SanLuisObispo.com: Multimedia

Huge waves, but little damage

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:47 PDT

Waves 17 to 19 feet high Sunday closed the Pismo Beach pier for much of the day and drew on-lookers along the coast, while the rain and wind tapered through the late afternoon.

Relief from the rainy weather is expected this week with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid-60s, according to John Lindsey, meteorologist at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.

About 7,600 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers who lost power during Saturday’s storm — 4,300 in Los Osos, the rest in San Luis Obispo — had it restored by Sunday morning.

Suffering cyclists

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:45 PDT

Wet and windy weather punished cyclists and fans alike Thursday during the Amgen Tour of California’s fourth stage, which coursed down the Big Sur coast to San Luis Obispo.

Suffering, say professional cyclists, is an essential element of their sport, and there was an abundance of that for those competing and those cheering.

‘What’d I say?’ One word: Ray

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:42 PDT

When everyone else was celebrating the arrival of 2005, Mary Meserve was holed up in a hotel room across from Disneyland, anxious because she couldn’t seem to come up with a script for her Johnny Cash musical.

Depressed from her writer’s block, she started to watch the movie “Ray,” the biopic about Ray Charles, on television.

The quinceanera: A treasured tradition

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:03 PST

She grew up with strong Latin American roots as the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, but Alessa Moscoso of San Luis Obispo wasn't sure she wanted to celebrate her “quinceañera.”

Often as grand as big weddings and requiring months or even years of preparation, the quinceañera is a Latin American tradition that celebrates a girl’s coming of age at 15.

Photos: A white blanket in the morning

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:20 PDT

As dawn broke Thursday, northern parts of San Luis Obispo County woke to a rare treat — snowfall from late Wednesday and overnight. Clockwise from top left, snow off Highway 41 East near Cholame; iced cactus next to Parkhill Road close to Pozo; an old GMC pickup also off Parkhill Road; and horses grazing near Pozo Road.

TRIBUNE PHOTOS BY DAVID MIDDLECAMP AND JAYSON MELLOM

Anglers to put skills to use in fish study

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:23 PDT

Dozens of recreational anglers will take to San Luis Obispo County waters beginning this month as part of one of the largest collaborative fisheries research projects in state history.

Sportfishing boats from Morro Bay and Port San Luis will make a dozen trips to waters off Point Buchon and Montaña de Oro State Park through October, and volunteers will catch, tag and release rockfish and other shallow-water species.

The study will look at fish stocks from San Mateo County to San Luis Obispo County.

San Miguel cafe’s specialty isn’t even on the menu

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:56 PDT

At 7 a.m. Thursday, there are still quite a few empty seats at the Country Diner in San Miguel, but the diner is full of conversation. Carl is talking about his wife seeking alternative medicine. John discusses horses with Carl. Millie is chatting with Cliff about life in general and how nice the new downtown sidewalks are.

Owner Linda Mora keeps the coffee cups full and knows the name of practically everyone who walks in the door to sit down at the blue, horseshoe-shaped counter.

Mora wears a blue apron and has a sharp wit, never failing to make a comment full of common sense. Her hair is carefully done, and no one knows quite how old she is, although they always ask, she said. As a mother of five, she has eyes in the back of her head and seems to know everything going on in the diner.

Royal renovation

Fri, 18 May 2007 17:50 PDT

Hearst Castle crews are taking the do-it yourself approach to fixing the museum's famous Neptune Pool, now drained for the second time in two years because of leaks.

The main part of the pool is 104 feet long and 58 feet wide, stretching to 95 feet wide at an alcove. Able to hold 345,000 gallons of water -- enough to fill more than a dozen typical backyard pools -- it's surrounded by a colonnade and statuary in the classical style, including a depiction of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea.

The pool was completed in the 1930s. When a leak was detected in 2006, it had been more than a decade since the pool was last drained. The 2003 San Simeon Earthquake, with its magnitude of 6.5, may have contributed to leaks, said restoration supervisor Bruce Jackson of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which has owned the Castle since 1957.