Cover Story
How Paso won the race
The route was described as both brutal and epic. Television viewership spiked as people tuned in to watch bikers wind the grueling 135 miles from Seaside down Highway 1, through Big Sur, over the Bixby Bridge, and past Hearst Castle to San Luis Obispo. The route had even earned its own name: the “Queen Stage,”…
What is your view of ethnic diversity at Cal Poly?
Steph Fellows student “I think the reason I visit San Francisco and Los Angeles so much is because of the lack of diversity here. I think it affects the kinds of performances and events that happen here as well.” Laura Wachtmann stude “I think that Cal Poly is slowly being infiltrated that there is a…
Rags to riches
New Times Who are you? Andrew Olson (Olson plays the lead in Joseph) I am 22 years old and a music major at Cal Poly. I did the role once in high school, so I revisited it a bit, read the Bible story a couple of times. The Kelrik show is really fun. The cast…
A place to willingly waste time in
The facts are as follows: last May Bellevue Charter School abruptly terminated its five-year relationship with the Central Coast Shakespeare Festival two months prior to opening night. Artistic Director Zoe Saba still doesn’t understand the reason, beyond the sudden decision by the school board that the festival posed an insurance liability, the fact that the…
Fantasy, fable and folktale
If you swept the contents of an artist’s imagination and subconscious, the emergent gelatinous wad might resemble a painting or drawing by Los Angeles-based artist Tom Knechtel. Men, bells, cities, weapons, horses, snakes, dogs, blowjobs, trees, and even pineapples are among the fantastic forms that ally to create new folktales and myths, narratives particular to…
Not quite holy communion
Drinking, yelling, blaring music, and drunk driving at church? By neighbors’ accounts, the Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Nipomo rivals most nightclubs on weekends. But those same neighbors don’t want to be a part of the party. The Sunday services aren’t the problem. Semi-weekly events in the church’s event hall, however, have irked at least…
Brave new art building
Sitting in her basement office, SLO Art Center Director Karen Kile needed both hands to hoist a red binder, more than a half-foot thick, off a shelf for a visitor. It contained the planning documents for the new modernist building the city is considering as a replacement for the current center. She smiled. “I thought…
Clarification
A letter in the Jan. 15 edition regarding volunteer opportunities with Community Health Center did not include contact information as published. Contact Jim Hofman at 269-1350, Ext. 71, or by e-mail at jhofman@chccc.org.
DeVaul gets a stay
Heading into the courtroom on Jan. 27, Dan DeVaul was sure that the judge would not accept testimony from several of his witnesses, residents of the de facto rehab facility he runs on his ranch. He showed up to face nine misdemeanor criminal charges, all stemming from county code violations. Without the witnesses, DeVaul said,…
Pehl sand mine gets buried
John Pehl’s request to mine sand from the Salinas River north of Paso Robles was denied by members of the newly reconstituted SLO County Planning Commission, who said the river system has been over-mined. On a 5-0 decision, the commission voted to deny Pehl’s request for a permit to mine the river three months of…
Stimulate us please
SLO County officials are sending The Ferguson Group to Washington D.C. in search of money for local projects, especially for a piece of the pending $825 billion federal stimulus package. The Los Osos sewer project tops the county’s project list for stimulus money. “Shovel-ready” has become the new buzzword and the Los Osos project is…
Santa Barbara paper loses another round
The National Labor Relations Board has rejected claims that former employees of the Santa Barbara News-Press were wrong to call for a boycott of the paper. In its decision, the board turned away a request to sanction the Graphics Communication Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for what the paper called threatening and coercive…
Audio withheld after Hedges yelled
Sheriff’s Department officials say they’re not legally required to release a copy of the 911 call Sheriff Pat Hedges’ wife made to the office to report a dispute between the couple. And so the Department doesn’t plan to. Sandy Oneal-Hedges called 911 on Jan. 19 to report that her husband had become verbally abusive. A…
Now on Marsh
Founders Community Bank has opened a full-service branch at 863 Marsh St. in downtown San Luis Obispo in the retail space that was formerly occupied by Law’s Hobby Center. The new office has a staff of eight, headed by bank President and Chief Administrative Officer, Reese Davies. “Our other location is out of the…
There’s no place like SLO
On my way to work in the rain, I had the misfortune of rear-ending another vehicle. Not the best way to start my day, certainly, but every person I encountered related to this incident was incredible; from Amy and Ian Parkinson, who were the unlucky souls to be ahead of me in traffic but were…
Signing off
Regarding the commentary “Let it die” in your Jan. 15 issue [about refusing to convert to digital television reception] Mr. Howe is right. However, to me, a more important issue arises: cable TV. Cable companies have been fleecing the public for years, but now the abuse has become borderline criminal. Take, for example, Charter charging…
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…
Start dialing
It has become increasingly obvious that unless action is taken soon on the budget in Sacramento, school districts throughout California could face unprecedented budget cuts next year. The budget synopsis recently distributed at a Lucia Mar school board meeting showed almost $9.5 million in cuts needed to balance the district budget next year! The hard…
Consider DeVaul’s good work
I recently moved to a home near the DeVaul/ Sunny Acres ranch. During the holiday season I stopped by to purchase some produce on the recommendation of my new neighbor. I found it to be a good experience. The worker at the DeVaul ranch was very gracious to my children and went out of his way to…
Wait and see
I’ve always regarded the Shredder as rather a wingnut, however I must congratulate him/her on a very insightful and thoughtful assessment of the new president in the Jan. 22 issue (“The failed Obama presidency”). Let’s see what the quarterback can do before we guarantee a win in the Super Bowl. And I’ve had enough poorly…
Take a deep breath, Hedges
Just when you have thought you heard it all, our hometown good ol’ boy sheriff has the cops called on him by his wife or who perhaps could be his ex-wife-to-be: Just a little disturbance at her home in Templeton as a result of an obviously unwanted visit by our oh-so-trusted sheriff. LOL! And gee,…
Get on the love train
Regarding Shredder’s Jan. 22 column (“The failed Obama presidency”) I would have to agree that by public criticism we may teach our leaders about their flaws and show them any error in their leadership or character that would be a detriment to our collective good. However, I do not think it is so necessary to…
Thanks for listening
Seeing the Pehl sand mine project decisively denied at the Planning Commission made my heart leap up. We have a county government that actually listens to the people! Thanks to commissioner Bruce White for moving to deny the permit. Thanks to commission chair Sarah Christie for making sure that the denial included the scientific fact…
That’s leadership
A huge thank you to the county Planning Commission for drawing a line in the sand and denying a permit for a sand and gravel mine on the Salinas River. The commissioners just said no to an inappropriate project that did not need to take up any more of the county’s time or another taxpayer…
Spare change?
The assignment was a simple one: In the days preceding President Barack Obama’s inauguration, I asked my 75 Cal Poly argumentative writing students to spend 20 minutes in class first brainstorming and then creating a concise statement about their thoughts concerning our new president and their future in the United States of America. I expected…
Cowboy up!
Songsmith Cody Pendant is so all-over-the-place musically that he’s like a big tarp covering a ‘60s rock band, two punk trios, a honky-tonk act, a metal band, a surf guitar hero, and a singer-songwriter. Now imagine they’re all under this big blue tarp fighting to get out, but only one emerges: a cowboy in a…
Tits and tats
In the game of tit for tat, Atascadero City Manger Wade McKinney has become the tit. McKinney was recently named by the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce as its Citizen of the Year. Yes, this is the same chamber that that named developer-in-hiding Kelly Gearhart a previous citizen of the year. This is the same Wade…
Terri Stewart
NEW TIMES: How’s business doing given the economic situation? STEWART: We got hit really hard. In our particular situation, we’ve been cut off from the foot traffic because of closures on Monterey Street. That, in addition to the economy, has encouraged us to relocate within a month to the old Democratic offices. That’ll move us…
Pancake White 2007 Big Day White Paso Robles
A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Blanc, the spicy Gewurztraminer is most obvious. On the palate it tastes of ripe melon and pear highlighted with honey, spice box notes, and citrus. A natural for the table, this versatile wine works with an array of foods like chicken apple sausage, crab omelets, roast…
Voss 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford
A dry but softer style of this normally tangy variety, this tasty white from Napa Valley has aromas and flavors of mellow gold grapefruit and Meyer lemon with sweet melon and pear notes. Its fruity finish lingers enticingly. Nicely balanced, it’s wonderful as an aperitif and a great choice for complex dishes like stir-fries, curries,…
Upscale dining at bargain prices
I enjoyed an amazing food and wine pairing at Artisan in Paso Robles last week during their new dinner series: “Monday Night Suppers.” Chef Chris Kobayashi prepared a marvelous combination of mussels, clams, Spanish chorizo, calamari, and chickpeas stewed in crushed tomatoes and paired it with RN Estate 2005 Mourvedre ($32 retail). While that’s certainly…
