Cover Story
Our remarkable elk
An eerie, high-pitched bugling like a demented New Year’s Eve reveler with a loudspeaker whistles across the valley at the eastern edge of SLO County. # Wildlife biologist Bob Stafford focuses on a much fainter sound beeping through the static of a receiver slung over his shoulder. Striding across a grassy slope, he holds an…
Letters
Gore is the guy for 2008John Rickenbach’s political fable with a Christmas orientation (“Hot enough?” Dec. 21) was terrific. Very clever! If you didn’t read it (due to being too busy with the holidays), it’s worth digging out of the recycling bin. To recap, the one way to get President Bush and Dick Cheney’s attention…
Correction
“The latest from Los Osos” (Dec. 21) incorrectly identified Gail McPherson, who held power of attorney as the defense for one of a group of Los Osos residents facing septic tank-related cease-and-desist orders and, having compiled the collective evidence used by many of the challengers in the Water Board’s executive hearings, also provided a de…
Watch that eggnog
On the idyllic island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, wassailing and driving is widely accepted as long as you’re not recklessly endangering others. In New York City, after a night of imbibing, the worst that could happen is you lose the piece of paper with your address dutifully written on it, and…
Jury stalled on animal-cruelty verdict
At the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse on Dec. 27, jurors deliberated on the future of Cynthia Walsh, the 57-year-old Edna Valley resident charged in one of the largest animal abuse cases in regional history. Deadlocked discussion and sick jurors delayed the verdict by more than a week after final arguments concluded on Dec. 19.…
Grover Beach man dies in motorcycle accident
On Dec. 21, officers of the Grover Beach Police and Fire departments responded to the 400 block of South 8th St. on a report of a single-vehicle collision involving a motorcycle. According to a release from the department, officers contacted a man who had crashed in a driveway after losing control of the motorcycle. He…
Fast facts
The San Luis Obispo County YMCA will offer a free Fitness Open House at its SLO facility Jan. 4 through 8. Beginning at 10 a.m. each day, sample fitness classes are offered in 20-minute sessions at a variety of times. Introductory classes include demonstrations in yoga, pilates, body conditioning, and cycling. Special fitness classes aimed…
Don’t look at my finger like that
Last week, I awoke and noticed that my wedding ring finger had turned bluish and was quite swollen. After 20 minutes of plunging my left hand into ice water and anointing it with oil, I was able to remove my wedding and engagement rings. Thus began my adventure into presumed unwed motherhood. Let me back…
Gone chippin’
Downtown San Luis Obispo is full of fantastic places to get lunch, or even a low-key, inexpensive dinner. Diners with a healthy appreciation for seafood and beer can now turn to Pacific Fish and Chippery, an eatery that specializes in variations of fish ‘n’ chip meals. # David Katz and Gary Wallace, both of whom…
Shooting investigation continues
Sheriff’s investigators continued on Dec. 27 to probe a Christmas day shooting in Nipomo that sent a 33-year-old man to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Watch Commander Sgt. Brian Haskell said “nothing has changed” since Byron Hightower was shot in what deputies have said was the conclusion of a domestic incident…
Neighbors save home from fire
Good neighbors are hard to come by particularly the type of neighbors who save your home and belongings from possible incineration. At approximately 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 19, neighbors heard an alarm sounding and spotted white smoke spiraling from the chimney of a home on Pacific Street in San Luis Obispo, according to a release…
Maldonado chairs Senate committee
On Dec. 22, Nick Garcia announced that Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Alameda) had appointed Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) as chairman of the Senate Agricultural Committee. In a statement, Maldonado said that he looks forward to “working on bipartisan solutions for the benefit of everyone whose livelihoods depend upon a robust agriculture industry…
Latest sexual assault possibly linked to three others
In the wake of a fourth reported sexual assault in less than six weeks, San Luis Obispo Police officers are searching for the man potentially responsible for the outbreak. The latest episode took place in the 200 block of Chorro Street at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 20. In a manner similar to the previous…
Cuesta students make stellar discovery
Russell M. Genet, director of the Orion Observatory near Santa Margarita Lake, announced that three Cuesta College students Noll Roberts, Neelie Jaggi, and Casey Milne recently discovered two new pulsating variable stars. Students in Genet’s physics research seminar at Cuesta had been using a research telescope at the observatory and an astronomical camera to take…
Trouble intersections will get a closer watch
# The San Luis Obispo Police announced on Dec. 27 that, as of Jan. 1, 2007, local traffic enforcement will be on the rise. A recent grant awarded to the department prompted the move, set to run through Sept. 30, 2008. At the outset, the department will begin a selective enforcement program to reduce collisions…
Supervisors approve grant to aid meth busts
The SLO County Sheriff’s Department is set to receive a $350,000 state grant for methamphetamine enforcement, after unanimous approval by the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 19. Funded through the California Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team, the grant targets meth manufacturers and traffickers who produce or sell significant quantities of the illegal drug, and aims to…
Time marches on
Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Maybe. Whenever I finally figure out what that means, I’ll remember to forget it. Just like the rest of this year. I can’t wait. Has this been a doozy of a set of 365 days or what? You don’t have to answer that. I’ll understand if you’re so eager to…
