Cover Story
Meet the men who want to run Paso Robles
No amount of wine can solve Paso’s problems. Though nationwide popularity of the region’s fermented grape drink helped fuel a development boom beginning in the ’80s, the recent recession and an apparent lack of long-term planning have left the city struggling to provide basic services and maintain the infrastructure necessary to accommodate a population that’s…
The woman who walked on water
When I call Kathy Kohner Zuckerman at her Malibu home, she snaps up the phone before it has a chance to ring. “Hello?” she says, a note of seriousness in her voice catching me off guard. As I’ve never met her in person, my mental picture of the woman on the other end of the…
Young dubs, baby!
Ever since Young Dubliners lead singer Keith Roberts adopted SLO County as his new home, we’ve been treated one or two shows a year from this perpetually touring band, and Thursday, Oct. 4, is their next one at SLO Brew (8 p.m.; all ages; $15 presale or $17 at the door). They’re wrapping up a…
Beyond courage
What’s the difference between bravery and courage? Bravery, to me, means being willing to put yourself in harm’s way, like enlisting in the Army and becoming part of a security detail guarding a bomb disposal unit. Courage, on the other hand, is being blown to bits but fighting your way back to a kind of…
They do exist!
Faeries don’t always get the props they deserve. Fortunately, the second annual Solvang Faeriefest, a fantasy-themed celebration of art, music, dance, and magic, is trying to change that. The Faeriefest, which comes to the Solvang Festival Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 13, is dedicated to honoring the magical spirit of Fae, which organizers explain as “the…
Playing house
Ana Serrano’s art is, let’s face it, extremely cute. Serrano’s miniature buildings, painstakingly fashioned from cardboard and paper, bring to mind the dollhouses and dioramas of youth. They’re adorable, and yet there’s something strikingly adult about these constructions, part of the Los Angeles artist’s latest exhibit “Pretty Monumental” at the Cal Poly University Art Gallery.…
Clubs: 10/4
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande, 489-9099. Live music Fri. from 5:30-8:30 p.m. THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com. 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…
Octoasted
I’ve been on the Internet for a while now, so you’d think I’d be immune to every gross picture imaginable. In fact, I too thought my heart had grown cold and my eyes blind to the horrors of the World Wide Web. But a member of Reddit.com, a website that showcases user-driven content, changed all…
Pine Ridge 2011 Chenin Blanc Viognier
I loved the previous vintage of this really good value white, and I like this drier version even better. Crisp fruit flavors of apples and citrus from the Chenin (79 percent) meld quite nicely with the stone fruit, honey, and spice from the Viognier (21 percent). I love it as an aperitif, and it’s versatile…
Laetitia Vineyards 2010 Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley
This classic Arroyo Grande Valley Pinot is delicious on its own, and a great choice for the dinner table. It expresses ripe blackberry notes that are nicely balanced by notes of tangy cherry and strawberries. A signature spice note is weaved with herbs, making it a wine that’s perfect for an herbed pork roast or…
Artisan drinks and creative cocktails
I’ve got to recommend three upcoming festivals, each of which promises a good time. Drinking your choice of a wide array of delicious wines, ales, or cocktails, eating decadent treats (who cares about calories when you can diet tomorrow?), live music and dancing, and joining their huge social network where you’ll find new friends. That…
Questions For: Heather Smith
NEW TIMES What is Tips For Tatas? SMITH It’s the breast cancer fundraiser we are throwing at Buffalo. It’s on Oct. 9 from 11 a.m. till 2 .a.m. NEW TIMES How are you going to raise money for breast cancer research? SMITH We are selling raffle tickets for $5, donating all of the tips…
Read what you want!
Our quintessential American holiday, Thanksgiving, is right around the corner. Imagine you are seated at a bountiful meal for which you are about to give thanks. For me this happens not once during fall, but twice. Thanksgiving, for me, also takes place during Banned Book Week, when I will give thanks for everything that we…
Bring what made us happy back this election
I want to commend the Democratic Party this year for its endorsement of John Ashbaugh and Jeff Aranguena. These fellows have proven their support for the principles of their party and deserve our votes. The individuals endorsed in the last election by the Democrats have proven to be a great disappointment to those of…
Think we’re hayseeds, Abel?
Just saw an ad by Abel Maldonado who claimed that Lois Capps has a 14-year record of failure. Hm-m-m-m … is this the same Lois Capps we voted into and returned to office? I guess we’re a bunch of country bumpkins who just fell off the turnip truck. Sorry Abel, that dog won’t hunt!
Vote in these two men in Nipomo
Bob Blair and Ernie Thompson are running for seats on the NCSD Board of Directors. Both men have years of experience and did not support or believe in the necessity of a $26 million pipeline. General Manager Michael LeBrun’s June report to the NCSD Board of Directors listed more than $600,0000 for FY2012 expenditures…
The supes are saving our water
Praise and thanks go to Supervisors Patterson, Gibson and Hill for heeding the pleas of rural north county residents to protect their water supply from depletion. The three supervisors voted to ban further subdivision in the rural Paso groundwater basin. We’ve all heard the numbers: the basin is in decline (more going out than…
I’ve got the experience to say this is a bad idea
Having fished these local waters commercially for more than 60 years and captained ocean drilling ships for the petroleum industry eight years, I feel I am qualified to state that high-intensity seismic blasting does long-lasting harm, especially to larvae and juvenile fish and crab. Several academic institutions have published white papers of their research on…
Don’t sacrifice life–sea life or our lives
I want to say thank you for the creativity and coverage of the sea life’s plight (“Taking exception,” Sept. 27). I also want to inform the residents of Cayucos that the vessel all pretty with lights was out their killing recently. We are the target zone, and work is proceeding to relieve the sea of…
A call to arms
Whether it be the “good reason or real reason,” Pacific Gas and Electric is willing to put at risk, injure, kill, or harass many of our ocean’s living treasures. This is PG&E and local, state, and federal government at its dumbest. Some say this seismic imaging project is for our safety. Do they question the…
We need to avoid economic disaster
Michael Sullivan’s letter (“No thanks, Romney,” Sept. 27) mischaracterizes Otis Page’s statement about “Obama’s speech at the DNC” (“No thanks, Obama,” Sept. 13). Sullivan says, “Page claims that President Obama accomplished nothing in his first term.” Page never said that! Obama is responsible for the “stimulus” in 2009 that increased spending by $830 billion and…
Give a valuable critic a break!
As an avid supporter of the arts in San Luis Obispo, I must say that a poor review of one of our local theater pieces is never a thing to be happy about, and this is exasperated further by the issue that apparently multiple parties do not agree with Anna Weltner’s opinion (“Not-so-grand Manner, Sept.…
Pulling strings
Generally, I try to make a point of being as uninformed as possible. The reasons behind what some might call my apathetic lifestyle choice are threefold: One, I’m lazy. Two, this way I don’t have to worry about anyone bugging me, expecting me to know stuff. Three, I’m usually overwhelmed by the fact that I’m…
Cougars & Mustangs
Shirley Kerr of Some-Unspecified-Part-of-the-Central-Coast writes (in regards to ASCC Card Benefits): “Where in the heck do you find out which places of business offer student discounts? So far the Internet has been no help whatsoever. These would be the places I would frequent even if I was not a student, which I am not though…
Bigger on the inside!
It’s so easy to make references to the popular television series, Dr. Who, when I think about the Sidewalk Market and Mediterranean Deli. And by that I mean don’t let the green and beige exterior of this corner store fool you like it did me—it’s bigger on the inside! OK, so there isn’t more room…
Tax-fed beef?
Fred Nick isn’t what city folks might call a typical crusty old rancher. He’d rather read magazines on compost tea than cowboying. He’s traded in his horse for a cushy 4-wheeled Kubota. His specially bred beef cattle eat organically grown grass—not grain—their whole lives. And Nick and three generations of his family gave up—forever—the right…
Home owner vs. PG&E
On the morning of Sept. 25, a familiar battle was waged in the outskirts of Atascadero, but this time, the skirmish between corporate behemoth Pacific Gas and Electric Company and property owner Joseph Hafler reached new levels. According to Hafler, a work crew from PG&E stormed onto his property on Bolsa Road against his will,…
Correction
In a photo caption in a recent arts story (“Reciprocal figures,” Sept. 27) the photographer of a piece titled Communion was misidentified. The correct photographer is Dennis Jackson.
Atascadero’s RDA 2.0 to review low-income housing fund
After disbanding redevelopment agencies (RDAs) statewide, California passed legislation requiring their successor agencies to hold due diligence reviews of leftover funds in public session, and on Oct. 4, the oversight board for the successor agency to the Atascadero RDA will do just that, detailing assets in their Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund. The board…
Try to keep the customer satisfied
Pismo Beach is considering regulating its door-to-door solicitors. On Oct. 2, Pismo Beach City Attorney Dave Fleishman presented the city council a resolution that, if approved, would require any person engaging in home solicitation to carry—and to present, if asked—a business license. Some solicitors may meet certain exemptions, in which case they must file a…
SLO to expand its safe parking program
It’s been six months. Half a year ago, the city of San Luis Obispo’s joint project with the Community Action Partnership of SLO County to offer limited overnight parking to people who would otherwise be ticketed began, and the city is touting the program as a success. Despite minor improvements that could be made to…
County plastic bag ban upheld in court
On the same day a plastic bag ban went into effect, a challenge to the controversial law impacting grocery and other retail outlets across San Luis Obispo County was shot down by a SLO County Superior Court judge. On Oct. 1, stores across the county stopped using the bags, which proponents of the law say…
Citizens prompt Paso to retool its massage ordinance
New regulations intended to help Paso Robles police bust prostitution rings disguised as massage parlors were scheduled to receive final approval Oct. 2, but concerned practitioners pulled the ordinance from the consent calendar and convinced the city council to consider changes to its language. People who spoke expressed worries that the ordinance’s fee structure was…
Water board mulls penalty for sewage spill
“You need to be fair and equitable with your decision,” Bill Nicoll, chairman of the South SLO County Sanitation District, told water quality officials on Oct. 3—just before they began deliberating over the penalty for a major sewage spill. No decision had been announced by press time. The Regional Water Quality Control Board was considering…
Mason jurors split on beating verdict, future uncertain
Despite the best efforts of the prosecution, the jury in the criminal case against a San Luis Obispo firefighter couldn’t reach an agreement as to who was the aggressor in a brutal June 2011 bar fight. On Sept. 27, jurors split 8-4 in favor of exoneration for John Ryan Mason after a trial that lasted…
What was the last thing you gave to someone?
Griffin Breshears self-proclaimed rapper (student) “I gave my girlfriend a pencil for her birthday because she’s an artist. My friends gave me a hard time about it, but she loves it. It’s a really cool graphing pencil.” Dylan Dale philanthropist (student) “I gave a nice person a fiver so that he was able to purchase…
