Cover Story
Art v. Craft: Spring Arts Annual
While Art lounges in a fainting couch, twirling its monocle and sucking down a dry martini, Craft bumbles its way through Applebee’s wearing culottes and a fanny pack. Art only watches documentaries and foreign films. Craft is a big Will Ferrell fan. That’s what some people would have you believe, anyway. The truth about the…
Oceano GM fired, again
It’s become a tired refrain for the Oceano Community Services District: Another year, another general manager departure. On March 14, the OCSD Board of Directors unanimously fired Lonnie Curtis, the district’s eighth general manager since 2007. Curtis had served in the position for just more than five months. “We are a headless horseman right now,”…
The DA debate gets dirty
Facing off for what will be one of the most fiercely contested seats in San Luis Obispo County, district attorney hopefuls Dan Dow and Tim Covello traded verbal blows at a March 26 public forum. The San Luis Obispo Latino Outreach Council played host to the forum, which centered on topics ranging from the death…
Applicants withdraw their green waste composting facility proposal from county planning
In a March 25 email sent to San Luis Obispo County and New Times, Joe Boud, a consultant for a proposed green composting facility near San Luis Obispo off of Orcutt Road, announced that the applicants were withdrawing their application for the project. The announcement comes just two days before a promised showdown at the…
Moriarty gets third attorney
Al Moriarty, the former Grover Beach financier and alleged $22 million Ponzi-schemer, was back in court on March 19. Moriarty has been without a lawyer since his second attorney, Scott Whitenack, had to bow out of the case due to legal troubles of his own on Jan. 29. On March 19, SLO-based criminal defense attorney…
Oh, the smellses you’ll smell
Have I got an investment opportunity for you! It’s a pair of goggles that you wear around your nose to control the smells. Like Google Glass, but for your nostrils. I’m not really sure how it works, but I have a pair of sunglasses I found in the dumpster that I smudged with a discarded…
What is one thing you would never tell your romantic partner?
Chloe Janda shift manager at Jamba Juice “How eccentric my family is.” Carly Boerman marketing coordinator at San Luis Financial “All my anal-retentive quirks.” Annie Wald student “My parents’ negative opinion about them.” Alexander Fernandez student “Memories and stories of past relationships.”
Tribute act Cash’d Out returns to SLO Brew on March 21
I recently received a signed first edition of former L.A. Times rock critic Robert Hilburn’s new book Johnny Cash: The Life. Cash died in 2003, and he’s long been lauded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He had an amazing early career, then hit a lull in the mid-’80s (he…
Knock your socks off: SLO Little Theatre presents ‘Psychopathia Sexualis’
It may not have as many infinite spirals, bicycles, and corrupt kings as Alfred Jarry would have liked, but John Patrick Shanley’s Psychopathia Sexualis is still a fitting addition to the SLO Little Theatre’s “Ubu’s Other Shoe” reading series. Shanley is best known for his 2004 play Doubt: a Parable, which won a Tony Award…
SLO Town does St. Paddy’s Day!
I don’t speak Irish Celtic, but thanks to the Internet, I learned that Caochta (pronounced quake-tah) means “wasted.” I also discovered Céard is ainm duit (kayrd iss ann-im ditch) means “What’s your name?” and that “Tú ag iarraidh dul liom” (too egg eerie dull lum) means “Wanna go home with me?” Most importantly, I’ve learned…
The Central Coast Craftmakers unravel the mysteries of the bound object at SLOMA’s
We’re walking back to New Times’ offices from SLOMA after visiting the exhibit “To Have or Have Knot” when staff photographer Henry Bruington turns to me, completely straight-faced, and says: “A little piece of string walks into a bar and orders a drink.” I think you can see where this is going. “The bartender takes…
Clubs 3/20/14
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…
Ember catches fire
There’s no doubt that San Luis Obispo has its fair share of yummy local dining, with generally pleasing atmospheres and hearty menus. But one new restaurant in Arroyo Grande, Ember, offers local foodies a concise selection of foods inspired by cuisine around the world. Open barely a month and a half since Feb. 5, Ember…
Cargasacchi 2010 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills
Cargasacchi 2010 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills I loved this beauty for its lush, ripe fruit and complexity. This pinot noir favors darkly fruited aromas and flavors of blackberries, boysenberries, and black cherries highlighted with notes of earth, leather, and sweet spice. It’s delightful enjoyed on its own, and a great choice for my meal…
Chef Brian Collins success story provides wise counsel
Once word got out that chef Brian Collins was opening a new restaurant in Arroyo Grande, the news spread rapidly throughout the Central Coast. With no notice to the media or public, it has served a record number of diners ever since the day it tried to open quietly on Feb. 5. It’s not a…
Where the wild things are: Pacific Wildlife Care raises funds for animal rehabilitation
Imagine the cute potential of a baby cottontail with its leg carefully wrapped in a cast. Or the inspiration of watching a sub-adult black-headed grosbeak released into the wild after several weeks or months of rehabilitative care. Now imagine that you can do something to help the organization that helps these animals. For the past…
Cougars & Mustangs
I sometimes wonder if concentration has the ability to give up on itself. You’d think that, after years of going to school and attempting to be a responsible adult, the good organization and time management would come naturally. But, of course, it’s not until the eleventh hour that one realizes that scrambling to keep one’s…
Dune denouement?: After a lengthy impasse, a lawsuit and dust control measures aim to end the Oceano Dunes status quo
Sand dunes are complicated, unstable, constantly shifting, and abrasive—a delight to some, and a nuisance to others. Fittingly, all of those adjectives are equally suitable for describing the years-long dispute over the regulation of the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA). At the heart of the debate is a coarse, airborne dust called PM10…
SLO County officials aim to deal with a heaping mess as a proposed green waste composting facility causes a stir
As San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission members consider a proposed green waste composting facility, residents are raising a stink, showing determined opposition at one meeting and planning for more at the next. When the Planning Commission discussed the project at its Feb. 27 meeting, the room was overflowing with concerned residents from nearby neighborhoods…
SLO County enhances Paso groundwater management
For months, San Luis Obispo County Public Works Director Paavo Ogren has been stating the need for a “more robust AB 3030 plan” as a fundamental aspect of addressing the declining water levels in the Paso Robles groundwater basin. Now, he’s got the green light. The Board of Supervisors approved on March 18 the formation…
All is calm on the drunken front
Green attire blanketed the streets of downtown San Luis Obispo, and whiskey still flowed like water, but the paddy wagons went back to the station a little lighter than usual this St. Patrick’s Day. According to Capt. Chris Staley of the SLO Police Department, a variety of factors—including an extensive messaging campaign urging revelers to…
Harmon challenges Achadjian in an Assembly District 35 race
A local climate change activist, Heidi Harmon, has announced her candidacy to challenge incumbent Republican Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian. To win the seat, Harmon, a Democrat, will not only have to beat a popular local incumbent, she’s also facing a district with a Republican majority. Assembly District 35, which Achadjian has represented since 2010, gives a…
A Los Osos contractor sues the county for $15 million
Just as the contentious, drawn-out Los Osos wastewater project is heading toward completion, a major contractor working on the project—ARB Inc.—filed suit against the county on Feb. 26, claiming damages of “not less than $15,000,000, plus penalties and interest.” The suit—filed by Rutan & Tucker LLP, an Orange County law firm based in Costa Mesa—includes…
Yes, we deliver
This is in response to Mr. Berger from Oceano (“Bring groceries to my door!” March 13). There is a grocery delivery service here on the Central Coast called We Deliver the Goods. It’s based in San Luis Obispo and has been in operation for three years. We primarily service just San Luis Obispo proper, but…
Drum circles have great benefits
I feel the need to respond to Diane Smith’s letter (“Dear rational Shredder:” March 13), specifically her comment “Logic and rational thought is [vital] … I find it tragic that something … has driven the masses to the kind of hysteria that leads to …drum circles … .” As a HealthRhythms facilitator, trained in this…
Insufferable bureau-culturalism of a stubborn egoist
Dear Glen, You’ve been coughing up a lot of bull about The Monroe lately (“Stay classy!” March 6). If you haven’t noticed the world is in flames, robots have taken over, and you’ve decided to waste everybody’s time griping about the material and non-material marketing conquests of one band that you claim to love! How…
Yes, athletes are causing trouble
As one city police officer said, these fights are a dime a dozen (“Spoilsports,” March 6). One happened on my street, Albert Drive, southeast corner of Cal Poly, a week or so ago, which I reported to the police the next day. We residents have to be our own police force; by the time the…
This great worker will find a job
Kyle McCarty’s piece was very moving and informative (“As they lay dying,” March 13), and I certainly hope that the universe (or God, or society) forgives Roger Brown for his transgressions. And I truly hope he has forgiven himself. He did such great work in the hospice program at CMC that he really should be…
Avoid the ‘R’ word
I have a son named Liam. He is 2 years old and good with a soccer ball. He adores his big sister, and hummus. He makes us laugh when he does “a Mona Lisa Face,” and he happens to have Down syndrome (DS for the rest of this writing). The rare times I was asked…
