Cover Story
55 Fiction 2005
The Fifty-Five Fiction contest made its debut in New Times in the fall of 1987. It was the brainchild of NT founder and publisher Steve Moss. The idea: Write a great story in 55 words or less. Here’s how Moss put it in his 1995 compilation “The World’s Shortest Stories”: “Fifty-Five Fiction is storytelling at…
Quail-watching opportunities are great
The pleasures of living in this area are many all year round! We particularly look forward every year at this time to the emergence of families of quail who materialize from the shrubs and scamper out on the lawn. Innocent little things guarded by Papa, up on the fence keeping a watchful eye, and by…
Skate shop gets wet
Bud Aquino has seen a lot in his 20 years surfing on the Central Coast. He was just down the beach from Avila giving surf lessons the day Deborah Franzman was killed by a shark. “There are a lot more of them out there than people realize,” says Aquino. Aquino and business partner Billy Wallace…
S.B. County was out to get Michael Jackson
The jury made the right decision. Only those who have not watched the reenactment of the trial, but read/seen only the biased coverage by the media and/or have racial bias will disagree. If Jackson had been a middle-aged woman who admitted she slept with adolescents in her bed, no one would have thought anything about…
Don’t support gun anarchy
I would like to advocate support for the safety and defense of the police. My concern is for restricting general availability of armor-piercing bullets. Pistol and rifle ball bullets with lead cores are quite sufficient for all legal uses. Rounds containing iron, steel, or uranium cores are dangerous not only to police, but also to…
Pot ‘gateway’ is due to dealers, not pot
I’m writing about Robert Sharpe’s outstanding letter, “Reefer Madness revisited?” (June 9-16): If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, coffee would be illegal but marijuana would be legal. If we drink 65 cups of coffee in a single day, we have a 50 percent chance of dying as a result. On the…
What the County’s Talking About This Week
Morro Bay pot dispensary ban to end The Morro Bay City Council did not extend a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries as it had originally planned. On June 13, the vote to extend the ban 90 more days failed to receive the required four-fifths majority. Only three Council members voted to extend the ban.…
Full Court press
After narrowly defeating the Dalidio Ranch Marketplace project earlier this year, downtown San Luis Obispo last week celebrated the opening of its most ambitious shopping center to date. The crowning achievement of sporting goods moguls and property developers Tom and Jim Copeland, the Court Street center stands three stories tall, occupying what had been an…
Don’t let lawyers off scot-free
It has come to my attention that most of the public is not aware of the State Bar’s complaint program. If you have had a problem with an attorney, you can file a complaint. I myself had an attorney who was unethical in his dealings with me. I then heard he had done the same…
World War II veterans unite
Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation” greatly disappointed me. I thought it would be about average World War II Joes instead of celebrities. Since we veterans have dwindled to under 20 percent, I feel it’s time to compile stories of the ordinary guys and gals. This will be a big project and must be a collaborative effort…
Congrats, Rob Bryn
I have known Rob Bryn (“Freedom from the press,” June 9-16) since 1985 when he came to work as an officer and eventually a sergeant at Morro Bay PD. He made the graveyard shift not only bearable, but a pleasure. Intelligent, compassionate, rapier-witted, and a man who knows his stuff – I tell you, if…
Jury acquits Michael Jackson
As a throng of supporters and media swarmed Miller Street in front of the Santa Maria court complex on June 13, the court clerk read the verdict for pop star Michael Jackson: not guilty on all 10 counts. Amid screams, hugs, tears, and confetti, one fan released white doves for each not-guilty proclamation. Police and…
Some things are better left unsaid
We were working in Cambria – picked up your newspaper – enjoyed the articles until the one by Cecil Adams (Straight Dope, “Fecal Feast,” June 9-16). Did you really have to run that one? If the woman asking the question really had to know, let her Google the question. I would hate to try to…
SEC asks judge to convict alleged Ponzi scammer
Officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) think their case against Chris Hashimoto is so strong, they’re asking a federal judge to rule against the alleged scammer before the case even goes to trial. In a June 6 request to a federal judge, the SEC described a so-called “investment opportunity” that spanned 25…
Hey Josh, are you a chemist?
Mr. Josh Laufer is thanked for his comments about biodiesel (“It’s not about combustion,” Letters, June 9-16) and assumes my lack of understanding of the recycling of the combustion products involved. My comments were limited to the claims of producing less pollution. Maybe the editors of New Times should have appended my background as a…
Be careful in describing wars as ‘just’
Much in Bill Denneen’s article on World War II (“My war was just,” Opinion, June 9-16) should be praised for pointing out the vast differences between that war and the present war on Iraq, including the Nuremburg trials after the war, which succeeded in condemning Hitler’s aggression and emphasizing the obligation of citizens to speak…
Didn’t the police have anything better to do?
In regard to the Memorial Day weekend confrontation between Officer Crocker and Safe Ride’s driver Judy (“Driven to extremes,” Shredder, June 9-16), I must say that I am appalled. For an officer of the law to cause such a scene with a person who was doing the right thing is shameful. In my opinion, anyone…
