Cover Story
No small feats
Each year, hundreds of writers from around the Central Coast, state, country, and world roll up their sleeves and start writing. They click on keyboards. They scratch pens on paper. They hammer away at typewriters. Then, they submit their tiny literary endeavors to the annual 55 Fiction contest, started years ago by founder Steve Moss…
Be there, or be square… or triangle
Art After Dark July 3, 6 p.m., SLO Steynberg Gallery: 1531 Monterey, 547-0278. Paintings by Mary Meng Wade. apRoberts Arts: 570 Higuera #152 (SLO Creamery), 234-5061. Jimmy apRoberts and Brian Christopher. ARTS Space Obispo: 570 Higuera #165 (SLO Creamery), 544-9251. “The Shirt Off Your Back” by Tera Galanti’. Frame Works: 339 Marsh 542-9000 or SLOART.com. Artists’…
Built, but not forgotten
New Times Tell me a bit about your background with music and the concert series around SLO County. Curtis Reinhardt In a nutshell, I’ve been involved with music, concerts, and performances since I was in junior high and through college and working at nightclubs, running performing arts centers; it’s gone on for 35 years now.…
Seeing music
More than 20 years ago, Los Osos painter David Kreitzer made a huge splash with his image for the Seattle Opera’s production of Tristan und Isolde. Painted in a way that blends the styles of Gustav Klimt and his protégé Egon Schiele, Kreitzer’s poster was a massive seller, and people still happily fork over $100…
Bookworms, beware
Don’t think what you read is your own private business, because it’s not: The FBI can take your library records and gag librarians from revealing their visit. At least the Black Gold Cooperative Library System—the consortium of public book lenders throughout San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties—gives patrons fair warning. Black Gold recently…
Coincidence?
When SunPower, an international solar-power company, began shopping for a new public-relations team to market their SLO County project, they could have picked anyone. SunPower chose Chris Crotty, a consultant based in San Diego who also happens to be a popular political consultant for three SLO County supervisors. SunPower originally hired local company Barnett Cox…
New Times wins awards
New Times of San Luis Obispo won several awards in the 2009 Association of Alternative Newsweeklies’ Altweekly awards contest. The contest honors the best writing, photography, and design among 123 free weekly newspapers. New Times competed in the under- 50,000 circulation division. Managing Editor Patrick Howe, photographer Steve E. Miller and publisher Alex Zuniga were…
Grand jury points finger at county cemeteries
Maybe some of SLO County’s cemeteries are run too casually, according to a report by the county grand jury. Poor records, decaying gravestones, and even gopher problems are among problems facing a few local cemeteries. Of the problems discovered at several of the county’s 11 cemetery districts, the most prominent was poor record keeping or,…
Los Osos sewer inches forward
The Los Osos sewer project has a good chance of scoring some much-needed federal funding, if the project ever makes it out of the SLO County Planning Commission. After one failed attempt to secure stimulus funding, county officials have another shot to get $35 million in loans and grants for the sewer project. The U.S.…
You know we’re good for it
California lawmakers failed to meet a midnight deadline to pass a revised state budget. While the state is without a financial plan to solve a $24 billion deficit, local governments like SLO County are left with promissory IOUs until the budget is balanced once again. Lawmakers passed a budget in February, but the declining economy…
Huasna oil clean up in the works?
In Huasna Valley, a rural farming area littered with the remnants of failed or abandoned oil operations, residents have long worried that the oily puddles and open wells pose a threat to their surface and drinking water. Now some residents see hopeful signs a state-ordered cleanup could be on the way. According to a recent…
Memories made indelible
It’s hard to put a price tag on a professional photograph, which can preserve a precious moment for lifetimes. Hiring the right photographer for an event can be stressful and expensive; gathering a family for a studio portrait can be difficult to coordinate. Judy Mahan, owner of SandPrints Photo Gallery in Morro Bay, has a…
What do they have to complain about?
I’ve never comprehended why Blacks and Hispanics claim America is racist and prejudicial, yet thousands from Central America and the Caribbean still desperately try to enter. Apparently they, and our media, are not aware of this.
Targeting Sotomayor
Senate Republicans just announced they are going to contest U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor on gun- rights issues. The United States just had doctor George Tiller assassinated in his place of worship, allegedly by a gun-rights fanatic. Guard Stephen Johns was gunned down at the Holocaust Museum by a gun-rights fanatic, and a…
Go get ’em, Dan DeVaul
I know there are many different types of people in San Luis Obispo, but if the Board of Supervisors represents a majority including the people on the hill by the DeVaul ranch, then the rest of us are enemies of the proper way to live in a town. I am so happy Dan DeVaul is suing…
Bad genes suspected
Thanks to M. Power Giacoletti for a well-written letter (“Paso Robles fireworks waste money,” June 25). Gene 6 or 13 has definitely run amok by the looks of most of the current news in our world. Close a clinic that nurtures new life at its most vulnerable time, while two County officials collect almost $200…
Breastfeeding clinic downsized
We regretfully inform the community that effective June 26, a substantial cut in the San Luis Obispo County Breastfeeding Clinic occurred. Two out of the three lactation consultants were given notice, leaving one remaining consultant who will be unable to adequately cover the needs of the many families who need services. We understand the clinic…
What makes a good story?
Mary Norby activist for gay rights “Something with feeling, something that moves me. Short stories are difficult.” Craig Clark vinegar maker “The characters’ originality. Always stretch the truth slightly.” Mr. Bear silent greeter “Details.” Jazmin Cabrera student “Something interesting, entertaining, educational.”
Invoke a forefather
In regard to Emily Thurston’s June 25 commentary on removing God from the Pledge of Allegiance, I will simply borrow a great patriot’s words: “It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. “A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. “No free government, or the blessings of liberty,…
What a writer
Emily Thurston’s commentary (“Remove ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance,” June 25) was one of the gutsiest and most well-written public essays I have seen from a high-school student. I hope her classmates are as open-minded.
Thurston must have been brainwashed
Emily Thurston’s commentary (“Remove ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance,” June 25) had a very disturbing tone. Here is a high- school incoming sophomore who is filled with hate and rage against our country, Christianity, and our Pledge of Allegiance. This kind of rage comes from years of it being pounded into her by…
Thanks to Thurston
Emily Thurston’s opinion piece (“Remove ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance,” June 25) is one of the best I have read in a long time! Many people do not know or appreciate the effort our founding fathers went to, to keep religion out of the government. Thomas Jefferson and Payne were both published atheists…
How dare you?
Astonishing! New Times gives a full page with mega typeface to a high-school freshman (“Remove ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance,” June 25) who presumptuously advocates for Buddhists that “under God” be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance. Young Emily Thurston contends our founding fathers would not have included “under God” because His name…
Kudos, kiddo
You published an excellent commentary by Emily Thurston (“Remove ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance,” June 25). It disturbs me to say this pledge, which is contradictory to the founding of America. She mentioned, “There are millions of devoutly religious people who just don’t worship an almighty power with the moniker God.” The Pledge…
Welcome, children of all ages
Thanks to all the contractors, donors, Museum members, board members, staff, and volunteers who contributed to the successful grand opening of the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum’s new first floor, The Caves of Exploration, on June 19 in celebration of the Museum’s first birthday. The Caves of Exploration have been designed to appeal to…
Here comes summer
Summertime is almost here, and we know what that means—time to draw the shutters, crank up the AC, and brace ourselves for the onslaught of seasonal visitors rolling in from the hot valleys and big cities. Whether they come to beat the heat, escape the congestion, or simply dodge the in-laws, you can bet the…
Frances the Clown
New Times: Did you go to clown college? Frances the Clown: “I trained with the World of Magic. I worked with them for 12 years. I traveled to the Bay Area and belonged to the Golden Gate Clown Alley.” New Times: How did you get involved with clowning? Frances the Clown: “It’s a fun job.…
Winning and losering
Loyal readers will recall that last year Shred was a touch big headed on learning this column won second place in the national Association of Alternative Newsweeklies contest. This year, I won second place again. And … hell yes, I’m still impressed with myself! Second place is exactly where you want to be: You’re one…
Wild Horse 2008 Malvasia Bianca San Bernabe Vineyard Monterey County
I was surprised by this nicely balanced, fruity wine with its harmonious spice and floral notes. Though not usually a fan of this white variety, which is slightly sweet, I found this wine uncommon. It was fabulous with an Asian stir-fry of scallops and veggies in a spicy sweet sauce. It’s a great choice as…
Vina Robles 2008 White4 Huerhuero Paso Robles
Here’s another intriguing blend from the talented winemaker, Matthias Gubler. It’s a cuvée of Verdelho, Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier, all grown in the estate vineyards. This crisp, refreshing white sips deliciously alone. Not too fruity, it tastes of stone fruits, melon, and minerals, nuanced with subtle notes of citrus and spice. It’s a good…
Do you yearn to be a winemaker?
If you’ve ever dreamed of making wine, or just helping out at your favorite winery harvesting and crushing grapes in fall, First Crush Winemaking in Paso Robles can make that dream a reality. A new custom winemaking service in Paso Robles, First Crush provides a weekend winemaking experience that just might make you quit your…
Life in the fishbowl
Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to live a life as storied and tumultuous as Joan Baez. Her bio is as fantastic as it is painful. In many ways, she was one of the first tabloid darlings, whose life was peered into the same as Britney Spears’ or Paris Hilton’s is today. Born to a…
