Cover Story
‘Not going to live in fear’
“You know that creepy feeling you get when you know someone’s staring at you?” Brianne Dietze said when trying to recall what exactly woke her up one haunting summer morning. Dietze said she felt that eerie tingle run down the back of her neck, and though she could hear a faint rustling outside of her…
What’s your favorite food?
Morgan Bowen Internet product developer “I love all kinds of food, but I would have to say Mexican. … It just tastes great!” John Huff real estate broker “Barbecue, because it involves friends and family.” Mark Berrio retired Cal Poly professor “Rice pudding, because I used to eat it when I was very little. I…
How to avoid the cliff
As the election for the office of San Luis Obispo mayor and two City Council seats heats up, New Times set out to examine what the candidates say they’ll do about the most pressing issue facing the city: the difficult financial future those who get the votes will soon have to deal with. SLO is…
Lucia, you got some splainin’ to do!
What do a retiree, a real estate agent, and a fluoride activist have in common? They’re just a few of the people trying to squirm into a limited number of seats on the Lucia Mar Unified School District Board of Education. The November elections promise to drastically change the Lucia Mar board, which oversees San…
Cyclists hit the streets and dirt in SLO
Although San Luis Obispo missed out on the 2010 Tour de California, local bicycling enthusiasts can still get their kicks in the coming days. Two significant races, the SLO GranFondo and the SLO Cyclocross, are scheduled to provide local cyclists with opportunities to ride with pros or compete for medallions forged by members of the…
RTA drivers approve labor agreement
San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Agency drivers voted Oct. 15 to approve a four-year labor contract, bringing to an end a year-long struggle over wages and benefits. Union leadership and RTA management worked out the agreement on Oct. 7 with the help of a federal mediator. The drivers brought in the Teamsters to represent them,…
Pacific Capital is in danger of being delisted
Pacific Capital Bancorp has until April 6, 2011, to get its stock price to a minimum of $1 per share or it could be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The company hasn’t closed a day of trading above $1 since Aug. 25, with a price of about $1.61 per share. The company—which operates…
SLO process server gets new felony charge
Lyza Johnsen, a process server with the San Luis Obispo-based Johnsen & Johnsen Legal Support Services, was taken into custody on Oct. 20 during an appearance at SLO County Superior Court. Facing three felony charges and one misdemeanor ranging from writing bad checks to grand theft, Johnsen was originally scheduled for an arraignment. But on…
SLO High keeps controversial book
A San Luis Obispo High School review committee tasked with responding to an anonymous complaint over a widely read but controversial book—Kaffir Boy, by South African author Mark Mathabane—decided not to ban the book from its curriculum. About 60 students, parents, and teachers packed into a small history classroom on the SLO High campus to…
Sheriff’s Department gets another medical marijuana black eye
Hey, San Luis Obispo County. You’re about to buy 43 dead marijuana plants. Rather than go to trial in federal court and fight a civil rights lawsuit brought by Los Osos resident Richard Steenken, the county and Sheriff’s Department agreed to settle the case for $25,000, roughly the cash value of Steenken’s marijuana plants, which…
SLO jiggles its financial forecast
San Luis Obispo staffers have recalculated the city’s five-year fiscal forecast, declaring that the financial outlook is better than was previously thought. The city’s new estimates are based, however, on the presumption that inflation will remain low, city workers’ wages won’t increase, and the city won’t have any new capital projects. City officials released the…
Plane crash claims four SLO county residents
A small plane crash south of Ensenada, Mexico, took the lives of four San Luis Obispo County residents. The flight was part of a humanitarian mission run by the Flying Samaritans, an organization that sends medical teams to clinics in Mexico. The four were pilot Roger Lyon of Cayucos, Dr. James Thornton and Dr. Graciela…
Eco, baby
In case you hadn’t already noticed, Moondoggies’ old spot on Monterey Street by the mission has been transformed. Painted in pale colors that bring out the odd, modern architecture, the location is now an eco-friendly children’s store. Owned by two young sisters, EcoBambino carries a thoughtfully selected array of clothing and toys made with the…
Vote yes on Measure H
Under current city plans approved 11 years ago, a Prado Road cross-town truck- route extension would dead end at Broad Street, northwest of the Damon-Garcia Recreation Fields. Measure H proponents are challenging that terminus location, claiming children who play on fields downwind of exhaust fumes from trucks approaching or waiting to turn onto Broad Street…
Of mountains and molehills
I’m reminded of the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare, you see, was this spunky little nincompoop who kept tripping over himself as he ran to canoodle with everything along the way that remotely resembled a hot bunny chick. “Ouch,” he’d say as his flippity-floppity feet caught on loose branches, causing him…
Katie Manley, Avila Beach Golf Resort event manager
NEW TIMES: What is the Oaktoberfest celebration all about? MANLEY: The Oaktoberfest festival is an event that Firestone Walker Brewing Company has been putting on for five years now, this festival being its sixth. It’s based on the German-celebrated event Oktoberfest, which is a 16- to 18-day event. Firestone puts on this event not only…
ECOSLO wants more analysis before taking a Carrizo solar position
In Colin Rigley’s excellent article on the dilemma regarding the siting of much-needed renewable energy (“The great solar quagmire,” Oct. 7), the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO) was incorrectly characterized as having made an “about-face” regarding the two solar projects proposed for the Carrizo valley. Mr. Rigley correctly stated that the organization has…
Let our kids continue to breathe free
I just wanted you to know what I’ve been very interested in stopping. I want to change the negative consequences if Measure H does not pass. We have a beautiful sports field with clean air. I want to keep it that way. Since I (and we) have children who play a tough sport on the…
Fight fear with mercy
This nation is in fear—fear of the uncertainty of the future. There are those who would choose to keep the country in fear by claiming that we cannot afford to show mercy to our struggling countrymen and women. They imply the government is too big and that we need to pull ourselves up by our…
Obama may reap what he sows this election
The mid-term elections will be a verdict on President Barack Obama. Some provide a positive assessment: Obama has focused on policy at the expense of politics; he wishes to do the right thing, even if people don’t like it. The majority has a negative view of the “great communicator” who’s unable to connect. He led…
Joe Cortez makes Pismo a paradise
As the mother of two boys, ages 2 and 6, the position of sheriff is critical to my family. “Cops and Robbers” is a game in our Pismo household. However, a single town over, there reside real life racketeering and gangsters who steal the lives of youth like my sons. One of the sheriff’s top…
Betty is best for Morro Bay
The city of Morro Bay has not been thriving under our last few decades of poor leadership, going back to when Bill Yates single-handedly changed the role of mayor. The role of mayor used to be just part of the City Council and to set agendas, and Yates changed it to one of self-importance, micro-management…
I’d pay to get into state parks
So I thought, “$18 isn’t so much. What’s the big deal?” Then my wife and I drove up to Hearst Castle last Saturday. We could barely get a tour and were thankful to drop down $48 for the two of us to take the 90-minute Garden Tour. It was fantastic and made us appreciate even…
Pick a bum and vote
This election year pushes us into an unprecedented “Get rid of ’em all” frenzy. Before we throw all the bums out, let’s make sure we take a careful look at the bums who would replace them. In any case, vote, even if it’s for Noneof Theabove. Otherwise, you lose your right to criticize any elected…
Read about SLO city’s financial situation, then vote
There is a very informative article in New Times regarding the state of finances for the city of SLO (“Heading for the cliff,” Sept. 30). This article highlights topics that are predictive of the financial future of this great city. It is not a doom-and-gloom article, but a documented, informative, current, and future analysis of…
Open your eyes, book complainer, this is real life
So, some anonymous, stick-your-head-in-the-sand person wants to censor Kaffir Boy because it details, on one page, boys prostituting themselves so they could have money to live (“Anonymous complainer wants SLO High to consider book ban,” Sept. 30). I worked at a small power station in Hollywood just one block from where male hustlers “worked.” They,…
Clubs
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Babcock 2008 Pinot Noir Rita’s Earth Cuvee
Here’s a great buy in Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. It’s easy drinking, but also impressive for its delicious black cherry, blackberry, and plummy aromas and flavors, with nuances of spice and earth. You can enjoy it with a burger, pizza, or barbecued tri-tip. This delicious Pinot is a…
Snoqualmie 2009 Gewurztraminer Columbia Valley Naked
This delightful white is atypical for this flavorful variety, and it’s a great buy. Organically farmed, it’s 100 percent Gewurztraminer, offering pretty stone fruit and citrus aromas and flavors, with a subtle thread of spice. It’s slightly sweet, but you won’t notice because it’s so well balanced by lemon and lime notes. Winemaker Joy Anderson…
Initial success
When winemaker Justin Kahler moved to Paso Robles wine country to create his own brand, he already knew he couldn’t use his name on the label. That brand name was taken long ago by Justin Baldwin, owner of Justin Vineyards. But Kahler chuckled while admitting he’s used to that happening to him. It started when…
Double entendre
Now one of America’s foremost ventriloquists, Jay Johnson began performing at the age of 11, after discovering an uncanny ability to make his cousin’s doll come to life. Johnson went on to produce and star in his own local television show while in high school, before heading to L.A., getting a bowl cut, and making…
Reggae in the rain
Nas and Damian Marley were playing a beachside show in Avila for their joint album Distant Relatives. I left Morro Bay by caravan, because the day’s theme was Africa, and I happen to keep it real that way. The group consisted of friends from work, friends of friends, and two thirds of Trouble Hoof, a…
My date with David
Get out your datebook, your Blackberry, your iPhone, or whatever your preferred method of recording important events happens to be. Turn to Oct. 28 and erase whatever you were supposed to be doing. Replace it with the words, “David Sedaris. Performing Arts Center. 8 p.m.” You can send me a thank-you letter the following day.…
Wanna be a star?
My buddy David Vienna, who used to be New Times’ arts editor, has been in L.A. for many years writing screenplays (some even “in the pipeline!”), reality TV show scripts (yes, they have scripts … sorry to burst your bubble), and other weird stuff, like comic books. He squeezes that in between squeezing his wife…
