Cover Story
Making the band
It’s 8 p.m. on a Monday night in Paul Brown’s Laguna Lake house, and it looks like a nuclear bomb blew up in his living room. Couches are upended, furniture smashed against walls. Cords and cables crisscross the floor like some impossible-to-follow treasure map. # The author of this disaster is SLO City Councilmember and…
A year with a view
Summer may still be clinging to its last few weeks of life, but the Central Coast Natural History Association already wants you to start thinking about next year. # The group is prepared to unveil its latest creation: a 2008 calendar, featuring the work of local photographers who captured state park landscapes, activities, plants, and…
Fast facts
Constance Hart, a color aromatherapy pioneer, recently moved her group healing classes from Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort to what she described as her “sacred Indian-temple-like space in the heart of Los Osos.” Chakra balancers can now find Chakra Restorative Yoga at the Conscious Colors Energy Center. Classes are held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 a.m.…
Mixed reaction follows Cayucos viewshed vote
After hearing from more than a hundred local residents during hours of public testimony on Aug. 21, SLO County supervisors voted 3 to 1 for the least stringent of the various proposals for protecting the scenic viewshed around Cayucos. The supervisors tentatively approved a plan submitted by a group of landowners in the area called…
Testing, testing, and more testing
As the 2008 presidential election nears, I was happy to see some of the candidates debating the “No Child Left Behind” law, and was pleased to see many of them in favor of its total elimination. The debate made me reflect on the political whims in education since I first started teaching in the 1960s.…
They will kung fu you
It begins soundlessly. The background is stark white, like the band is hovering on a cloud. The guitar and bass player stand behind microphones, and then the drummer walks out and gets behind the kit. Suddenly the indie rock group launches into the song “Kung Fu,” and then from stage left comes a crazy Shaolin…
Groups urge support for Williamson Act
ECOSLO and the SLO County Farm Bureau have issued a joint statement calling on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to protect the funding for California’s Williamson Act, which helps protect agricultural land. Although the state budget passed Aug. 21 includes funds for the Williamson Act, the two groups are worried that the governor may line-item veto the…
Letters
Say it out loud I have noticed that Toyota trucks seem to be very popular in San Luis Obispo and have also noticed that most of them have a decal with an acronym on the side of the bed. I know it stands for “Toyota Racing Development” but what were the Toyota designers thinking? “TRD”?…
Sunny Acres residents camp out for change
Fifteen or so residents of Sunny Acres, the self-styled sobriety center just outside of San Luis Obispo, have moved their beds and sleeping bags out of doors to protest what they believe is an imminent county order that will kick some out of the barn that the center has been using intermittently as a dormitory.…
Don’t drink the water
Life as a Shredder can be surreal at times. Most of this humdrum existence never changes I think, therefore I shred but every so often something sublime slips though a crack somewhere in the cosmos and bonks me on the head. It happened just this last week. I was strolling along the sands of Pismo…
State versus state
# I just returned from a wonderful visit to Oregon’s Willamette Valley and as locals there insist, it’s pronounced: “Will-AM-ette, dammit.” It’s one of this nation’s most highly respected wine growing regions for Pinot Noirs and Pinot Gris, and many of them are nationally distributed and value-priced. Some interesting new aspects of this trip, however,…
Grover to appeal Diamond decision
Grover Beach officials will seek to appeal a recent federal court decision that found that Steve Diamond’s adult-themed store can legally return its inventory to all adult-related items. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Diamond Video World was grandfathered in before an ordinance banning adult businesses downtown…
Pismo pigeons can relax
Too much public protest and perhaps not enough evidence to support the claim that pigeon droppings near the pier are responsible for diminished water quality of several South County surf spots prompted the Pismo Beach City Council to reconsider the trapping and relocating of birds to a zoo program, where they would become food for…
The sea and the rhythm
By July, the San Luis Obispo Symphony’s plush office was buzzing and humming in preparation for the annual Pops by the Sea concert taking place Sept. 2, with the theme “Gotta Dance!” Actually, planning started getting serious a full six months prior to the show. This is a year of changes for the annual event.…
SLO city goes for green
San Luis Obispo is the latest city to address climate concerns by adding hybrid cars to its municipal fleet. At an Aug. 21 City Council meeting, the council approved the $75,000 purchase of three new Toyota hybrids. The Priuses cost about 46 percent more than comparable sedans, but city staff estimated that savings will be…
Los Osos faces not-so-secret sewer vote
Los Osos homeowners are facing an unusual ballot in the town’s ongoing sewer saga: Not only will they be asked to vote on whether to assess themselves around $200 a month for an unspecified wastewater project, their vote will be open to public scrutiny. Several residents told the SLO County Board of Supervisors on Aug.…
Stance on same-sex marriage comes under scrutiny
An upscale bed-and-breakfast in Paso Robles owned by prominent businessman and former Gazette newspapers owner David Weyrich is no longer part of a local wedding referral group, after questions were raised about whether the venue is available for “same-sex marriages.” Villa Toscana, on Buena Vista Road off Hwy. 46 East, was listed as a member…
Officials: No decisions yet on Cuesta police
Rumors have surfaced across the Cuesta College campus that the school’s police department might be closing its doors. Members of the force have grown concerned enough that some of them have drafted a petition of support. But don’t roll a keg out to the school’s softball field for a game of sloshball just yet. Cuesta…
