Cover Story
The great California condor comeback
“Oh! There’s a condor flying!” shouts Michael Woodbridge, spokesman for the Hopper Mountain wildlife refuge, which is where we’ve been sitting on a poison oak-covered cliff for nearly an hour, focused on the rocky cave across the canyon that hides a California condor nest. “That’s the dad. He’s coming to check us out.” Seconds later,…
Condor program is a bargain
Thanks for presenting Matt Kettman’s uplifting article about the increase in the California condor population (“The great California condor comeback,” Feb. 11). I consider $13,000 per bird a bargain: For those who think otherwise, note the $1 billion for a nuclear submarine, or $900 million for a B-2 bomber. We are responsible for the decline…
How do you set the mood?
Elizabeth Defelice student “Otis Redding.” Denise Mondragon intervention transport agent “I purchase a massage at Welcome Om Massage and Wellness center. You have to ask for Marina.” Lisa Gonzalez tax preparer “Flowers, a nice piece of jewelry, soft music, and you have to be part of the piece that sets the mood.” Misty Rodriguez Caregiver…
Pandora.com
Ever listened to the radio and found yourself wanting to repeatedly smack your head against the dashboard when a station plays the same 20 songs again and again? Or been suddenly confronted by the realization that you’re listening to a Christian radio station when the musician suddenly starts wailing about Jesus? That doesn’t happen on…
You can’t kill Mardi Gras!
Call it serendipity. It’s Saturday, Feb. 6, and I’m in Costume Capers picking out some sweet threads for this weekend’s ARTI Gras event at Madonna Inn on Saturday, Feb. 13 (call 544-9251 to see if there are any $75 tickets left). In pops George Griffin, who’s late returning a costume he rented last weekend. George…
Clubbing inspiration
The month of dead presidents and candied hearts just got cooler. That is, the change occurred in 2004 when four music-minded friends challenged one another to write 14 songs in the month’s 28 days. They posted recordings of their songs online, and maintained a flow of feedback for each other’s work. Now in its seventh…
Together again
The Farmers’ Association and the Downtown Association have decided they are better living together than apart. The reconciliation was formally announced at an early morning Downtown Association meeting on Feb. 9. Both sides pledged to communicate better. Everything seems tidy and back to normal now that the boards of the two organizations spent a weekend…
Arrested development
Nipomo’s Aaron Adams thought he’d found his dream home when he moved into Maria Vista Estates, an 84-acre hilltop development complete with dazzling views of the valley’s lush rolling hills. That was in July of 2007. Today, as he walks through his neighborhood of vacant million-dollar homes—the sidewalks cracked and yards overgrown with weeds—he wonders…
Plans for Arroyo Grande Centennial park fizzle
Arroyo Grande’s chances to build a centennial park may have slipped away in the early morning mist of Feb. 10. After a contentious and excruciatingly long-winded city council meeting—it lasted six and a half hours and ended at 1:30 a.m.—only Mayor Tony Ferraro supported the plan to build a park facing the main street of…
Public questions Diablo renewal
County residents grilled representatives of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at two recent public meetings the federal agency held to answer questions about the review process for Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s application to renew its operating license for Diablo Canyon power plant. The meetings were held at Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo on…
For sale: police guns, cheap
Want to buy a pistol? You into .40 caliber or 9mm? Your brand Beretta, Glock, or perhaps Heckler and Koch? You’re in luck, because the Arroyo Grande Police Department is having a fire sale to sell its surplus firearms. The City Council voted unanimously in its Feb. 9 (and 10) meeting to allow the department…
Officials squeamish over medical marijuana
New medical marijuana operations proposed in the Nipomo area have SLO county officials scrambling to their legal books in a move that could kill the prospect of a local dispensary once and for all. Every incorporated city within the county boasts either a temporary or permanent ban on dispensaries, leaving only the unincorporated areas open…
Jerry Brown weighs in on local energy
On Feb. 4, a letter from the Office of the Attorney General landed in the hands of SLO County planners. The issue it references was about as local and niche as they come: the Conservation and Open Space Element (COSE). Now a three-year endeavor, the COSE is an update and consolidation of several pieces of…
Fabulous dorms lead to top-notch school
Considering the dearth of housing in San Luis Obispo regardless of species, Thousand Hills Pet Resort, a dog boarding and training campus on Buckley Road, borders on downright extravagant. Guests bed down in cozy suites or snug cottages with pressure-activated heating pads to re-energize for the next day of romping in impeccable play yards well…
Money matters
Aaaand they’re off! It’s Ian Parkinson in the lead. Jerry Lenthall is a full length behind and wait, wait, oh! Ben Hall and Jose Cortez are nipping at his heels! Michael Teixeira is just coming round the bend and long shot Mark Adams is expectedly limping out of the gate. While the rest of you…
Naysayers want America to fail
The Party of No and the Tea Partiers should be ashamed at how they are dishonoring American values and corrupting the system with their negative, childish behavior. It’s hard for many Americans to fathom why the Party of No and the thoughtless Tea Partiers would rather see America fail than work to create jobs, reform…
The latest obsessions
There’s an old zen joke that asks why a dog licks his own testicles and the answer is because he can. The theme of this joke seems applicable to the use of cell phones and psychotropic drugs. Considering the number of people who constantly make cell-phone calls in front of others, it’s fair to say…
Federal library assistance should be increased
President Obama’s new budget proposal calls for a freeze on library funding. Freezing the level of federal funding to public libraries already suffering from budget cuts will severely hurt people in this difficult economy who increasingly depend on them for education, assistance searching for jobs, and for entertainment. It is vital that libraries are able…
Centennial Plaza would spoil AG Village
The Centennial Plaza project planned for the Village of Arroyo Grande would close Short Street and instead create a plaza. Many parking spaces behind Olohan Alley would be lost and Farmers’ Market space would be severely impacted. The project also entails the demolition of an historic building and creation of fake “old” buildings. Our village…
Solar panels belong on roofs
Private enterprise has seemingly found a match made in heaven in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s solar-array deal with Rec Solar and Sun Edison. The project would cost $14 million to put 12-foot-tall solar panels on eight campuses. No permit process is required because of the district’s public facility exemptions, so no neighbors…
PG&E has shaky grounds
PG&E has put its radioactive cart before the regulatory horse and wants California to get out of the way. Two earthquake faults, Hosgi and Shoreline, lie within three miles offshore of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The state of California has required PG&E to complete 3-D seismic mapping of the Shoreline Fault, which is…
Shame on The Shredder
The Shredder may not need to live up to the same journalistic standards as a traditional news reporter, but not one shred of evidence supported the ad hominem attack on Third District Supervisor Adam Hill, which positively reeked of second-hand malice and sour grapes (“Change (back),” Feb. 4). The Shredder may have coyly phrased the…
Al Gore’s on a joy ride
I write in response to The Shredder column “Talking to myself” (Jan. 14), which implies Al Gore and scientists have nothing to gain by saying global warming is real. Maybe The Shredder can do some research and respond with truth. First, how much money has Gore made by promoting this global warming theory? Take into…
Don’t discount Patterson and Hill
The Shredder concluded that supervisors Patterson and Hill are in political trouble because of alleged discontent among anonymous former campaign supporters (“Change (back),” Feb. 4). Hmmm, I wonder whom The Shredder has been talking to. I don’t recall seeing a Sierra Club endorsement of Adam Hill in the last election. The current economic climate has…
Lay off Anderson
The mention by The Shredder of cats, and roosters, and Eric Anderson who’s in charge of county animal services (“Change (back),” Feb. 4) was in my opinion (with more than 15 years volunteering at the shelter) quite ignorant. I can attest with great certainty that in the entire time Anderson has been there he has always…
My health-care crisis
My healthcare crisis is not national in scope. It does, however, involve all the elements necessary to be a crisis: money, emotional difficulty, pain, family discourse, faith, good doctors, bad doctors, amazing nursing care, insurance companies that do not respond to your requests, borderline bankruptcy, never-ending physical challenges and the quintessential diagnosis of cancer in…
Frankie & Lola’s Front Street Café
NEW TIMES: How did you come up with the name for your restaurant? KIRK: Just before Christmas, I told Barrie I’d found a restaurant. We’d been looking for ten years. She heard Frankie & Lola by Jimmy Buffet and said it reminded her of us and decided that’s what we should call the place. NEW…
Robert Hall 2008 Chardonnay Paso Robles
This delicious Chardonnay is tangy with bright flavors of green apple, pear, and citrus, with nuances of vanilla and oak. Grown in the estate vineyards, which are SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certified, it’s a great choice for greenies. This is an easy sipping wine that’s lively enough to pair with an array of foods. Try…
BAM! Emeril is coming to SLO
Whether you’re a food lover or an aspiring chef, you’ve undoubtedly watched celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse on the television Food Network for many years, bought his cookbooks, and prepared his dishes. I have some exciting news to share with you: This summer, Emeril is coming to SLO County as the star chef of the Central…
Clubs
Goin’ South … CAFÉ ANDREINI: 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 481-6117. Thurs.: Live music at 6pm. COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Dr., Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music Night every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. DOLPHIN BAY/LIDO: 2727 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-4300 or TheDolphinBay.com. ELMO’S NIPOMO SALOON: 131 South Thompson Road, Nipomo, 929-5362. Karaoke…
Going big!
Throughout California, Still Time is among SLO’s most well known exports due to the band’s extensive West Coast touring, but they’re about to spread their reach to the nation with a four month, 70-plus date tour that will hit nearly every region of the continental United States! Holy cow, Batman! It’s the natural progression for…
