Cover Story
San Luis Obispo’s dying fields
On the south side of San Luis Obispo, amid blackberry bushes and eucalyptus trees, is a field where three local homeless men perished in less than five months. # There were no stab wounds. There were no bullet holes. In fact, there were no signs of a struggle. However, shortly before their deaths, all three…
Cliff Branch makes his voice heard
San Luis Obispo serial entrepreneur and developer Cliff Branch woke up one day last month, watched President George W. Bush give a speech on the morning news, typed out a letter, and doled out approximately $45,000 for an 8-by-11-inch advertisement in USA Today. # Frustrated and overwhelmed with the war in Iraq and President Bush,…
Correction
“Taking the Measure of J” (Oct. 26) mistakenly reported what would happen to the developer’s $4 million contribution for a new Prado Road overpass if Caltrans could not produce signed construction contracts within 10 years. That money, plus accrued interest, would go to the county, and could be used only for road improvements to improve…
Make your mark on the world
With elections as around the corner as around the corner can be, I was all set to write a red-hot column, the sort that would leave you with smoke coming out of your ears when you were done reading it. The kind that would make your eyes water. A real humdinger of a dilly of…
Land clearing leads to fine
A Creston landowner will be required to pay a $100,000 fine to the Regional Water Quality Control Board after allegedly illegally stripping all vegetation from 200 acres next to Huerhuero Creek on Hwy. 58. Superior Court Judge Roger Picquet upheld the enforcement action in an Oct. 25 decision, after landowner Haig Kelegian appealed the fine…
Letters
A couple of thoughts on Measure J coverageMemo to Karen Velie: When reporting on allegedly “shifty” tactics and “shenanigans” of “dirty campaigns” that are “designed to misrepresent and misguide voters,” all as per eager Measure J supporters who are shocked shocked! to find themselves forced to thus categorize their opponents (“No on Measure J coalition…
Conservationists decry Forest Service plan
Conservation groups filed suit on Oct. 25 against the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), accusing the agency of illegally dismissing their concerns about the impact to wildlife, water quality, and low-impact recreation of new management plans for the Los Padres National Forest and three other Southern California forests. Last April, the USFS approved the new plans…
Fast Facts …
Silverado Stages and Gulliver’s Travel of San Luis Obispo have joined together in a partnership to better serve the communities of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Both of the organizations have offered one-day and extended-day trips to local and western areas of interest via luxury motorcoaches. Now, by combining their efforts, they can…
Relax, relax, relax
Bladerunner Day Spa, a longstanding stop for locals looking for a new look, recently unveiled a new look of its own. An Oct. 27 open house marked the salon’s 20th anniversary celebration and grand re-opening, bringing hundreds of visitors through the new and expanded location. The house of style and relaxation now styles itself as…
Clarification
In “Freedom to march debated in Atascadero” (Oct. 12), New Times reported that Oct. 10 City Council meeting attendees urged the Atascadero Main Street Association to reconsider a Colony Day Parade decision. The Main Street Association does not make such decisions, according to Gail Kudlac, executive assistant for the Main Street Association.
Flu season begins
The first influenza case was recently reported in San Luis Obispo County for the 2006-07 flu season. In October, a 51-year-old county resident was diagnosed with influenza A, complicated by pneumonia. He’s now recovering. Santa Barbara County has yet to see an influenza case. Although influenza cases have been low throughout California, according to the…
Halcyon mural is no more
Halcyon Store and Post Office used to have a 360-degree mural on its walls. Now it doesn’t. The fate of the whooping cranes, hummingbirds, and gray geese that mingled with butterflies and flowers is clear: They’ve been painted over. But how the situation got to that point is not as obvious. # The mural had…
Oh, the humanity
As an astronomer, I’ve spent many quiet nights at remote mountaintop observatories gathering photons from distant stars and galaxies. The high-altitude skies are very dark, and the brilliant stars seem nearby. Yet the light I see left most of these stars well before the advent of human civilizations, while the light from the distant galaxies…
