Cover Story
Paving paradise: Future construction may threaten Cal Poly’s agricultural land
Less than a mile from the buzzing activity at the center of Cal Poly’s campus, students Connor Riggan and Max Poswillo pick Valencia oranges in a quiet orchard. They move through the trees, plucking the ripe fruit under a near cloudless sky. Across the street, another student—Hannah Lenz—checks a 15-acre grove of lemon trees for…
Plans for Pismo beachfront hotel move forward
Plans to construct a large beachfront hotel in Pismo Beach will move forward, despite concerns from some residents. The Pismo Beach City Council voted 4-1 June 2 to uphold permits for the construction of the 128-room Beach Walk Resort, which will hug the beach close to the pier. The hotel will be located on two…
Tedeschi Trucks returns to Vina Robles
Last year’s Tedeschi Trucks Band show at Vina Robles Amphitheatre ranked among my favorites, filled with soulful blues, incredible guitars, blazing horns, and great vocals from Susan Tedeschi and opener Jackie Greene, who joined forces on stage near the end of the concert. This Friday, June 5, the band is back at Vina Robles Amphitheatre…
Clubs 6/4/15 – 6/11/15
Goin’ South 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 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 alternating…
Do you believe parents should be allowed to legally opt out of vaccinating their children against infectious diseases? Why or why not?
Janice Knopp educator “No, because I don’t think it’s fair to the people that are exposed to diseases or illnesses that could otherwise have been prevented.” Bridget Bogust teacher “Yes, only if their child has a health condition that presents a significant fact-based danger.” Kyla McIlwee health educator “Yes, but it should be done with…
SLOMA screens ‘Las Calles Hablan: Barcelona Street Art’
On the third Monday of every month, SLOMA holds a film night featuring independent movies that not everyone has heard of, but should. In this case, the film Las Calles Hablan: Barcelona Street Art will be showing this time around. Barcelona, like many cosmopolitan cities, has a rhythm and a natural beat that carries and…
Last chance to catch Dotty Hawthorne at Gallery at the Network
Dotty Hawthorne made a bold statement with her unique paintings of the Central Coast. After 10 years of contributing to the Gallery at the Network, as well as 25 years of painting the various landscapes of the Central Coast, Hawthorne is ready to move up to the different sights of Portland, Ore. Still, the artist…
Creatures of the night: Freaking out the normies at KCPR’s showing of ‘Rocky Horror’
It’s about 8:30 p.m. on May 28, and I’m slipping my key into the New Times office on Marsh Street. I’m dressed like Magenta of Rocky Horror Picture Show fame, which really means I’m dressed like an undead French maid en route to a rave: pallor face powder, thigh-high fishnet stockings, black pumps, red lipstick…
Flamenco to ignite Central Coast in June
Take your oversexed image of the “feisty flamenco woman” (the one with the red and black polka dot dress and clicking castanets) and swiftly sweep her into the dustbin. Jamie “La Gitane” is here to show you what all the mad foot stomping, wild chanting, and impassioned guitar thrumming is truly about. She’s here. She’s…
DC Comics Colorist Allen Passalaqua dreams in vivid color
If you’re a freelancer or a work-at-home type like Allen Passalaqua, you’re all too familiar with the Starbucks workspace setup. For those who toil away in cubicles or—God forbid—outside in the fresh air, let me enlighten you. A small, circular “desk,” is mostly covered by your laptop. Your mouse (or in Passalaqua’s case, a high…
SLO Food Bank Coalition’s Lovin’ Lunchbox summer program will help needy kids for sixth year
Let’s not mince words: Food is good. It’s great, magnificent one might say. For some, eating meals or munching on snacks is the highlight of their day. But for others, just finding out where their next meal is coming from is less magnificent, and more distressing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity…
Cougars & Mustangs
Despite their infamy for throwing wild, booze-infested parties that disturb the general peace, college students can also be found doing plenty of truly impressive things. This applies at every college, from the halls of Cuesta College to the shores of Cal Poly. Let’s see what the latter’s been up to, shall we? Oh, they just…
Bixby the dog and her owner thank SLO for the hospitality
You know Bixby. You’ve seen her black-and-white fur catching wind from the back of her owner’s bicycle as it zipped down Higuera. You’ve seen her wagging on the Kreuzberg Coffee patio, nudging a slobbery dog toy toward anyone interested in a good tug. Maybe you’ve even seen her at McCarthy’s Irish Pub, where the Border…
Bill to kill vaccine opt outs, SB 277, is in the California Assembly
Dr. Rene Bravo has practiced pediatrics in San Luis Obispo for close to three decades. He’s frank and thoughtful, and in possession of a cool detachment that experience can bring. Lately, he’s been witnessing one of the most polarizing trends in parenting history: the anti-vaccination movement. “We’ve become fairly complacent,” Bravo said, “because we have…
Compensation upped for SLO city manager, attorney
It was short, sweet, and rather routine. To cap off a long meeting that went late into the night of June 2, the SLO City Council voted 4-1 to award compensation increases to City Manager Katie Lichtig and City Attorney Christine Dietrick. The decision followed an annual process that assesses employee performance, lays out future…
Local group wants to save Arroyo Grande dog park
A small group of Arroyo Grande citizens is looking to keep the City Council from putting a local dog park to sleep. The group, led by resident Jan Scott, wants to form a nonprofit association to take over management and maintenance of the Elm Street off-leash dog park. The future of the park, which opened…
SLO County Supervisors to disclose meetings with special interest groups
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors recently revised the rules governing how supervisors disclose who they met with and what information they received before making a decision at a public hearing. The board voted unanimously June 2 to amend its Rules of Procedure. The requirement only applies to quasi-judicial hearings in which the…
Lanham takes over at New Times
New Times is proud to announce the addition of Camillia Lanham as editor of this paper. Lanham is a graduate of University Montana’s journalism program, and she’s worked as a journalist and editor locally since 2013, when she began reporting for New Times’ sister paper the Santa Maria Sun. In August she took over as…
SLO sheriff investigates allegations of abuse at LEAD boot camp
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office is investigating allegations of abuse at a boot camp run by two Southern California police departments and operating out of Camp San Luis Obispo. The investigation centers on instructors at the Leadership Empowerment and Discipline (LEAD) boot camp, a program run by the Huntington Park and South Gate…
SLO city bans Styrofoam
The San Luis Obispo City Council voted unanimously to ban the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) containers at a June 2 meeting. The ban applies to all disposable food and drink containers sold in the city, and will be implemented in stages, beginning in six months. City staff began looking into the ban in March…
The sprout whisperer: Say hello to an edible dreamscape with Avant-Gardner
Annette Pollock wields spades and shovels like some artists wield paintbrushes or chef knives. Surrounded by nine raised beds springing with rainbow chard, kale, lettuce, micro greens, fennel, lemon verbena, and plenty of buzzing bees, she unsheathes a small pair of shears from a holster slung around her waist. With a quick flick of the…
Libertine Pub’s Summer Breeze and Hearst Ranch Winery’s 2014 Rose
I waited quite a while to peel open the festive red wax top on my coveted bottle of Libertine Pub’s tart Summer Breeze. A visit from a new sour-loving friend—and her adorable pup—truly warranted a ceremonious, fun-loving brew packed full of personality. Pucker-worthy and fruity with plenty of raspberry kick, this wild, small-batch ale is…
Try now!
Southern love: Slow-cooked shredded pork, sweet potato hash, and a fried egg on top make for a delicious, salty sweet breakfast at Southern Station in Santa Margarita. Go really big and get the biscuit smothered in sausage gravy, too (22412 El Camino Real, Santa Margarita; the restaurant is now open for dinner from 5 to…
Learn by paving?
Cal Poly wasn’t always the best public university in the West. Long ago, it was just a dream of local journalist Myron Angel, who in 1894 gathered a group of SLO citizens in a hotel lobby and put forth the idea of a state school—something the town could be proud of. Yes, things were really…
President Armstrong, every king needs to lose a few pawns
Well, those greedy green-thumbs are at it again! They’ve gotten ahold of Cal Poly’s new master plan and, as usual, started pointing their soiled fingers toward the top of the food chain. When will these salt-of-the-earth types learn their place? Yes, they may be responsible for providing our fine country with food and fiber, but…
An open letter to avocado growers
Dear Avocado Companies, On Friday, May 29, 2015, at 10:15 a.m. I was driving eastbound on Highway 41 from Morro Bay, when a low flying helicopter flew overhead circling an avocado grove on the south side of the road near the avocado ranch. Needless to say, the helicopter began spraying liquid over the avocado grove…
CAPSLO offers tattoo removal to more than convicts
In last week’s New Times, there was a short article about a new tattoo removal practice (“Shrink that ink,” May 28). Although we always welcome new businesses into town, the article mentioned a community program offering removal of gang tattoos to former convicts that I didn’t feel told the whole story. CAPSLO’s Liberty Tattoo Removal…
Have a little humility
As the “Happiest Town in the World,” San Luis Obispo sure has more volcanic activity and turbulence than less happy towns. During the last few weeks, the city police chief was first put on administrative leave and later fired; the San Luis Obispo Symphony Board of Directors abruptly and unceremoniously fired the revered symphony conductor…
