Cover Story
The vexing vaccine debate: Should parents be able to ‘opt out’ of immunizing their children?
A needle pokes through the protective film of a vaccine vial, while a hand simultaneously pulls up on the needle’s handle, sucking in an engineered cocktail that includes elements like gelatin, phosphate, chick embryo cell culture, and human lung fibroblasts. As that needle pushes through someone’s skin, it delivers a combination of substances designed to…
Are we still in a drought?
Nick Scudder courier “Yeah, I would definitely say we’re still in a drought. Just one storm doesn’t make it not a drought anymore.” Paige Gillespie nurse “We must not be in a drought because it’s raining today (laughs sarcastically).” Ruth Schooler retired “We probably are but every drop counts.” Oddly Defensive Fluffy White Cloud Cumulus…
Metalachi brings its metal and mariachi sounds to SLO Brew on March 12!
The horn, the strings, the sombreros—all the magic awaits on Thursday, March 12, when Metalachi returns to SLO Brew (8 p.m.; all ages; $12 presale or $13 at the door). The quintet of classically trained mariachi musician brothers now calls Hollywood home, but they purportedly hail from Juarez, Mexico, and they deliver a musical/comedy stage…
Clubs 3/12/15-3/19/15
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. CUVEE BISTRO AND CHAMPAGNE BAR: 550 1st St., Avila Beach, 595-2245. Live music Thurs. and Sat. 6-9pm. 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…
SLOMA screens Dada documentary, ‘Beatrice Wood: Mama of Dada’
In 1916, Beatrice Wood met two men who would change not only her life but also the world of art history. Those men were Henri-Pierre Roché and Marcel Duchamp, one of the founding figures of the Dada art movement. Her work and relationships with the artists of the Dada movement comprise the documentary Beatrice Wood:…
SLO Little Theatre stages Tom Stoppard’s ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll’
Aside from 1997, the year of Hanson’s “MMMBop,” there was probably no better time for music than the late ’60s. Then, you had The Beatles before Yoko, Sam Cooke before he died, and Jimi Hendrix before he died. It was an exciting, turbulent time that also forms the setting of Tom Stoppard’s Rock ’N’ Roll,…
The Bunker celebrates spring with an all-out shindig spectacular
It’s 7 p.m. on a Saturday night, and I’ve got a pocketful of cash. I’m headed to the Spring Art Spectacular party over at art space/place with a working bathroom, The Bunker. There will be candy there. Nothing can stop me. How did I get that cash, you may wonder? Did I rob a bank?…
‘The Yellow Birds’ author Kevin Powers to speak at Cuesta College
“The war tried to kill us in spring.” So begins Kevin Powers’ harrowing novel, The Yellow Birds. Published in 2012, the story chronicles the experiences of two young soldiers, 21-year-old John Bartle and 18-year-old Daniel “Murph” Murphy, as they navigate through boot camp and their eventual deployment to Iraq during the height of the most…
From cradle to grave: Stephen Jenkinson, subject of SLO Film Fest documentary feature ‘Griefwalker,’ discusses his philosophy of death
Stephen Jenkinson is on an unconventional mission. He’s out to change the public perception of grief and dying. Known by the moniker “The Angel of Death,” the soft-spoken Canadian works as a consultant to palliative care, which focuses on alleviating and soothing pain for the terminally ill. He helps guide people, and even whole communities,…
Barrel 27’s 2011 Hand Over Fist GSM and William James Cellar’s 2011 Chardonnay
Sometimes a girl just needs a good cheese plate. No, we’re not talking about “want” here. I often experience a real, heart-arresting need for cheese, people. Good thing Luis Wine Bar serves up a healthy-sized one (I shared mine with a friend, and we licked every ounce of Stormy’s IPA jelly off that sucker). To…
Wines of our lives
An impressive honor: Gary Eberle of Eberle Winery in Paso Robles just received a Wine Lifetime Achievement Award from the California State Fair in Sacramento. Go Gary! … Margarita Adventures in Santa Margarita just revealed “P.W. Murphy Mining Company,” a gold mining replica mining camp created by the folks at Daniels Woodland and TV show…
Sheep in the vineyard: Adelaida Cellars harnesses the power of the flock to grow greener wines
View a slideshow of the Sheep in the Vineyard program at work. I traveled to Adelaida Cellars in Westside Paso Robles with the mission of exploring and understanding Deborah Sowerby’s Sheep in the Vineyard program. What I found was a bit of a surprise. The sheep were far more interested in exploring and understanding me,…
Tackling addiction: Central Coast Freedom Center wants to help
For many people, coping is a hard thing to accomplish, and for some it comes in the form of addiction. Addiction is at its boiling point now more than ever; the death rates are exceptionally high this year, especially among teens. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) National Survey on…
Cougars & Mustangs
Were you aware that Cal Poly harbors more than 5,000 trees alone? It’s true. Of these 5,000, more than 300 of them are unique species. If these statistics aren’t already radiating a brotherly borealis of colors in the shape of an enormous self-congratulatory peace sign, then prepare to be impressed when informed that this lush,…
A Cal Poly senior develops the world’s first plantable coffee cup
Two years ago, Cal Poly senior Alex Henige was driving down the 101 toward his home in San Diego when he saw something distressing. “I was looking out my window, and I saw whole bunch of trash on the side of the freeway,” he told New Times over the phone. “I thought, ‘What if each…
Morro Bay considers long-overdue increases to water and sewer rates
The last time Morro Bay residents saw a bump in their water bills, a gallon of gas in California averaged $1.74, Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” topped the Billboard charts, and Full House had just gone off the air after eight seasons. After years of stagnant water rates, however, the city plans to cut it out. With…
Correction
The March 5 article “Pismo council backtracks on pot” misstated the nature of a local business. Hemp Zone in Pismo Beach is a head shop.
Renewable energy fast tracking program briskly moves forward
A county program that would fast track the permitting process for small-scale solar projects got the initial go ahead from the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors on March 10. The Renewable Energy Streamlining Program (RESP) is designed to simplify the approval process for distributed generation solar energy projects by creating a set of…
Safe and sane in the membrane: Morro Bay proposes increased fireworks fines
There will be fewer explosions in the sky this Fourth of July in Morro Bay, and penalties will be harsher for people who get caught blowing stuff up illegally. On a unanimous vote—minus Mayor Jamie Irons, who was absent—the City Council moved forward with a proposal to increase unlawful fireworks violation fines to about $1,000.…
Supervisor Frank Mecham won’t seek reelection
In a four-sentence statement released March 10, San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Frank Mecham announced that he won’t seek re-election in 2016. Mecham is currently serving his second four-year term representing the county’s 1st District, which includes Paso Robles, San Miguel, Shandon, the western part of Templeton, and the sprawling rural areas in between. He…
Andrea Hansen pleads to lesser charges stemming from a Pismo Beach arrest
A woman with epilepsy who was arrested on Oct. 11, 2014, in Pismo Beach has accepted a plea agreement to lesser charges. Andrea Hansen pleaded no contest to one charge of misdemeanor public intoxication, resulting in the dismissal of more serious charges for battery of a police officer and resisting arrest. Hansen received one year…
Ten injured in roof collapse at ‘St. Fratty’s Day’ bash
Raucous early-morning partying at several off-campus houses just south of Cal Poly on March 7 started with noise complaints and ended with a dramatic roof collapse that made national news and sent 10 injured revelers to local hospitals. In the wake of the roof collapse, university authorities and local leaders have promised thorough investigations and…
Timber!
If events continue to proceed as they have for the past year or so, I’m probably going to have to start donating to Cal Poly. Everyone knows funding for education is at the bottom of the government’s priority list—just below springing for drones to crash birthday and wedding parties in the Middle East and well…
Two thumbs up for two-wheeled art
Colin, I was so grateful to you for bringing this issue to the attention of the public (“Arts and crass,” Feb. 19). The box art in question is the very same one I drive by on my way to work every day, and I never get tired of it! I think it really captures some…
Bicycles are taking over!
Jan Marx, the mayor of SLO, shouts that Cal Poly partying is an “affront” to the city! Really? As a senior in my 70s, I’ll tell you what an affront is: It’s all the bike riders that have infiltrated most of the downtown area. Ergo, the real problem is not Cal Poly, it’s the “stupid…
Where did you dream up this rhetoric?
I feel as though I must comment on Richard Miller’s letter, “The Dreamers deserve better” (Feb. 26). First off, turn off MSNBC—you seem angry! You paint those you disagree with as “racists”: The GOP is “racist,” the do-nothing Congress is “racist,” the judge is “racist.” Why is that, I wonder? Is it because they don’t…
Opportunity seems to be slipping away
The online poll asked “How do we end homelessness?” and 30 percent responded that only the individual can pull themselves out of poverty (Feb. 26). Really! Tell that to some of the people out there on the street who have put in application after application with no job materializing. The 30 percent who gave that…
Care for the troops
Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were misguided exercises in haughty presumptions and ineptitude. The result was enormous destruction, fertile environments for terrorism, mass violence, and insurgency. The only beneficiary was the military-industrial complex. Beside deaths and bodily harm, the war caused severe psychological damage to service members in a variety of forms: post-traumatic stress disorder…
