Cover Story
Pests, poison, and paperwork: The local pest control business is a highly dangerous, strongly regulated, and surprisingly mundane enterprise
Read the article in pdf form. It’s early morning in Morro Bay. The seagulls are squawking, the breeze is blowing, and an exceptionally brave man named Luis is carrying a massive, 200-pound tarp. On his shoulder. Up a precarious ladder. In just a few hours, the entire three-story building—part of Morro Bay’s Blue Sail Inn—will…
Cal Poly Rugby Club’s activities–including games–are on hold during an assault investigation
On the morning of Jan. 17, one day before a scheduled Cal Poly rugby home game against UC Santa Cruz, New Times received word that the administration had put a hold on the Cal Poly team’s activities. Cal Poly Rugby Head Coach David Burnett referred a request for comment to University Spokesman Matt Lazier, who…
Which creepy crawler are you most afraid of?
John and Lulu Sanders caregiver “Spiders, because they are crawly and small, and cockroaches—I don’t like them. They carry filth and disease.” Frank Kingman physical therapist aide “Potato bugs. They look like the spawn of Satan.” Brenda File retired “Cockroaches are creepy.” Robin O’Keefe home caretaker “Potato bugs are the ugliest creature on Earth.”
Pier into the history of Cayucos
From Hearst Castle down to the set of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, there’s no question that San Luis Obispo County is a treasure trove of centuries of history. On Friday, Jan. 17, even more of the county’s history will be uncovered to the public with the grand opening of…
Cougars & Mustangs
I am writing this column from my new Nintendo 2DS, sending it over the Wi-Fi of a moving train. Who even needs desktop computers anymore? I feel it appropriate to quote the guy who always seems to be hanging around outside your house in a Pokèmon game: “Technology is incredible!” Yes, jetpacks and smell-o-vision may…
SLO County’s lead tourism agency moves from San Luis Obispo to Paso Robles–what’s up with that?
The county’s lead tourism agency has chosen Paso Robles for its new home, but don’t read too much into the move. At least that’s what the agency’s executive director, Stacie Jacob, told New Times. Jacob pointed out that the bulk of Visit San Luis Obispo County’s work is marketing—which these days is highly virtual—and entails…
Correction
A recent music column (“NOLA says hello,” Jan. 2) misstated the names of two members of the New Orleans band Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses. The drummer’s name is Benji Bohannon, and the sousaphonist’s name is Matthew Prine.
Clarification
While the Santa Maria roller derby league isn’t technically a part of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, it does play by its regulations and compete against other WFTDA teams.
A plane crashes into the sea near Oceano
At around 2 p.m. on Jan. 14, a single-engine plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean about a mile from the Oceano coastline. A multitude of agencies responded to the site and began conducting a search. According to San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Cipolla, a dive team did find airplane debris, but no…
Supes pick Howell but spurn Peterson
After a snippy nomination hearing during the Jan. 14 meeting of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, SLO County has officially locked in two nominees for an open seat on the powerful California Coastal Commission: Grover Beach Mayor Debbie Peterson and Pismo Beach City Councilman Erik Howell. Peterson previously earned her nomination on…
Endorsements stack up in the DA race
The candidates in the race for San Luis Obispo County district attorney have begun listing endorsements. Current District Attorney Gerald Shea threw his weight behind Assistant District Attorney Tim Covello, one of two candidates in the race, in a Jan. 13 announcement. Covello has also received endorsements from a police chief, current and retired members…
Bruce Gibson seeks re-election
Incumbent Bruce Gibson formally announced on Jan. 14 his bid to seek re-election to represent the 2nd District on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors. The district includes northwestern San Luis Obispo and extends up the coast to the Monterey County line. Gibson, who’s been supervisor since 2006 and is currently the board’s…
Spanish Springs calls irk Pismo residents
Though the planned Spanish Springs mega-development in unincorporated Price Canyon has long been on the back burner, an unexpected recent surge of survey phone calls to local residents has the Pismo Beach community worried and perplexed. New Times confirmed that at least six Pismo Beach residents have received survey calls from California public opinion research…
Party dispute puts Cal Poly Greek life on probation
After failing to come to an agreement on a proposed party registration policy, Cal Poly’s entire Greek system was put on social probation on Jan. 10. A copy of the proposed “Party Registration Policy and Guidelines” obtained by Mustang News revealed that the policy sought to prohibit hard alcohol, kegs, and drinking games at all…
Atascadero takes a fine-toothed comb to its Draft Climate Action Plan
The agenda item before the Atascadero City Council included “climate” and “action” in the title, but related public comment brought no mention of Agenda 21 or ICLEI. Rather, the four people who spoke on the city’s Draft Climate Action Plan at the Jan. 14 meeting had fond words for the city and its goal for…
Restaurant month, veggie style
If the thought of consuming a dead animal carcass doesn’t appeal to you (it doesn’t appeal to me, but I do it anyway because bacon, and cheeseburgers, and bacon cheeseburgers) you may be wondering if Restaurant Month in SLO County, which takes place every January, has something to offer that complies with your herbivorous ways.…
Tablas Creek 2012 Picpoul Blanc Paso Robles and Summerwood 2010 GSM Paso Robles
Tablas Creek 2012 Picpoul Blanc Paso Robles This pretty Rhone white is so well balanced, it’s delicious on its own and with food. A delicate white, much like Roussanne, this is winemaker Neil Collin’s sixth vintage at making this Southern Rhone varietal. With above average yields in 2012 the hang-time until ripeness was long…
Welcome to the Presidio: Meet the megastars and up and coming brands making amazing Zinfandels
I have been a zealot for zinfandel ever since I took my first wine classes at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in 1986. And I don’t mind, every so often, bragging that I was at the very first Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) tasting in San Francisco in 1991. It started in a…
Say anything
Forgive me for making such a sweeping, generic statement, but when did people decide they’re owed a perfect existence? And worse, that it’s the responsibility of the rest of us to make that perfect existence a reality—to quiet our shrieking parrots in public, to stop dumping our radioactive waste on our neighbor’s lawn, to refrain…
Thanks for not running into me with your car
I am grateful to have survived 2013 walking in the crosswalks of beautiful San Luis Obispo—thanks to those drivers who actually stopped for all of us. My wish for 2014 is that more drivers will learn why brakes were installed and maybe learn what crosswalks are for. Thank you for the 2014 drivers who have…
Who is susceptible to conspiracy-theory thinking?
Not only the superficially educated and narrow-minded, not only bumpkins with bad breath and worse teeth, not only the gullible and aggrieved, not only those who are nostalgic for a past that never was, not only those who are afraid of losing control—the fire-breathers, the weapons-collectors, wearers of bespoke body armor, anonymous online trollers, lovers…
Why change our laws to reward illegality?
The California Supreme Court decided that a person living in California illegally can get a law license to practice law. This demonstrates the peak of irrationality and is pure idiocy. It flies against common sense. It is contradictory. It is an insult to all law-abiding Americans. It is a slap in the face to all…
If you can’t take the nudity, stay off the beach
I feel compelled to respond to the Jan. 9 letter “Don’t force your navels on children.” At the risk of sounding rude, I must say that the author is the quintessentially ignorant prude who knows nothing about Pirate’s Cove or clothing-optional beaches in general. So let me set him straight. 1. Clothing-optional beaches are commonplace…
Anna Weltner: insightful
I just wanted to write a quick note of deep appreciation for your very kind review of my film, 50 Children, which showed during the SLO Jewish Film Festival (“Jewish for a weekend,” Jan. 9). I thought the review was one of the more intelligent and insightful pieces of commentary about the film (and its…
Empire of the dumb
What is one to make of the current efforts in Morro Bay and Grover Beach to advance a political agenda based on a lie? The majority of the Morro Bay City Council is trying to do the right thing. It has decided that it will not attempt to build a sewer plant in a flood…
Fountainhead: ‘New Times’ bids a fond farewell to reporter Matt Fountain
Let’s face it: Journalism gets a bad rap. It’s got a liberal bias. Its corporate owners drive it. Reporters lack objectivity. They sensationalize. Journalism misleads. It self-aggrandizes (It’s doing it right now, see? See?). It seems anyone even tangentially connected to it is fair game. Did you hear the one about the newsboy standing on…
‘Documenta 4’ screens At SLO Museum Of Art Jan. 20
Every five years, an exhibition featuring some of the world’s most talented and provocative visual artists is held in Kassel, Germany. The exhibit is called documenta, and it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to celebrate, puzzle over, and occasionally lambast the work displayed. In 1968, filmmaker Jef Cornelis shot a documentary about the exhibition…
The Cal Poly University Art Gallery showcases the photography of the elusive Vivian Maier
Everything about the Vivian Maier story has a certain strangeness to it. A reclusive street photographer, unknown in her lifetime, Maier became a posthumous celebrity in the art world after her work was discovered in 2007. Born in Manhattan but raised in France, Maier returned to America as an adult. A nanny by day, Maier…
At the PAC, the Internet Cat Video Festival unites a community
The world’s first Internet Cat Video Festival—held outdoors in 2012 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minn.—drew more than 10,000 viewers. It also received roughly the same amount of entries. Just let those numbers sink in for a second. Ten thousand viewers. Ten thousand entries. Now in its second world tour, the festival has…
Clubs 1/16/14
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…
Louie Ortega and others play a fundraiser for the Food Bank and celebrate MLK, Jr.
Is it just me, or did it seem like every time Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. opened his mouth, deep wisdom poured out? “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands…
