Cover Story
DIY revolution: Local musicians take the controls
Virginia Woolf famously noted that to be a writer, one needed money and “a room of one’s own,” a place for creativity and contemplation. Musicians need that too. You can’t woodshed if you don’t have a wooden shed, converted garage, or a little insulated warehouse space, right? Having a home recording studio isn’t exactly a…
Measure J narrowly failing as final votes are counted
SLO County’s sales tax—and road conditions—will likely stay the same for the time being as county voters appear to have narrowly rejected Measure J, a proposed half-percent sales tax increase to raise money for local transportation infrastructure. Measure J needed a 66.67 percent supermajority vote to pass, and as of Nov. 9, it garnered 65…
How do you feel about the election results?
Michael Allen tech company CEO “I didn’t want Trump to win. I didn’t want Hillary to win. I still wish Bernie was in the race. I feel like we were robbed of an election.” Hector Gonzales Mission Linen & Uniform Services deliverer “I didn’t think he was going to win the way he did, by…
An awakening: Local musician Erin Inglish seeks donations in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Regardless of what you’ve heard, the fight between the Dakota Access Pipeline and the gathering of hundreds of tribes, individuals, and activists supporting the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is about more than protecting a precious water source. “It’s about history; it’s about legacy,” Erin Inglish said. The banjo-playing San Luis Obispo songwriter is on a…
Sustainable water: The public weighs in on Cambria’s emergency water supply facility
State agencies and the Cambria community are questioning the long-term sustainability of an emergency water supply facility that’s pumped out water since January 2015. Why now? That answer’s a little complicated, but here’s the “quick” version. The Cambria Community Services District (CCSD) originally proposed the water treatment facility as a supplemental water source after declaring…
Recreational marijuana legalized
After months of anticipation, California voters passed Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), opening the doors to a commercial cannabis industry in SLO County and across the state. Under the legislation, adults 21 and older can possess, transport, purchase, and use up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes and grow…
Arroyo Grande: United or divided?
If you were hoping that the Nov. 8 election would provide an answer to whether the recent tension and division between the Arroyo Grande mayor and some members of the City Council would be resolved, you’re going to be disappointed. Because that answer is “it depends.” That’s as much reassurance as Arroyo Grande residents will…
Pease, Gomez, Marx on SLO City Council
During the election season in San Luis Obispo, residents often expressed their choices for City Council in pairs. “Andy Pease for City Council” signs were often accompanied with “Aaron Gomez for City Council” signs; “Mike Clark for City Council” signs were usually paired with “Mila Vujovich-La Barre for City Council” signs. The divide represented two…
Jordan Cunningham takes the 35th District
The California Assembly’s historically Republican leaning 35th District stayed in Republican hands—at least according to initial and unofficial vote counts posted on the SLO County clerk-recorder’s website. Jordan Cunningham defeated Democratic opponent Dawn Ortiz-Legg to take the seat, which represents San Luis Obispo County and part of Santa Barbara County. Voters picked Cunningham with 54…
Fareed not yet conceding race
Democratic candidate and outgoing Santa Barbara County 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal was leading Republican candidate and businessman Justin Fareed in the 24th District Congressional race with 54 percent to Fareed’s 46 percent and approximately a 16,000 vote difference as of noon on Nov. 9. But ballots are still being counted. When longtime U.S. Rep.…
Hill, Peschong win races for supervisor seats
The SLO County Board of Supervisors will resume its post-election business with one newcomer and one familiar face. Third District Supervisor Adam Hill retained his seat on the board while longtime political strategist John Peschong won an open seat for SLO County’s 1st District, according to preliminary voting totals. Hill was re-elected after a particularly…
Trump victory sends shockwaves through SLO County
It was 10 p.m. on election night, and the parking lot of The Graduate restaurant and bar was foggy, dark, and nearly empty. Inside, a small group of people sat at tables tapping on their phones or staring blankly at the large screens as the results of the presidential election continued to come in. By…
Bingeable: Westworld
Where’s it available? HBO. Westworld—HBO’s new series based on novelist and filmmaker Michael Crichton’s 1973 movie of the same name—pulls off a nifty little trick: It aligns your sympathies more with the robots that populate the Old West amusement park than the human beings that visit it or the ones that run it. Westworld is…
Celebrate the New Times Music Awards, happening Nov. 11 at the Fremont Theater
Our local music scene kicks serious booty, so eight years ago, we here at New Times had an idea. We wanted to follow in the footsteps of bigger cities and create our own music awards to celebrate all the hard work, talent, and diversity of our local musicians. The New Times Music Awards was born…
Clubs 11/10/16 – 11/17/16
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Rd. in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on…
Always a Salieri, never a Mozart
“Mozart, Mozart, Mozart!” It’s tough being second best, but its even worse when el numero uno is miles more talented. Set in the court of the Austrian Emperor Josef II, Wine Country Theatre’s Amadeus tells the story of Salieri, the established composer of the day. Enter the greatest musical genius of all time: Wolfgang Amadeus…
We’re all mad here
Sometimes the process of creating art makes people a little crazy, but what if you’re already on the edge? In the play Cosi (at the Spanos Theatre Nov.10 through 17), Lewis, a recent university graduate is hired to direct a play to be performed by the patients of a mental institution in Melbourne, Australia, who…
Geneses unknown
Sometimes the joy of creation is matched only by making something that truly isn’t a replica of anything else. That’s how artist Kathryn Bay operates. Her new exhibit, Elusive Origins (on display at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art through Jan. 2), features digital art work that channels the studious focus of a macro…
Protected trees: West Cuesta Ridge has the coast’s largest grove of Sargent cypress
Fog gathers along the horizon, billowing above SLO County’s peaks like cotton balls piled on top of one another. I’m watching the pile build from above—staring at its slow progression inland from the ocean as I walk West Cuesta Ridge Road on a Saturday afternoon. It’s been almost a year since I stepped foot on…
Flesh and metal: Pump exhibit examines energy sources
For a while, every few months it was the same story, then it slowed to every few years. Juan Granados’ parents would pack him and his siblings into the truck with all their belongings and they would move to yet another new town in Texas, where his migrant farmworker parents would harvest cotton, plant onions,…
The chaos within: Lena Rushing’s Bedlam show tackles individual complexity
Good and evil. Leader and follower. Layers. We contain multitudes. The conflicting forces within each of us are a puzzle and artist Lena Rushing happily presents us with the pieces in her latest exhibit, Bedlam. “It’s bedlam, because it’s not chaotic, but it sort of is,” said Rushing, who has created art in the San…
Castoro Cellars’ Estate Sauvignon Blanc and Firestone Walker Brewing Co.’s 20th Anniversary Ale
With the incredible success of Castoro Cellars’ annual Beaverstock Festival each Labor Day weekend, it’s kind of amazing that the Udsen family has the time to keep crafting killer wine, right? Somehow, this prolific winemaking clan pulls together to get ’er done, and this brilliant sauvignon blanc is a testament to each member’s commitment to…
Holiday glitz
Nom! Madonna Inn is rolling out a super savory T-Day feast! Release the top button of those jeans and make room for roast ham, succulent duck, buttery mashed potatoes, and signature pink cake (plus tons of pies!) Nosh from noon to 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day (madonnainn.com) … Celebrate the holidays with an elegant evening…
Bustin’ outta the garage: Renegade micro winemakers shirk tradition at the Paso Garagiste Fest
What do sweaty teenage rock ’n’ roll bands, quirky tech startups, and small-batch wine all have in common? They’re all often conceived in garages—between dusty boxes stuffed with last year’s Christmas decorations and that workout bike mom bought during a late-night infomercial binge. Why the garage? It’s the perfect makeshift clubhouse for everyday inventors, a…
One bad hombre
I’m not sure if I should cry, throw up, scream, or tell myself it’s just a dream. This is not about the presidential election, by the way. This is about the fact that the electricity in the building stopped working. How am I going to shred the news today if I can’t get the juice…
Fossil fuel is unsafe for our children
UNICEF reported that 2 billion kids are exposed to unhealthy air pollution, most of it from burning fossil fuel; 300 million kids live in areas with the “most toxic air pollution.” Years ago I volunteered at a school district in the Santa Clara Valley near San Jose, and many children suffered from emphysema in the…
Misogyny needs to change
I agree with your article “Reality check” (Oct. 27) 100 percent. We are a nation of hypocrites! What Trump said about “grabbing women by the pussy” is indeed horrible, but it is “par for the course”—there isn’t a woman I know who hasn’t been sexually harassed (sometimes, fairly often). I myself can recall many incidents…
Sexual assault should meet aggression
Camillia Lanham writes eloquently about sexual offenses in the commentary “Reality check” in the Oct. 27 issue of New Times. I came of age in Massachusetts during the 1950s when men’s advances were verbal and therefore easy to ignore. I went to Italy when I turned 21. Everywhere I walked men yelled, “blonda, bella, alta,”…
What happened, Arroyo Grande?
My first memory of local politics dates to when I was 10 years old. It was a crisp, early November night in Arroyo Grande and my cheeks were rosy from running around outside with a few friends. I was tired; after all, it was later than I was normally allowed to stay up when the…
Once upon a time Americans … ?
As I write this we are but two days from the election that will determine what America will be for the next generation or forever. Once upon a time most any American understood what America was and should be. Ask any immigrant and they saw a shining city on a hill with streets paved with…
Religious roots
The implicit sexism lamented by the editor in “Reality check” (New Times, Oct. 27) is deeply rooted in our culture in a paradoxical source: the Bible. (And until these roots are extirpated, latent sexism will continue.) This is obvious in many Old Testament and New Testament texts. These texts, starting with the sex roles of…
