Cover Story
Cal Poly Professor and Photographer Brian Lawler brings perspective to SLO Museum of Art
Brian Lawler is doing better now, he would want you to know. Lawler, the Cal Poly professor of Graphic Communication whose panoramic photography exhibit opened at SLO Museum of Art on Valentine’s Day, was hit by a truck while riding his bike Jan. 27, resulting in a broken pelvis. But thanks to good care and…
Referendum against ‘transgender bathrooms’ law fails
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced on Feb. 24 that the referendum to repeal AB1266, a state law giving students access to facilities and activities based on their gender identity, has failed. According to a memo released by Bowen’s office, the initiative finished approximately 17,000 votes short of the amount needed to appear on…
Pismo’s Howell appointed to Coastal Commission
Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Pismo Beach City Councilman Erik Howell to the California Coastal Commission’s vacant South Central Coast seat on Feb. 21, putting an end to months of political jockeying. Brown’s office and Howell both confirmed the appointment to New Times. The commission’s South Central Coast seat, which had been held by former Ventura…
At Cal Poly, Josh Machamer directs Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’
If there’s one word that can sum up Josh Machamer’s productions, the word is “considered.” Over the years, the Cal Poly theater professor has selected plays that reimagine the ways that audiences experience live theater, but never do so ostentatiously. Rather, Machamer’s stuff works because he seems to have a reason for everything, whether staging…
What moment in history do you wish you could change?
Tyler Garden Cuesta student “The Vietnam war.” Julieann Alvarado Cal Poly Grad Student “I’d probably go with 9/11. My grandparents were traveling that day and we were waiting to hear if they were okay.” Steve McConnell general contractor “That Shredder would have been born a conservative.” Kathie Cammann retired “I wish they wouldn’t have shot…
The electronic haze craze hits Pismo at VIP Vapor Shop and Lounge
The centuries-old pastime of smoking flavored tobacco from a water pipe, has a contemporary outlet in the new Pismo Beach, smoke-free smoke shop: the VIP Vapor Shop and Lounge. Owner Elias Halak opened the doors to the new smokeless hookah lounge and vaporizer shop in early January, after seeing a demand for vaporizer products. He…
Cougars & Mustangs
Give to me the life I love, let the lave go by me! Give the jolly heav’n above, and the byway nigh me! Oh, hello there, readers. I was just singing about the life of a traveling vagabond. I clearly know a lot about that. Don’t mind me, I’m just excited about the Cal Poly…
The run on state water is creating more problems for Morro Bay
If Morro Bay city officials could pull out their stash of state water and store it in an elaborate network of pots and buckets, they probably would at this point. With state water supplies both drying out and under threat of being cut off, many municipalities are sucking out as much as they can, as…
Take a (voluntary) ride along with Officer Tim Koznek, SLOPD’s DUI cop
Just after midnight on a recent Friday, Officer Tim Koznek was driving down Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo. The dispatcher’s voice was barely audible over the radio as she talked to officers on patrol, giving details of assaults, vandalism, and violent behavior around the city. “Here in a college town, it really runs…
Supervisors make tough decision to pass on Paso water district to Katcho
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors chambers were a bit chaotic the last two Tuesdays, so much so that a key decision in the process to form a water district over the stressed Paso Robles Groundwater Basin barely made it out alive. The supervisors approved on Feb. 18 a legislative platform policy statement…
SLO schedules a town hall on the Cal Poly dorm project
San Luis Obispo city officials will hold a town hall meeting to discuss options with residents who oppose the construction of a new dorm on the Cal Poly campus. As proposed, the new dorm would house more than 1,400 students in structures ranging from four to five stories. The project would sit on existing parking…
Pismo police chief will retire this summer
Capping a law enforcement career that’s spanned four decades, Pismo Beach Police Chief Jeffrey Norton announced on Feb. 18 that he will retire, effective July 29. Norton, 53, began his career in 1983 with the Grover Beach Police Department. After transferring to Pismo Beach in 1992 as a sergeant, Norton was promoted to commander in…
SLO councilwoman Kathy Smith calls it quits
San Luis Obispo City Councilwoman Kathy Smith announced that she won’t seek re-election and will retire from her seat effective Dec. 1. Smith first served on the City Council as an appointee in 1994, and she was elected to a full term in 1996. She ran and won again in 2010, but this term will…
Pismo approves $17.7K for a Measure C survey
At its Feb. 18 meeting, the Pismo Beach City Council unanimously agreed to allocate $17,700 toward a public opinion survey that will gauge voter support for the renewal of “Measure C,” a half-percent sales tax. After initially rejecting the tax in 2006, Pismo Beach residents voted to pass Measure C—which increased the Pismo Beach sales…
Paso approves the Nacimiento treatment plant
The Paso Robles City Council on Feb. 18 gave a green light to building a plant that would treat water from Lake Nacimiento. The city was an early supporter of the Nacimiento Water Project, buying bonds to fund a pipeline that delivers water to municipalities throughout the county. The city, which also draws water from…
Parties reach a settlement in a Morro Bay bar Tasering case
An incident in a Morro Bay bar that led to Morro Bay police officers using a Taser and pepper spray on a patron has been quietly put to rest with a settlement and no contest plea. Just after midnight on June 8, 2012, Morro Bay Police Cpl. Mark Martin and Officer Nicole Canby, a recent…
Spay a ho, neuter a bro
Can we, just once, drop the self-deprecating jokes about my alcoholism, the fact that just about everyone is unfit to procreate, and abandon the mass delusion that Lady Gaga’s presence on the Central Coast is the most important thing that’s ever happened? No? All right, for the record: I’m obviously an alcoholic, most of the…
Don’t like power plants? Stop using power!
Just read Barbara Boxer’s so called “grilling” of Diablo Canyon and PG&E. First of all: Barbara Boxer? What a joke she is. Just ask all the ranchers and the farmers in the state who work for a living. Second of all: To all of you who think Diablo Canyon is all evil coupled with the…
Setting the record straight
One would think that something as expensive as litigation would be founded on sound principles, rather than false accusations against your neighbors and fellow landowners. Neither PRAAGS nor Pro Water Equity has ever suggested or supported the export of our groundwater to Kern County or anywhere else. That is just a fiction created by Ms.…
Unwarranted solutions
The Atascadero City Council has upset many left-leaning SLO residents, with some saying the city will have the same stigma as Dayton, Tenn., where the Scopes Monkey Trial took place. They accuse the city of “gutting,” “weakening,” “stripping,” and “censoring” the Climate Action Plan (CAP) that is mandated by the state of California. A closer…
A Carnival of a good time: Friends of Prado Day Center throw a delicious fundraiser
Restaurant Month may seem like a distant memory by this point, but here in SLO, there’s always a culinary event to celebrate. On Thursday, Feb. 27, you can attend the sixth annual Friends of Prado Day Center Culinary Carnival. The Culinary Carnival will be filled with signature food dishes from 12 different restaurants, and wine…
Alban Vineyards 2012 Viognier Central Coast
It’s impossible to buy John Alban’s cult wines unless you are fortunate enough to be on his exclusive mailing list. If you hope to join it, there’s an even larger wait list. However, this is one of his few wines you can still find in wine shops that’s reasonably priced for its quality. I was…
The Restaurant at Justin: Dining experience excels at this Paso Robles winery
People constantly ask where they can enjoy a unique dining experience to celebrate a special occasion, and I’m happy to help them. But lately my response surprises those who wouldn’t have dreamed they would find an epicurean meal at a winery. There’s only one winery in SLO or Santa Barbara County that can boast five-star…
Elvin Bishop, James Cotton, and Paul Thorn play the PAC
I’m listening to James Cotton’s new album Cotton Mouth Man, and his harmonica playing is just flat-out mesmerizing. He does things with a mouth harp that no one else can do, which is probably why he was able to enlist a bunch of incredible guest vocalists—everyone from Gregg Allman to Keb Mo to Ruthie Foster…
“Tea and Morphine: Women in Paris, 1880 to 1914” at L.A.’s Hammer Museum is worth the drive
Headed down to Los Angeles anytime soon? Or maybe you’re just looking for an excuse to take a road trip? The exhibit “Tea and Morphine: Women in Paris, 1880 to 1914” at L.A.’s Hammer Museum is your perfect excuse: explicit, illicit, and unlikely ever to make it closer to home. As implied in the title,…
Famed illustrator and fine artist Dennis Mukai has an ’80s retrospective at Just Looking Gallery
Bright colors, big hair, and sexy women. That’s the ’80s, right? Ronald Reagan became president. He and Nancy started the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign. People snorted coke up their noses like there was no tomorrow. AIDS ruined unprotected casual sex. Apple released the Macintosh 128K. VHS tapes beat Betamax once and for all. Madonna…
Clubs 2/20/14
Goin’ South … THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. CUVEE BISTRO AND CHAMPAGNE BAR: 550 1st St., Avila Beach, 595-2245. Live music Thurs. and Sat. 6-9pm. 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…
