Cover Story
Locals rule! How Paso resident Josh Brolin became one of Hollywood’s best character actors and a SLO Film Fest honoree
Apparently, becoming a Hollywood movie star isn’t quite as glamorous as people think. In fact, to hear Josh Brolin paint it, the acting profession is a long series of rejections marked by occasional small paying jobs and maybe, if you’re one of the rare ones, you luck upon a film that changes your career. Next…
County allocates millions for SGMA compliance
In a significant change of direction regarding the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the SLO County Board of Supervisors decided at its March 7 meeting that the county would assume financial responsibility for assisting users of six groundwater basins—the Paso Robles, Atascadero, San Luis Obispo, Los Osos, Cuyama, and Santa Maria basins—in achieving basin…
SLO Film Fest 23: Reviews for March 16
AGE OF CONSEQUENCES What’s it rated? NR What’s it worth? Streaming Where’s it showing? March 16 at 10 a.m. at Downtown Centre and 4:30 p.m. at The Palm. Age of Consequences takes an ambitious and dramatic look at the various ways climate change poses a destabilizing threat to our increasingly interconnected societies and economies. Produced…
Surfer, shaper, artist, and singer-songwriter Shane Stoneman releases his new album ’12 Tone Sky’ on March 10 at Sweet Springs Saloon
It’s hard not to smile listening to Shane Stoneman’s third album, 12 Tone Sky. It’s effusive, bubbling over with optimism, even on the fourth track, the tongue-in-cheek “Sad Songs”: “Oh, they don’t make songs sad enough anymore,” Stoneman sings on a song that’s got way too much awesome pedal steel by Flying Burrito Brother Tony…
Retro redux: Finding a shrinking corner of classic video gaming heaven in Pismo
There is something deeply satisfying in the sound of quarters plunking one-by-one into an old arcade cabinet. It’s a solid, assertive sound that lets you know exactly where you stand. You only have so many lives, so many tries, to grab that joystick, mash those big plastic buttons, and win glory for a spot on…
Celebration from sorrow: SLOMA workshops, exhibits highlight Japanese culture amid 75th anniversary of internment
For five long years Tsuyo Onodera studied sewing in her native Japan to earn the coveted, and these days rare, title of master kimono maker. So when years later her daughter asked Onodera to teach a group of Americans how to make a kimono in five days, she initially bristled a bit at the idea.…
Legacy of love: Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher documentary to screen at SLO Film Fest
While the world reeled from the combined tragedies of losing mother-daughter duo and Hollywood royalty Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher just days apart in December, it especially hit home for one Creston resident. While Todd Fisher knew his days with his 80-something-year-old mom were numbered, losing his sister just days before was an unexpected blow.…
Whalebird’s Blood Orange Kombucha and Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s Fortem
Is there anything sexier than a fresh, plump blood orange ready for eating? As you peel the skin, pops of dark blood-colored flesh tease the eye. I love tossing segments of that tart raspberry-citrus flavor into a salad or squeezing the juice into a sensual (and pretty) pink vinaigrette. The local heros at Whalebird Kombucha…
Let’s go adventuring
Cool beans: Crazy for coffee, but want to know more? Learn about the picking, roasting, and processing of stellar beans at Kreuzberg Coffee Co.’s Coffee 101 classes. These totally free 90-minute workshops kick off every Saturday at 10 a.m. and are taught by Kreuzberg’s friendly and knowledgeable baristas (685 Higuera St.; class limited to 10…
Toasting a full belly: Expanded cocktail haven Mason Bar now serving up dinner
Don’t worry. Those lobster corn dogs—light, crunchy, and Instagram worthy as they are—aren’t going anywhere. Can you imagine the riot that would ensue if such a dramatic travesty were occur in the Village of Arroyo Grande? Grown men would fall to their knees in the streets! With its old-school butcher shop, burgeoning farm-to-table dining scene,…
Scenes from SLO
It is what it is. It’s a sentiment that Los Osos artist Mark Selby brings to his work as he strives to re-interpet a three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional art form. A sampling of Selby’s plein air watercolor paintings, Watercolors from Life, is currently on display at Linnaea’s Café in San Luis Obispo through March…
Looking for somebunny
Sometimes all a boy needs is his bunny. Revisit the children’s classic story of The Velveteen Rabbit: A Garden at the Edge of the Forest through the lens of ballet on March 25 at 6 p.m. and March 26 at 2 p.m. at Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo’s BlackBox Theatre. Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo’s…
Move to the beat
Take in everything from jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, modern, and musical theater at Core Dance Company’s upcoming Rhythms dance show. Catch the performance on March 18 at 7 p.m. or March 19 at 2 p.m. at Cal Poly’s Spanos Theatre. Guest artists include dancers from Academy of Dance, SLO MAC, Artistry in Motion, and…
Guilty Pleasures: Cloverfield
When? 2008 | What’s it rated? PG-13 | Where’s it available? DVD, Streaming on Hulu. The crash of the housing market, tornadoes sweeping through the Southern states, and Fidel Castro stepping down as president of Cuba all sum up 2008. It was also the year in which film tested the boundaries of unknown monsters attacking…
Pismo mulls cutting taxi fees to compete with Uber, Lyft
In a world where a cheap ride is as easy as tapping a button on your smartphone, Pismo Beach is looking to even the playing field for local taxi drivers. The City Council is considering reducing licensing and permitting fees for taxi companies and drivers in an effort to help traditional taxi companies compete against…
Defamation trial kicks off with spat between lawyers
“How about if I punch him?” Local attorney Jim Duenow spoke those words as he walked out of a San Luis Obispo courtroom March 6. The remark appeared to be aimed at San Fancisco-based attorney James Wagstaffe, whom Duneow had admitted to earlier calling an “effing disgrace to the bar.” The contentious hearing occurred before…
What’s your favorite movie genre?
Katherine Smith Cal Poly student “Documentaries have held a big interest and impact on my life.” Jessica DeVris retiree “I like fantasy, movies like Avatar. It’s the type of movies that play with your head.” Hannah Neer Cal Poly student “I don’t have strong opinions about movie genres, but my favorite movies have been superhero…
Health care help
Caring for a loved one with dementia can be draining, both emotionally and financially. However, thanks to a new program by Hospice SLO County, it doesn’t have to be. The program, Care Management Services, is designed for those who fall within a particular pay gap: too many assets to qualify for Medicaid or other government…
Seeking light: A spike in violence against transgender women raises concerns from local LGBTQ group
As crowds of shoppers perused the fresh and colorful produce on display at the farmers’ market in downtown SLO, a small group gathered solemnly in growing dark outside of Mission Plaza on March 2. They lit six candles, each flame represented a life recently extinguished by violence. Mesha Caldwell, 41. Shot to death Jan. 4…
Painful cuts: Teacher development, district office take hits in $2 million San Luis Coastal budget slash
The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant won’t officially shut down until 2024-2025, but the San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) isn’t wasting any time preparing for the looming reality of losing $8 million per year in property taxes from the outgoing plant. On Feb. 21, the SLCUSD board of trustees unanimously signed off on…
SLO repeals rental inspection program and starts anew
On March 7, the San Luis Obispo City Council put a quick end to a rocky chapter of city history, unanimously voting to repeal the Rental Housing Inspection Program (RHIP). In the wake of the repeal, the City Council discussed the next steps to try to protect tenants and rectify the unsafe conditions that persist…
Sanitation district joins investigation of AG mayor
After upping the amount of money it will pay for outside legal counsel, the South County Sanitation District board of directors signed on to partner with the city of Arroyo Grande for an independent investigation into misconduct allegations against AG Mayor Jim Hill. The sanitation district board’s 2-0 vote at its March 1 meeting means…
Women march and work
If all the women who work at New Times didn’t go to work on March 8 as part of the Day Without a Woman March, you wouldn’t be reading this article or the next one. You would be holding blank pieces of paper, as women make up the majority of the workforce at New Times.…
Clubs 3/9/17 – 3/16/17
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. FIGUEROA MOUNTAIN BREWING CO.: Singer/Songwriter Night every Wed. from 8-10pm. 1462 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande, 474-8525, figmtnbrew.com. 3/17: 7th Standard from8:30-11pm; 3/18: The Caverns from 8:30-11pm. HARRY’S NIGHT CLUB AND BEACH BAR: Cypress and Pomeroy, downtown Pismo Beach, 773-1010. Thurs.: Front…
Tending the garden of democracy
Over President’s Day weekend, New Mexico artist Paula Zima joined the SLO Monument Committee and local citizens in Mitchell Park to unveil a sculpture of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, to serve as the draft for a larger monument to be built, commemorating a speech given here by T.R. in 1903. There could be no…
At the crossroads
On May 20, 1975, I stepped on American soil. No, it was not on Ellis Island. We landed in New York’s Kennedy Airport. My mother, my 4-year-old daughter, and I were part of a Jewish refugee wave from the former USSR. Our road was long and full of obstacles. In those days nobody ever thought…
Shame on you!?!
Have liberals gone bonkers? Maybe the Liar in Chief Donald “Birther-Crowd Size-Wire Tapp” Trump has set some, toxic tone that makes liberals engage in politics to try and match Orange Mussolini’s mendacious rhetoric. I’ll tell you one thing, as of the March 7 SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting, 3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill has…
Kudos to PG&E
Letter-writer David Ciaffardini is correct in pointing out that, “Of all man-made risks in San Luis Obispo County, our neighborhood nuclear power plant has the potential to kill more people and make more acreage uninhabitable than any other single industrial facility,” (“Diablo should retire with grace,” March 2). The safety risks should have stopped the…
Perplexed about the ‘alt-left’
I read Al Fonzi’s March 2 op-ed “Inflammatory rhetoric versus reason” with great interest—and increasing consternation. It would seem that Mr. Fonzi, a great American patriot, is more disturbed by the fact that the American public learned of the Trump administration’s alleged (by the highest levels of our intelligence apparatus) contacts with the Russian government…
To the SLO County community:
Thank you for supporting the Get To Know Your Muslim Neighbors event Friday, Feb. 24. The 600 attendees included many SLO County leaders who represented the diverse groups of our county and the love our communities have to offer. This event, inspired by the Women’s March, was sponsored by the Muslim community and hosted in the Church…
Keep oil trains out!
We urge the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to deny the Phillips 66 oil rail spur project. We have lived in Paso Robles since 1991. We have seen our beautiful city undergo many changes. We do not want to see all the progress our city has made put at…
I’m still with Hillary
The SLO Women’s March on Jan. 21 went far beyond expectations. I am thankful and grateful to all who attended, and there were a multitude of you, no thanks to me. I was (still) in a sour mood about the election results. Granted, California carried Hillary Clinton decidedly, but I was disappointed to discover there…
‘Resistance’ and Adam Hill
After reading the highly entertaining March 2 commentary by Supervisor Adam Hill, in between bouts of laughter, I responded to its cries for a response, not from a member of the Tea Party but by a common sense moderate. In his piece on “What resistance means to me,” he starts out with this sentence: “The…
