Cover Story
Buffet company takes over Topaz
A Des Moines-based energy production and distribution company owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffet has acquired the Topaz Solar farm project from First Solar. MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.—part of Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway—announced Dec. 7 that it had entered into “definitive agreements” with First Solar to take over the $2 billion, 550-megawatt photovoltaic power plant currently…
Night of the Hunter
It’s easy to write off jazz if you’re the type who thinks Kenny G and Dave Koz represent the contemporary jazz vanguard. But there’s a whole lot more going on in the jazz world than the overly polished, saccharine-sweet noodlings that occasionally cross over into the mainstream. Take Charlie Hunter (guitar) and Scott Amendola (drums),…
What song is played perpetually in Hell?
Jonathan Ellison Cal Poly student Anything by Lady Gaga. Greg Merchant Cal Poly student “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC. Mike Bertoldi Cal Poly student “It’s a Small World.” Clinton Cosko Cal Poly student “Boom Boom Pow” by Black Eyed Peas.
I have arrived!
I’ve never been to a destination wedding before, so when my friends Rubey and Gabe announce—after dating for, like, seven years—that they are getting married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, I’m the first to sign on board. My fiancée Anna and I are set to fly out at the end of October, but then an…
Ambassador of Americana
There may be no one in the world who appreciates Americana like the pop culture historian, entertainer, retro-geek, and possible inventor of fried cereal, Charles Phoenix. Phoenix has built a career on the celebration of suburban domestic life in the ’50s and ’60s. Like a deranged, slightly manlier Martha Stewart, Phoenix regularly charms the Internet…
Southern exposure
To walk into Compact Gallery is, quite often, to momentarily leave San Luis Obispo behind, as it’s one of a precious few local spaces where “installation” means far more than hanging paintings on walls. Consider the current exhibit of “Ice Gallery North,” a joint effort by four artists, longtime friends, and owners of San Diego’s…
Made you look!
Mark Velasquez was just 13 when he first encountered the obstacle that would make his artistic career the frustrating, delicious thing it is today: He was unabashedly fascinated by the human figure. The young Velasquez had asked his mother for a book by artist Boris Vallejo, whose highly photorealistic depictions of ripplingly muscled men and…
CLubs
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. 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…
Bites!
It’s that time of year again. It’s time for pictures of women about to finish crossword puzzles. It’s time for pictures of women doing yoga on top of a bar. It’s time for pictures of women pouring bottles of Jameson down fellow female friends’…. end zones. Not what you were thinking? Sure, it’s the season…
Alegria Wine Bar opens
Alegria is the newest wine bar to open in downtown San Luis Obispo, at the corner of Chorro and Palm streets, and I believe they have a very good chance of succeeding. They offer an excellent selection of value-priced wines with a focus on Spanish varietals and other distinctive wines with a great story behind…
Speizer 2010 Chardonnay No Oak Edna Valley
This is the first release of this new brand from winemaker Terry Speizer, who founded Domaine Alfred in Edna Valley, and it’s exactly what I love in Chardonnay. Speizer planted a new vineyard in Edna Valley and created his second namesake brand. Fruit forward with no barrel aging, it offers pretty notes of green apple,…
Sinor LaVallee 2008 Pinot Noir Aubaine Vineyard SLO County
This delightful Pinot Noir is beautifully rich and balanced with bold blackberry, boysenberry, and black cherry flavors interwoven with notes of spice, leather, and earth. This is a classic New World Pinot, and I wish I could find more of its kind at this caliber and this low price. I loved it on its own,…
Quite a show
Anyone who takes the time to read my weekly ramblings knows that I am a literary god. I know all the tricks of the trade—protagonists, antagonists, metaphors, tropes, syllables, topiaries, dirigibles, conclusions—and a few that have nothing whatsoever to do with writing besides. My pen is my sword, unless I’ve just watched The Princess Bride,…
DENNY HOPPER
Ed note: Hopper Bros. will be bringing two live reindeer to the Central Coast: through Dec. 11 at the Santa Maria Fairpark and Dec. 13 to 19 at 8th and Spring Street in Paso Robles. NEW TIMES Why are the reindeer coming here? HOPPER Last year we brought the reindeer for our special 25th…
Amateur radio remains vital
I’m asked why amateur radio survives, why it remains vital 102 years after the first domestic amateur radio club was founded—considering how cell phones are ubiquitous. Actually, ham radio has just entered a new age of growth: There are 308 million Americans in total, more than 700,000 of whom now have amateur radio licenses, according…
Cougars & Mustangs
Timber! The top lumberjacks from the region will be sharpening their axes and lacing up their Xtratuff’s as they assemble at the Cal Poly campus to take part in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series Western Professional Qualifier. To be aired on ESPN2 on Sunday, Dec. 11, the event displays chopping and sawing skills so dazzling that…
It’s not a cold
There is no flu. Well, there’s not one flu. The term is something of a catchall for what you get when you’re infected by one of a variety of influenza virus strains that all tend to cause fevers, coughs, chills, and those other symptoms that have sufferers thinking, “Wait, what if this isn’t just a…
Hook, line, and sinker
Using fish heads and fish carcasses to help crops grow well—an ancient practice that pre-dates the Pilgrims—is an idea that recently caught on in San Luis Obispo County. People enthusiastically jumped on board this fall to make a fish-composting project happen in Morro Bay, resulting in safer pelicans, a cleaner estuary, and happy local organic…
Passing on the stoke
Two tan, tank-top-clad, young men jogged up the steps of the new, Forever Stoked retail shop and global headquarters. They entered and greeted artist Chris Pedersen with a nod. There was only a moment of silence before one of the young men couldn’t contain his excitement any longer and exclaimed, “Look at the eye candy…
Correction
According to a Skydive Pismo Beach employee, the business will not shut down its skydiving operations. Though permits for the structures at the Oceano Airport will be invalid as of Dec. 30, Skydive Pismo Beach will move its business operations to a new location. For more information, call Skydive Pismo Beach at 481-5867.
Oceano counts down to downpour
San Luis Obispo County officials are moving forward with plans to clear drainage channels in Oceano, install an emergency pumping system to prevent flooding, and, if need be, manually breach the Arroyo Creek levee to flood farm lands in order to save other property and homes. County officials have been scrambling for about a year…
Hate speech flyer worries Cal Poly officials
It’s not really clear what the author meant; all that’s clear is the message is nasty and it got university officials’ attention. On Dec. 1, the Mustang Daily reported that a flyer full of hate speech had been found in one of the stalls of a bathroom in the Cal Poly Robert E. Kennedy Library.…
SLO City bigwigs cut their own pay
Explaining their decision as leading by example, the San Luis Obispo City Council agreed to take pay cuts ahead of major upcoming union negotiations. On Dec. 6, the council voted 3-2 to adopt the pay cuts, which amount to roughly an 8-percent overall decrease for the city’s appointed officials, department heads, managers, and some unrepresented…
The ‘Geezer’ strikes SLO
It looks like the “Geezer Bandit” has struck again—this time at a busy downtown San Luis Obispo Bank of America—and though he got away, it appears that the strain of age may be impacting the elusive culprit. Just as the Friday rush hour began around 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, a man entered the branch…
Deadlocks have a purpose
After recently and continually hearing from the president about how we have a do-nothing Congress, and if he could bypass Congress to get things done, such as his “jobs act,” I was inspired to go back and read Hayek. In 1944, he wrote “… the position which precedes the suppression of democratic institutions and the…
Who wants Nipomo urbanized?
“There you go again” was an often-used quote of Ronald Reagan every time Jimmy (Misery Index) Carter abused the truth about Reagan’s policy. Anyone who is delusional enough to believe the NCSD’s bureaucratic reality TV, snap out of it. Their Kardashian-style bull gas will pollute what’s left of our rural environment and result in the…
Get ready to shop local with me
I would love to see an article encouraging people to spend some of their dollars locally, and to specifically buy Made in America products. The average person spends about $700 for Christmas, and if we spent $64 of that on Made in America products, we could create 200,000 jobs. (That is according to the ABC…
Decorate your windows, for business’ sake!
Developing a festive character in downtown during the X’mas season produces a strong magnet for potential shoppers. A walk around the town, especially in the evenings, shows what is possible. The question is: Why do some stores refuse to respond to the season? The more stores that cooperate, the greater the potential for heavy sales.…
We’re doing the best we can
The Morro Coast Audubon Society Board (MCAS) wishes to respond to the Dane Jones commentary regarding Sweet Springs found in the Nov. 24 issue (“Do not tamper with Sweet Springs”). We share Mr. Jones’ concern about the use of herbicides that may endanger the species we are trying to protect; hence the choice of one…
I’ll support a Pismo leader who focuses on residents
Thank you to Jan Woern who called out the Pismo Beach City Council in her letter to New Times (“Take my local leaders—please!” Nov. 24). As a Pismo resident, I have been sickened by the actions of this council, and also disappointed in the apathy of my fellow residents and the press. Our council is…
When your generation writes the history books …
It’s frustrating and disheartening to hear young Joshua railing at “The Tea Party” for, among other things, sabotaging his apparent dream of becoming a government employee (“Thanks from a college student,” Dec. 1) … misdirected frustration, youthful naiveté, I get it. I was 20 once. Joshua, I applaud you. You care. Continue your education. Vote.…
We appreciate the police, but let it be
I see the police union wants to challenge the voters (who ultimately pay their salary) in reference to their decision to eliminate an arbitrator in future wage issues (“SLO police union hopes to get binding arbitration vote overturned,” Nov. 17). The voters realized that the arbitrator feeling a 30 percent-plus wage increase was due the…
Steve’s Hugo opinion was simply wrong
Most of the time I really appreciate Glen and Steve’s movie reviews, even if I have a difference of opinion. That’s what makes opinions interesting. But when a review is so off the mark, I have to wonder if something is wrong with the reviewer. In regards to his review of Hugo (“The best/worst ever,”…
