Cover Story
We’re here to jingle bell rock your world: Last Minute Gift Guide 2014
I could talk about countdowns, about how many precious days we have before Christmas, about lists and the time and cost of shipping, but the odds are you’re already aware of all that. Odds are, whether you love the holidays or not, that you’re probably just a little bit stressed by now. And our annual…
Morro Bay High School incorporates popular ‘Serial’ podcast into the classroom
Here at the New Times office, there are approximately three things we obsess over. One is sugar, for obvious reasons. Two is making fun of the in-office Dungeons And Dragons club by throwing ketchup packets at them. And three is Serial—the immensely popular podcast from the producers of This American Life. We’re hardly alone in…
If you were to name another one of Santa’s reindeer, what would it be?
Erika Fitzgerald account coordinator “Harold.” Steven Dye bartender “Sparkles.” Kate Gracida yoga teacher “Juan.” Marissa Evernden hair stylist “Julio.”
Goodnight, Texas bring their well-worn folk to Santa Margarita’s Peace Sign House
When the music’s damn good, you find a way to come together. This is what Goodnight, Texas drummer and recent SLO County transplant Alex Nash has observed well. Band founders and songwriters Avi Vinocur, of San Francisco, and Patrick Dyer Wolf, of New York City (and previously, North Carolina), bonded over a love of guitar,…
SLOMA screens documentary about Australian avant-garde photographer Robyn Beeche
There’s nothing subtle about the photographs of Robyn Beeche. They’re brilliant, expressive shots of painted faces, lurid colors, and exuberant style. They feature faces adorned in Piet Mondrian-inspired makeup and vivid scenes from Indian religious festivals. They are extravagant explorations of beauty from a photographer whose life and work form the focus of the documentary,…
New Times gets their groove on at the SLO Holiday Parade
It’s 7:30 p.m. on a Friday night, and most of us have just given up. We’re hot, sweaty, and tired. One of us is giving off so much steam, you’d think he was the background extra in a Prince video. If only! The reality was far more trying, both physically and emotionally. We made a…
SLO Little Theatre stages adaptation of ‘A Christmas Story’
A Christmas Story is a film that is ingrained in my brain. My family had the film on repeat in the background of our Christmas festivities throughout my childhood. In fact, that film is so closely tied with my family’s holiday gatherings that I get warm, fuzzy feelings just thinking about it. I imagine the…
Clubs 12/11/14-12/18/14
Goin’ South … THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. CUVEE BISTRO AND CHAMPAGNE BAR: 550 1st St., Avila Beach, 595-2245. Live music Thurs. and Sat. 6-9pm. 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…
Kreuzberg’s Hot Apple Cider and Reef Points Hard Cider’s Kid Neptune
Let’s savor this magical time: the fleeting window when Christmas seems like a fun idea and has yet to bankrupt us of our joy or hard-earned cash. On the very first day of December, I decided that I was going to delve head first into this holiday thing while it still felt semi-chill. Before searching…
Jingle bells
The real meaning: Help the Hidden Power Cycle Clinic, First Five, and Hispanic Business Association feed 50 to 100 families this holiday. How? Donate your turkeys, hams, boxed taters, canned beans, stuffing, and holiday pies and feel the joy well in your heart. Want to make a difference without the hassle? Donate meal vouchers from…
A tasteful (and tasty) gift: Stuff stockings and stock kitchens with these yummy local provisions
What to get The BeeWhisperer: TheraBee Culinary Honey TheraBee Honey co-owner Curt Van Inwegen likes to say that his Cinnamon Vanilla Culinary Honey is a “breakfast honey and dessert honey,” great drizzled atop French toast, with Greek yogurt, or baked into a decadent cupcake. I simply love the fact that he and his wife, Martha,…
Swanky speakeasy: San Luis Obispo Legal Alternatives Corporation throws ’20s-themed fundraiser
The U.S. legal system can be a confusing, scary, and downright dangerous thing. Without a professional to act as a guide through those choppy waters, it can be all too easy to get lost in the overwhelming tide of legalese. Unfortunately, legal help is extremely expensive, and those who need it most are often the…
Cougars & Mustangs
Jeffery D. Armstrong, the president of Cal Poly, joined many university presidents and higher education leaders at the dwelling grounds of the president of the United States, so that, together with President Obama, the first lady, and the vice president, new educational goals could be unveiled toward our country’s achieving the status of leader of…
In the spirit of community: Paso Robles undergoes the process to change zoning codes to be more hospitable for fortunetellers and psychics
Until recently, the last time the city of Paso Robles weighed in on where fortunetelling and psychics were and weren’t allowed to set up shop was in the late 1950s. Since then, people who make a living by offering astrological or tarot card readings, psychic services, or as mediums—a wide and complex field characterized by…
Dust bust: Even as stakeholders make small advances, air pollution is still a problem on the Nipomo Mesa
Public meetings are hardly strangers to unhappiness, but the feelings of frustration that pervaded the Nov. 12 meeting of the Air Pollution Control District (APCD) Board of Directors were rather exceptional. What was agendized as a simple informational update on the state of air pollution mitigation efforts at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area…
Better news for Morro Bay water allocation
Though an updated estimate on state water deliveries is good news for Morro Bay, the city is still working on more options to reduce its heavy dependency on state water. On Dec. 1, the California Department of Water Resources announced that it would be making deliveries in 2015 at 10 percent of normal allocations. While…
Atascadero bans dumpster diving
Atascadero has a new ban on the books: the practice of picking through waste bins to look for recyclables to cash in or unwanted food to eat. On Dec. 9, the Atascadero City Council passed a new law, dubbed an anti-scavenging ordinance, which makes the activity an infraction. The ordinance was the product of numerous…
A.G. council moves ahead with a management search
In a unanimous vote during its Dec. 9 meeting, the Arroyo Grande City Council approved a consultant services agreement with Roseville-based firm Peckham & McKenny to recruit a permanent replacement for Steve Adams, Arroyo Grande’s longtime city manager. The executive search firm—which will be working on a $17,500 budget (plus expenses not to exceed $7,500)—will…
SLO overrides airport commission
San Luis Obispo city officials will move forward with changes to land-use designations in areas south of the city despite objections from the SLO County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC). Councilman Dan Rivoire, who had asked to continue the item from Dec. 2 because that was his first meeting with the City Council, cast the…
Alleged wine heist decanted by police after four high-end bottles were stolen from downtown restaurant
Update: Court records state the criminal charge against Nocas was reduced to a misdemeanor in March 2017 and was dismissed and expunged in November 2017. There’s an old phrase that says “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” In the case of Granada Hotel and Bistro, the downtown establishment that recently went upscale,…
#WhitePoliceChiefsMatter
I think we can all agree that the much-needed conversation about race and police abuse in America should be led by a white police chief who lives in a community so white that it makes Wonderbread look ethnic. Steve Gesell, the San Luis Obispo chief of police, made the extraordinarily arrogant and foolish decision to…
Let’s get to the truth
Once-respected Mayor Tony Ferrara appears to have lost it in his diatribe against the police here in Arroyo Grande (“An Arroyo Grande postmortem,” Dec. 4). If Tony is right—the police are very wrong. The City Council should act to determine the truth here. — Ken Goodman – Arroyo Grande — Ken Goodman – Arroyo Grande…
Get this, Ferrara: The people had enough
Tony Ferrara can pontificate all he wants, but the fact still remains the same: He just doesn’t get it. His ego-filled diatribe only reinforces his misunderstanding on how people see him (“An Arroyo Grande postmortem,” Dec. 4). He is a tall, intimidating man who knows how to use that intimation and power to push through…
How lethal are local cops?
I am interested to know local law enforcement policy regarding officers handling of “suicide-by-cop” situations. Do they use lethal force? If I wanted to commit suicide in Ferguson, I could walk into a liquor store, blatantly steal something, and then walk down the middle of the street displaying my ill-gotten prize until the police intervened,…
Bring in the district attorney
It is unfortunate that Ferrara makes these false charges against the chief and the Arroyo Grande Police Officers Association (“An Arroyo Grande postmortem,” Dec. 4). The record is clear. Ferrara expended political capital by the cover-up of the Adams indiscretion. They would both be in office today if Ferrara had not done this. Ferrara’s rejection…
Ferrara’s venting helps nothing
It is very sad to see the final scene in the city of Arroyo Grande. What played out in our city since the summer could not have been foreseen. Allowing the ex-mayor to vent his lies as the last word does not help with the healing (“An Arroyo Grande postmortem,” Dec. 4). I am looking…
Don’t count on Diablo
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” bellowed an increasingly panicked Wizard of Oz after feisty Toto and his intrepid companions had blown the cover on the pugnacious imposter. Behind a fearsome façade of smoke and mirrors, this “wizard” managed to rule a mythical paradise through fear and intimidation. In a modern remake…
