Cover Story
Whom do you idolize?
Al Howsepian physician “Christ.” Lizabeth Nagel cakestress “I don’t really idolize anyone!” Jacob Michael Searcy student “Jimmy Page, because he’s a badass guitarist.” Megan Apodaca cosmetologist “I take bits and pieces of different people. Everyone has different traits to take away from.”
Sometimes you got to lose to win again
Before he was 25, Rich Robinson—brother of Black Crowes’ front man Chris—seemingly had it all: fame, fortune, a beautiful wife. Then he lost it all. “How he managed to make it through with graciousness and his sense of self intact is examined on his new solo album, Through a Crooked Sun,” according to his bio…
The unstoppable Wynonna
The ’80s were a time of synthesizers, brightly colored clothes, far-out hairstyles, obnoxious sayings, and rebellious music. The era also housed a country power-duo that took the world by storm. Naomi Judd and her daughter Wynonna ran the country scene under the moniker The Judds. They topped the charts with hits like “Mama He’s Crazy,”…
All the pretty cocktails
The Exploration Station is abuzz with activity as I pull up on Sunday, Nov. 6. I’m here to judge “Chemistry of Cocktails,” a fundraising event pitting mixologists from our county’s finest eateries against one another to see who can concoct the most fantastic drinks ever assembled. Not only do these adult beverages need to be…
Live funny or die
Operation Desert Storm would change the life of Jill Turnbow. The young comedienne was given a mere five days’ notice before shipping out to the Persian Gulf and boarding the Cunard Princess, a British cruise liner off the coast of Bahrain and the designated spot for soldiers in the Gulf War to blow off steam.…
Tales from the imaginary past
Al Schnupp has read around 1,000 fairytales. They’re all stored up in his brain somewhere, a mad, hopping trove of distressed damsels, heartless giants, and bloodthirsty monarchs. But of that teeming multitude of tall tales, the Cal Poly theater instructor, director, and playwright has selected a mere eight and given them new life in his…
Bogle 2009 Riesling California
This light and refreshing white is lightly sweet with just enough sugar and acid to make it classic in style. It offers tasty notes of honeysuckle, apricot, and floral aromas and flavors that are nicely balanced by tangy citrus and Mandarin orange notes. I found it quite drinkable alone, but it’s best with food. Try…
Sinor-LaVallee 2009 Pinot Noir Talley Rincon Vineyard
This very special wine comes from a single block in Talley’s estate vineyards. Admittedly, I’m a huge fan of all of winemaker Mike Sinor’s wines, but this elegant wine has consistently been a favorite each vintage. Its aromas and flavors of tart cherries, plums, and wild blackberry notes are nicely offset by notes of minerals…
CLUBS
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo…
Sushi for beginners
Sushi isn’t considered a daunting word to most people, but to some, it can be panic inducing. It implies seemingly difficult things like chopsticks, wasabi, and spoonless soup. While our Western culture has come to love sushi, a lot of diners are still perplexed by its etiquette and traditions. The truth is that sushi isn’t…
Raku–it’s fun for everyone!
Tony Yoshida Park knew exactly what he wanted when he began planning the concept for his new restaurant in SLO, Raku Japanese Fusion Cuisine. First and foremost, it had to be unique. And it is, if simply for the fact it’s the only Japanese restaurant in SLO County to feature a yakatori grill, the Japanese…
Cougars and Mustangs
Have tough economic times left your local university in a budget bind? The Green Campus crew at Cal Poly is promoting a simple cure to relieve some of that duress. Their remedy? “Turn ’em out.” This week, the wandering eye that is Cougars and Mustangs settles its inquisitive gaze on some Earth-loving Cal Poly students—as…
Nickel and dimed
Want to build or update your dream house? If you live in San Luis Obispo and want your latest home improvement project to be up to city code, it’s going to cost you. Building fees for construction have always been high, but after a late-night vote at the Nov. 1 SLO City Council meeting, the…
Cut off
Paul Teixeira was welcomed into San Luis Obispo County government with a political spanking of such magnitude it’s still remembered as one of the bigger gaffs by a freshman supervisor. In March, when the supervisor had just been elected to represent SLO County’s southeastern district, he tried to remold the South County Advisory Council, a…
Zippity do da
Imagine you’re standing at the edge of a hill more than 150 feet high, sprawling vineyards to your left, oaks in every direction, red-tailed hawks wheeling at eye-level, and you’re about to step off the edge and fly into the landscape courtesy of the Renegade. The 1,300-foot ride is a thrill, more along the vein…
SLO downtown beautification is over budget–again
Sprucing up downtown San Luis Obispo is getting expensive. The city staff wants the City Council to pony up an additional $174,900 on top of the $611,600 already allocated to “beautify” two blocks of downtown SLO. Two years ago, the City Council set out to beautify all of the downtown by installing trendy “mission-style” sidewalks,…
No receiver for De Vaul, yet
After weeks of testimony and argument about rancher and sober-living coordinator Dan De Vaul, the beleaguered case of whether to appoint a receiver for his Sunny Acres ranch ended not with a bang, but a fizzle. The overall tone coming out of San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Charles Crandall’s court room is that everyone…
Excelaron EIR cost goes up
In response to a deluge of comments on Excelaron’s proposed oil project in the Huasna Valley, the consultant decided to pump another $57,047 into a $356,417 Environmental Impact Report. According to John McKenzie, a county senior environmental planner and the project manager, the original EIR contract was written to accommodate 150 unique comments. Excelaron’s project…
Orcutt annexation votes pour in
The election that will decide if a neighborhood southeast of San Luis Obispo will become part of the city is underway. As of Nov. 8, 40 of the 55 possible ballots had been mailed in, according to County Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald. All ballots need to be received by the county clerk by Nov. 15. The…
Cal Poly faculty ‘Occupy the CSU’
California’s state university faculty, driven by what they call unfairness in labor negotiations with the CSU Chancellor’s Office, is stepping up protests across the state. About 90 Cal Poly faculty members spent their lunch hour on Nov. 8 picketing in the courtyard in front of the university’s administration building, waving signs reading, “Enough is Enough—Fair…
Inequity at its best
I cringe when progressive wannabe socialists and some of the mainstream media try to explain how the Occupy Wall Street movement is a wonderful way for people to express their outrage because 1 percent of Americans have more money than they know what to do with. Are you kidding me? Why aren’t they camped out…
This is our agenda
1) Housing: fair and affordable (mortgages and rents) that people can afford. 2) Jobs: a policy that creates jobs that will bring our civilization into the future (as the space program did); our infrastructure is in dire need of help—and stop sending our jobs overseas! 3) Taxes: Close the damn loopholes; the tax code is…
Put endangered species above personal preferences
One thing those persons concerned about the proposed Morro Coast Audubon Society (MCAS) project at East Sweet Springs can agree on is that, should the eucalyptus trees be removed, the “view” will change. Whether or not the “view” will be diminished without the tall trees or enhanced with the addition of native trees and shrubs…
Pismo would be better without Waage
I love the city of Pismo Beach, but because of the behavior of one of their council members, Ed Waage, I’m happy I don’t live there. For a year and half, Mr. Waage has been on a misinformation campaign about the Air Pollution Control District’s study on particle pollution from the Oceano Dunes. Despite having…
Increase presidential scrutiny now!
A New Times letter writer accused me (“Political debate doesn’t move us forward,” Nov. 3) of putting a title on my letter “Some final words in the bailout conversation” (Oct. 27) that tried to end the debate. While many people know that the newspapers generally put the titles on letters to the editor, I was…
The burden of proof is on you, atheists
Atheist Paul Rinzer states, “To be an atheist, one does not have to say there are no gods, only that no one has provided good reasons to believe there is a god. Whoever claims there is a god has the burden to prove a god exists.” (“Meet your friendly neighborhood atheists,” Oct. 19). The answer,…
Clear up some aquifer confusion
Recently, New Times gave an opinion page to an opponent of the Los Osos sewer project who apparently doesn’t know the difference between our lower and upper aquifers (“Sewer costs area not confined to Los Osos,” Nov. 3). The lower aquifer is currently the main source for drinking water reported on in the annual Water…
You missed the boat, Los Osos
After reading the commentary in last week’s New Times about the Los Osos sewer (“Sewer costs are not confined to Los Osos,” Nov. 3), my only comment is ENOUGH is ENOUGH! I’m so sick of reading about the sewer year after year. First it was going to be built—no wait a minute, it’s not. More…
Where’s the sympathy? The outrage?
I was surprised to find in last week’s (Nov. 3) letters to the editor not a single comment on the cover story “‘Down for my hood’” (Nov. 3), especially in response to the section about the unsolved case of Bryan Brady. I was friends with Bryan Brady. We went to the same high school and…
JACK FARRIS, owner of Farris Lighting
NEW TIMES How long have you been in the lighting business? FARRIS I opened the business in 1978. I had a large store at Santa Barbara and High and eventually retired and moved home to Avila Beach. People were calling me so much, asking me for information. I became flattered enough to open another business.…
A teachable moment
Miss Dorothy Drew was the best, the toughest, college English teacher I ever had. If she rewarded you with an “A,” you really earned it. She taught upper-class and honors courses at Syracuse University, and I couldn’t get enough, even though her nickname was “D-minus” Drew. You had to be well-prepared when you entered her…
That’ll do, Paul. That’ll do.
Remember when you were a kid and you did something to piss off your parents—you know, like insist on wearing adult diapers to the dinner table so you didn’t have to walk to the bathroom or swapping your little sister for a Siberian husky puppy—and as punishment they’d withhold your allowance? It happened frequently. Still…
