Cover Story
Wooden memories
Though a leisurely drive around the Central Coast will yield plenty of views of new residential and commercial construction, astute observers will notice more than a few barns dotting the countryside. # These barns stand as benchmarks to a different time, when San Luis Obispo County’s economic base was 90 percent agriculture. Today, barns on…
The scariest movies don’t feature ghosts
I’m not sure what it says about me that I rush to see films with titles like The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream, Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear and the Selling of American Empire, and, most recently, America: Freedom to Fascism. It’s not that I intentionally seek out the…
Local women fast for soldiers’ return
A handful of activists met outside the SLO courthouse around midday on July 25 as part of Code Pink’s nationwide campaign to bring American troops back to American soil. The women, clad in pink hats and shirts, armed themselves with signs and leaflets and a table with empty plates signifying their hunger. Since July 4,…
Looks like the haters can blame this one on the valley.
Officials overseeing the California power grid reported heavy pressure on energy resources as a result of an enduring triple-digit heat wave in the Central Valley. # The ceaseless whir of millions of fans and air conditioners in the inland basin on July 24 triggered a record consumption of 50,269 megawatts, according to the California Independent…
I started a heat wave
Whew! I’ve been sweating so much, you’d think I was on the stand again. Nothing gets the glands working overtime like a possession with intent to sell charge. Good thing I have a good lawyer, who didn’t sweat at all, come to think of it, even though he was wearing a suit throughout the whole…
FAST FACTS
Woods Humane Society presents its summer “Critter Camp” for kids ages 8 to 12 who love animals. Throughout the weeklong camps, kids train with the same dog using positive reinforcement to communicate. Campers go on educational fieldtrips every week past destinations have included the Natural History Museum in Morro Bay and the Avila Barn. Campers…
Chronology highlights Atascadero-Wal-Mart relationship
Atascadero City Manager Wade McKinney and City Attorney Patrick Enright have compiled a summary of city staff’s involvement in matters involving the Del Rio Road and El Camino Real intersection-the possible future site of a Super Wal-Mart-in response to allegations that the city has failed to provide access to negotiations with the mega box store…
Help in a hand-basket
There is an art to gift-giving. A gift that is thoughtful, functional, unique but not too personal and within budget can take hours to find. When shopping for coworkers, in-laws, business acquaintances, and not-so-close friends, locating an appropriate # gift becomes especially tricky. As a Realtor-turned-entrepreneur, Kathy Ruoff knows this challenge well. In her former…
More Osos crossfire
Announcements of vindication abounded late last week as a new groundwater study hit the Los Osos sewer debate. Opponents of the water board’s basin plan hailed the findings as further proof of the groundwater table’s relative cleanliness. Simultaneously, regulators declared that the presence of certain chemicals-even in trace amounts-point to some wastewater seepage, thus confirming…
Dispute ends in arrest
An alleged end-of-shift dispute over $5 escalated into a knife fight at Chili Peppers Restaurant on Foothill Boulevard in San Luis Obispo at about 4 p.m. on July 23, manager Noah Nimo said. A verbal argument over a cash-drawer shortage became physical when Fernando Ramos Ceballos, 42, shoved Daniel Ebaristo, 31, Nimo said. Fellow employees…
Letters
A glimpse of the future In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive, there will be flying cars, and trips to the stars. But men will have cried a million tears, because it’s been 500 years, and Los Osos will still be arguing about where to build its sewer. Bill…
Local nanny faces molestation charges
When an Arroyo Grande parent allegedly decided to leave her son alone with a babysitter for the first time, she chose to set out a camera and videotape her nanny. That tape, said a sheriff’s detective, apparently revealed 19-year-old Elizabeth Anne Dawson of San Luis Obispo sexually molesting a 6-year-old boy with Down syndrome. The…
Animal Services confronts canine crowding
SLO County Animal Services’ shelter is overflowing with homeless dogs, as more and more dog-breeding operations set up shop in the area. Officials have issued a plea for local dog-lovers to adopt their newfam-ily pet from a shelter rather than buying an expensive animal from a breeder or pet store. “The same dogs that someone…
Nitrates under the rug
Wastewater expert Roy Spalding is quite accustomed to dealing with shit. For 40 years, he has studied it, taught it, and consulted on it to municipalities and regulatory agencies across the nation. His knowledge of the wastewater spans its many forms-residential effluent, agricultural runoff, industrial waste, and, thanks to the Los Osos debate, political sewage.…
