Cover Story
Empowerment revolution: Society’s approach to sexual assault is morphing, and Cal Poly’s ahead of the curve
Think about sex like you would a corndog. If you buy someone a corndog at the Mid-State Fair, and they don’t want it, you aren’t going to force them to eat it with ketchup and mustard. Now trade that corndog in for tea and you have “Tea Consent” by Blue Seat Studios, which uses a…
Rock the walk: Food Bank Coalition of SLO County will hold seventh annual Hunger Walk in Morro Bay
A flock will make its way to Morro Rock to raise both awareness and money for the hungry in San Luis Obispo County on Saturday, Sept. 19. There, the Food Bank Coalition of SLO County is hosting the seventh annual Hunger Walk in Morro Bay, leading individuals and teams on a mile-long course from St.…
Silence is golden, except when it’s not
Editor’s note: This is one person’s opinion about what happened with the SLO Symphony and why. According to Board Source, a Washington D.C.-based national organization that focuses on good governance practices for nonprofits: “Members on the board of directors of a nonprofit corporation hold a fiduciary responsibility. Fiduciary duty requires board members to stay objective,…
Social Distortion will play their self-titled third album in its entirety on Sept. 11 at Vina Robles Amphitheatre
It’s probably best to get your youthful indiscretions out of the way as early as possible, grow up, and get on with your life. Of course for some, coming back from the abyss never happens. Lucky for Social Distortion front man Mike Ness, he made it back alive. Ness, 53, was kicked out of the…
Your story, unwritten: Anything can happen at the Central Coast Writers Conference Book and Author Fair
Teri Bayus was a frazzled mess when she pulled her car into the parking lot of her first writing workshop some 15 years ago. Not much scared her, but the idea of putting pen to paper—and sharing her inner monologue with strangers—made her palms sweat cold, icy beads. In another life, she had been a…
Music, poetry, visual arts collide at Bang the Drum Sept. 26
When’s the last time you truly cared about poetry? Was it in fifth grade, when you were required to recite Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken?” Was it the last time you sat in your driveway listening to the closing segment of Garisson Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac in your car? Maybe you’ve gone your whole…
Twang. Bang. Repeat: One woman’s brave attempt to survive 12 hours of live music at Twang N Bang X
It’s 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, and I’m looking down the barrel of 12 hours of live music at Frog and Peach Pub. It’s my fifth year playing Twang N Bang in as many bands (in order: Hayburner, Red Eye Junction, Magazine Dirty, The Gal Fridays—and this year—Hayley & the Crushers), so I know…
SLOMA showcases work of Twila Stofer
Shutterbug Twila Stofer has a pretty cool story. She grew up on the banks of the Mississippi River as the daughter of a small-town doctor in Fort Madison, Iowa. However, she didn’t remain a small-town girl. The eager artist attended the University of Chicago and lived in New York City, Florida, North Carolina, Germany, and…
Sculpture of Nate Tyler featured in the Artist Grove at Beaverstock
Nate Tyler, celebrated sculptor and famous professional surfer from Templeton, will display his one of-a-kind works of art at Beaverstock in the Artist Grove, a collection of creative media. This annual fall music festival hosted by Castoro Cellars (held in the meadow of Whale Rock Vineyard) brings together two days of music, art, and community…
Fish and Sips to serve up invasive species this Sept. 20
Christopher Lim is a household goldfish who decided to make a bolt for the sea. His immigrant parents weren’t too keen on outdoorsy adventures like “camping,” and the Bay Area provided an endless array of urban distractions growing up. It wasn’t until college that Lim first scratched the surface of the natural world. At UC…
That listful feeling: Staff tips on things to do on the Central Coast
Breathe a little air Welcome to the hiking capital of the world. Well, maybe it’s not, but there are so many trails that head into the hills from SLO Town that it certainly feels like the opportunity to get out in nature couldn’t be better anywhere else. The 2.8-mile out and back Bishop Peak makes…
The old fluff and fold: Cleanliness is next to godliness, and sometimes a bar
No chore is so agonizing for the average college renter as doing laundry at a laundromat. It’s a huge time-suck; a multi-hour project that requires attention at irregular intervals too short to read a full magazine article yet too long to wait unengaged. With persistence and skill, such a heinous chore can be put off…
SLO HotHouse grows best Cal Poly start-ups
After graduating Cal Poly with an entrepreneurship degree, Robert Zachs did not immediately create “the next big thing” in tech. He did not instantly grace a Forbes Magazine “30 under 30” list. He did not buy a fancy car and become an eccentric rich guy. But he kept his eyes open, and he traveled the…
Money matters: Tips to successfully prepare to pay off your student debt
It’s the dawn of a new day on campus. The first day of college classes. There’s excitement in the air as students, from brand-new freshman to wizened seniors, rush to and from classes. But while this year’s crop of future college grads bask in the start of a new year, there’s something looming over nearly…
SLO no no: An incomplete list of everything you cannot do in San Luis Obispo
Welcome to San Luis Obispo. SLO. San Luis. SLO Town. San Louie Obispo. It’s the Happiest Place in America, said some guy who wrote a book about it, which eventually ended up being featured on Oprah. Yep, the only other place that carries a better trump card is Disneyland. SLO is also a very charming…
Cougars & Mustangs
Growing up in the San Luis Obispo area, with a renowned educational institution so close by, one may grow to feel—if they didn’t immediately go from high school into a four-year university but instead opted to attend community college—that they have failed because they don’t have everything figured out yet. The truth of the matter,…
Hotel nixed, housing remains in Cal Poly SLO master plan
Some of the more ambitious aspects of Cal Poly SLO’s campus master plan update were nixed over the summer, but plans to create more housing for students remains. The university debuted a revised map for the campus master plan as part of a public process leading up to the eventual adoption of it. The plan’s…
Morro Bay moves forward to ban Styrofoam containers
The Morro Bay City Council considered an ordinance to ban Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) containers at its Sept. 8 meeting. If the ordinance passes, Morro Bay will become the second city in the county to institute such a ban, following San Luis Obispo’s earlier this year. The council agreed that a ban should include to-go food…
Grover Beach to loosen sex offender ordinance
Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals neatly summed up the attitude of City Council members as they move toward relaxing the city’s residency requirements for convicted sex offenders. “It’s not something we are thrilled with doing,” he said. “But it is bringing us into compliance with state law.” Shoals and the members of the council voted…
SLO City Council to consider combined bowling alley, restaurant, and nightclub
Most of the building that stretches along Chorro Street between Marsh and Higuera sits vacant, longing for a new tenant. In recent years, the Higuera Street side of the building was renovated and is now occupied by the Wineman Hotel—joined by a burger joint, a tea house, and a restaurant serving salad and comfort food,…
What message would you like to deliver to new and incoming students?
Alan Kroeker architect “Cherish the time and explore new horizons.” Amanda Diefenderfer marketing company owner “Enjoy SLO. It’s a really special place.” Myron Amerine retired scientist “Get on their bikes and get out of their cars.” Soncia Rae grad student “Have fun, be safe, use condoms, don’t take drugs unless you share, and the buddy…
The CCSD’s water situation is dumbfounding
The day before the Cambria Community Services District board took the action to revise their drought restrictions and ease its rule on outdoor irrigation, it had a special meeting wherein CCSD General Manager Jerry Gruber reported nearly a dozen stopgap measures to reduce costs and increase revenue over the next six months of anticipated cash…
Student Guide 2015
As you flip through our annual Student Guide issue and read about why consensual sex is important, SLO’s big no-nos, how you can keep student debt to a hill rather than a mountain, HotHouse and the help it gives to student entrepreneurs with bright ideas , and laundromats around town and what they can do…
Secret Garden’s Cream Earl Grey Tea and Luis Wine Bar’s Dogfish Head Festina Peche
The Secret Garden Herb Shop is really like a “secret garden.” Sandwiched between Bliss Café and the creek, it is a hallway of living foliage stacked with mystical glass jars. Each one smells absolutely incredible, so it’s physically painful to choose just one tea. The other day I fixed that problem and took home a…
Coming up!
Chew on this: Beaverstock is right around the corner, folks. Get in on the Castoro Wine, local brews (Toro Creek, BarrelHouse, Firestone Walker, Bristols Cider) as well as the array of fine food trucks and purveyors, which range from The Pairing Knife to Bliss Café to Sugar Lips Mini Donuts (yes—if they are mini, you…
Clubs 9/10/15 – 9/17/15
Goin’ South THE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Rd., Shell Beach, 773-5000, cliffsresort.com. F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Rd. in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on…
Mailbag!
One of the marvelous things about writing a weekly opinion piece is that I attract all kinds of crazy, which in turn is deliciously entertaining. For instance, ever since I mentioned presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a “Democratic Socialist,” I’ve been on frequent-letter-writer Greg Larson’s hysterical outgoing mail hit list. Most recently, The Gregster sent me…
Dodger fans strike out
If you follow Dodger baseball and live on the Central Coast, good luck. As major league baseball rolls through September and into the playoffs portion of the season, we Dodger fans who used to watch them play on television, listen in on local radio broadcasts, or absorb local newspaper reporting have clearly been struck out…
Gravel won out as drought tolerant landscape
I think everyone is interested in how to landscape around their home due to the drought. We received several bids for artificial turf, but we were surprised by how expensive it was. Then we thought about replacing our lawn with cactus and other succulents, but we didn’t think a “Southwestern” theme fit in with our…
The Phillips 66 rail extension is safer than the alternatives
My family has been in San Luis Obispo County for more than 300 years and dates back to the Spaniards as well as the Chumash and Salinan heritage. I have sincere and deep concerns for my community. Therefore, I think improvement and progress is important, but we have a lifestyle we want to maintain, and…
Morro Bay should ban fireworks in the harbor
As a visitor to Morro Bay, I would have thought fireworks would be banned, period, in the harbor. The place is a sanctuary. WTF is wrong with people? Why not go further up the beach and set them off and folks could park at the rock and watch from there, or would that disturb the…
I’m glad that Pismo development stalled
I’d like to thank the New Times for giving me a heads up on what’s happening with the land directly below my house in Pismo Beach with its Sept. 3 cover story “Arrested Development.” Since 1987, I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy the “scenic and untouched” beauty of that space from my own backyard, and…
