Cover Story
Lights, Camera, Adventure: Adventure Club SLO, a group for neurologically different adults, releases its new film
The lights dim and the crowd grows quiet as the whir of the projector lights up the screen, filling it with the magic of filmmaking, where drama unfolds, bad guys get their comeuppance, and heroes are made. Most Americans love movies, but cinema takes on added layers of meaning for members of Adventure Club SLO,…
Consulting the tea leaves: The Secret Garden offers up magic potions that taste good and do a body good
“The Tea Lady” Kirstin Sherritt lives two remarkable lives: Her waking hours are spent alchemizing healing herbal remedies at her lush, open-air tea and herb shop, nestled along bubbling San Luis Obispo Creek. Then, there’s her nocturnal life. When Sherritt dreams, the greenery of her world melts into a vivid, sunset-streaked kaleidoscope of sienna, crimson,…
The true facts
Often missing from the current discussion regarding the proposed Templeton Behavioral Health Hospital (BHH) are solid facts and a compassionate understanding of the serious behavioral health inpatient needs that individuals and families are struggling to cope with daily in San Luis Obispo County. Behavioral health issues continue to be stigmatized rather than recognized and treated…
Be a lifeline: Women’s Shelter of SLO County seeks volunteers
Sign up for the Women’s Shelter of SLO County’s volunteer training program by Dec. 8 and play a critical role in ensuring that the shelter’s domestic violence services stay available at all hours. The Women’s Shelter Program provides comprehensive crisis intervention, emergency shelter, treatment, and education for residents of SLO County trying to escape the…
The enforcement problem
The U.S. has the highest number and rate of deaths from police among all developed countries. One-half of those killed by police every year have mental illnesses, according to a report by the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center. Those killed are typically poor, mentally ill and/or non-white. Police arrest or kill those…
Which do you like better, indie movies or big Hollywood blockbusters? Why?
Tam Bailie store manager “Indie films. You’ll get an original plot.” Robert Stephenson unemployed “It depends on the movie and how it’s done. Low-budget movies can be great.” Melissa Heredia Cuesta College student “Both. I like going to the movie theater to watch the big ones and then see the indie films at home.” Scott…
SLO Town’s festive Holiday Parade happens Dec. 4th
If there’s a war on Christmas, SLO Town appears to be sitting it out. Maybe we’re conscientious objectors or something, but between Santa’s House in the Mission Plaza (a notorious gathering place for people who dig Jesus) and the Downtown Association’s Holiday Parade, which everyone I know calls the “Christmas Parade,” it’s beginning to look…
New Nipomo theater group presents ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Now theater patrons can take in a show anywhere from the most southern part of San Luis Obispo County to the most northern. While Central Coast Theater Works is a brand new theatre group in Nipomo, its debut production is a truly timeless holiday classic. CCTW, an offshoot of Nipomo Recreation, will bring Joe Landry’s…
Studios on the Park seeks entries for juried exhibition Migrations
Since the beginning of time, humans have been moving around in large groups from one spot to another. Studios on the Park in Paso Robles wants your artistic take on that process in its upcoming exhibit, Migrations. Human migrations often occur at moments of political and religious unrest, undoubtedly affecting the social and global landscape…
Dance the holidays away: San Luis Obispo ballet companies kick off the season
For ballet dancers everywhere, winter isn’t the holiday season; it’s Nutcracker season. But here in San Luis Obispo there are holiday themed ballet performances galore! In addition to the classic standby, The Nutcracker, patrons of the arts can also catch toe-twirling renditions of Babes in Toyland and La Boutique Fantasque. Nutcracker season While ballet companies…
PCPA presents its holiday season opening ‘Cinderella’
The films of Walt Disney hold a special place in many people’s hearts, especially for those who grew up watching them as children, which can include most living generations. The classic Cinderella is especially beloved not just for its timeless charm—the film came out in 1950—but also for the revival it received on the stage…
The Charlie Hunter Trio will bring their innovative jazz sounds to the SLO Grange Hall on Dec. 5th
Charlie Hunter has never followed expectations. When he wanted a guitar sound that could also blend in bass note sounds—think Joe Pass or Tuck Andress of Tuck & Patti—he had a seven-string guitar made, which he played on his 1993 debut. He’s played with jazz homage combo T.J. Kirk, exploring compositions by Thelonius Monk, James…
Clubs 12/3/15 – 12/10/15
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…
Zocker Paragon Vineyard’s 2014 Gruner Veltliner and Brecon Estate Winery’s 2013 Grenache
Brisk weather calls for hot German food—Beda’s Biergarten’s hot German food, to be exact. German food calls for a cold German beer, or, as I found recently, a cold balanced white wine with lots of acidity. Primarily grown in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, grüner veltliner is known for its exotic, tropical fruit flavors…
Cookbook crazy
Get lost in these pages: Kendra Aronson’s SLO Farmers’ Market Cookbook has been successfully crowd-funded and will be in the hands of its Kickstarter backers (and everyone else) before Christmas! Want to meet the author and ask her about her experiences compiling local recipes? She’ll be at a book signing and launch party at General…
Compassion, anyone?
I sure wouldn’t want to be a medical marijuana patient living in Arroyo Grande. The city’s just taken another step to deny sick people access to their medication. In a Dec. 1 memorandum, Community Development Director Teresa McClich, Assistant City Attorney David Hirsch, and Police Chief Steven Annibali urged the Planning Commission to adopt a…
Political strategist John Peschong to run for SLO county supervisor
One contender is in and another is out in the four-man race to fill the open seat representing San Luis Obispo County’s 1st district. John Peschong, a Templeton resident and longtime political strategist, recently announced that he’ll enter the race. Peschong told New Times he is running in order to preserve the quality of life…
Poly student organizer for SLO Solidarity receives death threat
The organizer for a group of student activists pushing for more diversity and tolerance at Cal Poly SLO was the subject of an online death threat Dec. 1. Matt Klepfer, a Cal Poly sophomore, is an organizer for SLO Solidarity, a group of students who have publically raised concerns over a lack of diversity, noticeable…
Morro Bay couple held in contempt for not cutting shrubs
The latest decision in a two-year legal battle over the height of their trees held Carl and Judy Grilli in contempt of court. At issue is a line of myoporum trees along the back fence of the Grillis’ Morro Bay residence. The trees, which have grown to approximately 22 to 23 feet tall, violate the…
Cougars & Mustangs
Greetings, readers! Let’s begin today’s excursion with a brief stop in our mailbag. Redacted for the Safety of the Public At Large wrote us asking “What is the origin of the term ‘Cougarsandmustangs’??” An excellent question, Redacted. Though the name of this column may sound like something out of a classified’s ad your aunt swore…
Mine the gap: A time rift between two water conservation ordinances meant more planting over the Paso basin
Nov. 25 marked the last day of a three-month “gap” where new plantings of irrigated crops could take root in the soil lying over the Paso Robles groundwater basin, without strings attached. Initial worries about the gap hinged on the possibility of a rush to plant as many new vineyards as possible. Only limited new…
Correction
The Nov. 26 article “Dawn Ortiz-Legg joins Jordan Cunningham in race for state Assembly,” incorrectly stated an activity of the Central Coast Taxpayers Association. The organization does not contribute money to political campaigns.
Price Canyon oil permit extension appealed
The Center for Biological Diversity appealed the SLO County Planning Commission’s decision to extend the life of an oil drilling project permit approved 10 years ago in Price Canyon. “A decade ago, we did not have a historic drought that forced us to rethink how we use water in the state,” said Maya Golden-Krasner, the…
Arroyo Grande Planning Commission recommends banning medical marijuana cultivation
Arroyo Grande is one step closer to banning the cultivation of medical marijuana as city officials attempt to get out ahead of recently passed state legislation. The city’s Planning Commission voted 3-2 on Dec. 1 to recommend a ban on the cultivation of medical marijuana on any parcel of land in the city by anyone—including…
A 38-foot vessel sinks in Morro Bay marina
View a slideshow from the scene at Morro Bay. The Monday following Thanksgiving weekend is a slog for most people. For Dean Foster, owner of the Bay Front Marina in Morro Bay, it was a nightmare. On Nov. 30 at 8 a.m., Foster awoke to discover that one of the largest vessels docked in his…
