Cover Story
Is ag dying?
I slumped in my favorite chair in the Board of Supervisors chamber struggling to maintain consciousness. If not for the sub-arctic temperatures pumping through the air conditioning system I’d probably have been dead asleep trickling lukewarm coffee into my lap. As far as obscure local government issues go, this material bordered on impenetrable. County supervisors…
What’s your best attribute and what’s your worst characteristic?
Ronda Beaman business professor, Cal Poly “I’m hope-swollen—I have perpetual hope—but my worst fault is I believe everyone.” Kanani Koanui Cuesta student “My personality is my best trait; my worst characteristic is I forgive others too easily.” Elizabeth Price student “I love talking with people but I’m terrible about being on time.” Allison King hairdresser…
Sweet procrastination
Thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan When I first visited the site, recommended by National Novel Writing Month, the white space said, “Choosy Mothers Choose Squirrel.” Beneath that a peppy yellow tab instructed me to “generate another slogan!” So I did. “Every Gazebo Helps” it now said. You’re also given the option of entering a word to generate a slogan…
Grownups dress up
I’m wearing a faux leopard-skin jacket with black cuffs and lapels, with a matching Huggy Bear-style pimp hat, tons of Mardi Gras beads, and white ruffled cuffs and collar. I mention this because some jerk in a black BMW who’s driving like a maniac deserves to have his butt kicked, but I think if I…
Photography Wars
Six photographers. Six months. Six photo sessions. New Times is issuing a challenge to local photographers—amateurs, professionals, and students alike. We’re looking for six photographers to compete in Photography Wars, a series of six photo shoots plus one special project that will be happening between March and September. The competition will be featured in the…
Fist puppet
Welcome to Avenue Q. You’ve probably heard of it, but in case you haven’t, it’s a world where everyone’s a little bit racist, it’s OK to be gay, the truth isn’t always pretty or convenient, and a slutty pink puppet “can make you feel special when it sucks to be you.” The inhabitants of Avenue…
Deadmen playing
Elliot Randall & The Deadmen sound like they’ve been rolled in the dust of Abilene, bounced around the bed of a rusted Ford pickup, and dropped off at a lonesome crossroads to wait for the devil. The San Francisco quartet is currently touring in support of Caffeine & Gasoline, its sophomore effort, which is filled…
Getting back to ya
Gotta make this quick. It’s Tuesday night, and I have a garbage bag full of bead necklaces and my shirt’s already half unbuttoned. Wait, scratch that. If I go out tonight, Police Chief Deb Linden will send me tarred and feathered down Higuera Street on a horse-drawn cart with a sign around my neck that…
Diabetic? Join the group
Time with a physician is precious no matter what the ailment but especially so for such a pernicious, widespread, chronic malady as Type II diabetes. Specialists in the disease can be inaccessible and expensive, though ongoing support and vigilant monitoring are key aspects for keeping the disease in check. Inadequate or nonexistent insurance coverage certainly…
Time served?
Can a person ever find redemption after participating in murder? Bruce Davis’s supporters think so. Now, apparently, so does a state parole board. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Board of Parole Hearings on Jan. 28 recommended parole for Davis, a former associate—or “family member”—of the notorious Charles Manson. Davis, 67, has been…
Maldonado’s still in line
Much to the chagrin of many state legislators, the politically divisive battle over the nomination of Santa Maria Sen. Abel Maldonado to the state’s lieutenant governorship could be waged in Sacramento for the next three months. Backing off threats to seek a court decision supporting his choice, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Feb. 12 he would…
County finances: more doom, more gloom
SLO County officials used to wince over their dwindling finances. Lately, the mugging seems almost routine when millions of dollars simply aren’t available and jobs are at stake. In fact, it’s gotten so bad for so long it’s almost laughable. “We take comfort that most of our peers are in much more difficult situations,” Dan…
Soured on solar
A proposed project to supply local schools with a clean, cheap, and green source of electricity is generating flack for not being so, well … green. The plan to install solar panels in parking lots and other areas on nine San Luis Coastal Unified School District campuses is still in preliminary stages, but is upsetting…
Rejoyce, web surfers
San Luis Obispo is considering becoming a part of test program that would bring ultra-fast Internet to the city residents. Google, Inc. is looking for cities to check out its new Internet system that would clock in at 100 times faster than what most users now experience. If Google’s claims are true, the project could…
Proposed homeless shelter’s fate is up in the air
Why are people planning to come to the Airport Land Use Commission meeting? Even Commission Chair Roger Oxborrow thinks it’s boring, so he’s wondering why locals are suddenly so interested in the forum that typically sparks mundane discussions on the merits of mini storage sheds. The recently roused attendees are probably making their presence known…
SLO Council gives big builders a stay from retrofits
The San Luis Obispo City Council voted unanimously Feb. 16 to give the developers of Chinatown and Garden Street Terraces until 2015 to retrofit their unreinforced masonry buildings to the city’s seismic earthquake standards, while other building owners in the city are required to comply with safety rules by 2010. One of the unreinforced masonry…
Will our lifestyle suffer a SLO death?
One of the most nefarious regulations to come out of Sacramento has to do with a requirement that each and every community in the State of California accommodate its share of growth: this despite the fact that not every community has adequate water, sewage, and transportation infrastructure to accommodate such growth. The so-called Regional…
Service, disconnected
Long ago and far away overseas, while serving in the Army in the early 1960s, I witnessed something in the name of “military justice” that angered me and turned my stomach. It still does. I served in Asmara, Eritrea, on an Army Security Agency post called Kagnew Station and was an Army broadcaster with the…
Ashley Davis, Manager
NEW TIMES: How did your “Happy Singles Appreciation Day?” on Valentine’s Day go? DAVIS: Oh my goodness, it was awesome. It was nonstop and booked solid. That night we were hosting a special four-course meal, with four different options. NEW TIMES: Are there any new events you’re planning? DAVIS: Well, our restaurant is continuing the…
CAPSLO provides affordable mammograms
Breast cancer is the most common women’s cancer in the U.S. and the second leading cause of death from cancer among U.S. women. Though the guidelines for breast screening have been the topic of recent debate, cancer experts do agree that women who are poor, lack health insurance, and have limited or no access to…
Tea Party fights taxes
Phillip Ruggles has it all backwards (“Naysayers want America to fail,” Feb. 11). It was only a matter of time until somebody would blast Sarah Palin for writing notes on her hand, something many of us have done. Mr. Ruggles, in the typical fashion of neo libs, does not debate the issues so he makes…
Look at stock options
Most American citizens will never receive corporate stock options. However, it’s amazing how often the option-gadflies surface, spending big bucks to package themselves, as problem-solving candidates. I would like newspapers to report how many stock options Whitman, Poisner, and Fiorina have received, compared with options offered to their opponents, Brown and Boxer. In my opinion, the…
Lunch of champions?
What does it say about McDonald’s that they would try to associate America’s elite athletes with their bogus “food” by having their kitschy commercials broadcast showing U.S. Olympians gorging on cheeseburgers in the world of Olympic competition? The last time I checked, the only thing bleached white flour, salt, grease, and sugar elevated was blood…
Economic incentive would help mass transit
By now it is a given that greater use of mass transportation and reduced automobile use would be an environmental and economic plus for the nation. In fact, a loaded bus is the most energy-efficient way of moving people of all mass-transit methods. As a city bus driver, however, I find it frustrating to get…
Morro Bay should support library needs
The Morro Bay Library, the Friends of the Library (a citizen support group) and the county all want to expand the library to provide more space for patrons and, primarily, to give children the room they need. Right now, the children’s services are tucked away in a corner of the main library and have been…
The evidence is clear on global warming
To those who gleefully belittle global warming as the East Coast digs out of a severe blizzard, I suggest they take seriously the scientific evidence that global warming increases severe weather in all seasons, including winter. Our children and grandchildren are likely to take a very dim view of flippant denials of the evidence as…
Gore is cashing in
Why should The Shredder wonder who might benefit from the man-made global warming scam (“Talking to myself,” Jan. 14) while the emperor of the air, Al Gore, is prancing around in his giant size 99-carbon-footprint private jet and heating his 20 room imperial castle? Follow the money. Madoff would not have needed to create his…
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…
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…
Haka by Labyrinth 2005 Pinot Noir Reserve
This delicious, full-bodied Pinot, grown in the awesome Bien Nacido Vineyard, is a treat. Bold blackberries and black cherry flavors are nicely balanced by raspberry and strawberry notes, minerals and spice. Excellent wine for quaffing on its own, it’s a great choice for steaks, lamb, salmon or ahi. A wine for special occasions at $50…
Tapas, paella, pasta, and more
After hearing about a new café that recently opened in Arroyo Grande I stopped in on a Monday afternoon to pick up a menu and check the place out. Located in a strip mall at the corner of East Grand and Halcyon, its neighbors include a donut shop, seafood store, hair salon, and a 7-11. …
