Cover Story
Witness to a death
I hear gunshots piercing the air and begin to run for the door in my flip-flops. Was I going to die? That’s all I could think of. I run from the dining room, Thai food flies out of the container in my hand and I open the front door, which I usually need help opening…
What do you like the most, and least, about the Central Coast?
Rosemary Dyste retired “I love everything about it except the morning fog.” Roberto Le-Fort agricultural technician “I like the people the most, but not too many: I’m concerned about any more development.” Lee Lockhart artist “I like best the weather, the atmosphere, and the people but it wouldn’t kill me to leave. Home is…
Be green, buy art
New Times What is your role with the Art and Adventure Art Auction in Cambria and Greenspace? Rick Hawley I’m one of the co-founders, and am the executive director of Greenspace—The Cambria Land Trust and do the fundraising, write and implement grants, and take care of membership. We are a 501c3 corporation which is a…
Under the redwoods
Camping, hiking, pristine beaches, and psychedelic sunsets are all things that come to mind about Big Sur. What might not be on your list of things to do is the annual summer Big Sur Short Film Screening Series, running weekly on Thursdays at nightfall through Aug. 30. This event is hosted outdoors on the lawn…
Petal-pusher
In the past, when Barry Goyette photographed flowers and plants, they were usually dead. But the clematis that he discovered, and shot, while climbing Bishop Peak was very much alive. In fact, for him, it was charged with a kind of sexual energy, waving feathered tentacles that suggested a sperm pollinating an egg. The plant’s…
Pouring out some hearts
Kyanne Goelz paints in a tilted house in Cayucos. That is, she pours India and Bombay ink onto Denril, building layers of liquid pigments across a surface that often resembles a topographical map. Windex, which Goelz wields as a reductive tool, creates an atmospheric fog. What she is left with, after the ink has snaked…
Pruned to the ground
If you’re driving through Cambria and see dismembered tree trunks strewn along the ground: Don’t worry, it’s just pruning. As part of what officials call routine tree-trimming operations, PG&E sent crews to Cambria to clear power lines of trees and vegetation. County officials and representatives from the California Coastal Commission and Cal Fire are investigating…
The latest development at Santa Margarita Ranch
An unlit Marlboro Red bounced between Michael Joseph’s pursed lips as he spoke. His voice was as coarse and dry as the rugged dirt road he was traveling. The inside of his large white pickup smelled of spent cigarettes and Red Bull and there was a large stick jammed into the pocket of the passenger’s…
Supes nix new parcels in SLO
SLO County supervisors on Aug. 4 unanimously denied an appeal that would have created six new parcels and opened the door for new development along SLO’s city limits on the hills overlooking Johnson Avenue. Technically there were three separate appeals made by property owners but all were heard under the umbrella of development consultant Oasis…
State budget takes aid from AIDS funding
Jamie Ford has been involved with AIDS and HIV outreach programs locally since the early ’90s when newly diagnosed AIDS cases in California were climbing to more than 12,000 per year. That’s when the figures peaked in California, in 1994. Ford worked for the AIDS Support Network throughout the ’90s and then for the county…
Correction
The Regional Transit Authority does not run SLO trolley services as was stated in the July 30 story, “Bus drivers on verge of strike.”
New Huasna oil plan calls for 12 wells, instead of four
The Huasna Valley Association is on the defensive again following an oil company’s resubmission of a plan to extract oil from the hills east of Arroyo Grande. HVA is a group of farmers, ranchers, and others in the rural valley that has been critical of proposed oil drilling operations in the area. The SLO-based oil…
Dalidio ranch project gets another chance
Measure J, the voter initiative to approve a development planned for Ernie Dalidio’s ranch, is valid. Again. At least for now. The plan was passed with 65 percent support by county voters in 2006 but was subsequently challenged by the groups Citizens for Planning Responsibly and ECOSLO and in 2008 the vote was nullified by…
DeVaul’s own home, ranch cookhouse condemned
County code enforcers tightened the screws still tighter on Dan DeVaul on Aug. 5, arriving at his ranch outside SLO to post signs condemning the building that houses his office and personal apartment along with other buildings, including the barn where meals are served to some 40 current residents. “Condemned. This structure is unsafe ……
Monument Board Shop will close
Since opening in 2000, Monument Board Shop has become prominent in SLO County skate and surfboarding culture. But the tough economy and competition from outlet stores has forced co-owner Billy Wallace to close his shop in mid-September, he said. When Monument was created, the mission of Wallace and cofounder Gary Ellsworth was simple: They…
Four Vines 2008 Chardonnay Naked Santa Barbara County
If you know my taste you know I love un-oaked Chards, and this zingy version made me very happy. It has fresh apple, nectarine, and pear aromas and flavors, nicely balanced with zingy citrus and mineral notes. Pair it with shrimp tacos, Dungeness crab Louie, or roasted poultry. A very good Chard at only $14…
Ortman Family Vineyards 2007 Cuvee Eddy SLO County
This impressive Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Petite Sirah blend offers delicious, ripe flavors of black cherry, blackberry, and boysenberry highlighted by notes of raspberry. It’s quite nicely balanced by nuances of vanilla and spice from French oak. The Ortman Family recommends enjoying it with such comfort foods as calzones, hamburgers, or leg of lamb. A…
Pallet to Palate satisfies every appetite
The spectacular seaside garden at the Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach provides the perfect venue for many of our popular Central Coast food and wine tasting events, but some of these tastings are quite expensive. There’s one festival about to take place there, however, that nearly everyone can afford. The 3rd Annual Pallet to…
Guns are beautiful
I am a lifetime law-abiding gun owner and avid shooter. In my life I have had many occasions to buy firearms for sporting purposes. I have not had a need to own an AK-47 nor an opportunity to try one. I am told it is the finest assault rifle ever made. If I am in…
Reform must include public health insurance
A viable, public Medicare-like option is essential to health care reform. The private insurance industry’s padding of profit, cost of advertising, and payroll of staffs of actuaries, salespeople, lobbyists, and lawyers add unnecessary costs to our health care system and to our insurance premiums. A big part of the misinformation about a public program…
No one can be too green
Why do you give so much space to letters and commentaries from the off-roading malcontents, Andy Caldwell and Kevin Rice? If I’m not mistaken, membership in the Sierra Club is not a disqualification for membership on the grand jury, nor should it be. The people who are motivated to give time to the grand jury…
Don’t drink alcohol while pregnant
Abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy is not a “… polarized, puritanical view …” as Mark Jansen expressed (“Health department concern is unwarranted,” July 23) in response to the July 16 article by Kylie Mendonca (“Drinking while pregnant”). The article was not clear in its delivery of information. Abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy will prevent Fetal…
The goal is in sight
I tried not to respond to the commentary from Julie Tacker (“There is no excuse for poor planning,” July 16) regarding construction of a wastewater system in Los Osos. I know she has a lengthy history with this complicated project, and certainly knows far more technical details than I will probably ever comprehend in my…
Thanks for the vote of confidence
I send my sincere thanks to all the remarkable grassroots community leaders and public officials who coalesced to express support for my work on the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission, amid calls for my removal (“Remove Sarah Christie from the planning commission,” July 23). The 35 names (“Sarah Christie guides county planning wisely,” July…
Demonstrate and petition for disarmament
August 6 is the 64th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In remembrance of the victims not only of Hiroshima and Nagasaki but of all wars, the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, along with Code Pink, will hold a vigil at Mission Plaza. The short vigil will be held on…
Work for nuclear disarmament
Sixty-four years ago on Aug. 6, the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, the U.S. unleashed another, more sophisticated, atomic weapon on the city of Nagasaki. I will refrain from diving into the revisionist morass of arguments that the atomic bombs ended World War II sooner and saved lives as…
Vince LeBlanc
New Times: Was it a nerve-racking experience performing your first tattoo? LeBlanc: Oh yeah, I had to do my first tattoo on a friend. My hands were shaking. A lot of people do their first tattoo on themselves. That’s not really too nerve-racking, but doing it on your first client is. New Times: Is there…
Another man homeless, thanks to county code
If you don’t get pissed off about what’s in this week’s paper, you need to turn down the dial on the Propofol you use to keep yourself asleep. The county code enforcers, not content with their attempts to bankrupt and jail him for housing the homeless, have told Dan DeVaul he can’t go in his…
Playing to win!
More than 6,000 votes were cast for the New Times Music Awards’ Readers Choice Award. Amazingly, the winner received more than 2,400 first place votes! Second scored more than 1,500 firsts, and third got more than 500. I could tell you the winners now, but what fun would that be? Instead, head to…
