Cover Story
Heading for the cliff
San Luis Obispo is quietly headed for financial doom. The city is in really bad, hold-your-head-in-your-hands financial trouble. The odd thing is, though, you wouldn’t know it if you were to attend City Council meetings, hang out around City Hall, or take a stroll through the city’s shiny downtown. The city’s core is in the…
Kiss summer goodbye in style
I remember clearly when Chris Isaak’s 1984 album Silvertone came out. It made the same sort of splash as Jack Johnson’s 2001 debut Brushfire Fairytales. Like Johnson, Isaak was deadly good-looking with a to-die-for voice and musical sensibilities that seemed otherworldly. For those who missed Isaak’s debut, they were introduced to his cool, retro sounds…
Nature revolution
“Revolution from the heart of nature” is the slogan of Bioneers, a nonprofit that Kenny Ausubel founded in the ’90s to describe the culture of emerging social and scientific innovators. Providing a social hub for education about environmental solutions, the Bioneers hold numerous annual conferences, one of which will be in San Luis Obispo this…
If you could see any performer or musician who has passed away, who would it be?
Karen Boaz-Hernandez art studio owner “I would want to see Judy Garland perform ‘Over the Rainbow.’ She helped influence my early love and appreciation for music.” Samantha Pereira interior designer “Patsy Cline. I fell in love with her music because she was such a huge influence on LeAnn Rimes, who I’m also a huge fan…
Speed freaks
The engine of George Giboney’s Thunder Mustang, a plane built for racing, shut off. Without an engine, such a heavily modified plane—made for speed, with its short, stubby wings—would glide slightly better than a rock. A pilot has just seconds after an engine failure before ending up on the ground—one way or another. Giboney pulled…
Got water?
Amid ripening grapes in a small vineyard east of Templeton, retired engineer Sue Luft and her husband Karl, their two German shepherds at their feet, checked the water level in their well. “It’s dropped four feet since last month,” Sue reported with a worried look. “That makes a decline of 85 feet since we drilled…
Seriously, how much will the Los Osos sewer cost?
On Oct. 5, San Luis Obispo County Public Works staffers are scheduled to explain exactly how the Los Osos Wastewater Project will be funded, and how much it’s actually going to cost. County officials have long cited an estimated price tag of about $166 million. A new dollar figure listed on an application to the…
One murdered body found, five suspects arrested
A charred body found Sept. 26 by firefighters responding to a brushfire near Santa Margarita is a suspected homicide, said a sheriff’s spokesman. Five people have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are being held without bail, according to police reports. The body was identified as a 15-year-old female of Santa Barbara County. …
Fifteen-year-old pleads not guilty to rape charges
Oillie Rayshawn Tinoco, 15, of Los Angeles, pleaded not guilty to three felony charges at his Sept. 27 arraignment before Superior Court Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney. He is being charged as an adult because of the severity of the alleged crimes, which include rape, forced oral copulation, and forced penetration with a foreign object. Each charge…
Correction
In a Sept. 16 news brief, “Arroyo man crushed by motor home,” the name of the automotive company was incorrectly identified. The correct name is Tuffy’s Central Supply.
Anonymous complainer wants SLO High to consider book ban
When Mark Mathabane was 7 years old, he followed his friends into one of the ghettos of South Africa. Standing in a small room, with a group of older men watching them, his friends flew to a table stacked with food and began gorging themselves. Mathabane hadn’t eaten in days, but he sensed something was…
Last Pozo defendant’s charges reduced
Just more than a week before she was set to go to trial contesting a felony charge stemming from April’s notorious Pozo Saloon undercover drug operation, the last remaining defendant accepted a reduced charge from the District Attorney’s office. Amber Carter, 26, of Santa Maria, was facing a felony charge of selling a controlled substance—four…
Vote as early as you can!
What’s happening in the elections, to the members of Congress who have been obstructing almost everything our nation’s administration appoints/proposes? Obstructionist candidates are being weeded out within political parties by voters in their primary elections. Now, the weed-out process will continue in the general election, when voters will again transcend political party affiliation to cast…
Untie your laces for this one
Please take off one of your editorial shoes and throw it at that Iranian dog, Ahmadinejad. He’s itching for a showdown, and we’d best be giving him his heart’s desire before he becomes too powerful. We dilly-dallied on Hitler, and look where that got us.
Judge Walker overturned an unconstitutional law
I, for one, am growing sick and tired of hearing the Proposition 8 proponents whining about “our will being overturned by one activist judge.” The recent federal court ruling overturning Proposition 8 is actually very good news for all Americans, because Proposition 8 did something that should never be done. It put the question of…
Vote Cortez for sheriff
With two Republicans running for San Luis Obispo County sheriff, a non-political office, what is a Democrat to do? During the prelude to the primary elections in June, a mailer was sent to my house titled “The Best Choices for San Luis Obispo Democrats.” It implied that the Democratic Central Committee was supporting Ian Parkinson…
Ignore Measure H untruths and vote no
As a fourth-generation resident of this community and having raised a family, coached youth sports, supported youth sports, and been a founding member of the Youth Sports Association, I urge San Luis to reject Measure H and vote “ NO.” A no vote is in favor of completing a carefully planned road from east to…
Vote no on Measure H
The misguided effort to turn Prado Road into a dead end would not simply stop a badly needed east-west connector street. It would also undermine the associated bike path that could lead kids and families safely to the Damon-Garcia soccer fields, and it would derail more than 500 acres of planned recreation and open space.…
On behalf of the bears: Thank you!
People power has won out! State Fish and Game has put off bear hunting in SLO County indefinitely. Thank you, New Times, for bringing this to our attention in November 2007, and keeping us informed through the last three years. Thank you also, to the three county supervisors who wrote letters to the Commission against…
Get a clue, controlling drivers
Justin Leavens is a complete jerk and the reason why most people get frustrated on the road (“Please let the faster of us pass,” Sept. 23). Our freeway, being only two-lane, is often congested. I tend to drive in the left lane to avoid the merging on-ramp traffic. I generally go about 70 mph. It…
Drivers, be safe, not controlling
CHP Officer Joe Vega is, well, wrong (“Keep the left lanes on freeways for passing only,” Sept. 9). “Slower traffic keep right” is the law in California regardless of the speed limit. Vehicle code 21654(a): “Notwithstanding [despite] the prima facie speed limits, any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal…
The Downtown Association should carry the policy
Regarding Matt Fountain’s article on the Downtown Association’s newly enforced requirement that “political vendors” are required to buy individual event liability insurance at $1,000 for about eight weeks’ worth of having a space at the market to set up their tables (“Marketplace of ideas?” Sept. 23): Clearly the cost of that insurance will eliminate almost…
A powerful tool when properly used
Redevelopment has been both cussed and discussed over the many years it has been in existence. It has been the subject of ridicule, yet praised in numerous situations for its ability to revitalize a community. From our Board’s point of view, redevelopment is simply another financing tool to assist communities with infrastructure needs that are…
Doctor, it hurts when I do this!
In one of my frequent meanderings around the office the other day, I noticed a two-inch-thick stack of tree guts gathered on one of our reporters’ desks. Apparently, the plethora of paper was an unsuccessful state worker’s compensation claim filed in 2004 by SLO County sheriff’s candidate Joe Cortez. I snuck a peek, and to…
Mary Tesoro
NEW TIMES: When did Aikido of SLO start its establishment? TESORO: My friend Tom Elliott helped me co-found the dojo in 1987, with the support and guidance of Aikido of Monterey’s Danielle Smith Sensei. As well as Monterey, Aikido of San Luis Obispo is a member of the California Aikido Association, headed by Frank Doran…
Sinor-LaVallee 2008 Pinot Noir Talley-Rincon Vineyard
This has been a favorite of mine since it was first released in 2004. Winemaker Mike Sinor creates a fabulous Pinot from this great vineyard. Vintner Brian Talley sells Sinor grapes from a 1-acre block that consists of only 14 rows of grapevines. Planted with Clone 2A, the same clone planted at Talley’s famed Rosemary’s…
Chamisal Vineyard 2009 Stainless Chardonnay Un-oaked
This bright and tasty white is all about purity and freshness, winemaker Fintan du Fresne said of his Stainless Chardonnay. Beautifully balanced and expressive, it tastes of fresh tropical fruits and passion fruit, nicely balanced by zippy citrus notes. Even though it sees no French oak aging, this wine is surprisingly rich. A great choice…
Old Bavaria meets California casual
What happens when traditional German foods merge with California casual food at Hoagies in Avila Beach? You get sausage and sauerkraut with a twist. Or, as Hoagies chef Shawn Swink put it: “I like my kraut a little more juiced up.” In an e-mail that snagged my attention, I discovered Hoagies will celebrate Oktoberfest, just…
Clubs
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Off the Hook
The Poetic Justice Project—an organization “dedicated to the creation of original theatre that examines crime, punishment, and redemption”—is debuting a production called Off the Hook on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m., at Unity Church in SLO. Off the Hook addresses violence and racial segregation in the prison system, concluding with what the Poetic Justice Project…
Kids help kids
Anyone who’s attempted to carry his or her artistic ambitions into adulthood has inevitably hit that fussy stage, usually in high school, where frustration over a lack of control and an inability to draw “perfectly” leads most of us to abandon art. It also seems that those who do carry on with their pursuit of…
Seedpods and senescence
Lorna Teixeira must be having an exhibit; the walls of Steynberg Gallery are littered with red dots. For her third show at the gallery—the first was in 2006 and the second in 2008—Teixeira opted to partner with abstract landscape painter and CorkStop Studios co-founder and resident artist Anne Stahl. The two artists—who are at once…
Lizards, snails, and fire hydrant tails
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art is taking an important step forward, incorporating technology into the way information is presented to visitors. For a juried show, “Narrative Animal Imagery,” running Oct. 8 through Nov. 12, the museum turned to a company called OnCell, which provides organizations the means of creating their own cell…
