Cover Story
So long, Sarah
Sarah Christie is the type of public official who can rip you to shreds and hold a quizzical look that says, “How did you not see this coming?” She’s a brutally incisive decision maker who can steer a meeting, sway a vote, and shift opposing political views, using keen reasoning and unparalleled knowledge of local…
Fine Asian cuisine comes to SLO
Over a combined 30 years of working in and writing about the restaurant industry, I’ve seen many creative people open restaurants that had real potential for success. Sadly, they failed, not because of concepts but because many creative people lack business savvy. Of course, a bad location is just as often to blame for the…
Spaced out
How much does a downtown San Luis Obispo parking spot cost? That seems like an easy question: $1.25 an hour to park on the main downtown streets, or less in a parking structure. But a parking spot is worth a lot more than pocket change when none are available, which will soon be the…
What’s your dream for New Year’s Eve?
Paul Jacobus blood bank scheduler “My dream for New Year’s Eve is worldwide peace, and that’s it. True peace.” Anthony Skelton Hearst Castle tour guide “To survive it.” Charisa Hathaway spiritual consultant “Financial freedom.” Heather Farrar mom “To sleep for eight hours.”
Have no fear shopping for teens
Buying a gift for a teenager can be a difficult and overwhelming task simply because teens can be very opinionated and the market is saturated with, well, tons of holiday crap. If you’ve put off gift buying for a teen, hoping for a holiday epiphany, allow us to offer a few quick ideas. Go to…
Christmas for baby
Buying for baby may seem like one of the easiest gift assignments. After all, they won’t express displeasure with the item, they won’t return or re-gift it, and the mere act of tearing into wrapping paper primes them for what’s inside. Baby gifts do, however, take some thought. There are concerns about age appropriateness, and…
Geek gift giving gets good
Us geeks can either be the easiest or the hardest people to shop for. Sure, no self-respecting geek on your list will turn down a gift card to that store with the big yellow letters; but maybe you’re hoping to get them something a little more personalized. Don’t panic. Original Geek You couldn’t go wrong…
Gifts wine connoisseurs would love
Still looking for a great gift for your dad, your boss, or perhaps a good neighbor who’s a wine aficionado? Well, you’re in luck, even at the twilight hours before Christmas day, with this list of wine shops that can accommodate most requests. San Luis Obispo County features wine shops in every city and hamlet,…
Gifts for the chef
Thank goodness for the home “chef” who enjoys cooking for family and friends. They spend the long hours chopping and slicing, sautéing and baking, giving little thought to rest—they’re having fun. And whether it’s Grandma Mary, Dad, or Uncle Norman, every dish is made from the heart. As we gather with family and friends around…
Blame game
As 26-year-old Phillip Hauser walked home from a friend’s house in the early hours of Dec. 13, he could little suspect a chance conversation along the way would send him to the hospital: Hauser fell victim to a brutal attack and robbery allegedly involving a bottle, a piece of wood, and a dog. San Luis…
Arroyo Grande city councilman arrested
Arroyo Grande City Councilman Edward Arnold, Jr. was arrested late Dec. 15 and charged with burglary, domestic violence, and assault with a deadly weapon, police say. Arroyo Grande police responded to a domestic violence call late on the evening of Dec. 15 in the 800 block of Turquoise Drive, where Arnold allegedly hit a 28-year-old…
SLO City Council votes to reduce (some) fees
The San Luis Obispo City Council at its Dec. 15 meeting voted to lower fees for businesses that want to set up tables and chairs on city sidewalks. The move won’t cause the city to lose any money; officials say no business had ever paid the high fees to set up a Paris street café…
County pension rates will go up Jan 1.
Meeting in closed cession at its Dec. 15 meeting, the county Board of Supervisors announced it would unilaterally raise the contribution rate to the county pension fund for county employees starting Jan 1, 2010. County employees will get a .92 percent rate increase in their pension contribution rate, thanks to the county’s effort to shore…
Assault suspect pleads no contest
One of two brothers charged with assault after an alleged early-morning beatdown on a group of youngsters in Arroyo Grande has changed his plea. Aaron Dee Shewmaker, 40, a construction worker from Atascadero, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery on Dec. 10 at the Grover Beach courthouse. Shewmaker was sentenced…
Oceano mess gets messier
People muttered and grumbled about the board of directors at the Oceano Community Services District. After a few mentions of recall, Board President Barbara Mann curtly fired back, “Don’t bother, I’m quitting.” That was just one tornado in the all-out financial crap storm that’s enveloped the district’s board of directors. The district’s Dec. 9 meeting…
Friends of Oceano Dunes talks settlement
You could put it this way: “There’s plenty of litigation to go around,” said Deputy County Counsel Tim McNulty. There’s so much litigation, the abundance may have soured a floundering $4.8 million deal between the county and the state over a swath of land in the Oceano Dunes. The property has been at the center…
Wind-powered generators make sense
Wind power is not just humungous propellers making a lot of wind noise and obstructing bird flyways. I have been checking into it and there are wind turbines that are efficient, need lower maintenance than those monster turbines, and are very quiet. (They look like egg beaters turned upside down.) Unlike solar electric generation, which…
Make the world better
I just learned that December is Human Rights Month. If ever there was a need for reaffirming our values in this regard, it is now, when hate, violence, and prejudice loom large in our lives. Here is a personal pledge made by a minister who pulled off to the side of the road and wrote…
Eat soy instead of meat
If anyone needs another reason to eat soy, consider this: Not only are soy foods cruelty-free and delicious, but researchers with the Cancer Center at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute have new evidence suggesting soy in the diet can help ward off colon cancer. Studies also show that soy helps prevent prostate and breast cancer,…
County should provide detox help
I have spent numerous hours at Sunny Acres in various capacities and I have seen positive change there. In the past, San Luis Obispo County had a detox facility. Now the alternative is jail. An alcoholic or addict can keep many people busy, among them firefighters, emergency room staff, probation officers, social workers, jailers, and…
Get to the bottom of it
Oceano residents are again being forced to pay excessively for water and sewer service, due in part to a misleading accounting system and bloated administrative staff at the Oceano Community Services District. The district has several of the “Red Flags For Fraud” published to assist elected officials in spotting malfeasance. The district’s auditors have repeatedly…
Socialists should take a powder
D. Duane Wall II really typifies neo libs by hurling insults at Republicans and Senate Minority Leader John Boehner (“Remember this bozo?” Dec. 10). Instead of arguing the issues, Wall slams and uses childish, adolescent commentary over a major non-issue. He has a lot to learn. Unemployment? New numbers show record unemployment, parallel to those…
Afghanistan war cannot achieve peace
President Obama has taken a wrong turn on the road to peace. He has forgotten his promises and ideals. He has bowed to pressure from hawks and generals and is leading the American people into an unforeseeable future in the Afghanistan region. He calls Afghanistan a war of necessity and a just war, but it…
Break the mold
For those eager to do something new and exciting this New Year’s Eve, I have some suggestions. Hike to a mountain top, have a picnic dinner, and watch the city lights (take bright flashlights and dress warmly). Invite friends for a pot luck meal and ask each to bring an ethnic dish representing their heritage.…
What would Jane want?
I read Colin Rigley’s excellent account of the ethical dilemma regarding “Jane” in the story “Shades of Solomon” (Dec. 10). Jane was born with a malformed leg and foot but her parents and physicians disagree about the appropriate therapy; whether to amputate part of her foot and attach a prosthesis or continue lengthening her leg. …
Look at what’s developed
Listen closely enough and you may just hear the painful yelps of Supervisor Jim Patterson getting turned into a human fist puppet. Yup, it finally happened. Patterson caved to detractors harder than Barack Obama on health care and put the drop on his planning commissioner, Sarah Christie, at least behind the scenes. This is full-on…
The makings of gingerbread men
I was clawing my way through that deep catch-all drawer that every kitchen seems to have. You know, the one where you keep all the truly weird or off-sized kitchen stuff: funnels, colanders, empty honey bears, barbecue and wok implements, your great-aunt’s 1930s orange juicer, a garlic peeler that looks like a medieval torture device,…
Ed Dutton
NEW TIMES: Are people already raiding the store for New Year’s party gear? DUTTON: Yeah, they’re starting to come in. We don’t really see them until after Christmas. But after that, it’s just a complete madhouse. NEW TIMES: How does New Year’s Eve rank as a party holiday? DUTTON: Halloween, graduation, New Year’s Eve,…
A cure for all seasons
The holiday season compounds stress and other psychological ailments, especially in this difficult economy, and finding affordable therapy isn’t easy. But relief is available at the Community Counseling Center at Cal Poly. For more than 30 years, the center has helped Central Coast residents cope with depression, anxiety, marital issues, and other psychological burdens. Kelly…
Claiborne Churchill 2007 Pinot Noir Edna Valley
Recently I recommended this winery’s Runestone reserve Pinot, which was early for a young wine, because there was little of it and I wanted my readers to find it soon. But I was equally impressed by the estate Pinot Noir, more Californian than the reserve Burgundian version. This ripe and fruity wine offers strawberry, raspberry,…
Clubs
Goin’ South … CAFÉ ANDREINI: 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 481-6117. Thurs.: Live music at 6pm. CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. Mon. and Tues.: Louie Ortega. Fri: Live music. COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Dr., Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music Night every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. DOLPHIN BAY/LIDO:…
Bumbershoot!
Talk about a unique musical hybrid! How about flamenco-Latin-Gypsy-pirate-polka? Spanish surf? Only San Francisco could be the birthplace of this kind of melodic smorgasbord, folks! Diego’s Umbrella is hard to place musically, but they’re silly, skilled, and oh-so-much fun. Take it from their press materials: “Imagine dancing uncontrollably in a border town cantina while singing…
Sites to behold: The Campus Squirrel Listings
Selecting which college to attend is one of the most important and challenging decisions. With colleges offering fewer classes and cutting back on their faculty, many students will spend the next six to 10 years of their lives obtaining their undergraduate degrees. And there are a lot of factors to take into account: cost, programs,…
I sing, you sing, we all sing
There are two types of people in the world: those who should sing in public, and those who—without question—should not. Because that no-good pervert Starkey (he’s also the Shredder, you know) is “staycationing” in his backyard for the next two weeks, I have no choice but to attend an event frequented by people who fall…
Buy local, online
LEANDOGPOTTERY, Kelly Rae Feaster, SLO NEW TIMES How long have you been on Etsy? LEANDOGPOTTERY I just had my two-year anniversary (aka etsy-versary) on Nov. 6! I came across Etsy one day on accident when I was thinking about selling my artwork online. NEW TIMES How would you describe your experience on Etsy? LEANDOGPOTTERY It…
