Cover Story
Your art, my art… public art
#In the past three decades, something remarkable has happened to San Luis Obispo, something unexpected and unusual for a city of its size: It has become a public art Mecca. Look around and you’ll see art cropping up everywhere. From Jim Jacobson’s simple contemporary “Seven Sisters Railingâ€? on Santa Rosa Street between Marsh and Pacific…
Gaining steam
A change is afoot at the Steaming Bean in Shell Beach. Ever since owner Denise Taylor-Diaz purchased the year-and-a-half-old business in August 2001, the coffee shop has become a wildly popular refreshment destination among her close-knit clientele of beachside locals. #More recently, the Steaming Bean had the opportunity to double its serving space to meet…
Put sheriff’s job into perspective
Sheriff Pat Hedges responded without anger or defensiveness to the New Times reporter regarding the use of excessive force by county deputies (“Clearing the air,â€? Jan. 27-Feb. 3). I discovered that there is a reason for that calm demeanor. The New Times reporter tells of the December 1997 incident when Donal Schneider was “pulled over…
We’re really trying to be responsible
As an organizer of the “bike happeningâ€? (a monthly community bike ride of over 250 people through downtown) and a founding member of a participating San Luis Obispo Mardi Gras Krewe, I would like to commend the SLO Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies on hand for their consideration and open dialogue regarding…
What the County is talking about this week
Coroner identifies Cambria body A body that was found last week on Moonstone Beach in Cambria has been identified as Thomas Richard O’Sullivan. Before a woman found the body on the beach, park rangers found O’Sullivan’s vehicle at the Washburn Campground in San Simeon. O’Sullivan had been reported to be missing and potentially suicidal by…
Who’s protecting our rights?
It is common knowledge that every riot SLO has seen in the last 20 years was caused by the police. Many eyewitness accounts reported by the news media prove it. If the police truly wanted to prevent a riot this year during Mardi Gras, all they had to do was leave town. Instead the police…
Republicans are running the show
Roy Kline is like most right-wingers, complaining about the “liberal mediaâ€? (“Media in this county have liberal bias,â€? Letters, Feb. 10-17). He fails to mention the incredibly vitriolic programs of Rush Limbaugh, Mike Reagan, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Dr. Laura, and others with their daily spewing of venom directed at the Democrats and anyone who…
Los Osos park makes good sense
Let’s get the facts straight regarding the current Los Osos Community Park improvements (“Get off it, Pandora,â€? Letters, Feb. 3-10). While long a strong supporter of parks and recreation, Pandora Nash-Karner’s role in the project was being one of five County Park Commissioners who voted unanimously to support the redevelopment plan in 2000. By the…
Mardi Gras crackdown was overkill
This year’s lack of a Mardi Gras festival was obviously disappointing to those of us that have treasured the event for years at a time to enjoy some fun time with friends in a peaceful party atmosphere. And the fact that a relatively small number of idiotic partiers can spoil the best annual parade in…
That’s right, Shredder, I was skiing
To the editor (and the Shredder): I believe the City Council should hire the best people they can, give them general direction and funds, and then let them do their job. In San Luis Obispo we are very fortunate to have an outstanding police chief in Deb Linden and an outstanding administrative officer in Ken…
Cops gave good P.R.
I am a first-year composition lecturer at Cal Poly and it’s a favorite feature of my class to have “story timeâ€? as stragglers stumble in to my class late. This Monday I was shocked as the entire class raised their hands to tell me stories about their run-ins with the cops. It was totally the…
Michael Jackson? Never heard of him
Superstar Michael Jackson, on trial for child molestation, went to the emergency room of Marian Medical Center Tuesday with the flu, which he said was caused by stress. Jury selection will continue Feb. 22. When jury selection was getting underway in late January, L.A. Times reporter Martin Miller — certainly a very serious, sophisticated, and…
Joint task force busts suspected Paso family drug ring
As police tell the story, Gavino Guerrero is both the patriarch of his family and the leader of an international drug ring —and most of the time, it’s been difficult to show where one group starts and the other ends. Guerrero, officials say, has been traveling to Mexico and arranging to have methamphetamine, heroin, and…
Renters: sewer means bad news for you
Renters: wake up! Smell the toilet that’s going into the center of town in Los Osos; it’s going to cost you! If your landlord currently pays your utilities, you’re lucky! But that will only last as long as your lease lasts. Once your landlord is faced with an approximate $6,500 sewer hookup fee plus a…
It’s my party, and I’ll ski if I want to
If ever there was a “damned if you do, damned if you don’tâ€? issue, it’s the Mardi Gras Weekend problem. Property gets damaged or someone gets hurt or killed, and everyone wonders, “How could they have let it happen?â€? On the other hand, take proven strong measures to stop being a statewide destination for drunken…
Something smells like fascism
In Stockholm last summer, my husband and I joined a large, festive crowd surrounding a gay parade. There were no barriers and no visible police force although the parade was stretching for what looked like miles. Later, we finally noticed a police car watching from afar and, next to it, a couple of ambulances. That…
Will Bush’s budget cut local farm subsidies?
Last week the Bush administration confirmed that as part of the upcoming federal budget, it wants to make big cuts in the financial assistance it gives to the nation’s farmers and ranchers. That’s bad news for the 10 percent of the nation’s farmers who collect more than 72 percent of all farm subsidies. And it…
Mother knows best
The Shredder Hotline has been ringing off the hook this week. Every caller has something he wants to report or she wants to tell me about, and that’s fine by me because the more research other people do means the less work I have to do. Just don’t tell my boss I said that. As…
