Cover Story
Public prohibited from seismic meeting
When Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane was asked by U.S. Congresswoman Lois Capps about the agency’s understanding of the seismic hazards surrounding the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, the chair pointed out there is a super-special, multi-party committee currently assessing the issue. “We’re observing this process and are looking to see what the…
Defendants in Myers trial guilty on all counts
After only 2 1/2 hours of deliberation, jurors in the Dystiny Myers murder trial returned guilty verdicts on both defendants before an emotional audience. Frank Jacob York, 21, and his mother, Rhonda Maye Wisto, 49, both of Nipomo, were both convicted of charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, as…
Legacy
Call it what you want—Dixieland music, hot jazz, or early jazz—it’s quintessential American music that started in New Orleans and gained prominence with the 1917 release of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s million-selling record, then gained even more steam thanks to Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars. The sound combined earlier brass marches, French quadrilles, ragtime, and blues,…
Drive the snakes out!
It’s about 12:15 p.m. when my wife and I, festooned in green, descend upon McCarthy’s Irish Pub on Sunday, March 17. The line is maybe 20 people long, and when I ask doorman Jerry “Surlycakes” Bender how the crowd’s been, he informs me that the venerated SLO Town watering hole has been at its 160-person…
Clubs: 3/21
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…
Dads and singles need not appie
It’s happened to everyone. You’re sitting in your kitchen, trying to figure out what dish to bring to the company picnic, and you decide that pie is going to be the food of choice. Except, as you fire up the oven, you realize there’s a major flaw in your plan: You’re totally not a mom,…
Longoria 2010 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Vineyard
One of my favorite producers, winemaker Rick Longoria, buys pinot noir from this vineyard annually. Longoria produces a classic pinot that expresses the character of this very special, historic vineyard designation. Truly a wine for celebrations, it’s as awesome on its own as it is with food. Serve it with equally grand meals, such as…
Rodney Strong 2011 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
This noteworthy pinot noir from one of my favorite appellations in Sonoma County is delicious and a very good buy. On the nose it offers attractive blackberry fruit flavors that draw you in. On the palate it’s layered with blackberries, plums, and spice aromas and flavors tinged with dusky earth notes. It’s impressive from start…
Love Champagne?
Several years ago, I titled my column about a comparative tasting of sparkling wines “Call me Bubbles,” and that still remains true. I adore Champagne and California sparkling wines, and love to joke: Champagne—it’s not just for breakfast anymore. I keep a few bubblies in my fridge at all times. One must, after all, always…
Questions For: Joseph Castro
What’s most important in this discussion? First, there’s a need for immigration reform; as we have millions of families that are in this country that are contributing to this economy, their children are going to be contributing to the well-being of this country. They’re paying taxes, they’re working hard. Second, I plan to share the…
Tools, tools, tools
There are a number of tools in the world: wrenches and sockets and drills and watchacall’ems. There may even be more tools than there are people in the world to use them, especially when you factor in the fact that a number of the world’s seven billion people also happen to be tools. I don’t…
We need protection, even if it’s from the police
When I was in police academy in 1985, I was told that one in four police officers would be convicted of a crime that year, that half of police officers were alcoholics, that police officers were “300 times” more likely to commit a violent assault on their spouse than the average citizen, that police officers…
Consider CalFire
Established July 9, 2010, by a Joint Powers Agreement between the cities of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and Oceano Community Services District, the Five Cities Fire Authority (FCFA) was intended to save money for the three communities by consolidating services. Last year, the FCFA won a federal grant worth $1.18 million that went to pay…
Killing our children’s dreams
I agree with David Torik’s assessment of how our schools (and medical establishment) deal with children who don’t meet “so called” standards (“The dreams of our children,” March 14). Our society wants a quick fix to everything. Just send them to a psychiatrist who can suggest a drug to help them conform. The drugs may…
The Republican chair was and is wrong
In analyzing the reasons why the Republican Party lost the last election, the chairman suggests the party must embrace gays, abortion, and amnesty to become politically competitive. This ideological compromise dismisses many other factors why the Republicans lost: that the past presidential campaign had the wrong candidate in Romney; that Romney offended many (particularly Gingrich)…
That was superb
Jim Mallon’s commentary on guns in the United States is the best reasoned and expressed opinion I have ever read on the topic.
Why can’t you comprehend this about guns?
Another issue of New Times, another diatribe against guns. The trouble with gun control legislation is that it only works on the law-abiding, who prefer to keep and bear arms legally. Laws won’t keep guns out of the hands of those who are willing to violate the law, any more than alcohol prohibition kept people…
This aquarium’s animals need to move
The other day I visited the Morro Bay Aquarium. The experience haunts me: The poor seals swimming in circles in small tanks. The sea lion crying endlessly with nothing to see, perhaps connecting with a wild friend. The indoor enclosure felt like a dark prison. The tanks, all much too small, have nothing natural to…
We like research and facts
Thanks to Jim Mallon for his excellent commentary “It might be time to say ‘Enough’” (March 16). And thanks to New Times for printing it. He has done a great job on research, and supplies us with so many pertinent facts on this topic.
Shades of Dorothy
This is the kind of thing history teachers think of when they can’t go back to sleep in the middle of the night. New Girl, I’m reasonably sure, is a kind of Wizard of Oz for the Millennial Generation. Zooey Deschanel is less Judy Garland and more Audrey Hepburn on runaway roller skates, but I…
Doodie duty
It’s brown. It’s stinky. It’s warm. It’s mushy. And nobody likes to clean it up. Let’s face it: Your dog’s excretion is something you’d rather not deal with on a regular basis, and in the busyness of life, you’ve probably found yourself wishing there was someone who could just handle it for you. Consider your…
Cougars & Mustangs
Cal Poly’s got rhythm, Cal Poly’s got music. I don’t know if Cal Poly has a man, although it probably does; have you seen Poly Canyon’s slamming curves? Covering the rhythm and music, the Student Opera Theatre presents Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” April 11 to 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Spanos Theatre. Singers from…
Assault with a deadly swerve?
Frustration with fellow motorists can lead to some poor driving decisions, but according to a San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s deputy and the district attorney’s office, one driver’s aggressive lane change was much worse than reckless driving. They’ve accused Eric Dukes with felony assault with a deadly weapon: his truck. If the charge sticks, Dukes faces…
Cleanup on Del Rio Road
Some folks in Atascadero desperately want a Wal-Mart, and others vehemently oppose it. Yet the issue became about more than discount retail a long time ago, a state of affairs evidenced by the fact that litigation over the proposal is proving anything but a bargain. Save Atascadero, a group formerly known as Oppose Wal-Mart, filed…
Gun-toting bikers stopped near Los Olivos
A routine traffic stop ended with five suspected gang members under arrest March 17, after detectives in the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Gang Enforcement Unit reported finding concealed, semi-automatic handguns in the saddlebags of several motorcycles. According to department spokespeople, detectives stopped two people who passed through a red light near the intersection of Highway 154…
Broad Street plan fails to gain traction in second go-around
A deadlocked San Luis Obispo City Council again took no action on moving along a development plan for South Broad Street, given stiff opposition from area business owners and some clearly differing ideas among council members. On March 19, the council butted heads 2-2 all night, failing to come up with a motion to include…
Tax split impasse looms over Eagle Ranch
The fate of a proposed 3,430-acre housing development southwest of Atascadero may depend on the city and county coming to terms on the split of property tax revenue generated by the new homes. Then again, it’s possible the issue is a straw man. The Eagle Ranch plans that the Atascadero City Council sent forward on…
SLO County joins backroom water talks
The California Department of Water Resources wants to hold super secret preliminary discussions before public negotiations begin for long-term contracts between the department and 29 local-level agencies that draw from the state’s water supply; on March 19, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors agreed to wade into the shadows. Although the board expressed…
Court hears of Myers’ last moments
It was the evening of Sept. 26, 2010, and 15-year-old Dystiny Myers told her companions she was packing her bags and leaving the Nipomo mobile home where they were gathered. Minutes later, she was shot up with heroin, bound with tape, and brutally beaten. That’s according Jason Greenwell, who also admitted on March 14 to…
Excelaron lawsuit tossed, company considers appeal
A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against the county by the oil company Excelaron due to a filing error. Now the company is considering its next steps. On March 11, Superior Court Judge Martin Tangeman dismissed Excelaron’s lawsuit, which claimed that the county planning commission and board of supervisors…
What was the last artistic thing you’ve made?
Danny Mynett retired “Gee wiz, it was probably writing in my personal journal. It’s very secretive and very interesting. It’s generally just musings about my life and what kind of music I like.” Branden Hopper Cuesta student “I write short fiction. I probably wrote something last week. It’s fiction, so it’s not non-fiction. It’s about…
