Cover Story
It could happen here
Almost 40 years to the day after an offshore drilling platform near Santa Barbara malfunctioned, pouring millions of gallons of crude oil into the ocean and polluting 35 miles of coastline, the state’s offshore oil reserves were nearly opened for business again. The Houston-based Plains Exploration and Production Company’s proposed foray into the Tranquillon Ridge…
Biking for kindness
Brock Tully has an antitheft device that is naïve and delightfully sweet. He rides around on a touring bike, hauling a trailer that advertises kindness. He left his bike outside the New Times office, unlocked, the other day, assuring folks, “No one would mess with a bike with a kindness sign on it.” Since the…
DeVaul’s collection getting smaller
Six months ago, SLO County code officers moved people out of broken-down buildings on Dan DeVaul’s Sunny Acres Ranch. Now code enforcement officials have the go ahead to move 26 vehicles as well. DeVaul says he needs more time. Speaking to SLO County supervisors on Feb. 10, he blamed county officials for putting him through…
Embezzlement charges filed against health-care executive
A local health-care executive has been charged with felony embezzlement related to work he performed for a San Luis Obispo-based Hispanic nonprofit organization, Visión Unida. Lorincio “Larry” Bacus, employed as an administrator for Community Health Centers, was arrested Feb. 2 while at Café Roma in San Luis Obispo, according to court and police records. He…
No action yet on Hedges complaints
A Los Angeles medical marijuana patient has filed several complaints against SLO County Sheriff Patrick Hedges over his role in the investigation of Charles Lynch, the former owner of a Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary. Complaints were filed to the Sheriff’s Department, the California Attorney General, the SLO County District Attorney, and the SLO County…
Good, but not park-good
People in Avila Beach appreciate the work Jim Lindholm did to help get them a park, but not enough to name that park after him. Lindholm died in January 2008 of pancreatic cancer. He was county counsel for about 30 years and started the County Counsel Office, which had been a part of the District…
How do you cure a broken heart?
Dorothy Fowler retired “With time, psychotherapy, group support, and community.” Kirsten Thom student “Eat lots of chocolate and ice cream, that’s what I do.” Nhat Tran student “A lot of booze.” Enrique Koch businessman “Turn the page and keep going. You only have one life and you have only two options.”
Huasna oil project opponents want appeal on environmental review decision
Residents of Huasna Valley, a pastoral valley east of Arroyo Grande, say they are disappointed after the County Planning Department issued a “mitigated negative declaration,” instead of requiring a more strenuous Environmental Impact Report, for a proposed oil operation in the area. A fledgling oil company with backers in Australia and Canada, Excelaron, has applied…
Finding the fault
The Central Coast’s legislative geology geek, Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, is continuing to press for detailed studies of the earthquake danger at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. With his new bill, AB 42, Blakeslee hopes to find out exactly what’s going on below the water. Blakeslee, SLO County’s Republican representative who also holds a doctorate…
Charles Lynch trial postponed, motion denied
Federal Judge George Wu on Feb. 10 rejected a declaration seeking a light sentence for medical marijuana provider Charles Lynch based purely on the document’s size. Lynch, who was convicted of selling marijuana in a federal court last summer, may well serve at least five years because of federal mandatory minimum sentencing requirements. His attorneys…
Citizen’s Alert 2.12.09
PUBLIC MEETINGS Monday, Feb. 16 Morro Bay City Council meets at 6 p.m. at the Morro Bay Veterans Hall, 209 Surf St. Info: 772-6200. Tuesday, Feb. 17 Arroyo Grande Planning Commission meets at 6 pm in the City Council Chambers. Meetings will be televised live on Arroyo Grande’s government access channel 20 and rebroadcast each…
Home for wolves in fight over home
A chorus of primal howls is the first sign a visitor gets that things are not exactly as they appear at this modest ranch home outside of Paso Robles. On the one hand, there are plenty of kennels with dog houses. On the other, those are definitely howls or yowls one hears, not barks. The…
Next!
Lately it doesn’t seem as though anyone wants to manage the Los Osos Community Services District. Former manager John Schempf took a $30,000 pay cut and moved to Maine in the middle of February. In all, there have been three managers over about three years. Now Francis “Mitch” Cooney has taken over temporarily, but his…
Pismo Beach Winery opens
Brothers Martin and Bryan Friedman have opened a winery in Pismo Beach, which—even with little fanfare—served more than 50 guests on its first day. “We are waiting to have our grand opening sometime in spring when the weather is better,” Martin explained. The Pismo Beach Winery has five wines available to taste or buy. The…
Stop bickering
We have a very serious economic crisis that is reaching Depression- era proportions in unemployment rates, and Republicans want to boycott the Economic Stimulus Package out of partisan pride and technicalities. This is what you won’t hear on Fox News and other right-wing media: This bill will create or save 3 to 4 million jobs…
Hammer the snapshooter, not Phelps
Much has been made of the now infamous tabloid photo of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps taking a bong hit. I’m real tired of all the moralizing, clicking of tongues (done, no doubt, by some with cocktails cradled in their hands), and holding this all-too-human young man to some higher standard than few of us could…
Welcome the new Art Center
Regarding the article “Brave new art building” of Jan. 29, art is the activity of building and creating beautiful things for the eye of the beholder. As much as many of us enjoy historic, beautiful old buildings, it is also true those buildings have their place in time, just as new buildings do. As much…
Get lost, greedy naturalists
Kelly Devaney (“Change Oceano,” Jan. 22) likes to walk on the beach. I like to ride my motorcycles, sometimes on the beach, sometimes on mountain OHV trails. Two beaches in the state allow vehicles. Those two beaches and the rest of the California coast are available for Devaney’s amusement. That’s six miles for me and…
Jews are cleaner and smarter than Arabs
In 1948 when the British pulled out of Palestine, the Jews and the Arabs were closely tied and shared jobs and farming together. I have a Jewish friend who lived there at the time and says he had many Palestinian friends. However, radical Palestinians decided to take over and when they attacked the Jews, they…
Where’s the money for teachers, energy, and jobs?
If Wall Street can be bailed out at public expense, surely there is enough money available to save several million jobs, avoid teacher layoffs, and boost clean energy production. That’s what the proposed economic recovery plan will do, if the Republicans in Congress will join the majority of their countrymen and vote smart.
Diagnose the ailment
Congratulation to New Times for the commentary by Otis Page (“Find consensus first,” Feb. 5). The commentary is correct that our present economic problem must be accurately defined before being acted on by our politicians, who must not confuse the manifestations of the problem as being the problem. By this I mean unemployment is a manifestation…
Page misses the mark
Otis Page’s call for consensus (“Find consensus first,” Feb. 5) fails to specify how this will help anything. Otis implies that consensus on the solution to economic problems must be preceded by consensus on the definition of the problem, as if the latter consensus were to be found easily. There is no reason to believe…
Repeal Measure Y
SLO City Finance Director Bill Statler explained it right while answering Peg Pinard’s protest of the use of Measure Y funds, and I quote his statement from the Feb. 5 New Times article (“SLO city measures its priorities against Measure Y goals”): “At the end of the day, Measure Y is a general purpose measure.”…
Hugs and kisses
Bravo to Kathy Johnston and a big thanks to New Times for an article (“At home on the Range,” Feb. 5) that sheds light on our local environment where a diversity of wildlife and vegetation has been preserved for generations. It is refreshing to know that there are landowners in our county who are not…
Keep up the fight
Do you remember when developers were scrambling to get their projects approved before the two newly elected Board of Supervisors took office in January? It was well known that the infamous three supervisors, Harry Ovitt, Jerry Lenthall, and Katcho Achadjian would probably overrule Jim Patterson and Bruce Gibson when it came down to developers’ interests…
It’s time to cut military spending
I will never forget the shocked look on the faces of my European friends Aart and Irenea when I told them our grade-school students commence the academic year by selling gift-wrapping paper to raise money for art classes, music instruction, and field trips. They were appalled that the U.S. is spending $600 billion dollars a…
The case for Charles Lynch
Charles Lynch is due to get sentenced in March. Judge Wu technically has leeway to steer away from the minimum sentencing guidelines which, if followed, could have Lynch serving between five years and decades in jail. Things don’t look great for Lynch; Wu has rejected recent motions that would support veering from the guidelines. I…
Carl Hansen
New Times: What is the current situation? Hansen: We are a part of the association of food banks called Feeding America, and we receive food through them that has been donated from national corporations that are food processors. We aren’t receiving the same support on a national level as in the past. Low-cost food is…
Hug Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir Arroyo Seco Cedar Lane Vineyard
This attractive Pinot Noir is layered in flavors and drinks deliciously on its own. Admittedly it’s a bit young to drink now, but it’s wonderful with grilled red meats, roast chicken, and pasta with sausage and mushrooms. Winemaker Augie Hug describes it as the most “Burgundian-style” of his Pinots. It will definitely impress your valentine…
Costa de Oro 2007 Rosé Central Coast
The pretty, pink-hued wine is just the ticket for toasting your valentine. A Pinot Noir, Syrah and Tempranillo blend, it offers aromas and flavors of strawberries, cranberries and sweet raspberries that meld with notes of citrus and spice. Easy drinking and terrific with appetizers, it’s a good choice to begin dinner when you want to…
Winemakers make great lovers
When Valentine’s Day comes around I get downright sentimental. I count myself quite fortunate to have found Dan Hardesty, my soulmate. An old friend once cracked, “You’re in love with love,” and it’s true. But I have no interest whatsoever in writing sappy romance novels. I write real-life love stories about the artistic people I’m…
Enchanting! Spellbinding! It’s magic!
New Times How did you meet? Pendragon We met swimming, at UC Irvine. I thought he said he was a “musician” but when I saw his apartment he had all this strange stuff including a straitjacket. Then I realized he was a magician. He did, then I tried it. Three days later we were engaged.…
Frankenstein’s monster meets corporate America
Mark Bryan’s satirical paintings occupy their customary space in the Steynberg Gallery’s primary room. And Dennis Larkins’ apocalyptic images, located in the third and final gallery room in the back, are no strangers to the Monterey Street gallery. But Donald Archer’s renderings of Frankenstein’s monster—labeled corporate America—along with army tanks and automobiles wreaking havoc across…
Her nor!
Traditional klezmer—music rooted in Eastern European Jewish heritage and often sung in Yiddish—melds with social consciousness, Arabic and African rhythms, influenced by the artistry of Woody Guthrie, and molded around the fearless form crafted by Yiddish poets, with a smattering of reefer culture thrown in for good measure. At least, that’s the approach taken by…
Homegrown hero
What do you do when you’re a talented singer-songwriter who’s too busy with college to fully pursue your rock star dreams? If you’re a blond kid from Montana with a knack for writing breezy folk numbers, you start playing parties and opening gigs for established bands, and then you head into the studio to cut…
