Cover Story
The fin issue
The shark silenced the room. Hundreds of people had been talking, laughing, shouting, trying to spot the unmistakable predatory shape amid the other fish endlessly circling in the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Outer Bay exhibit. Children on class field trips pressed as close as they could to the transparent wall, yelping whenever one of the tank’s…
Oh, I’ll tell you where to put it
A woman eyed one of half a dozen poster-board displays perched in the Morro Bay Veteran’s Memorial Building. “I’m confused,” she told the man overseeing that particular station. “What do these pluses mean?” The man responded: “The pluses have no significance.” The woman was trying to make sense of a poster that outlined potential sites…
Pick your poison
If you don’t hear from me for some time, it’s because I’m considering going back to school. Sure, it’s been awhile. And yeah, I was never very good at it to begin with, even before I killed the vast majority of my brain cells by snorting the dust bunnies lurking behind my couch. But I’ve…
Ever After
Rivalries make everything fun. Take baseball, for example, or teenage “horror” films with fans divided between team emo boy and team sizzling abs. Whenever anything gets a little predictable—like, say, a monthly event that uses free wine to showcase established artists and sell heaps of inoffensive landscapes to wealthy professional types and tourists—all you’ve got…
CLUBS
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 Each Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30pm. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: 750 Mattie Road, Pismo Beach, 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music from 6-9 p.m. Mon. through Wed. by Tennessee Jimmy Harrell, and Fri. through Sun.…
Tablas Creek 2010 Patelin de Tablas Blanc
A new white Rhone blend from this outstanding winery, it’s mostly Grenache Blanc with Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne. It’s their first release that’s not entirely estate grown, but the grapes were grown in top vineyards in Paso Robles, all of which have had a long business relationship with Tablas Creek winemaker Neil Collins. Very pretty…
Tablas Creek 2008 Esprit de Beaucastel
This elegant red Rhone, a Mourvedre blend with Grenache, Syrah, and Counoise, was grown on the winery’s estate certified organic vineyards. Delightfully smooth and seamless, it tastes of plums, black cherry, briary blackberries, and smoky meat, all weaved with an impressive thread of tangy red cherry, minerals, white pepper, spice, and earth. It ends on…
Welcome to my world!
The popular Central Coast Wine Classic (CCWC) is here at last, much to the appreciation of its huge fan base. But those who haven’t attended should know this: It’s so much more than a wine festival because of CCWC Founder and Chairman Archie McLaren, a patron of the arts. A longtime resident and advocate of…
Time to rock!
I’m hearing a little Thin Lizzy vibe in the anthem-like hooky chorus, harmony vocals, and ripping guitar work on “Time to Rock,” the lead track on the new Society’s Child EP Alive Again. The short but potent five-song collection refuses to relent on “Going Crazy,” another clamoring rock nugget that features singer Austin Hart’s screaming…
What is the least offensive word/phrase?
Rosie Brebes “Honey.” William Brown-Schmitze’ fisherman “‘Why?’ It’s a proverbial question that you should always ask.” Jackye Clay unemployed “Have a great day.” David Liestman student “Love.”
Art After Dark
Anam-Cre’ Pottery Studio Student pottery sale. 570 Higuera St., suite 140 (SLO Creamery); 544-1850; anamcre.com. Art Central Group show, “Equus.”1329 Monterey St.; 788-0887; ArtCentralSlo.wordpress.com. ARTS Space Obispo “Henrietta Avenue” paintings and sculpture. 570 Higuera St., suite 165 (SLO Creamery); 544-9251; artsobispo.org. Bali Isle Boutique Hand-painted clothing and exotic jewelry. 670 Higuera St.…
Face painting
It all started with Steve Caparone, a former student who grew older and more experienced with the imbalances of existence,” David Settino Scott said of his newest endeavor, portraits of 44 of his male friends. “His was the first portrait that I did.” On July 1, David will attend the opening reception of his new…
The long shadow of the mouse
Even after all these years, veteran illustrator Frank Armitage finds it hard to let go of his decades of art training and start fresh. “Sometimes it takes a while to shake the other influences off,” said the Australian-born artist, who started working at Disney Studios in 1952. “But what I’m doing now is, instead of…
Chris McKinnie
NEW TIMES What is the Kennels of Springdale? MCKINNIE We are a pet resort, but we also provide training for people seeking it for their pets. We have 85 kennels, six play yards, and over half of our runs have radiant heating in the floors, which keeps the animals nice and warm, especially in…
End the war, not just the surge
It is indeed progress that U.S. troops are being moved out of Afghanistan; it is at a glacial pace. We have been there for nine years, the longest war in our history. There are now 250,000 foreign troops there, 100,000 U.S. troops, 50,000 NATO troops, and 100,000 Pentagon paid contractors. We must never again approach…
Support Glass-Steagall
The present world monetary system is totally bankrupt. Nothing—no amount of bailout—can save it in its present form. We have reached the breakpoint, and the whole system will crash very soon. U.S. state budgets’ expiration in early July will cause a default by the states and trigger a crisis that will crush the American people.…
Get this ‘inconvenient truth’
If someone wrote to your paper suggesting the shutdown of Hoover Dam, imagine the uproar. You’d call the men in white coats. Well, here is an “inconvenient truth”: Hoover Dam produces about 4 billion KWH annually, but Diablo Canyon produces about 18 billion KWH annually.
We need Diablo
After the catastrophe that hit Japan when an underwater mountain collapsed and caused a Richter 9 earthquake (that’s 1,000 times stronger than any quake that has ever happened in California) and a tsunami inundated the coast, the Henny Pennys came out in force with their usual attacks against Diablo. The only area in the U.S.…
If you can’t stand the heat, Hill …
Concerning COLAB. Supervisor Adam Hill should get on with running our county. But he won’t. Mr. Hill uses an old technique: “good guy-bad guy.” In this case, Supervisor Hill promotes himself as the good guy and Andy Caldwell the bad guy. But, of all those claiming COLAB is “racist,” none of them was there to…
Did I mention Adolf Hitler?
Regarding Yours, Anne, the Holocaust, and abortions: Ms. Lindsay (“Thank you for changing my view on life,” June 23) laments all those fetuses killed “because their lives were inconvenient to their mothers.” And that one of those fetuses might have found a cure for cancer. Really? A woman facing an unintentional or life-threatening pregnancy must…
Who’s the bigot?
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Patrick Mallon confirms his bigotry in his letter (“What difference does Frank’s sexuality make?” June 23) by calling Otis Page a bigot for his letter. (“Democrats—and the nation—are damaged,” June 16). Mallon is an apparent Democrat and homosexual sympathizer. He appears incensed because Otis referred to homosexual…
Respect our beach town this 4th
With 4th of July nearing, my mom’s words “we’re all tourists” come back to me. Since 1963, we had many years of fun with our “valley rat” summer friends. We were endearingly called “beach trash.” And to that subject, after 15 years of early morning and evening beach cleanups, the shine has come off the…
Hill and Gibson assault COLAB
As a relatively new public interest advocacy organization, the Coalition of Labor Agriculture and Business of San Luis Obispo County (COLAB SLO) appreciates New Times’ interest in our purpose and concerns. There have been two anonymous Shredder opinion pieces in the last few months related to COLAB activities and a news article, “How Now Brown…
Mom and Pop beachside brew shop
Handcrafted beers are rising to the top of pint glasses across the nation—and the Central Coast is no exception. Nowadays, it seems there’s a microbrewery in every town. Arroyo Grande’s Tim and Melissa Moscardi, however, brought something new to the local beer scene when they recently opened Pismo Beach Brewing Company. With a shop located…
Cougars & Mustangs
Summertime in SLO means different things to different people: summer school for ambitious students, beach time for slackers, vacations for the wealthy, and the usual grind for the common folk. Here at New Times, we’re a mixture of all the above. At Cal Poly, however, some students celebrated summertime by competing in a canoe race…
‘There’s nothing new or different here’
It was less than an hour after sunrise on a brisk and gloomy June morning, and a lone reporter with a skull heavy from a serious case of Monday morning delirium trudged sleepily down the desolate streets of San Luis Obispo, ultimately slumping into his chair in a dark, empty New Times office. The reason…
Grandson of a king
The red horse likes to play. He nudged a New Times reporter hard in the stomach on a recent afternoon, driving the man back into a small electric fence. The reporter received a mild shock and asked, “Clever aren’t you?” The red horse tried the trick again, but this reporter had wised up and stepped…
Correction
A listing for a Dave Mason concert in our June 23 calendar was incorrect. Mason’s June 25, 8 p.m., performance at Castoro Cellars was not part of the Lazy Locals concert series, nor was it free to attend.
Arroyo Grande budget taps reserves and employees
The Arroyo Grande City Council unanimously passed a budget for the next fiscal year at its June 28 meeting, bridging a $760,000 budget gap by tapping into reserves and demanding concessions from city employee unions. The city will use $350,000 of its reserves and $410,000 in employee concessions to deal with rising costs and flat…
Mission Community Bank to merge with Santa Lucia
On June 28, Mission Community Bancorp announced plans to acquire Santa Lucia Bank, which has been suffering from dismal capital levels and drew a federal regulatory order last December that required it to shore up its leaky financial ship. Mission Community Bank’s books are in good shape and were enhanced in 2009 by a $25…
Tour the castle untethered
For the first time in more than 50 years, tours at the famed Hearst Castle have undergone a complete revamp. Visitors can now roam some of the grounds by themselves. On June 27, driven by state budget cuts, the castle began offering new summer tours that include self-guided access to the grounds, unlike previous years…
Bear killed for eating chickens
A bear that had wandered into San Luis Obispo and killed chickens in a residential area was itself killed on the night of June 26. Under order from the California Department of Fish and Game, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services trapper euthanized a young, male black bear that had wandered from the hills outside…
SLO grand jury reports on Mulhall resignation
A lack of transparency and a murky settlement agreement with Atascadero’s former police chief led the San Luis Obispo County Civil grand jury to conclude that the city needs to revise its disclosure policy. The report, titled “What Was the Deal Between the City of Atascadero and the Former Chief of Police?” was released June…
Second appeal filed against Carrizo solar projects
Residents are appealing the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission’s decision to approve First Solar’s proposed 550-megawatt solar project in the Carrizo Plains. On April 14, planning commissioners accepted the company’s proposal to build a utility-grade solar facility in the area, which has hit opposition from people concerned with impacts to sensitive species in the…
Improper appointment costs Oceano big bucks
The Oceano Community Services District suffered yet another financial setback when a San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge tentatively awarded a former board member $74,441 in legal fees stemming from a 2010 lawsuit. The former board member, Pamela Dean, sued the district after she claimed Lori Angelo was illegally appointed to the board in…
