Cover Story
It’s never been easy: The Los Osos Community Services District hits another set of financial snags as it tries to plan for the future
View a slideshow of the current state of the Los Osos watewater plant. A $189-million wastewater treatment plant is tucked away in Los Osos farmland, with the crystal-clear Sisters peaks as a backdrop. It’s not finished yet, but it’s close. Inside, deep canals of concrete make space for wastewater; color-coded pumps and pipes twist through…
Beyond boxes: The Cardboard Guys fabricate fun furniture for kids
What has four legs and is brown all over? Children’s cardboard desks and chairs brought to you by The Cardboard Guys! Once a Cal Poly senior project, the “kids imagination furniture” company is up and running, owned and operated by Cal Poly graduates Justin Farr and Jake Disraeli, chief financial officer and chief marketing officer,…
Proposed pickleball courts are a sour subject in Morro Bay
Morro Bay decision makers may soon be in a political pickle. A proposal to turn the outdoor roller hockey rink at Del Mar Park into a series of permanent pickleball courts isn’t kosher for several members of the community that use the facility for other activities. On Nov. 19, the Morro Bay Recreation and Parks…
Grover Beach PD seeking a few good cops
The Grover Beach Police Department hopes that adding a new job category and increasing pay for reserve officers will help offset staffing challenges within the department. At the recommendation of Police Chief John Peters, on Nov. 2, the Grover Beach City Council unanimously approved adding an “officer trainee” position to the department and boosting pay…
As an owner or employee of a small local business, what’s the message you want to tell the community?
LynAnne Wiest retail manager “Shopping local supports small business and encourages hand-crafted quality.” Fred Hornaday retail store owner “Thank you for supporting a mom-and-pop business. Do it for the community, do it for the kids.” Travis Ehnolm wine retail employee “Support local business; it’s people you know.” Gary Heckman retail employee/spouse “The community should question…
Cougars & Mustangs
Modern society has an appetite that can’t be sated. You know the kind of appetite that Scooby-Doo, Dagwood, Garfield, and many others play to so comically? That kind of hunger. Unceasing. Unrelenting. Gastronomical black holes. Unlike a skyscraper-high sandwich or freezer lasagna, however, society chooses to feast upon your insecurity. Self-conscious about your weight? Delicious!…
BeachWalk is back: Plans for a new hotel in Pismo Beach can move forward after regulatory, legal opposition dropped
Controversial plans to build a large hotel in Pismo Beach are moving forward after the individuals opposing them dropped the challenges that could have stalled or killed the project. The Pismo Beach Planning Commission approved the BeachWalk Hotel, a planned 128-room, 94,000-square-foot hotel and resort on Pismo’s scenic beachfront between Hinds and Stimson avenues, earlier…
‘If we make it through December’
As the failed expansion attempt by Haggen Food and Pharmacy grocery stores slowly grinds to a halt, some people are losing a place to shop—at least temporarily. Others, however, are losing their jobs. The Washington-based grocery store chain, which already initiated multiple rounds of layoffs and bargain clearance sales to liquidate its stock, will be…
Mack remains Arroyo Grande planning commissioner
An Arroyo Grande planning commissioner accused of conflict of interest by a local developer will keep his position, thanks to a Nov. 10 vote by the City Council. After contentious discussion between members, the council voted unanimously to allow John Mack to remain as the city’s planning commissioner, despite serious reservations by three of its…
Paso Robles water district will go to voters
It’s official: Voters will decide on the Paso Robles Basin Water District in March 2016. After a painstaking process that took about two years, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors cast several deciding votes on Nov. 10 to send the taxation and formation of a water district to the voters. The approval itself,…
Congressional candidate attends football game, not debate
Flag on the play! A Republican candidate for California’s 24th Congressional District backed out of a debate with his competitors and attended a college football game instead. Justin Fareed, 27, who’s running for an open congressional seat currently occupied by Democrat Lois Capps, was initially scheduled to attend an Oct. 22 debate organized by the…
Kenneth Volk 2012 Pinot Noir and Halcyon’s 2014 Cabernet Franc
Kenneth Volk isn’t just a wizard when it comes to making wine. He’s also a great storyteller—a guy who really knows how to spin a yarn! I was thrilled to sit across from him during a recent Harvest dinner at Luna Red, and not just because I was able to sip his famous pinot noir…
Wine time
Juicy news: JUSTIN Vineyard and Winery in Paso Robles has been named as Winery of the Year by Wine Enthusiast! To celebrate, why not grab a table at the Restaurant at JUSTIN and sip on a little Isosceles? (Visit the tasting room and restaurant at 11680 Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles) … Speaking of wine…
Oki Momo makes even picky eaters smile
When Jonathan Yeh goes out to dinner, he faces a common conundrum. He usually wants something satisfying and hearty, while his wife, a vegetarian, is more apt to order the quinoa-kale salad with nutritional yeast dressing. Jonathan has nothing against clean eating, but he—like so many of us—finds himself yearning for a second meal after…
One man show Chris Thile wows audience at Cal Poly PAC with his mandolin
Time for a not-so-artsy-arts-editor confession: Most concerts are just too long for me. About halfway through most of them I get antsy, bored, and just want to go home. It’s a tad embarrassing since I do have an adult-sized attention span in others arenas of entertainment, just not concerts. But a Chris Thile concert is…
Here comes da judge!
I could never be a judge. First of all, I look terrible in black. I’m more of an autumn. Burnt umbers and forest greens—I kill those, but all that flowing darkness? I’d look like a storm front moving in. Plus, who wants to be in charge of deciding others’ fates? You really need to be…
Let’s meet the needs of the mentally ill
Many thanks for publishing Zaf Iqbal’s opinion piece as the Nov. 5 commentary (“Striking down the stigma”). He covers the issue with a complete presentation of the history, current needs, and the inability by some to burst their bubble of prejudice and irrationality toward the establishment of this so critically needed facility. Those very few…
Let’s make the world better
Thank you for printing Zaf Iqbal’s opinion piece “Striking down the stigma” (Nov. 5). It is excellent reporting, not just opinion. I am a Cuesta College student doing a research paper on the overcrowding in our prisons. Zaf is correct about the number of inmates who have mental health issue. It is heartbreaking that someone…
Supervisors got it right on marijuana dispensary
After observing most of the public hearing—including staff presentation, public comment, and deliberation by the SLO County Board of Supervisors—I believe the majority made the right decision in upholding the appeal of the Planning Commission to allow the dispensary. This is not about the health benefits of using marijuana, but rather public safety surrounding this…
Pirate’s Cove needs to change
I live in Shell Beach and am shocked public officials would allow the beautiful area that is Pirate’s Cove to be fouled by perverts, drug addicts, and partiers who leave their trash, condoms, syringes, underwear, and broken glass everywhere. I am afraid to bring my kids here for fear of what activity they will encounter.…
Rooftop solar not solar arrays
What if PG&E started installing solar panels on roofs with a professional crew, probably employing experienced installers from marginal companies that would go out of business if a huge company covering half of the state got serious about installing solar electric throughout the grid? That would also require new recruits and training. I can’t even…
Water basin fixit
Last week, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors adopted a countywide water conservation program. Under the program, new users of groundwater in the Paso Robles and Nipomo Mesa areas must offset the amount of water they draw from underground by an equal amount of conservation. The new water conservation plan will replace a…
University Art Gallery features illuminated installation ‘Lush’
Using gallery lights to externally light your art pieces is so old-school, thanks to artist Clint Baclawski. Baclawski’s exhibit titled Lush, currently at the University Art Gallery in the Dexter Building at Cal Poly until Dec. 4, has photos emanate light from within, giving them a substance that is normally associated with sculpture. The exhibit…
SLOMA screens ‘Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect’ on Nov. 16
Sometimes you just have to let your walls come down, unless there were no walls to begin with. The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art is showing Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect, a documentary featuring one of the most important American architects of the 20th century on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. One of Phillips’ most important works was…
Have your book and plate too: Local artists paint plates to raise funds for Paso Robles City Library
If you give a bookworm a book, he’s going to want a snack while he reads. And that snack might as well come on a one-of-a-kind hand-painted plate. The joy of reading is free at the library, but running one isn’t. In order to raise cash for the library, the Paso Robles Library Foundation will…
Affairs(s) to forget: Wine Country Theater shows the humorous side of failing at adultery in ‘Last of the Red Hot Lovers’
No one likes failing. But it’s somehow extra shameful to do badly at something you shouldn’t even be doing to begin with. The midlife crisis phenomena hits married man Barney Cashman (David Norum), of Neil Simon’s play Last of the Red Hot Lovers, hard. And he decides that the only answer is to have an…
Melissa Etheridge plays the PAC-SLO on Nov. 16
It’s the voice that gets you—a little raspy and smoky. It’s a voice that’s been compared to Bruce Springsteen and Janis Joplin; a voice that’s sold millions of records; that’s garnered 15 Grammy nominations and two wins; a voice that, on her newest album This is M.E., Rolling Stone complains/praises, “As always, her voice can…
Clubs 11/12/15 – 11/19/15
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…
