Cover Story
Going coastal
When former SLO County supervisor Katcho Achadjian stepped away from his long-held position with the board after being elected to the state Assembly, he not only left a vacancy with the county, he also resigned from his regional post on the California Coastal Commission, the powerful state regulatory agency tasked with preserving the aesthetically exquisite…
Be the projector
“You’ve never seen Contempt?” Michael Barton Miller asks, scandalized. He pulls his eyes away from his sketchbooks to regard me through red-framed glasses. The Jean-Luc Godard film—starring Brigitte Bardot in a dark wig and shot in delirious Technicolor—is one of several to leave a mark on the Los Osos artist’s current show, “Super 8mm.” On…
What’s causing stress in your life?
Anthony Liberatore restaurant busser “Dude, a dying world. It’s an annoyance—like the world could be a better place if it wasn’t selfish and rotten.” David Copado p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } “Having money for school, because it’s so expensive and my…
Chamisal Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir Califa Edna Valley
This delicious wine, so layered in flavors, drinks impressively from start to finish. Winemaker Fintan du Fresne chooses the finest selections from the vineyards each year to create this elegant wine. “Every year the final blend of Califa varies depending on whichever clones have performed best that vintage,” du Fresne explained. “In 2008, it was…
Bogle 2009 Chardonnay California
Consistency is the mark of a good producer. But it’s even more difficult to find from a value-priced brand, that’s why I always appreciate Bogle. This pretty white offers tangy apple, ripe pear, and honey tones with nuances of tropical flavors. It’s full-bodied and fruity with enough notes of spicy American oak to make it…
Go wild!
Count me among the loudest complainers when it comes to Mexican cuisine in SLO County. Most of the restaurants are cheap, and that’s the problem: so is the food. You’re served bland rice, vapid beans that provide only gas, and leathery meats, but that’s typical of many Mexican restaurants, not just here. That’s why I…
Clubs
Goin’ South … COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. ELMO’S NIPOMO SALOON: 131 South Thompson Road, Nipomo, 929-5362. Karaoke on Thurs. and Fri. at 8pm. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: 750 Mattie Road, Pismo Beach, 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music every Fri.-Sat., 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell, Doc Stoltey. GATHER WINE…
Put yourself in a firefighter’s shoes
As the wife of a firefighter, I can no longer sit silently and listen to the public and the media trash my husband’s profession. These public servants work 24-hour shifts and sometimes are away from their family for 48 hours, 96 hours, and even two weeks at a time. They may work Christmas, Thanksgiving, and…
We’ve survived recessions because we’re not stupid
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Union demonstrators: This is not a democracy
One wonders when the Wisconsin Public Employee Union and its supporters clamor for “Power to the People” and “Democracy Now!” if these people are unaware that America is not a democracy, but a republic. Do they know that the word “democracy” is not mentioned anywhere in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, or that…
Your sewer costs were on the high side
I read with interest your article “Royal flush” (Feb. 24) on the Los Osos sewer mess. You seem to have gotten most of your impressions from the bankruptcy duo of Jeff Edwards and Julie Tacker: Jeff, having to file personal bankruptcy, and Julie, one of the five LOCSD directors causing the LOCSD bankruptcy. Your “30…
The United States should be pushing for freedom
Vicki Fox beseeches us to support Israel at all costs (“The United States must help bring peace to Israel,” March 3). Well, the United States has a moral calling to condemn the continued theft of Palestinian land and construction of Jewish-only settlements on that land. As two former Israeli prime ministers (Ehud Olmert and Ehud…
I was also confused
Compliments on Shredder (“No—just, no,” March 3). I share his confusion over COLAB, Caldwell, and Brown. I particularly liked his comment: “a white man will paint his face black so he can poke fun of a black Democrat in front of a roomful of drunk, privileged, white Republicans who paid $115 to be there.” This…
Your column was cosmically wrong
Shredder, I’m a fan, but you are way off the mark with this COLAB hit piece (“No—just no,” March 3). Steve Bridges imitated Bush in all of his foolish splendor at the annual COLAB Buellton event a number of years ago, and all us allegedly privileged white folks laughed our asses off at the expense…
Bring back the saber-tooth tigers, too
I like Edward Murray’s tongue-in-cheek idea of reintroducing grizzly bears to our area (“Why is Oprah so anti-grizzly?” March 3). It’s actually a dumb idea, but the environmental community and federal biologists are engaging in other similar stupid ideas. So why not this one? Take for example, the effort to relocate sea otters to San…
Learn from Mike Brown
Do San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill and the Shredder owe the more than 1,500 members of COLAB here on the Central Coast an apology? We believe so. What prompted the recent attacks on this organization (“No—just, no,” March 3), whose primary mission is to serve as a government watchdog? It could have something…
Anne Smith
NEW TIMES Who is your customer base for computer instruction? SMITH I typically teach seniors throughout San Luis Obispo County the basics of managing and using a personal computer; however, I also teach anyone who is in need of instruction on how to operate and get the most out of their PC. NEW TIMES What…
The pot and the kettle
First, let me get this out of the way. Last week, I went to town on the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture, and Business (COLAB) in Santa Barbara County for hiring the white Steve Bridges—a frequent presidential impersonator—to do a President Barack Obama act at the group’s big upcoming member partay. People agreed with me. People…
Holy Baja dog, Batman!
When Stan Van Beurden discovered that the lease on a seaside restaurant was ready to expire, he saw an opportunity that was too good to pass up. It was the first place on Morro Bay’s harbor to come up for lease in ages. “I bid on it thinking I could do a light re-model and…
The mold on the wall
For something so many people do—namely, rent a home—not many people know what to do when the situation goes bad. In fact, in some ways, the tenuous tenant-landlord relationship is barely held together by a patchwork of enforcement agencies, connected mainly through the fact that they can refer a displaced tenant to another organization. “In…
Market decline
The developer of a controversial proposed grocery market project in Arroyo Grande unexpectedly withdrew his proposal at the March 8 City Council meeting, apparently bowing to overwhelming public opposition. “It was never my intent in this process to create something that wasn’t beneficial to the community,” said Nick Tompkins, the would-be developer of 4.47 acres…
Government reps worry about nuke waste
In a rare bipartisan effort, members of the state Legislature requested that a commission tasked with reviewing policies for managing nuclear waste make a stop in California. California Sen. Sam Blakeslee, a Republican; Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, also a Republican; and Congresswoman Lois Capps, a Democrat, sent letters to the federal Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s…
Corrections
In the March 3 lead arts story (“The voice of one crying in the desert”), the last name of a Burning Man luminary was misspelled. The correct spelling is Rinaldi. The same article cited an incorrect year as Steven T. Jones’ first at Burning Man. The correct year is 2001, though Jones began reporting on…
SLO County weighs in on SmartMeters
San Luis Obispo County is officially throwing its voice into the SmartMeter debate. On March 8, county supervisors voted to send a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission asking state officials to halt Pacifc Gas & Electric from installing the controversial devices until the Legislature has acted on Assembly Bill 37. The bill, proposed…
Los Osos gets big bucks
Los Osos just got $86.2 million richer—or in debt, depending on how you look at it. On March 1, the state Water Resources Control Board awarded San Luis Obispo County $86.2 million for the Los Osos sewer project. The money, which will come in the form of a 30-year 2.6 percent loan from the State…
Medical marijuana discussion returns to Morro Bay
The issue of how Morro Bay would permit and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits returned to the City Council. On March 8, the council was presented with a 12-page draft ordinance to decide how many dispensaries could operate, and where. The draft ordinance also defined a list of operating requirements and screening applications…
Downtown SLO’s beautification project is $258,000 over budget
Making three blocks of downtown San Luis Obispo pretty is getting expensive. The lowest bidder for a downtown beautification project budgeted by the SLO City Council for $640,000 came in at $898,009, according to a city staff report. The $258,009 overspend, the report claims, was caused by City Council requests for some pricey options like…
Garden Street Terraces shrinks
The plans for Garden Street Terraces, a retail-residential development slated to be built in downtown San Luis Obispo, have shrunk. Acquiescing to requests by city officials and residents, and perhaps bowing to economic conditions, the development will be much smaller than originally planned. According to city staff, the project, which will occupy an entire block…
Film festival honors Greg Kinnear
On March 8, it was finalized: Actor Greg Kinnear, known for roles in Little Miss Sunshine and As Good As It Gets, will accept the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival’s annual King Vidor Award. Festival staff—and attendees—were more than a little concerned when the week of the festival arrived with no word on who…
String ’em up!
The Red Barn Community Music Series has certainly had its fair share of awesome concerts over the years, but for Wednesday, March 16, it’s really outdone itself. The Byron Berline Band is coming to St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church (2220 Snowy Egret Lane, Los Osos) with The Cache Valley Drifters opening at 7 p.m. (Potluck at…
Get ’em while they’re hot!
As of March 18, the saggy economy is no longer an excuse to not purchase rad local art. That’s when Jeff Claassen’s shamelessly named “$100 and under show” kicks off. It’s a collaboration of 15 artists and counting who will sell their work for, well, $100 and under. The show starts with a party that…
Clean out your closet
I’ve lived in this art conscious county for almost three years now. I’ve taken art classes at its community college, and have even written artsy articles for the art-heavy alternative weekly, but I’ll be damned if I ever went to Art After Dark before last Friday. Maybe that says something about me. Maybe it says…
The many shades of white
A plastic bag is a thing of beauty and elegance—at least in the hands of artists Melinda Forbes, Jennifer Blue, and Peg Eckert, the women behind the SLO Museum of Art’s “White Gowns” show, a monochromatic exhibition of repurposed materials. Plastic is paired with pearls, and pistachio shells accent vintage silk. The disposable is married…
Local tagger awarded for beautifying SLO
On the morning of March 4, San Luis Art Supply owner Neal Breton sat shoulder to shoulder with fellow San Luis Obispo downtown business owners at the Downtown Association’s annual Beautification Awards ceremony. He was there to receive an award—which honors businesses that have enhanced the downtown area—on behalf of his Marsh Street shop, which…
