Cover Story
Tribulations and renovations
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong’s new house is an elegant combination of contemporary West Coast elements and classic mission-style architecture. Walking through the ornate wooden front door, one first notices the stone entryway, the smell of newly laid flooring and fresh paint. Exposed wooden beams reveal the structure of the four-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 1928-mission-style…
What is your favorite or least favorite thing about spring?
Lisa Weeks self-employed “You can finally wear dresses and shorts.” Amanda Tchamourian unemployed “Pollen is my least favorite, because of my allergies. I can’t wake up without a pile of tissue.” Tyrone Galgano business owner “My favorite thing is the concerts. Avila Beach Resort opens in the spring.” Mitchell Shenkelberg student “I enjoy other people…
Something to Crow about
Seventeen years ago, Sheryl Crow released her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, and almost overnight she blew up, took radio by storm, garnered millions of fans, and launched an enviable career. At 49, she’s still drop-dead gorgeous, still has a stunning voice, still writes amazing songs, and she can look back with pride at…
Get Met!
Wagner’s Die Walküre is only one segment of an entire story. At a whopping 5 hours and 30 minutes long, the show is approximately twice the length of James Cameron’s Avatar, yet it remains only one installment of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. What would compel a person nowadays to sit through that? Why would the average…
Made in the shade
The office of substitute art basher comes with a lot of responsibility, a little drinking, and some serious power, including the ability to declare, now and forever, that Templeton folk are officially the finest folk on the face of the Earth. Suck on that, San Luis Obispo. Where’s your precious Oprah now? As a recent…
‘Like’ it or not
When Evansville, Indiana-based philosophy professor Dr. Anthony Beavers spoke at Cal Poly in 2009, it was to share his optimistic view of what social media—and Facebook in particular—could mean for the next generation. Hailing it as “a wonderfully open world of information exchange,” Beavers saw it as a platform to immediately exchange news, opinions, and…
Love and politics, bricks and badminton
With Smash, Cal Poly Theatre Professor Josh Machamer immediately makes it clear this will be no ordinary evening at the theater. Don’t get too comfortable, his latest production snarls. An adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s novel An Unsocial Socialist, the show starts out conventionally enough: The actors are on the stage, playgoers seated in the…
I’m lovin’ it
Grab yourself a juice box and make yourself comfortable, kids. Shredder’s going to tell you a nice, soothing—and not at all plagiarized—bedtime story. It’s about this guy named Ol’ McDonald, see. And he has this farm. Well, something like 31,000 farms worldwide. But for the sake of this story, just imagine a picturesque spread with…
Thanks for helping the temple
Since its founding 51 years ago, Congregation Beth David has aspired to serve not only the Jewish community, but the entire Central Coast. Our beautiful, sustainable building on Los Osos Valley Road means to fulfill this mission; we are the first synagogue in the world to receive LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council,…
Oceano wants results, not more excuses
The April 29 County Public Works presentation at the community center in Oceano was quite impressive. Ten or more tables were set up, showing pictures and graphs depicting the history of flooding in Oceano. Many county employees were present to answer questions. In fact, there were more county employees than there were Oceano residents present.…
Give me freedom to create
Regarding “Get rid of welfare today” (April 28): Kill the 45-year failure that you all allowed to happen! Sounds like civil war to me! Oh boy—let’s start with our planning department and their good old boys’ clubhouse. Then sit with Tommy 420 and talk about getting rid of the tax office here in San Luis…
Think before you criticize corporations
Nearly every day there is some article complaining about the wealthy and the corporations (“Beware of the soulless corporations,” April 28). There are some of us who hope that we could become one of the wealthy. All it takes is a good idea and enough money to put at risk. When you look at the…
Police union doesn’t want locals to weigh in
To view the SLO police union’s attempt to block the proposed August ballot on pension reform and binding arbitration (SLO police file suit against SLO City,” May 5) as a legal issue is to miss the point. It’s a political issue. In fact, it’s a question of democracy. What the police union wants is for…
Here’s how oil can get in the back door
Eight days after obtaining Board of Supervisors’ blessings, SunPower sells “60 percent of its shares to Total SA—one of the six ‘supermajor’ oil companies in the world” (“SunPower sees big buyout,” May 5)! In 2000, when Carrizo Plain was nominated for “national monument” status, one argument against it was that no oil withdrawal would be…
Swim along, disgruntled fishermen
Congratulations to the Port San Luis harbor manager for doing a bang-up job (“Fishing group hopes to sink harbor manager,” May 5). If the troops aren’t complaining, then something is wrong. I see that Mr. “Butch” Powers, the port’s gadfly, is at it again. Of course Butch (?) has always had a chip on his…
Stacy Field
NEW TIMES: It has been pretty hot! Has it been really busy in Bali’s? STACY FIELD: Yes, yes it has been. NEW TIMES: What’s the most popular flavor right now? FIELD: A lot of people are really into the coconut this week. NEW TIMES: What is it like working at Bali’s during the…
Our Pearl Harbor moment
The world we are giving our children and grandchildren is in critical condition, wracked by a terrible combination of social, environmental, and economic catastrophes. We must no longer deal with these ongoing calamities in an atomized, piecemeal way as we did during the last century, because, as we are now beginning to recognize, they are…
CLUBS
Goin’ South … THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: 750 Mattie Road, Pismo Beach, 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music every Fri.-Sat., 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell, Doc Stoltey. GATHER WINE BAR: 122 E. Branch St. in the Village of Arroyo Grande, 5/12: Gillie Wheesels, Celtic music, 5/13: Casey Rodgers. HARRY’S NIGHT…
Villa Maria 2009 Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand Private Bin
This very good brand consistently offers good taste for good value. Forward aromas and flavors of pink grapefruit, grass, melon, and lime are nicely harmonized, making it a great quaffer on its own. And you’ll find it a great choice with goat cheese and shrimp pizza, salads with chicken and feta, green chile enchiladas, or…
Edna Valley Vineyard 2007 Pinot Noir Paragon Vineyard Reserve
I recently tasted this nicely aged Pinot Noir and loved it. It’s nearly sold out, but it can still be purchased at the tasting room in Edna Valley. Scoring 91 points from Wine Spectator’s critics a year ago, it’s much better now and sure to age gracefully another five years or more. This rich, full-bodied…
Women, wine, and witches or wine, waves, and beyond
Feeling witchy? Or perhaps you pride yourself on being born a witch? No matter which kind of witch you are, you’ll love this Friday the 13th dinner party honoring Women, Wine, and Witchcraft. It’s held every Friday the 13th (2011 has only one, but 2012 has three!) at the Cliffs Resort and Marisol. This year’s…
Cougars & Mustangs
It’s the cusp of summertime, and for Central Coast college students that usually means prepping for finals before heading to the beach to celebrate the conclusion of another school year. Staying with the celebratory aquatic theme, Cal Poly women’s water polo team has a lot to rejoice about as it claimed the National Collegiate Club…
Where am I?
The maps San Luis Obispo County officials have before them look like a bureaucrat threw up on a GIS computer model. These are the maps local officials have to morph, tweak, and finesse in their effort to redraw SLO County’s supervisorial district lines. A reporter describing data from the U.S. Census Bureau as a “clusterfuck”…
New brew
A new coffee shop is brewing in downtown San Luis Obispo. Nautical Bean Coffee House and Bistro recently opened its second location on the Central Coast and is serving up everything from locally made alcoholic beverages to international gourmet coffees. In a town crowded with coffee houses, this coffee shop/eatery hybrid—located on historic Chorro Street…
Diablo gets a new resident inspector
Laura Micewski began her first day of work at the plant on May 9, she said. According to her NRC bio, Micewski joined the local NRC region as a project engineer in September 2009. Prior to her arrival at Diablo, she worked on inspection teams at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, the Comanche Peak…
Best Of 2011 corrections
• The Utopia Bakery Café owners’ last name was correct once, then wrong twice in the write-up for Best Bakery. The correct name is Lenhoff. • Owens Music had an unnecessary apostrophe throughout the write-up for Best Place to Buy a Musical Instrument. • The Century 21 write-up for Best Real Estate Company was misattributed.…
Bills to curb state hospital violence move forward
A variety of bills aimed at quelling violence in California’s state mental hospitals are making their way through the Legislature, for better or worse, capitalizing on increased public scrutiny after one of the first staff deaths at the hands of a patient in years. Two bills introduced by San Luis Obispo Sen. Sam Blakeslee—Senate Bill…
A.G. considers a police merger with Grover Beach
A report authored by Arroyo Grande police officials stated that unifying the two police forces will provide better service for both cities and will likely save a collective $850,000 to $1.1 million. “In addition to the financial benefit, this merger will increase the amount of officers on the street at any given time,” said Arroyo…
Residents and landlord clash over an iconic SLO building
The renovation of a downtown San Luis Obispo landmark building on the 1100 block of Morro Street has caused concern for several people who have close ties to the property. The Lunacy Club, LLC, took ownership of a multi-use property on Morro Street in downtown SLO on April 1. Soon after acquiring the rights to…
North County Connection hangs by a thread
One of San Luis Obispo County’s only remaining community-based rehabilitation centers, North County Connection in Atascadero, has been given a short lifeline, but is far from out of the dumps. On May 10, county supervisors unanimously voted to reallocate $35,000 of federal Community Development Block Grant funding to the struggling rehabilitation center, which provides free…
Sheriff Parkinson appoints an internal affairs officer
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson presented his new internal affairs commander at a press conference at the department’s headquarters on May 10. Jim Voge, a retired Los Angeles Police Department commander and Cambria resident, has been on the job since February. He retired in 2007 after heading the LAPD’s Internal Affairs unit, which…
