Cover Story
La cuesta encantada: Inside the art collection of California’s only castle
The road twists and winds past crashing waves and rocky cliffs on the left. Rolling green hills are but a blur on the right, with the occasional frolicking black and white striped zebra. As the ocean becomes smaller in the rearview mirror, the house on the hilltop grows. The journey to Hearst Castle in San…
Hundreds of marijuana growers register with SLO County
Pressured by a Nov. 18 deadline, 417 marijuana cultivators have submitted applications to register their grows with SLO County, with a majority of those applications coming from the California Valley. Medical marijuana cultivators were required to register thanks to an urgency ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 20, which was crafted to…
What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?
Max Grundmeier youth counselor “Probably stuffing because it actually tastes really good when reheated.” Shyamala Nataraj tourist “It’s my first Thanksgiving. Something with pumpkins I imagine, like pumpkin pie or pumpkin soup.” William Seavey author “Turkey and stuffing. They’re filling and tasty, and I wouldn’t normally eat them.” Eleanor Seavey bed and breakfast owner “I…
Combating discrimination: Stand Above campaign opens the discussion at Cal Poly
What is violent extremism? The Department of Homeland Security website defines it as threats coming from a range of groups and individuals, including domestic terrorists and homegrown violent extremists in the United States, as well as international terrorist groups like al-Queda and ISIL. It also states that individuals and small groups could become radical and…
Law and order: SLO County joined rest of California voters in passing Proposition 57
On Nov. 8, voters in SLO County and across California once again got the chance to decide just what the future of the state’s criminal justice system would look like. This year, voters were asked to weigh in on a sentencing reform initiative that could have a substantial impact on that system. With its passage,…
Oasis restaurant donates alcohol profits to nonprofit
It’s not often that religion and small business ownership conflict, but that was exactly the case for Karim BenBrahim. BenBrahim is the owner and chef at Oasis Resturant and Catering in SLO. The restaurant has been in the BenBrahim family for 22 years and has been in its downtown location on Higuera Street for more…
SLO County judge sides with the public’s right to know
Reading through a judge’s ruling on a lawsuit can be a slow slog through a bog full of muddy legalese, with the prized hog hiding within the jargon. In the case of an Oct. 28 ruling on a lawsuit filed against the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board by Carmen Zamora and the Environmental…
Arroyo Grande police chief mulls mobile marijuana applications
Arroyo Grande is dipping its toe into allowing mobile medical marijuana delivery businesses to operate in the city, and just who will get that privilege is mostly up to the city’s top cop. The 30-day period for prospective businesses to submit applications for mobile dispensary licenses ends Dec. 6. While the licensing policy was developed…
Paso Cares seeks winter help with homeless
The Paso Robles nonprofit Paso Cares is asking the city and community for some extra help with the area’s homeless population this winter after losing a crucial helping hand: the Second Baptist Church. “The city of Paso, business owners, property owners, people who have a passion for this—we need you to come forward and help,”…
Bingeable: Good Girls Revolt
When? 2015-16 | What’s it rated? NR | Where’s it available? Streaming on Amazon. Some 50 years ago, my name might not have been printed under this article because as a woman in a newsroom, I’d only have been allowed to rise as high as a researcher—or as a female, I simply wouldn’t have been…
Santa Paws is coming to town
After that turkey carcass has been licked clean and everyone’s kind of come out of the food coma, that means we have a green (and red!) light to let the Christmas festivities begin. And what better way to kick off the holidays than by dressing your dog like old St. Nick and taking part in…
Fantastical drawings
Ever longed to draw characters saving the world in a far away land? Well SLO artist Irene Flores has got you covered. Her new book (co-written with Ashly Raiti), Sci-Fi Fashion Art School will show you how to draw clothing, hairstyles, tools, weapons, jewelry, prosthetic parts, and more. Readers can also learn how to create…
Shop to support a good book
One great book, so many awesome workshops, book discussions, and other activities. The Cuesta College Book of the Year program is gearing up, with a fundraiser to bolster activities surrounding this year’s selection of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. A holiday shopping party will be held at HumanKind Fair Trade in…
Relaxing in the redwoods:Camping at Big Sur’s Ventana Campground
I am here to relax. The phrase became my mantra as I was driving white-knuckled around the hairpin turns along scenic Highway 1 in early November. Repeating the words in my head was an attempt to ignore my fear of heights being tested as the narrow road ended just to my left with a stomach-churning…
SLO-ly bringing abstract art to Central Coast: Bret Brown showcases a different sort of scape at Linnaea’s
It’s no secret that the art scene in San Luis Obispo tends to skew toward the outdoors with cheery scenes of the beach, rolling hills, and vineyards bursting out of any given art gallery. Still, when artist Bret Brown moved to the area in the mid ’90s from Southern California, he decided to try and…
Always a Salieri, never a Mozart: Wine Country Theatre’s ‘Amadeus’ shows another side of music history
History favors the winners and the conquerors, but it’s the messy stories of the defeated and the almost-but-not-quite geniuses that beckon, hauntingly echoing the tale of our own lives. While Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a household name, his rival composer Antonio Salieri is not. But it’s Salieri’s story of jealousy and bitter resentment that gets…
Local singer-songwriter Caleb Nichols releases a new EP on Nov. 26, at Kreuzberg
Local singer-songwriter Caleb Nichols needs to get out more. Or at least he needs to get out around here more. We just don’t see him playing enough. The talented performer has been a part of groups such as Port O’Brien, Grand Lake, Churches, and Release The Sunbird, but on his new EP 90 Days in…
Clubs 11/24/16 – 12/1/16
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Rd. in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on…
Zenaida Cellars 2014 Wanderlust GSM and Eureka’s ‘Black Friday’ Bloody Mary
Not all those who wander are lost. Not all classics are boring. If you’re craving a rustic Rhone blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvedre that shines with iconic Paso Robles charm, this is your no-brainer pick for Thanksgiving and beyond. Earthy and subtle, with extremely soft tannins and a hit of cranberry and black pepper…
Comfort and joy
Get ready for sugar plum delights: Morro Bay’s Home for the Holidays Street Faire (Nov. 27) brings holiday goodies (and plenty of winter munchies) to life against the background of the iconic Morro Rock … Deck the halls during an Elegant Christmas in the Village in Downtown Arroyo Grande (Dec. 4), where store owners will…
Apple uprising: Tin City Cider Co. offers up the ultimate palate cleanser
Every wine industry person knows the feeling. You’d rather spark up a deep conversation with a rabid telemarketer than drink another glass of room temperature cabernet sauvignon. You need something crisp, clean, bubbly, zesty, and—most importantly—not wine. Enter hard cider, the ultimate palate cleanser. Especially after a sweaty harvest, a glass of crisp hard cider…
A deeper study of religion
In response to Don Casebolt’s commentary “Religious Roots” (Nov. 10, New Times), it is apparent he/she makes the common mistake of implying a Christian is bound to the levitical and deuteronomical ceremonial and civil ordinances given through Moses for the ancient Jewish tribes. And while the Ten Commandments should be followed, their purpose is to…
We are crying for America
In response to the Gary Wechter’s question “What is the point?” (“Crying for Hillary,” Nov. 17, New Times) regarding the massive protests erupting all over the country since the presidential election, this is what I have to say: The point is that people have taken to the streets in protest, in outrage, in horror at…
Residents for Quality Neighborhoods works for the community
Thank you, New Times, for your balanced article on the Rental Housing Inspection Program (“No easy fix,” Nov. 17). It is a well-intended program that fell into over-zealous hands, but with a few adjustments, it ought to really help renters, especially students. As Sean Cuccia testified, he and his Cal Poly friends pay huge rents,…
Sayonara ‘Merica?
The rest of America may think of California as its flaky weirdo uncle, the long-haired, granola-eating wacko-bird with the tinfoil hat and the perpetual cocoa-butter tan who’s constantly super stoned and only eats free-range, antibiotic- and hormone-free eggs topped with small-batch artisanal yak cheese and hand-grown herbs tilled in a sacred corner of our personal…
Rental regulations should seek middle ground
In my early 20s I was both a student—and later apartment manager—at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Before becoming a manager I lived in a “converted” garage and once even in a large closet! So I’ve seen the issue from both sides virtually concurrently. As a student renter I didn’t concern myself with housing…
Dear Morro Bay Mayor Jamie Irons
First of all, congratulations on your mayoral win! I look forward to seeing you move Morro Bay forward. Now, I am not aware of your political affiliation, but I would like to propose that Morro Bay become a “sanctuary city,” one in which legal immigrants as well as people in the process of naturalizing feel…
It’s not about racism
The attack on the Electoral College, on conservatives in general, and the refusal by the hard left to accept the results of the presidential election is not surprising. After all, we were lectured and solemnly warned for weeks that Trump and Trump supporters had better not attempt to undermine the legitimacy of a Hillary Clinton…
The real America
Al Fonzi’s romanticized view of American history (“Once upon a time Americans … ?, Nov. 10), probably shared by many Trump voters, makes clear why there are still such deep divisions in American society. He writes, for instance, “Any immigrant could tell you that this was a great country, a place where any man—and eventually…
