Cover Story
Back to Nature
Gripping tightly with her knees to stop herself from sliding down the nearly vertical slope, Susi Bernstein slowly works her way across the steep face. Above her in the shimmering heat, a strong young man prevents his own fall by grabbing onto a rope anchored to his truck. # This isn’t some new extreme sport, although…
Learn by don’t-ing
Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doingâ€? motto was put to the test this past weekend and earned a big fat F. Cal Poly journalism senior/music minor and former New Times Calendar Editor Stacey Anderson, 21, had planned to mount the “KCPR Garden Party,â€? a day-long music festival at Downtown Brew last Saturday. The event was both her…
Free speech threatened in Atascadero
Atascadero homeowner and well-known activist David Broadwater has accused Mayor Tom O’Malley of attempting to squelch both his right to information and his exercise of free speech during a City Council meeting on May 23. “O’Malley said I might be in trouble with the law if I speak to other council members,â€? claims Broadwater. “I’ll…
Joy to the fishes?
When it comes to politicians and power companies, it’s easy to forget broken promises—plenty of new ones will rise to take their place. Residents of Morro Bay, who live in the shadow of its famous towers, can’t help but be aware of their friendly neighborhood power plant, or the 1,002 megawatts it (ideally) pumps into…
Health care crisis makes me sick
I work with a nurse who was diagnosed with breast cancer about two and a half years ago. After a lumpectomy and chemotherapy, she spent time researching radiation treatments. What she found was a type of radiation therapy called IMRT, or Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. It directs the radiation to the immediate tumor area, thus…
Look who’s not talking
I don’t like free speech. If there’s any way I can squeeze a buck or two out of my words, I go for it, every time. I wouldn’t waste one fraction of a half of a blink of an eye on this column if I weren’t monetarily compensated for it. I don’t make much, mind…
Putting the Capps on offshore drilling
House representatives from Florida and California, including local Congresswoman Lois Capps, spearheaded a rally Thursday on Capitol Hill against a two-part effort to discontinue a moratorium on offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Lifting the ban would effectively allow carte blanche on any oil well or gas deposit at least three miles from the…
Letters
Subtle but important In your recent article on Morro Bay’s sewage outfall, you stated that even if the Water Board votes 4-3 to turn down a waiver, the EPA has the authority to issue a permit for a waiver during the sewage plant upgrade. This is not correct. I said that EPA has discretion to…
Rules for the 55 Fiction short story contest
Our annual short story contest we call 55 Fiction is upon us, a time to show off your literary skills by writing us a short story using only 55 words. Here are the rules: The story must contain four elements: 1) a setting all stories have to take place somewhere, so be sure your story has…
