Cover Story
Falling up
Josephine Crawford is lying inside her large-scale art piece The Big Bang, clad in scraps of torn linen and not much else. She’s surrounded by ripped pages from her diaries and by pink and red roses, slightly wilted in the afternoon heat of photographer Steve E. Miller’s studio. In a rather macabre touch, Crawford’s grinning…
Danielle Ferrin
NEW TIMES What is the vibe like on Garden Street? FERRIN It’s eclectic yet familiar. I can walk out and recognize almost everybody. Between Linnaea’s and the brewery, it’s like a small neighborhood. NEW TIMES How’s business? FERRIN Business is really good; this is our busiest season. The fall is when we get our most…
Qupe 2008 Syrah Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard Sonnie’s
This elegant Syrah is impressively smooth and beautifully balanced. It tastes of wild blackberries, black cherries, and ripe plums nicely woven with notes of white pepper and minerality. Grown in their Edna Valley estate vineyard in a new section, it’s named for owner/winemaker Bob Lindquist’s mother, Sonnie. It’s 100-percent biodynamically farmed, Demeter Certified. This limited…
Bogle 2009 Pinot Noir
In the late 1980s, you couldn’t find decent California Pinot around $10—but you can now. The key is sticking with producers you know are reputable, like Bogle. This blend is 100 percent Pinot grown in the Russian River Valley, Monterey County, and Clarksburg wine regions. It offers tangy cherry flavors nicely balanced with subtle notes…
Hungry? Get some love in Los Osos!
Heather Sainsbury opened BeLoved Café in Los Osos on Aug. 22, and she said she’s seen lots of local support since then. Sure, area residents could be showing up out of some sense of regional pride, but a more likely cause for the instant loyalty is what’s on the plate. Sainsbury offers “wholesome food for…
A lifelong affair with chocolate
I’ve loved chocolates since I was a toddler. My mother lovingly filled every Easter basket with giant Rocky Road eggs, Bordeaux and walnut fudge eggs, a huge chocolate Easter bunny, and jellybeans from See’s Candies. Not only did she continue doing this well into my adulthood, she repeated it for my daughter, Barbara (her namesake).…
What’s a guaranteed deal breaker in relationships?
Portia Johnson housewife “Definitely cheating. It’s morally wrong, and if you’re going to do it, you might as well be single.” Robert Davidson bookstore clerk “If they smoked and couldn’t quit.” Joey Nau phlebotomist “Lying and bad taste.” Richard Reichman Petco employee “It’s kind of a turn off if she doesn’t shave her armpits and…
KCPR rocks your world!
Cal Poly’s student-run radio station, KCPR 90.1FM, is sometimes horrible, sometimes brilliant, sometimes hilarious, sometimes stupefying. I’ve tuned in and thought, “Holy guacamole! What an awesome set!” and “Wow, what a charming and knowledgeable DJ.” I’ve also tuned in and cringed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing! The station has been home to everyone from…
If I only had a brain
I learned everything I know about scarecrows from Mrs. Nelson’s 3rd grade class website. I don’t know Mrs. Nelson personally, but she’s really done her homework here, explaining how farmers have been making scarecrows for 3,000 years! Apparently, “The first scarecrows in recorded history were made along the Nile River to protect wheat fields…
John Huffman is a winner!
John Huffman, a photographer, San Luis Obispo native, and onetime owner of Boo Boo Records, scored big time at the International Photography Awards this year. Huffman bagged five honorable mentions, two of them for his entry Pont Louis-Philippe, which was honored in the “Architecture—Bridges” and “Special—Night” categories. Huffman, who says his online business grants him…
The glittering virtuoso
Cameron Carpenter is not like other humans. Even from an ocean away—the organist and composer is based in Berlin, and our interview took place via Skype—Carpenter’s presence feels somehow heavier, more charged than others. He listens intently to questions asked of him, picking up their nuances and inferences like an antenna. He hand-selects his answers…
Clubs
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 East 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…
Babygeek
Guess what? Geek Out is going to be getting one more minion: Wife and I are having a son! The little guy is due at the end of December, and that means a whole slew of geekery to pass on. Sure, it’s a given that he’ll be weaned on Tolkien and Trek, be trained in…
Going, going ….The City Council meeting on Oct. 18 will likely be the last chance for SLO residents to have input about the Garden Street Terraces project
San Luis Obispo is about to gain a new boutique hotel and mixed-use development downtown, but time is quickly running out for residents to make sure it will not be an eyesore, out of proportion and style with our city. Our last opportunity to voice concerns as a community to this project—which is unprecedented in…
We didn’t ask
I’ve learned some important truths in the past 48 hours, lessons that came at the expense of my dignity and physical well-being. It all started when I learned that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell—the 18-year-old policy institutionalizing bigotry and homophobia in the United States military—is dead as a doornail. Or dead as that hillbilly cousin of…
Let the new job makers in!
People say “I have nothing against Mexicans, but they should come in legally, do the paperwork, and so on.” The thing is, our national laws are stacked against them. Throughout our country’s history, Congress has given preference to people of a background similar to their own, that is to Europeans, through quotas. Asians and Hispanic…
Our government cares about oil, not people
Well, just like death and taxes, the gas prices took at least a 25-cent hike in the last 10 days for no apparent reason but to squeeze the last drop they can from the people. The workers are getting laid off or have hardly any work, and big businesses like the oil company rake in…
Measure our nation’s health in a new way
I’ve been reading an endless amount of dire news on our tanking economy, and in everyday conversation, there certainly is no shortage of angry people venting on the subject. I can’t help but think, though, that we are inaccurately prescribing these doldrums upon ourselves via a mob panic reaction to a lot of hype and…
It is time to unionize all workers
To those who thought my allotted 30-second speech at the Democratic Labor Day picnic was a bit incoherent, I should explain. When I asked, “Who are or ever has been a union member?” I was curious how any real unionist could have swallowed the blather offered by the Democratic candidates without puking. When I offered…
Avoid the green-eyed monster, unions
Responding to Roger Smith’s opinion, “American workers deserve respect” (Sept. 15): Workers do deserve respect, but they do not deserve union pay and benefits if they have a poor work ethic. Sadly, when union workers get special benefits, it often diminishes opportunities for competitive positions for non-union members. Also, government should never get involved with…
Unite to keep Obama in the White House
I would like to comment in regard to Dave Coronel’s letter in the Aug. 18 issue (“A Democratic anatomy lesson”): My husband and I supported Obama in the 2008 election. I admit that we have been disappointed with some of his decisions, but not all of them. He has, in many ways, moved this country…
We should all voice our displeasure to authorities over this one
Well, here we go again with another story about the legal system victimizing people who have not victimized anyone. Two defendants in a recent medical marijuana case were rightfully acquitted in a case that never should have gotten to a jury (“The age of ‘reason,’” Sept. 15). Yet the charges against Cory Wolin, who plea…
Rakuriffic
After a short vacancy following Muzio’s exit in April of this year, 857 Higuera St. has a new tenant. Raku, a Japanese fusion sushi restaurant, is the latest addition to the recently renovated Wineman Hotel building. Owner Tony Park said he wanted to bring something new and one-of-a-kind to San Luis Obispo. “Not too many…
Cougars and Mustangs
We’re at the deadline on this one. Maybe past it. If you’re reading this after 3:10 on Sept. 22, it’s already too late. But those of you who regularly scour the press for a competitive advantage will surely reap the benefits. Wendy Hallgren, vice president of Corporate Compliance for Fluor Inc., was scheduled to speak…
Harvesting jet fuel
An ancient plant whose crushed seeds yielded oil to light the lamps of Rome may grow on SLO County farmland this winter for a more modern purpose: to power jets. Known as camelina sativa, the mustard-like plant has already been successfully tested in Navy and Air Force jet fighters and in airline passenger jets, and…
Recycling blues
If there’s any lesson to be learned from this story, it’s this: Don’t drink from purple water hydrants. Another lesson: Nothing about water is simple. Take a long stroll in the southern parts of the city of San Luis Obispo, and you’ll likely spot the occasional purple water hydrant. Unlike traditional uses of the color—royalty,…
Lompoc teacher is the victim in a SLO shooting
An Arroyo Grande woman is dead, and the alleged perpetrator—her adult son—was arrested after a standoff with police in San Luis Obispo. At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 17, SLOPD officers responded to the apartment of Christopher John Shumey, 34, near the corner of Beach and Buchon streets, after receiving reports of shots fired and…
County pushes final redistrict plan
After weeks of negotiations, San Luis Obispo County got a political facelift and was divided into five shiny new districts. Unfortunately for a contingent of vocal so-called Templetonians, the North County community of Templeton was split, bisecting it into two districts currently overseen by Supervisors Frank Mecham and Jim Patterson. On Sept. 20, county supervisors…
Police search for a rapist in Los Osos
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department is searching for the suspect in a reportedly brutal rape in Los Osos. On Sept. 17, a female Los Osos resident reported to Sheriff’s deputies that she was raped at knifepoint the night before. The victim told investigators that at approximately 11:30 p.m. she was taking garbage to…
SLO firefighter heads to trial
A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge decided there’s sufficient evidence to proceed to trial in the assault and battery case involving a San Luis Obispo firefighter, who was arrested in June following a late-night altercation at a local watering hole. John Ryan Mason, 34, of San Luis Obispo, has pleaded not guilty to…
Downtown SLO development is one step closer
After five years of talks, the controversial Garden Street Terraces mixed-use project in downtown San Luis Obispo is headed to the City Council for final approval. On Sept. 19, the SLO Architectural Review Commission approved the latest project design. If approved, the applicant Garden Street SLO Partners LP would replace an existing parking lot on…
You could soon be paying more to get rid of your trash.
On Sept. 27, San Luis Obispo County supervisors are scheduled to vote on three proposed rate increases to garbage service in the unincorporated areas of the county. The items are on the supervisors’ consent agenda, which are often passed easily with little discussion. If approved by supervisors, the rate increases would coincide with those of…
