Cover Story
Moments in time: Winning Images 2016
A photograph can capture a moment in a way that words simply can’t. And the way in which that point in time is portrayed has everything to do with the person behind the camera. Each photographer’s unique view of the world—the way they think, how they look at things, what they find interesting—colors the snapshots…
Paso gang report challenges election rhetoric
During his run for SLO County’s 1st District supervisor, Templeton-based political strategist John Peschong has repeatedly named gangs as a paramount issue in North County. “We have a problem with gangs in our community,” Peschong told New Times and other publications. “I don’t think folks in leadership want to talk about it. I am going…
Guilty Pleasures: WolfCop
When? 2014 | What’s it rated? R | Where’s it available? Nexflix. When it comes to classic monsters, there’s no shortage of creatures that have enjoyed continuing popularity. Vampires and zombies in particular have had a great cinematic resurgence, thanks to television shows like AMC’s The Walking Dead and HBO’s True Blood. But aside from…
What is your favorite thing to photograph?
Ellie Tyner barista “The stars. It makes me realize how small we are.” Aaron Hermosillo gardener “Trees. It’s the simple resilience of their interactions with humans.” Kate Martin Cal Poly student “Back home, I’d say the mountains in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It’s where the Rocky Mountains start.” Ryen Cosgro barista “Old architecture from different…
Baileyana’s 2014 Firepeak Chardonnay and Ancient Peak’s 2014 Zinfandel
With crisp pear, juicy apple, and minerality to spare, this dazzling French oak fermented chardonnay truly takes you into fall with flying autumnal colors. Sourced from select “Firepeak” blocks off the winery’s estate Edna Valley vineyard, this is the bright, complex chardonnay you should be bringing to Thanksgiving dinner (plus, its shimmering golden label adds…
Wines and vines
Quick! Stop that wine! Come Nov. 11 to 12, get a taste of “illegal” wine blends at Paso’s Garagiste Wine Festival, held each year in Paso Robles. OK, so these wines aren’t wanted by the law, but many of these renegade offerings would be looked down upon in France for their independent spirit and defiance…
Plant-based passion: You don’t need to be a veg-head to crave the fresh greenery at Roxanne’s Cafe
Before Roxanne Lapuyade became known for her fresh-pressed juices, kitchen sink salads, or “Ro boats,” (romaine lettuce leaves filled with persimmon, avocado, mixed veggies, and cashew tamarind spread), she was a lot like the average American kid. Along with the rest of us, she snuck the odd candy bar before Halloween or yearned for the…
A proper haunting: Ghost stories from Victorian England come to SLO’s Jack House
On a dark and gloomy Saturday, Oct. 29, just days before Halloween, I made my way to the historic Jack House for a decidedly more composed affair than what was going on up Higuera Street, where the college crowd was hitting the bars hard and getting an early start on the holiday. Upon walking in…
Ties that bind: ‘When the Rain Stops Falling’ explores links between generations
Rainy days are made for reflecting. The earth feels cleaner, newer somehow; awash with possibilities despite all the dirt the water kicks up. So in between rainfalls on a Saturday afternoon I made my way to the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre to enter a world where fish fall from the sky and the mistakes…
Words to lead you home: New SLO County poet laureate to make debut at poetry festival
An offer of toast. Heated words on a supposed-to-be-romantic trip to Paris. A rejected tarot card reading. Just snippets of life, but dissected, they make up the words of Jeanie Greensfelder’s poetry. “I’m a narrative poet, I like to tell stories,” she said. The bard’s love for the written word deepened after retiring to San…
SLO Little Theatre presents ‘Archy & Mehitabel’
Ever wondered what it’s like to be a creepy crawly bug living life in the cracks and crevices? The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre presents a performance of Don Marquis’s Archy & Mehitabel, on Nov. 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. Archy is a poet trapped in the body of a cockroach, and Mehitabel is a liberated…
Swap-O-Rama-Rama comes to the Guild Hall Nov. 12
Thousands of pounds of clothing will lie in giant piles ripe for the picking at the SLO Guild Hall as Soul & Oak presents the county’s fourth Swap-O-Rama-Rama on Nov. 12 from 1 to 5 p.m. Swap-O-Rama-Rama is an event that strives to encourage community recycling of unwanted clothing through artistic reuse and will include…
Fremont hosts New Times Music Awards on Nov. 11
Celebrate the best in local music with the eighth annual New Times Music Awards on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at the historic Fremont Theater in downtown SLO! Five genre category winners hit the stage and compete for the night’s Best Live Performance award. SLO County’s best will receive those beautiful awards lovingly known as ‘Newties’! Enjoy…
Veteran character actor and musician Ronny Cox plays an Atascadero House concert on Nov. 4th
Remember the “Dueling Banjos” scene in Deliverance when Drew—a city slicker out in the sticks for a canoe trip—tries to connect with a local boy (Billy Redden) by trading guitar and banjo licks? Ronny Cox starred as Drew. Did you see the Woody Guthrie biopic Bound for Glory starring David Carradine in the lead? Cox…
Clubs 11/3/16 – 11/10/16
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…
A piece of history: Atascadero Printery Foundation makes progress towards reclaiming landmark
The Atascadero Printery building is a historical landmark that’s wasting away after its previous owner neglected to pay eight years of taxes. Community members intent on restoring the building formed the Atascadero Printery Foundation nonprofit earlier this year. The group recently met with San Luis Obispo County 5th District Supervisor Debbie Arnold to further discuss…
School’s out: SLO County still struggles with truancy
Local teachers shouldn’t be surprised to see empty chairs and desks after the school bell rings in classrooms across SLO County. School districts in the county have been waging a battle to address high truancy rates, which have hovered at or above 25 percent for the last 10 years, according to data from the California…
Convalescent home faces second lawsuit over patient death
For the second time in a year, an Atascadero-based convalescent hospital has been accused of failing to properly care for one of its elderly patients, resulting in their death. A Long Beach-based law firm Garcia, Artgliere & Medby filed a complaint in SLO County Superior Court Oct. 14 against Country Care Convalescent Home in Atascadero…
Who’s running for Port SLO Harbor District Commissioner
If you care about what’s happening with the Harbor Terrace recreation project or the Avila Pier’s reconstruction, take a close look at the ballot on Nov. 8. There are four individuals running for two seats on the Port San Luis Harbor District, and those two projects are at the top of their platforms. The Harbor…
Planning commissioners resign on heels of rail spur vote
After voting down one of the most contentious projects in the county’s history, two SLO County planning commissioners have said they are ready to move on. Commissioners Ken Topping and Eric Meyer both announced their intentions to leave their positions on the commission. The men were two of three commissioners to vote against Phillips 66’s…
Trump’s ‘rigged’ election talk trickles into SLO County
Atascadero resident Dane Sensor waved two ballots in the air as he spoke to the SLO County Board of Supervisors Nov. 1. He said he was planning on voting by mail, but decided not to. “I’m even afraid to do that after reading the story in New York where a postal worker actually destroyed ballots,”…
A bad politician vs. a clean record
I love watching Salud Carbajal’s ads. Why? Because they are so completely ridiculous that they actually make me laugh. Justin Fareed is by far the most honest candidate we’ve had run for office in years, which is obviously true considering Salud’s only defense against him is desperately trying to tie him to Trump, who, FYI,…
I only pretended to lick?
Did he or didn’t he? One thing is certain, Paso Robles High School football coach Richard Schimke definitely poured syrup in his player Joe Moscato’s belly button in a post-game celebration. Did Coach Dick lick it out or only pretend to lick it out as his Ventura-based attorney Bob Barosh asserts, and more importantly, aren’t…
The Big Darkness vs. The Purge
By the time you read this I may have already gone into hiding. If, for any number of reasons, the presidential election is not at least a three to four point victory for Clinton, there will be blood. A close election is possibly the worst short-term outcome, for that level of uncertainty will give life…
Marx finds the middle ground
I have served as chair of the SLO City Tree Committee for nearly eight years. The committee is tasked with holding monthly meetings on controversial tree-removal applications. At each meeting difficult decisions are made, and I’m reminded of how challenging and thankless public service can be. Over time, one develops skills in listening adamantly to…
Change is good
Please consider the superior candidates for City Council on the ballot this year. Mila Vujovich LaBarre and Mike Clark are outstanding and community-oriented candidates with impressive backgrounds in all aspects of management of varied and unusual work situations. They would be extremely capable in the duties required of City Council members in SLO Town. They…
Night hikes are bad for open space
A local website, saveslo.com, is endorsing three candidates—Heidi Harmon, Brett Strickland, and Aaron Gomez—as a team for SLO mayor and City Council positions on a platform that includes, among other priorities, wanting to legalize night hiking on city open space trails. If elected, these candidates intend to repeal the existing city fine for night hiking…
Measure J pushes the wrong agenda
Measure J increases regressive taxes, preserves and promotes an unsustainable lifestyle, and hastens the onslaught of global warming. Measure J, the so called “Self-help local transportation investment plan,” would better be called “The gas-guzzler protection act.” Getting sales tax instead of gas taxes to support roads is just ridiculous; it’s unwise. Measure J proponents point…
Fareed’s ad against Carbajal is full of lies
Your readers deserve to know the truth about Justin Fareed’s latest dishonest ad regarding Salud Carbajal. It proves just how low Justin is willing to go to get elected. I speak from direct experience. Salud has an outstanding record of consistent opposition to irresponsible oil and gas development. He supported the innovative PXP project because…
Jim Hill is the best face for Arroyo Grande
Simply put, Mayor Hill has done an amazing job since being elected mayor of Arroyo Grande. He is the “gem” of Arroyo Grande! He is very respectful, considerate, honest, trustworthy, compassionate, and extremely civil to all! His background in engineering and previous experience serving on a board, adds to his expertise as mayor. He carries…
Fonzi picked the wrong legacy
Al Fonzi, the Chairman of the SLO County Republican Party, presumes to lecture us on the “left’s” destruction of American civilization and lack of accountability over the last 60 years in the Oct. 27 Rhetoric and Reason column, “A legacy of destruction.” Perhaps a brief review of Republican malfeasance over this same time period would…
Kristen Barneich for AG
Kristen Barneich, a current Arroyo Grande City Council member, is running for re-election this year. Kristen has judgment and intelligence that show in all her work. She is prepared; she pays attention and speaks with respect. Her sense of fairness keeps her balanced. And I personally owe her for her help in re-establishing the Elm…
Last gasp
Editor’s Note: SLO County residents have pounded New Times with letters to the editor during this election season. And while we can’t print every single one, we’re trying, so here’s one final batch of short election 2016 opinions before judgment day.
