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Go green!
If making music is a subversive act, then Rebelution is, as their name suggests, both revolutionary and rebellious. Check out these lyrics from “Feeling Alright”: See, we can still sit in a distant haze and watch rain clouds pour thoughts of greatness and help our troubles sail far away/Well, it’s a struggle—every day we’re stressing,…
And the King Vidor Award goes to …
So it’s 6:35ish on Saturday, March 10, and I’m walking into the Fremont Theatre in downtown San Luis Obispo, where the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival will present the Independent Spirit Awards to the festival’s finest selections, and the King Vidor Award to actor John Hawkes. I hope I’m not late! I take a…
Unexpected beauty
In the late ’90s, aspiring fashion photographer Courtney Bent began teaching a workshop in photography at a center for people with significant disabilities in Watertown, Mass. Using cameras adapted to fit her students’ unique physical needs, Bent’s workshop was designed to provide a new avenue of expression to a group of people who often found…
The other Georgians
Tbilisi’s cultural ambassador is a teenaged girl named Salome. A talented pianist, Salome Jordania began her serious musical education in 2003, at the age of 7. The following year, she placed first in the Georgian National Piano Competition. Thus began, from the looks of her impressive bio, a life of concerts, festivals, awards, and tours…
Noble savages
The artists of the Young Savages Collective aren’t necessarily young. Or savage. Or a collective. But that’s what happens when you try to put labels on an amorphous presence, one that shrinks away from every attempt at definition. Allow me to start over on a less mysterious note. Neal Breton, New Times illustrator and perennial…
Clubs: 3/14
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. 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…
T.M.I.
There’s nothing I like better than an unhealthy relationship. That ex-girlfriend who tried to burn down the house after I chose lemon meringue pie over our love? She’s the first person I call when I’m stumbling home drunk from McCarthy’s. Or, for that matter, the lemon meringue pie that goes straight to my corpulent thighs?…
Questions For: Lionel Johnson
Ed. note: There’s a One Cool Earth tree giveaway Monday, March 18, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Baywood Farmers’ Market on 3rd St. Where do you get the trees to give away? We grow them. We grow them in Morro Bay High School, in the nursery there … and the Future Farmers kids water…
SLO County, don’t mess with Pirate’s Cove
I have been jogging at Pirates Cove for four decades. I do not like the proposed “improvements” (“County takes Pirate’s Cove,” Feb. 28). I stop there on my way to meetings—making them more tolerable. It is neat looking at the rock strata, with each inch equal to 1,000 years, putting humans in perspective. As a…
Thanks for all the help after the accident
My husband, daughter, and I were in a car accident on Sunday, March 3, at 12:30 in the afternoon on Hwy. 41 near Morro Bay. I would like to articulate my heartfelt and sincere gratitude to all who helped us. First, I would like to thank the EMTs who assessed us and made sure that…
Morro Bay can do better than this ‘aquarium’
I visited the “aquarium” with a few friends last month. After all, the aquarium webpage gives it glowing reviews and it sounds like such a wonderful place. To begin with, we forked over our $2 donation each, and we didn’t get a receipt for our donation. How are we supposed to claim it on our…
Bites: The hunt is on!
There are many moments of culinary significance in a person’s life: birthdays, the first crack of burnt sugar resting atop delicately flavored custard, that first bite of your first crème brulee, your first BLT, any meal after a good workout. But few of these moments can match the annual flood of bunny-shaped chocolates and eggs…
It might be time to say ‘Enough!’
According to an ongoing tally kept by Slate, 2,453 Americans have died in a steady, unceasing hail of gunfire since the Newtown shooting last Dec. 14. You likely recall exactly where you were when you heard about the 20 schoolchildren, ages 5 and 6, who were cut down in that massacre. Six teachers also met…
The dreams of our children
I remember my first-grade teacher asked all her students what they wanted to be when they “grew up.” Some would say, “I want to be a firefighter!” Another would say, “I want to be a doctor!” And then the teacher would ask, “Why do you want to become a firefighter, Max?” “Because I want to…
Sinor LaVallee 2010 Pinot Noir Talley Rincon Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley
The talented Mike Sinor is one of the few elite winemakers who can buy Talley grapes—and with good reason. He makes this outstanding Pinot Noir consistently, year after year. While I like all Sinor LaVallee Pinots, each one is unique, and I find this one the most versatile for pairing with food. It’s layered with…
Talley 2011 Riesling
Talley is renowned for its premium quality Chardonnays and I love them, but I have always been fond of their pretty Riesling as well. It’s fruity and sweet, yet nicely balanced by tart citrus notes. It boasts a beautifully balanced array of stone fruits, sweet orange, and floral notes. It’s the perfect foil for Asian…
Get the red carpet treatment in Pismo
Meeting David Addamo at his cozy new Pismo Beach tasting room, my first question for the winemaker and entrepreneur was: Why did you choose the name Red Carpet Winery? He replied: “In Hollywood, they roll out the red carpet for the best of the best. When it comes to wine with your dinner, I want…
Where is your favorite place to enjoy a sunny day and why?
Joel Schneider Solstice Sunglass Boutique “I go to Sinsheimer Park and play disc golf. I love to bring my dog out and we have a great time.” Krista Barrette Sunglass Hut “I would say Avila Beach because it’s the warmest beach around here.” Cole Garrett Jamba Juice “I’d say Montaña de Oro out in Los…
Cougars & Mustangs
We live in a society at war with its own ideology. It is a society that ingested the mindset of the Romantic Period like a radioactive pebble to gain super powers, and though it was successful in that endeavor, it now has no idea what to do about the residential areas it keeps lighting on…
The gun conundrum
America has seen entirely too many deranged gunmen rampage through public places—often schools—leaving bodies, traumatized witnesses, and shattered families in their wake. But there was something different about the slaughter in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. The children were so young, so undeniably innocent, that people seem to have finally had enough. In a country…
Farm fresh
Community supported agriculture is a way to get farm-fresh produce while sharing in the benefits and risks of a small farm. Participants pay in advance to buy in-season vegetables available for pickup on a weekly basis. Bee Wench Farm is a CSA that just set up shop at a new location east of Paso Robles,…
Clarification
Nancy Ortega—the wedding planner with Fabulous Weddings quoted in the Feb. 14 Brides article “Party animals”—plans all kinds of weddings, including those that feature pets.
Cockfighting raid nets 233 birds
Responding to reports of an alleged cockfighting ring in the area, San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers served a search warrant at a rural property on Orchard Road in Nipomo on March 8. They reported finding 233 roosters in cages. According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department, evidence collected…
Panga crashes near Vandenberg AFB
A boat carrying at least $1 million worth of marijuana that washed up on Wall Beach near Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 7 is a panga, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed on March 8. Dave Wales, the ICE agent in charge of the investigation, said the contraband marijuana weighed in at approximately…
Local photography icon passes away
Atascadero’s centennial celebration was set to coincide with the 100th birthday of its most famous resident, but legendary photographer Joe Schwartz couldn’t make the date. Schwartz died early the morning of March 13 at the age of 99. Atascadero officials announced Schwartz’s passing; he was the subject of several city ceremonies honoring the legend in…
SLO City to pay attorney fees after all
The San Luis Obispo City Council majority has agreed to pony up $133,880 for a pair of local litigators who represented nearly 100 homeless people charged with sleeping in their vehicles. In closed session on March 5, the council voted 3-1—with Councilman Dan Carpenter dissenting—to not appeal an award by a Superior Court judge and…
Katcho breaks with GOP on Medi-Cal expansion
The 2010 Affordable Care Act requires states to expand public health-care coverage for low-income residents, but state Republicans opposed measures on March 7 to add approximately 1.2 million Californians to the Medi-Cal rolls. Between both houses, only Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (R-SLO) crossed party lines to support the expansion, which would make state health care available…
Cambria plan frees up water
A declared fresh water shortage put a stop to building in Cambria 12 years ago, but the community expects to finally allow some new development by scrimping on consumption. According to a conservation plan adopted by the Cambria Community Services District on Feb. 28, it will cost an estimated $300,000 per year to conserve enough…
Morro Bay seeks a ‘reclamation facility’ consultant
The Morro Bay-Cayucos Sanitation District joint project for a new wastewater treatment plant has turned over a new leaf. Morro Bay officials aren’t wasting any time in getting the ball rolling, voting on March 12 to find a new consultant and set specific benchmarks for 2013. In a unanimous vote, the council decided to solicit…
Wal-Mart court date approaches
Save Atascadero drew the ire of Wal-Mart supporters last fall when the group filed a lawsuit challenging the City Council’s approval of a big box superstore sited for Del Rio Road. After recent weeks of exchanging briefs, the citizens group and the city of Atascadero will argue their respective cases on March 19 in Paso…
CSU pushes Poly toward a semester schedule
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong announced March 11 that the school plans to abandon the quarter system and schedule its course offerings by semester, despite an in-house report published in December warning that the costs associated with conversion would outweigh any benefits and that 64.2 percent of students oppose the change. According to a letter…
Myers murder trial: Chilling, gruesome, heartbreaking
The trial stemming from the 2010 kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Dystiny Myers is officially under way, with prosecutors alleging that the defendants committed the crimes to protect their methamphetamine ring, and defense attorneys laying blame for the murder on co-defendants who already accepted plea deals. Despite efforts by the prosecution, testimony at times turned…
