Cover Story
The road ahead is riddled with potholes
San Luis Obispo County has what one might call a turbulent relationship with medicinal marijuana. While qualified patients depend on medical cannabis to soothe their pain, stimulate their appetite, or allow them to sleep, cities across the county have banned dispensaries through city ordinances. Since Morro Bay businessman Charles Lynch became a national figure following…
You have a chance to punch someone. Who would it be?
Grant Frick college student “Obama, because he’s an idiot.” George Whitener, and Max retired “I don’t have many enemies, that I know of. And I’m not the type of person who has the urge to punch someone.” Diana Whitener retired (After pointing to her husband) “I have no qualms with anybody. I think people are…
See no evil, smell no evil
Two employees caught in employment limbo with the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District are claiming they’re being punished for whistleblowing. In separate but concurrent lawsuits against the district, which provides sewage services over 165 square miles—encompassing residences in Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and the Oceano Community Services District—Devina Douglas and Scott Mascolo say…
My health-care crisis
My health-care crisis is not national in scope. It does, however, involve all the elements necessary to be a crisis: money, emotional difficulty, pain, family discourse, faith, good doctors, bad doctors, amazing nursing care, insurance companies that do not respond to your requests, borderline bankruptcy, never-ending physical challenges, and the quintessential diagnosis of cancer in…
Shhh … pass it on
So, this could turn out brilliantly, or it could be a complete and utter disaster: I’m taking over this event called Art After Art After Dark. Typographical error? Nope, this repetitive but charming mouthful is the actual name of a dubious monthly after-hours art happening hosted by the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. Formerly…
Choo choo!
Does the name Darius McCollum ring a bell? If it does, you might be obsessed with trains. McCollum certainly is. For the past three decades, he’s taken NYC trains and buses on joyrides and impersonated Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers. His first joyride came in 1981 when he piloted the E train to the World Trade…
Dancing with scissors
Rock beats scissors, but paper beats rock. Logically, paper should beat scissors—but that doesn’t make any sense. Diana Stanton, director of Orchesis Dance Company, understands the conundrum well: “No matter how good you get, there’s always somebody better than you, so you might as well just not have attitude.” Stanton choreographed “Rock Paper Scissors,” the…
One-night stand
The question is: Shame—what is its origin?” Melchior Gabor asks himself in the rock musical Spring Awakening. “And why are we hounded by its miserable shadow?” Melchior, played by Christopher Wood, poses the question that haunts Spring Awakening, a Broadway musical based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 German drama. “Angst” is German for “fear,” and the…
Being there
She was dying alone. She had no friends, and her last living relative lived far away and couldn’t get to her hospital bedside in time for her passing. Nurses and doctors came and went, but no one could be bothered to sit with her as she faced her final hours. In the end, however, she…
The county sets its sights on broadband
San Luis Obispo County supervisors should soon hear a presentation that—if all goes as planned—could get county residents downloading porn and cute-kitten videos faster than you can say megabit. On Feb. 1, the county General Services Agency is scheduled to present county supervisors with information on beefing up the county’s broadband access, which—while better than…
Housing project gets approval in Templeton
Nothing’s perfect. That was the sentiment expressed by San Luis Obispo County supervisors on Jan. 25 when they approved a housing project in downtown Templeton. It was a breaking-eggs-to-make-an-omelet situation, where county supervisors conceded that in order to pursue a goal of strategic growth (preferring dense projects near town centers over rural sprawl) they couldn’t…
Atascadero man gets third strike in stabbing
An Atascadero man convicted in the July stabbing of a transient in San Luis Obispo has been sentenced to 29 years in prison under California’s three strikes law. Harley Finney, 28, was sentenced Jan. 17 to 29-years-to-life after being convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for stabbing a 19-year-old in downtown San Luis Obispo.…
Atascadero mourns loss of Chamber CEO
A moment of silence was held in memory of Joanne Main, the president of Atascadero’s Chamber of Commerce, at the Jan. 25 City Council meeting. Main, 58, died the morning of Jan. 25 after undergoing emergency surgery at French Hospital Medical center in San Luis Obispo. No further details were released as of press time.…
SLO Chamber CEO to retire
After 38 years heading the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, president and CEO David Garth said he’ll be stepping down in July. Garth, 64, announced his plans to retire to chamber members at a Jan. 22 awards dinner. Garth came to the chamber at age 26, when it was nearly bankrupt, with a budget…
City hall project over budget
The Arroyo Grande City Council approved an additional $151,000 to pay for cost overruns on the new city hall. A staff report claims that many of the excess costs stem from the design of an elevator. These include, the report states, $33,000 for a new unit to power an elevator because the original electrical unit…
Cal Poly pres cashes in
Incoming Cal Poly President Jeffery D. Armstrong will likely be making more than $350,000 a year as the highest-paid president in the California State University System. The system’s Committee on University and Faculty Personnel voted Jan. 25 to boost Armstrong’s pay to $350,000 a year with an additional $30,000 thrown in by the Cal Poly…
Jack LaLanne died at 96
Jack LaLanne, a health and fitness pioneer who originated much of the modern health industry, died Jan. 23 in Morro Bay of respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He was 96. LaLanne’s career as a nationally known health and exercise guru spanned nearly six decades. In an age when doctors advised their patients that weightlifting might…
Donkeylicious
The Wild Donkey Café, located in downtown San Luis Obispo, showcases the culinary classics of both Greek and Mexican food, a combination of flavors powerful enough to throw many local food lovers’ taste buds into a frenzy. George Kartsiuokas, who owns the restaurant along with his wife of 34 years, Kay, said serving Greek and…
(They’ve got a secret)
Shhh. I have to speak quietly because I’m hanging out in Atascadero today hoping someone will blab about this whole Jim Mulhall business. What? You haven’t heard? Let me get you up to speed on the details, slim though they be. Mulhall retired about a week into the new year so he could “take a…
Dana Johnson, Blue Moon Haven Belly Dancers instructor
NEW TIMES Why do you like belly dance? JOHNSON Belly dancing has always been this sensual, emotion-evoking dance art. Of course, that can be said with many dance styles, but tribal belly dancing has this primal yet graceful beauty that really encourages and empowers women [to know] how beautiful their bodies, hearts, and minds are.…
If only we could eliminate idiots
After reading Mr. Goodman’s rambling rant in the latest New Times issue (“It’s time to dust off your copy of The Crucible,” Jan. 20), I thought that a well-considered riposte was in order. First of all, his list is absurd. Yes, cars don’t drive drunk, drunk people drive cars and so forth. So what? Obviously…
Don’t fault the artists if you don’t like the art
Mr. Starkey, spouting your pedestrian tastes for the arts doesn’t make you an art critic (“If you can’t beat ’em … ,” Jan. 13). Citing the selection committee who made the choices of the works to be painted on the power boxes as the problem, instead of bashing the artists, would make more sense. The…
Keep wild animals wild
Many of us went to the zoo or circus or saw traveling animal shows like Jack Hanna’s, which rolled into San Luis Obispo this past weekend. We didn’t consider the consequences to the animals involved or how our participation contributed to the animals’ life of deprivation and misery. I hope the Performing Arts Center at…
Terrorism vs. patriotism
Terrorism and patriotism have been discussed a lot lately. The actions and thinking of the Tucson shooter have focused much attention on these words. A clear line of understanding does not exist to define the personal actions of any individual as it pertains to their beliefs and what they do in support of their beliefs.…
It’s a New Deal for today!
In 1999, the federal government repealed the Depression-era Glass-Steagall act, which separated commercial banks from investment banks. In the wake of that repeal, rampant speculation in derivatives and other fraudulent speculative activities created a multi-trillion-dollar bubble of purely fictitious debt. Every bank in the world is completely bankrupt, and the multi-trillion-dollar bubble of paper debt…
Could you hum a few bars?
The Berlin Wall fell, the Internet blew up, nothing really mattered but your burn rate, Saddam got smoked out, Bush wore a codpiece on a flight deck, and we’ve got a black president. That was then, this is now: record-setting food prices, Wikileaks, surveillance from sun-up to sun-down, food too frightening to eat, epidemic obesity,…
Accept the real facts about health-care reform
Gabrielle Giffords was threatened by many and finally shot by one because she voted for a health-care reform that we badly needed. Of course, it does not make any sense, but few things seem to make sense in our country anymore. You have to be living in a comfortable cocoon if you are not aware…
Stop the presses!
It looks like The Clubhouse has finally succumbed to the various pressures—some internal and some external—that conspired to close it down, which means concerts scheduled there have … poof! … disappeared. Well, Painted Sky Studios comes to the rescue, at least for the Michael on Fire and St. Vincent Folk concert set for Thursday, Jan.…
Morgan 2009 Cotes du Crow’s Monterey
A good value-priced red, this vintage is a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah. It offers brambly blackberry flavors highlighted with notes of cranberries, strawberries, herbs, and spices. It’s enjoyable on its own, but made for pairing with grilled cuts of beef or lamb or a cheesy pizza topped with sausage and mushrooms. It’s available…
Morgan 2008 Chardonnay Highland Monterey
The classic Monterey-grown Chardonnay has a wonderful creamy texture, yet it isn’t heavy with flavors from barrel aging, with only 30 percent new French oak. Upfront aromas and flavors of tangy apple, pear, and zingy citrus are beautifully balanced by mineral notes and nuances of tropical fruit. It’s a great choice as an aperitif for…
The facts on Stax
A modern wine bar recently opened in Morro Bay, and it offers everything wine aficionados love, be it local artisan wines, fine Cristal Champagne, international white and red wines, or wine-friendly tapas. But rather than standing at a tasting room bar, you’ll find tall bar tables with comfortable stools, and a VIP lounge with a…
Clubs
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