Cover Story
Volunteers 2015: In praise of the many locals who lend their hands to better the world
We could probably dedicate every issue of the paper to local volunteers and never run out of stories. Thankfully, community-minded, big-hearted people are everywhere, though the tasks they perform are so fundamentally essential, and sometimes so seemingly miniscule, that you might not notice. Like the people who voluntarily throw on an orange vest and wander…
Road warriors: You’ve seen the signs, but what is adopting a road or highway all about?
If one man’s trash is truly another man’s treasure, then San Luis Obispo County is more rife with treasure hunters than the pirate-era Caribbean. By all accounts, picking up litter on the side of a road or a highway isn’t the sexiest of vocations, but hundreds of local volunteers donate their time to do just…
What cause do you think needs more volunteers?
Taylor Loveall hairstylist “Mental health.” Jackie Woods marketing “Homelessness.” Laurel Degutis Apple Store “I think it’s difficult to prioritize issues, but homelessness is something that’s easy for people to see.” Lloyd Baggs chief executive officer “I think we need more classroom volunteers to help marginal kids succeed at something, and give them a sense of…
Próxima Parada plays their award-winning music Jan. 10 at SLO Brew
If you listen to Morning Cup on KCBX like I do every weekday morning, you’ve heard DJ Neal Losey play the heck out of Próxima Parada, a band formed at Cal Poly that became a multi award-winner at this past year’s New Times Music Awards thanks to songs from their debut album, Songs of Music.…
Joshua Tree National Park is a draw for artists
It’s Wednesday, Dec. 31—the last day of 2014—and there’s snow blanketing the otherworldly landscape of Joshua Tree National Park. Snow here is a pretty rare occurrence, maybe once or twice a year, and it makes the area’s alien landscape even weirder. It’s easy to understand why Joshua Tree has been a magnet for artists and…
The PAC screens Richard Wagner’s comic opera ‘Die Meistersinger von Nünberg’
Nuremberg. The 16th century. This is the setting of Die Meistersinger von Nünberg—Richard Wagner’s opera that can be seen as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s live transmissions series at Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center on Jan. 11. Die Meistersinger von Nünberg tells the story of one lonely arts editor’s struggle to find the umlaut command…
The Peking Acrobats come to Arroyo Grande’s Clark Center
Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, I once attempted to balance myself atop four precariously placed footstools. The result? A broken toe that took two months to heal and a deep shame that took much more than two months to heal. Maybe I should leave the stunts…
SLO Jewish Film Festival presents an eclectic mix of films for its fifth year
For decades, San Luis Obispo has been a small haven for cinephiles throughout the Central Coast. Since 1973, we’ve had the magnificent Palm Theatre. For 21 years, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival has brought us a star-studded cinematic lineup. And since 2010, the JCC-Federation (Jewish Community Center) has presented the San Luis Obispo…
Clubs 1/8/15-1/15/15
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…
Belching Beaver’s Peanut Butter Stout and Figueroa Mountain Company’s Hoppy Poppy
“Better-for-you” almond butter, hazelnut-laden Nutella, and even cookie butter (whatever the hell that is) might be “trending now,” but you can’t beat the tried-and-true flavor of old fashioned peanut butter. If you ask me, the humble peanut is really due for a comeback as of late, and its big return has finally come. Read: Belching…
Southward bound
Delicious day trip: The second Annual Santa Barbara Food & Wine Weekend dates have been announced for April 16 to 19 at Bacara Resort & Spa with cooking classes with chefs and cookbook authors Dorie Greenspan, Jim Dodge, Anne Willan, and Virginia Willis, and more food than you can shake a fork at (tickets on…
Locals, it’s your time to taste: ‘Restaurant Month’ brings prix-fixe menus and wine exclusives to SLO County
Guests, like fish, tend to stink after three days. As much as we Central Coasters rely on tourism to bring in the bucks, we also relish watching the crowds subside in January, leaving us with a little slice of serenity. During the off season, local restaurants are calmer, the coffee shops less manic. Winery owners…
Which came first?
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from Lon Allan’s column in The Tribune. And I wish she—she being the chicken that crossed the road—had taken me with her. Although if she had, we would have needed to stop at the gas station first because I never commit to a road trip…
We should have a SLO rental inspection program
I support the mission of Residents for Quality Neighborhoods (RQN) of San Luis Obispo. It organized to advocate preserving and enhancing the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. Its first success was a zoning law adopted to require a permit for six or more unrelated single adults to occupy a single family dwelling in an…
You made a mistake!
Congratulations! This has been the only circulated print of any kind that I have ever written a letter to. First of all, did you, the editor, even graduate from high school with a passing grade in English? I don’t mean “English as a Second Language”, but tried and true grammatical rules of the language we…
Let’s welcome the quarry
I am writing you today to urge you to support the Las Pilitas Resources, LLC, proposal to open a quarry east of Santa Margarita. The Las Pilitas Resources project is an area that has been mining for generations. Located next to a decades-old quarry, Las Pilitas Resources will provide San Luis Obispo County and the…
Jan. 1 didn’t erase 2014’s wounds in Arroyo Grande
Down South County way, folks are suggesting we begin the new year by putting the odious Arroyo Grande city election of 2014 behind us. Those who prevailed in the disgraceful episode are the principal parties urging us to take this rosy road to forgiveness and renewal. That’s very Buddhist of them, but, sorry, but I’m…
Blast to the past: Doc Brown’s Time Machine Rental brings the DeLorean to you
After Back to the Future came out in 1985, the DeLorean became every nerd’s dream car. It was more than just the weird futuristic design or the cool gullwing doors that made the DeLorean so tantalizing, though. The impossible promise of time-travelling misadventures made the car so dear to nerdy hearts everywhere. Sadly, just owning…
Cougars & Mustangs
View a slideshow of the winning float entry. Well, you did it, Cal Poly. You started the New Year off with a bang. You already graced the annual Tournament of Roses Parade with the creative visions of several students from both unaffiliated Cal Polys, but this year, you really kicked it to the curb. Y’know,…
SLO Literacy Council offers unique one-on-one literacy tutoring for members of the community
San Luis Obispo is a county of disproportionate statistics. Compared to the rest of the state’s 73.5 percent, the county’s white population nears 90 percent, according to the U.S. Census. The number of high school graduates levels out at about the same, with 89.6 percent of residents attaining at least a high school diploma or…
Waste not, want not: GleanSLO turns left over produce to a meal in the making
After the harvest has passed a field, but doesn’t quite get everything; when fresh produce brought to a market isn’t all sold; and when a backyard fruit tree has fruit ripen faster than it can be picked, what becomes of all that food? That age-old question is timeless, being as ever present as the challenge…
Is an unpaid internship the best way to land a career?
At the risk of coming across as narcissistic and grandiose, I’m going to start this story with a personal tale. Over the years I’ve decided that opening with personal stories usually makes for crappy journalism. This is personal preference I’ve picked up through experience as a writer and reporter, and I was lucky enough to…
The Pismo Beach City Council approves $184K for a trash vehicle
Though some people might object to throwing $184,486 into the trash, that’s exactly what the Pismo Beach City Council did during its Jan. 6 meeting. Specifically, the council authorized the purchase of a 2015 Load and Pack 74 DLX from Dakota City, Nebraska-based manufacturer Broyhill Inc. Broyhill is the sole manufacturer of this specific Load…
The Rib Line Catering is appealing to keep its spot at the San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market
Owners of the San Luis Obispo restaurant The Rib Line Catering will appeal to a committee of the SLO Downtown Association against a decision that could result in the business losing its space at Thursday Night Promotions, more commonly known as Farmers’ Market. As a regular vendor at the market for the past 3-1/2 years,…
Former Doobie Dozen defendant Steven Gordon will reclaim his property held for four years
The decision was made with such little fanfare that prosecutors joked among themselves at how uneventful the action was. Still, it was an action that closed out a four-year-old case and allowed Steven Gordon to reclaim his property. On Jan. 6, San Luis Obispo County prosecutors said they wouldn’t fight Gordon’s motion to reclaim property…
SLO County officials are sworn in to their new seats
The sitting San Luis Obispo County supervisors welcomed newly elected and re-elected county officials alike in a short swearing in ceremony on Jan. 5. The oval chambers were packed, with walls lined by supporters and employees there to see their respective new bosses take the torch. Tommy Gong, the county’s new clerk-recorder, led the way,…
