Cover Story
Saving the story under our feet
Kick the dirt in just about any prime local spot, and you’re likely to be in a place where others lived their lives before you. The soil under our feet has some compelling stories to tell about the “SLO life” of the past 8,000 or 10,000 years. # But unread books and even whole libraries…
Still a contract divided
A Jan. 18 mediation session between South County teachers and the Lucia Mar Unified School District concluded with no contract agreement and an unclear picture for the future of labor talks. Months of stalled negotiations over an extended contract sought by the union prompted Lucia Mar in late October to seek the guidance of a…
Geeking out
This really isn’t funny. No, it shouldn’t be. Hardly a lunar revolution since DEA agents crashed through the doors of nearly a dozen dispensaries in Los Angeles snatching sacks of medical cannabis and leaving tightly coiled piles on the canon of California law the matter of an Arroyo Grande man’s pot still definitely meant something.…
Takin’ it to the streets
Stalled contract negotiations between California State University (CSU) administration and the CSU Faculty Union (CFU) have led to picketing across California campuses including a demonstration at Cal Poly on Jan. 16 throughout January. The union’s main grievance stems from a disagreement over how a raise would be implemented. # The two sides have officially been…
I do, I do, I do
Call the priest and throw the rice, it’s New Times’ annual Brides issue. Whoop-de-do. Every year this paper trots out some ladies in white dresses and paints a pretty picture of marriage. And every year I grit my teeth at the cake-and-lace assault on my senses. It’s not that I don’t like the institution of…
County leaders face water-related decisions
Talk of water in SLO County deluged the Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 23, with supervisors considering a controversial appointment to a water advisory committee, and future water availability in Los Osos, Nipomo, and Paso Robles. Los Osos real estate broker Jeff Edwards applied for a seat on the county’s Water Resources Advisory Committee…
Fast facts
United Blood Services, Central Coast is hosting a Heart-to-Heart Blood Drive Jan. 21 through Feb. 17. All blood donors will receive a box of See’s chocolates with two chocolate hearts as a token of the Blood Center’s appreciation for the donation. There are more than a dozen locations to donate blood in SLO alone, so…
Investigators release drug ring details
With the pungent smell of Tijuana schwag filling the room, representatives from various law enforcement agencies on Jan. 24 in San Luis Obispo revealed evidence collected from a 14-month undercover investigation into an international marijuana smuggling ring. According to police, the operation drew the pot from across the border and channeled it through various southern…
Ag experts continue to tally effects of freeze
In a Jan. 22 letter to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Commissioner Bob Lilley reported the extent of damage to local agriculture because of the extremely low temperatures between Jan. 12 and 17. “Temperatures were reported as low as 20 degrees in avocado and citrus growing locations, 14 degrees…
Wrap it up
Have you ever thought that maybe you’re not using your car to its fullest potential? Sure, it takes you places, entertains you with music, and stores all that junk that seems to bounce back and forth between your office and home. Maybe you’ve even slept in it during a road trip. But have you considered…
‘Are you after our blood?’
With the third trial day of the Los Osos 45 just minutes old, elderly Baywood Park resident Ybi Van Ekeren crept up to the podium. A bustling crowd packed Regional Water Quality Control Board chambers on Jan. 22 to hear the directors review cease-and-desist order drafts against the last batch of Los Osos septic owners…
Letters
Don’t compare humans and seals If we are equivalent to elephant seals, then I would like to spend my life on the beach, fishing and having babies, too! To compare a human being to an elephant seal is the dumbest thing I’ve heard yet this year. I don’t normally think about writing to New Times,…
