Cover Story
Black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love
# It’s a mild late-March day in Berkeley, but at the Gaia Arts Center, the atmosphere is tense, and the intoxicating scent of coffee wafting through the auditorium only underscores the gravity of our gathering. The Western Regional Barista Competition comes but once a year, and only one champion can move on to compete in…
What’s the next hot new wine?
Can you guess which varietal will be California’s next hot new wine? If you have the answer to that question, most winemakers’ would trade you a case of their flagship wine to learn of it in advance. But there’s one young Edna Valley winemaker who’s pretty confident he knows exactly which wine it is: Grenache…
Deputy sheriffs endorse Hill over Lenthall
In a rebuke, the largest law enforcement union in the county has endorsed challenger Adam Hill to take the seat of 3rd District County Supervisor Jerry Lenthall in the June 3 election. The announcement came as a surprise to many, including Hill, because Lenthall is a former police officer and received the union’s support in…
Everybody will know my name
I’ve recently been trying to play catch-up in the endorsement business in my scribble-in race for county supervisor. I’m not sure which district I’d be in, because all of the district boundaries seem to intersect in SLO, where I’m currently squatting. Just scribble me in wherever you think appropriate. Any ballot–or even a napkin (sanitary…
Bikes, trikes, unicykes, and the wheel deal
The Bike Art Show opening May 2–San Luis Obispo’s second celebration of wheels and gears put to creative aesthetic use–is # unmistakably the work of SLO’s Tall Bike Posse. The exhibit, opening at 1060 Osos St. in San Luis Obispo (formerly the home of the Dwelling) and at 466 El Camino Real in Atascadero, is…
Surfers: Love your ocean
It’s hard to imagine that surfers–those archetypal lovers of the sea–would do anything to hurt their playground. # Yet, the materials used for surfboards, surf accessories, and surf apparel can be extremely unsustainable and destructive to the environment and health, making the surfing community look a bit hypocritical. Fortunately, Ryan Milliman is out to change…
More medical marijuana returned
In the face of a court order, Sheriff Pat Hedges recently became the latest law enforcement official to grudgingly give back pot seized from a patient with a prescription to use it. On the last day in April, 53-year-old D. Craig Steffens of San Luis Obispo walked into the property room of the SLO County…
Fast facts
Picture Stable, a local video production company, recently teamed up with local copywriter and independent producer Bruce Brown to create two television commercials for a new computer tech support company, Nerds to Your Rescue, which offers on-site computer support from Paso Robles to Thousand Oaks. The commercials will feature a “nerd” who saves the day…
Eyes are on Paso prison plans
State officials are steaming ahead with plans to convert the Paso Robles Youth Authority facility into a prison for senior citizens, regardless of what the neighbors and city leaders think of the idea. But the Paso Robles City Council will have a say on another prison proposed for the 160-acre Airport Road site: a “rehabilitation”…
Free walls for street artists
Regarding the recent uproar over graffiti in our area–due in no small part to Nic Rodriguez’s arrest as a suspected graffiti vandal–I ask: What constitutes art in SLO County and who is responsible for deciding? Certainly, notions of art, beauty, comedy, style, and taste vary wildly within any single population and far more so internationally.…
The renewable energy gold rush is on
# OptiSolar, a Hayward-based startup with roots in the oil sands of Canada, is proposing to build a colossal photovoltaic electricity generation farm on 6,000 acres in the Carrizo Plain, the company announced last week. The installation would yield 550 MW of power, enough to serve 190,000 homes, and would cost $1 billion dollars to…
He just wants some slack
Jerry Miszewski is hardly public enemy No. 1, yet the Cal Poly math major–sweet faced and courteous as a Boy Scout–has been kicked out of nearly every park in the San Luis Obispo area. He’s even been busted in his own backyard for practicing what he describes as a sort of moving meditation: slacklining. In…
Local agents are on alert after crimes
As if times haven’t been tough enough for local real estate agents, now they’re being warned to be on the lookout after several of their rank have been the victim of crimes. In recent days, two agents have been held up at gunpoint–one in a storefront office, the other while showing a house–and another had…
Mitchell Park reckoning
Months of campaigning and heartfelt–even desperate–public speeches concerning the proposed senior center parking lot at Mitchell Park have led up to the May 6 SLO City Council meeting, where members will have to weigh the benefits and costs of paving a section of the park. The plan is to ease parking at the senior center,…
Letters
I have some questions about the solar plan for the plain Regarding the proposed solar panel installation on the Carrizo Plain, some questions come immediately to mind. Based on the photos I saw, it looks like the panels would be very close to the ground. The plain has endangered animal species: tule elk, pronghorn antelope,…
Check out those Melons!
Imagine a wildly popular band with a wildly popular lead singer, and at the peak of their wild popularity, the singer dies of a drug overdose. The singer was so integral to the band’s sound, so irreplaceable to fans, that a fruitless replacement search by the remaining band members was eventually abandoned and the band…
Correction
The name of the animal rights group mentioned in “Cal Poly rodeo: A protest and a defense” (April 17) should be Animal Perspective.
