Cover Story
Seeking freedom of the mind
Every Wednesday night, between 25 and 60 men gather in an austere cinderblock room just north of San Luis Obispo, positioning themselves on pillows or metal folding chairs for a half hour of meditation, followed by a talk on Buddhism. The men sit in a circle facing an altar adorned with incense and a small…
Cross-county effort hits massive marijuana grow site
It’s cannabis-cultivating time again, and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department made its first big bust of the season when it helped to seize more than 61,000 marijuana plants in an illegal outdoor grow operation just east of Twitchell Reservoir on Highway 166. # A half-dozen SLO narcotics officers teamed up with the Santa…
‘Freebird!’ Play ‘Freebird!’
Finally, a concert where someone can yell out “Freebird” without irony! That’s right. Lynyrd Skynyrd is coming to Pozo Saloon. # As soon as news about the concert started making the rounds, speculation began about the band. “Who’s left of the original line-up? The drummer’s cousin?” Tsk-tsk, naysayers! There are actually a couple of original…
Fast Facts
Georgia Moon, the vintage furniture and home decor store in Grover Beach, is changing locations. The store will have room to expand in its new commercial building at 141 North 6th St. in Grover Beach. With its bigger space, owner Georgia Terrell hopes to add outdoor and architectural salvage items. More information can be found…
SLO lame!
There’s something seriously wrong with San Luis Obispo, namely that we’ve let the “fun police” have too much control over how we celebrate our lives, our town, our community. On Saturday, June 23, I traveled to Santa Barbara for its annual Summer Solstice Parade, a huge event that draws up to 100,000 spectators from around…
SLO City Council freezes public access funds
The quarrel for control of Channel 2, the San Luis Obispo public access television station on Charter Cable, went before the City Council on July 3. Though the City Council meeting lacked the explosiveness of prior meetings by the public access group’s board some of which saw cussing, name-calling, water bottle tossing, and middle finger…
Proposed Cambria fire ordinance sparks debate
A proposed ordinance aimed at reducing the risk of a devastating # fire in Cambria has ignited a blazing controversy in the coastal forest community. Some local residents are charging that enacting the so-called Defensible Space Ordinance would doom the rare Monterey pine forest it’s designed to protect, while other property owners have already taken…
Who controls the horizontal?
It’s amazing how right what’s-his-name is. You know, the guy with the beard. On the radio. He loves dogs. Oh yeah, Dave Congalton. Back in December, he made a fuss over pointing out that New Times’ then-pretty-new editor, Ryan Miller, was going to turn this paper into a religious rag. And darned if he wasn’t…
Domo arigato, Sushiya
When you pick up sushi from a shared plate do you courteously use the reverse ends of your chopsticks rather than the ends you eat from? Or are you one of those who makes wasabi soup in the soy sauce vessel? If these are your habits in a sushi bar, you’re sorely in need of…
Money and time well spent
# Not much in life is a sure thing. You’ve got heartbreak, taxes, bills, and death. On the lighter end of things, you take belly laughs, smiles, applause, and cheers when you can get them. The California Cabaret Theatre delivers all of that happiness, and more, with a politically incorrect comedic punch so fierce you’ll…
Creek setback suffers setback
Opponents of Atascadero’s new creek setback ordinance have scored what they say is a victory for private property rights and the action has some setback supporters questioning whether to keep fighting. In a press release, City Clerk Marcia Torgerson announced that she had approved a referendum petition to appeal an amendment to the city’s general…
Amazing feet
A store devoted entirely to socks has given downtown SLO a new dose of quirkiness. # Talk about variety. At the new shop, you’ll find butterflies, trolls, camouflage, toe socks, bamboo, lace, luxury socks, plaid, wool, organic socks, flames, tube socks, knee highs, baby socks, and even middle finger socks. “They’re a fun fashion statements,”…
Sewage players report progress, but locals want more answers
Nobody’s yet answering the key questions of what it will look like, how much it will cost, or exactly where it will be built, but county staff reported progress toward the development of a sewage treatment center for Los Osos during a July 6 meeting of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board in Watsonville.…
Letters
Opinion writer is like French royalty In Matt Kokkonen’s defense of private, for-profit, insurance-based health-care systems (“U.S. medicine: Don’t knock it,” June 5), he never discusses the 47 million in the United States who cannot afford health care insurance, nor the millions more who are under-insured. His attitude about them seems to be that of…
CSD leader and nursery owner faces foreclosures
Bill Bookout, a director of the Oceano Community Services District, has begun closing one of his businesses and may have to close another because of flood-related damages that he claims were the fault of several local government entities including the one he serves on. Bookout, the owner of Oceano Nursery and Plumeria’s Garden and Gifts…
