Cover Story
East meets West
Irene Flores and Ashly Raiti are living dream-come-true lives. Flores, 23, and Raiti, 22, both Lompoc residents, long wished that they could get paid for the artwork and stories they had been producing for fun for years. Now, at an age at which many of their peers are only starting to develop long-term career goals,…
Los Osos engineer reports theft of official records
Montgomery Watson Harza, project design engineers for the controversial Los Osos sewer, reported Monday that files and computers had been stolen from their local office at Sunnyside Elementary School. The theft coincides almost perfectly with an announcement from the CSD of a resolution to investigate activities pertaining to sewer contracts, spending, and design. Montgomery Watson…
OHAC reconvenes without low attendance and questionable legitimacy
The Ocean Halcyon Advisory Committee (OHAC) met again Monday evening, if only briefly, under the dubious leadership of Peggy Wilson. Fourth District Supervisor Katcho Achadjian announced after last month’s unruly meeting that he would no longer recognize OHAC meetings as official business. The Oct. 17 meeting devolved into chaos when board members Mark Wampler, Elita…
Letters
Investigate my mail carrier Re: Street Talk (Nov. 17-24): What issue do you think the New Times needs to investigate? You opened up a Pandora’s Box. I would like a reporter to “ride alongâ€? with the mailperson on Portola Road. Last night, at 6:03 p.m., I drove out to my mailbox, flashlight in hand because…
Waiting for Caltrans
Friends and family members of Kimberly Macias have collected more than 700 signatures for a petition urging traffic and safety changes to South Street, where the 8-year-old girl was struck and killed by a car Halloween night. The petition includes several suggestions, including the addition of a crosswalk at King Street, where the accident took…
SLOPD goes croc hunting
San Luis Obispo can be a wild place, as officers found out Monday night when they responded to a domestic violence call and found both a piranha and a juvenile American alligator. The exotic pets are illegal in the state of California. After making an arrest for domestic battery, officers contacted the Department of Fish…
Martin Tracey’s whereabouts remain elusive
Ever since the Martin Tracey fiasco, city officials in Atascadero have remained very tight-lipped on his whereabouts or his status. Tracey, the town’s besieged deputy director of redevelopment, was asked to resign on Oct. 31, but was quickly reinstated on Nov. 8 due to what the city called “anticipated litigation.â€? Since then, he’s been impossible…
Romeo online
I was having dinner with friends when the topic of computer dating came up. I laughed. “Only losers would search for lovers on the net,â€? I said. As it turned out, I was talking to three couples who’d all met online. “Looks like you’re out of the loop,â€? one of my buddies said. I denied…
Diablo steam generator replacement project approved
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has given final approval to PG&E to proceed with a steam generator replacement project at its Diablo Canyon Power Plant. In all, PG&E will replace eight steam generators (four for each reactor), which each weigh 800,000 pounds and are 65 feet high. The CPUC’s final approval comes after a…
Men arrested for forged traveler’s checks
Three men from the Bay Area were arrested by SLO police on Thursday for using counterfeit traveler’s checks. Authorities were alerted after two of the men at Denny’s restaurant on Calle Joaquin used a forged check to pay for a meal. When the cashier confronted one of the men, he grabbed the check and paid…
Record-breaking month for SLO Transit
October was a record-breaking month for SLO Transit. The transportation agency gave 108,000 rides in October; 7,000 more then the previous record-setting month, January ’05. Overall, SLO Transit saw a 29 percent increase in ridership this fiscal year. In 2004 there were 680,000 rides given and in 2005 there were 875,000. “I would attribute it…
Downtown fight sends one to hospital
A 2 a.m. brawl Sunday morning sent one to the hospital and one to jail. According to a SLOPD press release, two officers “witnessed what appeared to be a fight breaking up at the Higuera and Garden intersection.â€? Officers found Terence Liszewski, 23 of Santa Maria, unconscious on the sidewalk. He was unresponsive and had…
Economic forecast calls for more sunshine in SLO
Bill Watkins, director of the UCSB Economic Forecast Project, brought another dose of healthy optimism to local business leaders and government officials last week. The annual economic outlook event brings Watkins to Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center, where he shares his team’s research and economic predictions. During this year’s speech, Watkins amused the crowd by…
