Cover Story
Room to grow: SLO looks to build new art museum
Plip, plop. One fat raindrop after another noisily drops into a bucket placed atop the reception desk at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art on a particularly wet and windy day in January. It’s not the first time. “It’s always like this, every time it rains,” said Jody Kocsis, the museum’s public relations manager.…
Former KPRL host appointed to county Planning Commission
An outspoken opponent of environmental regulations is joining the SLO County Planning Commission. The SLO County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Feb. 21, with Supervisor Adam Hill dissenting, to approve Dan Del Campo to the five-member commission. Del Campo is Supervisor John Peschong’s pick to represent North County’s 1st District and replace retiring Commissioner…
How do you feel about the opposite political party?
Denise Smith Democrat “I’m very concerned about how far apart we’re growing as a country. I hope we can all put on our thinking caps and get past that, otherwise we’ll all be easily fooled.” Charlie Doty “I ain’t neither” “It doesn’t matter … There was only one president worth his shit, and that’s John…
Underrated: Bunheads
When? 2012-13 | What’s it rated? NR | Where’s it available? Streaming on Free Form, purchase on iTunes. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the cherished world that a show maker has crafted with painstaking care. Such was the case in 2007 when Amy Sherman-Palladino’s beloved series Gilmore Girls with its fast-talking leading ladies,…
Second chances
Having a midlife crisis at the age of 50 can mean buying a red sports car, but Sean O’Brien bought a lumber mill instead. He runs Pacific Coast Lumber, a mill that specializes in taking local dying trees and creating indoor and outdoor furniture pieces with them. The practice is called urban-forested lumber—rather than burning…
Respite from winter: Harsh weather stretches SLO County’s minimal homeless resources/warming shelters
Battery-powered camping lanterns and their packaging are strewn across a plastic folding table in the Department of Social Services Building on Grand Avenue in Arroyo Grande. There hasn’t been power all day, and it’s almost time for the makeshift warming shelter to open its doors to the line of about 20 people standing outside. “Normally…
Repeal and replace: SLO city halts rental inspection program, will consider alternate enforcement strategies
San Luis Obispo inspected 915 rental units in the nine-month life of the Rental Housing Inspection Program (RHIP). But the city’s done with that; it won’t inspect one more. On Feb. 16, the SLO City Council voted unanimously to place a moratorium on any new housing inspections connected to the RHIP and directed city staff…
Arroyo Grande seeks sanitation district’s help in Hill investigation
Arroyo Grande wants to partner with another local agency as it moves forward with an investigation into allegations of misconduct made against the city’s mayor. In addition to voting 4-0 in favor of an independent inquiry into the allegations against Mayor Jim Hill, the Arroyo Grande City Council is also asking that the South SLO…
Community raises concerns for air quality over fire pits
A future of smoky skies is what some Morro Bay residents are worried about as the city works on a pilot project to put fire pits on Morro Strand Beach. Retired surfer and beach frequenter Michael Klatt is mainly concerned with the impact those pits could have on the air quality. Klatt said that the…
Supes name road maintenance as budget priority
Roads in unincorporated areas of SLO County will receive a larger chunk of discretionary funds from the county than ever, potentially at the expense of other needs, after the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Feb. 21 to elevate road maintenance to a top budget priority. Road maintenance now sits just below state and federal mandates,…
Pismo raises stink over RV dumpsite expansion
The city of Pismo Beach isn’t taking any crap from neighboring municipality Grover Beach. Literally. The Pismo Beach Planning Commission voted 4-1 to deny a permit to expand the number of recreational vehicle waste dumping stations at the North Beach Campground on Dolliver Street. The additional dump stations would allow the city of Grover Beach…
The Department of Crappy Ideas
It makes perfect sense that 1st District Supervisor John Peschong would select Dan Del Campo as his pick for the SLO County Planning Commission. I mean, why not? President Donald J. Trump picked global climate change skeptic Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency, public education foe Betsy DeVos to head the Board of…
Silva Brewing Co.’s 525 Pine Golden IPA and Sunshine Bottle Works’ Cream Soda
It’s not often that a brand new brewery has a lineup of amazing beers to offer folks straight out the gate. As it turns out, former Green Flash brewer Chuck Silva knows what he’s doing. OK, that’s a huge understatement. Over more than a decade, Silva worked to create many of the San Diego Brewery’s…
Clink clink
Meet me for martinis! Sidecar in SLO is offering a Steak and Martini Sunday deal that is worth bringing date night back for! Choose from seven different martinis, from classic gin-vermouth-orange-bitters to creative offerings made with absinthe and even bell pepper for $8 each when you buy a steak. Plus, the Sunday filet special of…
Let a little sunshine in: Sunshine Bottle Works is naturally yummy, fizzy, and fresh
These days, soda is deemed a four-letter word. Sugary, fizzy pop is blamed for everything from childhood obesity and diabetes to rotting the teeth right out of our heads. But not all sodas are made with chemicals you can’t pronounce or wacky, artificial colors that glow beneath a black light (I’m looking at you, Mountain…
Pushing back
There is a growing sense among the people in our community, on the left and the right, that something has gone horribly wrong with our democracy. People are disgusted, and they should be. Moral disgust is the appropriate response to President Trump’s “fine-tuned machine” of chaotic, naked assertions of power against our long established norms…
A disaster nobody wanted to pay to prevent
Al Fonzi’s commentary, “The disaster that wasn’t,” in the Feb. 16 paper is just another attempt at diversion and scapegoating. He blames bureaucrats and politicians for the Oroville Dam near-disaster, just like his wife, Atascadero City Council member Roberta, blamed Gov. Brown for Walmart’s abandonment of its Atascadero store plan. Fonzi asked, “what happened?” Here’s…
Get out of my party
Well, I suppose this was inevitable. Since I moved to the Central Coast of California from Arizona in 2009, my historical political affiliation is something I’ve kept close to the vest here in this cozy bastion of hyper-liberalism. And then one day I picked up the New Times and read an opinion from a fella…
Who is Al Fonzi?
I always enjoy New Times, even issues where it seems the entire staff either went on a mental sabbatical or had a momentary implosion. But the one thing I can’t seem to wrap my head around is—who is Al Fonzi? I see the profile blurb you publish, that’s fine but it’s not really a qualifier.…
Oil seeps are natural
Tim Bennett (“Remnants of offshore oil disaster,” Feb. 16) makes a mistake blaming oil on his feet in Santa Barbara as some remnant of an oil spill that happened more than 40 years ago. Apparently, he does not know (or believe) there are natural seeps in this region which have been leaking oil for thousands…
A response to ‘Remnants of offshore oil disaster’
In the Feb. 16 issue, a writer decried tar balls on the beaches around Santa Barbara, but misunderstands their origin. These (and those we get on SLO beaches) are from natural oil seeps that were leaking long before Europeans arrived. Early Spaniards used natural rafts of beach brea to waterproof their roofs, and Anglos mined…
Inappropriate behavior from a protester
A person in our community, Danny Ehinger (I got his name from a front page article in The Tribune), participated in the protest against Planned Parenthood. This man is against abortion, and while he’s entitled to his opinion, I am appalled at the manner in which he attacked those who do not share his views.…
The phoenix will rise from Obama’s disaster
Thousands of words of political verbiage spew from these hallowed pages of New Times. Trump is Satan. Trump is the savior. An endless back and forth. But all are wrong. President Trump is neither of these extremist rantings. The bugle blowers, however, seem to be non-mindful of the great gifts that the election results bestowed…
Corrections
• The Feb. 16 article “Big trouble in little AG” incorrectly described a letter from Arroyo Grande Mayor Jim Hill to the Federal Trade Commission. The letter was not written on city letterhead. • The Feb. 9 news story “Supervisors oppose Chumash National Marine Sanctuary” incorrectly characterized a campaign donation from Philip Maysonave to Supervisor…
A celebration of art and faith
For a whole month, revel in art and history at SLO United Methodist Church’s 150th Anniversary Celebration and its 10th annual Beacon Art Show. From March 3 through April 2, enjoy an exhibit of historical photographs, poetry workshops and readings, concerts, a juried art exhibit, and more. The whole series kicks off with an opening…
Seeking artists with studios
Got a cool art scene happening in your pad? Well the people of SLO want to see it. The SLO County Open Studios Art Tour is slated for Oct. 14, 15, 20, and 21 this year. The tour gives fine artists and crafters who live or work in the county an opportunity to showcase their…
Slumber party!
It’s time to—dare we say it?—get a little loud in the library, sleepover style. The Atascadero Public Library will host a pajama party and author reading event on Feb. 24 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Children of all ages and their parents are invited to come hear children’s author Lee White read aloud from her…
Break in the storm: Last weekend’s rain stopped just in time for a Sunday getaway in Cayucos
Yes, my weekend plans were ruined by last week’s almighty storm. I bet yours were too! My Plan A for Feb. 18 and 19 was a long-planned, two-day camping trip with my girlfriend for her birthday. But as the weekend forecast rolled in, those plans started to look very improbable. We had to scrap the…
Piecing it together: Paper cutting artwork comes to Morro Bay
Two years ago, lab assistant Ryan Carroll didn’t even know what paper cutting was. But he’d grown up crafting origami into everything from geometric shapes to animals, so when he stumbled across the art of paper cutting (which has roots going back to sixth century China) on Instagram, he was intrigued. Fast forward to the…
Sinners and saviors: Little Theatre brings seedy underworld of ‘Guys and Dolls’ to SLO
Fast talking hustlers, beautiful dames, and the supposed balance of a soul teetering on the edge between heaven and hell; what more could one want from a musical? Throw in a bet for love and you’ve got Guys and Dolls, the 1950 musical written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by…
Clubs 2/23/17 – 3/2/17
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. FIGUEROA MOUNTAIN BREWING CO.: Singer/Songwriter Night every Wed. from 8-10pm. 1462 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande, 474-8525, figmtnbrew.com. 2/24: Noach Tangeras Band from 8:30-11pm; 2/25: Doc Stotley from 8:30-11pm; 3/3: Kenny Taylor Band from 8:30-11pm. HARRY’S NIGHT CLUB AND BEACH BAR: Cypress…
Próxima Parada releases their new album on Feb. 24 in the Fremont Theater
Próxima Parada opens their new album, Big Seven, with “Tossin’ My Troubles,” a song whose lyrics were written by keyboardist, guitarist, and vocalist Nick Larson’s mom, Linda O’Connelly, with a melody they worked on together. “Tossin’ my troubles in the water/ ’Til every single one is gone/ And as they float downstream away from me/…
