Cover Story
Collaborate or collapse
When Capt. Ed Ewing’s fishing boat, the South Bay, pulls up to the dock to unload thousands of pounds of freshly caught local fish, the whole Morro Bay waterfront seems to hum in harmony. After years of discord, all the players are pulling together to keep the local fishing fleet from sailing over the brink…
SLO will likely give Chinatown extra time
SLO City staff are recommending that the city extend an expiring deal with the developers of the proposed Chinatown Project by at least 60 extra days, and likely more. Under a previous agreement, the Copeland family has until May 4 to have the project ready for building or lose an agreement to buy city-owned land…
Party with pizza, pasta, and lasagna
# Do you know which of our local Italian restaurants dates back to the early ’70s, making it the oldest continuously-operating eatery of its kind in SLO County? If you guessed the same place I did, you thought it was Cafe Roma, but that eatery was established in 1980 by Maria Rizzo and her family.…
Commission will announce Cayucos hotel decision
Franco DeCicco calls it his dream. Neighbors call it an eyesore in waiting. At the March 27 San Luis Obispo County planning commission meeting, both sides will learn whether a revised version of DeCicco’s controversial Cayucos Del Mar project–a multilevel, multiuse building proposed on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Old Creek Road in Cayucos–will…
What will a new Avila look like?
In the sandy basin of Avila Beach, where hydrocarbon-rich petroleum collected and pooled for decades, luxury spas, ice cream parlors, and tasting rooms now outnumber churches, grocery stores, and bars. That fact alone may strike some as a sure sign that the new Avila exists not for the roughly 160 residents, but for the tourists…
Protestors, fans greet the governor in San Luis Obispo
# A group of about 40 people–all with their own varying reasons for being there–congregated in front of the City/County Library on the morning of March 26. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was coming to San Luis Obispo to discuss the state budget crisis–and the anticipation of his arrival brought out spectators, supporters, and protesters. But he…
Letters
Trim the fat of local cartoons There are few thing in life that give me greater joy than seeing the so-called progressive left be exposed for the intolerant bigots they are. I am referring to the latest cartoon by Jerry James (March 20). Have a look, and if you don’t get it, be careful not…
Fast facts
Cuesta College will host an entrepreneurship forum in Paso Robles on April 3. The forum will include small group discussions, an entrepreneur panel discussion featuring local business leaders, and a question-and-answer period. Hors d’oeuvres will be served, and audience members will be able to talk with panelists and representatives from the Small Business Development Center,…
Watershed down
Nicknamed the “Nipomo Creek Dogs,” local environmental activists Daniel Diaz and Ralph Bishop have accumulated hundreds of photographs and hours of video documenting garbage and pollution that now mars Nipomo Creek’s once pristine banks. # Giant balls of agricultural drip-tubing can be found littering the waterway. Other forms of garbage and blockage are found throughout…
Atascadero leaders want you to trust them
The city of Atascadero recently sent out notice of a special meeting with ethics consultant Dr. Tom Shanks in the City Hall Council Chambers, set for April 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. and April 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public is welcome to attend. The text in the announcement explains it…
The case against Wal-Mart
Once upon a time, conventional wisdom had it that the Earth was flat. But the experience of explorers and the development of science proved this belief to be unfounded. Today, there is no excuse for the conventional wisdom espoused by some like John Crippen (“Wal-Mart isn’t a threat,” March 20), about the world of Wal-Mart.…
He packs a punch
Pop quiz time! Which musical artist is the son of a Church of God minister, a former professional boxer and factory worker, a recreational skydiver, and a Mississippi songwriter? Stumped? Well, meet Paul Thorn–former fighter, now a lover, who’s coming to Downtown Brew on Saturday, March 29. Thorn, a favorite of KPIG listeners, boxed Roberto…
Dalidio case tentatively dismissed
On March 24, a federal judge tentatively dismissed large portions of Ernie Dalidio’s civil lawsuit over his proposed Madonna Road development. While not final, the decision is the second legal blow Dalidio has suffered in as many months, following a ruling in February that struck down the 2006 Measure J county initiative that would allow…
Apple Farm celebrates spring
The inaugural Apple Blossom Days Spring Festival, presented by the Apple Farm, will be held March 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will kick off a variety of spring-themed events and specials. # “[The festival] is a great way to warm up to the idea of better weather,” said Kim Wykoff, director of…
SLO council will rule on granting Downtown Association independence
In part driven by its members’ desire to be more active in politics, SLO’s influential Downtown Association is seeking formal independence from the city. The SLO City Council is scheduled to vote April 1 on a plan that would reduce the group’s role from a formal advisory body to that of a nonprofit group that…
Correction
New Times photographer Steve E. Miller got credit for more photos than he took last week. In “More than dyed eggs,” Dan Hardesty took the photo of Evan Treadwell, and The Park restaurant provided the shot of Maegen Loring. Staff Writer Kai Beech took the outside cover shot, and acquired the image in the brief,…
Carmen is no bull
Carmen, titled after its free-lovin’ gypsy character, is one of the world’s most popular operas. Its plot is rife with passion, love, jealousy, tragedy, and murder. But then, dozens of operas riff lustily and loudly from these themes. Its history is equally dramatic. When it debuted in Paris in 1875, critics decried it as immoral–this…
Too much on my mind
I miss the governor. No, wait. I missed the governor. By the time I learned that Arnold Schwarzenegger himself was making a stop in San Luis Obispo, it was too late for me to get all gussied up to see him. A face like mine doesn’t put itself on, you know, and I need a…
