Cover Story
Should prostitution be legal?
Lakin Hamilton Sales Associate at H&G “It’s a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body and what she does for her profession.” Sienna Berrner Sales Associate at Retrofit “I feel it should be decriminalized, but with more regulations. It’s going to happen no matter what.” Michael Garvin CEO of Central Pacific Ski…
Reggae superstars: Michael Rose with Sly and Robbie lively up SLO Brew
It’s been nearly 30 years since reggae’s first-ever Grammy Award went to Jamaica-based Black Uhuru for their album Anthem. Now the powerful, award-winning team is touring together again: singer Michael Rose and the “riddim twins,” drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare. Sly and Robbie both grew up in Kingston and started laying down those…
Festival Mozaic announces its WinterMezzo program
And you thought Festival Mozaic was just a summer thing. The annual classical music festival also offers a concert series called WinterMezzo to get you your classical fix during the colder months. The coming season’s programming has recently been announced, and tickets are already on sale. During the weekend of Nov. 1-3 is a program…
Lewis Black vs. Central Coast Roller Derby
View additional photos of Central Coast Roller Derby’s Sept. 14 bouts. Instead of attending just one event this weekend like that underachiever and snark-about-town Glen Starkey, I attended two: Lewis Black’s comedy show at the PAC on Thursday, Sept. 12 and back to back bouts hosted by Central Coast Roller Derby on Saturday, Sept. 14.…
Cougars & Mustangs: Nerds of a feather
I’d like to take a moment to address a phenomenon occurring over the past couple of semesters at Cuesta College that visitors to the school cafeteria may have observed. A mass of Magic the Gathering collectible card game players has been crawling about the room, playing countless matches, trading cards, and just having a good…
Atascadero’s aquatic paradox: While the city’s groundwater basin is full of water, its lake is shrinking and full of junk
In water-starved San Luis Obispo County, it seems cruelly appropriate that even when a municipality takes one step forward to improve its water situation, it also takes a step backward. That’s been the case this summer in Atascadero, as intelligent conservation measures, geological advantages, and backup supply planning have left the city with abundant drinking…
Something radioactive this way comes: Central Coast officials dispel safety concerns following a Fukushima study
News broke late this summer that nuclear fallout from the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan would hit Californian shores sometime next year. But is there any risk to public health and safety? The study concluded that there isn’t, as have federal and local health officials. But that response hasn’t satisfied many…
Correction
A graphic printed in a cover story about the Paso Groundwater Basin (“A thirsty future,” Sept. 12) contained an old version of a map that showed falling well levels. The map had been revised by SLO County Public Works prior to the story’s publication. The correct map can now be seen accompanying the story online…
College kids, be good–for a few weeks
It’s that time of year again. You’ve just returned to San Luis Obispo from summer break and you’re ready to get back into the swing of the school year—that is, after a nice weekend of partying. Or two. Bad news, students. You’ve happened back into town in a year when the city powers-that-be have put…
Group petitions LAFCO for a new water district
The gates have been opened for a process that may lead to the formation of a California Water District in North San Luis Obispo County, a proposal that’s certain to draw some controversy along the way. The Paso Robles Agricultural Alliance for Groundwater Solutions (PRAAGS), a group representing agriculturalists in the North County, has submitted…
A divided SLO council moves the Broad Street rezoning plan forward
The future of development on South Broad Street in San Luis Obispo will be guided in large part by a plan narrowly approved by a divided city council. On Sept. 17, the council voted 3-2, with members Kathy Smith and Dan Carpenter in the minority, to move along the South Broad Area Plan for its…
Paso council rejects developer’s plea for refund
The proposed Chandler Ranch development east of downtown Paso Robles has been troubled since its inception in 2001, and the Paso Robles City Council took another oppositional stance against the site’s developers during the Sept. 18 council meeting. According to Community Development Director Ed Gallagher, the city has spent roughly $1.36 million since 2001 to…
Top Morro Bay admins keep their jobs after a fiery special meeting
At 1:21 p.m. on Sept. 11, just as New Times was going to press, the newsroom’s inbox received a nebulous e-mail from the City of Morro Bay. It was a notice for a special closed session meeting for “PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL/RELEASE.” In public employee personnel matters, the specific employees in question aren’t typically disclosed. Yet,…
Woman allegedly burns ex-boyfriend’s possessions, ignites fire
What started as an otherwise normal fight between a Nipomo resident and his ex-girlfriend allegedly turned fiery and felonious, according to court records recently obtained by New Times. According to an affidavit drafted by Cal Fire Battalion Chief Thomas McEwen, on June 1 of this year, Kailey Lind Chillinsky, 21, confronted her ex-boyfriend at his…
The historic Sanitarium may soon become a sorority house
A number of historic structures line Osos Street in San Luis Obispo’s railroad district, but few stand out like the Sanitarium. During the 1880s, architects designed its arched façade, lacquered in pearl white, to welcome patients recovering from surgery and non-communicable diseases. After serving as a private hospital, the Sanitarium—like many buildings in the district—became…
San Luis Obispo gets a new motorcycle shop in SLO Motorsports
Just around the corner from SLO’s historical railroad station is an up-and-coming hot spot for not just any thrill junkie. A sister store to L.A. Harley Davidson and Santa Maria Honda, SLO Motorsports is gearing up to open its doors fully to the public. Set to have its grand opening at the end of September,…
Savor the Central Coast comes to SLO County
Wine, wine, wine, cheese, wine, sample plates, wine, and more wine. Yes, Sunset Savor the Central Coast is upon us for the third year in a row. Set in the wide open town of Santa Margarita, rain or shine, the humble and the wine snobs alike all gather to celebrate the wine our beautiful Central…
Willow, a new restaurant in Nipomo, impresses critics during its soft opening
It’s a supreme act of confidence for restaurant managers to invite food critics to the soft opening of their brand, spanking new restaurant. So I was surprised when I was recently invited to just such an opening, as was my colleague Wendy Thies Sell of the Santa Maria Sun, to taste through the new menu…
Summerland 2009 Grenache Paso Robles and Tangent 2012 Pinot Gris
Summerland 2009 Grenache Paso Robles This easy-sipping red is a very good choice whether you want to enjoy a glass of wine with your mate, or open something better than ordinary with dinner. I enjoyed its bright, clean notes of plums and blackberries uplifted by impressive blueberry notes. The ripe fruit is nicely offset by…
You’ve got to read what you want to read
It’s at hand again: one of my favorite non-holiday, yet holiday-like celebrations of the year. Banned Books Week—described by organizers as “the national book community’s annual celebration of the freedom to read”—is set for Sept. 22 through 28 in 2013. This year’s efforts come just days after a controversy in Ohio, where author Toni Morrison…
Truck talk in Santa Margarita
I just read the letter in The Tribune (“Quarry traffic,” Sept. 18) attempting to defend the proposed quarry in Santa Margarita that claims that the reported number of truck trips was “exaggerated” in the New Times article (“A rock and a hard place,” Aug. 15). The truth is that the quarry promoters have absolutely no…
We elected the wrong person in Morro Bay
We elected the wrong person in Morro Bay We are longtime residents of Morro Bay. We were recently given short notice as all in town that there would be a potential hanging of our city manager and city attorney. Less than 24 hours to be exact. I know you cannot print what we really think…
We elected the right people in Morro Bay
If any members of the overwhelming majority that elected Jamie Irons, Noah Smukler, and Christine Johnson had any doubts about their decisions, those doubts were erased at the Sept. 12 council meeting. Obviously, we elected the right people. The contrast between their dignity and professional demeanor, and the antics of the mob of hooligans in…
Getting specific about ‘Pacific’
Thank you for publishing my letter “No, we don’t need this mine” on Sept. 12. However, I would like to point out what appears to be an editing error: I referenced the San Luis Obispo-Santa Barbara P-C Region. “Pacific Coast” was the terminology applied to the abbreviation P-C when in fact it refers to “Production-Consumption”…
Critics’ status quo Camelot is threatened
Morro Bay’s special city council meeting at 1 p.m. on Sept. 12, presumably to consider the performance of the city attorney and city manager, brought out all the special interests that have benefitted from the 16-year reign of these two top city civil servants. The air was filled with invectives directed at the recently elected…
Don’t forget the Episcopalians
I read with interest the article “Chasing the Holy Grail” in the New Times SLO Student Guide ’13 (Aug. 12). I salute you for devoting space and thought to college students’ quest for a system of belief. College students in SLO should be aware of the Canterbury Club, an Episcopal, LGBTQIA inclusive, and theologically progressive…
Thanks for the quality
Jono Kinkade’s detailed, meaty article on the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin crisis (“When the well runs dry,” Sept. 12) is fine reporting and much appreciated by those of us who depend upon this water. It was also an excellent cover photo of the miles of Roll Global/Justin Vineyard irrigation pipes going in regardless. — Maria…
Don’t blame Steve Moss for your arrogant attack, Shredder
I have been an avid reader of New Times since 1990. I was also an acquaintance of Steve Moss. The Shredder in the Aug. 29 New Times (“Blowhard”) was repulsive and egregious, then stooped even lower by stating: “Oh, and in case I get hammered for this column, Steve Moss’ ghost made me write it.”…
Ladies, I’m all union
I was tired of only writing this column and living off of the generic ramen noodles and ketchup packets—a friend calls it “Spaghetto”—I could almost afford on my salary, so a while back I went out and got another job I never told you about before. A union job. And I’m just standing there a…
