Cover Story
Should Sheriff Pat Hedges stand down?
The SLO County Board of Supervisors, county officials, and community members alike are pressuring SLO County Sheriff Pat Hedges–simultaneously the subject of an attorney general’s investigation, a local county-ordered independent investigation, and a county administrative review, all centering on his admitted secret videotaping of his Chief Deputy Gary Hoving–to take a leave from his job.…
Police find three dead after emergency call
San Luis Obispo police were called to an upscale Laguna Lake-area neighborhood on Oct. 3. Police said they received an emergency call at 6:53 a.m. by a man reporting he’d spotted someone with a gun. When police arrived at the Frambuesa Drive home, they said they found an adult man, an adult woman, and a…
Recall proponents stop efforts in Atascadero
Two Atascadero City Council members are publicly thanking their supporters after opponents abandoned an effort to launch a recall effort against them. “The recall attempt was a great distraction from our duties at City Hall and disruptive to our families and the Atascadero community,” council memebers Mike Brennler and Ellen Beraud wrote in a joint…
Fast facts
San Luis Surf Company announced its grand opening, set for Oct. 4 during San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market. The downtown Central Coast surf store, located on the corner of Higuera and Morro streets, will kick off festivities with the release of Glass Apparel’s latest movie, Field of Vision. The surf-inspired film will be projected on…
Two teams will bid for stadium use
The San Luis Obispo City Council voted to allow two semi-pro teams to call Sinsheimer Stadium home in the 2008 baseball season. The council took the Parks and Recreation Department’s recommendations in full and decided to consider a Request for Proposal (RFP) from each of the teams, meaning that the two organizations will bid against…
Nacimiento resort is under new ownership
Monterey County recently purchased World Water Resorts Inc., a Lake Nacimiento resort, leaving some of the area’s homeowners and water enthusiasts questioning the future of their beloved body of water. “I’m concerned about the level of the water, the property value, and what their long-range plan is,” said Lee Johnson, a 20-year Lake Nacimiento resident.…
SLO Downtown Association wants independence
San Luis Obispo’s Downtown Association is set to become what city staff termed “a whole new animal” to eliminate the need to comply with laws such as the Brown Act and the Political Reform Act. The City Council adopted a new Downtown Strategic Business Plan presented by the Downtown Association on Oct. 2, setting the…
County is on pace for record marijuana eradication
On Sept. 28, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit eradicated 1,118 marijuana plants in an outdoor ganja garden located in Upper Lopez Canyon near Lopez Lake. The recent pot bust brings this year’s total amount of seized cannabis plants to nearly 40,000, which puts the county’s total on pace for an all-time high.…
I’m all ears
I’m listening in on you. Right now. There’s a microphone in the thing that you’re sitting on, and I heard what you did a few minutes ago. Embarrassed? Don’t be. Somebody a few blocks away from you just did the same thing. I know because I have bugs everywhere. There’s also a video camera somewhere…
Find gems in Avila Beach
The charming seaside town of Avila Beach has blossomed as a destination for locals and tourists alike. For years it seemed the only time locals who didn’t live there visited, it was just to dine at the Olde Port Inn or Fat Cat’s, or to go out drinking with pals at the popular Mr. Rick’s.…
It’s there inside your mind
There’s something undeniably ghoulish about Phantom of the Opera. Maybe it’s linked to the fact that Lon Chaney clouded his eyeballs with egg membrane for his role as the phantom in the 1925 silent film. Or perhaps its eeriness is derived from one of the film’s most prevalent themes: the exploration of art’s dark, seductive…
Judge questions legality of ‘no match’ letters
A federal judge ruled Oct. 1 to uphold a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Homeland Security from using mismatching Social Security information to pressure employers into firing undocumented workers. The government agency had planned to send out more than 140,000 “no match” letters informing employers that they must fire workers using false documentation,…
Cell phone use triggers arrest
Oceano Dunes State Park environmental scientist Laura Gardner was interrupted in mid-conversation by the approach of law enforcement officers when she and a friend returned to her Grover Beach home after dining out one night last September. # The talkative, diminutive redhead, then 48 years old, was handcuffed and taken to the county jail on…
Great white sighted near Cayucos Pier
A word of warning to Central Coast surfers: Keep your toes up and your eyes on the horizon. A 16-foot great white shark was seen circling the Cayucos Pier on Sept. 30. The sighting, the fourth this year, prompted county officials to post warning signs that cautioned beachgoers of the potential risks of entering the…
Letters
Do we care about this country’s children? Health care and a good education ought to be the birthright of every child in America. It could be so, if we cared enough about our children to demand that money wasted on wars be redirected to help our kids grow up healthy and empowered with the skills…
Take a vintage spin
A love for music, art, and each other prompted Jeremiah and Bree Highhouse to open Vinyl Isle, San Luis Obispo’s County’s newest vintage record store and art gallery. # The multi-use shop, located at 740 Morro Bay Blvd., will hold its grand opening on Oct. 5, offering free appetizers and live music. Though Jeremiah, a…
The legal option
Farming is the No. 1 industry in central California. As farming goes, so does the rest of the local economy. It is extremely important to all of us that the farming industry remains healthy and vibrant. Illegal immigration, which started as a trickle in the 1950s, has grown to a torrent in recent years, and…
Big Sur calling
# I dig Big Sur, the most majestic stretch of coastline in California, one that can rival anywhere in the world. I’m not the only one who likes it up there. It’s a magnet for weirdos. I also dig weirdos. Go figure. For the last 15 years in a row, hipsters, hippies, campers, artists, ne’er-do-wells,…
