Cover Story
A night to remember
The dust has settled, the smoke has cleared, the mirrors are stashed for distant or in some cases immediate campaigns. Yes, the 2010 primary election is history—what more is there to say? Well, plenty: New Times’ writers, bolstered by scribes from our sister paper the Santa Maria Sun, expound on the drama, the quirks, the…
How can you tell whether someone is lying?
Meg Korgan sales worker “You can tell when someone’s lying by looking into their eyes. My mother always used to say that liars have a black spot on their tongue.” Elizabeth Nicks law student “Well, their eyes start shifting, I think usually to the left, and they get uncomfortable.” Jose Yanez security guard “If they’re…
Two get less than three months in jail for fatal hazing
The two men charged with the hazing death of Cal Poly freshman Carson Starkey pleaded no contest to reduced charges on June 8 in a San Luis Obispo courtroom. Zacary Ellis, 23, was sentenced to 120 days in county jail, fined $1,000, and will be placed on probation for three years. Haithem Ibrahim, 21, was…
Deputy, dispatchers recognized
“We’re just very grateful to have our little boy,” Jose Villanueva said in front of a packed Board of Supervisors Chambers on June 8. SLO County supervisors recognized Sheriff Deputy Jason Nadal and Dispatchers Julie Ricks and Nikki Lipanovich for saving the life of “Little Jose,” a 2-year-old who nearly drowned on May 4. “Thank…
The primary difference
The primary has officially come and gone. Here’s how people voted: • In the U.S. Senator race, Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer secured more than 80 percent of her party’s vote and will go on to face Republican businesswoman Carly Fiorina in the November election. Fiorina won 56 percent of the GOP vote, over Brian Quintana’s…
Undersheriff deals with DUI
Atascadero police officers arrested San Luis Obispo County Undersheriff Steve Bolts after he was believed to be driving under the influence on the night of June 5. Bolts is the second of command to Sheriff Pat Hedges, who was also the “responsible adult” to pick him up from the Atascadero Police Department about an hour…
Cal Poly: Get serious about hiring a president
The Chancellor of the California State University System has rejected the two finalists for President of Cal Poly, telling the school committee to go back to the drawing board and try to find candidates more in keeping with the prestige of the position (a third final candidate withdrew from consideration when he found he made…
From darkness, light
A few weeks ago, I looked out of the office into the childrens’ library to see our Youth Services Coordinator, Margaret Kensinger-Klopfer, introduce herself to a woman who looked very familiar. Curious—OK, nosey—I joined in their conversation. Then it all came back to me: She was “Rita’s Mom.” Rita was a year older than my…
Kick the oil habit
We should strive to understand the connection between national security and energy, and start working on solutions that can end our oil addiction. We are seeing one of the most devastating consequences of this oil addiction in the Gulf of Mexico as the BP disaster worsens every day. If we remain dependent on oil, it…
Extending the marine sanctuary would not preclude oil leases
It seems to have been long forgotten that in 1925, an earthquake in southern California covered the Santa Barbara channel with thick oil patches. Again in 1971, in Santa Monica Bay, an earthquake caused similar gas and oil releases. The majority of tar found on local beaches comes from offshore seeps. It is estimated that…
Wage peace
On May 30 the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan combined cost $1 trillion for operations, interest on the debt, and expenses for returning veterans. That money could be better used to employ every unemployed American in well-paying jobs, with enough money left over to provide free public university education for the next…
SLO city community environment must be preserved
The sense and reality of community is precious, fragile and elusive. An urban community is often defined by its physical setting, its arrangement and use of buildings, and the resultant ability of citizens to communicate and interact with one another and feel the identity of place. The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce made an…
Off-roaders are no windfall
Off-roaders and campers on our beach and dunes do not bring to our community as much money as the off-road industry and state bureaucrats make us believe. Most tourists camping on the beach eat food brought from home or bought at big local grocery stores that don’t need the off-roaders to make money. One trailer…
Don’t blame dune drivers for pollutants
Recently the Air Pollution Control District board listened as state experts quietly spelled out a number of concerns regarding the Phase 2 Study’s conclusions and methods. Flaws in the study included misapplied formulas and basic math errors, malfunctioning and inappropriate data stations, a 12-month report packed with 13 months of data collection and the use…
Supervisors should stop stalling and ban dune driving
Let’s see if I have this straight: Vehicle traffic in the Oceano Dunes has destroyed a natural crust that keeps tiny silicia particles (10 microns and smaller) from blowing into inhabited areas in large quantities. When these particles are breathed in, they remain in the lungs and cause serious problems, some leading to death. The…
Cannabis is a safe, effective medicine
I have to respond to Glen Zenda and his anti-medical-marijuana rant (“What makes Lynch so special?” June 3). What the hell would he do if someone he loves suffers great pain for days upon days while vomiting? He should count his lucky stars! As far as his accusation that dispensaries make a shit load of…
Shhhhh!
Mhmm, hemmum, ermmmm. Sorry, I’m just barely conscious this morning. I spent last night siphoning off leftover drinks at various election parties because apparently the term “open bar” only applies to invited guests. Let me tell you, my rum and coke and champagne and stale beer and gin and juice and tonic isn’t sitting well.…
Giovanni Degarimore, Owner
NEW TIMES: What fish do you catch? DEGARIMORE: Locally we catch rock cod, which is also known as red snapper. Another local fish is the black cod also known as sable fish. We have a great assortment of local crabs that we catch frequently, and fresh halibut around this time of year. NEW TIMES:…
Clubs
Goin’ South … CAFÉ ANDREINI: 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 481-6117. Thurs.: Live music at 6pm. COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Dr., Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music Night every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. DOLPHIN BAY/LIDO: 2727 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, 773-4300 or TheDolphinBay.com. ELMO’S NIPOMO SALOON: 131 South Thompson Road, Nipomo, 929-5362. Karaoke…
Creativity and catharsis
It’s 10:30 a.m. on Monday, June 7 as I walk into Linda Castellon’s art-filled living room. “How are you?” I ask as she embraces me and kisses me on the cheek. “I’m a little buzzed,” admits the stately, dark-haired beauty. “I just found out they’re taking my father off all the machines, so I drank…
Sustenance for your ears
My favorite place for lunch is about to make another foray into music this Sunday, June 13 when Sustenance Cooking Studio hosts The Tipsy Gypsies, a terrific gypsy jazz band that blends the musicality and feel of Django Reinhardt with the lovely, lilting vocal style of Billie Holiday, all wrapped up in a tight, retro…
Live Oak Music Festival, annual KCBX Public Radio benefit, June 18-20
The schedule is as follows: Friday, June 18—Jamming Workshop hosted by Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack, 2-3:30 p.m.; Scottish Highland bagpipes by Riley and Aiden Foster Evans, 3:45-4 p.m.; roots rock by Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, 4-5 p.m., singer-songwriter and guitarist Terri Hendrix with Lloyd Maines, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; Swedish string band Vasen, 7-8:15…
De la ventana de mi vida
“What else is a man/ than what he can provide/ to the people that he loves/ and live his life with pride,” asks a singer in Los Cenzontles’ most recently released album American Horizon. The band’s eighteenth album was released in November of 2009, and already the Mexican folk music troupe is putting the finishing…
Death and draperies
Independently, musicals and theatrical who-dun-its demand quite a bit from their audiences in terms of suspension of disbelief. But throw the genres together and you’ve got a recipe for absurdity, and comedy, though of a less serious order. PCPA’s production of Curtains, showing at the Solvang Theater June 17 through July 3, raises the bar…
Trouble in suburbia
On Sept. 14, 2007, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Curry arrested 65-year-old Ken Watts for taking a binder of meeting minutes from the Oak Shores Community Association board of directors, documents any homeowner in the 626-home community has a legal right to view. Watts spent the night in jail and during the past…
Erath 2008 Pinot Noir Oregon
Here’s a very good buy for the budget-minded. It’s California-like with its black cherry and plummy aromas and flavors, nicely balanced by spice and smoky meat notes. A tasty quaffer, it also pairs well with everything from pepperoni pizza and cheeseburgers to meaty pasta dishes. It’s only $13.99 at Costco, $19.99 at BevMo!
Tudor 2006 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley
I love this fabulous Pinot Noir from Mendocino County. It opens with tasty plum and black cherry aromas and flavors yet it’s quite Burgundian with elegant notes of spice and leather weaving the flavors together. It ends on a long fruity note, and it’s oh so drinkable alone. But this is meant for the dinner…
Have it stacked
I have never been a fan of pastrami; blame it on my West Coast attitude, I’m a California native. But I changed my mind once I tried the excellent hot pastrami sandwich, the Fugetaboutit, served at Stacked Sandwiches in Grover Beach. It turned my head away from my hot roast beef, the Philly Wonka with…
Art and neuroscience
David Saari and Anita Hampton combined have more than 55 years of experience teaching but in what seem very different disciplines. Hampton, an artist, and Saari, a neuroscientist, are joining forces to guide painting students in a workshop they call “Tools that Unleash and Express the Creative Soul.” Instead of teaching painting conventionally by introducing…
