Cover Story
PG&E’s seismic surveys expected to be delayed
According to California Coastal Commission staff, Pacific Gas and Electric has requested that commissioners postpone their upcoming permit hearing until mid-November—beyond the date when they were expected to have boats in the water. Surveys could still take place within the two-month window of time they have requested, but in reality, it’s not looking likely. A…
Victim’s half brother named as suspect
After sheriff’s deputies first found the body of 20-year-old Tyler Daniel Hanks near his home in Cambria on Aug. 26, they took Hanks’ older half brother, Brandon Noble Henslee, into custody for a parole violation. Thirty-three days later, they named Henslee as the primary suspect in Hanks’ murder and will be recommending that the DA…
Tragically hip
You know how certain bands remind you of certain periods in your life? Or how certain bands make you feel like a cool, hip insider who knows about something special and arcane that others are blind to? That’s the way it was for me with both Wilco and Jonathan Richman. Wilco—and Uncle Tupelo, the band…
Soul train
Trains are awesome. You can eat in them. You can drink on them. You can read a book. You can go for a walk if you feel like it (kind of). Of course, only in America, though, would people ride trains just for the sheer fun of it, but that’s what makes us special. Tickets…
The surfing cure
Regardless of your opinion on America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, everyone seems to agree that the men and women who serve deserve our respect, which seems to be the driving motivation for the nearly 100 people who have gathered at the SLO Regional Airport to welcome eight wounded American soldiers to the county for…
Artfully adorned
Last year at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, a striking exhibit went on display in the McMeen Gallery. It was a series of white gowns made from everything but what you would expect: pistachio shells, plastic bags, gauze, long johns, sugar sacks, cheesecloth. The exhibit was a little eerie, like a roomful of…
Reciprocal figures
The human body is such an integral part of the art world that I sometimes forget about its perennial power to incite moral outrage. And yet talking to model Katja Gee, I’m reminded once again. “People ask, ‘So what do you do for a living?;” says Gee, who holds a degree in English from Cal…
Clubs: 9/27
Goin’ South … BRANCH ST. DELI: 203 E. 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…
Foot in mouth disease
There’s an art form to expressing yourself well, to speaking honestly and provocatively without having to invoke your freedom of speech every half hour because you’ve said something so offensive nobody wants to listen to you anymore. I walk this fine line on a weekly basis, and thus far none of the hits put out…
Alexis Nelson
NEW TIMES Where do you do your guided backpacking? NELSON Yosemite National Park. NEW TIMES Who were the clients on your craziest trip? NELSON The CEOs of two of the largest companies in the world and their wives. NEW TIMES Can you tell me a specific incident that made this trip so crazy?…
How to change America, starting at home
Acknowledge the political process needs to change. Abandon the two party/two platform system of entrenched ideals. We need a more open, level, and varied field of candidates and ideas. The political system needs to nurture citizen politicians. Politics should be viewed as public service, taking your turn and then stepping aside. If more people participated…
On Capps and taxes
Have you heard the misleading ad against Congresswoman Lois Capps? The truth is she once rented a room to a staffer for low rent and did not think to report this small amount of income. When she did, she voluntarily paid the extra tax. Her opponent is being pursued by the IRS for an enormous…
A cooperative Pismo would be refreshing
Pismo Beach is refusing to honor its indemnification contract with LAFCO. This will lead to Pismo being sued by LAFCO or its insurance carrier. This follows a period when Pismo was not paying its bills to LAFCO over its work on the Los Robles Del Mar application. Most likely this will lead to LAFCO refusing…
A plea to the California Coastal Commission on behalf of marine life
Over the past week, I have received not one but two letters from California residents concerned about the proposed PG&E testing and the consequences of these tests with regard to the number of marine mammals expected to be severely injured and/or killed. Your constituents are making it very clear that they care about their precious…
No thanks, Romney
Well, as Ronald Reagan would say, “Otis Page, there you go again.” (“No thanks, Obama,” Sept. 13). Page claims that President Obama accomplished nothing in his first term. Then why do extremists like Mitt Romney (and Page) want to tear down the Affordable Care Act and replace it with some unknown plan (probably with higher…
Here’s how you eat in Europe
I was surprised reading Ms. Hardesty’s article on European food (“My passion for food,” Sept. 13). Apparently your critic didn’t understand what dining is about in Europe. If you want to get an idea about European food, you don’t order sashimi. In Europe, you forget about American coffee (especially if Italy is one of your…
Credible reviewers don’t scoff offensively
As a regular attendee at the Pewter Plough Playhouse, I was surprised to read Anna Weltner’s review of Grand Manner (“Not so grand Manner,” Sept. 6). It was described to me as being immaturely written and unwarranted, but I have a little more to say. I was amazed at how she ridicules the players with…
A night in their shoes
At first light we quickly exit the tree-cave, hoping a ranger won’t pass and see us. Then we return to Prado and sit hunched on the curb, eagerly awaiting 8:30 and the warmth of an indoor space. A man beside us tells stories about his life, working on a U.S. supply ship during the Gulf…
Zonin Brut Prosecco NV (non-vintage)
After tasting many different Proseccos (cheap and expensive) in Italy last month, I have new respect for this bargain-priced bubbly. Zonin has been around two centuries, and it’s found just about everywhere. When I asked about it at Trader Joe’s I was assured this one was tasty. They were right, but it will never replace…
Grgich Hills 2009 Zinfandel Napa Valley
This highly respected winery is always a favorite of mine for its outstanding quality. This Zinfandel was yet another standout, and a very good value for the quality. Grgich farms its estate vineyards organically and biodynamically, and its Zin is grown in the northernmost part of Napa Valley in Calistoga. The philosophy at Grgich is…
It was a very good year
One of my early lessons about the wine business was learning that if you ask a winemaker whether a vintage, say 2011, was a good year, he or she would claim: “It’s the vintage of the century.” The funniest response I’ve heard came from winemaker Tobin James Shumrick of Tobin James Cellars in Paso Robles,…
Spreading the Sauce
Wordsauce had a problem: the police. Apparently, being too funky and flowing out of your mind might also be considered disturbing noise to some members of the general SLO population. So Wordsauce members Billy Gerhardt, Nathan Jones, and Wesley Price decided to solve that problem the only way they knew how. They opened a business.…
Hiding, but not sought
On Sept. 16, Los Osos resident Suzanne Smith—missing since Sept. 10—was found in a barn on a ranch near Ragged Point on Highway 1. It was an unnerving episode for Smith’s family, but perhaps just as unnerving for the general public was the reported breakdown of communication in the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department,…
Supes save a few drops
Water. It’s wet, refreshing, and a prerequisite for the survival of everything, which makes it kind of important. Dianne Jackson was well aware of that fact when she bought a piece of rural property 12 years ago, but since her well tapped into one of North America’s largest aquifers, the 790-square-mile Paso Robles Ground Water…
New Times doesn’t live here anymore
On Sept. 25, a handful of FBI agents executed a search warrant at 505 South Higuera St. in downtown SLO. The building was once home to your beloved New Times. One of its current occupants is real-estate company Apex Properties. To give readers a sense of scale: Apex has approximately five agents and its website…
Help Paso pick the next police chief
It won’t be an easy gig, but people are actually competing to take over where Paso Robles’s disgraced former chief Lisa Solomon left off. The department is grappling with budget cuts, a gang problem, and three lawsuits relating to Solomon’s tenure. She resigned in March amid accusations of sexual misconduct and retaliation against staffers who…
Marijuana delivery services may become illegal in A.G.
The Arroyo Grande City Council voted 4-1 to introduce an ordinance that would amend the municipal code that currently defines medical marijuana dispensaries within city jurisdiction. If approved, the amendment would make operating mobile dispensaries within Arroyo Grande city limits illegal. Currently, SLO County has an ordinance allowing brick and mortar medical marijuana collectives, but…
Templeton’s CSD president goes rogue?
Maybe the title went to his head, but John Gannon, president of Templeton’s Community Services District Board of Supervisors, apparently forgot that his opinions don’t necessarily reflect the views of all his fellow directors. On Sept. 24, he wrote a letter on behalf of the board and sent it to the SLO County Board of…
SLO Brew relocation decision delayed
It was a long night in the city of San Luis Obispo, and the tone was something like this: Most people appear to think that the popular SLO Brew’s proposed relocation to one block away from its current location will be a good move, considering the impending renovation of downtown. Other people—specifically, about 10 of…
Fish and Game Commission hammers PG&E
Pacific Gas & Electric took a verbal beating from the California Department of Fish and Game Commission when the energy company went asking for a permit to conduct its upcoming seismic studies, which will result in some degree of harassment of local marine life populations. On Sept. 24, the five-member commission voiced concerns over the…
Stevenson toxicology report released
The death of embattled former Cal Poly volleyball team coach Jon Stevenson has been ruled an accident, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. Stevenson, who was 54 and a resident of Pismo Beach, was found in a Van Nuys household on June 24. According to L.A. County Coroner Ed Winter, Stevenson’s cause of…
Mason trial feels as brutal as the alleged crime
As both the prosecution and defense rested their cases Sept. 24, the packed courtroom drew a breath of relief. It was an awkward trial, to say the least, full of deeply private issues discussed in front of strangers. Friends have turned against friends, marital discretions have been rehashed in a public forum, and even a…
What movie franchise has worn out its welcome and needs to stop making sequels?
Jack Sumrail retired “Captain America. The first one was enough. It’s a little too hokey.” Lanette Long administrative assistant “Jurassic Park. The first one was good, and the second one got a little too Disney, and the third one was just crazy and a total waste of time.” James Ballogny Mondeo’s employee “Harry Potter. They…
