Cover Story
Into the drink
*Blip. Blip.* It was just before noon. Patrick Whaling was suddenly alerted to a dark shadow on the sonar screen before him—what he calls a “hit.” Whaling, the senior research technician for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), along with a handful of crewmembers and submersible vehicle pilots, sat in a dark control room…
SLO firefighter arrested
San Luis Obispo firefighter John Ryan Mason was arrested June 9 on suspicion of felony assault. Before the arrest, New Times reported police were investigating Mason, identified in the story as Ryan Mason, after a June 4 fight at Pappy McGregor’s in SLO sent 32-year-old Jory Daniel Brigham to the hospital. Police issued a news…
Eliminate departments that harm civil liberties
The purpose of a government is to provide three things: 1. Military—to provide a defense of that country from illegal invaders, and those who would harm the country. 2. Police protection—to protect individuals from criminals who would harm the citizens of that country. 3. A court system to adjudicate among individuals should disputes arise, especially…
Paso Roblans don’t think the city is functioning well
For some time now, many people in Paso Robles have sensed that there is something “not right” at City Hall. That there is something ailing in the functionality of the city. Over time (I have been here for 66 years), we have seen city government change from a public entity that provides reasonable services at…
Supervisor says to solve our own flooding problem
At the Board of Supervisors meeting on May 24, after a presentation and discussion of Oceano flooding issues, supervisor Patterson tells the Oceano residents that were present to solve the flooding problems themselves. This came after Paavo Ogren, of Public Works, gave a presentation on the Oceano community drainage and flooding issues. The lack of…
We’re frustrated with the Morro Bay council decision
Our City Council recently approved by a 3-2 vote the two-story, 23-unit Morro Mist project at North Main/Bonita Streets. This project received six exceptions to the city’s subdivision requirements: from 50 percent commercial requirement (MCR/R-4 mixed commercial/residential) to 100 percent residential; interior yard setbacks; lot coverage; lot size; reduced private and community open space; and…
Beware Italians who love their hometowns!
Regarding “Authentic Italian—Central Coast grown!” June 2): “Bari … capital of Puglia, Italy, is the country’s largest city after Naples.” I must inform you, dear Kathy Marcks Hardesty, that you have been the victim of a monumental snow job. Naples, population 1,061,583, is, in fact, by a rough two thirds of a million souls, larger…
Thanks, ‘Gang of Three’
Referring to the New Times article “SLO buys $6,500 in iPods for art juries” (May 26), which says employees call councilmembers Dan Carpenter, Andrew Carter, and Kathy Smith “The Gang of Three”: These are probably the same employees who are rude, unhelpful, and complacent in their jobs and tell residents “That’s not my job” when…
Why is the sky blue?
Indiana Coetzee preschooler “Because they picked that color.” Bryanna MacDonald barista “The curvature of the Earth and the way the light hits the atmosphere.” Sydney Culp first grader “Because the air is blue.” Michael Murphey student “The sky is blue because gas molecules in the atmosphere scatter light in the blue wavelength. This also has…
Safety is paramount
As a public affairs officer with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I read with great interest a commentary in the San Luis Obispo Tribune by Jane Swanson of the organization Mothers for Peace (“NRC has long path to earn trust,” May 19), which challenges assurances from the commission about nuclear power-plant safety following events at…
Rafael Cuadras
NEW TIMES: How was your Rally for World Peace? CUADRAS: It was supposed to be on June 4, but it didn’t take place because of the weather. We are postponing it to a date further down the road. It will probably be in August. NEW TIMES: Who are you and what inspired you to…
Sweet vindication!
So I was beating up this puppy the other day. You know, really wailing on it. I’m pretty sure it was crying. I mean, it looked like it was in pain even though I’ve heard puppies can’t cry. This one was definitely crying. Then this guy, this real self-righteous jerk of a guy, comes plodding…
Old World gardening
David Daniel is probably one of he happiest men you’ll ever meet. If not, he’ll at least whistle while he weeds your garden. He’s been landscaping in this county on and off for years, but he finally quit his traveling addiction and decided to put down roots in SLO. He officially launched David J. Daniel…
Cougars and Mustangs
Congratulations, class of 2011! Enjoy your well-earned champagne celebrations before you say goodbye to college life and hello to the real world. Though the prospect of trading in your flip-flop lifestyle for a wingtip way of life may be a bit intimidating, New Times has some news to help ease the skepticism of the unknown.…
No ride
Dumb bastards,” the old man said as he sat down. The man, tall but bent low by his years, rarely has the strength to leave his house. He hadn’t wanted to leave home that June 1 afternoon, but he felt he had to. He had something to say and he wanted someone to listen. As…
So … what’s the plan?
On June 7, local business people strode in a cavalcade, one by one, to tell San Luis Obispo County supervisors how wonderful the Economic Strategy is and how much they’ve learned through a collaborative effort. A parade comprised of the project leaders from the Economic Vitality Corporation (EVC) and various other business leaders praised the…
Clarification
The June 2 story “RTA saves services without bailout” needs clarification. While the RTA did refinance a loan to pay for its San Luis Obispo facility, the agency still plans to cut services.
SLO gives church a reprieve on its earthquake retrofit deadline
The San Luis Obispo City Council voted to grant the Springfield Baptist Church on Broad Street a four-year extension to meet city seismic retrofit regulations. The council voted 3-2 to extend the reprieve until 2015. Councilmembers John Ashbaugh and Dan Carpenter voted against the amnesty because they said they couldn’t in good conscience allow a…
Chinatown development stalls
San Luis Obispo City Council members gave the Chinatown project developers a big break. At its June 7 meeting, the council unanimously voted to give Jim and Tom Copeland, the developers, a six-month suspension of the payment terms of the contract. The Copelands were due to make a payment of $173,500 on July 2 to…
NRC delays Diablo relicensing
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced June 7 that it will significantly delay Pacific Gas & Electric’s application to renew the operating license for Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. According to an NRC press release, the federal regulator will delay PG&E’s relicensing application until 2015, when 3D seismic studies of the area are completed, and coastal…
SLO firefighter investigated after bar brawl
A San Luis Obispo Fire Department engineer is under investigation after a late-night bar brawl that put another man in the hospital. Police responded to a report of an altercation just before midnight on June 4 at Pappy McGregor’s Pub and Grill on Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo. Though official details are slim, what…
Jury declares Wallace has a conflict of interest
The San Luis Obispo County grand jury has concluded John Wallace, district administrator and engineer of the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District, has a conflict of interest. img5078 In a 46-page report issued June 2, the jury found that district board members have long ignored the conflict Wallace has due to his service…
Roll out the barrel …
I’ve attended this great passport weekend event since I relocated here in early 1996, and I still look forward to it 15 years later. During the early years, I always toured Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley wine country with a really fun group of wine industry women and men. One woman’s father, our designated…
Chateau de Abalone 2010 Grenache Blanc Hall Vineyard
When it comes to white wines, winemaker Stillman Brown (better known for his Red Zeppelin and Stillman wine labels) has a natural flair. And yet he doesn’t make them often, nor does he stick with them. But this vintage, he got his hands on some remarkable Paso Robles-grown Grenache Blanc and worked his magic on…
DiFronzo 2008 Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley
I loved this winner of a gold medal from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, a tasty Pinot Noir that’s so characteristic of the region where it’s grown. Tasting it on several occasions, I found it consistently outstanding. It offers ripe plum, black cherry, blackberries, and mineral aromas and flavors, ending with lingering fruit and…
Nice pair of lungs!
If you google “sise,” then hit the image link, and then your boss walks in your office and looks at your computer screen, you’ll no doubt be accused of surfing for porn. It turns out sise is Croatian slang for boobs, bazooms, knockers, ta-tas. “Now wait a minute, chief. I was trying to look up…
Blast from the past: Drive Angry
Normally it is the policy of “Blast From the Past” to wait at least a few years to make sure a movie really has fallen into the realms of semi-obscurity. Yet with Drive Angry, this seems unnecessary. Here is a film that was so completely unloved, so resolutely ignored, that it may as well have…
Summer’s here!
Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano in March or retirees returning to Florida in October or baseball groupies returning to spring training in February (He hits! She runs! He scores!), we mark the beginning of summer not by the summer solstice (June 21, 5:16 p.m., in case you were wondering) but by the…
Semi-automatic writing
During the month of June, the SLOMA (that’s the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art—formerly the Art Center) is offering an art class that’s a bit off the beaten path. It’s billed as a drop-in course in “automatic” writing and painting, but its instructor, Cambria native Jacque Brackett, insists it has nothing to do with…
Happily stuck
When I meet up with Josephine Crawford at Linnaea’s Café, it’s the first day of her new show in the space. It’s also Memorial Day, a curious coincidence for an exhibit featuring an entire wall that, in Crawford’s edgy-kitsch style, condemns war and all its trappings. This snippet of chance, it turns out, has left…
Dreamer of dreams
Don’t let Arthur Tress into your house unless you want your inner psyche turned inside out like a soiled sock: pretensions in, secrets out. “I’m a little scary,” the photographer gleefully admits at our interview. Since childhood, Tress says, he’s had a knack for knowing things about people that they don’t find out about themselves…
