Cover Story
Saving the silence
The Carrizo Plain opened up like an earthen vault, its natural jewels spilling before my eyes, accompanied by serious silence. I had traveled a long journey inland by pickup truck to explore the riches of the remote national monument some 70 miles from SLO. Encompassing 250,000 acres, the vast grasslands extended endlessly north, crept…
Take a play-cation
Remember the retro-earnestness of that educational classic, Schoolhouse Rock? Well, pair that concept with the reality-challenged (yet morally steadfast) “what-if-things-were-different?” storyline as pioneered by Dr. Seuss, and you’ve got The Phantom Tollbooth—adapted for the stage as a musical. Though he’s an elementary school kid, Milo (played by Andrew Olson) is a rather jaded individual. Milo…
Boom!
John Madden, the Einstein of the football world, retired from the booth last month, ending decades of colorful commentary on the game he loved best: football. It was knowledge obtained from watching football film day after day. But what about Madden’s own film? What can be learned about the legendary Cal Poly alumnus by watching…
County administrator’s job on the line
The top two SLO County administrators are in absentia and for now no one will say why. But whatever’s involved the top adminstrator’s job is at stake. County Administrator David Edge was placed on paid administrative leave last week. His understudy, Deputy Administrator Gail Wilcox, was also placed on paid leave just days later. Neither…
Do you know what the special elections on May 19 are about?
Lashawnda Clemons student and single mother “That’s with the 1A, 1B…I know it’s on finances, cutting back on giving raises to politicians and more money to education.” Pam Van Leeuwen retired “A little bit. I know that the governor’s trying to pay for the deficit of the state and he wants to cut back on…
Citizen’s Alert 05.14.09
Monday, May 18 Morro Bay City Council meets at 6 p.m. at the Morro Bay Veterans Hall, 209 Surf St. Info: 772-6200. Tuesday, May 19 Arroyo Grande Planning Commission meets at 6 pm in the City Council Chambers. Meetings will be televised live on Arroyo Grande’s government access channel 20 and rebroadcast each day for…
MWH? WTF?
The latest move in the ongoing Los Osos sewer drama could be compared to a man divorcing his wife and then dating her mom while simultaneously fighting over money with his ex. Despite an ongoing lawsuit and buckets of bad blood, SLO County has placed civil engineering company Montgomery Watson Harza as one of the…
Correction
The president and CEO of SESLOC Federal Credit Union’s name was misspelled in New Times’ Best Of issue. The proper spelling is Bertha Foxford.
Jesusita Fire turns up the heat on Santa Maria firebase debate
The Jesusita Fire has focused concern on a recent U.S. Forest Service decision to move key firefighting operations from a base at Santa Maria Public Airport to Paso Robles. The Forest Service recently moved management staff from the Santa Maria base and downgraded it from a full-service to a “call-when-needed” operation. Some members of the…
Less building, so building fees increase
It’s going to be more expensive to build a house or an office in SLO County because not enough people are building houses and offices. New development continues to fall in the county, but inflation continued in 2008 despite a deep recession. Now county officials are searching for ways to break even on public construction…
Grizzly cadets head back to service as flu worries wane
On June 19, every one of the 163 cadets remaining in the 2009 class of the Grizzly Youth Academy is expected to enter the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center, listen as their names are read, and fling their camo hats into the air in celebration of their graduation from the Camp San Luis Obispo-based military…
Regarding Angels and Demons
Jennifer Klay, Cal Poly assistant professor of physics, will give a public lecture about the film Angels and Demons at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 18 in the Chumash Auditorium on campus. What makes her qualified to be a film critic? The movie centers on an apparent plot to destroy the Vatican using stolen…
One bottle per vine
When a passionate winemaker produces an exemplary wine that’s expressive of its place of origin, critics are quick to praise them as “cult” brands. But such wines are extremely limited, difficult to find in the marketplace, and rarely repeated. That said, we’re fortunate in SLO County to have more than a handful of artistic winemakers…
Erath 2007 Pinot Noir Oregon
Expressive of its origin it’s quite tasty considering the fact it’s a bargain-priced Pinot Noir. Forward notes of earth and spice are nicely offset by tangy cherry and wild berry flavors. Well balanced and drinkable alone, it’s better with foods like mushroom-based vegetarian dishes, or herb-roasted pork or beef. Available at Costco for $12, and…
Paraiso 2006 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands
After tasting several Monterey County Chards I found Paraiso outstanding; even better, it’s a bargain at $18 retail compared to those twice its price. Paraiso’s estate vineyard is certified sustainably farmed. This classic Monterey Chardonnay offers apple, pear, and citrus aromas and flavors, all nicely balanced with subtle oak notes. Easy sipping, it’s also a…
Nix Proposition 1E
Regarding the Special Election Proposition 1E: Why would we want to balance the budget on the backs of the people who can least afford it? The mental health system in California is seriously under-funded, creating a lack of staffing, reduced hours of operation, and clinic closures. Persons with mental illness need access to care and…
Vote “YES” only for Proposition 1B
I call upon all citizens with any sense of the common good to vote “NO” on the propositions on May 19. The only one of value is 1B; the rest are mere band-aids, borrowing, and burrowing our heads in the sand. We must get out of this borrowing-and-bust cycle. My solution is twofold: vote “NO”…
Distribute power sources, preserve the Plain
Thank you for reporting on Carrizo (“Solar secrecy,” May 7). I support distributive solar power, locally owned and placed near users. Large-scale solar farms aren’t a low-impact way to harvest energy; they are a way for energy producers to mint money with minimal oversight and overhead. The Carrizo site is valuable property due to unused…
Lucia Mar needs economic help
It remains a shame to this day that our public schools are so dependent on state funding for their operations. The bigger the bureaucracy gets, the less reliable and expensive it becomes. I recently heard of a librarian with 25 years service with the Lucia Mar School District being laid off because of a lack…
Protect wildlife; support bag fee
Local officials at the Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) are citing litter and marine pollution as reasons for a proposed countywide ban or tax on carry-out plastic bags. Shouldn’t we also consider the profound suffering that results when wildlife becomes entangled in plastic or endangered sea turtles mistake floating plastic for jellyfish, their favorite food?…
DeVaul deserves a medal
Betty Woody wrote in her letter “Stand up for Dan DeVaul” (May 7), “This man saves our county millions of dollars each year. Dan receives no financial backing from any public entity, nor does he receive money from all who live there. Many of those residents are disabled and cannot pay. Dan provides a safe…
Looks trump substance
Taking money promised for neighborhood police patrols and using it for new garbage cans and newspaper racks downtown isn’t the only bait-and-switch that SLO City has pulled on voters who bit the bait and raised city sales tax by a half-cent per dollar. Measure Y propaganda also promised flood maintenance of creeks in neighborhoods where…
Carbon dioxide retains heat
I have some answers to the questions posed by Dan Mathewson (“Scientists, please reply,” May 7). Scientists do consider the effect of weather patterns when predicting the effects of global warming. Some of the more important are the monsoons, El Niño, and La Niña. Carbon-dioxide gas is fairly transparent to light in general. However, as…
Hooray for the river
Many voices have been heard for years about concerns for the Salinas River and its tributaries … At last we have victory! The Board of Supervisors voted, unanimously, to reject the appeal of the Jan. 22 Planning Commission’s denial of the Pehl sand mine pit. We neighbors have worked for years to defeat such industrial…
Support sustainability
It is hard not to feel helpless about global warming, at times. But, take heart; besides carpooling, taking the bus, bicycling, and walking more often, there is something new that local people can do to fight against climate change. Community members can participate in an exciting new regional planning process in response to global warming. …
Brie Scott
New Times: After working in a flower shop for nearly three years, do you still get excited when somebody buys you flowers? Scott: I’ve never received flowers, isn’t that sad?… But I think if somebody got me flowers I would be really picky on the way they looked. They would have to be really high-class…
Rumors, mongers
Some stories are just too good to bother with confirmation. That’s the consensus that seems to have developed around rumors about what might have caused the county’s top two administrators to simultaneously be put on paid administrative leave after two emergency meetings of the SLO County Board of Supervisors. Here’s what we know for sure:…
Take a walk…
New Times What was the impetus for Atascadero Art Tour, now in its second year? Heather Young Curry, organizer I had been wanting to do an event like this and after talking with the owners at the ARTery, and after I moved into a location where I could show my work and other work. It…
Artists on parade
The Paso Robles Visitors and Conference Bureau has a lot to boast about these days, from its status as a leg of February’s Tour of California (re-routed from San Luis Obispo) to the approach of the first Central Coast Shakespeare Festival season in the company’s new Paso Robles digs (re-routed from Avila Beach). The newest…
Folktastic femmes
Even though Blame Sally hails from San Francisco, I still like to claim them as our own. After all, two members—Pam Delgado and Jeri Jones—used to live and play here in SLO County. Of course, theirs was a talent too big to be contained by our bucolic Shangri-la, so they joined up with Renee Harcourt…
