Cover Story
Trapped in the cycle: Domestic violence in SLO County
The stage in the small theater went dark. Through the blackness, the audience could hear the sound of a violent struggle. Heavy thumps and ugly, blunt, meaty slaps. A woman’s panicked voice rose above it. “Stop it! It hurts!” The sounds don’t stop. The audience is dead silent. “God forgive him!” the woman yelled out.…
Heidi Harmon to challenge SLO Mayor Jan Marx
Local activist, artist, and educator Heidi Harmon will take on San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx in the November election. The longtime San Luis Obispo resident filed election papers on Aug. 4, joining Don Hedrick, a welder and regular speaker at City Council meetings who’s run several unorthodox campaigns for mayor in the last decade.…
What would you like to see more of in New Times?
Patrick Mehaffy artist “More art. Shows at museums ought to be reviewed. Actual reviews of art, because that’s how people start taking it seriously.” Ta’Maiya Florence nurse “Well, I have kids, so I guess more kid stuff. Like get-togethers and events for kids.” Galadriel Highhouse (and her son and his friend) history professor at Cuesta…
How dry I am
So this morning I was walking my illegal chinchilla, Carlos, around Laguna Lake, and as I gazed out at the placid, emerald-green surface, I thought to myself, “What’s that smell?” Then I said to myself, “Shredder, that’s the algae-blooming alkaline smell of eutrophication. This lake is deader than your modeling career.” Compared to most county…
College is worth a lot
As the 2016-2017 academic year draws near, it’s important to remember what our colleges and universities do for our local communities. Most of us know that people who earn a college degree are likely to earn more money than people who have not completed college. However, the benefits to our communities and to society as…
Powerful words
Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war, and until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation, until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes, and until the…
Precious trees
Of all the reasons I hear of people wanting to keep or destroy the beauty of trees, I never hear the one main important reason. Trees provide the oxygen in the air so we the people can breath. End of discussion! — Bonnie Teague – San Luis Obispo
A need for urgency
The Shredder is always tongue-in-cheek funny, but this time she/he did a disservice to SLO County and the residents of the California Valley, in the July 28 op-ed “Welcome to the Wild West.” There is a serious, quickly developing situation out there—fraught with rampant code and public health violations—that is overwhelming our county enforcement agencies.…
Where are all the recycling centers?
Like a good citizen, I save my cans, bottles, and plastics for recycling. We are charged a CRV fee so, if I don’t recycle, I throw away money. I get paid once a month so that $10 can come in very handy. The problem: There are no more recycling stations around. Therefore, we are being…
Violent cycle
Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate but unequal.” No, this is not a recent statement. One year after the 1967 riots, then President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission, which issued a report including these memorable words. It is sad to note that the statement is as accurate today…
Ugly Food Month at Bethel Lutheran Church seeks to stem the tide of food waste
Most of us are guilty of it: Tossing a bruised or overripe fruit in the garbage or throwing away a hunk of stale bread. What about letting a misshapen carrot or potato rot in the garden? Food waste happens all the time in America, and the Bethel Lutheran Church in Templeton is taking it to…
Cougars & Mustangs
Greetings again, beloved readers! We return once again to put a stop to the terrible drivel that you might otherwise be reading, with a focus once again on the hack you know as Lola. We hack to save you from hacks! That’s our motto! For today’s chastisement we will address a significant flaw in last…
Organic electricity: State regulations push SLO County to divert more waste from the landfill, and it’s your turn to participate
Chicken bones, cantaloupe peel, leftovers that sat in the fridge too long. That’s the smell emanating from your kitchen trashcan every time you pop the lid to throw something out. That’s the smell that needs to get out of the house and rolled down to the curb for the garbage man to take care of.…
SLO Supes’ July 15 urgency ordinance to halt major native tree removal grows contentious
As shock and anger caused by the massive removal of native trees on a property owned by Justin Vineyards and Winery subsides, the policy debate about how to respond trudges on. And it’s quickly becoming anything but clear-cut. The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors passed an urgency ordinance on July 15 that tightly…
Report: Pismo Police faced hiring challenges in 2015
Police Chief Jake Miller presented the report to members of the city council August 2. The annual report highlighted the department work, goals, and select crime statistics from 2015. Overall, Miller expressed confidence in the job his department was doing, and its interactions with the community. The agency’s 2015 annual report stated that the department…
Grover Beach adds marijuana tax to ballot
Voters in Grover beach will decide if they want their city to tax commercial marijuana operations when the go to the polls in November. The Grover Beach City Council voted unanimously to place a proposed measure on the ballot that would tax medical and non-medical marijuana, potentially netting the city millions of dollars in the…
Court rules with Cambria CSD in water project lawsuit
The Cambria Community Services District won a key battle in the ongoing fight over its controversial water project. After the district approved a $9 million loan and received an emergency permit to build a water facility to treat brackish water (a mix of fresh and salt water) in the oceanside community in 2014, the Cambria-based…
Local firefighters fight an unrelenting Soberanes Fire
Travis Craig, a fire captain with Cal Fire SLO, was in Monterey County covering a routine helicopter shift on July 22. Then, in a flash, nothing about the shift was routine. A fire ignited by an abandoned campfire in Garrapata State Park had engulfed the Carmel Highlands. Craig was one of the first responders to…
SLO County, wineries sued over well permits
A California water watchdog is suing San Luis Obispo County, two vineyard and winery operations, and one land holding company over recently approved well permits. The California Water Impact Network (C-WIN), a Santa Barbara-based group that advocates for equitable and environmentally sensitive water use across California, filed the lawsuit on July 28. The lawsuit argues…
Higueros gets 167-plus years for rape and other charges
“The only life that’s been eviscerated here is mine.” The comment from convicted rapist Oscar Higueros Jr. drew audible gasps from the audience in the SLO County Superior courtroom during an Aug. 4 sentencing hearing. Higueros, a former Cayucos volunteer firefighter, addressed the court shortly before he was sentenced to 167 years and eight months…
California State Lands Commission sued over Diablo Canyon decision
PG&E’s decision to shut down Diablo Canyon by 2025 has by no means quelled the controversy surrounding the nuclear power plant. Now, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization is suing the California State Lands Commission over its decision to extend the plant’s lease without an environmental review. The World Business Academy filed the lawsuit Aug. 2…
Morro Bay Historical Society presents Hidden History
Out here in the Wild, Wild West of California, some might say our history doesn’t go far back, but we’ve got roots. And art, oh boy do we have art. Looking to celebrate both of those things? The Morro Bay Historical Society is proud to present Hidden History, an art exhibit hosted by the Morro…
Blast from the Past: The Moderns
When? 1988 | Where? DVD. Paris of the 1920s is indelibly romanticized thanks to Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast, and the famed author, bon vivant, and macho man—played here by Kevin J. O’Connor—makes an appearance in this award-winning 1988 film about American expatriate artist Nick Hart (Keith Carradine), who’s struggling…
The Bunker throws Summer Makers Market
A good gadget, gizmo, or thing-a-ma-bob is hard to find, but finding one locally made? Oof. Well all things cute, crafty, and cool that are handmade by local makers in San Luis Obispo will be on display Aug. 6 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Bunker SLO’s first ever Summer Makers Market. The…
Gotta catch ’em all: New Times gets in on the Pokemon GO craze
Unless you’ve been living in the forest for the past month, you have no doubt heard of Pokémon GO, the latest “it” ap. Everyone and their mom is playing this game, and I mean that pretty literally considering how many parents and kids I’ve seen playing together. Now, I’ll start off with a little disclaimer:…
Ties that bind: SLO author explores themes of loss, relationships in novel ‘Thin Places’
The idea of a clean break sounds so final, much easier than dealing with the messy reality of human relationships. But does it hinder more than help us? Elie Axelroth, a retired psychologist and former director of Cal Poly’s Counseling Services took to writing after she retired to really focus on the ways relationships can…
PCPA’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ brings Jane Austen’s tale to life
People don’t usually think of Jane Austen as a controversial author, but intense fans of her work—and her loudest detractors—haven’t quit discussing her writings for generations now. You either love her novels or you don’t, and for those who can’t get enough Austen, there is nothing more welcoming than an adaptation for the screen or…
Ladyfest II, a daylong female-centric music festival, comes to SLO Grange Hall Aug. 6
These days, you’d think we’d be past the era of women as second class citizens, but as Donald Trump recently proved, we may have come a long way, baby, but not all the way. When the comb-over-Cheetos-fascist suggested that Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star mother of fallen U.S. Army Captain Humanyun Khan, wasn’t allowed to…
Clubs 8/4/16 – 8/11/16
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Rd. 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…
SLO Brewing Co.’s Wave Wrangler Session IPA and BarrelHouse Brewing Co.’s Sunny Daze
New SLO Brew Executive Chef Tom Fundaro was a “wine guy” way before he ever dipped his toes into the world of craft beer. When he finally did make the transition, he—like so many others—was a little weirded out by California’s obsession with powerful, ultra-hoppy IPAs. Then, he started experimenting with strong, equally powerful cheeses…
Beer and cheer
Twelve ounces to freedom: BarrelHouse Brewing Co. is set to release its first 12-ounce bottle six packs of their top brands, BarrelHouse IPA and Sunny Daze! The best-selling beers are a yin and yang of craft beer geekery, if you will: The IPA is hoppy and dank with a twist of mango, while Sunny Daze…
Feeding the table: Sharing is the best part of eating at the new SLO Brew
There’s a raging intensity of hunger that sinks in after you’ve just rocked out to one of your favorite bands. A need to feed must be quenched. Right now! Endorphins are high, friends are plentiful, and the beer is flowing. This is the moment that SLO Brew Executive Chef Thomas Fundaro lives for. It’s that…
