Cover Story
Ready…set…vegan! Meet the vegans
It was two weeks before Thanksgiving but a diverse group of revelers—some friends, some strangers—lined a long wooden table to give thanks. Roasted vegetables, wild rice stuffing, yams, red cabbage, and more holiday fare were laid out on silver platters before the crowd as the sun began its descent over the leafy green canopy of…
Lovers come back!
If you’ve got $80 lying around, you can buy yourself a sealed copy of the 1970 Louie and the Lovers vinyl album Rise, or at least you could a few days ago when I searched for it on eBay. There was only one copy. Aside from its rarity, what makes it so great, you might…
Breadmaking made easy
As a young child, I could devour a quarter loaf of my beloved grandmother’s Portuguese sweet bread slathered with butter in just one sitting. I loved that sweet, egg-enriched bread and dipped it in my coffee for the sweetest treat, just as my grandfather did every day (and, yes, my mother was crazy for allowing…
Which of the seven dwarves would you be?
Mark Stevens self-employed “I’d be Doc. He was so nice and sweet to Snow White.” Kurt Kocher contractor “Dopey. Everybody picks on Dopey.” Katie Worland student “Bashful. I’m really shy.” Kelsey Shaylor student “Happy. Being in a good mood is better than being Grumpy.”
Tangent 2008 Riesling
This delicious white wine offers tasty aromas and flavors of white peach, sweet melon, minerals, and citrus. Complementing a wide range of foods, it’s perfect for the Thanksgiving table and any other holiday meal, and it pairs well with salmon, or main dish salads with chicken or prawns. Winemaker Christian Roguenant noted: “The soil structure,…
Breaking the silence
Suicide is a complex issue. It’s also a subject many people don’t want to talk about because of its painful and taboo connotations. But according to many experts, it’s that very societal need to keep suicide—and the thoughts and feelings surrounding it—secret and shrouded in shame that partly drives people to the point of taking…
Big trouble in little SLO
No one can say why someone on the Higuera Street sidewalk suddenly punched a 15-year-old girl in the face and broke her jaw, aside from the person who did it. And it’s anyone’s guess why someone assaulted a 21-year-old and left him unconscious in Bubblegum Alley. Really, all that can be said for sure is…
Credit where it’s due
In New Times’ Holiday Guide that debuted on Nov. 19, SLO Art Supply owner Neal Breton played the menacing holiday monster, while Rachel Krauss played the ingénue in distress.
Sen. Abel Maldonado nominated for lieutenant governor
At a press conference in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he has nominated Sen. Abel Maldonado as California’s lieutenant governor. If confirmed by the Legislature, the Santa Maria Republican will replace exiting Lt. Governor John Garamendi, who was recently elected to Congress. As lieutenant governor, Maldonado will serve as acting…
PG&E seeks to renew Diablo license
Utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric announced Nov. 24 that it has applied to renew its operating license for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. PG&E chief nuclear officer John Conway did not reveal the price tag on the renewal process, but he said the renewal would cost millions of dollars, in accordance with…
DeVaul jailed for code violations
Local rancher turned homeless advocate Dan DeVaul was handcuffed and hauled to jail on Nov. 23. After turning down a five-year probation term that would have required bringing his ranch up to county safety code requirements and allowing frequent visits from county code enforcers, DeVaul was sentenced to 90 days in county jail. He will…
Ex cop pleads out on vandalism charge
Retired Atascadero police chief Richard “Bud” McHale pleaded no contest on charges that he vandalized an SUV in Cayucos. Cayucos resident Mark Walton’s Ford Excursion was keyed three times earlier this year. After the first two incidents, Walton installed security cameras facing the SUV and captured a man who keyed the car while walking a…
Government, falling apart
If it weren’t for the crumbling drywall, the SLO County Government Center might have been the beacon of a thriving government its design appears to imply. But the drywall is crumbling—and that’s not the only problem, according to county officials who are now suing to get the building fixed. Legal expenses alone from the lawsuit,…
Book fair will aid Paso Robles library
Nationally recognized authors aren’t coming to town for the holidays: They live in the area all year long. But on Dec. 5 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. they will sign books and talk to readers and aspiring writers at Adelaida Cellars annual Holiday Open House to benefit the Paso Library Foundation. Admission is free.…
Improving our libraries is imperative
Recently I’ve read a few e-mails and now an opinion piece by Doug Bates (“We need library professionals now more than ever,” Nov. 19) regarding libraries. Since Mr. Bates has decided to contribute an opinion piece based on little, if any, factual information regarding my position, I feel compelled to respond. He asserts that “volunteers…
Club Sixty
One musician used a cane, and the horn player sucked oxygen after his solo, but no one came onstage in a wheelchair—unlike the Johnny Winter performance a few months back (what a buzz kill that was). And though they could’ve sold Rogaine with the T-shirts, Taj Mahal rocked. Which is more than I can say…
Think of the denizens
In Colin Rigley’s article “DeVaul due for punishment” (Nov. 19), he used the phrase “Sunny Acres sober living facility.” I noticed he didn’t capitalize “sober living facility”. That got me to thinking: Is this merely an allegation of DeVaul’s, substantiated perhaps by selected former inhabitants of the condemned barn that is the main infrastructure of…
Will the county help Dan DeVaul?
I spent my morning at the courthouse on Nov. 23 in San Luis Obispo to hear the sentencing of Dan DeVaul. I heard Deputy District Attorney Craig Van Rooyen repeatedly ask whether De Vaul would take probation and work with the county. What I didn’t hear was whether the county would work with DeVaul. Being in my 80s, I know…
Everyone deserves clean and safe housing
It is a sad fact that we have homeless people in our community and our country. There are as many as 90,000 homeless people in Los Angeles, and the number in San Luis Obispo is nearly 4,000. Many people in our community give generously to various organizations that work to feed and house the poor…
Smoking should be banned in all public spaces
The SLO City Council is considering an ordinance to ban tobacco use in all public spaces. Among the many reasons to support this ban, the issue of social norms regarding youth and smoking is paramount. Every day, 4,000 American children begin smoking. In fact, 90 percent of all adult smokers started while in their teens…
Forget it, Jake: It’s Chinatown
To read the Tribune’s breathless coverage of SLO’s Chinatown development approval, you’d think it’s the most incredible thing ever to happen here: “Looks Great,” “Another Jewel in the Downtown Crown,” “all that is right” with SLO’s development process. In fact, Chinatown is a huge municipal scandal, a fact you’d never guess from our alleged daily…
Smaller is better, but not good enough
Wal-Mart’s announcement that it will be submitting plans for a “smaller” store in Atascadero (still the size of two football fields plus), is a step in the right direction. Apparently, Wal-Mart realized, as their competitors have, that a smaller store can be profitable and sustainable. But, the proposed project is still the wrong size. Wal-Mart…
Start the draft, stop the war
The point of my Nov. 12 commentary, “I’m with Bill Moyers: Bring back the draft” (and Moyers’ as well), which letter writer Terry Mohan (“Hell no,” Nov. 19) missed entirely, is exactly his gut reaction to it: “If the draft were reinstated, I would have my daughter out of this country so fast it would…
Hallelujah!
Christmas came early this year. Or Hanukah. Or Kwanza—take your pick. Whatever snarky journalistic gods live in that big news room up in the sky must’ve been pleased by something I did, because New Times was deluged with such awesomely absurd stories that even my heart grew several sizes too big and broke that magnifying…
Brent Gorton
NEW TIMES: What is Rippin Rehearsal? GORTON: It’s a place for musicians to come and meet their requirements as a musician, you know? Rent a room, rent equipment, record, and not get bothered by your parents. We have nice rooms—soundproof—and we’ll help you out. We’re musicians’ friends, too. And if you don’t have your own…
Alex lives
On what would have been Alex Madonna’s 91st birthday—November 19—a rash of stenciled posters proclaiming “Alex lives” appeared around downtown San Luis Obispo. The exact number of posters is not yet known, though they have been spotted in Mitchell Park, in parking garage stairwells, near the creek, and, most notably, on the sign at the…
“I’m having his baby!”
Stephanie Sampson is carrying Gary Busey’s baby. You heard it here first! Take that, Access Hollywood! In your face, People Magazine! I’m sitting in one of the train cars that doubles as the Green Room at Sylvester Winery. It’s parked on a grassy knoll overlooking the grassbowl below, where Chris Montez (“Let’s Dance,” 1962) has…
You’re no bunny until some kid loves you
Hopping, bouncing, springing, leaping, graceful, sprightly, noses aquiver: there’s not a great deal of difference between rabbits and dancers, if you stretch your imagine a little. And Ballet Theatre of SLO is collapsing what little disparity there might be with its brand-spanking-new production, The Velveteen Rabbit, running at the PAC Dec. 5 and 6. This…
Putting Picasso to shame
Just when you thought cats couldn’t get any cuter, the Special Feline Team at the Woods Humane Shelter conspired to simultaneously melt people’s hearts and generate funds for the shelter’s spay and neuter program. Two volunteers—Linda Beatson and Sharyn Sugarman—appropriate a get-acquainted room at Woods and unleash an army of feline painters on the space.…
Clubs
Goin’ South … CAFÉ ANDREINI: 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 481-6117. Thurs.: Live music at 6pm. CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. Mon. and Tues.: Louie Ortega. Fri: Live music. COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Dr., Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music Night every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. DOLPHIN BAY/LIDO:…
Clubs
Goin’ South … CAFÉ ANDREINI: 131 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 481-6117. Thurs.: Live music at 6pm. CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. Mon. and Tues.: Louie Ortega. Fri: Live music. COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF: 750 Five Cities Dr., Pismo Beach, 773-6420. Music Night every Sat., 6:30-8:30pm. DOLPHIN BAY/LIDO:…
