Cover Story
CERTified saviors
The ground shakes, the sky burns. All hell breaks loose, and you need help. So you call 911, and there is no one on the other end of the line. Not even a busy signal. The phone is dead. Your house is in shambles. Two of your children are injured, one severely. Both are disoriented…
Sunday fire claims SLO mobile home resident
A midday fire caused by, fire officials say, a cigarette, left a San Luis Obispo man dead and his home in the Chumash Mobile Home Park a gutted, blackened shell. San Luis Obispo fire trucks responded to the home on May 1 after a neighbor saw swirling smoke and called 911. Fire officials estimate they…
Physician, heal thyself
When most people hear about a clinical disorder like sexual addiction, they snicker and say things like, “I’ll have what she’s having.” But family therapist Jill Denton knows it’s no laughing matter, and that this can be a seriously debilitating disorder. Denton has been practicing marriage and family counseling since 1981, and this year she’s…
Happy Mother’s Day
It is little known that Mother’s Day was originally conceived as a day of celebration of women’s peace activism. Julia Ward Howe, a noted suffragist and author, distressed by the carnage of the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, envisioned “a festival, a day which would be called Mother’s Day, and would be devoted to…
‘My interpreter of the world’
Last Friday, we said goodbye to Steve Moss.It was quite a gathering in the ballroom at the Madonna Inn: There were current and past employees, friends, family, and members of the local media – about 200 people in all. There were hilarious tales of Moss’ exuberance and wit. There were memories of how much he…
Thank you, Steve
I began writing when I lived in SLO, and Steve published the very first opinion article I had ever written. He went on to publish several more. I only met Steve through e-mail, but he was always kind and encouraging, even though the New Times leaned left and I leaned right. Whenever I think of…
Steve’s struggle was an inspiration
I was shocked and saddened by the news of Steve Moss’ untimely passing. I did not know Steve, but I have enjoyed the New Times for many years. When I heard that Steve suffered from epilepsy and depression, my heart sank. I too suffer from epilepsy and depression. In recent years I have all but…
… and Armed Forces Day, and Memorial Day
The defense of our nation is a vital task, without which none of our many freedoms would be possible. Armed Forces Day (May 21) and Memorial Day (May 30) give us an excellent opportunity to honor those who defended us and those who are now doing so. Media organizations and veterans’ groups usually do a…
Clarifications: Best of SLO County 2005
Best Art Gallery The Johnson Gallery tied for first place with the SLO Art Center, but the address and comments did not appear. The Johnson Gallery, 547 Marsh St., in downtown SLO, is as much a retreat as it is an art gallery. Paintings and sculptures of local artists are displayed in a beautifully…
Looking for solutions to an ugly mess
The bloody election battle over The Marketplace has ended (for now). Thousands of dollars were spent, a million mailers mailed, and 14,000 citizens voted. The Marketplace went down in a narrow defeat with only a little more than half the voters opposed. That’s the headline. Of course we’re still sorting through the wreckage to find…
Helping animals helps the county
In response to J.P. Mills of Paso Robles (“Animals before people?” Letters, April 21-28), have you no respect for humane practices? Violence and mayhem is not the answer. TNR (trap, neuter, release) has been proven to be very effective in animal population control all over the country. You should be proud of this county and…
Mission de Tolosa rings in a new age
After almost two centuries of dinging and donging, the Mission bells of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa have finally been put to rest, replaced by genuine replicas of the five originals. According to Mission historian Dan Krieger, Father Luis Antonio Martinez ordered the first Mission bells from Lima, Peru in 1818, with money he’d raised…
You make me sick
Boy, is this newspaper getting obscene or what?First it decides to run a disgustingly salacious cover story this week about oral sex and little kids in SLO County. Then, just to liven things up in this boring burg, New Times also decides it’d be just lovely to have a convicted child molester from Atascadero State…
Democracy works
Re: “Democracy isn’t ‘tidy,'” (Letters, April 28-May 5): If we have nothing in this country, we have our democracy. In spite of county officials equating dissent with Nazis or drunks, the will of the people will prevail, good or bad. This fundamental notion escaped the Los Osos CSD from the start and still escapes the…
What’s your definition of ‘Live Music’?
I was shocked to see the second and third place awards for the “Best Place to Listen to Live Music” (Best of SLO, April 28-May 5). Concerts in the Plaza is an excellent choice for first place. However, for Mother’s Tavern to take second is a travesty. Here’s why: Around October of 2004, Mother’s Tavern…
What the County’s Talking About This Week
Vandalism means new bases for SLO’s trout They’ve had their eyes ripped off and paintbrushes ripped out of their fins. They’ve been knocked over and had their noses broken. They’ve been yanked around until their bases broke. In all, about one-quarter of the 26 giant steelhead trout sculptures that dot San Luis Obispo have been…
