Cover Story
Epic excavation
Driving along the main street of flat, sleepy Guadalupe—population less than 8,000, according to the most recent census reports—there’s little evidence that gilded chariots driven by film extras once raced up and down the town’s thoroughfare. And walking along the timeless stretches of sand Guadalupe boasts of in its motto, “Gateway to the dunes,” you…
Plane crashes near local business
A small, twin-engine plane has crashed, apparently shortly after take-off from the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, into a nearby building, prompting evacuations of neighboring businesses. <p.The accident occurred around noon on June 24 on the corner of Sueldo and Granada streets, though the exact time wasn’t immediately disclosed by authorities. As of 1:30…
Central Coast goes dark
A June 23 equipment failure at a Morro Bay switchyard around 9:25 p.m. caused power outages for nearly 150,000 Central Coast Pacific Gas & Electric customers. Some Morro Bay residents reported seeing an arch of electricity surge over some equipment at the substation, a utility spokesman said. “We have reports of a flash-arch,” Pacific Gas…
Call him Scut
Imagine what would have happened if the bully from A Christmas Story had been given a newspaper. We’d probably all be reading petulant op-eds comparing Ralphie to a terrorist while his buddy Grover Dill and other like-minded people filled the letters section with ill-reasoned personal attacks and threats, demanding to know, what’s Ralphie’s angle? Does…
Courting success
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is part of New Times’ ongoing coverage of mental health. At first, they spoke of drug addiction, of crippling alcohol dependency, of paranoid delusions, of bipolar mood swings, of sexual assault. They were fighting back tears and grimacing through their words. As they continued to speak, however, their faces brightened, their…
Dry Creek Vineyard 2010 Russian River Valley Foggy Oaks
This is a lovely chardonnay with pretty fruit flavors that make this wine perfectly suited for my palate. But those of you who crave big, buttery, oaky chards won’t like this one. It was aged in French and Hungarian oak, 45 percent of which were new barrels, yet the oak doesn’t dominate the fruit. It…
Hug Cellars 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles Starr Ranch Vineyard
This big, ripe cabernet sauvignon offers delicious aromas and flavors of blackberries, cassis, and plums, nicely balanced by zingy red fruit notes and white pepper. It’s a bold cabernet that’s high in alcohol at 16.1 percent, but it’s not immediately apparent in this well-balanced red. This is winemaker Augie Hug’s first year working with this…
Is your food safe?
One of the first classes culinary schools require for aspiring chefs is safe food handling. It’s a skill that every professional cook knows is every bit as important as learning how to handle a knife. That’s why I’ve always been skeptical about inexperienced people opening restaurants. Most of those mom-and-pop cafés make serious mistakes such…
Wet phone?
Have you ever left your iPod in your pants pocket, and remembered it after you’ve already run the wash cycle? Or, were you out having a good time until you realized that that’s your phone at the bottom of the pitcher of beer or pool? Well, don’t fret just yet! Scott Talmage has a dry…
How do I help an ailing animal?
Sunday morning, my spouse and I were driving down a residential street in SLO when we spotted a run-over, dead squirrel and two concerned female spectators standing nearby. As we slowly passed the squirrel, we noticed something that would radically change our day. The squirrel wasn’t dead. He was broken up, writhing in shock and…
Correction
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Cougars & Mustangs
Besides sleeping hi, low, to, fro, how do you plan to spend your ever-ripening summer break? Will you be taking up somnambulism as part of a new exercise routine? Joining a flea circus? Well, if you’ve got six weeks to spare and Friday, June 21 isn’t over yet, you can sign up for summer classes…
Giants sign Mustangs’ Chase Johnson
Chase Johnson, a relief-pitcher for the Cal Poly Mustangs baseball team, was among five Cal Poly players this year to sign with a professional baseball team in this year’s 2013 draft. The San Francisco Giants shopped local this year, selecting Johnson as their third pick—making him the 101st pick overall. Standing 6-foot-3, the tall right-handed…
Pismo punts on Spanish Springs, again
After a fourth grueling public hearing on June 18, Pismo Beach decided again to wait on moving forward with the proposed 961-acre Spanish Springs housing development. The City Council considered a preliminary plan to allow development firm West Coast Housing Partners to build a mixed bag of 609 housing units, a 150-room hotel, a conference…
California may limit bobcat trapping
California last took tally of its bobcat population in 1981, when officials counted 74,000 cats. With the demand for bobcat pelts reportedly soaring in Asian markets, conservationists argue the state is flying blind in allowing trapping to continue at current levels without a clear idea of how many bobcats remain. On June 13, the state…
Drones and tanks, not houses
Camp Roberts, a military training base that covers 25,000 acres in northern SLO County, wants to get along better with its neighbors. Working with officials from the City of Paso Robles, SLO and Monterey counties, and various other agencies, the Department of Defense recently completed a study brimming with recommendations. The Camp Roberts Joint Land…
Burton is Paso’s new police chief
After a closed-session meeting of the Paso Robles City Council late Tuesday, longtime Paso police officer Robert Burton was officially selected as the city’s new chief of police. Burton, 47, has been the interim police chief since the resignation of former chief Lisa Solomon in March 2012. Burton worked his way up the chain of…
Poly grad has all the right stuff
When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced its first new class of astronauts in four years, most of the country took note that half of the best of the best are women—the highest percentage of female astronauts ever selected in one class. The announcement even came on the heels of the 30th anniversary of…
SLO special election: it’s Christianson for the win
The democratic process of a citywide mail-in ballot special election can never compete with the organized chaos of a regularly scheduled general election. Still, this New Times reporter expected some kind of exciting climax to yet another campaign season that sometimes reached that level of contention. But once I got to City Hall a little…
CLUBS – 6/20-6/27
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. June 14: Paisanos. June 21: Off the Griddle Band. June 28: Spoonfed Lightning. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and 133…
A note on Mother Nature’s hues
According to Mother Nature’s summer plan, the designated color for the arid North County is gold. But we see acres of green everywhere. Takes lots of blue water to turn gold into green. No one should be surprised when she packs up her lovely blue water and disappears. — Maria Lorca – Creston
Let’s make democracy happen!
I go to your Contents section and read “Letters to Editor” page 21. I go to that page and read “Letters” at top of page but there are NO letters on page 21. Letters reflect community thinking and are so important in a democracy.
Cinéma vérité?
I just finished reading Glen Starkey’s and Steve Miller’s excellent review of Stories We Tell (“Truth Out!” June 13) now showing at the Palm. I completely agree with Steve’s assessment of the footage being too good for the ’60s time period. Having grown up in that era, my uncle took many 8 millimeter films…
What is your breaking point?
Well the City of SLO utility customers apathetically wimped out again to challenge the City Council and Utility Department on their grandiose quest to over develop San Luis Obispo, and have us pay the highest water rates in the state, all for the privilege of ruining our own city. If the Nacimiento pipeline, the Romero…
What should be the 11th Commandment?
Janet Gray Neurofeedback Center therapist p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } “I think the 11th Commandment should be love and accept yourself. You can’t love anybody else if you can’t love yourself.” Bridget Lilis Cal Poly student p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {…
Bites
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The Dude returns!
The last time Jeff Bridges played SLO Brew, elbows were thrown as were stern glances and indignant glares … and those were just from the women protecting their real estate near the stage! I didn’t even attempt to get close enough to get a photo, but a couple gal pals told me their attempts to…
Take a hike
It’s early Thursday morning when I park my car at the foot of Bishop Peak. I drag a foot over the threshold of the driver’s side door and moan as my incredibly white, exposed shins soak in the first signs that it is going to be a really, really hot walk to the top of…
The PAC announces its new season
So, last week in Artifacts, I told you all about the SLO Little Theatre’s exciting new season. Well, this week, the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center released its season brochure as well, and you’ve got to hear about it. First of all, Lewis Black is back. With a smack. At the PAC. Try not to…
Tiny triumphs
Big Sur is one of those rare communities whose culture isn’t compromised by its size. In its musical lineup alone, Big Sur’s Henry Miller Library often dwarfs any venue in San Luis Obispo County, yet it exudes none of the expected snobbishness. After all, this is a place with really only one road (Highway 1),…
Will perform for a venue
After seven years and countless family-friendly musicals, Kelrik Productions has found itself without a home. The beloved local theater company, led by artistic director Erik Austin, had long been based at Unity of SLO, a trans-denominational church in San Luis Obispo. In early May, Unity’s board of directors opted to sell the 13,000 sq. ft.…
