Cover Stories
Welcome, Mr. President
In D.C., many people anxiously started the day, greeted by cold weather and huge crowds with only the tops of people’s heads visible for what seemed like miles and miles ahead. As early as 3 a.m., I could see people begin to walk up toward the National Mall to line up for their place in…
Change, hope, and horny bicyclists
Here on the West Coast, the inauguration came early; at Uptown a barista pulled shots of espresso and watched as the ceremony streamed live from Washington. But that was just the beginning. Around the county, Barack Obama supporters raged into the night, raising glasses of champagne and sharing their versions of “hope” and “change.”…
Regarding 44
Will history declare President Obama’s inaugural address prophetic? How will it compare with speeches by his predecessors? Consider these excerpts. From President Lincoln’s second inaugural address, less than two months before his assassination: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the fight as God gives us to see the right, let…
Question authority
Why does the U.S. support Israel? Would Texans stop shooting rockets if they were being occupied and colonized? We complain about Hamas getting rockets through Egypt, while our weapons are being used to commit such war crimes as bombing Palestinian schools, hospitals, and U.N. facilities. With what moral authority do we punish Arab nations for…
Feel the sand between your toes
I am one more of the voices in opposition to vehicle use on the beaches; voices that are multiplying. As an East Coaster, I recently visited your dunes for the first time and was amazed by their natural beauty. One could get lost in the peacefulness of the place, overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Ocean, were…
We are everywhere
President Barack Obama is faced with an unprecedented deficit of more than $1 trillion. But what’s a measly trillion-dollar deficit to a man who can raise the Dead? It’s true! The surviving members of The Grateful Dead are reuniting after ten years of personal and creative differences, inspired by Barack Obama during last year’s “Deadheads…
Change Oceano
Obama and his administration believe there’s great hope for change, positive change, that will enhance our country. Why are people afraid of change? Because it is unknown and most people fear the unknown. Similarly, San Luis Obispo County has embraced change within the Board of Supervisors, creating a greener and greater environmentally conscious outlook. It…
Go underground
President Obama has offered to fix roads and bridges to stimulate our economy. Here in California, our roads and bridges are relatively new and Caltrans seems to be keeping up with maintenance. If California receives any stimulus money, then perhaps California should consider installing the overhead utilities underground. Undergrounding utilities is esthetically pleasing and prevents…
Hello, world
Were it not for two or three very minor differences in preferences, I would be inclined to think that Patrick Howe (“Let it die,” Jan. 15) was my counterpart in a parallel universe. I, too, will be going TV-free with the advent of the digital broadcasting conversion in about one month—and for pretty much the…
Most contractors take precautions
Thank you for the article on the trenching accident (“Trench deaths,” Jan. 15). Working in trenches is dangerous work, even in the best conditions. There are detailed training requirements for supervisors and workers to prevent these types of tragedies. Most contractors are aware of this and go to great lengths to insure they are meeting…
No truth, no consequences
As the Bush/Cheney administration is air-lifted off the roof of the sinking White House, giving the thumbs-up sign, we all know better. We all see the results of eight disastrous years. Who will pay? Will it be only our military families, or people losing their homes, or prisoners who have no rights, or Americans whose phones…
Cut the scare tactics
While Susan Hughes’ intentions are no doubt noble (“Ban smoking in parks,” Jan. 15), I take issue with her dire warnings of so-called “third-hand” smoke. We live in a world suffused with industrial tailings, solvents, nitrates, and other wastes and byproducts. Carrying on about the supposed residue of cigarette smoke—which smacks of this year’s health…
Taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill
Grover Beach has yearly been sending its City Council members and staff to League of California Cities conferences like the current one in Sacramento. The city picks up the tab for everyone’s portal-to-portal expenses, including travel, hotel, meals, and conference events. The country, state, county, and municipalities are currently facing the economic downtown of a…
But seriously
Russ Hodin’s cartoon depicting bombs made in the U.S. being dropped by Israel (Jan. 15), rolling down on Gaza in Israel’s own sickening version of shock and awe, needs a national audience. Russ is not only an excellent draftsman but he knows when to be and when not to be funny. The killing of more…
Hodin’s power mad
I’ve come to admire cartoonists who are able to deliver a message that is both funny and creative but it seems Mr. Hodin has lost his touch and sunk his head into the sand, by targeting county supervisors (Dec. 25, 2008 and many other editions) whom he doesn’t like, simply because he has the power…
Leonard Cohen
NEW TIMES: What was the thought behind the name of your new restaurant, Ciopinot? COHEN: It’s a blend of a great cioppino-base fish stew and the pinot grape. White pinots go great with the oyster bar and pinot noirs are a match made in heaven with our cioppinos. NEW TIMES: What other dishes will you…
Ancient Peaks 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Paso RoblesAncient Peaks 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Paso Robles
Besides his limited-production wines, winemaker Mike Sinor also makes this value-priced line of good quality wines. Bright and lively, this white offers tasty green-apple and melon flavors highlighted with herb and Meyer-lemon notes. Flavorful and food-friendly it’s a good deal at $12 retail. Pair this with roasted poultry, curried Asian dishes, or chilaquiles (that aren’t…
Sinor LaVallee 2005 Pinot Noir Anniversary Cuvee Arroyo Grande Valley
Winemaker Mike Sinor makes this special blend to commemorate his marriage to Cheri LaVallee Sinor in Beaune, the heart of Burgundy in France. The Pinot Noirs, grown in Talley and Aubaine vineyards, create an intense and impressive wine, the darkest and spiciest of his three proprietary Pinots. It’s layered with flavors of blackberries, black cherries,…
Artifacts
Check out the 2009 abundant offerings at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, a 150-acre Mediterranean garden presenting programs, camps, workshops and more. Read what they have to say for themselves and get green. Saturday at the Garden: Second Saturday of each month is a public program at 1 p.m. There is a $3…
Put on your blue stockings
It’s been a rough eight years for women’s rights, with a would-be cowboy president determinedly decimating reproductive rights and appointing such judges as Arkansas attorney J. Leon Holmes, a man who had publicly written that “a woman is to subordinate herself to her husband.” Despite this, globally, women made inroads against gender bias and discrimination,…
Now! Auden, now! Wordsworth, now! Coleridge, and Larkin, on! Ginsberg, on! Browning, on! Whitman and Williams!
Poetry is a funny art these days,” commented Ellyn Winslow, a San Luis Obispo resident, nurse, and practitioner of the craft. “It’s kind of old-fashioned. There’s no market. The readership is decreasing.” Despite this somewhat bleak assessment, Winslow is optimistic about poetry. Downright passionate, in fact. And she’s furnishing an opportunity for other bookish mortals…
Double shot: dancehall and dub
Put down that fatty and head down to Boo Boo’s or go online at ticketweb.com and pick up your tickets for two killer reggae shows this week. First up is Barrington Levy, sometimes called the Mellow Canary due to his clear-as-a-bell vocal style, which was cultivated over a stunning three-decade-long career. Renowned as the first…
Opportunity Awaits at WOPN
For the first time since its inception in 2001, the World of Pinot Noir (WOPN) event still has tickets available for seminars and tastings two months ahead. The event is as spectacular as ever but with the current state of the economy, slow sales are understandable. Nevertheless, this is an excellent opportunity to get seats…
Got Mojo?
When I first saw a bottle of Domaine Degher’s flagship blend labeled with the proprietary name “Mojo,” the only surprise about using the term was the fact that I’d never seen a vintner use it. Knowing the brand’s owner and winemaker Denis Degher is a professional musician, however, it seemed natural. The website description of…
Ayurveda provides balance within
With disquiet, worry, and fear at an all-time high, who couldn’t use a fresh take on stress management and optimum health? Luckily for us, the Central Coast widely accepts alternative medicinal practices and instead of popping pills or twiddling your thumbs in an M.D.’s waiting room, take a moment and introduce yourself to Ayurveda, “The…
Bikes and boxes
“You can do a lot on a bicycle,” Santa Maria resident James Stoughton said. He spoke with a clear intensity, shifting with ease from intricately detailed descriptions of threads-per-inch on screws and casters’ maximum weight capacity to accounts of how the Lord woke him up at 3 in the morning with the inspiration for his…
Live raw
There’s something deceptively simple about a raw-food diet. It’s a way of eating that constrains a chef from significantly altering a food, and certainly from cooking it. Yet, there is a complex theory behind such simple eats and, in California at least, there is a growing movement of raw-food devotees, people who live almost exclusively…
Enlightened exercise
I could hear tribal drumming filtering out to the parking lot as I pulled up for the weekly Yum Session, a two-hour free-form ecstatic dance session held at the Monday Club. As I walked into the building, a wave of patchouli drifted gently over me, propelled by the percussive thump of a funky jazz trio.…
Clothed in kindness
Not every child gets the luxury of a back-to-school shopping spree, but Assistance League of San Luis Obispo is giving some of these children the chance to attend school dressed for success with their program, Operation School Bell. Operation School Bell provides new school clothes for low-income children in grades kindergarten through six in SLO…
Correction
The Jan. 15 cover story “Trench deaths” incorrectly stated the number of accidents and fatalities. There were 12 trench-collapse accident inspections in California in 2008, 23 in 2007. Three fatalities resulted from the accidents in 2008, two in 2007.
County slimming down in ’09
Jumping in immediately following Barack Obama’s inauguration, SLO County supervisors dove into this year’s budget mess. The upshot: there’s little left to cut from county services, and county officials are looking for ways to raise revenues. Rising costs and waning revenues have left county officials with a $22 million deficit. Meanwhile the state continues to…
Water fee claim filed against Paso Robles
Members of a Paso Robles group have filed a claim against the City of Paso Robles requesting some $8 million worth of rebates for residents over water and sewer fees they say have been improperly collected since 2002. The claim by Concerned Citizens for Paso Robles alleges the city violated requirements of Proposition 218, known…
No community garden for Calle Joaquin spot?
Too many people in SLO want a community gardening plot and city officials are looking for places to locate them. Even with 13 unused acres, the early indication is that would-be gardeners will simply have to make do with the existing plots. There are about 120 people waiting for community gardening plots, nearly twice the…
One last grind for skaters: money
SLO skaters have a design for their new park and support from the City Council. Now they need the money to pay for it all. City Council members unanimously approved the master plan for a new Santa Rosa skate park on Jan. 20. If built, a new slab of undulating concrete ramps and bowls would…
Cal Poly students hold vigil for Palestinians and Israelis
Cal Poly’s Students for Justice and Peace in the Middle East planned to hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the recent warfare in Israel and the Gaza Strip. The event is aimed at honoring the people who have died since Dec. 27, and not meant to be political. The group will be at Mission…
Cal Poly pledge died of alcohol poisoning
Cal Poly fraternity pledge Carson Starkey had a blood alcohol level of nearly five times the legal driving limit when he died Dec. 2, according to an autopsy report released Jan. 21. According to the autopsy, the cause of Starkey’s death was respiratory arrest due to acute ethanol toxicity. Starkey died following a party at…
Reclaiming Maryjane
Richard Steenken is the latest SLO County medical marijuana patient to have his confiscated marijuana returned by the local sheriff. Steenken arrived at the SLO County Sheriff’s office on Jan. 15 to retrieve his property, which included 3 jars of marijuana, 2 grams of hashish, 2 grams of kief, and 43 dead marijuana plants. Steenken was…
The failed Obama presidency
Whoo! Party party party. Obama! President Obama. Black President Obama. Yeah! Yeah. yeah. Ah. Whoo. Is that enough now? Can we wind it down? A little bit lower now. A little bit lower now. A little bit softer now. President Obama has had his inauguration, and we all said terribly nice things about him, and…
What’s the best deal you’ve had lately
Lynne O’Connor public-health nurse “The Palm. They have the best popcorn for the best price.” Eric Quintero job hunting “Firestone. The best tri-tip sandwiches for $7, or something like that.” Katelyn Judson student “We are actually out looking for deals right now, there aren’t any.” Liam Kingsmill retired “A new granddaughter. She is 11 months…
