Cover Story
Dead poor
Mark Brown had been dead a month when his body was found in San Luis Obispo Creek. Brown was a 54-year-old ex-construction worker who had lived more than 20 years on the street, his life consumed by alcohol and drugs. No obituary memorialized his history or even mentioned his name and only a few other…
Which place is San Luis Obispo most like: San Francisco, Santa Barbara or Los Angeles?
Steve Linzmeier electrician “I think we’re like none of them. We’re a lot friendlier.” Lisa Taubenheim hair dresser “Santa Barbara. I think we’re a smaller town and the distribution of wealth seems similar. We seem to be more art minded like Santa Barbara. A boutique town, that’s what I call it.” Christa Davis winery worker…
Never still
New Times Tell me about 2009, artistically for you. Rushing My new pieces are totally different and better. I will probably have at least 30 pieces during my Open Studios. And I saw the Dalai Lama in person. New Times Why do you like them more? Rushing I am more confident. Technically they are…
Welcome to the equality state
Eleven years ago a 21-year-old college student was pistol whipped, tortured, tied to a fence post and left to die in a city high on a plain between two mountain ranges: Laramie, Wyoming, also known as the Gem City of the Plains. In the decade that followed, people forgot. Federal hate-crime legislation that might have…
Pay a visit to the scary hair monster
If you plan to attend ARTS Obispo’s 2009 Open Studios Tour, taking place between Oct. 10 and 25, you have some pretty difficult decisions to make. You have the option of visiting more than 200 artists, but only six days—42 hours—to visit their studios. That’s a schedule that Santa Claus himself couldn’t maintain. So…
Controversy erupts over Michael Pollan’s Poly lecture
Nationally known sustainable food expert Michael Pollan will now be part of a panel discussion at Cal Poly on Oct. 15 rather than giving his planned one-hour lecture. The recently announced format change comes on the heels of a letter to Cal Poly President Warren Baker from Harris Ranch Beef Company Chairman David E. Wood,…
Playing God, alfalfa style
Just the words “genetically engineered” can conjure fantastic images of gigantic, mutated vegetables, or unnaturally muscled farm animals. It can turn the most mundane crops into fodder for fights. Case in point: genetically engineered alfalfa. A legal battle waged over genetically engineered alfalfa (also referred to as GE alfalfa or Roundup Ready alfalfa) for…
Supes divide on ag events
In an attempt to clarify existing policy on large events hosted on agricultural land, SLO County supervisors seem to have set the stage for a new policy that will clearly divide the board and upset an already agitated agricultural community. The item before county supervisors on Oct. 6 should have been easy enough: Interpret…
New fees pave way for taller downtown
The San Luis Obispo City Council approved a developers’ fee for buildings taller than 50 feet to finance a new fire truck equipped with a 100-foot ladder, scheduled to be purchased next year. Citing the need to plan for a future with more high rises in the downtown area and Cal Poly, the council voted…
PG&E doubles initiative funding
The day after New Times reported a proposed ballot initiative pushed by Pacific Gas & Electric Company that would hinder development of nonprofit community-owned electric power utilities (“PG&E pushes vote to limit public power,” Sept. 10), the corporation ponied up $1.5 million to the committee promoting the initiative, on top of two previous contributions of…
Both sides claim victories in forest ruling
More than a million acres of wildland in the Los Padres, Angeles, Cleveland, and San Bernardino national forests have been at the heart of a legal battle between seven environmental groups and the U.S. Forest Service. And a late September ruling in the case seems to have been met with favor from both sides. …
Patrick Wollett’s sentencing delayed
On Oct. 5, a San Luis Obispo judge delayed the sentencing of Patrick Wollett so his new defense attorney can read the transcripts from the murder trial of Joshua Houlgate. The new lawyer, Tom McCormick, told the judge the transcript of the trial wouldn’t be ready for two more weeks. Judge Dodie A. Harman moved…
The ultimate price
Two of the men who lost their lives building the Nacimiento Water Project may have been victims of an effort to save a water fountain in front of a fitness club. A year after their deaths, SLO County officials shelled out another $228,694 to pay for what one official called his biggest mistake. On…
Give a boy a dog
Few relationships are as special as those between children and dogs. It’s not unusual for a boy to pester his parents to adopt a canine, but in Cooper Giron’s case, it’s not his parents who stand in the way, it’s money. The outgoing, energetic 4-year-old requires an extraordinary dog, one that is not just a…
No one can stop off-roaders
Regarding Nell Langford and her attempts to end off-roading at Oceano Dunes and probably everywhere else (“State shouldn’t subsidize off-road industry,” Oct. 1): Sorry Nell, but it’s not going to happen. The taxes paid by off-roaders, the money they spend in the motels, gas stations, grocery stores, off-road-friendly shops, restaurants, and everywhere else here will…
Keep it civil
The controversy over health care reform is the oddest debate outside of arguments about abortion I’ve seen. The last thing a person going into a hospital or an emergency room should have to worry about is how they‘re going to pay, no matter who they are or what their income level is. But the moment…
Volunteers removed more than two tons of trash
The results are in! On Sept. 19, we had a highly successful Coastal Cleanup Day. We would like to thank each of the 1,425 volunteers who helped to make our coastline not only beautiful but clean and safe for people and wildlife alike. More than 4300 pounds of trash was picked up. Enormous thanks are…
Support the Clean Air Act
How and why is it that policies and measures that are supported by a wide range of citizens end up as easy targets for such big-moneyed interests as the coal industry? Too many times grass-roots groups wage painstaking battles only to have the big-moneyed Interests wave even larger sums in front of legislators, who seem…
Wolves deserve protection
Two hundred and fifty wolves have been killed this season in Alaska’s aerial shooting campaign, a program established at the request of Governor Sarah Palin. Cubs have nowhere to hide when their parents are brutally shot from helicopters. Sarah Palin and her administration have authorized surrounding dens with painful, deadly snares and tossing poison gas…
Genuine health insurance reform is imperative
Each day, 14,000 people in the U.S. lose health-care coverage. And without reform, those who still have insurance will see their yearly premiums go up continue to spiral upward. Don’t pay attention to the town hall meetings of confused, anti-government individuals. Do they expect private enterprise insurance companies to help people who don’t have any…
Dunes wildlife and wheels can coexist
Over the years my family has spent many fantastic days and nights at Oceano Dunes, taking advantage of both motorized and non-motorized activities. I sincerely hope that this last remaining jewel of the California coast where families can enjoy both responsible motorized use and take advantage of the beach and ocean is not surreptitiously taken…
Shake the bureaucracy
Every few years we go through this process of talking tough and having meetings so citizens can blow off steam about student noise and obnoxious behavior. The city council says they are going to do something then after dragging out the process nothing is ever done, the problem persists, and the same people are elected because…
Law firm has highest standards
This letter is in response to an article concerning the San Luis Obispo law firm of Hall, Hieatt & Connely (“Damage control,” Aug. 27). By either intention or implication, the article seemed to question the integrity of the firm and/or the firm’s relationship with its long-term client, San Luis Obispo County. I have known…
Watch who you call dirty, Starkey
Having read the article “Feel the Thunder” (Oct. 1) I find myself taken aback by such phrases as “Before you start hiding your children and barricading your homes” and “big dirty bikers.” The implications being that motorcycle clubs are populated by dirty, fat men who threaten property and familes. As the president of a local…
Read the code, check the map
Nell Langford states (“State shouldn’t subsidize off-road industry,” Oct. 1) that the operation of the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreational Area (SVRA) is illegal because it is in violation of California Public Resources Code 5001.95. That code reads: “No state park system unit, other than a state wilderness, a natural preserve, or a cultural preserve,…
The Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming!
I just want to bring to your attention the threat of Iran. The threat of Iran concerns me because it has a two-fold effect. First, the Iranian leaders want to obliterate Israel and if that happens, a war in the Middle East could ensue and involve other countries, including the U.S. Even if we were…
Those were the days: Cayucos in the ’60s
People sometimes ask me what Cayucos was like in the ’60s, because I’ve lived a block from downtown all my life. Cayucos sure was a lot different back then. All traffic going north and south went right through the middle of town, and you normally did not see a car on the move after 8…
Embrace the planet
I consider myself a “card-carrying” member of the environmental movement and I’m proud of it. In the late 1960s, I joined the Sierra Club and participated in the first Earth Day. Although I lived in Minnesota, I was concerned when California’s redwood forests were threatened with clear cutting and when its wild and scenic…
Erika Hirsch
NEW TIMES: Who is organizing the walk for animals event? HIRSCH: The event is sponsored by Farm Sanctuary. They provide all the necessary materials and they rely on volunteers to organize locally. The volunteer coordinators for San Luis Obispo are Ria Bacigalupe and myself. NEW TIMES: What is the main goal of this event? HIRSCH:…
Innocent Bystander 2008 Pinot Noir Victoria
This Aussie Pinot, grown in the cool climate Victoria region, provides an easy sipping wine at a value price. Simple but flavorful, it has tangy cherry and plum flavors weaved with subtle spice and earth notes. A good choice with roast beef or pork, or grilled lamb chops, it’s only $13.99 at Costco, or $17.79…
A traditional Japanese bar
Whenever I find a restaurant that I respect, like most people, I tend to favor it. That said, long before I became New Times’ food and wine columnist, I’ve kept an open mind when it comes to discovering new restaurants. I love it when locals recommend a favorite restaurant. And I always get excited, hoping…
Ouch!
Does anyone have an inflatable donut I can sit on? I knew last week’s mention of the Los Osos sewer issue would generate some backlash, but damned if the barrage of livid responses hasn’t left me a little looser, if you know what I mean. I didn’t even need to drink my first cup of…
A touch of the Irish
It’s been six months since The Young Dubliners’ last local show where they were hitting the road in support of their excellent new album Saints and Sinners, and they’ve been going pretty much non-stop since then. It’s not a stretch to say that this world famous act has become the hardest workin’ band in show…
