Cover Story
Now what?: New Times looks ahead at the next round of campaigning for November
Maybe you’re reading this and wondering: “What the hell, New Times? That election malarkey is over and done with.” Well, out-of-touch reader who still uses the word “malarkey,” you’re half right. In the political meat grinder that is the June primary, voters hit the polls and sluiced out their favorite candidates, sparing a lucky few…
It can happen here–and does
That’s pretty appalling stuff happening in Nigeria, girls being abducted and sold into marriage or slavery. And Nigeria is just the latest atrocity to be reported. It seems to be a perilous time for girls all over the globe. But as horrible as those barbarities are, they’re happening halfway around the world. Thank goodness nothing…
Morro Bay Councilwoman Nancy Johnson drops out
Update: Morro Bay city officials determined that blank ballots will not be counted as part of the total ballots cast, meaning John Headding will be the next city councilman with 50.7 percent of the vote. Morro Bay City Councilwoman Nancy Johnson said she no longer intends to campaign for another term. Johnson, who is finishing…
Closed for business: A Morro Bay resident claims city officials blocked him from pursuing a business
Standing on the sidewalk in front of the building, Rick Holliday pointed inside. The lights were off, and the room beyond his finger was occupied only by some unarranged furniture and a few power tools. A city notice that had been posted earlier was no longer stuck to the glass, but its message stands: The…
What is your biggest fear?
Richard Crumwell Kinesiology student at Cuesta “My biggest fear is not doing my best when I could have.” Joseph Skoda Bus driver “My biggest fear is to become homeless. I’ve never been homeless.” Jeane Majors Retired “Bugs.” Steve Kobara Fiction writer “My biggest fear is getting a major illness, like cancer, and getting bankrupted.”
There’s still time to buy Live Oak Music Festival tickets for June 13-15!
A couple of years ago my father-in-law Gary Robertshaw, the Live Oak Music Festival official staff photographer, bought my wife and me a new tent. This sucker is so big it fits our full size blow-up-mattress-topped cot and has a roomy sitting area for two chairs and a table. It’s so big it has a wine…
Art Is … the Permanent Revolution screens at SLOMA on June 16 at 7 p.m.
SLOMA’s monthly art doc screening is back with a longer-than-usual offering in Art Is … the Permanent Revolution, a comprehensive study of the intersection between printmaking and political action covering the history of the medium. This theme pairs well with several of this season’s exhibits at SLOMA, including the recent Central Coast Printmakers biennial, Pushing…
A large and boisterous crowd enjoyed the 3rd Annual Central Coast Oyster and Music Festival in Avila Beach
It’s Saturday, June 7, and my wife and I are pedaling down the Bob Jones Trail toward Avila Beach Golf Resort. The sun streams through the trees that line the trail, and my wife occasionally dings her bell to let pedestrians know we’re coming up on their left. The weather’s pretty much perfect, and though…
Suspended Motion Aerial Arts presents ‘Eventyr: Elemental Force,’ June 14 and 15 at the Clark Center
The ukiyo, or “floating world,” is the artful term used to describe the pleasure and entertainment milieu of Japan’s Edo period. The buoyant nickname evokes a sense of the ethereal—a dream world sufficiently elevated from drab daily life, but not so high up as to be inaccessible. This is exactly the kind of physical and…
The annual Cuesta College Student Printmakers exhibit at SLOMA elevates an age-old technique
In the documentary Art Is … the Permanent Revolution (screening, incidentally, at SLOMA on June 16—look directly to your left for more information), printmaker Sigmund Abeles gives a charming account from the history of etchings in Europe: An ambitious engraver of armor in, say, Germany, might want to show off his skills to another maker…
Clubs 6/12/14
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…
Hayley’s Bites
Spirited away: Seasonal, sensational Paso dining destination Thomas Hill Organics recently rolled out a fresh lounge menu, which includes a host of sherry and sake-infused cocktails and a smattering of complimentary eats (try the roasted pork shoulder with chili-butter braised chard) … Similarly, downtown SLO’s Sidecar has debuted its own overhauled cocktail menu utilizing fresh,…
Thomas Hill Organic’s Sherry Julep and Ancient Peaks Winery’s 2011 Renegade
Less booze, more fun: Thomas Hill Organic’s Sherry Julep With its dual reputation as a fabulous cooking companion and somewhat stuffy drinking buddy, sherry is a complicated mistress, indeed. Last week, the dry, Spanish fortified wine earned its place in my heart as a delightfully less-alcoholic summer sipper, thanks to Thomas Hill Organics’ new sake…
Blood, sweat, and brine: The pitfalls and pleasures of the almighty oyster
Venus, powerful and lusty goddess of love and beauty, sprang forth from the salty spray of the sea. Her ride of choice? The iconic oyster. Can you imagine Botticelli’s Birth of Venus featuring anything else? Half a hoagie? A lox-laden bagel? Venus on the half-Oreo? Even a crab leg or fish taco would fall miserably…
Which Wich will you choose?
There’s a new sandwich joint in town, and it can be a little overwhelming if you’ve never been to one before. Fortunately, all the employees of WhichWich Superior Sandwiches, are prepared to guide you as they did me. The only problem? The choices are endless. It’s one of those places where you basically get to…
Cougars & Mustangs
Remember the classic image of children running and screaming with joy and excitement as the final bell of the year tolls? There was this rush, this reckless abandon that seemed to emanate from the grounds as the stampede of youth was unleashed unto the world. Is it me, or does that now seem, at least…
Paper trail: An Arroyo Grande woman is looking for answers in the case of how her home was burgled
For Arroyo Grande resident Jeannie Miranda, it was normal vacation preparation in almost every way. She packed up her things, locked her doors, and told her neighbors she was going away. Three days after she left the county, she got a call from the Arroyo Grande Police Department on Jan. 30, 2014: Her house had…
SLO County is back in the black
After emerging from years of austerity under the aptly titled Seven Year Pain Plan, San Luis Obispo County’s fiscal outlook is much rosier for the coming year, county administrators reported during annual budget hearings on June 9 and 11. The double-whammy of a budget deficit and the nationwide 2008 recession caused county officials to enact…
Atascadero approves a renegotiated waste collection contract
In a 3-2 vote on June 10, the Atascadero City Council decided to renew the city’s contested waste collections contract after an attempted coup from the current contract hauler’s competitors. In April, the council opened a can of worms by discussing the possibility of reconsidering waste collection contracts. In hopes of deposing the current contract…
San Luis Obispo County officials continue their review of a proposed oil-drilling project in Huasna Valley
San Luis Obispo County officials have about a month to determine whether to accept the application for a proposed oil-drilling operation on the Porter Ranch near the Huasna Valley area. On June 3, Bakersfield-based applicant Dero Parker submitted studies in order to comply with a county request for additional information on his Alamo Creek Project…
Doom for June? Morro Bay city officials proposed to eliminate the city’s June election for local offices
Fresh off the June 3 election, Morro Bay Mayor Jamie Irons has proposed to place a measure on the November ballot that would eliminate the city’s June elections. Morro Bay is the only city in San Luis Obispo County that has such an election, which was created under 2006’s Measure S-06. Under Morro Bay’s election…
Jim Hayes, former journalism teacher and long-time writing coach, dies at 88
Jim Hayes, retired Cal Poly journalism teacher and writing coach for news organizations including the L.A. Times and Associated Press, passed away in his Los Osos home Tuesday, June 10. He was 88. Mentor of many and friend to even more, Hayes is survived by his wife, Ellen; five children; and five grandchildren. A Navy…
Would you like a saddle for that nag?
Abraham Lincoln famously said that baseball was America’s favorite pastime, right before he sat down and wrote the screenplay for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. He was wrong, of course, about everything. We all know that Star Wars turned out to be a silly franchise, which the communists piggybacked on to make people…
Let’s turn this madness around
Jim, thanks for this piece (“What will end the obsession?” June 5). I couldn’t agree more with the complete insanity we allow ourselves to live amidst. Your conclusion: “You tell us what you would do to help make it so that no father ever has to bury his young son again?” reminds me of what…
An amendment is the answer
Mr. Mallon (“What will end the obsession?” June 5), I, too, share your anger and outrage over the killings in Isla Vista and Sandy Hook, as well as all of the past, present, and future massacres. Every citizen in our country, both good and bad, benefits from the law of the land: the Constitution of…
I am not Yosemite Sam
In his commentary in the June 5 New Times, Mr. Mallon asks what will end the obsession with guns (“What will end the obsession?”). I feel his frustration because I wonder what will end a parallel obsession with gun control. Perhaps it is denial of the fact that gun control hasn’t worked in this country…
An open letter to Muril Clift
You volunteered for the difficult job of campaigning to be our new county supervisor for District 2. I am grateful for your generous time and effort. You labored against big money and those who seem to have an indifferent attitude toward us who live near the poverty line. Most importantly, you showed up on time,…
Putin embarks on the ‘Evolution of Evil’
My father had just finished college and returned home to western Ukraine when he was murdered in 1941, two weeks before I was born. Moscow sent NKVD (later called KGB) to Ukraine many months before the German army invaded. My father, for no apparent reason, was interrogated, tortured, and then taken out and shot. Between…
