Cover Story
A question of risk
Every Tuesday afternoon people line up outside the last room in a long hall on the bottom floor of the SLO County Courthouse. On a recent Tuesday, the line stretched out the door and far down the hall. The people in line weren’t dope dealers or career criminals, but they had been caught for possession…
Should Cal Poly improve student diversity?
Shadi Majzoub student Don’t let someone in who is a minority who doesn’t qualify academically, just to increase diversity. But it would be nice to see Cal Poly increase diversity: I just don’t know how we’d accomplish that.” Ron Kruse retired “I’m from Iowa, I’ve been here for only two days. Yes, they should improve…
Power grab
SLO County supervisors Adam Hill, Jim Patterson, and Bruce Gibson have strongly criticized a proposed state ballot initiative pushed by Pacific Gas & Electric they say would hamper development of nonprofit community electric utilities (see “PG&E pushes vote to limit public power,” Oct. 10). A state senator—Mark Leno, a Democrat who represents San Francisco, Marin,…
Correction
The Shredder column “Trend setters” (Nov. 5) misstated the plans of Plains Exploration Company. The oil company plans to use an existing platform to drill in state waters
Diablo Canyon’s fired up and ready to go
PG&E turned the key and started reactor No. 2 on Nov. 10, after a five-week-long break for refueling and maintenance. The refueling involved more than 1,000 additional workers, and the operation replaced a third of the uranium fuel, according to PG&E. The spent fuel will be stored on site. During the shutdown, workers…
Employee emissions are a problem for the county
SLO County employees commute too much. According to a recent county study, county workers driving around create more than two thirds of all county government greenhouse gas emissions. The solution? Just don’t come to work. To meet state mandates, county officials have recommended allowing some employees to telecommute. Another plan is to shift their…
No smoking anywhere in SLO?
The San Luis Obispo City Council is scheduled to consider a smoking ban in public spaces at its Dec. 1 meeting. The Parks and Recreation Committee advised the city council at its Nov. 4 meeting to ban smoking and tobacco use of any kind in any outdoor recreational area of the city. The areas…
SLO city attorney leaves for pleasant pastures
Jonathan Lowell, San Luis Obispo city attorney for the last six years, is resigning at the end of the year. His departure, along with that of City Manager Ken Hampian and Finance Director Bill Statler, makes a trifecta of top city officials quitting in 2009. Lowell is moving to be the city attorney in…
Wollett’s new attorney will seek a new trial
Patrick Wollett, a 20-year-old convicted of murdering Joshua Houlgate in San Luis Obispo, may get a new trial. Citing concerns from both the Wollett and Houlgate families that Wollett wasn’t given a fair trial or adequate representation, his new attorney, Thomas McCormick, said he plans to file a motion for a new trial shortly before…
Sites to behold: postsecret.blogspot.com
Everybody’s got a secret. I have one. You have one. Your neighbor has one. And your girlfriend does too. We live in a world where there are just some things you can’t do or say, fantasies you can’t confess to, emotions you’d sooner not be mistress or master of. In 2005 Frank Warren started…
Plicking and kipping and rackaroo
The Cal Poly Theatre Department is putting on a show, a not-to-be-missed affair featuring kadoodles, kipping, plicking, rackaroo, a return to the boom-boom days, and a set of breasts big enough to make a Playboy centerfold blush. The man behind the madness—theater professor Al Schnupp—wrote and is directing the play, titled Zero To Infinity. …
Art 4 the sk8 park
The fine young cannibals are out in force tonight at Coalition’s SLO Skatepark silent auction fundraiser. I see them gather ’round the hors d’oeuvres table, gobbling cheese and crackers, nuts and Halloween leftovers, and gulping the free wine and beer. They congregate in clusters throughout the shop, preening and chatting and gobbling and gulping. …
Come to the table
There are three things an adult attending a holiday show on the Central Coast should know. The first is that the intended audience is likely families, meaning that it’s child-friendly fare. Second, there is a reasonable chance the performance will have some religious display, reference, or overtone. The third point ties back to the first;…
Clubs
Goin’ South … CAFÉ ANDREINI: 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 481-6117. Thurs.: Live music at 6pm. CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. Mon. and Tues.: Louie Ortega. Fri: Live music. COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Dr., Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music Night every Sat.,…
Claiborne & Churchill 2007 Pinot Noir Edna Valley
I enjoyed this vibrant Pinot for its forward fruit aromas and flavors of wild berries, tart cherries, mineral and spice aromas and flavors. Nicely balanced, the smooth tannins and moderate oak notes make it quite drinkable now. And it complements a variety of foods which makes it a great choice for the Thanksgiving table or…
Native goes traditional
After hearing about the new menu at Native Lounge recently from Sean Faries, co-owner and manager of his family’s restaurant in their historic downtown building in San Luis Obispo, I admit I had to admire the young restaurateur for his resilience: he totally went New York City style when he redesigned the former Mission Grill…
Some sacrificed everything
I usually forget when Veterans Day is on its way, but there is definitely a feel I get on that day. It is a day when I remember so many friends with whom I had the opportunity to serve. It is really cool to hear “Thank you for serving” and I’m glad I did: I…
Back to the drawing board for Paso
The audacity of Paso Robles voters! They exercised their right to reject another local fee increase, this time to pay for water improvements. Now the city will have to figure out how to pay the bill from their existing revenues or how to stick it to the users (people in Paso Robles who drink water)…
Give warmth
It’s that time of year when the temperatures drop and the nights become very chilly. For the past ten years I have held an annual drive to collect new and used blankets, sleeping bags, jackets, gloves, hats, and beanies for the less privileged in our community and delivered them to the San Luis Obispo EOC…
How long? Not long
What exactly do we think we are doing in our country? We speak of democratic values, of equality under the law, and then we create ballot referendums that put to a popular vote the rights of a minority of people. We vote on whether people who are already committed to one another, already paying taxes,…
Pocket the profit, palm off the loss
After keeping up with all the different information about the bailout and health- care reform, plus the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, my family has come up with what seems to be the new strategy that’s behind the scenes. It’s simple, yet effective: “Socialize” debt, “privatize” profit. What a brilliant way to…
Breeders beware
You published an excellent commentary on the Cal Poly panel by Sonja Swift (“What possessed Cal Poly to pick Gary Smith?” Oct. 29). It was very well written and covered most of my observations of the panel. There was one glaring observation that escaped notice by most that Sonja did not mention. Michael Pollan: one…
Stick to gardening
The hoo-hah over the SLO Botanical Garden is turning into some good hah-hah. First, New Times prints a thoughtful critique suggesting the garden’s conceived as another Highway 1 tourist trap, not a community resource (“Beware the dazzling plan,” Sept. 10). Then the garden’s head of development attacks the writer, “setting the record straight” with details…
Sanctuaries or firewood?
I write to help save the Carrizo Plains National Monument. Established as a National Monument in 2001, this legacy land is an island in time—an ecologically rich, remote landscape of sacred cultural significance and special allure to visitors who eagerly seek its vast vistas, solace of silence, and solitude, and its mystery of human presence…
I’m with Bill Moyers: Bring back the draft
Americans would be forced to face the grim reality that war is indeed hell, for everyone, not just the volunteers. I watched Bill Moyers on PBS on Friday evening, Oct. 30, and stayed with him as he delivered his customary commentary at the program’s end. It was a thunderbolt, because Moyers, arguably the premier…
Reyes Miranda
NEW TIMES: What are the necessary qualifications to be Santa at the Santa house downtown? MIRANDA: We have a lot of qualifications. We look for a good physique and age. We do background checks and finger printing. We look at personalities and what qualities are going to get the children excited about Christmas. NEW…
Happy tofurkey day!
Animal lovers and tofurkey (tofu turkey) fans unite! The Central Coast Vegetarian Network is hosting their first annual fall feast on Nov. 14 to celebrate their first anniversary. The event will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Dallidet Adobe and Gardens at 1185 Pacific St. in SLO. The dinner will be…
Read between the lines
I’m tired this week. I’ve been reluctantly peeking at the dud that’s supposed to be health-care reform, but I can’t do it anymore. I thought it was supposed to be a way to rein in the proverbial boning we’ve all received from insurance companies over the years. Not surprisingly, the public option is the…
Stop the presses!
In The Mountain Goats’ “Dance Music,” frontman and songwriter-in-chief John Darnielle sings, “Alright I’m on Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo/ and I’m five years old or six maybe/ and indications there’s something wrong with our new house/ trip down the wire twice daily/ I’m in the living room watching the Watergate hearings/ while my…
