Cover Story
Cop Out
   When Lt. Brian Edward Thomas locked himself in a Santa Maria motel, put a .380 caliber pistol to his temple, and pulled the trigger, his life wasn’t the only thing that abruptly ended. With his final act, taken January 12, the long-time Grover Beach police officer also terminated, wrenchingly, an investigation by the San…
Celebrate culinary diversity
   Spanning the world of multicultural cuisine, Adnan Saleh is laying the foundations of a small culinary empire in central San Luis Obispo, and proving that even this seemingly-homogenous city is capable of embracing diversity. A native Palestinian, Saleh moved to SLO from San Diego four years ago to open a small café at 1212…
Wedded blitz
   If there’s anything that makes me more nauseous than a wedding, it’s a whole special section devoted to weddings. Not only do I have to sit through hours and hours of the pre-divorce ceremonies every year, now I have to read about them, too.   Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just bitter because I’m always…
Letters
Wrong about libraries   This is in response to the letter by Jay Stewart, who thinks libraries ought to be for-profit like Blockbuster Video. First of all, Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are not “video librariesâ€? but are rental businesses. They do not keep every video ever made, and they dispose of or sell off those that…
Atascadero supports cannabis but closes club
   Following an eleventh-hour decision by the city council Tuesday night, Atascadero has resolved to draft an ordinance regulating medical marijuana distribution. It’s the first city in the county to do so, a full decade after the passage of Proposition 215.    Charles Lynch forced the issue when he opened Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers (CCCC)…
Love is war
   Imagine this scenario: Four weeks before your wedding day, you show up to your first fitting and find that you’re not quite the “perfect size fourâ€? you were when you picked out your dream gown a year ago. There is no way you’re going to squeeze into that dress and you’re not quite ready…
FAST FACTS
   Looking for cutting-edge, state-of-the-art cancer care? San Luis Diagnostic Center is now offers the Discovery ST, a redesigned PET/CT system that optimizes the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The system not only provides doctors with more accuracy when making a diagnosis, but it also shortens the total scan time— from 60 minutes to under…
No longer rumor
   Jim Gardiner isn’t saying why he’s running, just that he is.“It’s not a story right now. I did file. I’ll have more to say when I make a formal announcement.â€?   Gardiner was, of course, referring to his desire to run for SLO County Sheriff, again. The last time he did was in 1998 when…
The case of the disappearing director
#   Last fall, on September 26, Kaye Mickelson left her husband, her home, and her job, and vanished into thin air. Since 2002, Mickelson worked as the executive director of the SLO County Medical Society, a nonprofit group that represents the interests of physicians and public health. Mickelson’s sudden disappearance has prompted the group to…
Wimpy men can use a jolt of ‘Dolt’
   It seems like every couple I know is getting divorced. They were happy at the wedding, but now he’s a whack job with a restraining order and she’s a neurotic in a plus-size dress. That’s why I’ve been promoting the idea of a divorce ceremony, where all the gifts are given back.    Why…
Councilman Settle fined for conflict of interest votes
   The Fair Political Practices Commission has fined San Luis Obispo City Councilman Allen Settle $6,000 for failing to recuse himself from three votes he cast in 1999 while he was mayor. All three votes were related to the controversial Marketplace project on the Dalidio property. According to the FPPC, Settle’s votes were a conflict…
Public meeting to discuss safety on South Street
   Community members who signed a South Street safety petition last fall will finally have a chance to meet face-to-face with city and Caltrans officials at a public meeting scheduled for Jan. 31. The event will take place at Hawthorne Elementary School in SLO, from 6-8 p.m.   Ruth Dawn Griffith says she created the petition…
