Cover Story
Ready to burn: State agencies push prescribed burns, environmentalists advocate for development restrictions as number of massive wildfires increase
An estimated 129 million trees in California are dead. It sounds apocalyptic, but it’s true. About one-fifth of those, or 27 million, died between November 2016 and December 2017. More than 60 million died the previous year. Most of the die-off has occurred in the Sierra Nevada, but forests on the Central Coast have lost…
Blast from the Past: Batman Forever
When? 1995 What’s it rated? PG-13 Where’s it available? DVD, Amazon, iTunes I’m writing about Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever this week because my editor, alleged Stanford graduate and human labrador retriever, Peter Johnson, said I couldn’t write an entire column about Seal’s two music videos for “Kiss From A Rose” (yes, there are two). I…
All the right skills to serve on the school board
It has been my honor and privilege to serve with Marilyn Rodger and Jim Quesenberry on the San Luis Coastal School District board. Each brings unique talents to the board. Marilyn’s background in construction contracts has been invaluable as we navigate the complexities of faithfully fulfilling the Measure D projects. Jim’s strong history as former…
SLO County looks to remove hurdles for farmworker housing
Amid a statewide shortage of agricultural labor and housing, San Luis Obispo County is looking at overhauling its farmworker housing regulations, criticized by industry members as too restrictive. County officials held a public workshop on Oct. 16 to outline the direction of the new housing ordinance and receive feedback. Proposed reforms include allowing agricultural housing…
Trio for a Better SLO!
Keith Gurnee, James Lopes, and Sarah Flickinger have my votes for the mayor of San Luis Obispo and City Council seats respectively. We need intelligent, healthy, financially solvent individuals in office who have integrity and experience with planning. These three dedicated citizens have those qualities! As a trio, I know that they will provide leadership…
Fire damage sets back The Wellness Kitchen
The Wellness Kitchen and Resource Center is temporarily closed due to a fire in the building that took place on Oct. 21. The nonprofit offers specialized meals for those with health issues and health and wellness cooking classes for all ages. It leases a space with a commercial kitchen on the first floor of a…
Morro Bay is disenfranchising voters
Last week’s New Times article, “Morro Bay approves $67 million sewer contract—while a legal challenge looms,” stated that Save Morro Bay was formed to oppose the wastewater project. It was formed have a cost-effective project and have a fair Proposition 218 process, which the city refuses to do. Imagine more than 1,000 protest votes being…
Prosecutors seek to admit accusations of past abuse in Petetit domestic violence trial
SLO County prosecutors are asking a judge to allow them to include past allegations of violent domestic abuse in their case against a local developer accused of beating one of his former girlfriends. In recent court filings, the SLO County District Attorney’s Office said it wanted to present jurors with allegations from two additional women…
Don’t be fooled by big oil’s big bucks
I worked for Chevron for 32 years in various capacities. I have a degree in geology from Stanford and in law from Santa Clara University. I am voting yes on Measure G. I am deeply disturbed by the many false and misleading claims about Measure G appearing in ads, flyers, and on signs paid for…
Man accused of threatening Women’s March takes plea deal
A 46-year-old Atascadero man accused of threatening to kill members of the Women’s March SLO on Facebook accepted a plea deal that will keep him out of jail. On Oct. 30, Daniel Joshua Phares appeared in SLO County Superior Court and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of making criminal threats. Judge Craig Van…
We need to address our disparities before it’s too late
I picked up the Oct. 25 issue of New Times and was moved by the juxtaposition of the cover photo, a homeless man lying face down on the grass, and the glossy Menus insert, featuring a well-dressed couple dining in an upscale restaurant toasting each other with wine surrounded by plates of expensive food on…
The New Times Music Awards returns to the Fremont Theater on Friday, Nov. 2
Sure, it might be better to win an Oscar, a Tony, a Grammy, an Emmy, a BET, a Teen Choice, or even a Razzie Award, but a Newtie’s nothing to sneeze at, people! This Friday, Nov. 2, the 10th annual New Times Music Awards fills the Fremont Theater with live music and a night celebrating…
Film Listings, 11/1/18 – 11/8/18
Editor’s note: Listings for Regal Arroyo Grande Stadium 10 were incomplete at press time. Call (844) 462-7342 for a complete listings of their films. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY What’s it rated? PG-13 Where’s it showing? Bay, Downtown Centre, Fair Oaks, Galaxy, Park, Stadium 10 New Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men, Superman Returns) directs this biopic about…
Two good things
Spending three nights in Morro Bay, as a tourist from Germany, I came across the latest New Times edition. What a surprise, no offense intended, to find, in a local paper like this, two very readable pieces: One was the very thoughtful and insightful article by Chris McGuinness (“Is homelessness a crime?”). So, when SLO…
L.A. artist Brent Dickinson experiments with theology, critical theory, and comedy at Cuesta
Conceptual Brent Dickinson, Babbling Objects: An Indoor Earthwork will be on display from Nov. 8 through Dec. 5 at Cuesta College’s Harold J. Miossi Gallery. A performative lecture will take place on Nov. 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. An opening reception will be held on Nov. 8 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., with an…
Mayoral candidate T. Keith Gurnee wants to push back on state housing laws; SLO city leaders say that will be hard, if not impossible
One of T. Keith Gurnee’s most consistent messages as a candidate for San Luis Obispo mayor is also something of a war cry: A recent slew of California housing laws is trampling SLO’s ability to control development, Gurnee says, and he will lead the charge to fight back. “The biggest issue we face is the…
Get to know your candidates: Read their slogans
There has been a lot of confusing rhetoric in our mayoral election, with conflicting information everywhere about what the candidates actually represent. However, their true beliefs and intentions have been in plain sight within their campaign slogans all along. Heidi Harmon’s slogan is “People, Prosperity, and Planet.” This represents her values of social equity, economic…
Los Osos artist Ed Chandler depicts the struggle to belong at SLOMA exhibit
All are welcome Home Sweet Home, featuring the work of California artists with disabilities, is on display at the SLO Museum of Art through Dec. 9. Visit sloma.org for more information. The images of the children stayed with him. Visions of children and their parents drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, hanging lifeless from barbed wire,…
Modest measures: Shedding light on the Nov. 6 ballot’s lesser-known propositions
When SLO County voters head to the polls Nov. 6, they’re going to have a lot of decisions to make. In addition to voting for candidates running for state and local offices, as well as local ballot measures, those voters will also have to decide whether to approve or shoot down 11 statewide propositions addressing…
One vote is all it takes
Does your vote matter? “Funny you should ask,” said Cousin Dave. Years ago, Dave’s brother served their New Jersey town as a municipal judge, a position appointed by the town council. At the time, the council held a Republican majority by one seat—until Dave voted for the Democrat, who won by one vote. When the…
Cal Poly hosts Elevator Pitch Competition
The Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will host the ninth annual Elevator Pitch Competition on Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center. Cal Poly and Cuesta College students will have the opportunity to present their entrepreneurial ideas for a chance to win $1,000. Each participant…
San Luis Coastal celebrates local lunches for local schools
Next to the blue lunch tables at C.L. Smith Elementary School, boys and girls are picking fruits and vegetables, playing a produce hunt game (similar to an Easter egg hunt) and sampling local produce on Oct. 25. It’s all part of San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s participation in Collective Action Day. Collective Action Day…
Tricky politics
I’m sick of Measure G! Who’s with me? Come on. I know you all are. Every single one of you has received a million gazillion mailers, sponsored Facebook posts, Google ads, television ads, and phone calls about that ballot measure. It’s all part of the almost $8.15 million that’s been spent to fight over a…
Progressive activist to speak at Bioneers Conference
Human rights activist Paul Engler, co-author of This Is An Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt is Shaping the Twenty-First Century, will speak at the ninth annual Central Coast Bioneers Conference on Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Oak Glen Pavilion in the SLO Botanical Garden. Engler will discuss how social movements of the past can guide contemporary…
Harvest huzzah!
Swirl by the sea: As you well know, the Avila Beach Resort will host a Harvest on the Coast harvest party at the beach this Nov. 3, where winemakers and local celebrity chefs will converge for a Grand Tasting and Wine Auction. This beachside grand tasting features more than 50 wineries and restaurants dishing out…
Sound off
New Times readers took to Facebook to share their thoughts on our Oct. 25 anonymous commentary, “Vote: Racism is the exception, not the rule, but we need to stay vigilant.”
Pilobolus to perform at the PAC
The American dance company Pilobolus is bringing its latest creation, Shadowland, to the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Nov. 3. This multimedia show combines aspects of circus performances, concert theatrics, shadowplay, and dance routines. The story centers on a teenage girl searching for independence. Her dreams take her to “Shadowland,” illustrated by moving…
Cooler than you
Cool climate culture: Join in on an educational vineyard experience for wine enthusiasts seeking a guided exploration of the frontier for the most complex cool-climate varietals in California, Edna Valley. Allow 90 minutes to appreciate a progressive tasting of Tolosa’s limited production wines on the estate vineyard, Edna Ranch. Explore the valley, the perfect microclimate…
Twice the fun: Ghouls, ghosts, and Playboy bunnies party in Paso
Awash in a purple and green fluorescent glow, Stark walls that stand tall in the low-hanging dark of an October night. White faces that flicker inside, Mouths pulsating with LED candlelight. A semblance of something I can’t quite decipher. Just flashes of creatures who know how to hide. She rides back and forth, back and…
Holidays already?
Taste the turkey: Parrish Family Vineyards in Paso Robles will host its first Thanksgiving fundraiser this Nov. 10. Funds go to Must! Charities and the meal includes butternut squash soup and garlic herb crostini; turkey medallions stuffed with wild rice stuffing and rustic garlic gravy; lemon and herb roasted potatoes; mushrooms in brown butter, garlic,…
Measure G campaigns clash as opposition spends millions
In the final weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 elections, the campaigns for and against Measure G—the local initiative to ban fracking and new oil and gas wells in San Luis Obispo County—are throwing around their full financial weight to sway voters’ minds. But one campaign is 32 times heavier than the other. The…
Harvest hits SLO wine country Nov. 2 to 4
Go coastal Learn more about Harvest on the Coast’s events, dinners, and tastings, at slowine.com. Every Thanksgiving, a young Stephen Ross Dooley would watch as the grown-ups in his house perform those silly “grown-up” rituals that only seem to make sense years later. Like grabbing armfuls of wine—the sweet, cheap stuff—and lugging the bottles out…
‘The Sisters Brothers’ offers a darker take on the Wild West
THE SISTERS BROTHERS What’s it rated? R What’s it worth, Anna? Full price What’s it worth, Glen? Full price Where’s it showing? The Palm Co-writer/director Jacques Audiard (Dheepan, Rust and Bone, A Prophet) helms this adventure-comedy-crime story set in 1851 Oregon, and based on Patrick DeWitt’s novel. John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix star as…
Downtown sippin’
Yes, this is a week of wine mania in SLO County! While the surf is indeed “up” in SLO wine country with Harvest on the Coast events, Paso Robles has been busy celebrating its own happy harvest festivities for a month now. The Downtown Paso Robles Wineries, a group of more than 20 tasting rooms…
AG mayor received warning letter over past Brisco Road votes
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission officially warned Arroyo Grande Mayor Jim Hill that he should have recused himself from past votes he’d taken on the city’s multimillion-dollar Brisco Road interchange project. Hill already promised to no longer vote on the project after voluntarily seeking advice from the FPPC earlier this year. But after investigating a…
Gurnee’s hypocrisy is on display
I find San Luis Obispo mayoral candidate T. Keith Gurnee’s opinions and stances on some of the issues in this race hypocritically puzzling in light of past opinion pieces he wrote for the website that calls itself CalCoastNews. As a past resident of SLO, I am concerned about his disingenuity. Gurnee is angry that a…
