Cover Story
The born identity: Why it’s so important for transgender people to change their documents, and how it’s now easier to do so
The one thing Aaron has been asked about that most other people will never have to answer is the shape and condition of his genitals. It’s a question he clearly doesn’t like to answer, but it’s a question he’s been all but forced to answer almost any time he’s had to use any form of…
Santa Margarita resident arrested in child pornography possession case
A Santa Margarita resident and Santa Maria High School teacher was arrested on Jan. 22 for alleged possession and distribution of child pornography, according to a press release from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives with the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team arrested 53-year-old Michael David Smith after receiving a tip on…
Arroyo Grande City Council set to debate severance for Steve Adams
In the latest twist of an Arroyo Grande saga that refuses to end, the City Council will meet in closed session on Jan. 22 to discuss potential litigation arising from former City Manager Steve Adams. Attorney Roger Frederickson, representing Adams, wrote a letter to City Attorney Tim Carmel on Dec. 29 requesting a severance payment…
Paso Robles City Council votes to reconsider cardroom rezoning
The Paso Robles City Council will once again endure a discussion about particulars of the city’s zoning code, and the blurred lines that go with it. The council voted Jan. 20 to reconsider a request to amend the city’s zoning code to allow a cardroom in the manufacturing zone. The item was first heard in…
As Grover Beach’s mayor critiques stagnation, the city progresses with streets
Grover Beach’s City Council is getting the ball rolling on the city’s long-awaited street repair project. At its Jan. 20 meeting, the council unanimously approved a motion to authorize the sale of up to $5 million in general obligation bonds. It will be some time before that money is actually in the city’s coffers, though:…
Cambria flips the on switch for Emergency Water Supply Project
The parched coastal community of Cambria has turned on its water supply’s backup plan. The Cambria Community Services District (CSD) brought the Emergency Water Supply (EWS) Project online on Jan. 20, after months of wrangling permits, brisk construction, and wrapping up remediation measures and other finishing touches. Construction began in August 2014 amid a severe…
How much are tickets to your gun show?
Richard Alan military “They’re free!” Brian Swenson Cal Poly operations “Depends on how much of the gun show you wanna see.” Angellia Moore web designer “A yell and a sweat.” Karen Staeheli owner, The Naked Fish “Free.”
Peaks that pique: A guide to hiking and exploring SLO County’s Nine Sisters
Stretching between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo, the craggy peaks of the Nine Sisters—a chain of hills dividing the Chorro and Los Osos Valleys—provide some of the most iconic vistas in SLO County. In addition to their visual singularity, the Nine Sisters or the Morros (a Spanish word meaning mountains or small, round rocks)…
Cal Poly robbery case progresses, but charges are reduced for two defendants
After nearly 12 hours of arguments, cross-examinations, and legal bantering, a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge ruled on Jan. 15 that the bulk of a case accusing five Cal Poly student athletes of an August 2014 armed robbery can proceed to trial. In an important caveat, Judge Donald G. Umhofer ruled that two of…
The magic number
After what feels like at least 10 lifetimes as a “newspaper” “columnist,” I’m pleased to announce that fate has finally gotten off her lazy, wrinkled ass and opened my door to immense prosperity and fame. Well, she hasn’t yet, technically. But surely she will. Just four weeks ago, I ran a column full or predictions…
Cal Poly’s Orchesis Dance Company celebrates 45 years with new show, ‘Release’
View a slideshow from Orchesis’ 45th anniversary concert, ‘Release.’ Dance is an art form all its own. Unless you count competitive air guitar, no other performing art offers the same physical agility, grace, and prowess the way dance does. It requires a skillful combination of drama and discipline—the kind that Orchesis, Cal Poly’s student dance…
Punk-Americana trio The Devil Makes Three plays the Alex Madonna Expo Center on Jan. 30
Stories of DIY bands abound, ramshackle groups that climbed to the top through hard work and determination. Most of the time its hyperbole and a last-ditch grasp at relevancy for a band that can’t find label support because they’re just not good enough. Well, that ain’t The Devil Makes Three, a wildly successful genre-jumping DYI…
The Palm’s Take Two Live series screens David Lean’s classic romantic drama ‘Brief Encounter’
“I didn’t think such violent things could happen to an ordinary woman; I’ve fallen in love,” says Laura Jesson, the female lead in David Lean’s 1945 romantic drama Brief Encounter, which will be screening as part of the Palm Theatre’s Take Two Live series on Jan. 25. So what exactly is Laura’s predicament? She’s in…
The Laguna Lake’s fitness course is a great way to keep that New Year’s resolution!
It’s Friday night, Jan. 9, and my friend Kristen texts me: “I hope you are resting up!” Man, am I dumb! For the Health and Fitness issue, I had the swell idea to do the Laguna Lake Fitness Course, so I tapped the fittest person I know, Kristen Meisenheimer, Cal Poly chemistry assistant professor (aka…
Shell Beach artist Jayne Schelden exhibits vivid landscapes at Linnaea’s Cafe
“We were outside of town and no one else was around for miles. We thought we were alone when, out of nowhere, this lady came hiking out of the deeper, harder to hike part of the canyon. She was worn out from her long hike and climbing and hadn’t anticipated the distance. When she came…
Clubs 1/22/15-1/29/15
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…
Alta Colina’s 2012 Claudia Cuvee and Four Lanterns’ 2013 Apricity Picpoul Blanc
Paso’s Alta Colina Winery is all about simplicity. Estate-grown Rhônes are farmed organically and produced with a gentle, no-nonsense finesse that speaks volumes in the glass. Standing inside Alta Colina’s bright new tasting room located off Adelaida Road, you can actually taste and see where their fruit is grown: on their green, gorgeous mountain property.…
To do
Stretch, breathe, and swirl: Vineyard Yoga Santa Ynez Valley is offering a one-hour yoga class at Gainey Winery in Santa Ynez followed by an exclusive tasting of four Gainey wines on Jan. 24 ($20; vineyardyogasyv.com) … Aside from killer, locally sourced grub, Foremost Wine Company is also home to an interactive aroma bar that allows…
Foremost Wine Company: Where the farm comes first
Despite what you’ve heard, the magic of Foremost Wine Company isn’t in the chic, modern styling, state-of-the-art charcuterie bar or even the gleaming wine bottles lining the impressive foyer. The real allure is hiding in plain sight. At Foremost, it’s about all that you can’t see—namely, the thought, soil, and tedious science it took to…
Adventure time: Vista Lago Adventure Park challenges and delights
View a slideshow of Vista Lago Adventure Park. Let me just get this out there: I hate heights. That’s mostly because I’m deathly afraid of them, but I feel like I have a right to. This hatred of mine is not altogether unwarranted. I mean, when you’re at a birthday party at a rock-climbing gym,…
Cougars & Mustangs
Philosopher Bas van Fraasen, the McCosh Professor of Philosophy, emeritus, at Princeton University and the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State, will be giving a presentation at Cal Poly at 11:10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29, in the Corporation Administration Building (No. 15) Room 135. The presentation, titled Hempel’s Dilemma, will feature a…
Use martial arts to shape the mind and body
Before a small crowd of onlookers and guests at the Rising Sun Martial Arts Academy in Santa Maria, owner Jim Risinger puts on a demonstration with each of his students on Jan. 15. He pretends to strike the midsection of his students with his hand while they pivot, block, and counterstrike with their bokutos, or…
A new San Luis Obispo IT temporary staffer has drawn criticism
About two months after an unceremonious departure from his position as Carmel-by-the-Sea city administrator, Jason Stilwell landed a new temporary gig in San Luis Obispo, and City Manager Katie Lichtig recently went on the defensive about the decision to hire him. Speaking at the Jan. 20 City Council meeting in response to several residents who…
Disassociate from Supervisor Adam Hill
I am part of a group of concerned SLO county citizens who attended the latest Board of Supervisors meeting (Jan. 13). We are dedicated to represent our neighbors who cannot take time away from their working lives to challenge the decisions made by our elected officials. We are concerned about the fact that we had…
The proposed quarry will negatively impact safety
The proposed Las Pilitas Resources LLC mine location would create a significant safety hazard on S.R. 58. There has been much discussion about how many truck trips there will actually be per day. In reality, even a much lower number of truck trips would create a hazard due to loaded 80,000-pound gravel trucks exiting the…
There’s no food shortage–just a healthy food shortage
About a month ago, on Dec. 15, 2014, NPR reported something that is significant to all of us locally and nationally. The Obama Administration is going to fund a number of experts to draft a document titled, “Dietary Goals for the United States.” Sounds worthwhile. Sounds like “at last … .” But here is the…
There were many reasons Hill won
The commentary by Bob Cuddy in the Jan. 8 New Times (“Jan. 1 didn’t erase 2014’s wounds in Arroyo Grande”) contains so much derp that it would take an equally long response to properly critique it. I will just speculate that he has decided to uncritically accept Tony Ferrara’s explanation of his campaign failure as…
A local State of the Union address for 2015
Thank you. I thank you very much, and now I ask that you please be seated. 2014 and its predecessor were amazing years in history as is well known by all who shared them, not only in our great nation but those having done so in countries abroad as well. We watched live-wire jetliners vanish…
