Cover Story
Cheaper than anger management
They came barreling down the track in scandalously short skirts and tiny T-shirts, body checking and shoving like a bunch of hockey players. # Coming into the bend, they hunkered down, scrambling to tighten up their formation. Then, in a flash of booty shorts and striped stockings, they were gone, racing up the other side…
Local childcare leaps forward
# Many busy parents across the county breathed a collective sigh of relief on Jan. 16–the day SLO County Sitters officially opened for business. “We placed two different nannies with families during our first day open,” said Tina Porter, president of SLO County Sitters. “We’re finding so many parents in need,” added Anthea Mouw, vice…
Where to go?
Tents are pitched, people are working on bicycles, music blares from a cheap boom box and everyone appears to be smoking roll-your-own cigarettes. But this isn’t some sort of kinetic energy festival, it’s just another Thursday afternoon at San Luis Obispo’s Meadow Park. # Intrigued by the commotion, a young father and his toddler-aged son…
Happy New Year, Sunny Acres!
Dan DeVaul has begun to fight the $12,000 in county fines he faces for alleged code violations that include selling Christmas trees on his ranch. DeVaul, who operates the self-styled sober living facility Sunny Acres from his ranch, appeared on Feb. 1 before the planning department’s hearing officer, Warren Hoag, to appeal the fines. The…
Politics, parties, and parades
Well, another Mardi Gras came and went, and we’re all still alive. At least, I think I’m alive. And I think it was Mardi Gras. I kinda forgot all about lifting my top so I could get beads or an indecency fine–whichever came first–because of the whole Super-Super-Duper-Dee-Duper Tuesday deal. So county Democrats favored Barack…
Letters
I’ll be your county supervisor I, sir, would like to announce my candidacy for office of county supervisor. I have no clue as to what district I’ll represent. That is of no concern to me, as I really don’t give a damn what my constituents want or think. I just want the money and the…
Greka threatens legal action against Santa Barbara County Fire Department
Greka Oil and Gas, the Santa Barbara County company that has worked to blame everyone from saboteurs to alarm companies for its recent string of oil spills, is now threatening a massive lawsuit against the county fire department for imposing conditions on the company. # Greka announced on Feb. 4 that, unless the fire department…
Families get nearly $2 million in Paso earthquake trial
A jury determined that the families of Jennifer Myrick, 20, and Marilyn Frost-Zafuto, 55, will receive compensation in the amount of $1.2 million and $600,000, respectively, for the deaths of their loved ones in the 2003 San Simeon earthquake. The two women were killed when the historic Acorn building in Paso Robles collapsed. During the…
A view of Valentine’s Day
At the occasion of Valentine’s Day, we take time to celebrate that “special someone” who has brought joy into our life. Many of us are also blessed to have long-term, committed relationships that bestow the additional happiness of family–the joys of sharing and caring, hoping and dreaming, loving and protecting. Ours is a somewhat different…
Templeton marijuana dispensary faces appeal
Once again, the fate of a medical marijuana dispensary in Templeton is in question. Less than two weeks after the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission voted in favor of allowing the cannabis co-op to open its doors for business, the Paso Robles Police Department and Templeton resident David La Rue both appealed the pot-for-patients…
Fast facts
Hopskotch Kids, a new children’s clothing store, will hold its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Owner Mignon Jones recently bought, relocated, and renamed Bambini Baby, which was located on Higuera Street. The new shop officially opened Jan. 28 and will carry more brands (in addition to…
Mardi Gras weekend fizzles once again
For the fourth consecutive year, Mardi Gras in San Luis Obispo was pretty tame, and, according to at least one partygoer, pretty lame. On Feb. 1, approximately 100 law enforcement officers were deployed in the city to help ensure that festivities didn’t get out of control. By 5:30 a.m., officers had made a total of…
What does Super Tuesday mean?
The political wonks are temporarily talked out and the chip bowls at the vote-watching parties have long been killed. But what is there really to make of the results from this week’s so-called super duper Tuesday results, which saw John McCain emerge as the clear front-runner to win the Republican nomination and Barack Obama and…
Willie for president!
His hair isn’t very red anymore and he’s certainly no stranger to audiences, but Willie Nelson is still known worldwide as the Red Headed Stranger, a true living legend whose music (“Crazy,” “Hello Walls,” “Whisky River”) and exploits (tax evasion, marijuana advocacy, Farm Aid) have made him an outlaw superstar for six decades. On Friday,…
Where bodies converse
# William Blake wrote songs of innocence and of experience, exploring the complex relationship between youthfulness and knowledge. This dichotomy appears frequently in art as creators seek to magically interweave the fresh spirit of the young artist with the practiced hand of experience. Alvin Ailey discovered that formula when he founded Ailey II, a dance…
New names and familiar faces
The one thing we can say is permanent about life is change, and within the Central Coast wine and food industry, local vintners and chefs have proven that change usually means something better. You need only look at the pioneers who started growing and making wine in Paso Robles or the Santa Maria and Santa…
Dalidio project may be down, but not out
On Jan. 31, after three months of deliberation, Judge Roger Piquet overturned Measure J, effectively killing the voter-approved initiative that allowed development on Ernie Dalidio’s ranch. But the decision won’t necessarily halt the push to build the controversial shopping center. The decision on Measure J came almost one year after ECOSLO and the grassroots group…
