their stories, according to Jeni Ambrose. She draws these figures from several organizations, including the World Health Organization. But she also draws upon her own experiences as a licensed therapist in a private practice located in Santa Barbara. Working with survivors of sexual violence, Ambrose sought to make…
Cougars & Mustangs
It’s brutally, utterly, totally, wholly deafening when you attune your ears for just a minute to the chorus of the century, the chorus of our lifetime, the chorus of gobs and gobs of terrified souls thrown under their riptides, trying to scream as they cease to breathe: “Please give me a chance! Give me a…
Pushin’ the 805: Double digit growth means Firestone Walker’s got another expansion in the works
As No. 4 on California’s list of biggest craft breweries, Firestone Walker Brewing Company is officially in the top ranks of recognizable beer makers, sidling up next to Sierra Nevada. Lagunitas. Stone. Anchor Steam. And all of the breweries have more than sudsy, tasty adult beverages in common. They each have this “good” problem of…
SLO DA dropped second drug case in wake of AJ Santana scandal
In the aftermath of the investigation and arrest of a former SLO County District Attorney’s Office investigator, prosecutors were forced to drop a drug case against one local man. A public information request by New Times revealed that another case was also dismissed following accusations that the investigator, August Justino “AJ” Santana, may have falsified…
More money needed for South SLO County Sanitation District audit
The man in charge of auditing the financial and management practices of the South SLO County Sanitation District’s former administrator said he needs more money to complete the work. Carl Knudson, a former IRS auditor, asked for an additional $22,000 from the district in an Aug. 10 letter. The money would allow an additional 150…
Cambria CSD short on cash
Once the Cambria Community Services District balances its checkbook at the end of the month, about $1 million will be left in the account. Basically, the district’s about to be broke. That amount is only enough for the district to operate for approximately three more months, according to an update issued by General Manager Jerry…
Issues of immigration, domestic violence surface in Oceano death
Humberto Jacobo Chavez, 27, was still in the hospital recovering from self-inflicted stab wounds when SLO County Sheriff’s investigators arrested him in connection with the Aug. 16 death of his wife. According to a Sheriff’s Office press release, deputies were called to the couple’s home on the 2600 block of Warner Street just after 12:20…
Suspend disbelief at Suspended Motion Aerial Arts showcase
People aren’t supposed to fly—but don’t tell that to the folks at Suspended Motion Aerial Arts. The creative troupe will unveil its latest gravity-defying feats during a two-night showcase this Aug. 21 through 22. Stunning solo and group numbers will be performed on apparatuses rigged 25 feet above the ground. Is it safe? Who knows!…
Pewter Plough presents ‘Steel Magnolias’
Salon gossip is the best gossip! The Pewter Plough Playhouse present’s Steel Magnolias, the classic comedy-drama centered around six Louisiana women who share their lives, joys, and sorrows every week at Truvy’s Beauty Salon. Playwright Robert Harling based the show on the lives of his mother and sister and the stories he heard as a…
The Alabama Shakes rocked the Santa Barbara County Bowl on Aug. 14
It’s Friday, Aug. 14, and I’m Alabama Shakes-bound with my wife, Anna; my buddy Keith Bond; and my editor Camillia Lanham. It’s pretty smooth sailing except for the inexplicable traffic jam between Shell Beach and Arroyo Grande, but in no time we’re cresting the top of Highway 154 and heading downhill toward a sun-baked Santa…
Kids Eye View combines nature with learning at SLOMA
The smooth keys of a laptop clicking, the glassy, glowing surface of a smartphone app, and the soft rubber of a pair of ear buds: These are materials most 21st century youth encounter on a daily basis. The crackle of a dried leaf or tender vulnerability of a new seedpod isn’t high on that list,…
Love triangle between dog, husband, and wife is at the heart of SLO Little Theatre’s ‘Sylvia’
I’m going to admit something crazy to you right now. I’ve been jealous of a dog. Yes, I have considered myself to be in competition with an animal that considers day-old floor cheese an absolute delicacy. It happened a few years ago, just after I met my soon-to-be husband. He adopted a little scruffy terrier…
Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to blues masters Albert, B.B., and Freddie King on Aug. 24 at Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Joe Bonamassa opened for B.B. King when he was just 12 years old, so I’d say he’s allowed to call his current series of concerts the “Three Kings Tour” in which he plays the music of B.B., Albert, and Freddie King—the three famous Kings of the blues. At Vina Robles Amphitheatre this Monday, Aug. 24…
Clubs 8/20/15 – 8/27/15
Goin’ South 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 Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on alternating…
Celebrate Women’s Equality Day
Aug. 26 is Women’s Equality Day. This observance not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. We are reminded that there is still more work to do, including working to protect the right to vote from efforts to restrict it, working to achieve…
Walfart
Thank goodness the Atascadero City Council had the foresight to give its future self a raise. As noted by the current council, the paltry $300 monthly stipend precludes all but retirees and the independently wealthy from holding office. Who else would have time for boring meetings, ribbon cutting ceremonies, and making dumb planning decisions than…
Illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be deported
Where are our elected representatives when we need them? Hiding, that’s where. Recently a horrendous assault, rape and ultimately a murder occurred in Santa Maria. Who did it? An illegal alien who had been deported more than once, convicted of several misdemeanor crimes, and was sought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), that’s who. Santa…
Shredder, you shredded the wrong side
A few months ago, the Shredder would have been lambasting the powers that be for usurping the public process. Now you’ve rotated the table and shamed the public (1,800 of us) for demanding public process before public give-a-way. (“A tale of two cities,” Aug. 13) Have you lost your calling, or forgotten how to do…
The Laguna Lake ducks need help
If you haven’t seen, Laguna Lake is all dried up. It looks like the movie Fantasia with cracks in the bottom of the lake bed. All that’s missing is the dinosaurs’ falling over dead from no water. Most of the Canada geese have flown away and hopefully the ones remaining will do the same. There…
Please reconsider the Morro Bay parklet decision
Cheers to Morro Bay’s LEAP for creating the wonderful parklet on Main. “Fad” or not, it was a lovely addition to the area, bringing townspeople together to sit, visit, enjoy, and to boast. It was also a wonderful and long overdue spot where pet owners could have an ice cream, or a coffee and pastry,…
Opinion and fact
I return several times a year to my hometown of San Luis Obispo, and it is always a pleasure to read New Times as a way to keep in touch with local developments. As a high school English teacher with 27 years of classroom experience, I was particularly interested to read the Aug. 13 issue…
DIY it!
The more you know: Mystified by which wine to buy? The solution may be coming soon thanks to Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture major Katerina Axelsson, who is developing an app that will (hopefully) double as a mini sommelier in your pocket (to support her mission, visit bottleflyblog.com) … Grape Encounters Emporium in Atascadero recently…
Central Coast Brewing Company’s Happy Day IPA and Felten Cellars 2011 Pinot Noir
New Times Editor Camillia Lanham knows how to put together a mean party platter. Oh lordie, does she! A recent affair showcased an endless array of bodacious bites (homemade risotto balls, French bread ’za courtesy of New Times’ own Dora Mountain, fine cheeses smeared with creamed honey, stuffed jalapenos …the list goes on). Each plate…
Harmony to get back dairy roots with creamery, restaurant
Something strange happens upon entering the tiny “town” of Harmony, population 18. First, your cell phone stops working. Then, as if sucked into a Twilight Zone episode, time evaporates. Hours sweep by as you lose yourself in the fiery glow of a glassblower’s handiwork. Yellow finches and hummingbirds flit from branch to branch as you…
