Cover Story
Testing the waters: Locals prepare to submit a nomination to create a National Marine Sanctuary along the Central Coast
A wise animated crab once said: “The human world, it’s a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they’ve got up there.” He was biased, of course, but nonetheless, there are some land-roaming humans who might agree. In the waters off the Central Coast, 13 different species of whales and dolphins come to…
Paso Robles Library Foundation combines art and charity at annual Bookplate! fundraiser
Francis Bacon, the 16th century man of science and wearer of many, many ruffles, once remarked, “Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” Only a man with the last name Bacon could talk of books as food. But he’s not the only one to pun…
Paso man sentenced in animal cruelty case
A man accused of setting a young steer on fire at Paso Robles High School on Oct. 26, 2013 has been sentenced to jail and ordered to seek treatment. Garrett Kaplan, 24, of Paso Robles, pled no contest to felony animal cruelty at his Nov. 20 court hearing. Kaplan was given a one-year sentence, 90…
SLO Film Fest screens silent film ‘Daddy Long Legs’ for Coming of Age series
As far as 21st birthdays go, mine was just between Gigli and Howard the Duck in terms of how laughably awful it was. There was no party, there was no carousing, no special just-on-your-birthday jägerbomb surprises, or, worse, any post-just-on-your-birthday jägerbomb sickness surprises. It was just me, alone, on my couch, getting drunk off watching…
What’s your favorite sea creature?
Diana Gullo real estate “Probably the seahorse.” Jason Chung Apple “The walrus.” Mike Kee banker “It’s between a whale, a dolphin, or a sea turtle.” Aram French graphic designer “The octopus.”
Pismo council set; mayoral race headed for recount
Election results were certified countywide on Nov. 19, but Pismo Beach is the only place in San Luis Obispo County where the electoral outcome is still uncertain. Specifically, incumbent Pismo Beach Mayor Shelly Higginbotham and challenger Kevin Kreowski were separated by just two votes in the final election tally. Higginbotham garnered 1,637 votes; Kreowski tallied…
Hill tops Ferrara in Arroyo Grande mayoral shocker
Although initial results showed him trailing, final election results certified on Nov. 19 show that write-in challenger Jim Hill was successful in unseating longtime Arroyo Grande Mayor Tony Ferrara. After all the ballots were tabulated and the write-in votes were manually certified, Hill emerged with 3,090 votes—95 more than Ferrara’s 2,995 votes. According to San…
Pipeline crunch time: A Nov. 21 hearing looms as Nipomo stakeholders consider key water decisions
In water-challenged South County, the concept of the Nipomo Supplemental Water Project has been around for decades. Day by day, though, the project is becoming more real. While the actual construction of a supplemental water pipeline between Santa Maria and Nipomo has been underway for more than a year now, Nipomo residents and stakeholders are…
The Mother Hips brings their quintessential California sounds to SLO Brew on Nov. 21
In the 1960s and ’70s, one of California’s most creatively potent hotspots was Laurel Canyon, a Los Angeles neighborhood that became the epicenter for folk and rock performers such as Joni Mitchell; Jackson Browne; David Crosby; Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash; The Turtles; Mama Cass; The Byrds; Frank Zappa; Jim Morrison; and many others. The…
Studios on the Park displays new encaustic exhibit
When most people look at wax, they think to themselves, “Oh yes, this would make a lovely candle for my new redwood bookcase.” Well, maybe not most people. Maybe that’s just me. But when Heidi Beal looks at wax, she sees a medium fit for her fantastical artistic expressions, which can currently be seen at…
SLOMA Craft Art Market opens for the holidays
It’s November, and you all know what that means. Yes, it’s time again for National Pomegranate Month, so get out your bibs because those seeds are messy. OK, that’s not what November is about. It’s holiday season, so that means it’s time to be thinking about gifts. If you’re thinking about getting something extra unique,…
Cal Poly’s Theatre and Dance Department stages dark satire, ‘Betty’s Summer Vacation’
If there’s one thing you can take away from Betty’s Summer Vacation, it’s that this is a play that is definitely not for everyone. Despite the fact that the performance has been advertised from the start as absurd, funny, and extremely disturbing—which it undoubtedly is—there were a few audience members who chose not to return…
Clubs 11/20/14-11/27/14
Goin’ South … THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. CUVEE BISTRO AND CHAMPAGNE BAR: 550 1st St., Avila Beach, 595-2245. Live music Thurs. and Sat. 6-9pm. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the…
Extra ‘special’ brownies: Heaven Squared is baking up chocolaty treats spiked with beer, wine, and sumptuous spices
Nicki Parker of Heaven Squared Brownie Company believes wholeheartedly in the 80/20 rule of health, and so do I. It’s really the only way to go, if you want to 1) live a long life and 2) actually enjoy yourself while you’re living. Brownies rank high on my list of life enhancers, right after good…
Robert Hall’s 2012 Zinfandel and Evo Grapefruit Sparkling Water
The holidays mean family time, and family time means food. Food means wine, so you’d better get your bottles lined up and ready for the front lines. I recently pulled a 2012 Robert Hall Zinfandel out of my closet (can I call it my “wine closet” to sound fancier?) to pour for my mother,…
Holidaze
Got a beef with gluten? Sign up for Vert Foods’ Glueten Free Thanksgiving class, which will teach home-cooks how to prepare a festive feast sans the wheat (email info@vertfoods.com for information, and do it soon!) … Food, crafts, and family fun will be echoing through Mission Plaza this Nov. 29 and 30, so get your…
On target: Central Coast Archery hits the mark
Archery may just be one of the coolest sports on the planet. And no, it’s not because of Katniss Everdeen. She pretty much just jumped on the archery bandwagon. It was definitely probably because of Errol Flynn, when he played the original badass Robin Hood. So you can imagine all of the excitement, when Central…
Cougars & Mustangs
Cougars and Mustangs … two species of animal mascots, but actually four mascots in total. See, both Cuesta and Cal Poly each sport two incarnations of what happens when they perform a patronus charm. Three of these are merely costumed characters. For Cuesta, Cougie the Cougar’s first original costume, though classic and known to play…
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission releases a tsunami assessment of Diablo Canyon 11 years later
After more than 11 years, a 63-page report focused on the tsunami hazard at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant has been made public. On Nov. 6, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) released Dr. Robert Sewell’s report, “A Preliminary Numerical Study of the Hazard from Local Landslide Tsunami Scenarios at the Diablo Canyon Site in…
Paso Robles City Council bans various psychoactive products
It took all of about 10 minutes for the Paso Robles City Council to ban bath salts and spice. No, we’re not talking about the common household products. Synthetic substances like psychoactive herbal incense—also known as spice—and psychoactive bath salts have become hot topics recently, coming into the crosshairs of law enforcement and prompting cities…
Grover’s Measure K passes, will address worst roads first
The first of Grover Beach’s failing roads may be repaired as soon as spring, thanks to a $48 million bond measure that narrowly passed in the Nov. 4 election. Final election tallies—certified as of Nov. 19—show that Grover’s Measure K pulled in 2,337 “yes” votes (68.02 percent of the total), with only 1,099 votes in…
Deputies make hash oil arrests
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced Nov. 17 that deputies had arrested three individuals who were suspected of being involved in or near an alleged home hash oil production at a rural Arroyo Grande home. One man was arrested on suspicion of manufacture and sale of a controlled substance, another was arrested for…
Differing accounts: A woman with epilepsy claims Pismo Beach police were overly aggressive and wrongly arrested her; police claim she was intoxicated and hostile
The question that will most likely need answering in the coming weeks is whether Pismo Beach police appropriately handled an intoxicated woman who had become irate with officers, or whether they were overly aggressive and arrested a woman with epilepsy who called 911 in hope of receiving medical help. As of press time, New Times…
Who you gonna call?
I used to watch Saturday morning cartoons and think how amazing it would be if life were more like Looney Tunes. You know, when your mom nagged you about whether you made your bed—she knows you didn’t, so why does she insist on framing it as a question?—you’d just smile at her, say “meep meep,”…
I’m appalled at Capps’ deceptive moves
Lie: an untrue statement intended to deceive. Liar: one who tells lies. The Capps campaign ran a TV ad in which they edited a statement by Chris Mitchum to make it sound as if he would not go to Washington to represent the 24th District. They intentionally omitted the remainder of his statements and ran…
I don’t like the changes, New Times
Some of us are so disappointed in New Times. Personally, I have been an avid reader of New Times and read it over The Tribune. But for some reason, you have chosen to not report anything about Pismo Beach, which includes publishing letters not just from me but other people I know as well. We…
Valuable taxes fall through loopholes
Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich—no, it has nothing to do with food and drink. These are two tax loopholes widely used by corporations, especially by technology companies. The U.S. government loses hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue each year due to these and other loopholes. The U.S. Congress is fully aware of…
