Cover Story
Dust warriors: A band of SLO County men pool their money together and head to Baja for the love of motorcycles
Some men turn 50 and decide to buy a flashy hot rod. When Dan Argano of San Luis Obispo turned 50, he and a few buddies pooled their money to buy a custom designed motorcycle and signed them up to compete in a nearly 1,000 mile off-road race in another country this past November. “I’d…
Concerned about SLO
A few years back, I remember, SLO was voted the best place to live on the West Coast. Today, I heard of a lady recently getting a $500 ticket for walking her dog on one of our local mountains. The citing officer/ranger (first off I would like to say shame on you!) told her she…
Blast from the Past: Kansas City Confidential
When? 1952 | Where? Reissued on Blu-ray If you’ve seen this film noir classic before, chances are you haven’t seen it looking like this. Because the original license holder failed to renew the film’s copyright, the film fell into public domain and was released in many substandard forms—poorly edited or duped from second or third…
Coastal erosion: Talk of firing the Coastal Commission’s executive director has supporters bringing the ruckus to Morro Bay
A major political storm encircling one of California’s most loved and loathed state agencies is coming to Morro Bay. On Feb. 10 at the Morro Bay Community Center Auditorium, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) will consider dismissing Executive Director Charles Lester. While the move is said to be prompted by ongoing personnel issues, many people…
Just add beer
Ya’ll ready for this? Eclectic Nashville songwriter Travis Meadows will perform at Tap It Brewing Company on Feb. 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. on the brewery’s new stage. The Pairing Knife food truck will have you covered for grub, and do you even have to ask about the beer? For tickets, go to tapitbrewing.com…
President of Central Coast Little League releases ‘A Youngster’s Guidebook of How to Play Baseball’
As spring approaches, the youth of America have one thing on their minds: baseball. But where to start for the young baseball newbie? Never fear, local Joe Pace, president of Central Coast Little League, has the answer. Pace recently published his first book, A Youngster’s Guidebook of How to Play Baseball. The book is designed…
Atascadero Performing Arts Committee presents ‘Love Letters’ Feb. 12
Everyone always wonders about the one that got away and how different life would have been if that special person had stayed. Take your valentine out to a whimsical night at the theater and take in a viewing of Love Letters at the Colony Inn Conference Center in Atascadero. Love Letters is the story of…
Jody Mulgrew officially releases his new album with a Feb. 6th Steynberg Gallery concert
On Jody Mulgrew’s new album As the Sun Reclaims the Sky, he keeps things decidedly simple—just an acoustic guitar with a touch of electric or viola or a smartphone drum machine app, and his voice, that tender, yearning tenor informed by the likes of the Everly Brothers. Recorded mostly last year in Nashville on a…
Very idiotic people
Remember how cool James Dean looked when he smoked? Man, he was cool. Of course, back then the tobacco industry had everyone fooled with advertisements making spurious claims: “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette”; “Guard against throat-scratch … smoke Pall Mall, the cigarette whose mildness you can measure”; “20,679 physicians say, ‘Luckies are…
Should SLO County cities declare a homeless shelter crisis to open up municipal buildings as warming centers?
Alanna Shelley barista “It’s the right thing to do, when times get even tougher than they are.” Kelsey Wright fashion “It could drive more homeless people here, but it’s good to give them a place to go.” Rebekah Rivera store manager “I think helping people is always a good idea. They just cleared out a…
Sidecar’s Caveman Bloody Mary and Copia Vineyards’ 2014 The Reason Viognier
While you’re all at church this Sunday, I’ll be at Sidecar, indulging in some epic gluttony (the best sin ever!). What can I say? When a bloody comes with spicy bacon, chipotle-infused vodka, and pickled greens, I’m beyond saving. Yes, I’ll have another one, thank you! Satan made me do it. • Sidecar’s Caveman Bloody…
Cold-pressed juices and superfruit for what ails you at Seeds in SLO
Take a look inside the newest juice bar in SLO. A female honeybee lands on a wild flower, its stamen full of seductive, powdery pollen. With the help of a dab of honey brought from the hive, she moistens and scrapes this delicious dust with her legs, securing it to her thickly bristled undercarriage. It’s…
Men camp, solve all the world’s problems, and then wake up in the rain
It’s Saturday, Jan. 30, and I’m eating a chicken waffle at Southern Station in Santa Margarita. It’s my first and it’s just like it sounds: a waffle with a big pat of butter under a deep fried chicken breast, which I’ve covered in maple syrup. Yes, it’s freakin’ awesome. I’m with five buddies, and we’re…
Great American Melodrama stirs up laughs with ‘The 39 Steps’
The new year is still fresh, and after a short holiday break, the Great American Melodrama is back at it again, this time with a small-cast comedy of espionage and intrigue, The 39 Steps. The story has quite a history, though not always as a comedic melodrama. The story comes from a novel by John…
Los Osos artist Robbie Conal creates political commentary with street art
The general population doesn’t necessarily frequent art shows on the regular. As a young artist, Robbie Conal picked this tidbit up pretty quickly and decided to take his art where the people are: the streets. From the mid 1980s and onward, satirical posters of Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and others…
Clubs 2/4/16 – 2/11/16
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Rd. in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on…
Flower Power: Volunteer team distributes blooms to assisted living and hospice
Every Wednesday morning for the past decade, Shell Beach resident Steve Bennett starts up his Toyota 4-Runner and drives south to Nipomo. Though he’s retired, Bennett is going to work. He has responsibilities as the “team leader” of Flower Power, a weekly service that a team of retired men created with the mission of delivering…
Cougars & Mustangs
This may come as a surprise, but Cougars & Mustangs is not the only source in which information about Cal Poly can be discovered. I know, I know, it’s shocking that a highly regarded major institution of learning might have its own way of sharing what needs to be shared, instead of relying on a…
Pesky dilemma: The EPA finds that a pesticide used to fight the citrus psyllid could have consequences for bees
If you want to suppress the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid, you start with the roots. At least that’s what the California Department of Food and Agriculture is pushing onto communities in the state where the teeny tiny bug has been found. In SLO County, lemon, orange, grapefruit, and tangerine trees on 3,000 properties…
Clarifications
• For the Jan. 21 cover story “Hard to Swallow,” the chemicals known as PFOA and PFOS were not found in samples of San Luis Obispo city water, as the data indicated what’s considered to be a “statistical non-detection,” according to the city of SLO and the Environmental Protection Agency. • In the Jan. 28…
SLO County supervisors to talk medical marijuana on Feb. 9
San Luis Obispo County may be the only local government to successfully avoid passing hasty and controversial restrictions on medical marijuana cultivation. That feat, however, will be up to the five-member Board of Supervisors, which will discuss the county’s options on Feb. 9. The Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, passed in 2015, creates an…
SLO County bans synthetic drugs
There’s nothing nice about spice. At least that’s what local law enforcement has been saying. On Feb. 2, SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson asked the Board of Supervisors to ban the sale of synthetic drugs, including those commonly known as spice, which resembles synthetic marijuana, and bath salts, which are said to mimic the effects…
Homeless oversight council seeks shelter crisis declarations
With nearly three-fourths of the county’s roughly 1,500 homeless spending their nights unsheltered and in increasingly harsh winter conditions, the SLO County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Feb. 2 to declare a shelter crisis, an action that allows the county to open public buildings as emergency warming centers with immunity from ordinary negligence and…
Phillips 66 responds to county report on rail project
Just days before a controversial rail extension project is set to come before the SLO County Planning Commission, oil giant Phillips 66 responded to a county staff report that recommends the project be denied. On Feb. 1, a law firm representing the company sent a 39-page response to the county planning staff’s lengthy report on…
Lawsuit tests new SLO County water conservation ordinance
A writ of mandate filed Jan. 25 is challenging a new water conservation ordinance that, among other things, regulates water use atop the ailing Paso Robles groundwater basin. It’s the third major legal protest in an ongoing battle dividing North County property owners. Craig and Jane Olson, who own property above the basin, filed the…
Pismo man sues after he’s injured by exploding e-cigarette
A Pismo Beach man who says he was severely injured by an exploding e-cigarette filed a lawsuit against the device’s manufacturer, and the local shop that provided it to him. According to the lawsuit, Darin Dyroff suffered third-degree burns to his hands and face, as well as other injuries, as a result of the explosion.…
Support tiny homes for the homeless
Tiny homes are all the rage these days, with at least four network TV shows and countless websites promoting them. Tiny homes are a great option for people who want to reduce their housing costs or simplify their lifestyle. They also offer opportunities for communities, like ours, that have a shortage of affordable housing. Despite…
Morro Bay doesn’t need a Sea World
The Central Coast Aquarium should honor their promise to release their two captive giant Pacific octopi. These are highly intelligent creatures. By purchasing display animals from local fishermen, they will only encourage more hunting and capturing for display purposes. The original Morro Bay Aquarium is an inhumane relic, a reminder of mankind’s dominance and subjugation…
Enable people to help build their future housing
More programs like Peoples’ Self-Help Housing would greatly improve the availability of affordable housing. Most of the people I know are working two jobs and barely paying their rent and surviving let alone being able to afford buying a home. These same people, I am willing to bet, would even work a third job doing…
Templeton hospital is too large for location
Yes, SLO County is in need of a behavioral health hospital. However, the proposed 91-bed behavioral health facility, plus 60-bed assisted living care facility, just approved by the Planning Commission is too massive for the location (at a total of 151 beds, it’s larger than the 122-bed Twin Cities Hospital). The only roads in are…
Debating fire
The gun-control debate has mostly revolved around interpretation of the Second Amendment. It would be more productive, instead, to focus on societal ramifications of the prevalence of guns. The Violence Policy Center analyzed the data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics for a five-year period (2007-2011). It revealed that average annual “defensive” gun…
