Cover Story
Ghost in the machine
Bonnie McKee Hoadley is dead. McKee, 45, wife and mother of two young children, died of leukemia, on March 26. She was a proud wife and mother and by all accounts, the sort of person who people loved to be around. She was also an artist, the sort of master artisan rare in this day…
Water waste
Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee persuaded enough of his Republican colleagues to narrowly pass comprehensive water legislation; the Senate followed suit and the five-bill package—including an $11.1-billion bond measure—was signed by the governor earlier this month. Now the real fight begins. Though the package includes auspicious steps to conserve and regulate water usage and examine…
A step up or a sellout?
Ausra pulled out of its solar project in the Carrizo Plains so unexpectedly the sale even had longtime critics wondering whether the move was for better or worse. The Palo Alto branch of the company announced it would sell the 177-megawatt Carrizo Solar Energy Farm to Arizona-based First Solar for an undisclosed amount on Nov.…
Correction
Erika Hirsch is the source of all quotes in “Happy tofurkey day!” (Nov. 12).
Less pesticide spray, more awards
After more than 10 years of effort to help local wine-grape growers spray fewer pesticides on their crops, the Central Coast Vineyard Team has won a national award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA representative Cara Peck presented the “Best-of-the-Best” award for Sustained Excellence in Integrated Pest Management to the vineyard team’s executive director,…
Poly to research for DoD
Cal Poly will soon be conducting logistical research and developing software for the U.S. military under an upcoming three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Department of Defense. University President Warren Baker will join Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander of U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), at a ceremony Dec. 1 at Scott Air Force Base,…
Morro Bay sees quick cleanup after dredging accident
A small oil spill during Morro Bay’s $8.6 million dredging project was completely cleaned up by Nov. 12, after quick action to prevent its spread in the estuary, according to harbor officials. A welded piece on the hydraulic excavator dredge broke, sending a clam-shaped bucket to the bottom of the shallow channel in front of…
Public parking lost, city land sold cheap, classic buildings gutted, hey, it’s Chinatown
The SLO City Council voted Nov. 17 to approve the Chinatown project, putting the final city endorsement on a near-decade-long effort to develop the 2.12-acre plot east of the mission. The project, approved on a 4-0 vote, will take up most of the block between Palm, Chorro, Morro, and Monterey streets and is slotted to…
DeVaul due for punishment
Dan DeVaul has lost the last best chance for his defense. SLO Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy curtly denied DeVaul’s motion for a new trial on Nov. 17. All that’s left now is the punishment. DeVaul, the owner of Sunny Acres sober living facility convicted of two criminal code violations, is due back in…
Do you have any odd Thanksgiving traditions?
Alli Stapleton student “My family doesn’t eat turkey.” Gaspreno Moreno maintenance worker “SLO is boring. I go back to Italy every year.” Seamas Navarro poet “I like to spend Thanksgiving with people I don’t know.” Shelly Perez student “Five or more people in my family make stuffing.”
Claiborne & Churchill 2007 Pinot Noir Runestone Barrel Select
This Edna Valley Pinot Noir is classic Burgundian with its plummy aromas and flavors nicely weaved with earth, mineral, and spice notes. It’s well balanced and elegant. An excellent choice for the holiday table or any other celebratory meal, it will complement most main courses be it beef, salmon, ahi, turkey, or rack of lamb.…
Communal dining
When a couple of friends suggested that I check out Sustenance Cooking Studio in SLO, I thought it was a restaurant offering cooking classes. I was wrong: it is not a restaurant. Though the latter is partially correct, I didn’t realize that Sustenance is a private club. However, this is no country club. You don’t…
Bringing warmth to SLO
Cal Poly students Eva Sanders and Erika Anderson are donating something to people who have no shelter that most people forget to appreciate around the Thanksgiving dinner table: warmth. In past weeks, the two best friends have organized “Warm a Cold Shoulder,” a coat drive directly benefiting SLO’s homeless population as well as the…
We need library professionals now more than ever
This week, the county eliminated 11 library positions, equivalent to seven full-time employees, and announced volunteers will be used as substitutes. At the same time, County Supervisor Frank Mecham has pressed to replace a key technical service and support position with a county-wide “volunteer coordinator.” They are supposedly unrelated matters, but were presented together. Draw…
Jonathan Inge
NEW TIMES: When will the freestyle dance competition at Cuesta College be held? INGE: Dec. 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the dancers have to sign up at least a week before. They can start signing up now but the deadline is Nov. 30. NEW TIMES: Where is the contest being held?…
Don’t worry ’bout it
Don’t worry: They’ve got another bucket. More about that later. The SLO City nincompoops are trying to figure out how to dredge Laguna Lake without bankrupting the city. So far they figure it will cost about half a million per year to clean up the lakebed, and they think it will take about 10…
Go diesel
Going green with the wrong technology will always put you in the red; for example, green hybrid buses purchased with federal and state money that can’t haul passengers up a hill (“Hybrid buses broke,” Nov. 5). Members of the Mercedes Benz Club of America recently toured the Mercedes factory and restoration center in Germany. For…
Police should be held to a higher standard
I read your article about how SLO county cops are not required to submit to random drug testing (“No random drug testing for cops,” Oct. 29). The expert Eugene O’Donnell was quoted as saying they should submit because the public sees it as a double standard. The article states that taxi, limousine, ambulance, bus, and…
Use a stamp instead
Regarding the letter, “Back to the drawing board for Paso,” (Nov. 12), I can suggest one way our water company could save money. Instead of hanging approximately 600, $28 disconnection door hangers a month that require a city employee driving a city-owned vehicle, why not use the U.S. Postal Service like all the other utility…
Flag-wavers for coal
On Veterans Day, while almost all of America was patriotically honoring our nation’s valiant veterans, one conservative energy consortium, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), willfully and irreverently dishonored our veterans and shamed themselves. ACCCE distributed an e-mail that said, “We wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the military personnel…
Welcome home; now get lost
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma recently put a hold on S-1963, the Veterans’ Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act of 2009, which prevented the bill from being considered by the Senate. His “reasoning?” He didn’t know how it would be paid for! He had before that put holds on two earlier Veterans Health Care benefits…
Hell no
Does John Winthrop (“I’m with Bill Moyers: Bring back the draft,” Nov. 12) think those of us who opposed the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent mishandling of the Afghan conflict are now gullible enough to sacrifice our children to help the war mongers save face? Well, as long as Bill Moyers says so! If the…
Compel training and reinstate the draft
I am in full agreement with John Winthrop, and Bill Moyers, on reinstating the draft (“I’m with Bill Moyers: Bring back the draft,” Nov. 12). I would have every young American go through a universal basic training sometime between the ages of 18 and 23, with flat feet or bifocals, no excuse. At the end…
Drug treatment pays
I read your article “Stuck on the list” (Nov. 12) and saw defense attorney Matt Guerrero mentioned, who represented me five years ago when I was arrested for being under the influence of speed. It was the first (and last) time I have ever been in trouble with the law. I have held the same job for…
If Diablo melts down …
Most of the residents of SLO County have received information about obtaining K1 tablets in case radiation is released from the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. We can all get two tablets per household member; keep them safe, know where they are. So far, so good: But please tell me, how are all the kids…
Sing out, sister!
There’s a new babe in town, er, I mean band in town, and she’s, I mean it’s fronted by Amanda Johansen. Mmm … Amanda Johansen (sighhhhh). Anyway, about the rest of the band. Minka is sort of a who’s who of local performers: Dan Ernst on guitar, Isaac Lang on drums, and Forrestt Williams…
Artifacts 11-19
An anonymous person makes a public proclamation On a lonely stretch of Marsh Street, between Osos and Morro, on an otherwise ordinary newspaper rack bearing copies of The Central Coast Homes Magazine, an individual made a very brave, personal proclamation. “I’m trying to be a nicer person,” a note announces, in orange ink, punctuated…
Norris? Shatner? Bronson? P’shaw!
What are the two most frightening words in Hollywood? OK, other than “casting couch.” OK, other than “no trailer.” OK, other than … look, never mind! They’re “Gary Busey.” That’s all it took to excite me about the Paso Robles Digital Film Festival (Nov. 20-24). Seriously, the man is a badass. His teeth are like…
Exposing the fruitful works of darkness
Readers’ theater, the intimate and unapologetic stepsister of a full live theater production, doesn’t happen that often in San Luis Obispo County. In fact, only a handful take place at the SLO Little Theatre each year and on Nov. 29 Alan Navarre debuts The Devil’s Chaplain for two nights only. The Devil’s Chaplain, first…
Chihuly over SLO
Dale Chihuly might just be to glass what Andy Warhol was to pop art. The Seattle resident has an eccentric appearance—think Richard Simmons with an eye patch—and works out of a 40,000 square foot warehouse called The Boathouse on the Seattle waterfront. In 1985 he registered Chihuly, Inc., which now boasts more than 150 employees…
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.,…
