Cover Story
Speaking hypothetically
“I’m not advocating any of these scenarios,” Patrick Lin prefaces before rapidly painting a world in which robots guard our criminals and monitor prisoners’ vital signs while they are tortured, cyborg insects and robots the size of hummingbirds spy on civilians, and enhanced soldiers wage war for days, immune to hunger and sleep deprivation. “Speaking…
Tell it like it is!
I must say I’m still reeling after reading the commentary by the Shredder (“Re-Shred,” Dec. 29) regarding the brow-beating tactics by Supervisor Adam Hill (the 2011 person of the year according to the Shredder). In an age of tabloid journalism (and little else), it is refreshing to see someone unafraid to tell it like it…
If you were in charge of writing fortune cookies, what would you write and what are your lucky numbers?
David Moore InterVarsity Staff at Cal Poly “The price of stamps will rise ever higher.” Lucky numbers: 3, 2, 12, 22. Josiah Pak student “Enjoy this cookie.” Lucky numbers: 0, 0, 8, 0. Baylee Dutra student “Daddy’s going to build me a racecar.” Lucky numbers: 7, 11, 3, 33. Kathy Fagundes special education analyst “Republicans…
Dueling banjos?
To me, Ronny Cox will always be Drew Ballinger from Deliverance. Sure, I remember him fondly as Lt. Andrew Bogomil from the Beverly Hills Cop films and Dick Jones in RoboCop and Vilos Cohaagen in Total Recall. He even played President Jack Neil in Murder at 1600. But how can anyone ever forget when he…
Two tickets to the gun show!
Here are three things I didn’t think people needed: a tiny revolver with a mini-bayonet attached, a 30-round banana clip for an AR-15, and a Nazi uniform. It’s a couple weeks before Christmas when New Times photographer Steve E. Miller and I pull into the parking lot across from the Mid-State Fairgrounds, parking next to…
Poetry out loud
Sarah Kay was just 14 years old when she discovered spoken word poetry, but she knew she was hooked. “I felt that my two secret loves, poetry and theater, had come together and had a baby,” the teacher and poet explained during a recent TED conference. In 2004, Kay started Project V.O.I.C.E. (Vocal Outreach Into…
Take that, rewind it back
January New Times rang in the New Year with a cover story on legendary photographer Santi Visalli. A Sicilian immigrant, Visalli once attended Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, taught Robert de Niro to speak Sicilian, and captured the likenesses of Fellini, Warhol, and Kennedy. A solo show at Cal Poly’s University Art Gallery brought…
Ortman 2009 Chardonnay O2 Series
I’m bummed about saying it, but this is the last vintage for Ortman wines; the winery was forced to close at the end of the year due to economic woes. However, you can still buy this wine in shops and restaurants and get it at value prices. It’s my style of Chard: Fermented primarily in…
Rex Hill 2009 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
I loved this beautiful Pinot at first sip. A great vintage for Oregon, this wine was perfectly balanced and tasted luxurious. It’s a bit riper than usual for the Pacific Northwest, more like California—which no Oregonian would want to hear. It offers ripe aromas and flavors of wild blackberries, black cherries, and plums with tasty…
A post-grad grape guide
There’s nothing more nerve wracking than picking out your first Merlot for a dinner party. Sure, there are births, graduations, and first real jobs, but nothing induces palm sweats and heel-to-toe rocking like standing in the aisle of a BevMo, trying to decide if you should buy the bottle with the kangaroo on it, or…
Talley Vineyards celebrates 25 vintages!
Very few SLO County wineries can claim they’re celebrating 25 vintages as can Talley Vineyards, and the Talley family has certainly done it with style. This award-winning winery has been among the upper echelon on the Central Coast practically since its beginning, which helped them to survive the rough times in ways no small, start-up…
Don’t give money to high-speed rail
I have voted no on Proposition 1A, in November 2008, considering California’s High Speed Rail project. There are so many distortions and lies considering this project, and I do support a proposition next year that would rescind the funding and the planning of CAHSR, including the Right of Way purchases in the Central and Southern…
We can longer support the freebies
Why are taxpayers forced by law, effective Jan. 1, to pay for the college education of children brought into this country illegally, or born to parents here illegally? Is it not enough we pay for educating them kindergarten through high school and give free lunches and breakfasts at the expense of American children’s education? Why…
Leave us eucalyptus lovers alone
After watching 35 minutes of the Pasadena Rose Parade, I saw that at least four of the floats featured the leaves of several different eucalyptus trees. This is directed toward all the euc haters in California: Don’t turn our coastal lands and inland empires into wind tunnels with blowing dust and erosion. Don’t destroy the…
Objectivity would have triggered an EIR
I am writing in response to your piece in last week’s edition titled “Morro council bows to Cerrito property owner” (Dec. 15). I was one of the appellants in the case and need to comment on Councilmember Nancy Johnson’s quote here, stating “… many in the audience think we can just order [an EIR], but…
Here’s how to hope for peace on Earth
A recent writer lamented being robbed of her liberty to celebrate Christmas by government, city, and private industries (“Let’s take back Christmas,” Dec. 22). Apparently because the schools close for “winter break” instead of “Christmas vacation, she has been prevented from celebrating as she did in the good old days. Without a nativity scene on…
Here’s more for your plate
I enjoyed chewing on your article about local efforts to eat local (“Chew on this,” Dec. 22). Omission of Rutiz Farm in Arroyo Grande and Slo Fresh Catch delivering to the whole county from Morro Bay left me a little hungry. I realize you were focusing on vegetables this time. I look forward to an…
Imagine if we all lived by permaculture ethics
That was a great Christmas gift to the community to write a story about growing and distributing local food (“Chew on this,” Dec. 22). Thanks so much for researching the local food scene and doing a story on it for the holiday season. We really appreciate hearing about good people doing good work for the…
Too many isms
Psstt … want to hear a secret? Come in a little closer. Little bit closer. OK, not that close. I’ve got what looks like syphilecolitis, and I’m told it’s highly communicable. Anyway, here goes: Every new year I get a raging case of Shredimpotence. I worry that people will learn and grow from the prior…
Single-use bags foul our environment
On Jan. 11 at 1:30 p.m. in the Government Center, at 1055 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo, the Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) will take a final vote to decide whether local groceries and other retailers will continue dispensing single-use plastic bags. There are approximately 9 million residents in California who live in communities…
Cougars & Mustangs
While I didn’t get out for New Year’s, I do have my doubts that there was much funky dancing going on around town. No offense, but I just haven’t seen a whole lot of spontaneity and free flow of movement since I moved here. Maybe it’s my New Orleans pedigree. Or maybe I just don’t…
Crowning beauty
Melanie Mulvaney had been dreaming about opening her own salon for 15 years. On Dec. 1, that dream finally came true. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, and it was just good timing. The real estate market for this area was good, and so I went for it. I’m pretty excited,”…
California’s quicksilver cleanup
At best estimate, there are more than 200 derelict mercury mines in California. They’ve cumulatively left the state with at least 188 polluted water bodies. That’s 188 sources containing mercury, a compound that can act as a neurotoxin in large enough doses. So it’s no wonder state officials are coordinating to clean up the whole…
A tale of two suits
Their lawsuits were filed more than a year apart, but two colleagues have painted an unpleasant picture of the work environment for female officers within the Arroyo Grande Police Department, as well as a highly unflattering portrait of an allegedly misogynistic top brass. City officials have resolutely stood by the department and its chief, Steven…
SLORTA names new executive director
The San Luis Obispo County intercommunity transit system, which stretches into northern Santa Barbara County, has selected a new executive administrator following the departure of the previous director in August. On Dec. 22, 2011, the San Luis Obispo County Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board of directors announced their selection of Geoff Straw as new executive…
Andrea Seastrand selected to lead local property owners association
Former Central Coast Congresswoman Andrea Seastrand has been named the new organizational development director for the group formerly known as the San Luis Obispo Property Owners’ Association. The once-SLOPOA has since changed its name to the San Luis Obispo Property and Business Owners’ Association, or SLOPBOA. Under its former name, the group headed a failed…
New law snuffs redevelopment agencies
The California Supreme Court on Dec. 29 upheld a controversial new law that requires some 400 communities across the state to dissolve their local redevelopment agencies. The law is expected to inject some $1.7 billion into the state treasury, but it comes at the expense of hundreds of low-income housing and job-creating projects. The decision…
First Solar had a bumpy year
Solar panel manufacturer First Solar recently lowered profit forecasts as the company experienced an epic decline in its stock, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 for 2011. As the year came to a close, Arizona-based First Solar, which is known locally as the company responsible for the 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm in…
SLO announces its new top cop
San Luis Obispo city officials formally introduced Steve Gesell as the man who will replace former police chief Deborah Linden. Gesell, 46, is set to take up the mantle following a swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 17. The 23-year veteran of law enforcement has spent most of the last year as acting chief of the Atascadero…
