Cover Story
Caught in the act
In a David-and-Goliath-like scenario, some Atascadero city officials are apparently using the threat of eminent domain to intimidate some property owners into selling their land to the city for a below-market price. And the property owners are wondering to what lengths the city and its redevelopment agency will go in the name of enhancing its…
Training to combat 2006 ballot measure begins
Most local voters are just now familiarizing themselves with the upcoming November statewide elections. But one group has their sights set on next June, and a controversial ballot measure that would change the state’s constitution and eliminate the rights of domestic partners and permanently ban same-sex marriage. Last weekend about 40 opponents of the measure…
No Headline
Tricks and treats One of my good friends said he’d carve a jack-o-lantern to look like me this Halloween. I didn’t know whether to take the gesture as a compliment or an insult. He’s a great artist, but his pumpkins always seem to wind up as orange smears in the street after the local partiers…
Morro Bay discusses other Duke options
Instead of three 450-foot smoke stacks jutting up from Morro Bay, imagine an ESPN Sportszone bar, a wave machine, and a Ferris wheel. This may sound fantastical, but these are just a few of the alternatives to a power plant that Morro Bay City Attorney Rob Schultz recently showed the City Council in a PowerPoint…
New members for GMO Task Force
Last week the county’s Health Commission unanimously agreed to add two new members – a biomedical researcher and a biomedical ethicist – to the GMO Task Force, the group charged with educating the commission about genetically modified organisms. The task force was born from the wreckage of Measure Q, a ballot measure voters defeated in…
Grover family busted for medical pot
Grover Beach Police broke into the home of Jason and Aileen Brooks last Tuesday, Oct. 18, to discover an elaborate marijuana growroom and a large cache of the dried herb. Police entered the apartment at 443 Trouville Ave. without a warrant, based on an erroneous report of an unattended child. The Brookses’ landlord, Gail Kemble,…
The joy of cooking
Lucinda Serven developed her passion for the culinary arts early on, making homemade jam in her grandma’s kitchen. A grandmother herself now, she’s still making jams – and pies and soups and holiday treats – but she’s moved out of the kitchen and into the pantry with a new business that aims to bring out…
A cultural predicament
Those of us who live in America and are descended from ancient cultures face a unique problem. Our countries of origin are usually rich in tradition, cultural practices, and established patterns of interpersonal relationships. For better or for worse, social mores and codes of conduct are more clearly defined between people. These customs can provide…
Atascadero resident cleared of multiple felonies, including pot and grand theft
Josh Weber, 21, of Atascadero was looking forward to a fresh start on July 15, when he and his friend Seth Giles, 29, moved two carloads of personal property out the home they’d shared with Josh’s cousin, Matt Weber, 30. But when Matt came home to find Josh packing up boxes of tools and personal…
Avila Murderer sentenced
J. Efrain González Albor was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing his 24-year-old son on Jan. 31. Albor pleaded guilty in September to waiting for his son and estranged wife to return to their Avila Beach home, where he hid in a shower with a kitchen knife and accosted both of them…
Letters
Don’t play Russian roulette with California I could agree with Justin Ruhge’s letter; however, if Duke Energy were to sell the property to the city of Morro Bay for what is it worth in millions of dollars, it should be redeveloped for a culture center for our tourists that come in from the Central Valley…
