Cover Story
Inconspicuous consumption: California is the nation’s leader in tuberculosis
The cough starts out normally, for a cough, like the sound I hear from a few desks over when my stubborn co-worker has a cold. But as the hacking goes on, I can hear a wheeze at the end, a desperate, shrill squeeze of air. It sounds wet. It sounds bad. Fortunately, in this case,…
Fencing furor: As a popular hiking trail is fenced off, stakeholders clash over land-use rights
It doesn’t matter who you ask; everyone agrees that the land is beautiful. The hilly patch of ground sandwiched between Avila Beach and Shell Beach boasts spectacular ocean views and a pleasant, tranquil quality. You can see why someone would like to build a house there, and you can also see why people would enjoy…
What are you most excited to watch this year at the Winter Olympics?
Mat Nordstrom Student “Sean White in snowboarding.” Tanner Murrietta Student “Snowboarding, I’m a Scotty Lago fan.” Nicci Julian Pastry chef “Snowboarding. It’s the only winter sport I can think of.” David Pierucci Graduate student “Curling. It’s a backyard sport on ice that every four years gets an international stage.”
Local genre-jumping singer Judy Philbin plays SLO’s Unitarian Universalist Church
Neal Losey from KCBX’s Morning Cup gave me my first taste of Judy Philbin’s voice when he started playing tracks from her new album Keeping It Simple, a collection of a dozen songs—nine classics and three originals. My first thought was, “Where have you been all my life, Judy Philbin?” Her voice is a bell-clear…
Prentice Powell brings his spoken word poetry to Chumash Auditorium
“I am the most emulated man on this planet,” begins Prentice Powell in one of his spoken word poems called “Beautiful is Black.” “You are the most emulated man on the planet,” he goes on, addressing his rapt audience. “Black men, we are the most emulated man on this planet.” Whoops and applause follow, and…
Locals gather to drum for rain at Steynberg Gallery
In 2013, California received less rain than any year since it became a state in 1850. It’s dry out there, people! What can we do? You need clouds for cloud seeding, so that’s out. You could pray for rain, but my guess is you’re already doing that. I know I am. Every time I water…
Kelrik Productions returns with ‘The Wizard of Oz’
I’ll never get over how frankly hallucinogenic The Wizard of Oz is: The winged monkeys, the lysergic splendors of Munchkinland, the warped logic behind everything, and the even weirder dialogue that attends it (“Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness!?” is still the best line to melt…
A Canadian circus acts tackles modern absurdity with ‘Cirkopolis’
Jeannot Painchaud discovered circus arts in the summer of 1984. A native of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, or Magdalen Islands—a small archipelago off the Canadian coast; population something like 12,000—a teenaged Painchaud traveled to the mainland to see the tall ships, dreaming of travel and adventure and pirates. It was Canada’s 450th birthday, and the biggest sailboats…
Who’s your daddy? Cajun seafood hits SLO at Crawdaddy’s
Walking into the nautical themed lobby of the new Cajun dining experience, Crawdaddy’s, instantly transports the average west coaster to a land where the food is just the right kind of spicy and tables are lined with butcher paper waiting to catch the scraps of a po’boy sandwich. Former owner of Kai Lana sushi bar…
Tantara 2011 Pinot Noir Lindsay’s Vineyard and Rodney Strong 2012 Chardonnay Chalk Hill
Tantara 2011 Pinot Noir Lindsay’s Vineyard This layered, complex wine has it all—balance, depth, ripe fruit, and it’s irresistible. I loved the bright notes of cranberries, plums, and minerality, so beautifully nuanced with notes of spice, herbs, mocha, and smoke. It’s quite drinkable on its own and it’s perfect with an equally outstanding meal, like…
Locals call it WOPN (wop-in): The World of Pinot Noir has moved into luxurious new digs at Bacara Resort
It’s time once again for one of the Central Coast’s finest wine celebrations of the year, World of Pinot Noir (WOPN). This wildly popular, two-day event provides educational tastings and winemakers’ dinners that go far beyond the norm. Uniquely, the participating winemakers direct the spotlight strictly on pinot noir, which is one of the most…
Build, learn, hack at new MakerSpace in SLO
As of Feb. 1, artists, tinkerers, music enthusiasts, builders, and entrepreneurs can all come together under one roof and work side by side at SLO MakerSpace. It’s the first of its kind in SLO, and perfect for anyone who doesn’t have the machinery or space for their next project. SLO MakerSpace is here to help…
This Morro Bay council does have spirit
We can assure John Gajdos that the Sierra Club is not a “government organization,” nor do we make decisions for the Morro Bay City Council. The California Coastal Commission, on the other hand, is a “government” organization—minus Mr. Gajdos’ ironic quotation marks—one with ultimate authority over the coastal development plans of California cities, no matter…
Cougars & Mustangs
There was once an oracle who liked to make predictions about himself just as much as predictions about others, if not even more. “I will become more powerful than any other magical being. I will be the first oracle to solve the Riddle of the Ampersand. I will start a coffee shop so successful that…
A reduced state water allocation means water restrictions and higher conservation for Morro Bay residents
With little to no rain in sight, cutbacks on state water supplies, and a smattering of nitrate-tainted groundwater, Morro Bay is officially upping conservation requirements on residents from moderate to severe. Morro Bay relies heavily on water received under the State Water Project. But this year, state water allocations are coming in at just 5…
Corrections
• Our executive editor must have had The Lion King on the brain when he was editing the letters to the editor for the Jan. 23 issue. Writer John Gajdos (“Morro Bay’s ruling majority lacks the founding spirit”) referred to the mayor only as Irons in his original submission, and Ryan Miller added the first…
Local small businesses, farmers now eligible for federal drought aid
Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Calif.) announced on Jan. 27 that San Luis Obispo County farmers and small business owners are newly eligible for several federal drought assistance programs. After U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared 27 California counties, including SLO County, “primary natural disaster areas” on Jan. 15 due to the recent drought, low-interest federal emergency…
Phillips 66 rail spur project garners a ‘substantial’ number of comments
As the proposed rail spur extension project at the Phillips 66 oil refinery in Nipomo rolls forward, public concern about the plan to ship crude oil by train through San Luis Obispo County is steadily gaining momentum. The deadline for receiving responses from the public on the project’s draft environmental impact report (DEIR) was Jan.…
Payout reduced in negligence case
Charles Blevins, who was awarded more than half a million dollars in a negligence lawsuit against Coastal Surgical Institute, will receive less than half that amount due to legal restrictions on such cases. Blevins had sued Coastal Surgical Institute in Pismo Beach for negligence after suffering a bacterial infection following knee surgery. Three other patients…
County to explore supplemental water for Paso basin
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has given Public Works the go ahead to hire two consultants to study supplemental water options to replenish the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. The study is the most recent step in ongoing efforts to address growing demand and diminishing supply for groundwater from the sprawling aquifer that…
Atascadero approves a Climate Action Plan, but isn’t sure about climate change
As California goes dry, climate change denial is flowing freely through Atascadero. The Atascadero City Council approved at its Jan. 28 meeting the implementation of a Climate Action Plan (CAP), designed to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, putting the city in compliance with state mandates. The plan became a…
Prominent agriculturalist Ernie Righetti dies
Ernie Righetti, an agricultural pioneer born and raised on the family’s Edna Valley ranch, died Jan. 26 at the age of 97. When he was born in the early 1900s, the Righettis raised dairy cattle on their ranch, eventually transitioning to beef cattle. After his father died in 1963, Righetti took over the operation, eventually…
Poo poo on your woot woot
Have you made time to have the talk with your local elected officials? Not the talk about drugs or premarital sex or alcohol, or any of the other pastimes that make life worth living, but you know, the talk. The important one. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for? Because if you haven’t taken…
Thanks for coverage of the drought and more, Jono
I have known Jono Kinkade since he was of teen age and worked with adults and other teens against the war in Iraq and for peace! I am glad New Times has him to write on important issues. You can see that he searches thoroughly for information in his articles! The one in the Jan.…
The days of ‘whine and hoses’
Sure it’s a parody on a hit record decades ago called Days of Wine and Roses, but pertinent to the current Paso Robles water conundrum. All this whining and wringing of hands may bring some semblance of personal comfort to homeowners and business owners, but if you think Paso Robles, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Morro…
We call it ‘cognitive dissonance distancing’
In these “best of times, worst of times,” conspiracy theorists and whistleblowers unite. Thanks, New Times, for printing Supervisor Adam Hill’s fragmented outpouring (“Who is susceptible to conspiracy-theory thinking?” Jan. 16) that should make us question his literacy, competency, and moral compass, as a “public servant,” to represent us zealously. Consider his negative, toxic, echolalic…
Water concern enhances Morro Bay’s independence
After reading “Morro Bay’s ruling majority lacks the founding spirit” (Jan. 23) by John Gajdos of Morro Bay, a thought occurred to me. While I believe I am as independent as the next person, I also am aware that I do not know everything—except that civilization and society are brought together by the joining of…
I offer a pledge of civility
Folks from the right are hurling vicious epithets at politicians on the left. Those on the left are snarling ugly depictions of some on the right. We in the middle are caught in the crossfire. And that’s been going on right here in the happiest place in America. I suspect I speak for a lot…
Clubs 1/30/14
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…
