Cover Story
Life, death, and salami
It’s a well-known fact that history repeats itself. The idea of eating only locally-made products is quite the rage, but just 150 years ago in this county and worldwide, it would have been the primary option. Antonio Varia, owner of Buona Tavola in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles, has never thought of making his…
Forget the booze; give me the facts!
I read your paper all the time, love it. I read a rebuttal article by Sandra Davis Lakeman of Save Our Downtown (“Save Our Downtown deserves better,” Nov. 15) and a letter to the editor from Allan Cooper (“Dear Shredder,” Nov. 15) of the same group. Both of them stated SLO has the highest number…
Clubs: 11/22
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. 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…
Leftover lunches
It’s inevitable with a host of relatives descending upon one’s household: the annual fear of not having enough food. It happens regularly to my family at Christmas, overcompensating just in case someone wants seven helpings of turkey. But when the meal is over and you’re surveying the turkey carcass with heaps of meat still clinging…
Luli 2011 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands
This ripe, lush Pinot grown and produced in Monterey County is consistently good and value priced. Made by the famous Jeff Pisoni in the Santa Lucia Highlands, this Pinot is very friendly and easy drinking. The tasty blackberries and plum aromas and flavors are nuanced by notes of tangy cranberry, cedar, spice, and smoke. The…
Wild Horse 2008 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley Cheval Sauvage
This delicious, irresistible Pinot was grown in Sierra Madre, a Santa Maria Valley vineyard with a legacy. The Cheval Sauvage proprietary name is only given to the reserve wines, and this one earned it. Aged 14 months in French oak barrels, the aromatics are well integrated into this nicely maturing Pinot Noir. I loved its…
What are you drinking?
If there’s one thing I love discovering, it’s what our local winemakers are drinking with their holiday meals. Of course they drink their own—if I made wine as well as these vintners do I’d be drinking it, too. But I also asked them to provide tips as to which wines are on their table besides…
Locals only!
Though slower than usual thanks to the holiday, there are still a few noteworthy shows this week. For instance, local hipster heroes The Ragged Jubilee play SLO Brew on Friday, Nov. 23, with Magazine Dirty opening the show (7 p.m.; all ages; $10 presale or $14 at the door). The Ragged Jubilee is Ethan Burns…
Popovich’s pets
Exotic creatures such as performing elephants, bears, or monkeys spring to mind when one thinks of the circus. But trained housecats? Those small domestic fluff-balls that tend to sleep all day and are notoriously independent are not found in the typical performing act, but that doesn’t stop Gregory Popovich of Comedy Pet Theater. Popovich’s talented…
Nice hat!
It’s Friday, Nov. 16, and my wife and I are standing at the end of a long line of people waiting to get into The Z Club for a performance by SLO Tease, a burlesque troupe. Suddenly I see Executive Producer Rick Castello working the line, greeting people and shaking hands. As he arrives I…
Get schooled
It’s good to know our kids are being taught about art by people who know what’s up. Like Cal Poly sculpture professor Diana Puntar, whose selections from her palindromically* named series LIVEDLIVEEVILDEVIL are deliciously difficult to describe. They’re like tree trunks, if trees were made by Swedish furniture designers in the future. Puntar’s shiny, seductively…
‘Interpretations of the unseen’
“Before I paint, I pray,” artist Daniel tells me. For Daniel, whose large abstract paintings currently hang at Paso Robles’ PierceModern Gallery, the creative process is nothing if not a spiritual endeavor, a channeling of the divine onto the canvas. Of course, Daniel’s pretty comfortable being human, too, adding, “That’s not to say that I…
Questions For: Janine Stillman
NEW TIMES What attracts you to fused glass? STILLMAN I’ve always enjoyed looking at glass, but not thought I could do anything with it. But I found a book that helped me start—you start with stained glass and work your way from there. I actually used to be a quilter, and that helped me with…
There’s a pot and kettle joke here somewhere
It floored me to hear Romney telling his millionaire donors, to whom he promised yet another tax cut, accuse Obama of promising “financial gifts” to his supporters.
Don’t forget about the future
The oil and gas Industry is at it again. Recent industry predictions state we will out-produce the Saudis by 2015. Increased fracking of shale formations has accelerated production of oil and gas, with more fracked wells on the way. This could drive gas prices below $3/gallon. Sounds great! Give yourself a raise, buy a new…
Thinking Obama’s a puppet doesn’t make you a racist
I am so sad that Americans who oppose the never-ending war and sate of fascism that is our current regime under Obama are being called racist. It hurts me deep down in my heart. Would you call our Founding Fathers some sort of derogatory term because they were tired of being endlessly taxed and invaded…
Get it? Because of his name? And the infidelity?
General Petraeus betrayed us.
Oh, Canada!
Shredder had fun in his column, “What the hell, America?” (Nov. 15), referencing malcontents (Republicans, I assume) who are threatening to move to Canada. While this may be a just stick-it-in-your eye rant, I’d like to point out that Canada as a country does seem to work a lot better than the United States. And…
The two parties keep us mired in BS
In response to Ethel Lander’s letter “Believe in America” (Nov. 15), I must say: What a bunch of malarkey. Ethel must have had her eyes closed these last 20 years. When she said, “The two-party system is much needed and much valued in America,” I had to read it again to make sure I read…
When dreams won’t come
I thought I had Valley Fever recently. Turns out, I’m just really pissed off. It’s mostly because I’m so broke. Forget buying new tires for my truck; or doing anything fun; or saving money for the future: I can’t even afford shampoo. Luckily, I could rock dreadlocks if need be. What sucks, is that I…
Adult content
One of the most profound things I’ve ever heard was a warning issued before an episode of This American Life: “We’re going to acknowledge the existence of sex between adults.” It was an eye-opening moment for all the wrong reasons. What kind of cave-dweller is shocked by the very basic fact—the most basic fact of…
Cougars & Mustangs
Cuesta students, there’s no denying that there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future of your college, including which programs will be cut and whether the college will survive the giant accreditation question mark lingering over your head like the darkest of clouds. But it wouldn’t do to allow this uncertainty to prevent you from…
Plugging in to local power
It’s described as a revolution in power, a “blue sky” idea that’s quietly taking hold in California and around the country. More and more local communities are choosing to unplug from utility monopolies and set up their own electricity agencies—with a focus on clean energy and local jobs. The concept is sparking interest in San…
Ranch rundown
After nearly four years, the contentious Santa Margarita Ranch project is finally before a judge. And though a decision is somewhere around three months away, it appears the judge has some issues with how the project made its way before him. The proposed development calls for a high-end residence subdivision on roughly 3,800 acres, 10…
Which muppet do you identify with the most?
Dillon De La Torre store associate at Kwirkworld “Statler and Waldorf [the elderly hecklers from The Muppet Show] because I’m cynical and sarcastic in the morning.” Nicole Crow barista at Linnaea’s Café “Elmo because we are both cute and cuddly.” Melanie Thomas store manager at Abercrombie & Fitch “Fozzie Bear because I like to think…
Amused at A Muse!
There is this place, and that place. The do place, the don’t place. The big. The small. The squat. The tall. The shoes. The clothes. And where everyone goes. But wait! There’s something new in downtown SLO. Perhaps everyone would like to go? Fun and whimsy, and art so fine, next to the place where…
County sued over water-saving ordinance
A group of North County landowners are taking their angst over an all-out ban on subdivisions to court. The loose coalition of unnamed citizens retained attorneys Steven Hoch and Christopher Foster of Los Angeles to fight an ordinance that the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors passed in September in response to depleting water…
Grover’s charter is up in the air
Following the too-close-to-call charter initiative on the Nov. 6 ballot in Grover Beach, the county clerk-recorder’s office is manually re-tallying the results. Measure I-12—which would make Grover Beach the second county municipality to become a charter city—appeared to have passed by a razor-thin 50.16 percent to 49.84 percent margin, according to the clerk’s final unofficial…
Seismic testing sunk
Tears were shed, laughs were shared, activists in animal costumes required translators, and Pacific Gas & Electric left Santa Monica empty handed. As recommended by its staff, the California Coastal Commission put the final nail in the coffin for PG&E’s controversial plan for high-energy, three-dimensional studies off the Central Coast—at least for this year. On…
Hearst granddaughter dies at 85
Phoebe Hearst Cooke, a former board director for the Hearst Corporation and granddaughter of the Central Coast media mogul William Randolph Hearst, died the evening of Nov. 18 at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton after falling ill with pneumonia, according to Hearst Corp. She was 85. Hearst Cooke was born in San Francisco in…
County goes on the defense over Excelaron denial
Are Excelaron and its handlers just being sore losers? Or did the county deny the subsidiary for two major foreign-owned oil companies a fair shot? On Nov. 19, Excelaron L.L.C. filed a petition in San Luis Obispo Superior Court for damages against the county for its denial of Excelaron’s plans to drill as many as…
Seven dogs die in boarding facility fire
A staff member living on site at Thousand Hills Pet Resort in San Luis Obispo awoke to see smoke and flames coming from several nearby kennels at about 6:40 a.m. on Nov. 19. According to facility manager Nicole Hern, the staffer responded immediately and was able to save some animals, but he was too late…
