Cover Story
Energy inspired: Lightning in a Bottle shines its transformational spirit all over Lake San Antonio
Take a tour of Lightning in a Bottle with Dylan Honea-Baumann, who captured that light with his camera. Her eyes are swollen. Makeup is dripping down her face. I can feel the depth of her ascension, the depth of her healing. The ambient sounds from the main stage and other festival reverberations fade into silence.…
Residents butt heads with church over sale of historic Camp Arroyo Grande
Friday, June 17, marked the final day of festivities for children attending Camp Tacanneko. It was the culmination of a week-long summer camp held each year by the local nonprofit organization Camp Fire Central Coast. For the last 50 years, Camp Fire’s invited more than 7,500 local children to engage in a traditional camp experience…
What was your initial reaction to the Orlando shooting?
Stephen McCune student/warehouse worker “I thought it was disgusting. The American government obviously didn’t take preventative action.” Taylor Aldridge retail manager “I just thought, ‘Here we go again.’ Because people with assault rifles can kill many people at a time, so whenever you hear that you know it’s gonna be bad.” Ed Ellingen and Zoe…
Fresh Foothill flaves
Booming: Foothill Boulevard is getting its due! Not only is Scout Coffee planning to open a second locale in the Foothill Shopping Plaza, but there’s a ton of other eats popping up, including Blaze Pizza, which offers up lickity-split pies. Other Foothill offerings: Is that the sound of clinking glasses I hear? Milestone Tavern is…
Paradigm Coffee’s Guatemalan and BarrelHouse Brewing Co.’s Key Lager
Terroir is everything at Paradigm Coffee, where quality beans are held as high as wine grape varieties (maybe even higher). Grown in the mountains of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, these very special coffee beans lead to a delicately sweet, versatile cup that shines with caramel, balanced acidity, and complexity. Plus, there’s absolutely zero bitter aftertaste … a…
Paradigm shift: Paradigm Coffee Co. transcends specialty Joe
Roastmaster Reid Patterson doesn’t always sleep in his own bed. Perched high on a secluded mountain off a steep dirt road on the south side of town, the 61-year-old house his family purchased in January off of Bridge Street feels like sacred ground; a relic of the beatnik generation. Creative ghosts howl through its sturdy…
Automated garden: FarmBot is the future of growing vegetables
The soft whirring sound that accompanies a robotic arm making its way around a raised garden bed is mesmerizing. When it gets to the exact spot it needs to be—say above the purple-orange head of a beet that’s not quite ready to be picked yet—a shower of water gently squirts out. Water beads down the…
Cougars & Mustangs
Did you hear? Cal Poly just cleaned house at a packaging design competition. But the crazy thing is, we aren’t just talking about a fantastic first place finish. No. Four separate teams from Cal Poly each entered the Institute of Packaging Professionals Ameristar Student Packaging Awards Competition, and respectively took first, second, third, and special…
Blocked: Shops, restaurants near Chinatown project experience drop in business
At one point, employees of EcoBambino wore noise-cancelling headphones to battle the clamoring of construction crews jack hammering and pounding at the Copeland Properties’ Chinatown project directly across the street. The natural children’s and baby product store on Monterey Street is one of several locally owned small businesses that’s taken a hit during the construction…
Carbajal, Fareed still lead congressional race for 24th District
While the excitement of the June 7 California primary has faded away, county election workers are still busy processing the final results. Those won’t be official until the end of the month, said San Luis Obispo County Clerk Recorder Tommy Gong. In the meantime, thousands of ballots still need to be counted before the results…
SLO County to explore oak ordinance
In a rare sign of unity among North County residents, agriculturalists, and the elected officials representing them, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to consider an ordinance that would restrict cutting and clearing of oaks or other native trees. The push is in response to widespread outrage following the clear-cutting of…
Paso Robles council approves River Oaks expansion
A 129-acre expansion of the River Oaks development in Paso Robles jumped over its final hurdle on June 21, with the Paso Robles City Council voting 4-0 to approve the project. River Oaks II will bring 271 single-family units to the city, adding on to the existing River Oaks neighborhoods north of Highway 46 and…
More legal woes for Petetit, PB Companies
Legal troubles continue to mount for a SLO Developer and his former company and business associates. A lawsuit filed in SLO County Superior Court June 15 names developer Ryan Petetit, his former business associates John Belsher and Russell Sheppel, and their former development companies as defendants, alleging charges of breach of contract and property damage…
No mo’ Diablo? PG&E to cease production of nuclear power at plant by 2025
SLO County residents woke up June 22 to the announcement that PG&E planned to phase out its production of nuclear power at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant by 2025. According to the company’s announcement, if all goes as planned, the controversial facility, which has sat perched over the ocean near Avila Beach since the…
Blast from the Past: A Face in the Crowd
Rated? Not rated | When? 1957. Watching Donald Trump’s rise to power seems like the perfect time to revisit A Face in the Crowd, director Elia Kazan’s stunning take on Budd Schulberg’s short story about the rise and fall of a demagogue. Andy Griffith—in a role about as far removed from his genial Sheriff Andy…
Poetic Justice Project presents ‘Time Will Tell’
Getting out of jail is supposed to be the easy part of doing time. Turns out that’s not always the case. How do you navigate the world after you’ve been locked up? Experience personal transformational journeys with actors Leonard Flippen, Jorge Manly Gil, Caroline Hitch, Frank Souza, Morry Talaugon, and Guillermo Willie in the Poetic…
Art Central in SLO seeks entries for upcoming show ‘Bug Me’
Are you the one who screams in terror when a spider is spotted crawling up the wall? Or perhaps you’re calm, cool, and collected as you scoop the crawly creature up and return it to the wilderness. Bugs—they’re a polarizing topic. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, odds are you have an opinion, and…
The 28th annual Live Oak Music Festival was dusty fun!
It’s Monday, June 20, and I’m standing in the shower watching rivulets of brown water circle down the drain—the remnants of the Live Oak Music Festival. I feel like if I cough, a puff of dust will come out of me. “Peace, love, and dirt” is the Live Oak motto, and the KCBX Public Radio…
Dreamt into life: SLO author Sarah Noffke on writing 12 fantasy novels in two years
Just because someone is madly typing away on their phone, don’t assume they’re sending an insipid text message instead of being present. San Luis Obispo based author Sarah Noffke knows she’s that crazy-looking lady typing away on her phone at the gym, but after publishing 12 young adult fantasy novels in the past two years,…
The bigger picture: Digital images at SLOMA capture an adapting Bangladesh
A swift click of the lens and a moment in time is forever immortalized. It tells a story, but telling the full story is a tall order for a single second, frozen in time. Recognizing that the real story is more complicated than that, photographers and husband-and-wife team Eric and Carrie Tomberlin decided to take…
Chicago brings their rock and horns hits to Vina Robles Amphitheatre on June 29th
Saturday in the Park,” “Colour My World,” “Feeling Stronger Every Year,” “Wishing Your Were Here,” “If You Leave Me Now,” “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” “You’re the Inspiration”—I could go on, but you get the idea. Chicago has been a hit machine since the ’60s. They’ve sold more than 100 million records, won a Grammy…
Clubs 6/23/16 – 6/30/16
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Rd. in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on…
Rube job
Diablo Canyon Power Plant towers like two massive breast implants above the shoreline, where it sits nestled along an inaccessible yet scenic coastal area between Avila Beach and Montaña de Oro. Operated by PG&E, the facility produces lots and lots of sexy nuclear power, employs nearly 1,500 people making an average annual salary of $157,000…
An obvious solution to gun violence
I’d like to thank Jim Mallon for his well written, common sense commentary regarding the ongoing gun control debate (“The real threat,” June 16). I also found myself agreeing with both Dan Dow’s comments reported in the Shredder as well as the Shredder’s proposed solution (“Guns for everybody”). I believe Dan Dow is correct in…
We need temporary workers
Donald Trump is so wrong about the need to wall out potential illegals from Mexico, or deport those already here (unless convicted of crimes). Camillia Lanham’s article “No Vacancy” (June 16) makes that abundantly clear. The problem isn’t that there are too many Mexicans in this country, it is that there are probably too few—especially…
New feminism is news
Thank you for publishing the inspiring article “New Feminism” by Rebecca Rose (June 9) showcasing the twists and turns of one woman’s tangled struggle to control how people comment on her hairstyle choices before, during, and after the quick cut. It certainly is a new feminism when women hope their partner’s go-to comment on aspects…
Be more considerate, letter writers
Many people published in New Times tend to denounce our freedom and get on us law-abiding citizens about the right to keep and bear arms. The California state Legislature is at it again trying to remove guns from law-abiding citizens. Also, a couple of months ago Robert C. Cuddy called Wayne Lapierre a demagogue and…
Guts are important
A couple of months back, New Times Editor Camillia Lanham wrote a column delineating the importance of journalism at the local level. I want to second her thoughts and suggest a few topics that local journalists could pursue, but haven’t. Most reporters have a list like this that sloshes around in their noggins. I’ve always…
