Cover Story
55 Fiction 2017: Tales of murder, intrigue, and scandal—short and sweet at 55 words each
SUPPORT STUDENT JOURNALISTS WITH 55 FICTION New Times established the Stephen Donnellan Moss Memorial Scholarship in Journalism Fund to honor our founder by providing scholarships to deserving student journalists enrolled in Cal Poly’s journalism program. In 2017, student Megan Schellong took home the $1,500 award for the second year in a row. Applications are available…
American Spirit art show tugs at threads of freedom
We’ve got spirit American Spirit will be on display at Studios on the Park in Paso Robles through July 31. The gallery is open Monday through Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m., Thursday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. Visit studiosonthepark.org for more information. After…
Atascadero neighborhood upset by city assessments
Residents of Atascadero’s Las Lomas subdivision are scratching their heads at a recent City Council approval that nearly doubled their property assessments, lamenting accounting errors and a lack of transparency and communication from the city. The Las Lomas assessment districts, formed by the city in 2005 when the neighborhood was developed, pay for services like…
Artifacts: Art out in the open
Get in touch with nature and your creative side on July 17 at Apple Farm’s Paint Party. The event is from 4 to 6 p.m. on the hotel and restaurant’s creekside lawn. Local artist Skye Ravy will show participants how to paint their own beautiful masterpiece in a step-by-step process that works for any talent…
Cayucos contemplates options for high school students
As the Cayucos Elementary School District discusses where its high school students will go next, a fact sheet detailing the options was released to the public. But it lacks input from neighboring school districts, and at least one of the data points it contains is inaccurate. Currently, after Cayucos kids have graduated from eighth grade,…
Artifacts: Save the plains
While the national monument status of the Carrizo Plain is currently in limbo, its beauty is being fought for locally. Local photographer Dylan Honea-Baumann’s photographs of nature and other subjects will be on display at Ascendo Coffee Shop in SLO through the end of August. The artist will donate 10 percent of the profits from…
APCD working with Nipomo to address waste treatment odor
Dust from the Oceano Dunes isn’t the only issue giving SLO County air quality officials a headache in the county’s southern region. The SLO County Air Pollution Control District is trying to work with officials from the Nipomo Community Services District to address complaints about a pungent odor emanating from the CSD’s Southland Wastewater Treatment…
Artifacts: Faire season is here
Lords and ladies, get thee to the Central Coast Renaissance Festival on July 15 and 16 at Laguna Lake Park. The festivities this year include 500 costumed entertainers and four stages of continuous live entertainment, with more than 25 stage shows performing plays, comedy skits, juggling, singing, music, dance shows, storytelling, comedic Shakespeare, acrobatics, a…
Morro Bay gets an interim city manager
Currently living out of moving boxes while fresh coats of paint dry in his new Morro Bay home, Martin Lomeli settles in as a Morro Bay resident and the city’s new interim city manager. Lomeli said his goals are to help the city continue with its two biggest projects, the water reclamation facility and the…
Party with art in Dinosaur Caves Park
Party in the park Art in the Park at Dinosaur Caves takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month through November—Aug. 6, Sept. 3, Oct. 1, and Nov. 5. Visit artintheparkshellbeach.com for additional info. The first Sunday of each month brings arts, crafts, and food vendors together in…
SLOPD’s Fourth of July featured a DUI crash and illegal fireworks
The SLO Police Department had another busy Fourth of July in 2017. Records show that the department’s officers spent the patriotic holiday responding to complaints of disorderly conduct, alcohol and noise violations, and reports of fireworks. The agency reported at least one major drunk-driving related car crash as well. The crash occurred at 5:28 a.m.…
Famed British reggae act UB40 plays the Avila Beach Golf Resort on July 7
It’s hard to believe UB40 has never played here before, but apparently their Friday, July 7, show at the Avila Beach Golf Resort is their Central Coast debut (doors at 5:30 p.m.; all ages; $37.59 to $90 tickets at Boo Boo Records or eventbright.com). Best known for the Neil Diamond cover “Red Red Wine” (No.…
Wine town
Drumroll please: The California Mid State Fair Central Coast Wine Competition winners have been announced! Best in Show went to Broken Earth Winery’s 2015 grenache (which also took home a gold medal and Best in Class honors). Best White went to Eberle Winery’s 2016 muscat canelli, an off-dry white perfect for long hot days. For…
BEATRIZ AT DINNER
What’s it rated? R What’s it worth? Full Price Where’s it showing? The Palm, Stadium 10 PickDirector Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl, Youth in Revolt, Cedar Rapids) directs screenwriter Mike White’s (The Good Girl, School of Rock, Nacho Libre) script about Beatriz (Salma Hayek), a holistic healer whose car breaks down, leading her to stay…
Adventures await
Get clammy: You might know that Shell Cafe in Pismo Beach is one of the longest operating eateries on the Central Coast, but if you haven’t dined in the garden room near the wall covered in decades-old abalone and clam shells, you are missing out on a slice of local Americana tradition (also, you need…
Its the season
Flowering foodstuffs: Giuseppe’s in downtown SLO sees an overabundance of tender zucchini blossoms as a very good thing. Lately, the Italian eatery has been tucking the nutty petals into seasonally sensational frittatas, which, if you ask me, are good eating any time of day … Bliss Cafe in downtown SLO knows how to keep a…
Of folly and Fonzi
After New Times conservative columnist Al Fonzi unloaded on global climate change and the Paris Accord (“Hypocricy and climate hysteria,” June 8), his New Times sparring partner, Michael Latner, noted that he would decline the pleas of readers to refute Mr. Fonzi’s arguments. Latner opined that studies have shown that “additional facts will not cure…
The Tribune and Tom Fulks
What is it about this pairing? Since the Trib’s decision some months ago to “balance” conservative and liberal commentary between Andrea Seastrand and Tom Fulks, the Trib seems to have clearly favored the Pavlovian blather of the latter. The contrast between Seastrand’s measured, calmly stated conservative views and Fulks’ unvarnished, flame-throwing “hate speak” couldn’t be…
Boggle and small bites at Sally Loo’s new wine bar
When I think of Sally Loo’s Wholesome Cafe, one of SLO’s first and most cherished third wave coffee joints, I think of three words: Local. Creative. Playful. From the array of bold art that moves across the walls throughout the year to the butcher paper scrawled with super seasonal brunch specials topped with produce from…
Faith, politics, and the founders
For the better part of 70 years, the courts, the media, educational institutions, and popular culture has steadfastly attempted to remove public pronouncements and displays of faith to the closet; at best, they insist that it be kept to oneself in the privacy of your home—like smoking. That was not always the case. In fact,…
Happy birthday, America!
Back when I was just a reckless teenage office machine, I learned the Declaration of Independence and other founding documents were written on hemp paper, and being an experimental teen, I immediately thought how rad it would be to roll up a big blunt and smoke the Declaration of Independence. So rad! Of course, the…
Dank dinner served!
Budding industry Learn more about the future of cannabis events in SLO by emailing Korinna Peterson at korinna@lefestinevents.com. You can also learn more about local medical cannabis products at megansorganicmarket.com. Good Tides Organic Bistro in Baywood offers catering, pop-up events, and more at goodtides.com. I’m at an undisclosed location nestled off a dirt road atop…
Dear Leonard ‘Idealism to a fault isn’t good for us’ Carpenter:
After FDR’s relentless acidic ridicule of Republicans and aggressive progressive policies were so successful that they knocked the GOP out of control of Congress for 40 years and Dwight Eisenhower had to run as a progressive just to get elected, we abandoned that course and began following Clinton and the “New Democrats,” who thought we…
Who’s your favorite author and why?
Norman Nix visitor “I can’t remember his name but this author writes very humorous books about his traveling. Its just so enjoyable to read because he finds the humor in everything.” Jenny Grady retail “I’m currently reading Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins. I really like it because it’s just a unique story…
BLAST FROM THE PAST: VERTIGO
When? 1958 What’s it rated? PG Where’s it available? DVD Of course, I’ve watched Alfred Hitchock’s Vertigo, the ninth greatest movie of all time according to the American Film Institute, at least once before July 1, 2017, right? Wrong. I’m ashamed to admit it, but this was my first time seeing the flick. Any illusions…
Shocking statistic about LGBTQ youth
I am writing regarding the shocking statistic in the June 29 New Times (advertisement on page 3) about LGBTQ-plus young people in San Luis Obispo County: 48 percent of them have seriously considered suicide! Just before the end of the school year, we ended up protesting the heinous suggestion by SLO High School teacher Michael…
Cunningham proposes bill to keep pot off school grounds
Central Coast Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton) introduced a second marijuana-related bill, one that he hopes will clarify the language of the voter-approved recreational cannabis law known as Proposition 64. Cunningham said the proposed bill, AB 1090, would make it clear that marijuana and marijuana related products aren’t allowed on school grounds, even when there are…
A clown leads the U.S. circus
Bob Cuddy’s opinion piece, “The T-word,” (June 29) was brilliant. Recently, I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Elect a clown, you get a circus.” Hopefully, we will wake up to the real danger and damage these clowns and their ringmaster are inflicting upon us. Also, a big hooray to the Shredder for his spot-on…
Making waves
At 9 a.m., campers come together at Coleman Park on the Embarcadero in Morro Bay to be sized for a wetsuit. Once each camper is matched with the perfectly fitting suit, the group makes their way to Morro Rock Beach alongside instructors and volunteers. After some instruction and tips on how to feel comfortable being…
The 48 percent
It is difficult for me to conceive of 48 percent of all LGBTQ San Luis Obispo County middle school and high school students having seriously considering suicide at some point this year (compared to 14 percent of their heterosexual peers). Thank you to Central Coast Coalition for Inclusive Schools for bringing this to our community’s…
Los Osos real estate broker is entangled in financial fraud allegations
In Los Osos, when building isn’t impossible, it’s at least complicated. With a building moratorium in place since 1988 in part due to septic contamination of the groundwater, developers and real estate brokers have to get creative to make projects happen. One strategy is to use the “septic credits” that already exist on properties to…
Rivet art show explores work of women in the trades
If you build it… Rivet: An Exhibition on Women in the Trades will be on display at Cuesta College’s Harold J. Miossi Gallery through July 29, with a film screening of Sista in the Brotherhood on July 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the sculpture yard on campus. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from…
Arroyo Grande permits its first medical marijuana delivery service
Devin Ward, an Arroyo Grande resident and ALS patient, holds up a small paper bag from Elite Care Enterprises, a mobile medical marijuana delivery service that operates in the area. Cynthia Gonzalez, owner and operator for Elite Care, snapped the photo of Ward to commemorate a milestone for the company. It marked the very first…
DA drops charges in Nipomo murder case, suspect now in ICE custody
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has dropped a felony murder charge against a man arrested for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death in a Nipomo home. SLO County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Julio Caesar Alonso, 25, of Nipomo on May 31 in connection with the death of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Paulina Ramirez-Diaz.…
