Cover Story
Home again: A glimpse of the final days of the De Groot Nursing Home for Children
In a lot of ways, Sjany de Groot is back where she was more than 30 years ago, when she and her husband began caring for sick children when they left Holland after the war. “It’s over,” de Groot said now. “I’m free.” There was a restrained sadness beneath those words, however. The De Groot…
Another small step for the Paso basin water district
Proponents for the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin Water District have won yet another small victory. The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors decided on Oct. 14 to direct staff to move forward in drafting an application to submit to the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for the district’s formation. The move is the…
Members of the Diablo Canon Independent Safety Committee want more analysis about proposed cooling towers
Members of the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee have asked for further analysis on a new proposed cooling system at Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) nuclear power plant. At an Oct. 14 meeting, the three-member committee filed its “preliminary report” in response to the Bechtel report: a Bechtel Power Corporation technical evaluation of various possibilities…
What’s your favorite Halloween candy?
Randi Sokoloff social worker “I like Milky Way bars.” Jill Stollmeyer wellness “Snickers bars.” Jonathan Olcott acupuncturist “I don’t really eat candy.” Bob Ellis CAPSLO “Candy corn.”
Uprooted: Neighbors say a landowner in rural A.G. has been destroying nature and causing problems
As Jacqui McChesney tells it, it only took a few months for the land to go from an untouched paradise to a man-made problem. McChesney and her family live on a 46-acre parcel off Corbett Canyon Road in rural Arroyo Grande. A few months ago, she got new neighbors after her brother-in-law sold the adjoining…
A Phillips 66 project is back up for public review
After causing a ruckus when it first debuted in late 2013, a proposed project by oil giant Phillips 66 that would bring crude oil by rail through San Luis Obispo County is being recirculated for public review. The revised draft environmental impact report (DEIR) was officially published by the SLO County Department of Planning and…
Grover Beach’s plans for a fiber-optic network inch forward
After years of discussion and planning, the Grover Beach City Council unanimously approved a major part of a long-awaited municipal fiber-optic network during its Oct. 6 meeting. Previously featured in a New Times cover story (“Ready, willing, and cable,” Aug. 21) the high-speed broadband Internet network is slated to be a public-private partnership between Grover…
SLO Little Theatre debuts new late-night comedy series, After Hours
Laugh-in Nothing says late night like live comedy. OK. Real talk. Nothing says late night like live comedy and a greasy bag of Taco Bell in the passenger seat of your car. I’m afraid the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre only has one of those. Spoiler alert: it is not the fat-saturated Crunchwrap Supreme®. Making…
Four great acts play a cancer fundraiser Oct. 23 at Fremont Theater
Cancer sucks. It robs vital, wonderful people of their energy and their future. It takes family members and friends from those who love them. It has hit close to home for me recently. Someone very close to me just discontinued chemotherapy because it wasn’t working. The tumors actually got bigger, not smaller. He’s not alone,…
Iconic local puppeteer Don Wallis will read from his new collection of poetry on Oct. 19 at Linnaea’s Café
You’ve seen him. If you’ve lived in SLO Town for more than a year or two, you can’t help but to have run across Don Wallis, with his broom-like mustache, twinkling eyes, and mischievous smile. Maybe you’ve seen one of his puppet shows at Farmers Market, or maybe you’ve seen him at a socially conscious…
SLO Little Theatre stages Steve Martin’s comedy, ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’
Let’s play a game. If you could pair any two historical characters and have them chat in a bar, whom would you pick? Sure, you could go the serious, important route and throw Lincoln and Gandhi in a T.G.I. Friday’s. But, that’s far too predictable. You could edge a little on the weird side, and…
SLO County artists open their homes and studios for annual Open Studios Art Tour
There are endless ways to experience art. There are, of course, the standard methods—go to a gallery, drink some wine, visit a museum, drink more wine, or sneak into said museum, and sneak some free wine. Then, there are the more relaxed arrangements—parties, festivals, or a personal visit to an artist’s home (wine availability unknown).…
Clubs 10/16/14-10/23/14
Goin’ South … THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. CUVEE BISTRO AND CHAMPAGNE BAR: 550 1st St., Avila Beach, 595-2245. Live music Thurs. and Sat. 6-9pm. 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 Pismo…
James Brown Hard Cider’s Horse Thief and Joe Bella Coffee Roaster’s Latte
James Brown Hard Cider’s Horse Thief I need to talk about James Brown. No, not the sweaty, booty-shaking founding father of funk music, but the truly complicated guy who served as the real-life Johnny Apple Seed of Avila Valley. Brown, infamous for his life as an outlaw and horse thief, first planted apples at See…
Paso harvest time
The most wonderful time of the year: It’s Harvest Wine Weekend Oct. 17 through 19 throughout Paso Robles Wine Country. Experience the blood, sweat, and tears that characterize this hectic and exciting time of the year paired with unique parties and harvest events unfolding across the area (find a detailed map and information at pasowine.com)…
So a German and an American walk into a GrillHaus …
When cultures collide—say spicy, vibrant Mexican cuisine with charred cowboy Texas barbecue or Japanese fare with California’s obsession with kale and chipotle aioli—things get interesting. Flavors stop being polite and start getting real. A French take on pho? Let’s do it. Chicken tikka masala pot pie topped with Indian spices? Bring it on. To quote…
The art of healing: The Women’s Shelter Program of San Luis Obispo celebrates their 35th anniversary
October marks the beginning of the fall season, Halloween, and all things pumpkin spiced. On a slightly more serious note, October is also Domestic Violence Awareness month. To celebrate, the Women’s Shelter Program of San Luis Obispo County will be holding an art show and an open house, also commemorating its 35th anniversary. The Women’s…
Cougars & Mustangs
For as long as you or I can remember, mankind has looked to the milk of the cow for nourishment and aid in the process of cooking delicious foods. This famed, cud-chewing gentle giant has been a shimmering icon promoting healthy dietary habits, growth of strong bones, and public denouncement of the lactose intolerant. But,…
Was an Independent Peer Review Panel cut out of PG&E’s seismic review?
Several emails made public as part of a recent legal filing have provided a rare glimpse into internal conversations between Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) officials at a time when some critics have alleged the company sidestepped independent oversight. On Sept. 16, 2013, PG&E Director of Regulatory Relations Erik Jacobson wrote to Valerie Winn, PG&E’s…
Atascadero promises it won’t use potential sales tax revenues to pay for cost overruns in Walmart/Annex Project road improvement
The untimely intersection of two hot-button issues led to a not atypical late-night meeting at Atascadero City Hall. On Oct. 14, the Atascadero City Council untangled how exactly the city would and wouldn’t use the funds potentially generated from a proposed sales tax measure placed before voters in November. Measure E-14, if approved, would create…
SLO Brew project is downscaled and owners will part ways
SLO Brew, the iconic downtown San Luis Obispo bar and music venue, is scheduled to shift locations in mid-2015, but on a smaller scale than originally planned. The business owners are also in the process of dissolving their partnership. After a contentious approval process in 2012—when members of the public-advocacy group Save Our Downtown protested…
Uh-otis
It’s that time of year again—the temperature hovering in the sweltering 90s, the parched landscape beaming its autumnal glow, and my favoritest holiday right around the corner. I know I’m revealing my long-concealed sadist streak, but there’s something thrilling about all those men and women pretending to be something they’re not, begging for treats they…
Vote this way for a better Atascadero
Atascadero has shown significant progress since the days of long, contentious meetings with a divided council. Our current council has changed that previous culture and is working hard to respond to the desires of our residents. While our City Council members have different opinions, backgrounds, and experiences, and aren’t always voting the same, they are…
Don’t reward negligence
Now that a more accurate cost—$12 million vs. $4.5 million—is known for the projected roadwork for the Del Rio Road project, it is clear there is only one party that has the resources to travel down this expensive road: Wal-Mart. There was never any justification in giving Wal-Mart any corporate subsidies necessary to accommodate this…
We only need one election
Morro Bay’s two-election system was one of those ideas that sounded good on paper, but in reality has not worked out. It has cost the city taxpayers dollars, and contrary to the original intent, it seems to have had a negative effect on the number of citizens running for City Council. It is time to…
Clean up your streets, Morro Bay
My family visited Morro Bay several times a year with our friends, neighbors, and grandkids for the last 24 years. The Harbor Festival was our favorite event—until this year. On first arriving, there was a smacked-out guy playing loud guitar near the coffee shop we used to enjoy. We skipped breakfast there—too noisy and uncomfortable.…
Debate is healthy
It is a sad commentary on our times that someone living in the USA, Steve Pax (“There is no debate,” Oct. 2) demands that the news outlets censor their product. Two remarks: Steve hasn’t got the ability to debate, and worse yet “Pax” is no longer is peace. — Charley Brown – Santa Maria
Spend money on our home, not war
We are constantly told we don’t have enough money as a society to pay for various social programs, fix the roads, fund schools, rebuild infrastructure, etc. And yet when it comes to a new war or military adventure, there never seems to be a shortage of funds. Now we are involved in yet another one.…
Measure G is just more broken promises
Measure G is NOT an “extension” of Measure Y. Measure Y was a temporary half-cent sales tax placed on the ballot by the San Luis Obispo City Council in 2006 with a promise it would end in March 2015. We were told the additional tax was to augment revenues from other sources, to provide more…
