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GILBERT
REED’S LAST DANCE
Soon after Gilbert Reed retired, his dance company, the Gilbert Reed
Ballet, performed its last SLO County appearance April 5-6 in a “Gala
Farewell” at the Performing Arts Center. |
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SCREAMIN’
CREAMER
David “The Screamer” Creamer made regular
Friday night appearances at Spike’s Place in SLO until he started
the homey “Mondays at the Peach” music series featuring
local artists and their friends. Creamer left town earlier late last
year to pursue bigger dreams. Mondays at the Peach are still happening. |
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THIS
BUD’S FOR ME
After weeks of delays and dragging their feet, SLO Police officers
finally complied with a court order to return Donovan No Runner’s
medical marijuana, which they had confiscated despite No Runner’s
proof of a prescription. |
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THE
RAIL STORY
Seldom seen in his historic family Ah Louis Store
in San Luis, 94-year-old Howard Louis had a few words to say about
the contribution of Chinese to SLO County history. He talked about
his experiences growing up here just prior to the dedication of Elizabeth
MacQueen’s sculpture, “Iron Road Pioneers,” at Railroad
Square. |
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SOMETHING’S
FISHY
Back in September, Fish and Game claimed lingcod had been “overfished”
in our coastal waters, even though Marine Biologist Terry Lilley has
caught over 300 of the predator fish—“The population is
actually exploding.” |
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BONS
TEMPS INDEED
After 2001’s boisterous nighttime affair that resulted in a
staggering 120 arrests, SLO’s Mardi Gras celebration finally
returned in 2003 with a less rowdy—but still colorful—family-oriented
afternoon parade. |
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GETTING
NOTICED
When recall fever struck the state, San Luis Obispo used-car salesman
Mike McCarthy took his “Rocky”-themed grassroots gubernatorial
campaign to Sacramento … and “The Jay Leno show.”
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GOOD
AS GOLD
A rainbow stretches over the backside of the Morro Bay Estuary during
one of several powerful storms that drenched the county in 2003. |
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A
MOTHER’S PAIN
Elizabeth Scruggs holds a photo of her daughter, Sarah, 17, who was
killed September 2002 in a Grover Beach crosswalk. The driver of the
car, Kenneth Walter Freitas, son of SLO County tax collector Frank
Feitas, had 19 traffic citations on his driving record, including
two for road rage. The younger Freitas served time and was released
to an anger management program. He later drove through the crosswalk,
killing Scruggs. Police recommended charges. The case sat on the district
attorney’s desk for nearly a year before Freitas was arraigned
in late 2003. |
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OVERREACTION?
A small leak in a storage tank holding ammonia turned out to be the
catalyst for a million-dollar emergency response from public safety
officials and federal charges being lodged against Morro Bay businessman
Chuck Marciel. More than 1,000 supporters turned up to rally support
for Marciel earlier last year. |
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SPRING
CHICKENS
The Exotic Newcastle Disease outbreak resulted in precautionary measures
being implemented throughout the county in early 2003, including the
closure of Charles Paddock Zoo’s walk-in aviary and restricted
access to Cal Poly’s poultry science unit. |
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BUSTED
Back in March, a group of protesters entered Vandenberg Air Force
Base through the backcountry in an attempt to shut down sensitive
equipment. Several, including activist Sanderson Beck, were arrested
at the front gate. Representatives from the base reported finding
nothing to indicate a serious breach of security. |