Cover Story
A former SLO inmate draws on real-life experiences for his role in the Web series ‘Solitary’
Every day in California and the rest of the country, throughout state and federal prisons, thousands of individuals are being held in solitary confinement. An inmate can be removed from the general population for a variety of reasons, and can end up spending months, years, and even decades alone in the tiny cells. “Solitary confinement…
Experts say El Nino is coming, but to what degree?
Many people might be surprised to learn that, when it comes to weather, the term El Niño actually refers to a seasonal condition, not a huge storm. “People do the same thing with monsoons; it’s a season, not a storm,” KSBY Meteorologist Dave Hovde told New Times in a recent interview. “It’s a condition, it’s…
Witness the finest in karaoke on Aug. 1 at SLO Brew!
If you could be an American Idol judge, would you be an asshole like Simon Cowell, a ditz like Paula Abdul, or a cheerleader like Randy Jackson? That’s the thorny issue I’m facing as I prepare to co-judge the fifth annual SLO Brew Karaoke Contest, where one lucky winner will walk off with five Benjamins,…
What’s your favorite summer jam and why?
Dustin Lehman Boo Boo Records employee “’Blackout’” by Swans. It’s harsh and unrelenting like the summer sun.” Bryant Barodte Boo Boo Records employee “’Prelude for Time Feelers’ by Eluvium. Because it’s beautifully sad.” Ed Taylor Boo Boo Records employee “’Summer in the City’ by The Lovin’ Spoonful. It gives you the feeling of being away…
Cougars & Mustangs
In my own way, I was very involved with sports in high school … I was part of a team that sometimes competed against other teams, and that team was the main source of any “school spirit” I had. I would often wear my uniform—which looked very good, thank you very much—all day on the…
Placid and ominous scenes of nature come to downtown SLO eateries
Natural selection If you’re anything like me, you enjoy looking at the natural scenery that the Central Coast has to offer. But you also hate having to hike or do anything exercise-related in order to enjoy said scenery. This is quite the dilemma, since it’s impossible to bring nature to you without lifting a finger.…
A hardened cynic tries out a yoga workshop about menstrual cycles
I can hardly walk. My arms and legs feel like they have anchors weighing them down. This was all a mistake. I don’t know what happened. Let me preface this by telling you male readers that the following words will be used frequently and with intense flourish: periods, menstrual cycle, heavy flow, cramps, and various…
Johnson Gallery House returns and Huckleberry Market opens for SLO’s Art After Dark
Out with the old, in with the new,” the tired maxim goes. This may work for your common, everyday items like a rusty sink or a withered, jaundiced liver, but not for art. For eight years, the Johnson Gallery House has been on a hiatus, but come this August’s Art After Dark in SLO, that…
Atascadero artist and photographer Kathy Clarke balances rocks and life
Kathy Clarke was in the car on the way back to her home in Atascadero. It was hot there, as that city often is, so she and her husband had decided to spend a quiet evening in Cayucos. They ate dinner, and then, Clarke had an idea. “Let’s take the 46 home,” she suggested. The…
Clubs 7/31/14-8/14/14
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…
Beer me
Textbooks and backpacks and craft beer, oh my: Beat the back-to-school blues with daily “Hoppy” Hour” specials at Eureka!, daily from 3 to 6 p.m., Sunday and Monday from 9 to 11 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday from 9 p.m. to midnight (try the Oso Buco Riblets with a discounted brew.) … Firestone Walker Brewing…
Linnaea’s Cafe’s Creamy Caramel Spiced Apple Cider and SloCo Pasty Company’s Watermelon Mint Cooler
Linnaea’s Café’s Creamy Caramel Spiced Apple Cider There is nothing more American than a slice of apple pie. Except maybe conveniently sucking one down while irresponsibly switching lanes and blasting “Free Bird.” Enter: Linnaea’s Creamy Caramel Spiced Apple Cider. When the barista proclaimed that this drink tasted “exactly like apple pie,” I balked. Maybe…
Kama Sutra-inspired: LXV Winery knows how to throw a party
Good food and wine paring—it’s like that dirty love making that, deep down, everyone really wants.” This is what “Duchess of Paso Robles” Angela Payton proclaimed during LXV Winery’s recent release party featuring fare courtesy of Chef Nanette Smalley. At the time, my mouth was bursting with truffle-salted braised oxtail and LXV’s newly-released 2013 Secret…
The day the music dies?
You know what really increases the quality of an education? More administrators. Specifically, administrators who have spent less time at Cal Poly than most of its students and are looking to make a splash by doing something big and showy by taking down the only branch of the college’s media department that people who don’t…
Mixed signals: Examining a fierce tug-of-war over the future of Cal Poly’s student radio station
Some battles commence with a bullet, some begin with an invasion, and some are just inevitable. On April 21 of this year, Cal Poly students Logan Cooper and Sean Martinez started a battle by posting on Facebook. “Logan and I are doing a little fundraiser to support KCPR and all of the cool stuff it…
Botany for the masses: Cal Poly’s Hoover Herbarium welcomes volunteers
San Luis Obispo County has more plant species than the entire state of Alaska. So naturally, keeping track of all this flora requires a lot of work. Cal Poly’s Hoover Herbarium catalogs plant life from all over SLO County and beyond. Recently, it has implemented a volunteer program that allows anyone to get involved with…
Planning commissioners will review financing for a planned development in southern San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo planners are taking another significant step toward reshaping about 440 acres in the southern portion of the city. As of press time, SLO city planning commissioners were scheduled to vote on an updated infrastructure financing plan for the Airport Area Specific Plan (AASP). The plan, first approved in 2005, sets the framework…
The Paso Robles City Council will revisit a proposed ban on mobile medical marijuana dispensaries
After a proposed ban on mobile medical marijuana dispensaries was left dead in the water following a 2-2 deadlock vote at the July 15 Paso Robles City Council meeting, the council is set to revisit the issue Aug. 5. The proposed urgency ordinance to ban mobile medical marijuana delivery services from operating within the city…
Appellate court rules against oil company Excelaron
A state appeals court has upheld a lower court’s ruling against oil-drilling company Excelaron. On July 24, the Second Appellate District court issued its ruling that will uphold the denial of Excelaron’s proposed drilling operation on the Mankins Ranch in the Huasna Valley. In the 16-page ruling, the court determined that Excelaron failed to file…
A suit against Pismo’s Cliffs Resort moves to jury trial
Almost three years after Los Osos resident Tricia Rittger was struck and killed by a car outside the Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach, her family will have their day in court. Although Rittger’s husband and daughter have already reached a confidential settlement with the driver of the vehicle and a $1.5 million settlement paid out…
An alleged assault outside of the Paso Robles Mid State Fair brings a hate crime charge
An ugly incident outside of the main gate of the Mid State Fair in Paso Robles has brought assault and battery charges with a hate crime enhancement to the alleged perpetrator. Paso Robles Police responded to a call at 10:11 p.m. on July 20 outside the main gate of the California Mid State Fair, where…
The Grover Beach Exploration Station has closed temporarily amid embezzlement charges against a former employee
With one employee facing charges of embezzlement and another mysteriously fired, the Exploration Station in Grover Beach is currently closed. The closure is temporary, according to Exploration Station administrators, who shuttered the building and made an announcement in the middle of a Lego Robotics summer camp on July 24. In their announcement, the station’s board…
Hotel approved in downtown Pismo Beach
Local developer Dana Severy has finally gained approval for his hotel project opposite the Pismo Pier after months of negotiation with the Pismo Beach Planning Commission. During its July 22 meeting, the commission voted 5-0 to approve the project, dubbed “The Inn at The Pier,” which was first presented to the commission in February of…
Stop picking on Nipomo
The recent article by Rhys Heyden, “A basin situation” (July 24), allows a group of people from various local cities and water districts to bash Nipomo as being the cause of their drought problems. Oceano’s president is concerned about Nipomo. How about cleaning up your own house first? Then Grover Beach’s mayor puts in her…
Take your oil dreams to Bakersfield
The public support and great pride that Huasna residents and their supporters have are indeed the real wealth that Parker the oil man needs to take seriously (“Oil project shrinks in scope,” July 24). Parker’s assumption that Huasna folks have “pretty good money behind them” is a ridiculous and a pathetic attempt to gain pity:…
Julie Tacker is tops
Julie Tacker—in overturning the Five Cities Fire Authority’s (FCFA) tax (the assessment district) that would have been imposed on Arroyo Grande’s, Grover Beach’s, and Oceano’s property owners—was thorough, expert, and relentless in serving the truth. These attributes strike fear and disdain in council and board members who ignore her, where she gains respect from those…
There are lots of places to legally pray
I am a regular churchgoer and a strong believer in the Constitution, and especially the First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or interfering with the free exercise thereof. As a child in the public schools of Houston, we recited the Lord’s Prayer every day, mechanically, despite the fact there…
Good Goddess!
Heidi Flanagan wants to “draw a line in the sand” and fight for legislative prayer. (“It’s time to fight,” July 17.) She says this isn’t just for “Christianity per se.” Great! Then I can inform the City Council about my Earth Goddess Geo-Gaia and how ticked off she is at humans for climate pollution. It’s…
The true horrors of vineyards
To the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors: I want to tell you about the biggest travesty in San Luis Obispo County and probably the state. The most horrific, devastating environmental disaster in recorded history, which has been caused by corporations and vineyards. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of food-producing land has been allowed…
