Cover Story
The Montebello revisited
Editor’s note: In the two months since New Times published an article on the Montebello (“Taking watch on the Montebello,” July 17, 2008), the sunken oil tanker lying a few miles off the Cambria coast, a steady stream of experts, officials, and regular citizens have chimed in with thoughts, offers, and advice on how to…
Board votes swing, Suey Ranch stays in SLO
Because two SLO County supervisors changed their votes, the county’s boundary line is staying the same. As Supervisor Katcho Achadjian spoke on Sept. 16, some people leaned forward in their seats, some held their hands to their faces, and some seemed to be holding their breath. When Achadjian finally moved to deny the Suey Ranch…
Power to the peaceful
Musical activist Michael Franti loves to make people dance. And think. And connect with each other. What better choice could there be to headline the first-ever Green Music Festival on the lawn at the Pozo Saloon? The powerful reggae-soaked rhythms on his newly released recording All Rebel Rockers are infused with conscious lyrics reflecting political,…
Read, read, and read some more
The PREFACE and SLO County Reads Program has yet to disappoint with its literary selection, (Alice Sebold, anyone?) and this year is no exception. You, as a county resident, are encouraged to read this year’s book selection, Montana 1948 by Larry Watson, and then participate in upcoming events. In addition to all of us reading…
Plein air for a purpose
New Times What is the San Luis Outdoor Painters Association for the Environment (SLOPE)? Laurel Sherrie The first paint out was in 1993 and today we have 15 professional artists … the number fluctuates up and down depending on who retires and so on. We meet once per year, and have a group meeting. It’s…
Cats, stacks, and skulls
Take a stroll by the Jeff Claassen Gallery, on Morro Street in downtown San Luis Obispo, and you might just find something unexpected, an impromptu public art mural in layered shades of blue. Not to be outdone by the wall, the street-view window reveals jagged cut-outs strung across a line, like fish bones; they are,…
Videos: Our cultural dumping ground
Not all movies require a multi-million-dollar budget in order to entertain. In fact, some of the funniest film footage ever made now resides in a barrel at the local thrift store or a forgotten box in the garage of a private residence. At least that’s the theory behind Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher’s Found Footage…
Lockwood 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Monterey County
A tasty blend of pink grapefruit, sweet melon, lemon, and lime, this refreshing white is wonderful whether you’re sitting on the front porch or at the dinner table. Try it with chicken enchiladas in chile verde sauce, fruit salads, chopped veggie salads, white fish or poultry. It’s a very good deal at only $9.99 retail…
Windward 2006 Pinot Noir Paso Robles Monopole
This impressive Pinot Noir opens with pretty aromas, and flavors of ripe cherries, fresh boysenberries, plums, and spice, nicely complimented by nuances of earth and minerals. Well balanced, its fruit and spice notes married beautifully. Although you’ll find this excellent on its own, this Pinot is a great choice for the dinner table. It’s versatile…
Pure flavor
The moment I snapped open the lid on a jar of Paso Robles K’ulinary ratatouille, fresh aromas of red bell peppers, onions, eggplant, and zucchini wafted through my kitchen. I swear it smelled so good I could imagine the French chef who made it standing at my stove cooking. This delectable treat is one among…
Correction:
The Holonic Arts Movement workshop and art sale will take place Sept. 27, not on the date listed in the article “Hornaday’s holons” in New Times last week. For more information about the event visit www.holonicarts.com.
Elect Obama
The orchestrated political conventions are done. Now it’s the voters’ turn. Senator John McCain, one of the Keating Five, and his congressional allies gave us: Constitutional assaults, questionable oil profits/prices/favors, a politicized justice department, excessive executive “public” corporation pay and bonuses, reduced health care, human-rights assaults, shrinking education, withdrawal from the International Criminal Court Treaty,…
Palin is not qualified
Shame on John McCain for putting politics first—picking someone to be one heartbeat away from the presidency who proved this week to be unready for the job. Palin set off alarm bells this week when she gave a speech that, according to the Washington Post, “linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist…
Even Hillary would be better
Newspapers such as the New York Times and its editorial surrogate, the San Luis Obispo Tribune deserve to die because their editors don’t tell the truth. While harping on Sarah Palin’s background as mayor and governor, to the effect that she would not be qualified to become president if John McCain died, these editors completely…
Learn more about Lyme disease
Thank you for Jacque Simmons’ excellent article about Lyme disease (“Take precautions to avoid Lyme disease,” Sept. 11, 2008). As she found out, there is a serious misperception that Lyme disease is rare or non-existent in California. The truth is that Lyme-infected ticks can be found throughout our state. Some parts of California have tick…
Show some respect
Here in SLO, helping my daughter move into the dorms, I perused your paper and found the most bigoted cartoon piece I have seen in a long time (Jerry James, Sept. 11, 2008). It characterizes Christians in a way that would hardly be allowed for most other people or groups in our culture. It is…
Study abroad
It was exciting to me to read the experiences of Brooke Robertson in your Student Guide. Her experiences of enriching her life by studying abroad are the same that I have seen in our students who enter our engineering study abroad programs and exchanges in Munich. Our students sort of accidentally stumble into this, knowing…
You call that counterculture?
Kylie Mendonca’s article about Burning Man (“American dreaming,” Sept. 11, 2008) was interesting in a disturbing kind of way—somewhat like getting advice on how to be stupid from a person of intelligence. Burning Man, which started as a bonfire on a San Francisco beach, is not a counterculture anything. It is the tweaked and the…
Support revitalization
One of the biggest reasons to support the Atascadero Shield Initiative/Measure D-08 is to ensure the continued development of our downtown. As Stacy Mitchell says in her book, Big Box Swindle: “Downtown revitalization doesn’t just take place downtown; it takes a broader community-planned effort. [Planned is the key word here.] You can’t say you want…
It’s free!
We’ve got a commentary this week from an esteemed Cal Poly nanotechnology ethicist, a smart guy, writing about the Big Bang pinball game they’ve got going on in Switzerland, where they’re going to shoot subatomic particles at each other until they get an army. This guy, Patrick Lin, says it could be the end of…
Tom J. Bordonaro Jr. – Republican Party of San Luis Obispo County chair
NEW TIMES: Do you know any jokes involving lipstick? BORDONARO: Your mama is so fat she puts her lipstick on with a paint roller. NEW TIMES: In one sentence, who is a Republican in 2008? BORDONARO: A Republican is a fiscally responsible, security-minded individual who believes in lower taxes and smaller government. NEW TIMES: What…
Armageddon it
The idyllic city of Geneva, Switzerland, is about 5,700 miles from California’s Central Coast, an entire world away. But something in that European town may affect us all in upcoming months: It may cause the end of days. To explain, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider—the world’s largest particle accelerator at CERN, the research organization…
Fast facts
Support KCBX and help feed the hungry. The public radio station pledges to give 50 meals to families in the county, on behalf of each listener who donates $10 per month for a year. Each contributor who donates $100 per month for a year will enable the station to provide 500 meals. The station broadcasts…
Prost!
German artisans have worked for many centuries to perfect brewing beer, an endeavor that has deeply impressed Douglas Martin, a Chicago native who spent nearly two decades in their home country studying the results. Martin owns SLO-based Einhorn Beer Company, a new microbrewery that makes beer in the German tradition. “Germans really believe they make…
Mitchell Park parking lot gets funding approval
The controversial Mitchell Park parking lot, which will serve the senior center in San Luis Obispo, won about $200,000 in funding at a time when many other prospective capital improvements face cuts. The vote was 3-2, with Christine Mulholland and Allen Settle opposed. Both complained that an in-depth environmental assessment has not been done on…
More environment studies likely for sand miners
A group of North County sand and gravel miners think they’re getting an unfair shake from SLO County, but the county is standing its ground and could make mining in the area more difficult and more expensive. Paul Viborg’s Estrella River sand mining project was shot down by the Planning Commission on Sept. 11 after…
Budget “bake sale” agitates for school funds
Chocolate brownies were going for a dollar apiece, Mark Buchman announced, and at that rate, he said, the county would only have to sell 325 million of the sweet snacks to meet the needs of local students. Buchman, a San Luis Coastal Unified School District trustee, gathered with a small group of parents, educators, and…
On a wing and
A coalition of San Luis Obispo religious organizations plans to unite for a prayer vigil on Sept. 18 in honor of those who could be affected by cuts in a budget plan being presented to the governor. Leaders of the Central Coast Clergy and Laity for Justice say the budget will cut $3 billion from…
Look how you’ve grown
Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center is having its 20th yearly “reunion” of children who have “graduated” from its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The unit, the only NICU between Santa Barbara and Salinas, cares for some of the smallest babies born in San Luis Obispo. About 300 people, including 125 children ranging in age from a…
Back on track
Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains are back on schedule after a brief hiatus following the Sept. 12 crash between a freight train and a Metrolink commuter train near Chatsworth that killed 26 people. The Pacific Surfliner route is Amtrak’s third busiest. Two trains daily connect San Luis Obispo and San Diego.
Is Paso making the grade?
Earlier this month, the California State Board of Education released its yearly report indicating which schools made “Adequate Yearly Progress” under the federal No Child Left Behind law and which schools could face consequences for failing. About two thirds of schools countywide passed the federal standard, but in Paso Robles Unified School District, two thirds…
The garage plane
Your average garage is filled with yard equipment, tangled boxes of old Christmas lights, and the occasional car. Chris Giese’s garage is stuffed with the disassembled remnants of a World War II-era biplane. And someday he’s going to fly it—at least that’s the idea. What he has now could only get airborne if it were…
Who has or had the best hairdo in politics?
Becca Albright Student ”Sarah Palin, but I am a liberal.” Catherine Bianchini Retired ”Sarah Palin” Bruce Gibson SLO County Supervisor ”Ann Richards” Alex Shimada Student ”Joseph Lieberman, because of the flop over.”
