Cover Story
Pink flamingos riding on dandelion dust
The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is a space where movies matter, be they such tried-and-true classics as Some Like It Hot and Roman Holiday, locally produced gems including The Happy People and The Bike Happening, or a film that will plunge you into a new world in another country, like Amal and A…
What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
Brand Bryant server and mom “Losing someone I loved to cancer.” Katy Gilbert student “Getting through being in trouble.” Ryan Theisen motocross rider “Qualifying for the amateur national race. They take 40 people from all over the country.” Lisa Paul student “I went backpacking up North.”
Bim, bam, boom!
I gotta hand it to Downtown Brew. They keep swinging for the fences, even though they sometimes come up short. When a club takes risks and loses money, but keeps taking risks, that’s pretty cool and certainly helpful for the music scene, which over the years has seen good clubs torn asunder by our tough…
An angel’s flight
New Times How did you get your start in art? Chet Hill I took lessons from Don Miles in 1968 in Monterey Park (outside of L.A.). He taught at the San Gabriel Art Association. New Times Your birthday was on the 23rd. How old are you? Hill [Sighs] 89. Still a kid. I’m kinda ancient. New…
Risqué business?
In Shakespeare’s day, a play’s genre was easy to define—if it ended with a wedding, it was a comedy. If it began with one, a tragedy. But what label fits a play with the sudden matrimony of strangers at its center? Lynn Nottage’s award-winning Intimate Apparel, staged at San Luis Obispo Little Theatre, is pure,…
It’s time to pick the orange blossoms
From a plot perspective, Frederico García Lorca’s play, Blood Wedding, is fairly simple. Boy and girl fall in love, quarrel, marry other people, and ultimately attempt to escape society’s traditions and moral impositions by running away together. But the heart of the play, according to Cal Poly Professor Josh Machamer who is directing the production,…
Sebeka 2006 Shiraz Pinotage
If you haven’t tried wines from South Africa, you’re in for a pleasant surprise with this tasty red blend that combines Syrah and Pinotage, the latter a cross of Cinsaut and Pinot Noir varieties. It offers rustic flavors of blackberries, cherries, earth, and game, making it suitable for flavorful meat like lamb, tri-tip, or pasta…
Vina Robles 2007 Red4 Huerhuero Paso Robles
This well balanced wine offers enticing aromas and flavors of black cherries, black berries, and plums. Rounded out with spice and floral notes, and a touch of spicy oak, it drinks as deliciously on its own as it does with food. A sure thing for dinner at home or dinner parties, pair it with a…
Ciopinot: a heavenly place for seafood
Like bees swarming over sweet nectar, San Luis Obispo foodies are abuzz over SLO’s hottest new restaurant, appropriately named Ciopinot. Named after the classic San Francisco shellfish stew and the wine variety that brought worldwide fame to Central Coast wine regions, the name was derived from cio for cioppino and pinot for Pinot Noir. It’s…
Make that greedy land owners
I support land preservation, just as I support sanctioned OHV parks. New Times had no justification for putting the title “Get lost, greedy naturalists” on my letter (Feb. 12). The letter addressed the specious arguments used by greedy property owners and self-centered individuals to justify their willingness to disenfranchise others for personal benefit. Michael…
Spare sheriffs, police, and firefighters
We are all aware of the tough economic times ahead and the difficulty of balancing the budget. There are many worthy programs that are going to suffer but the expenses that must not be reduced are those for our sheriff, police, highway patrol, and fire departments. After all, if we are not safe what good…
Tap offshore oil
Your article “It could happen here,” (Feb. 12) outlines exactly what is wrong in this state. There are too many tree-hugging “environmentalists” who are unbelievably short-sighted and misinformed about offshore drilling, which holds up the process of tapping this vital resource. Those so-called environmentalists will always point to the Santa Barbara spill; however, that time period…
Ortiz-Legg replies
As our country struggles to stay afloat today, we are forced to review every priority. A hard look at the facts reveals an excessive military budget is simply economic waste. Therefore, when 42 cents of every tax dollar gets dumped into military spending, should we not question the soundness of this investment? The suggestion…
In defense of military spending
It was interesting to read the Opinion by Dawn Ortiz-Legg opposing military spending (“It’s time to cut military spending,” Feb. 12). The argument is old, still current, and probably will continue into the future but the writer failed to note that as a percentage of GDP, defense spending has fallen from 34 percent in WWII,…
Conserve tax dollars
There is a time to be liberal with money and there is a time to be conservative with money. Right now conservation of money should win. The City of SLO has granted approval for a new art museum building. In light of the recent retroactive pay increases given to police officers, which wiped out the…
Give us a taste
If taxpayers are going to risk their money to help the banks get back on their feet, then we should get equity just like other shareholders, and we should get the reward once they’re back to profitability.
The banking crisis hits home
I have to say that I am disgusted with banks. Long story short: My husband and I could lose our home and much that we have worked for because of the banking crisis. My husband has a client who stopped paying him for work that was completed, because his bank froze his credit line. Now…
What’s the deal?
So, Achadjian is looking at Blakeslee’s seat? Do I smell a deal? Let’s see, Maldonado holds up the budget for ‘concessions’ but is really looking at running for a statewide position in ’10. Blakeslee is a ‘moderate’ but votes no on the budget to protect his conservative ‘no new taxes’ pledge. The budget block hurts…
Stop the killings
The story about Dancing Star Ranch owners euthanizing horses brings to my mind two difficult events in my life. Five years ago I kissed my husband of 39 years goodbye when he died of cancer. A few months before that I kissed my mare, my partner for 25 years, goodbye as she was euthanized by her…
CIA reform is needed
It was the fall of 1964 when I received my draft notice at the age of 24. A year out of college, and involved in the civil rights movement, I already knew I was opposed to war. I had to quickly determine my next step because my draft board gave me two weeks before my…
Brian Moore
NEW TIMES: How and when did you get into the towing business? MOORE: I have been in towing since 1991. I was a mechanic in the military and I started a towing for the military. NEW TIMES: What is a typical day like for you? MOORE: Busy. We usually get at least a wreck a…
Why stop with the bankers?
In President Obama’s address to Congress the other night, he excoriated the usurious Wall Street trolls and bloated pinstriped bankers who, in that version of the story that ignores all the assholes who took loans they couldn’t afford, got us into this mess. And Obama’s already built a special town square pillory for those fat-cat…
Nipomo HS robotics club needs your help
Despite only being in existence for two years, Nipomo High School’s robotics club is heading to the VEX World Robotics Competition for the second time. Fresh from a win at the Bellarmine Bay Area VEX Robotics Challenge in San Jose, the team heads to Dallas, Texas to prove their genius against the best robotic clubs…
Dude, where’s my bike?
Under the sliver of a new moon on the last Thursday in January, a thief crept into a sleepy residential neighborhood just outside downtown SLO and up Mark Grayson’s driveway. Grayson, a known bike advocate and veritable Kris Kringle of bikes, was inside the house with friends—just a few feet from the open door where…
Protecting the pubs
Two SLO brewers were eager to open their new pub, but first they were told they had to protect the beer from terrorists. As far as they can tell, they may be the only guys in the country who have been forced to fortify their brewing tanks, and no one can give a clear answer…
SLO County Clerk – Recorder seeks grant to increase voter accessibility
The group Access for All (AfA) and the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder are teaming up to try to improve voter access for seniors and people with disabilities. The two organizations together have submitted a grant proposal for funding under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The $126,000 requested from the grant would be used…
May election is a go
California legislators finally passed a budget last week; now they need voter approval to implement some of their deficit-reducing ideas. There will be a statewide special election on May 19, forcing local voting officials to cobble together polling places in just a few weeks. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially announced the special election just 88 days…
Legalize it and tax it
In light of the state fiscal crisis, one California assemblyman has proposed legalizing marijuana in California and taxing it, just like alcohol. Tom Ammiano, a Democrat from San Francisco, introduced Assembly Bill 390 Feb. 23, which would effectively legalize the weed for recreational use for anyone over 21. Ammiano estimated the state could reap $1…
Charles Lynch supporters rally in support
During the first day of Charles Lynch’s federal trial there were only a few people in the courtroom besides Lynch and a couple of lawyers. Seeing a throng of medical marijuana supporters gathered on the steps of the federal courthouse in L.A. on Feb. 23, he said, was therefore somewhat of a shock. “When all…
Huasna Valley Association files appeal
Members of the Huasna Valley Association filed an appeal Feb. 24 challenging the County Planning Department’s assessment of a proposed oil development project in the area. The group filed an 88-page response to the county’s decision to grant the project a Mitigated Negative Declaration. The group wants the additional studies that would come with a…
Coming to Dan DeVaul’s defense
Many people in truly tough situations would be in far tougher spots if it weren’t for Dan DeVaul and his Sunny Acres Ranch. That’s what one gleans from eleven declarations filed with the court in an effort to allow DeVaul to avoid criminal penalties for code violations on his sobriety center and 72-acre ranch outside…
Federal money trickles toward homeless
SLO County received $855,184 in federal grant money aimed at preventing homelessness. The money was made available as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act signed into law last week. The funds will go toward financial assistance for individuals who have lost or are in danger of losing their homes. “We are facing an…
Shell Beach path likely to reopen
A path to Shell Beach that had long been blocked by a nearby homeowner should soon be open again for the public Tim Page, president of the citizen group Save Our Access Path, said he is in negotiations with the homeowner, Mark Yandow, to open the path again—hopefully by mid-March. SOAP members won a ruling…
