Cover Story
The grand Tuesday shindig
We here at New Times have a fine tradition of printing two days after the unofficial election results are announced. And we have a healthy appetite for free food and booze. So, as in years past, we present to you a small sampling of the places-to-be on election night in San Luis Obispo County. …
Queen bee!
Looks like SLO Brew wants to go out with a bang this school year. How else do you explain a week with ’80s ska heroes The English Beat, ’80s punk icons Suicidal Tendencies, and rap diva Lil’ Kim all in one week? But let’s start at the beginning. On Thursday, June 7, the club is…
Dirty, filthy rock’n’roll!
I wasn’t there on Aug. 16, 1974, when the Ramones first played CBGBs, but I know what it probably felt like, because I am here, in the Z Club, on Friday, June 1, to see Han Solo’s Baby, American Dirt, and Magazine Dirty. I’m not saying one of these bands is the next Ramones, but…
Think E.T. in The Shawshank Redemption
A social tradition for thousands of years, theater is a surprisingly versatile medium. From Shakespeare to the Muppets, Broadway to Main Street, there are productions for all audience tastes. Unlike film, which allows for camera manipulation and computer-generated special effects, theater is live, raw, and unforgiving. Film has the privilege of cutting a scene and…
Paper oasis
Paso Robles collage artist Hope Kroll has a drawer in her studio dedicated to paper birds alighting on twigs. There are drawers for birds with their mouths open, another for birds with their mouths closed. There are drawers for beetles, heads, babies, veins, intestines, circles, and antiquated machinery. It’s all in there, carefully cut out…
Shuck yeah!
Opening an oyster is like trying to wiggle a key into a lock. Don’t apply pressure, and always go at a 45-degree angle until you see water bubble out of the other end. Scrape the knife along the top flat side of the shell to free it without cutting the oyster,” Neal Maloney, owner of…
Eat my (under) shorts
When you were a kid, did you ever find yourself the victim of a sticky, drool-covered neck? It’s probably because you were gnawing on a good, old-fashioned candy necklace. Well, edible underwear is exactly like a candy necklace, except it’s for your junk. Sorry to ruin your childhood. Chances are you’ve seen a pair of…
A modest proposal
A time comes in every Shredder’s life when s/he has to set childish dreams of yesteryear aside and think seriously about the future. Stop thinking about the world at large, about our rapidly diminishing resources, and start making money the good ol’ fashioned American way: setting aside conscience, tossing on a pair of blinders, and…
Questions For: Sander Daniels
NEW TIMES What, basically, did the thumbtack.com/Kauffman Foundation survey look at? DANIELS We asked small business owners nationwide about how friendly their state or region was towards small business. We asked them a variety of questions about what it’s like to do business—like how healthy their business is economically, how friendly the area’s professional licensing…
When will we learn?
It’s no wonder why people have so much disdain for government. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley; it seemed like every time a new section of asphalt was laid, two weeks later some worker came along with a jack hammer and dug a trench through it. They are considering doing a similar thing…
This Social Security time bomb will hurt
As a conservative Republican and Christian, and also a disabled middle-aged man, I am concerned about Social Security being cut under Mitt Romney’s plan to reduce the budget deficit. The percentage of disabled people in percentage is I believe a large number like 30 percent to 40 percent approximately or “guesstimation.” If we have earned…
Why get mad about marijuana, and not alcohol?
My neighbor just found out he has stage four cancer. How is he going to get through his treatments? The pills the doctors give don’t do squat. My wife found this out when she had cancer. Seventy-five percent of the population of this country wants access to medical marijuana if they need it. What is…
We need a change now, regardless of past good
Your May 17 article on the Morro Bay Aquarium (“The aquatic anachronism”) prompted me to see this tourist attraction for myself. I am dumbfounded by the support letters I have read to keep this place open and discourage criticism. That these sea lions and seals have lived in such small quarters for so long is…
New Times has never done a thing to help anyone
I happened to see the cover of New Times (“The aquatic anachronism,” May 17), stating that the Morro Bay Aquarium is the saddest aquarium on Earth. Well, in my humble opinion, New Times is the saddest publication on Earth. Dean and Bertha Tyler have, for decades, rescued, rehabilitated, and released hundreds of marine creatures, from…
These ‘elderly’ had plenty of time to plan
I am writing in response to your article in the May 24 edition regarding the Port San Luis Trailer Park, “Elderly residents face eviction in Port San Luis.” What a great headline! But hey, that is old news; the tenants were noticed about the closure back in 1984, and again over the years. The leases…
Don’t forget why we dropped those bombs
Regarding Glen Starkey’s B-17 article (“History lesson,” May 24). He leaves out the reason 640,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Germany—little things like the Holocaust (estimated 11 to 14 million dead by Germans), the invasion of most of the rest of Europe, and rockets into Great Britain. If we hadn’t dropped the bombs, Starkey…
On the books
Go to the library. That’s basically everything I set out to say to you today. It’s simple, really. Just go to the library. I don’t think I should have to make a case for why this is such a vitally important action for you to take, why an ongoing commitment to literacy, education, and access…
More details gleaned in voter card investigation
A conservative volunteer group has been linked to the recent investigation initiated by the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder over approximately 900 voter registration cards turned in late. According to Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald, an individual identifying himself as Brandon Torchia collected registration cards from the campuses of Cal Poly and Cuesta College. The cards were…
Pet healing
You’re frantically running around your house looking for your wedding ring. As you make eye contact with the family dog, you remember he has an issue with swallowing things that aren’t his. Fearing Fido will have to go under the scalpel, you get in your car and drive to Mission Animal Hospital. There, Veterinarian Dr.…
Cougars & Mustangs
OK, so there’s this event going on, but you probably wouldn’t be interested. I think it has something do with a whole bunch of people strutting their stuff on the educational catwalk, as they make their escape from all of this. But seriously, it’s a discredit to everyone still gasping for air and not yet…
Through the cracks?
A man who recently allegedly stabbed an elderly Arroyo Grande man while high on a mysterious “leafy” substance had been taken to a hospital for a mental health screening and released after another alleged attack on family members in April. Thomas Sandercock, Jr., 35, was arrested by Arroyo Grande officers on the morning of May…
Crime and treatment
Hold onto your butts, everybody: Sacramento passed sweeping legislation last year that’s actually working. Under the Criminal Justice Realignment Act (AB 109), felons convicted of non-violent, non-sexual, and non-serious offenses won’t be locked inside a sprawling compound where sophisticated criminals and hardened gang members roam the yard looking for fresh meat. Instead, they’ll be sentenced…
What a Guy
Wanna pat Guy Rathbun on the back? Step in line. The 40-year radio veteran and former program manager of National Public Radio local affiliate KCBX received recognition and praise for his lengthy career on June 5 at the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors Chambers. “He is very respectful and very well-informed,” Supervisor Frank…
Grover PD and sheriff make ‘big’ meth bust
A lot of methamphetamine is off San Luis Obispo County streets thanks to an interagency effort by local law enforcement. An investigation stemming from a simple traffic stop in Grover Beach led to the confiscation of more than a pound of meth and a stolen firearm, the discovery of a suspected meth lab, and four…
Hill, Arnold, Irons come out with wins
Local turnout sucked, some results seemed to surprise even the winners, and seemingly comfortable incumbents were unofficially turfed. Despite about 10,000 lingering uncounted absentee ballots, the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s office unofficially called the results of the June 5 primary just before midnight. Assuming the results hold firm, the big local winners of the…
What song always makes you happy?
Heather Aston student “‘Cherie Amor’ by Stevie Wonder; it’s full of love.” Cassandra Tarantino Cuesta College music teacher “‘Sir Duke’ by Stevie Wonder; I saw him in concert on my 16th birthday.” Michael O’Donnell writer “‘Stairway to Heaven’ by Led Zeppelin; I saw them in concert twice in the ’70s.” Bill Sverchek “‘With a Little…
