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Volume 27
•
Issue 47
•
April 16 - 29, 2015
YOUR COMMUNITY IN YOUR HANDS
LOS OSOS
MORRO BAY
CAYUCOS
CAMBRIA
One man’s junk… The 12th Annual Citywide
Yard Sale in Morro Bay brought hundreds,
if not thousands, of bargain hunters to town
looking for forgotten treasures. More on Page
41. Photo by Neil Farrell
Capps to Retire;
SB Mayor Jumps In
Morro Water Rates
Could Rise
By Neil Farrell
C
ongresswoman
Lois
Capps announced that
she will retire after nearly
a generation in office when her
current term expires in 2016;
and within hours, the Mayor of
Santa Barbara announced that
she is running for the still-warm
seat.
Capps has represented SLO
and Santa Barbara counties in
the 24th District since March
1998, taking over a seat from
her late husband Walter Capps,
who died after just a short time
in office.
Capps made the announcement in an online video that she
will not seek another term in
Congress.
Capps said, “When my husband Walter was elected to
tolosapress.com
Congress in 1996, he was guided by the principle of Thomas
Jefferson — to restore the bond
of trust between the people and
their government. And in his
short time in office, Walter did
just that.
“And after his death, I ran to
continue that goal and to bring
my own experiences in health
care and our public schools.
“And I’m proud of the work
that we’ve done together here on
the Central Coast - to improve
education, to expand health
care, to support businesses and
our veterans, to protect the environment and agriculture.
See Capps page 5
By Neil Farrell
M
Round 3 For
Osos Project
Page 4
New Ladder
Truck
Page 45
orro Bay’s water and
sewer rates are slated
to rise dramatically,
providing proposed rate increases survive a vote from residents and property owners.
The city council set May 26
for the official Proposition 218
“protest vote,” and if 50-percent plus-1 of the roughly 5,000
properties in the city votes
“No,” then the City would have
to go back to the drawing board
and eventually try again for a
positive vote.
Notices have been sent out to
every property owner — in town
and out – plus every residence
and even Post Office boxes, to
make sure everyone gets the
voting notices, explained Public
Works Director Rob Livick.
“We want to make sure all the
bases are covered,” Livick said.
“Protests need to be received
by the City Clerk’s Office at City
Hall before May 26 or can be
dropped off at the council meeting that night, he explained.
No emails or faxes are allowed.
How it works is each property
gets one protest vote, he said.
And it doesn’t matter if the
vote comes from the property
owner or a tenant. Using an
apartment complex as an example, Livick said that if even one
resident turns in a protest vote,
the whole property is counted
as voting “No.”
See Water, page 8
2
•
April 16 - 29, 2015 • Bay News
Bret Colhouer
publisher
bret@tolosapress.com
Neil Farrell
managing editor
The Bay News
neil@tolosapress.com
Theresa-Marie Wilson
managing editor
The Coast News
t@tolosapress.com
Camas Frank
section editor
SLO City News
frank@tolosapress.com
Michael Elliott
sports reporter
sports@tolosapress.com
Table of
Contents
Vacant Seats on City Board ................................... 3
Volunteers Spruce up Downtown .......................... 41
Round Three for Housing Projects ........................... 4
Morro Bay Yardsale Weekend ............................. 41
Police Blotter ......................................................6-7
Local Grocery Stores Sold ................................... 42
Filipino Celebration ............................................. 10
Tourism Hearing Put Off ...................................... 42
9-1-1 Vehicle Show.............................................. 10
Cuesta Tax Levies Set .......................................... 42
Gareth Kelly
business / lifestyle reporter
gareth@tolosapress.com
When You Need a Friend .....................................11
Police Awards Handed Out ................................. 43
Michelle Johnson
art director
Harmony Finding New Life ...................................12
Sports Shorts ...................................................... 44
Christy Serpa
editorial design
Central Coast Life ...........................................13-22
Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt ...................................... 45
Kathrene Tiffin
copy editor
Home and Garden Special Pullout ...................23-30
New Ladder Truck............................................... 45
Jessica Padilla
marketing coordinator
admin@simplyclearmarketing.com
Central Coast Life ...........................................31-40
Business Matters .............................................46-51
Desarae Jack
administrative assistant
ADVERTISING
Jessica Micklus
sales manager
jessica@simplyclearmarketing.com
100%
Dana McGraw
senior advertising executive
dana@tolosapress.com
listener/communitysupported shows
from local residents
Zorina Ricci
coast news advertising executive
z@tolosapress.com
Carrie Vickerman
bay news advertising executive
carrie@tolosapress.com
Dave Diaz
internet, text & loyalty marketing
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS &
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Teri Bayus
Michael Gunther
King Harris
Vivian Krug
Evanne Mingori
Betsey Nash
SLO Nightwriters
Ray Ambler
Ruth Anne Angus
Amy Joseph
Carrie Jaymes
Erin O’Donnell
Paul Winninghoff
This is a publication of Tolosa Press, Inc., Copyright 2007–2013 all rights reserved. One free copy
per person. Additional copies can be obtained at
our offices 615 Clarion Court, #2, San Luis Obispo,
CA, 93401. Tolosa Press makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of its contents. Please
notify us if information is incorrect.
phone (805) 543-6397
fax (805) 543-3698
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San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
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Bay News • April 16 - 29, 2015
News
•
3
Vacant Seats on City Boards
T
he City of Morro Bay is seeking
to fill several open seats on its
advisory boards and interested
parties have until April 24 to apply.
The City has openings for: four
seats on the Citizens Oversight and
Citizens Finance Committee; three on
the Tourism Business Improvement
District Board, and one on the
Recreation and Parks Commission.
The City is also seeking applications
to appoint one representative from a
Morro Bay lodging business (hotel,
motel, RV Park, B&B) to the San Luis
Obispo County Tourism Marketing
District Board.
The Rec & Parks vacancy came open
recently when Aaron Ochs resigned,
after being the target of a campaign
to have him removed from the seat.
Ochs runs or contributes to a couple
of online websites and Facebook sites,
including, “Cal Coast Fraud,” that
criticizes the reporting of another
website, “Cal Coast News.”
The heat came hard and fast after
he posted some unflattering remarks
about several local “activists”
who speak out regularly at local
government meetings, in particular
the Board of Supervisors.
First a post card was mailed out
in Morro Bay that accused him of
being a “Liar” a “Reprobate,” and
“Unfit for Public Office.” It claimed
he was a “Publisher of slander and
lies targeting private citizens.” Then
it urged people to call the city council
or mayor for more information,
ending with a phone number to the
city manager’s office.
That was followed up by a robocall campaign with a woman’s voice
accusing him of having a hatred of
women and worse. Then at a council
meeting, a man from Arroyo Grande
claimed that Ochs had threatened
him and his family and demanded
the city council do something about
it. (Ochs had quipped, after the same
man had gotten after the Supervisors
at one of their meetings, asking if
anyone had a straight jacket?)
The tirade at council was actually
unnecessary, as Ochs had earlier that
day turned in a letter of resignation
that was obtained by The Bay News. In
part it reads: “Anonymous automated
calls continue to harass Morro Bay
residents in order to pressure the
city, and as profane and defamatory
as they are, as much as they in no way
reflect who I am and my commitment
to volunteering for the City of Morro
Bay, I cannot in good conscience
subject the city and community to
such continued abuse.”
It continues, “The calls are a clear
byproduct of my criticism of the
website CalCoastNews.com for the
way they target, harass and defame
public officials, public figures, their
families and friends. Now they have
followed form and have targeted me
with an anonymous postcard and
volleys of robo-calls designed to
shock and offend. That should be,
and is now, my weight to bear, no one
else’s.” He concludes by hoping with
his resignation that the robo-calls
would stop.
Anyone wishing to apply for a
vacant City advisory board seat should
contact City Clerk, Dana Swanson,
772-6205 or email to: dswanson@
morro-bay.ca.us. Deadline is 5 p.m.
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4
•
News
Round Three for Los Osos Housing Projects
By Neil Farrell
J
oe Frazier and Muhammad Ali
fought three times, and all were
epic battles. In what could be the
“land use” equivalent of the “Thrilla
in Manila,” a pair of proposed homes
at the North end of 10th Street in Los
Osos is going back for a third fight with
the Coastal Commission, some 25 years
after first being proposed.
The homes, proposed back in the
late 1980s, abut the Elfin Forest and
will go once again before the Coastal
Commission on April 16, with the
Commission
staff
recommending
denial.
It started way back in the late 1980s,
when the property owner, Anthony
Wolcott, and local developer, Jeff
Edwards, acting as his agent, submitted
a proposal to build on two lots at
1113 and 1111 10th St. Un-built lots
with breath-taking views of the Elfin
Forest, estuary, back bay, the Sandspit
and Morro Rock. County Supervisors
approved two coastal development
permits in May 1988. The Coastal
Commission approved the permits that
July. Wolcott has mostly owned the
lots since 1973.
(It should be noted, that back in 1988,
the “Elfin Forest” was a privately owned
swath of open space with pygmy oaks,
manzanita and dune scrub habitat. It
also had paper lots subdivided decades
before by Baywood Park developer,
Richard Otto, but never built. In the
1990s, it was purchased by SWAP and
donated to the County Parks protecting
it forever. SWAP continues to care for
and has made numerous improvements
to the forest pathways, making it ADA
The view from 10th Street in Los Osos, where two homes are being proposed. Photo by Neil Farrell
accessible.)
According to a project history in the
new Coastal Commission staff report,
the biologist that had done the work
on the initial CDPs pointed out “a
discrepancy between the habitat map
he created for the project and the one
included in the staff report,” the report
reads. “After further investigation, it
was determined that the map as well
as the biological report itself had been
altered by the applicant to show less
sensitive habitat on the sites than the
biological consultant had identified.”
A new biological assessment was
done — using State Fish & Game — and
it was decided that the environmentally
sensitive habitat area (ESHA) was
larger than initially proposed. So the
Commission revoked its approvals on
Nov. 15, 1988.
Wolcott sold to Jay Farbstein in
August 1988 for $208,500 — before the
above revocation, and the project sat
for 10 years.
The report said Farbstein eventually
re-applied to the County for new CDPs,
which Supervisors again granted in
May 1998.
Three citizens appealed and the
Commission held a hearing (to see if
there was “substantial issues” with the
project) and decided to take it over. The
See Housing, page 9
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Capps, from page 1
“And I have been so humbled and
honored that you would trust me to be
your Representative to Congress.
“But now I believe it is time for me
to return home back to the community
and family that I love so much. And
so I am announcing that this 114th
Congress will be my last, and at the
completion of this term I will retire.
“It’s been a hard decision to make,
for I have loved this job. I have loved
serving alongside such remarkable
staff, such outstanding community
members, and wonderful colleagues in
public service.
“But life moves on. And in the
meantime, I am very much looking
forward to our final 22 months together
in public office. There is a lot of work to
do. And I promise you that I will serve
with as much energy and enthusiasm
and passion on my last day in office as I
had on my first.
“And I am so thankful to you for the
opportunity I’ve had to represent you
in
Congress. And I will forever be
grateful that you have allowed me to be
your voice in our nation, and here on
our Central Coast in California. Thank
you from the bottom of my heart.”
Within hours of Capps’ announcement
to retire, Mayor Helene Schneider, a
Democrat, formally entered the race
to find common ground on policies
affecting our entire community, while
steadfastly defending my core values of
economic opportunity, environmental
protection and prudent financial
stewardship.”
Her starting-gate platform sounds
a lot like Capps’ stance on issues. “I
plan to pursue an agenda that focuses
on helping Californians reach their
full potential by creating more good
paying jobs, growing the middle
class, advancing more progressive
environmental protection policies,
investing in our infrastructure and
education, defending Medicare and
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Social Security, and ensuring equal pay
for equal work for all Americans,” she
said.
In the last June Primary (2014),
which is an open primary in California,
Capps faced eight challengers, moving
on to the November Election when she
won a close election over Republican
Chris Mitchum, who later sued Capps
for defamation over a campaign attack
ad that she ran.
Another of Capps’ opponents last
June, Republican Justin Fareed,
has said he will run again. State
Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian said
he is considering running, as well.
40% OFF Frames
to succeed her. A second term mayor,
Schneider was first elected to Santa
Barbara City Council in 2003 moving
up to the Mayor’s seat in 2009. Her
announcement rings a familiar bell.
“I am running for Congress to get
things done in Washington,” she said.
“We need more common sense and
fewer political stalemates. During my
tenure as Mayor of the City of Santa
Barbara, I have focused on working
with a politically diverse City Council
•
6
•
April 16 - 29, 2015 • Tolosa Press
Arroyo Grande
• April 4: A caller asked police to
check the welfare of a female who
hadn’t shown up for work after her
ex told someone that he was going
to kill her.
• April 4: A caller reported that there
was a problem with pornography
at Paulding Middle School — teenaged boys, no doubt.
• April 3: A caller on the 500
block of Carmella Drive reported
a case of unsafe shooting after
finding an arrow in her yard and
a broken window. The neighbor
was practicing archery with her
daughter and was unaware of
the bulls-eye he or she hit on the
window.
Morro Bay
• April 5: Police responded to a
family disturbance at 6:30 p.m. in
the 500 block of Mimosa. A 46-yearold man was arrested for alleged
reckless discharge of a firearm, and
was then taken to the hospital for
a self-inflicted gunshot wound and
let’s hope his aim doesn’t improve
any time soon.
• April 5: At 11:45 p.m. police were
sent to a domestic disturbance
in the 900 block of Pacific. Two
battleaxes had gotten into a catfight
and of course once they were
separated neither wanted to press
charges or have medical treatment.
One grabbed her stuff and took off,
no doubt plotting her revenge all
the way home.
• April 4: A citizen in the 600
block of Avalon reported the theft
of $3,000-$4,000 in cash, which
sounds like a possible inside job.
• April 3: Police responded at 2:14
p.m. to a disturbance in the 3200
block of Main. Logs indicated they
arrested some hothead for allegedly
causing damage to the apartment
and ripping the cable lines out of
the walls, as he no doubt couldn’t
find something to watch on TV. The
guy gave police a statement and left
restoring the peace, well almost…
Police were called back to the
residence at 1:24 a.m. (April 4) and
this time the 30-year-old crapulous
fellow got hauled to the nick for
being thick as a tick.
• April 4: At 12:15 a.m. police were
called to a disturbance at Bonita
and Main where they arrested
a 24-year-old model citizen for
suspicion of being schwasted in
public.
• April 4: Rite Aid reported the theft
of $1,112.8, no doubt consisting
of two prescriptions and a fifth of
tequila.
Police Blotter
• March 31: Police and paramedics
were called at 8:30 a.m. to the 1000
block of Main St., where an elderly
woman tripped on the sidewalk and
landed in the hospital. A report was
taken for the lawsuit sure to follow.
• March 31: At 4:19 p.m. police
responded to the 700 block of
Quintana, where two parked cars
jumped in front of a woman driver.
and then hung up.
• April 9: A dog that had bolted
from a room at the Sea Crest Resort
was reunited with its human.
• April 7: A caller on the 700
block of White Oaks reported that
“hooligans” threw garbage all over
her driveway. Barbecue sauce and
rotten food were tossed onto her
car too.
“Fire personnel were dispatched
for an ocean rescue to help a
guy in the water clinging to a
pier piling. The guy made it to
shore.”
• March 31: At 4:17 p.m. police
contacted a tipsy fellow in the 700
block of Harbor St., and took the
51-year-old rotter to the hoosegow.
• March 31: Police responded at
5:37 p.m. to the 300 block of Nevis
where a citizen had reportedly
overdosed on heroin. The overhopped-up hype was taken to the
hospital. Police reportedly found a
backpack with “illegal narcotics and
burglary tools,” which they held for
“observation” in case the schmoe
wants it back. And on April 1 at 6
p.m. police went to a disturbance in
the 400 block of Nevis and arrested
a boisterous boozer for suspicion of
being deep in his cups.
• March 30: Some scoundrel stole a
kid’s bike from Del Mar Elementary
School in the 500 block of Sequoia,
no word on whether the kid locked
it up like his parents told him to.
• March 30: Police contacted a
swizzle stick traipsing up the 700
block of Quintana at 12:21 p.m. The
52-year-old lady sot was tossed to
the nick for suspicion of being welloiled.
Pismo Beach
• April 9: Someone with a flashlight
was reported on the 100 block of
Main at about 2:30 a.m. It turned
out to be a can collector who had
been advise about an hour earlier
after going through a dumpster on
the 2600 block of Shell Beach Road.
• April 9: Some low-rent fellow tried
to pay for an order at Denny’s with
counterfeit $5 bills.
• April 9: Police were unable to
locate a suspicious man in his 40s
reportedly watching children on
Spyglass Drive. He was pointing
at children, following them and
talking to himself.
• April 9: A woman called to report,
“My brother’s been kidnapped!”
• April 7: Fire personnel
were dispatched for an
ocean rescue to help a
guy in the water clinging
to a pier piling. The guy
made it to shore.
• April 7: A caller
reported
leaving
a
candle burning in her
home when she left the
house. Neighbors were contacted
who said they would snuff out the
problem.
• April 6: Someone at Motel 6
reported getting a call from a man
who whispered that something
was going to happen at the motel.
Before police left, two people
were cited and released for some
undisclosed crime. A third person
wasn’t so lucky and was arrested for
an outstanding warrant.
• April 6: A caller on the 400 block
of San Luis reported that his vehicle
had been broken into. He called
back about 15 minutes later to
report that his other car was also
broken into and the master criminal
left a jacket behind. In other Robin
“Reading
glasses
were stolen from
Rite Aid. The thief
probably couldnʼt
see the price tag.”
Hood news, a caller on the 300
block of Harbor View found a cell
phone in his car that didn’t belong
to him. A caller on the 300 block of
Ocean said her car was broken into
and a pair of sunglasses that didn’t
belong to her had been left behind.
• April 6: Reading glasses were
stolen from Rite Aid. The thief
probably couldn’t see the price tag.
• April 6: A caller on the 700 block
of Dolliver reported three juveniles
smoking wacky-tobacky in front of
his or her house. One stoner was
cited and all parents were notified,
which probably killed the buzz,
man.
• April 6: Police were unable to
locate a man sitting by a car in front
of the Cap Cod Motel at about 11:30
p.m. The caller was concerned that
the guy was sitting out in the cold.
• April 1: A caller was concerned that
some kids on the side of 7-Eleven
were selling weed. The little thugs
were gone before police arrived.
San Luis Obispo
• April 8: Police were called to Osos
and Monterey by County Mental
Health officials who were taking a
mental health patient to court for a
hearing when he or she escaped.
• April 8: At 8:35 a.m. police were
called to Wheeler-Smith Mortuary
on South Higuera for some guy
getting drunk in what isn’t the most
lively of party spots. The soaked
fellow was cited, no doubt with a toe
tag to come sometime soon.
• April 8: Police responded at 1:20
p.m. to the 1000 block of Nipomo
where some crazy fool was causing
a ruckus at Ciopinot.
• April 8: Police were called to the
Kristin Apts., in the 600 block of
Chorro for a complaint of a woman
living in a black truck parked in
their lot, which normally goes for
about $1,000 a month.
• April 8: Police were called to the
high school at 1:25 p.m. where they
were having a baseball tourney and
some suspicious transients were
hanging around. They were cited
and released, possibly the first time
that watching baseball was deemed
loitering.
• April 8: Police responded wikiwiki to the Creeky Tiki Bar in the
700 block of Higuera where some
scarecrow was smoking the evil
weed. The 32-year-old pothead had
a warrant and was off to see the
wizard.
• April 8: At 2:23 p.m. someone
reported a man loitering on a bench
outside Ross on the Higuera Street
side, and GASP! He was smoking a
cigarette, a hanging offense here in
San Loco.
• April 8: A 2:51 p.m. police
responded to the City/County
Library at Palm and Osos where they
found a most unusual bookmark —
a baggie of marijuana — inside a
returned book.
• April 8: At 9:10 p.m. someone
reported a man and woman yelling
in the parking lot of Vons on Broad.
The man was reportedly saying “Hit
me.” The masochist and the girl
were gone when police arrived.
• April 8: Police got a 9-1-1 call at
10:24 p.m. from the Embassy Suites
on Monterey. Logs indicated a
sloshed woman with the munchies
was on the line trying to order
chicken tenders and no doubt fries,
and a milkshake, oh, and a banana
split…
1:20 p.m. someone reported a man
screaming profanities at the bus
stop by Ratliff Welding and Machine
shop, 200 block of Higuera.
• April 3: At 4:56 a.m. at the
Travelodge on Monterey, someone
reported a woman
telling a man “stop
touching me,” and the
guy keeps touching her.
“Someone at Motel 6 reported
Police got the hands-off
getting a call from a man who
message across.
• April 2: A guy called
at 11:30 a.m. from
Laurel and Augusta
complaining of a skin
problem,
sometimes
called
the
hee-bee
geebies.
whispered that something was
going to happen at the motel.
Before police left, two people
were cited and released for
some undisclosed crime. A
third person wasnʼt so lucky
and was arrested for an
outstanding warrant.”
• April 2: Someone
called police from the
Social Security Office
on Higuera to report a
black woman in a long coat causing
a disturbance. Then at 11:55, a guy
called police from the 200 block
of Higuera to report road rage — a
woman in a Nissan Versa followed
him to his house.
• April 2: Police were called at 3:28
p.m. to Crystal Springs Water on
Rockview because there was a
brown snake underneath the caller’s
friend’s truck and the big baby was
afraid to get into the vehicle.
• April 2: At 12:46 p.m. a woman
at Mitchell Park reported some
creep threatened to kill her. He was
apparently just some loudmouth.
And speaking of blowhards, at
• April 2: Someone in the 100 block
of Orange was seeing red over 12
frat boys playing a drinking game in
the front yard, well at least it wasn’t
on the roof.
•
7
Police Blotter
Tolosa Press • April 16 - 29, 2015
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8
•
Water, from page 8
This even if the property owner
decides he or she supports the rate
hikes. “This is a protest vote,” he said,
“so if you support it you don’t have to
say or do anything.”
As it stands now, the city is proposing
to raise water rates substantially for the
first time in some 20 years. Rates were
raised in 1995 to pay for the city’s costs
for the “Coastal Branch of the State
Water Project” and at the time became
the highest in SLO County.
Since then, rates have remained
unchanged giving Morro Bay now
some of the cheapest water rates in
the county. The new increase will put
Morro Bay near the upper-middle of
SLO County water rates.
The City proposes increasing the
current fixed monthly charge from
$16.43 to $23 by July 1 and then
increase annually reaching $32 a
month in 2019. The new rate schedule
is for 5 years.
The added charge of actual water
usage will go from the current zero for
up to 3 units (equal to a hundred cubic
feet per unit or 748 gallons) of water a
month, to $3 for each unit by this July
1, and rising to $6 per unit by 2019
(about 3.5% per year).
News
About 35% of the annual bills are for
3 units or less, according to a rate study
conducted by the City’s consultants,
Bartle Wells Assoc.
On the commercial side, business
users pay the same base rate as
residential users, but restaurants and
motels use a whole lot more water than
a typical residence. Tier 3 users — 1150 units — will see rates go from $7.81
to $11 per unit. So based on 40 units, a
restaurant’s monthly bill might go from
the current $312 to $531 a month by
2019.
The City also wants to install a
surcharge for times when it needs to
run the desalination plant for extended
periods of time — a month or longer.
That surcharge would be an additional
$3 per unit while the plant is either
desalting brackish groundwater or
filtering nitrates out of the water from
the Morro basin wells at Lila Keiser
Park.
However, the City Council rejected a
recommendation from Bartle Wells to
also put in a pass-through surcharge
to cover the more than $2 million a
year in payments for the State Water
Project, which makes up about half of
the annual water fund expenses.
Another surcharge would take effect
if and when the City’s supplies were
in such dire straits as to turn to water
rationing. The theory is that when
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rationing hits, the water usage will
drop and thus the revenues would
fall short of paying the operating
and maintenance costs of the water
department. So getting and using less
water would mean paying more money.
“That would be if we had to take very
draconian conservation requirements,”
Livick said. “If the revenues drop, then
we can’t pay our costs.” That scenario
would be a double-edged sword.
“We’d be telling people not to use
water, plus they’re paying more for the
water they’re going to get, to meet our
operational needs.”
In a worst case scenario that under3-units customer would be paying (as
of this July) a $23 a month base charge,
$3 per unit rising to $6 if the desal
plant is running, with the potential of
another $3 per unit if water rationing
were instituted. That would total a
potential $59 a month for minimal
users of water.
The water study raises rates to cover
a major shortfall in the water fund’s
budget, too. Livick explained that a
projected $900,000 budget deficit
this fiscal year, something that was not
vetted last summer during the City’s
budget hearings, is more on paper than
an actual shortfall.
The Bartle Wells study looked at the
water fund as a whole, he said, and
if the City were to do all its planned
USDA inspected. Vegetarian-fed, free of
antibiotics and added hormones.
capital improvements, the fund would
come up short. “We’ve been using the
reserves to help pay for day-to-day
operations,” Livick said, adding that
this practice has saved them from going
in the red for several years now. “This
didn’t happen overnight. It’s been since
the 1990s in the making.”
Such reserve funds are typically
meant to just hold money the City
intends to use to pay for planned and
even unplanned repairs and upgrades
to the system.
Bartle Wells’ financial projections
assume the City would borrow in
2015-16 to pay for $3.5 million in
maintenance projects.
It also assumes the City will borrow
$25 million (at 3% interest over 30
years) to pay for a wastewater recycling
project in connection with the new
sewer treatment plant, however those
costs are not included in the proposed
rate increases, and would have to be
dealt with, when and if the recycling
project is ever done. (Currently, the
sewer treatment plant project doesn’t
anticipate a recycling component until
sometime around 2020-21.)
Editor’s Note: Next issue — the
proposed sewer rate increases.
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News
Housing, from page 4
issues were mainly the ESHA (which
entirely covers both lots) and wetlands
preservation, coastal watersheds and
visual resources.
Commission staff, the report said,
tried to get more information from the
applicant but didn’t get it. So the project
lapsed into “suspended status awaiting
the time when the applicant again
wished to pursue the application.”
In 2011, the Commission contacted
Wolcott,
who
re-obtained
the
properties from Farbstein in January
2009 through a “deed in lieu” process,
to withdraw the project, since it had
been 12 years in limbo. The report
places the blame on Wolcott for the
long delay.
Wolcott asked the Commission to
continue with the review. So 15 years
in suspended status, and more than
25 years since first being proposed, the
rematch is on again.
But while the Commission staff said
it has been working with the County on
some issues — namely the local coastal
program update, the sewer project, and
a habitat conservation plan — its report
seems outdated in a couple of regards.
The report said, “With respect
to wastewater, the project site lies
within an area that is not yet served
by a sewer system, and within a
longstanding septic system prohibition
zone established by the RWQCB due
to groundwater contamination issues
that have plagued the Los Osos basin
for decades as a result of individual
septic systems. Thus, the project does
not have access to adequate wastewater
services, and cannot be approved.”
Edwards, in a response to the
Commission, points out that the issue
of septic tanks being installed is moot
because the community sewer collection
system has been installed including
lateral stub-outs to each of these lots.
Each home would be required to hook
up to the system and each would pay
a $23,000 sewer assessment up front,
as eventually will all 701 vacant lots
within the sewer district. The two sites
also have will-serve letters from the
Community Services District for water.
As for ESHA, Edwards points out
that all bay front lots can be considered
ESHA. But here, a survey for protected
banded dune snails was conducted
and no snails were found, though they
are found throughout the adjacent
Elfin Forest. The species of concern
are “flora” (Arroyo Willow and Coast
Live Oaks), and no “fauna” (protected
animals) are found there.
And whenever the issue of ESHA
being used to deny a project comes
up, the Commission routinely does a
“Takings Analysis” which would study
whether or not denial constitutes a
taking of private property. With the
Elfin Forest next door, indeed a footpath
through the properties already exists, it
could be seen as a taking of property for
public use without compensation. And
with those views, the price to the State
could be substantial, should this end up
in court.
The Commission staff thinks there’s
an out. “If denial would likely result
in an unconstitutional taking, then
the Commission may interpret the
LCP in a manner that would avoid
that result. In this situation, while the
parcels in question are entirely ESHA,
a takings claim related to a denial is
not yet ripe because there is currently
no allowable wastewater service for
the site, necessitating project denial at
this time. Because the takings claim is
not ripe, the issue of whether project
denial based on ESHA would effectuate
a taking has not been evaluated.”
The report does go into some aspects
of a taking but essentially cites the
lack of a sewer service as justification
for it not being a taking, implying that
the applicant could resubmit (for the
third time) a project when the sewer is
available. The staff believes that denial
would not remove all economic value
from the property.
The Commission report also said,
“The County indicates that allowable
9
[sewer] hookups are not likely to
occur until at least 2020.” But the
County plans to start sewer hook ups
upon completion of the treatment
plant (sometime in early 2016), and
is shooting for 2018 to have everyone
hooked up. Also, the LCP update could
be approved by next April, leaving the
staff’s arguments a little thin.
Edwards said the projects could be
approved if found to be consistent with
the LCP or if strict implementation
of the LCP would “cause the taking of
property, these policies must not be
applied and instead be implemented in
a manner that will avoid this result (i.e.
a taking).”
Edwards said they’d already in
May 2013, provided the staff with
information needed for a “Takings
Analysis.” Without that analysis, he
said, a finding for ESHA really can’t be
made.
Back and forth the two have sparred
on this third go-round, with the
Commission staff report running about
33 pages plus attachments and exhibits.
Edwards’ response runs 8 pages plus
some 18 pages of attachments.
So it would seem Frazier has Ali
backed into the ropes and Thursday’s
meeting could finally be the knockout
punch (you choose which one is Joltin’
Joe).
Even champions
need a champion.
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10
•
Opinion
9-1-1 Vehicle
Show, April 18
Filipino Celebration, April 18
T
he Bay-Osos Filipino Community
Association will have its annual
gala Coronation Ball, crowning
the 2015 Fiesta Queen and court, from
5:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18 at
the South Bay Community Center in
"Moving business locations is an opportunity
to re-brand and re-tool. We're thankful to
have PRP for all our printed marketing
needs. They are going to make this blank
slate of a building come to life!"
Michael & Paden Hughes
Los Osos.
The theme of this year’s celebration
of Filipino culture is, “Together in
songs and dances, our past, our future,
the tradition continues.”
The event will have Philippine dining,
dancing, raffles, and the coronation
of Queen, Maurina Gaoiran Bartlett
of San Luis Obispo. First Princess is
Imelda Manuel of Los Osos and Second
Princess is May Ann Saniatan of Santa
Maria. Out-going Fiesta Queen is
Amelene Bartlett. They will also honor
a local family with the Family of the
Year Award.
Keynote speakers will be District
Attorney Dan Dow and Dist. 2
County Supervisor Bruce Gibson.
Entertainment by SLO Dance and
Pacific Dance Company of Morro Bay.
Cost is a $15 donation, and the menu
includes tri-tip, lumpia, pansit, green
salad and rice. For ticket reservations
and information call Albert Calizo at
(805) 550-3635, or 528-4998.
In the photo from left are: First
Princess Imelda Manuel, 2015 Fiesta
Queen Maurina Gaoiran Bartlett and
Second Princess May Ann Saniatan.
Submitted photo.
T
he Fifth Annual Morro Bay
Emergency Vehicle Show is set
for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday,
April 18 in Downtown Morro Bay.
Hosted by Neighborhood Watch
and the City, the event will take over
the core of Downtown — Main Street
and Morro Bay Boulevard — with
vintage police and fire department
vehicles, military vehicles, modern
emergency vehicles from the Sheriff’s
and Cal Fire departments, harbor
patrol PWC’s, displays and a lot
more. Free admission.
For more information see: www.
mbpd.info.
CITY OF MORRO BAY
ADVISORY BOARD
VACANCIES
Owners of Gymnazo
Applications are currently being accepted to fill vacancies on the
following Commissions and Advisory Boards: Citizens Oversight
& Citizens Finance Committee (4), Tourism Business Improvement
District Advisory Board (TBID) (3), Recreation and Parks Commission
(2), as well as members at-large for the newly formed General Plan/
Local Coastal Program Advisory Committee (GPAC). The City is also
seeking applications to appoint one (1) representative from a Morro
Bay lodging establishment to the San Luis Obispo County Tourism
Marketing District Board.
Applications may be obtained for these positions at City Hall, 595
Harbor Street, or on-line at www.morro-bay.ca.us under the “Your
Government” tab. If you have any questions, please call 772-6205
during normal business hours.
email info@ prpco.com
805.543.6844
call
click www.prpco.com
The closing date for submitting applications has been extended to
Friday, May 1, 2015 at 5:00pm. Interviews for all positions will be
held on Monday, May 18 at 5:30pm. Applicants should be present at
the interviews in order to be considered by the City Council.
)BSCPS4USFFUt.PSSP#BZ$"t
Community
•
11
When You Need A Friend…
As the Bay Flushes
By Neil Farrell
T
he Morro Bay Police Department
has friends; so does the Fire
Department. The library has
many friends but what about the
Harbor Department? Can we get a little
love here?
So I went down to the community
center for a meeting of the “Morro Bay
Friends of the Harbor Department.” It
was April Fool’s Day, so I was unsure
whether or not it was a prank.
After all, the Harbor Department has
gone all this time without a community
volunteer group supporting it. What’s
the need?
The department has a dedicated
source of income — lease site payments,
mooring and slip rentals — it always
seems to have plenty of scratch to meet
its needs. And when they need a hand
— like for a new boat or demolishing
derelict boats — folks like the NEP and
State DBW come through like champs.
Most of the folks there were on the
Harbor Advisory Board. There were
also a few boat owners, local sea dogs
who were curious about the concept.
HAB Chairman, Bill Luffee, has
been working on this for like 2 years.
He’s gotten the group signed up as a
non-profit, public benefit organization
and bought some domain names for a
website, Facebook etc… But now, he’s
taken it just about as far as he can by
himself. He’s looking for people to
make up a governing board, (he really
hopes to find someone to build them a
website).
Bill told the dozen or so people at
the meeting, that he’d been given some
$2,100 so far and already donated
$1,400 to the department, which
bought radio-helmets for when they
use the personal watercraft on ocean
search and rescues.
“There are a lot of people who want to
donate to the harbor department,” Bill
explained. “But they don’t want to give
to the City.” So that’s why he felt there
should be a non-profit that supports
the harbor folks like the Friends of the
Fire Department and Library.
So what does the Harbor Department
need — besides a new office?
Patrol Chief, Becka Kelly, had a wish
list. It includes things like running
The 26th Annual
power and water to their maintenance
shop by Morro Creek. They want to put
a bathroom out there too, she explained,
and they need power to run tools and
put in lighting. They did recently buy a
$1,000 generator to use out there and
a Honey Hut was rented. (The Master
Baiters also works out there and I’m
sure it would be nice for them to have
a proper head too. Common decency
don’t you know.) That alone could run
$20,000 (probably more).
Becka said they’ve used PWC’s for
rescues for more than 10 years and
always had issues with communications.
The $800 helmets with built in radios
will fix that problem.
She said they needed advocates
for harbor issues and help doing
volunteer things like manning a booth
at the upcoming Emergency Vehicle
Show (April 18). They could use help
researching and writing grants. They’d
also like to provide scholarships for crew
training — EMT training and possibly
even have harbor patrol officers get
Coast Guard captain’s licenses, though
it isn’t required for what they do with
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boats.
“We’re trained as first responders,”
she said, “but we’re not EMTs.” They
also need new firefighting turnouts.
They have two boats with water
cannons but their existing protective
gear is past its fire-safe expiration date
(about 8-10 years old).
Their No. 1 priority, she said, is to get
night vision camera gear for calls when
it’s pitch black out, preferably a boatmounted one. They’d also like to get
patrol boats Nos. 68 and 64 painted, as
they are starting to look their age.
So look for the new, Friends of the
Harbor Department at the Emergency
Vehicle Show and maybe step up and
give a little love. Readers can call Bill
Luffee at (805) 550-9250 or Becka Kelly
at 772-6254 for more information.
As the Bay Flushes is a light-hearted
look at the comings and goings of
the Morro Bay Harbor. Bay News
Managing Editor Neil Farrell is an
award-winning criticism writer,
though he’s being nice today.
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12
•
News
Harmony Finding New Life in Historic Past
N
ew owners of the tiny coastal
community of Harmony, Calif.,
(Population 18) are hoping to
fix up the privately owned 1-block town
and return some of its dairy farming
roots.
Harmony has taken on many faces
over the decades — dairy town, artists’
colony, and picturesque pit stop on the
road to and from Hearst Castle, Central
Coast Wine Country and Big Sur — all of
which the town’s new owners embrace
and plan to incorporate into the town’s
future.
Purchased for an undisclosed amount
in 2014 by Alan and Rebecca Vander
Horst, a third-generation California
dairy farmer and San Luis Obispo locals,
Harmony is being scrubbed down and
dolled up in preparation for the addition
of the Harmony Valley Creamery Dairy
Shoppe, which will showcase locally-
sourced dairy products, a farm-to-table
restaurant and gardens for large special
events and big weddings.
Harmony’s heritage as a haven for
music and visual arts will be preserved
with galleries and studios like Harmony
Glassworks, Harmony Pottery Works
and the Painted Sky Recording Studio
continuing their residence.
The Vander Horsts are dairy
farmers by trade. Alan fell in love
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with the Central Coast while studying
agriculture at Cal Poly. Today, their
dream of reviving Harmony’s dairyland
past is in full swing.
“Harmony has always been a
special place for many people,” Alan
said. “Given its background as a
dairy community centered around
a creamery, we’re looking to bring
that element back and expand it a bit
while keeping Harmony’s authenticity,
charm, and artists’ studios intact.”
Founded in 1869 around a burgeoning
local dairy industry, Harmony served
as the capital of Central Coast dairy
production for nearly half a century.
Following the ultimate closure of the
creamery,
Harmony’s
population
steadily waned, as the community saw
much of the state’s dairy production
move from the Central Coast to the
Central Valley.
While undergoing periods of relative
dormancy in the intervening years,
today the 2.5-acre, 1-block town of
Harmony looks ready to bustle once
again. Currently, the town is undergoing
needed renovations and proper ADA
access, and the creamery courtyard is
being expanded to accommodate the
new storefronts and the farm-to-table
restaurant.
Harmony looks to attract the region’s
local foodies and visitors traveling
scenic Highway 1, as well as brides and
grooms searching for a perfect wedding
venue.
“The Harmony Chapel has seen a
lot of weddings in its time, and we’re
not about to change that,” Alan said,
adding that chapel weddings continue
to host up to 60 guests and up to 120
outdoors once the garden grounds are
completed. A limited number of dates
to rent the entire town — including the
restaurant and gardens — for weddings
and special events are planned. Readers
interested in renting the chapel or
the whole town can email to: info@
harmony.town or call (805) 927-1028.
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available everywhere; see vzw.com. Rebate debit card takes up to 6 wks & expires in 12 months. © 2015 Verizon Wireless.
•
13
Nightwriters
Finding the Elves - Again
By Nancy Meyer
W
hen I was a little girl, my mother
filled my head with stories of
fairies and elves every night
at bedtime. In the morning I lay in bed
thinking about the magical forest world,
while I listened to the elves rustling in
the leaves under the big Elm tree by my
window. On nights when the soft breeze
blew through the pines, I could hear the
fairies sing.
“They sing when the wind blows,”
mother said, “because that’s how fairy
dust travels. And, without fairy dust
they can’t fly.”
“Tell me the story about little Clara,”
I begged.
“Do you want the story about the
night she couldn’t fly?”
“Yes, tell it again. Please!”
“It was a windless night and Duncan
and Evelyn, the garden elves, heard
Clara crying. Nickers the Naughty Cat
had pushed her into the well! Duncan
and Evelyn fished her out and helped
her to dry her wings. The fairy dust
was gone and when she tried to fly she
fell to the ground with a little thump.
Evelyn ran to find Clara’s parents while
Duncan stood guard to keep Nickers
from having Clara for dinner.”
“I know!” I jumped in eagerly. “Her
parents came and flew her up to the top
of a tall pine tree and called to the wind
for help.” Then my mother would sing
the most beautiful otherworldly melody
and the wind blew and little Clara cloud
fly again.
Having been raised by a mother who
believed in forest spirits and talked
with birds that sat on her out-stretched
arm, it wasn’t easy to let the fanciful
world of my childhood give way to the
balancing act of adulthood. However,
as time passed, thoughts of fairies and
elves slipped into the recesses of my
memory and I happily accepted a more
scientific view of the world.
That was of course, until I had a child
of my own.
It’s not that science isn’t exciting.
Photosynthesis, pollination, and plant
reproduction are pretty good stories,
even for children. But, when you’re in
the woods with a five year old and you
see a circle of toadstools, do you launch
into a lecture on fungi growth patterns
or do you whisper, “That’s a fairy ring
where the fairies come to dance in the
moonlight.”
That was long ago and my little
woodland princess grew up like all
children do and I went back to enjoying
the amazing wonders of nature. Now, I
live next to the Elfin Forest on Morro
Bay and I have yet to see an elf. I keep
my eyes open on my daily walks, just
in case one pops up. In the meantime,
I listen to quail rustling in the bushes
and enjoy the chattering of the birds,
wishing I could speak their language.
There is something magical about
that little ancient forest though, and the
other day an amazing thing happened
as I strolled on the boardwalk. I saw a
little boy, about six years old, squatting
down poking at something on the path.
I stopped to see what held his interest.
Definitely coyote scat, I thought. He
looked up at me with a twinkle in his
eye and asked, “Do you see this?”
“Yes,” I said. “What do you think it
is?”
“Elf poop,”
he
said
emphatically.
His mother’s
worried glance
begged
me
not to crush
his spirit and
I gave her a
reassuring
smile.
“I
think
you’re
right.
It looks like elf poop to me,” I replied.
“Have you heard them scurrying in the
bushes?”
“Oh yes,” he said. “All the time.”
Nancy Meyers is a member of SLO
NightWriters, the premier writing
organization on the Central Coast of
California. She writes short stories
and flash fiction. Nancy loves being
in nature and has taken up wildlife
photography as a retirement hobby.
Photo credit: Dennis Eamon Young
14
•
Good to be King
Stan Freberg — The Prince of Parody
Good to be King
By King Harris
I
was very sorry to hear about the
passing the other day of satirist,
Stan Freberg, even though he and
other celebrities and music makers
in the 1950s, like Steve Allen, Mitch
Miller and Frank Sinatra, vehemently
disliked rock ‘n’ roll (Sinatra calling
it music written by ‘cretinous goons’)
which was my favorite fad back in the
day.
But Freberg, who was a voice
actor, a puppeteer, a comedian, a
satirist, author, radio personality, and
genius ad man, was clever enough
to parody rock ‘n’ roll in a style like
no one else. No one escaped his wit,
not the “Nabob of Sob,” Johnny Ray
“Try,” or the Chords’ “Sh-Boom,”
The Platters’ “The Great Pretender,”
Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,”
Lonnie Donegan’s “The Rock Island
Line,” Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat
Song,” Lawrence Welk, Jack Web in
“Dragnet,” or the TV comedy, “The
Honeymooners,” plus practically
anything else.
Here are lyrics from “Saint George
and the Dragonet:
Narrator: “The legend you are about
to hear is true. Only the needle should
be changed to protect the record.”
St. George: “This is the countryside.
My name is St. George. I’m a knight.
“Saturday, July 10, 8:05 p.m. I
was working out of the castle on
the nightwatch when a call came in
from the Chief. A dragon had been
devouring maidens.
“Homicide. My job — slay him.”
St. George: “You call me, Chief?”
Chief: “Yes, the dragon again,
devouring maidens. The King’s
daughter may be next!”
St. George: “Mmm-hmm. You got a
lead?”
Chief: “Oh, nothing
much to go on. Say,
did you take that .45
automatic into the lab to
have them check on it?”
St. George: “Yeah. You
were right.”
Chief: “I was right.”
St. George: “Yeah. It
was a gun. 8:22 p.m.
I talked to one of the
maidens who had almost
been devoured.
St. George: “Could I
talk to you, Ma’am?”
Maiden: “Who are you?”
St. George: “I’m St. George, Ma’am.
Homicide, ma’am. Want to ask you a
few questions, ma’am. I understand
you were almost devoured by the
dragon, ma’am. Is that right? Dragon?”
Maiden: “It was terrible. He breathed
fire on me. He burned me already.”
St. George: “How can I be sure of
that, Ma’am?”
Maiden: “Believe me, I got it straight
from the dragon’s mouth.”
Freberg was at his best when he
made fun of the Top 10 tunes of the
day, like this take-off of “Day-o, the
Banana Boat Song:”
“ Day-o, day-o. Daylight come and
me wan go home. Day, he say…”
(Man, I`m gonna have to ask you
not to shout like that.)
“Well…” (It`s like right in my ear)
“It goes with the song.”
(Yeah, but don`t holler in my ear,
man!)
“Well, it`s authentic Calypso.”
(Yeah, but try standing next to me,
man.)
“Well, the shout go with the bongo
drum.”
(Not my bongo drums, man. I mean,
62$.
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move away.)
“Well, I don`t see why.”
(No, no, no, stand over
next to the guitar, man)
“He sent me over here.”
(Yeah, well, then sing
soft, man. You know, I
mean like, wow!)
“Ok. Day...!”
(It`s too loud, man.)
“Day…
(That`s better.)
“Me say day, me say
day, me say day, me say
day.
“Me say day-o, daylight come and
me wan go home…”
(Yeah, man!)
“Work all night on a drink of rum.
Daylight come and me wan go home.
“Stack banana ‘til the morning come.
“Daylight come and me wan go
home.”
“Lift six foot, seven foot…” (Hold it,
man) eight foot bunch!”
(Hold it, man)
“Daylight come and (Too loud, man)
me wan go home.” (Too loud)
“Lift six foot, seven foot (Hold it,
man.) eight foot bunch!” (Hold it,
man.)
home.” (My ears, man, like my ears!)
“Day…” (No, hold it, man) “Me say
day-o” (It`s too shrill, man! It`s too
piercing)
“Well, I don`t see why.”
(No, it`s too piercing, man. It`s too
piercing)
“Well, I got to do the shout.” (No,
man, it`s too piercing. Like I don`t dig
loud noises)
“Well, you ruined the whole
(Piercing) record is what you did.”
(Yeah, well, tough. I`ll take my
bongos and go, man. Cause the whole
is like bugging me, anyhow.)
“Yeah, well, wait a minute. I won`t
shout.” (No, man. Like I didn`t wanna
make this gig in the first place)
“Oh, no, wait a minute. I`ll be soft.”
(Yeah, well, then back off from me,
man. It`s too piercing)
“Okay, how`s this? Day-o…” (Too
loud, man.)
“Okay, day-o” (Too loud, man I can
still hear you. Would you mind leaving
the room?)
“Okay” *footsteps leaving* “Day, me
say day-o (Crazy) *footsteps entering*
“Daylight come and me wan go home…
*footsteps leaving*
“Day, me say day-o…” *footsteps
entering* “Daylight come and me wan
go home.
“A beautiful bunch of ripe banana.
Daylight come and me wan go home.
“Hide the deadly black tarantula.
Daylight come and me wan go home.”
(No, man, don`t sing about spiders.
I mean, like I don`t dig spiders.)
“Well, that`s how the song goes. It
goes hide the deadly black tarantula.
Daylight come and me wan go home…”
(Is that it, can I leave now?)
“Not yet, we got a big finish.”
*footsteps leaving*
“Me say day, me say day, me say day,
me say day, me say day-o” *knocking*
“Hey, I locked myself out.” (Crazy)
*window breaks* “I come through the
window (Yeah)
home…”
The ironic thing is that whenever
Freberg poked fun of these songs,
their sales went up.
DAVID and KAREN
present
Pismo & Shell Beach
Session 1: June 15-19s3ESSIONJune 22-26
9:00am – 4:00pm
(Daycare available from 7:30-9:00am & 4:00-5:30pm)
For kids entering 1st to 6th grade! $225 per child, $250 after April 30th
%HDFK'D\Ƈ+LNLQJƇ1DWXUH6WXG\Ƈ$UWV&UDIWV
$UFKHU\Ƈ*DUGHQLQJƇ&DPSILUH1LJKW
More info & registration available at
www.ranchoelchorro.org or call 805-782-7336
RANCHO EL CHORRO OUTDOOR SCHOOL
Where Kids & Nature Meet
San Luis Obispo County Office of Education
0ENNINGTION#REEK2Ds3AN,UIS/BISPO
www.davidandkarenpresent.com
David Skinner
Cell: 805-459-8798
david@davidandkarenpresent.com
Karen Skinner
Cell: 805-550-9001
karen@davidandkarenpresent.com
CalBRE #00552094
CalBRE #01873847
763 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, CA 93449
•
15
PHQWLRQ
The “G” Shop
JHW2II
Guerillas Lend a Hand at the Zoo
Then & Now
By Judy Salamacha, photos provided by GGC member, Amaya Toke
T
a y l o r
Newton
‘”heard
it through the
grapevine” that
his Morro Baybased Guerrilla
Gardening Club
was needed to
spruce up the
grounds at Zoo
to You in Paso
Robles, which has plans to implement
more public entertaining.
When Newton met Curator, Kasey
House, they witnessed a serendipitous
kinship
that
destined
their
organizations to work together.
Twenty years ago, David Jackson, an
internationally known and respected
exotic animal trainer and zoological
manager, created Zoo to You to
provide a permanent, loving home
for displaced, abused, abandoned and
permanently injured wild animals.
His vision included training “animal
ambassadors” to travel to schools,
nonprofits, private events and national
television to inspire respect for all
wildlife and their habitat.
Zoo to You opened with two buildings
housing a parrot, snake, hawk,
potbellied pig and a monkey. After the
animals are surrendered, confiscated
or dropped off because their owners
purchased them illegally or gave them
up when they realized they would act
like wild animals, they are trained
to travel with their caregivers and
education specialists.
“David believes experiencing the
animals firsthand builds a lasting
memory,” House said. “We’re always
asked where the public can see more
of them. As our animals age and can’t
travel, we still want people to be their
enrichment. It made sense to create
more programs to allow people at the
zoo.”
In 2015, the burgeoning zoo has an
aviary and enclosures for over 300
birds, reptiles, a camel, monkeys, bear,
lemurs, porcupines, and a variety of
cats, including a Bengal tiger. The 40acre ranch, located at 2445 Adobe Rd.,
is habitat for a vineyard, Zoo to You, the
WHAR Wolf Rescue (see: www.whar.
org; WHAR specializes in rescuing
wolf-dog hybrids and is also a very cool
place), and TheraBee Honey.
About 10 years ago, Newton started
building his vision for the Guerrilla
Gardening Club, a non-profit education
program that inspires young, streetwise men and women over age 15
to learn about plants, biology, and
East Coast Flavor
on the
West Coast
community through a
learn-by-doing process.
“A gardener understands
the value and rewards
that come with helping
others and caring for our
world,” philosophized
Newton. “Our members
have fallen down in life
and we try to teach them
how to get up again and
survive every challenge.”
Volunteers
provide
labor,
planting,
maintenance,
and
composting at homes
and public properties plus zero-waste
recycling management at festivals and
events. In exchange, members qualify
for housing, sustenance, education and
employment opportunities.
A commendable example of the club’s
work is Morro Bay’s St. Timothy’s
Catholic Church’s serene gardens. GGC
has also developed a nursery open to
the public on the church grounds.
Since 2012, GGC has contracted with
15-30 groups a year, offering, “strike
teams for all those jobs volunteers don’t
do during events.” The work completed
at Zoo to You was a volunteered
community project.
A Cal Poly graduate, Newton said,
“I’m a biologist. I build eco-systems
by planting sustainable vegetation that
beautifies gardens and facilities. We
spent two days at the zoo. First our
kids did general clean-up and then we
concentrated on making one area — the
aviary — look rehabilitated.”
House knows Zoo to You is a work
in progress to make the facility more
attractive for events and public
visiting. They are looking for grants
and fund raising to pay for the needed
improvements.
Newton realized his group would
805.543.6700
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thrive doing more planting and
maintenance at the zoo. “I’d love to
start a Guerrilla Gardening Club in Paso
Robles,” he said, “and find a landscape
sponsor to help us take care of the
zoo. Our kids had never seen animals
like the Bengal tiger or the monkeys
up close. They totally got it — these
animals needed them. I’ve never seen
them work so hard so long.”
Zoo to You currently opens to the
public Saturdays from 3-4 p.m. A $10
donation is requested to help fund
future projects like an event center.
Private parties and meetings can be
held onsite. A variety of fundraisers are
held throughout the year. For example,
April 25 from 2-6 p.m. is “Get Buzzed
with the Beasts” featuring craft beers,
wineries, and honey, while visiting with
the “animal ambassadors.” (Details at:
www.zootoyou.com.)
“Everybody, every living thing has
value,” Newton said. “We’re not here to
change society, but to get through life
by making one’s space livable.”
Judy Salamacha’s column is
special to Tolosa Press. Reach her at:
judysalamacha@gmail.com or call
(805) 801-1422.
James A. Forester, DDS
Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry
Healthy smiles,
happy kids!
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Because every child should love
going to the dentist!
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->ÊÕÃÊ"LÃ«ÊUÊ(805) 592-2020
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16
•
Community Calendar
Cuesta College’s Harold J. Miossi
Art Gallery is hosting the annual
student juried art show, with an
opening reception set for 4-7 p.m. Friday,
April 17. Awards will be presented at
6 p.m. Free. The exhibition will run
Mondays-Fridays, noon-4 p.m. through
May 22. Cal Poly assistant professor
of drawing, Sara Frantz, judged the
submissions in ceramics, digital art,
drawing, graphic design, mixed media,
artist books, painting, photography,
printmaking and sculpture. For more
information call Bea Anderson at 5463936.
•••
The Annual Morro Bay AAUW
Garden Tour is set for noon to 5
p.m. Sunday, April 26. Visit, tour and
discover the hidden treasures in gardens
in Morro Bay, Cayucos and Los Osos.
Tickets are $10 for the self-guiding tour.
Tickets may be purchased at Volumes of
Pleasure Bookstore in Los Osos, Coalesce
Bookstore in Morro Bay, Sage Nursery in
Los Osos, and Farm Supply in San Luis
Obispo, Arroyo Grande, and Paso Robles.
Proceeds benefit AAUW’s community
projects. For more information see:
morrobayaauw.org or call (805) 7484731.
•••
Mission College Prep Drama Club
presents: Willy Wonka Jr. on April
24, 25, 26 and May 1, 2, 3. Tickets are
$7 and $10. The school is located at 682
Palm Street in San Luis Obispo.
•••
The Estero Bay Republican
Women’s Federated is holding
a special evening meeting set for
5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23 at the
Outlook restaurant, located in the Morro
Ba Golf Course clubhouse. Normally,
the group is discussing politics but this
meeting is purely social, with a chance
for all interested men and women to
share wine, appetizers and conversation
on current events. Cost is $13 a person
and reservations must be made by April
13. Call Gayle at 772-2841 or 903-3851.
•••
Join the 5 Cities Swim School,
police
department,
and
fire
department for a barbecue and a day
full of water safety and kids swimming
from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 18. The
little squirts (3 months to 3 years)
will perform skills such as swimming
underwater, going through hoops, and
floating on their backs. This event is
open to the public to watch and then
swim from 2-3. The school is located
at 425 Traffic Way in Arroyo Grande.
They offer swimming lessons for ages 3
months to adults in a 90-degree indoor
pool. Drowning is the leading cause of
death of children 5-under and the 5 Cities
Swim School wants to end that. They are
raising money for scholarships for local
families who cannot afford swim lessons.
For more information, call the swim
school at 481-6399.
•••
The Literacy Council of San Luis
Obispo County will hold Volunteer
Tutor Training from 10 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. on Saturday, April 25 and Saturday,
May 2 at the San Luis Obispo County
Library, 995 Palm St., San Luis Obispo.
They need tutors countywide, but most
Dorothy L. Espelage, a National
expert on bullying and harassment
will give a free speech
crucially in North and South Counties. To
volunteer, visit www.sloliteracy.org. Cost
is $25 For additional information, call
805-541-4219.
•••
Black Lake Golf Course on the
Nipomo Mesa is hosting its firstever free summer concert featuring
country music artist, J.D. Hardy, in a
night to honor military veterans from 5-8
p.m. Sunday, May 24. The outdoor show
features Chef Andy Nelson’s barbecue
tri-tip and more barbecue favorites, and
a full service bar. Bring lawn chairs to sit
on, no outside food or beverages allowed.
Kids and dogs on a leash welcomed. They
will have reserved seating for veterans,
call (805) 343-1214 Ext. 400 to reserve
a table. All WWII and Korean War vets
will be able to sign up for an upcoming
“Honor flight” to Washington, D.C. to
tour the various war memorials and other
Capitol sights. Blacklake Golf Resort is
at 1490 Golf Course Ln., Nipomo. Call :
805.343.1214 or see: www.blacklake.com
for more information.
•••
Cayucos Friends of the Library
will host Edward Jones Cayucos
financial advisor, Scot McManus,
in a free talk on investment basics
set for 4 p.m. Monday, April 20 at the
Cayucos Library, 310 “B” St. Call 9953312 for more information. Then at 2
p.m. Monday, April 27 Robert Brown of
Rabobank will talk about basic banking
and answer questions.
•••
The Central Coast Watercolor
Society’s next meeting is set for 7
p.m. Tuesday, April 28 at the United
Methodist Church (Wesley Building),
1515 Fredericks St., SLO. Jerry Smith will
have a slide show of paintings entered
into CCWS’ Aquarius 2015 exhibition.
Free and open to the public.
•••
The Clark Center for the
Performing Arts will again hold an
authentic Kentucky Derby Party
at the Edward’s Barn in Nipomo at 1
p.m. Saturday, May 2. The afternoon
will include Sweet Tea, Southern style
appetizers and desserts, a no-host bar
including Mint Juleps along with beer
and wine, a Hat Contest, yard games and
of course, Horse Racing! Place wagers for
prizes on not only the Kentucky Derby but
also live stick horse races. Tickets are $60
each and available at www.clarkcenter.
org. Derby attire is optional. All proceeds
benefit the Clark Center.
•••
All women are invited to a “Skirt
Party,” an old fashioned dress-up
house party and sale, sponsored by
iLOVEmySkirt.com, set for 11 a.m. to 2
p.m. Saturday, April 18 at 1801 Thelma
Dr., off Prefumo Canyon Road, in San
Luis Obispo. There will be over 100
silk “Sari” skirts from India in different
lengths and colors to play dress up with.
All young ladies and women are welcome
and no purchase is necessary. Saris
range in price from under-$20 to mostly
around $20. No two are alike. They will
have more fashions at the party to check
out, including beaded summer bags, and
beaded skirts. Lots of raffle prizes too.
They will take a local check, credit cards
and cash. Call Charmaine Picard at (805)
610-5822 for information.
•••
The Fifth Annual Morro Bay
Emergency Vehicle Show is set
for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 18
in Downtown Morro Bay. Hosted by
Neighborhood Watch and the City, the
event will take over the core of Downtown
— Main Street and Morro Bay Boulevard
— with vintage police and fire department
vehicles, military vehicles, modern
emergency vehicles from the Sheriff’s
and Cal Fire departments, harbor patrol
PWC’s, displays and a lot more. Free
admission. For more information see:
www.mbpd.info.
•••
The National Estuary Program is
hosting a poetry contest starting April
22 and kids and adults are able to enter.
Part of the NEP’s 20th Anniversary, the
Morro Bay Estuary Poetry Contest — A
National Treasure in Words program, is
asking kids and adults to write and enter
free verse poems using the estuary ads the
theme. Haikus — 3-line poems consisting
of 17 syllables in a 5/7/5 pattern — will
be accepted in the Estuarine Seventeen
category, and free verse poems of no
more than 45 lines will be accepted in
the Free Flowing category. Writers may
submit up to three poems total. Entries
will be accepted by email from April 22
to May 15. One adult (age 18-older) and
one youth (age 12-17) winner will be
chosen in each category. A celebratory
reading featuring the winners and runner
ups will be held at Coalesce Bookstore,
845 Main St., Morro Bay, at 7 p.m.
Friday, June 19. Before entering, read
the complete guidelines at: www.mbnep.
org. The judging panel includes poets and
writers, Youssef Alaoui, Rob Seitz, Kevin
Patrick Sullivan, and Rachel Pass. The
NEP Office is upstairs at Marina Square,
601 Embarcadero, Ste. 11, Morro BayCall
(805) 772-3834 or see: www.mbnep.org.
•••
Cal Poly natural resources and
environmental sciences lecturer,
David Yun, will present a free talk,
“Historic San Luis Obispo Shared Through
GIS,” from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday,
April 30 in the Kennedy Library, Rm. 111C. According to Yun, who is also San Luis
Obispo’s geographic information services
supervisor, much historical information
exists solely as paper documents, making
the information difficult to access and
use. He will discuss how the scanning of
historic maps and documents using GIS
tools has provided new ways to visualize
and connect to information from the
past. Yun will demonstrate online
mapping and Web apps to find and view
historic buildings, chart the growth over
the decades, and compare side-by-side
maps of SLO today with more than 100
years ago. Hosted by Cal Poly’s Data
Studio. See: www.libguides.calpoly.edu/
datastudio for more information.
•••
Cuesta College is offering two
summer school sessions and more
course sections than in years past, the
school announced. Cuesta’s 6-week
summer semester is from June 15
through July 23. Also beginning June 15
is the college’s 8-week summer program,
ending Aug. 6. Classes are now posted at
Cuesta’s Class Finder. Priority registration
begins April 20 and general registration
April 29. Students can register online at
www.cuesta.edu/student/getstarted/
register. Summer has more than 300
course sections for students to choose
from, with classes at the SLO, Paso Robles
and Arroyo Grande campuses. Day and
evening courses available, plus online
classes. Courses are $46 a unit. Cuesta
is closed on Fridays during the summer
semester. For more information see:
www.cuesta.edu and click on “Summer
Starts,” or call (805) 546-3140.
•••
The 13th Annual California
Sculptors Symposium exhibition
and art sale is set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 2 at Cambria’s Camp Ocean
Pines. Check out and perhaps purchase
works of art by the Symposium students,
and attending art teachers, done over the
run of the event, April 26-May 3. There’ll
be a barbecue lunch for $15 from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m. The event includes some fun
things like an artists’ swap meet, drawing
and sculpting classes, an art auction, and
the Sculpture by the Sea sale. See: www.
californiasculptorssymposium.org or call
(805) 927-0254 for more information.
Camp Ocean Pines is at 1473 Randall Dr.,
Cambria.
•••
The Morro Bay Friends of the
Library’s Quarterly Book Sales
are coming back with the completion
of the library remodel project. The first
sale is set for Saturday, May 16 at the
Community Center, 1001 Kennedy Way.
A pre-sale for Friends members starts
at 9 a.m. with the public sale from 10-1
p.m. A bag sale is from 1-2 p.m. Bring
a paper grocery bag and stuff it for just
$3. They have great books of all types, in
most every subject including children’s
books, quilting and other crafts, history
and literature, cars and current events,
inspirational and birding books. Prices
start at just 50-cents. Books are grouped
by subject for easy browsing.
•••
Hungry school kids will again have
a chance for a free lunch during
summer vacation, after SESLOC
FCU agreed to once again team up with
the Food Bank Coalition in the “Lovin’
Lunchbox Program,” the company
•
17
Community Calendar
announced last week. SESLOC will be
raising money to support the program
that “steps in to help by providing
children with breakfast, lunch and
snacks over summer break,” reads a
news release from SESLOC. During
April, SESLOC members can donate
money at any branch and SESLOC
will match the first $2,500 in total
donations. Last year, SESLOC and its
members donated nearly $10,000,
bring its 3-year total to more than
$26,000. This year donations will also go
toward the Food Bank’s new “Children’s
Farmers’ Market” program at several
Central Coast middle schools, where kids
shop for fresh produce with “Food Bank
dollars.” For more information about
SESLOC, see: www.sesloc.org.
•••
A national expert on bullying
and harassment will give a free
speech entitled, “Bully Prevention:
Promoting Healthy Behaviors and
Positive School Climate” from 11 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30 at Cal
Poly’s Chumash Auditorium. Dorothy
L. Espelage, a professor of educational
psychology at the University of Illinois
at Urbana–Champaign, will discuss
the pervasiveness of bullying and
harassment in the U.S., exploring why
such a culture has continued to grow
and offering insights on what leads
to bullying behaviors on university
campuses. In addition, Espelage will
outline her efforts to develop programs
that reduce bullying and create safe
spaces for children. The talk is free and
open to the public. Espelage has authored
more than 120 peer-reviewed articles
and 25 book chapters on bullying. She
is the associate editor of the Journal of
Counseling Psychology and co-director
of the National Partnership to End
Interpersonal Violence. Her work has
been supported by the National Science
Foundation, the National Institutes of
Health, the Centers for Disease Control
and the National Institute of Justice.
Espelage is one of 14 Edward William
Gutgsell and Jane Marr Gutgsell endowed
professors at the University of Illinois,
and she is a recipient of the Lifetime
Achievement Award in Prevention
Science from the American Psychological
Association.
•••
New works by local autistic
artists celebrating “World Autism
Awareness Day” will be on display at
Seven Sisters Gallery, 601 Embarcadero,
Ste. 8 in Morro Bay now through June
9. The show features local artist Kylie
Swan, and Jason Cantu. The goal of the
international “Art of Autism” movement
is to bring public attention to the
diversity, unique gifts, and extraordinary
talent of the autistic population.
•••
In honor of California Native
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Plant Week, butterfly enthusiast Pat
Brown will lead a nature walk through
the Elfin Forest of Los Osos — from the
point of view of a butterfly. She’ll lead to
hangouts of Variable Checkerspot, Moro
Blue, Swallowtails, Hairstreak and other
butterflies that live in the Elfin Forest.
Bring magnifying glass and close-focus
binoculars. Meet at 9:30 a.m. Saturday,
April 18 at the end of 15th Street off Santa
Ysabel (16th for wheelchairs). Wear
comfortable shoes, long sleeves and pants
to avoid poison oak and mosquitoes.
Park carefully, avoiding driveways and
mailboxes. No pets. For more information
call 528-0392.
The 4th Annual Youth Activity
Fair will be held at the South County
Regional Center at 800 W. Branch St. in
Arroyo Grande on April 26 from 1-4 p.m.
Youth oriented program vendors will be
available with demonstrations, activities
and to take sign-ups for programs for
summer and the next school year. These
will include a wide range of activities from
swimming to golf to scouting to tutoring.
One stop shopping for your children’s
activities!
This event is co-hosted by the Arroyo
Grande Recreation Department and
admission is free. For additional
information, call Chris Hagerty at 7090966.
Cuesta College’s Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery is hosting the annual
student juried art show
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18
•
Framed
California Cows
Photo and story by www.
PhotoByVivian.com
A
re California Cows really happy?
Up until recent years yes, but,
unfortunately, that is changing
because of the drought that is forcing
ranchers to move or sell-off cattle as
green pastures turn brown and creeks
and wells run dry.
San Luis Obispo County once home
to mild winters and plenty of green
fields for cattle to graze has been in a
severe drought since 2013.
“Any amount of rain is considered
a blessing for this ranch,” said local
rancher Connie Grieb Willems. “2013
was one of the driest years in our local
history. The drought on the Central
Coast has made a big impact on our life
and family. With no affordable food
for the cattle and no grass on the hills
we sold and shipped off cattle and only
kept a few cattle back to gamble that
there would be rain this year.”
Willems said the article “Drought
and Grazing” by Royce Lasen, UC
Cooperative Extension, states, “in 1862
there was a severe drought that lasted
three years and wreaked havoc on the
state and the cattle industry. Half the
cattle in California died and many
cattlemen were forced out of business
forever changing the way the ranching
industry worked in California. Since
1869 there has been a drought year
approximately every 17 years.”
Recent rains have turned the hills
green, but the county and state are
still in desperate need of more rain to
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•
19
Coastal Culture
Lives well lived
Story by Gareth Kelly, Photos courtesy of Sky Bergman
W
hat’s that saying? Youth is
wasted on the young? Perhaps
100 years ago that was once the
case, but as we, as a society, grow older
and older we are seeing more and more
“old” people living full lives. One such
lady is Evelyn Ricciuti a Floridian of
Italian heritage who is 102 years young
and is the grandmother
of local Cal Poly
photography
and
videography professor
Sky Bergman.
“I would often go
to Florida to visit my
grandmother,”
said
Bergman. “When I
went out for her 99th
birthday, I watched
her working out in the
gym and cooking in the
kitchen and realized
I needed to film her.
She is not only an
inspiration to me but
was the inspiration
behind this film.”
The film Bergman
refers to has become her labor of
love. Lives Well Lived is a full-length
documentary about 40 inspiring
characters all over the age of 75 and
also features a photography exhibition
(currently being shown at the Cal Poly
library) as well as an online component
of stories, interviews and photos.
“I didn’t go into this to make a
movie,” said Bergman. “I filmed my
grandma and turned it into a brief
short and it won an award. I started
to interview more people and realized
this was becoming a film. I sent out
a call to action in an email for people
to nominate people for the project,
and, now, I feel like I have 40 new
grandparents. I came up with a list of
25 questions and set about interviewing
my subjects.”
With hours and hours of footage and
taking up the most of the past two years
Bergman hopes to have the film finished
by the end of the summer, just in time
to start entering film festivals and
hopefully get into Sundance. Having
touch us all.
“I’m often asked what’s their
secret? To be honest, not one person
I interviewed told me it was diet and
exercise,” Bergman said. “What they all
have in common though is a sense of
purpose, whatever it is, their passion,
their desire to never stop learning
shown a 35-minute preview of the film
at the Palm Theatre in SLO Bergman
realizes her film and the stories within
every day of their
lives. They all
have that along
with their sense
of
community.
Even those that
live alone are still
connected to their
communities and
to people and, of
course, they all
have a sense of
humor and a glass
is always half full
mentality. I could
tell they were
often happy someone was taking the
time to listen to their stories. I mean
just for myself I was able to include my
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own father and ask him about his own
mortality, not as his daughter but as the
filmmaker.”
Featuring many central coast locals
such as Morro Bay music teacher
Botso Korisheli, 92, Bob Sinsheimer,
94 and Marion Wolff, 84 Bergman has
managed to capture the tales and the life
force within these and
all the interviewees in
a way that speaks to us
all.
“When
asked
about young people
and
being
young
themselves most of the
interviewees wished
they had enjoyed
the moment more,
contributed more and
asked their parents
more
questions,”
said Bergman. “They
believe time is more
valuable than money
and wish we were all
more tolerant of others
and not worry about what others think
to live every moment of every day. As
for the real secret to their old age, dumb
luck is the oft response.”
Although the film itself is almost
finished, the project is not. Bergman
hopes many more people of age will
join the discussion and add their voices
to the narrative of this beautiful story
on the website www.lives-well-lived.
com. For more information and to
keep up to date on the films release and
screenings, visit the website.
Gareth feels he is getting older day
by day. What do you do locally to keep
the grim reaper at bay? Email your
stories to gareth@tolosapress.com
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20
•
Through Their Eyes
By Susan K. Boyd
H
So, how can we change
the way we view others?
Maybe, we need to resist
thinking of people as
obstacles in our day or as
time wasters. The toddler
and the seasoned life
traveler, both, esteem the
people they love. Their
relationships are believed
to be invaluable. They
look forward to seeing
friends and family. They
just, somehow, know it is
going to be a great time
together!
Wouldn’t it
be wonderful if we could
see one another through
ow do we look at the world and
those in it? While we rush from
one project to another, do we
forget to see people? Projects can, quickly,
become more important than people,
because of our perpetual busyness.
If we want to learn how to slow
down, and enjoy others, all we have
to do is watch the very young and the
very old. Toddlers, for example, see
grandparents walking toward them
and they don’t see anything else. The
children run, not walk, with their arms
up in the air, and their eyes fixed on the
faces of the people they love. The little
ones want to show grandma or grandpa
their room or a picture they just drew.
They don’t see wrinkled faces and slow
bodies. They see people who want to
spend time with them and share their
world for a little while.
The elderly, on the other hand, have
been where we are, living a schedule
of lists, calendars and deadlines. But
as their pace is slowing down and their
world is getting smaller, they enjoy, and
appreciate, relationships on a deeper
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level. They look at family and friends as
precious and rare gifts. Days are longer
but life is shorter. They see what we may
not recogize; each moment experienced
with a loved one can become a snapshot
logged in the memory. The memory
may fade, but the warm feeling of the
relationship stays in the mind’s eye and
is like a buried treasure in the heart.
SHEAR DESIGN
Susan K. Boyd is a Licensed
Marriage & Family Therapist in
private practice in SLO. She can be
reached for counseling at (805) 7829800 or by email at sbcare@aol.com.
Also see susankboydmft.com
LOCAL AUTHOR DEBUTS
Hair Salon & Day Spa
pa
The Book on
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Also now in stock!!!
Bullies:
Practical
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bullies in
school, home
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TH
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their eyes?
Emergency Vehicle Show
Saturday, April 18th, 2015
9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Main St. & Morro Bay Blvd.
Purchase the book locally at
Coalesce Bookstore, Morro
Bay and Parable Bookstore
or online at: Amazon.com or
BarnesandNoble.com
Info on bullies or for cou
counseling contact:
Susan K. Boyd
MS, MFT
Licensed Marriage
& Family Therapist
805-782-9800
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805.473.1360
857 Oak Park Blvd, Pismo Beach
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•
21
Wellness
Wellness Through Writing
By Michele S Jang, PT
A
re you familiar with the
expression
“get
something
off your chest”? Holding our
thoughts and feelings inside can wreak
havoc in our lives and can actually
negatively affect our health. Sometimes
friends and family are not available to
talk to. We have, however an access to
an easy, affordable tool that can create
positive and measurable changes in our
physical and mental health: writing!
Recent studies have shown that
writing can improve mood disorders
and immune function, decrease stress
levels and reduce doctor visits. The
connection between our mental wellbeing and physical health has long been
evaluated. But, how does this work?
Improved health outcomes appear to
result from the interpretation of our
experiences and understanding our
emotions, resulting in less emotional
and physical distress. New evidence
suggest that writing more specifically
about the perceived benefits of
traumatic experiences can reap even
greater benefits.
Here are some tips to get your started
journaling to better health:
Your thoughts should be private,
so be sure to store your journal in a
28th Annual
protected location.
What you write
about
matters.
Evaluating emotional
experiences
is
superior to writing
about
superficial
topics.
Aim for 15-20
minutes most days
of the week. Write
quickly
without
regard for spelling
and punctuation.
Re-read
your
thoughts at a later
date. It’s amazing
what insights or
lessons have been
learned.
If
you
would
like to further explore the benefits of
journaling and learn more about how
to incorporate writing into your healthy
lifestyle, please RSVP to attend our
free educational evening on Tuesday,
April 7th at 6:15 featuring Devin
Wallace speaking on “Writing Through
the Storm”.
Michele S Jang, PT is a physical
therapist who likes to look outside the
box. She has been a physical therapist
for over 20 years and has extensive
training in manual therapy or the
use of hands to help rehabilitate the
body. Michele has been an instructor
both in the United States and abroad.
She offers Free Consults on Tuesday
afternoons. Michele also has a team
of therapists at Spirit Winds who offer
an array of expertise on exercise, fall
prevention, foot and shoe assessments,
body mechanics and proper breathing
technique to increase awareness and
healing.
Contact us at 805 543-5100 or info@
spiritwindstherapy.com to RSVP for
our upcoming educational evening or
to reach Michele.
Benefiting:
Health & Prevention Division of
Community Action Partnership
A
Epicurean
Delights
fternoon
of
When:
Sunday, June 7th
11:30am to 3:30pm
Where:
The Chapman Estate
on the bluffs in Shell Beach
Tickets $100
Tickets available:
Crushed Grape San Luis Obispo
Chambers of Commerce In:
• Arroyo Grande & Grover Beach
• San Luis Obispo
• Pismo Beach
Whiplash injuries Sinus and tension headaches
Post-concussion syndrome Temporomandibular
joint disorders (TMJ) Vertigo and labrynthitis
Fibromyalgia Chronic pain and fatigue Sports
performance Balance enhancement
http://aed.capslo.org
Guests need to shuttle
from Shell Beach
Elementary School
or Pismo Beach
City Hall
photo b
y: sloco
astpix.c
om
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Event Sponsors:
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22
•
Cal Poly Baseball
Player Profile
Casey Bloomquist
P
itcher,
Colin
Cowherd
Jim
Rome
Dan
Patrick
Scott
Van Pelt
Mike
&
Mike
AMERICA’S
BEST
SPORTS TALK
LINEUP
6-3,
185,
Junior.
Eighteen
wins in his first two
seasons at Cal Poly and
three more this year
during a three-game
stretch in which he beat
pac-12 powers Oregon
State and USC along
with perennial Big West
champion Cal State
Fullerton. He is Cal Poly’s
Friday night starter after
a sophomore season
as the Sunday starter.
Was named preseason
first-team
National
Collegiate
Baseball
Writers Association and
second-team Louisville
Slugger
Collegiate
Baseball
Newspaper
All-American prior to the 2015 season.
2014: In 14 starts and pair of relief
appearances, compiled 12-2 record and
1.56 ERA as a sophomore en route to
numerous postseason honors ... secondteam All-Big West, first-team Baseball
America
All-American,
first-team
National Collegiate Baseball Writers
Association, second-team Collegiate
Baseball Newspaper All-American and
second-team Rawlings All-West Region
... struck out 74 batters and walked only
20 in 98 innings ... won his first nine
starts before suffering loss at Long Beach
State on April 27 ... notched first complete
game with 3-0 shutout (three hits, eight
strikeouts) against Cal State Fullerton ...
career-high 10 strikeouts against Wagner
and matched that figure in 1-0 win over
UC Santa Barbara ... was within one strike
of shutting out Seattle before an error and
RBI double chased him ... allowed one
unearned run in eight innings against UC
Davis ... pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings
against UC Santa Barbara ... allowed
just one earned run and seven hits in
eight innings of 2-1 loss to Pepperdine
in NCAA Regional ... earned save against
Northern Illinois ... finished No. 5 in
nation with his 12 victories and No. 24
with his 1.56 ERA ... 7-1 with 1.38 ERA
in home games and 7-1 with 1.46 ERA in
Big West contests ... shared team’s Mike
Krukow Outstanding Pitcher Award with
Matt Imhof ... did not play summer ball.
2013: Finished stellar freshman
campaign with 6-2 record and 5.02 ERA
after becoming team’s midweek starter
in second half of season ... was moved
into the weekend rotation as the Sunday
starter in final two weeks of regular
season after earning five wins, two against
Bakersfield ... made six starts ... struck out
39 batters in 52 innings ... pitched into
the seventh inning five times, but couldn’t
reach the eighth until his first weekend
start May 19 against Cal State Northridge
when he allowed two runs and six hits
in 7.1 innings for the victory ... careerhigh eight strikeouts against Santa Clara
on April 16 ... first collegiate win was at
Bakersfield on April 9 when he gave up
two runs and two hits in six-plus innings
with three walks and five
strikeouts ... allowed
one run and seven hits
in 6.2 innings for win at
Cal on April 23 ... did not
allow a walk over four
consecutive starts (22
innings) before walking
first Pacific batter of
game May 25 ... allowed
just one home run in 52
innings ... 5-0 in night
games and 3-0 in home
games ... pitched for
Corvallis Knights in West
Coast Collegiate Baseball
League over the summer,
compiling 4-0 record and
3.45 ERA in seven starts
with 24 strikeouts in 41
2/3 innings ... earned
All-WCCBL honorable
mention
praise.
High School: Compiled 6-4 record and
1.26 ERA as a senior under head coach
Tom McCormack at Bakersfield Christian
High School … 80 strikeouts in 61 innings
pitched … struck out 12 in game vs.
Highland and 10 against Tehachapi … one
complete game, a three-hitter in 2-0 loss
to Kerman in finals of CIF-Central Section
Division IV playoffs … opponents hit .177
… a .489 hitter with 43 runs scored, 27
RBI, 12 doubles, three triples and three
home runs … 14 multiple-hit games,
including three four-hit contests … .598
on-base percentage and .789 slugging
percentage … stole six of seven bases and
committed three errors in 141 chances
for .979 fielding percentage … led Eagles
to 23-7 record and first-place finish in
South Sequoia League … co-MVP of
South Sequoia League … hit .490 during
his junior season, collecting 15 doubles,
six triples and four home runs … drove
in 42 runs and stole nine bases, leading
Eagles to 24-8 overall record, secondplace finish in the South Sequoia League
and the CIF-Central Section Division IV
championship … in 85 2/3 innings on
the mound, was 9-3 with a 1.96 ERA,
striking out 110 batters … when not on
the mound, played shortstop and first
base … posted a .586 on-base percentage
and .888 slugging percentage en route
to All-South Sequoia League pitcher and
All-Area utility player honors … named to
the NCSAA All-American first team, AllAmerican Far West Super Region team,
ESPN Cal-Hi all-state small schools team
and all-state underclassmen second team
… as a sophomore, hit .481 with 13 doubles,
eight triples, five home runs and 45 RBI
(7-4, 4.38 ERA on the mound) en route
to NCSAA All-American second team,
All-American Far West Super Region
team and All-Area second team honors
… named rookie of the year and All-Area
honorable mention as a freshman when
he hit .522 (6-2, 4.4 ERA on the mound)
… visited Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine,
UC Irvine and UCLA before choosing Cal
Poly because of its “great campus and it
feels like home. The coaches are the best
and I feel they can help me develop to the
next level.”
Home
and
garden
everything
you need to know
to get your home
ready for summer
Home
and garden
24
•
April 16 - 29, 2015 • Tolosa Press Special Publication
Growing A Vegetable Garden
In A Drought
Home
and
garden
W
hat if you could grow your
own food despite the current drought? Luscious,
healthy, green, pesticide-free food
available right outside your back
door. What if a system was available to allow you grow vertically,
in a small contained space without
soil and just a few gallons of water
a week; growing a variety of greens,
herbs, squashes, beans, peppers,
tomatoes and more. Imagine a system where your produce, fed by
nutrients and water and aerated
continually could grow faster than
a traditional garden. Such a system
isn’t just in the realm of the imagination anymore. It is available commercially and it’s rapidly changing
the way many of us garden.
It’s called aeroponics; a step beyond hydroponic. In hydroponic
gardening, plants live in water and
systems are put together by doit-yourselfers who typically make
them of PVC pipe. Until now, if
you weren’t oriented that way, you
planted a traditional garden or
nothing. But thanks to the innovation of Tim Blank, who formerly
By: Leslie Kasanoff DC
ran The Land (futuristic growing)
exhibit at Epcot Center in Disneyworld, aeroponic gardening is now
available in a ready-made kit. In
aeroponics, your roots live in a moist
environment in the air with water
& nutrient being ‘rained’ down on
them. Because of the continual exposure to Oxygen, the plants grow
30-50% faster than in a traditional
garden. This means that the lettuce
I planted as seedlings 2 weeks ago
will be ready for me to start eating
in less than 2 more weeks. My system is even made from high quality
food-grade plastic; not PVC pipe.
With mandatory water restrictions upon us, it’s likely that many
have given up on the idea of growing their own food. But that need
not be the case. This closed system
recirculates and recycles the water
so it uses just a fraction of what a
conventional garden would allowing you to grow much of your own
food using just a few gallons of water per week. Outside my kitchen
window, my Tower Garden grows
about 5 different varieties of lettuce along with Swiss chard, chili
peppers, herbs, kale, bok choy and
more. A second Tower Garden will
soon have green beans, tomatoes,
zucchini and more; virtually every
vegetable my family of 4 will eat
all summer. Over the winter, I had
a continuous supply of fresh kale,
Swiss chard, broccoli and so much
arugula I was giving much of it away
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Attention to detail with a personal touch
weekly.
The best thing about the Tower
Garden is how adaptable it is for
busy families and career people. It
can be put together and planted in
an hour or less with a just little forethought (like buying the seedlings
you’ll use). Put it in the sun, fill it
with water, add the nutrient solu-
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eree Yo
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Home and garden
tion, turn the power on the pump
(a low voltage aquarium pump)
and you’ve started. With no weeding & little trouble with pests, just
check the water level & add nutrients about once a week (takes about
5 minutes). In about 3-4 weeks you
can start picking & eating. When
I first planted my Tower Garden,
I traveled out of state for 10 days
leaving just 3 days after my Tower
Garden was planted. With no watering or maintenance in the interim, instead of coming home to a
dead garden (like I would have with
a traditional garden) I came home
to plants that had tripled in size and
started picking lettuce for salads
just a couple days later. My Tower
Garden, continuously self-fed, was
fine.
Now, when I want a salad, I go
out to the Tower Garden & pick
what I need while my other food is
cooking. No need to pick the entire
plant; just what I need for tonight.
The net effect is that I also get more
produce per plant. I may pick off
the same few heads of lettuce for
2-3 months until they start to bolt
& go to seed. Then I’ll pull them out
& replace with new seedlings.
For those who want to learn more,
please join me for a Tower Garden
Demo Event in the Community
room at Whole Foods on Tuesday
April 21 at 6:30pm. The program
will run about 60-90 minutes and
you’ll be able to see this amazing
technology and sample the food
from it.
Leslie Kasanoff DC is a chiropractor and Tower Garden enthusiast.
She sees chiropractic patients at
Community Health Centers in San
Luis Obispo and is an independent
nutrition educator with the Juice
Plus Company (who distributes the
Tower Garden). For chiropractic
care, she can be reached at CHC at
805-269-1566. For Juice Plus+ and
Tower Garden information you
can reach her at 805-235-2712. You
can also get additional information
at http://drLeslie.TowerGarden.
com, http://drleslie.juiceplus.com,
http://Drleslie.transform30.com
or http://facebook.com/drleslie.
Tolosa Press Special Publication •
April 16 - 29, 2015 •
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Transforming Shopping Into An Experience
Home
and
garden
H
ave you decided to sell your house
this spring? If so, you have a lot
to do to get ready.
Curb appeal is the first order of business. If you never get prospective buyers in the door because the exterior is
unsightly, all is lost! Trim, paint, repair
and plant. Make them anxious to see the
inside!
On the inside, pack up and clear out
everything that is a reflection of your
interests and personality. When prospective buyers come through, we want them
to see the ‘good bones’ of the house, not
your collections. This is critically important!
Repaint, in a nice warm but neutral
tone (taupes and sands are good), any
walls that are brightly colored or act as an
accent wall. White woodwork provides a
nice contrast and looks clean and crisp.
Create a ‘focal point’ in each room when
possible. For instance, show off a fireplace with cleaning, fresh paint or a new
mantel. Create a conversation area with
a few pieces of furniture focused on the
fireplace. If your room is large enough,
set your furniture arrangement away
from the walls. This makes the room look
large and more spacious. Keep it simple.
Bedrooms also need ‘focal points’, usually provided by the bed and headboard.
Adjust paint as needed. Take out unnec-
April 16 - 29, 2015 •
Sell Your House
This Spring!
essary furniture to make the room look
large and spacious. Simple, elegant bed
linens and window coverings will suffice.
The smaller the house, the more important some details become. Storage is
one of these details. Well designed storage makes even a small house look like it
will hold everything.
When thought has been spent on storage and organization, it gives a place, not
only a sense of order but, a sense of calm
and serenity. An important impression
for a buyer!
Guest room closets should provide
mostly double hanging for pants and
shirts and shelves for folded clothing
and shoes. If the guest bedroom is too
small for dressers, put a few drawers in
the closet for underwear and pajamas. A
hamper is a nice convenience.
The master closet is such a huge selling feature when well done! You’ll need
a small amount of long hang (dresses,
long skirts, rain coats, robes) combined
with plenty of double hang for all those
separates. Shelves for folded clothing
and shoes, perhaps a few drawers and
a hamper should round it out. If your
woodwork is white, do the closet system
in white and match the drawer fronts to
your door style.
If you have a third bedroom, consider a
simple home office with a wall bed. This
provides great additional guest space and
a quiet place for paperwork, hobbies or
sewing. The added guest space makes
the anticipation of the holidays a pleasurable experience, not a dreaded one! Who
wouldn’t want a home like this!?
Don’t forget the garage! Put down a
clean epoxy floor (gets rid of those ugly
oil stains!) and some attractive storage
cabinets for all the overflow! Wait till
you see the expression on the faces of the
men who look at this garage! Every mans
dream!
You can estimate approximately $100
per lineal foot for the bare bones of storage systems. Add $150 for each drawer
you include and any other accessories.
It’s not a great expense, as home improvements go, but it packs a wallop
when a buyer sees that it’s already done
and ready to move into. Be ready to move
quickly as your home will sell fast with
these amenities!
Sharon Brown, ASID, NCIDQ, is a
certified professional Interior Designer
and Space Planner. She designs storage
solutions for Tailored Living . Call for
a complimentary appointment at 4628133 or email at: slo@tailoredliving.com
Visit on FaceBook and at their website:
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28
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inspired
expo
HOME & GARDEN
MAY 2 & 3 / SAT 10-5 SUN 10-4
FREE WORKSHOPS
SATURDAY
12:00 pm
Idler’s Mom & Apple Pie Contest Finals
1:45 pm
DIY Succulent Container Gardening
Claudette Rettig with Garden Enhancements
2:30 pm
How You Can Invest in Art & Why You Should!
Tom B. Burgher, Seaside Gallery
3:15 pm
Straw Bale 101: The Basics of Building Houses
with Straw with David Arkin
4:00 pm
A Meal in 30 Minutes Cooking Demonstration
with Lauren Persall of Dream Dinners
SUNDAY
12:00 pm
Retrofit Your Yard for the Drought
Q&A Panel from CLCA
(California Landscaping Contractors Association)
12:45 pm
Personalize the Interior Design of Your Home
with Fine Art!
Brenda Allison, Professional Designer & Artist
1:30 pm
Storing Fruits and Veggies to Make Them Last
the Longest! with Andrea Chavez, Talley Farms
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2:15 pm
Hand-Lettering Workshop with Sadie A Design
Alex Madonna
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slohomeimprovement.com
Home and garden
Give Your Landscaping A
No-Maintenance Makeover
L
ow- and no-maintenance features
top the list when making over
outdoor living spaces because less
time maintaining means more time enjoying.
Low-maintenance landscaping outranks native plantings, water features
and food/vegetable gardens according
to the American Society of Landscape
Architects (ASLA) 2014 Residential
Landscape Architecture Trends survey.
Landscape professionals love to share
their secrets and show off their craft
when redesigning outdoor spaces for
low or no maintenance. Armed with
know-how and using sweat equity, doit-yourselfers also can employ tips that
professionals use for a no-maintenance
landscape makeover.
Landscaping with hardscapes
Landscape professionals use retaining wall systems for a variety of landscaping solutions. Segmental retaining
walls are commonly used to transition elevations, shore up slopes along
foundations and define spaces such as
creating planters, tree rings and other
features.
“Hardscape products like retaining
walls and pavers are important tools for
both landscapers and do-it-yourselfers
in creating low-maintenance landscapes,” says Scott Arnold, manager
of Villa Landscapes in St. Paul, Minnesota. “With just the standard VERSALOK retaining wall unit, you can easily
create seat walls, curved couches, columns and other features.”
Retaining wall systems combined
with concrete pavers can be used to
create beautiful raised patios, replacing
high-maintenance wooden decks, says
Arnold. In addition to being as cost effective as a wooden deck, a raised patio
offers several advantages.
“A deck railing can be replaced with
wrought iron fencing or a low seat wall
so the view is unobstructed,” Arnold
says. “Raised patios also look great
with a contrasting paver course or rock
barrier for potted plants, and steps to
the ground can be created with retaining wall units.”
-'( %&# )* .) #('.
Retaining wall units and interlocking concrete pavers come in a variety of
colors, shapes and textures to complement any landscape design and are often used to create design continuity in
outdoor spaces. Tree rings can be coordinated or color-contrasted with raised
patios, retaining walls and other hardscapes.
Permeable pavers are an environmentally sound and low-maintenance
solution where impervious surface limits, storm water management, water
quality and water conservation are issues.
“Permeable pavers are a best practice
for storm water management and quality issues because they prevent runoff
and let rain water infiltrate in place naturally,” says Burt Plett, product manager of Willow Creek Paving Stones.
“Permeable pavers reduce the need for
irrigation in drought-prone areas, unlike poured concrete or asphalt.” It’s
best to consult a landscape professional
who is experienced in installing permeable paving systems so that they work
properly and consistently, Plett says.
“My hand and neck pain has
decreased considerably. The exercises
in therapy and practiced at home are
helping me improve my posture and
body mechanics. ‘Hands-on’ therapy
and low level lasers are very helpful.”
Maintenance-free outdoor accessories
Selecting maintenance-free outdoor
furniture and accessories is an easy
way to make over a space. Outdoor
furniture made of recycled HDPE like
Comfort Craft requires no storage or
maintenance other than cleanup with
soap and water. Unlike wood, Comfort
Craft furniture won’t chip, splint, crack
or rot and never needs painting.
Hardscape kits - containing everything needed to create a fireplace,
firepit, water feature or grill island - are
some of the most popular low-maintenance landscaping products, Arnold
says.
“Using easy-to-install kits like those
from Willow Creek Paving Stones,
homeowners and contractors alike can
create beautiful features such as grill
islands, bar islands, fire pits and fireplaces that are long-lasting and lowmaintenance,” Arnold says.
–Barbara, SLO
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April 16 - 29, 2015 •
29
Making Music with Gene Baler
The Goddess of Groove
By Mad Royal
A
nytime I’ve talked to
Gene Baker, he’s had
an aura of being calm
and excited at the same
time, kind of a restrained
expectation of good things
to come, tied up with a deep
satisfaction in what he’s
doing at the moment. He
may be known as Mean Gene,
and he may even look a little
mean (not really, but let him
have his illusions), but he’s a
pretty cool guy.
Raised in the suburbs
of Detroit, Gene grew up
messing around on the
family’s Hammond organ.
His
two
older
sisters
influenced his taste in music,
as well as he dad, who took
him to see and Elvis tribute
band, Elvis Wade.
“We asked them to play
Polk Salad Annie, and were
impressed when they did,”
Gene said.
He also listened to the Beatles, Alice
Cooper, David Bowie, Black Sabbath,
the Beach Boys, Aerosmith, and Led
Zeppelin. When he was seven, he got
his first guitar, purchased at Kmart.
“I really didn’t know what to do with
it,” he said. “I didn’t know you were
supposed to press the strings down on
the bars on the frets, I used to press on
the dots.”
That changed four years later when
the new next-door neighbor started
teaching group guitar lessons at the
local ice rink.
“We’d learn on chord a week, songs
like ‘Kumbaya’ and ‘Michael Row the
Boat Ashore.’”
Later he took lessons from a fellow
named “Fuzz,” who he found through
his little brother’s hockey team. Fuzz
was a big KISS fan, so Gene mostly
learned KISS songs on his Flying V
electric guitar, and thought he was
pretty cool.
In seventh grade woodshop, Gene
started his other passion: building
guitars.
“They weren’t very good,” he said.
Still, once his other projects were
done, his teachers let him work on
guitars all he wanted, sometimes
staying after hours, even to the point
where the junior high teacher let him
use the shop when he attended a high
school that did not have a wood shop.
When Gene was in eighth grade, he
joined his first band, Cuss, otherwise
made up of high school students. They
would perform at hall parties, house
parties, and local talent shows. By his
teenage years, his parents were going
through divorce, and he attended
two different junior highs and four
different senior highs, due to his mom
moving around. The last high school
was Reghetti in Orcutt when the family
moved to California. Gene would spend
about three hours a day on guitars,
either making them or playing them
in jazz band, or studying with Jerry
Coelho. He was in a band for two years
called Silent Scream that played at the
Righetti Greek Theater and outdoors at
Hancock College.
After high school, Gene attended
the Guitar Institute of Technology,
where his teacher Jerry Coelho had
been as one of its original students.
From there, in 1986, Gene did a stint
in Huntsville, Alabama, selling guitar
gear and teaching music. He returned
to the Central Coast in 1987 to accept a
job at Ernie Ball, which only lasted four
months, due to his car often breaking
down and making him late for work.
He then partnered with Eric Zoellner
to form Mean Gene Guitars, where they
repaired the instruments, and started
in manufacture. They had a retail shop
near the Nipomo Swap Meet, with
rehearsal halls for rent to bands. On
the music side, when Gene was 21, his
band “Mad Hatter” did a six-week tour
of Alaska, during which they performed
six hours a day, six days a week, with
Sundays off. Another band was Full Tilt.
He worked two years as a press operator
at Blakesley Printing, and then went
on a tour of guitar-related businesses
in Los Angeles, ad accepted a job at
the Gibson Custom Shop in North
Hollywood, where touring musician
such as Ringo’s All-Star Band and the
Eagles would drop their gear off for
repair before hitting the road. That job
lasted about three years, until Gibson
started shutting down its satellite
shops. By then, Gene was getting
married, so he took a job at Fender
Guitars in Corona, and was there for 7
years, starting as an apprentice. After
six months, he was working for Robin
Ford on his signature series,
and eventually achieved
status as a Master Builder,
making one-of-a-kind custom
guitars.
In 1999, Gene and his wife
moved back to the Central
Coast, where he opened
Baker Guitars in Santa Maria.
His band, the Wallshakers,
opened in Ventura on three
occasions for three different
bands: Thin Lizzie, Blue
Oyster Cult, and Robin
Trower.
In 2002, Gene
started the band Mean Gene
and the Portable Johns, who
were regulars at Harry’s
Nightclub and Beach Bar in
Pismo Beach. The band was so
named because it had Johnny
Punches, John Dittman, and
John Lockheart. In 2000,
Baker Guitar closed, and
Gene returned to Ernie Ball
for a year, then he started
Fine Tune Instruments, and
started manufacturing his B3 guitars.
Eventually, in 2006, there was only
one John in his band, so the group
became MGB, or Mean Gene Band, as it
remains to this day. Current members
are Gene Baker, Johnny Punches, Brian
Monzel, and Kelly Atwell. The band
plays true rock music, such as AC/DC,
Billy Idol, Montrose, Def Leppard, and
Ted Nugent. In 2009, Gene partnered
with the Premier Builders Guild, and
continues to make his B3 guitars.
One of Gene’s latest projects is a new
band, Rebel 66, which has the same
members as MGB, but concentrates
on originals. The music is described
as “metal meets rock,” with the
instruments being metal driven, while
the vocals are more rock. The band
will be performing in the second slot
on the first day of the Redwood Run
in northern California, sharing the bill
with Blue Oyster Cult, Night Ranger,
Warrant, and Gamma. The festival is
June 12 and 13.
His other latest project is “Mean
Gene Presents,” a series of concerts
featuring both touring and local bands
that perform original music. The series
is at Mongo’s Saloon in Grover Beach
on the last Saturday of each month.
This month’s concert is the Kenny
Taylor Band and Bear Market Riot, on
April 25, starting at 9pm. There is a $5
cover.
MGB has cut down from a peak of
135 shows a year, to about one show a
month, so Gene and his bandmates can
concentrate on their original projects.
In my mind, Gene’s always been an
original, a man who builds beautiful
guitars, and is not afraid to follow his
dreams. I think we’ll find, in years to
come, that he’s a musical force to be
reckoned with. I think it’s going to be
sooner than you think, too.
•
31
WHERE THE PARTY
NEVER ENDS!
THU
4/16
9PM1:00
JAWZ
KARAOKE
FRI
4/17
9PM1:30
MGB
SAT
4/18
3:00PM
-7:30
9:00PM
-1:30
SUN
4/19
3:00PM
-7:30
FRI-$5 COVER
COPY CATS
SOUTH 65
SAT-$5 COVER
MON
4/20
9:00PM
-1:30
7:30PM
-11:30
ROCK SOLID
LEGENDS
LEGENDS
TUE 7:30PM STEVE TRACY
4/21 -11:30
WED 7:30PM
4/22 -11:30 STEVE TRACY
THU
4/23
9PM1:00
JAWZ
KARAOKE
FRI
4/24
9PM1:30
LITTLE
GEORGE BAND
FRI-$5 COVER
SAT
4/25
3:00PM
-7:30
SUN
4/26
3:00PM
-7:30
9:00PM
-1:30
MID LIFE CRISIS
LITTLE GEORGE
BAND
SAT-$5 COVER
9:00PM
-1:30
TOMMY LEE & THE
PORTIGEES
SHAMELESS
MON 7:30PM
4/27 -11:30 SHAMELESS
TUE 7:30PM INDIAN VALLEY
4/28 -11:30 BAND
WED 7:30PM INDIAN VALLEY
4/29 -11:30 BAND
THU
4/30
9PM1:00
JAWZ
KARAOKE
Now Serving
SEXTANT WINES
on Tap
(805) 773-1010
www.harryspismobeach.com
Open 10am-2am Daily
APRIL 29
G
THROU
H
MAY 3, 2015
Wednesday April 29
Saturday May 2
Feature Film: Attractive Distractions
6:30pm | $10 admission price
Celebrate the Harvest with GleanSLO | Featuring Cass Winery
5pm | $85 admission price | limited seating
HISTORIC FREMONT THEATRE, SLO
SYCAMORE MINERAL SPRINGS RESORT
Thursday April 30
Sunday May 3
9am check-in | 11am tee time | $100 admission
Men, Women, Challenged Athlete & Winemaker
& Brew Master Heats
7am – 3pm | $30 entry fee
BIG WAVES ON THE BIG SCREEN
CENTRAL COAST VETERAN’S GOLF CLASSIC
DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSE, SLO
STILL FROTHY’S LONGBOARD SURF CLASSIC
PISMO BEACH PIER
Friday May 1
RABOBANK’S BARREL TO BARREL
Outstanding Central Coast Wines & Microbrews
Local Restaurants | Travel & Lifestyle Auction
Live music by Girls + Boys
5 – 8pm | $59 pre-sale | $65 at the door
THE CLIFFS RESORT
WINEMAKERS DINNER
805 BEACH CLASSIC
Classic VW Display | Vote for Favorites | 11am – 3:30pm
Free Concert, BBQ & Beverages on the Beach | 12noon – 5pm
Featuring Firestone Walker brews
Live music by Resination
ON THE SAND AT THE SEAVENTURE BEACH HOTEL
WINEWAVESANDBEYOND.COM
•
33
Special Event
6Th Annual Wine, Waves & Beyond Central Coast
Longboard Surf Classic
W
ine, Waves & Beyond is a
classic surf and wine and food
event that celebrates the best
of San Luis Obispo County on April
29-May 3, 2015 in Pismo Beach, Avila
Beach, and San Luis Obispo. Combining
the fun, laid-back atmosphere of our
wine country and unique surf culture,
guests enjoy five days of unforgettable
events evoking the magic of wine and
waves. These events take place at
numerous scenic venues throughout
the county.
Events includes a Surf Movie Night,
Central Coast Veterans Classic Golf
Tournament, Rabobank’s Barrel to
Barrel, Winemakers Dinner, Central
Coast Longboard Surf Contest, and
the 805 Classic BBQ featuring the
Firestone Walker Brewing Company, a
Vintage VW Display, and Concert.
We are proud to announce proceeds
from the 2015 from Wine, Waves &
Beyond will be donated to GleanSLO.
Over the last five years, WW&B has
raised $100,000 for local non-profit
organizations.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, April 29, 5:30pm at the
historic Fremont Theater in San Luis
Obispo, kicks-off this five-day event
with Surf Movie Night. Doors open at
5:30, featured films will start at 6:30.
Tickets are $10, and beer and wine will
be available for purchase.
Thursday, April 30, 9:00am at Dairy
Creek Golf Course in San Luis Obispo is
the Central Coast Veterans Golf Classic
at Dairy Creek Golf Course presented
by the Association of Amputee Surfers
(AmpSurf). Invitees include Veterans,
Active Military, Local Firefighters, Law
Enforcement personnel and members of
the community. Fundraising proceeds
benefit our wounded warriors, active
military, disabled veterans and others
with disabilities through the efforts of
the Association of Amputee. Tickets are
available for purchase at AmpSurf.org.
Friday May 1, 2015, 5-8pm at
the Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach, is
Rabobank’s Barrel to Barrel grand
tasting event. Held on the ocean front
lawn of Pismo Beach’s premier classic
resort, guests will enjoy tastings from
over 35 visiting wineries and breweries,
cuisine samplings from the best local
restaurants, live music a fabulous
“wine and lifestyle” silent auction, and
a breathtaking panoramic ocean view.
Tickets are $59 for pre- purchase, $65
at the door.
Saturday, May 2, 2015, 5-9 pm,
Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort
in Avila Beach, hosts the annual
Winemakers Dinner: Celebrating the
Harvest with GleanSLO. Guests will
enjoy a selection of locally harvested
wines to pair with an outstanding fivecourse, gourmet meal created by our
culinary team lead by ChefWangard.
This year’s chef auction returns with
the opportunity to bid on custom meals
prepared for you and three guests by
SLO county’s finest chefs. Featured
wineries include; Cass Winery. Tickets
are $85.
Sunday, May 3, 2015, 7:00am in
Pismo Beach at the Pier, the 5thAnnual
Longboard Surf Contest begins with
both men and women’s heats, a
Challenged Athletes division, and once
again, the highly anticipated local
Winemakers/Brew Masters heat.
Additionally, on May 3, 11 am -5 pm, in
Pismo Beach at the SeaVenture Resort,
just a few sandy steps away from the
surf contest, you’ll find the Vintage VW
Display and the 805 Classic—featuring
a savory Central Coast BBQ, a festive
Beer Garden featuring the brews of
local favorite Firestone Walker Brewing
Company, and a live concert on the
beach in front of the SeaVenture Resort
Beach Hotel and Restaurant.
Join in the festivities and be a part
of the Central Coast’s premier lifestyle
event. For a complete listing of events
and more information, please visit
www.winewavesandbeyond.com.
Media inquiries, please contact Charles
Crellin at ccrellin@bhcresorts.com, or
at 805.234.5163.
Now celebrating its sixth season,
Wine, Waves & Beyond has become a
signature Central Coast event. Guests
attend from throughout California
and the West, as well, of course,
from San Luis Obispo County. www.
winewavesandbeyond.com.
Contact
Amanda
Gill
at
805.556.3306,
amanda@cliffsresort.com.
34
•
EAT
central coast visitor’s guide
BLISS WHOLE FOOD CAFE, SMOOTHIE & JUICE BAR
is located in the heart of downtown SLO with a creekside patio facing the
historic SLO Mission. Serving delicious, energizing & empowering foods
ranging from sandwiches, burritos, tacos, bowls, salads, live desserts,
smoothies, juices and much more! Sourcing local & organic ingredients
to give you the best quality & flavors. 778 Higuera St. SLO, Ca. 93401
www.blisscafeslo.com <http://www.blisscafeslo.com (805) 547-0108
DEL’S FAMOUS PIZZERIA & ITALIAN
RESTAURANT Are you in the mood for some hearty Italian food?
DIVINE THAI CUISINE Enjoy the Exotic flavor and spice
of Thailand and South East Asia. The finest authentic Thai Cuisine: Pad
Thai Noodles, Spicy Eggplant with Shrimp, Homemade Thai Dumplings,
Charbroiled BBQ Chicken and much more. Family oriented atmosphere
too. We cook with our hearts and delicious, authentic meals are the result.
501 W. Grand Ave. Grover Beach, CA (805) 481-3663 Open Daily www.
angelicfood.com Hours: Lunch: 11am-3pm Dinner: 4:30-9pm
LOLO’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT Great Mexican
food, served in a warm and friendly atmosphere at a reasonable price.
Reservations and credit cards gladly accepted. Daily drink and food
specials and patio dining. Brunch, lunch, and dinner served 7 days a
week 10:00 to 9:00 pm. Located at 2848 N. Main St., Morro Bay • (805)
772-5686
OFF THE HOOK New seafood grill and sushi bar on the Embarcadero offers modern and traditional seafood dishes at reasonable
prices. Magnificent rock and Bay views from every seat in the house. An
amazing dining experience in a beautiful setting. Open Tues-Thurs 12-8,
Fri-Sat 11:30-9, Sun 11:30-8. 833 Embarcadero, Morro Bay • (805) 7721048 www.offthehookmb.com
SPLASH CAFE has been a favorite destination in Pismo Beach since
1989, specifically for our award-winning clam chowder served in a freshly
baked bread bowl. Our customers drive from miles away to come to our
cafes for our fresh clam chowder. No wonder we serve more than 30,000
gallons of clam chowder per year! We also have two San Luis Obispo
locations - the bakery on Monterey & California features artisan breads,
pastries & desserts with a larger selection of salads & specialty sandwiches, and our downtown
location next to Barnes & Nobles features daily fresh fish specials and specialty wraps. All three
locations serve our signature Clam Chowder in the bread bowl & Fish & Chips.
ROCK KAYAK CO. offers safe, natural, and healthy
adventure on the water; where you can rent your own kayak and
adventure alone with family or with friends. With our rentals we
offer free lessons with first time customers. We can also assist you
in purchasing a kayak or any equipment we sale. We’re passionate
about the sea and really look forward to making your next kayak
outing one you won’t forget! 845 Embarcadero St, Morro Bay • (805)772-2906 • www.rockkayak.com
THE SEWING CAFE Located in
the awesome Pismo Beach Shopping Center
and offers a unique experience. Sewing and
Seamstress Classes, a variety of amazing
machines to work on or buy, some even offer embroidery applications. There’s an array of fine
fabrics and supplies and have a great staff to assist you as well. They also offer a seminars on
health & good eating habits. A variety cooking lessons are done in the well appointed “Cooking
Cafe”.. Here you can see the chef create healthy and easy to make meals, book ahead a cooking
date for your family and friends or even for date night!. The Sewing Cafe is located at: 541 #C-2,
5 Cities Drive, Pismo Beach, CA 93449 (805) 295-6585 More info Facebook/Sewing Cafe
THE SAN LUIS OBISPO CHILDREN’S
MUSEUM provides a unique place for children and
families to explore, discover and learn through hands-on
exhibits and programs. Three floors and an outside playscape
are jam packed with exhibits for children ages 1-10. Fun,
educational programs and activities are scheduled throughout
each week. Visit slocm.org for prices, hours, directions and
program schedules. Imagination welcome!
YOGA CENTER OF MORRO BAY Don’t miss your
yoga practice just because you’re on vacation. With daily classes and
$10 drop ins, our variety of experienced, certified teachers will give
you a memorable experience at an affordable price. We welcome
all levels and abilities. YCMB~Your Yoga Studio Away from Home!
Conveniently located at 1000 MainSt. within walking distance of most
MB hotels. (805) 268-2668 • www.yogacentermb.com
VISITSLO.COM Directory of locals favorite ways to
experience the place they love. Learn where to stay, what to
see and do. You can purchase the official SLO Chamber of
Commerce Visitors Guide through visitslo.com or log on view
the picturesque area.
Uppe rC ru st SLO.ccom
ZORRO’S CAFE & CANTINA Is located in shell
beach and has been a local favorite for over 10 years.
Awarded people’s choice for best clam chowder 2012, 2013
and 2014 and recently voted best restaurant 2015 at the
taste of pismo. Dog friendly patio and an excellent happy
hour everyday from 4:00-6:00pm. Serving traditional american and mexican
breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. When you think of zorro’s cafe & cantina you
will think of great food, good times, and excellent service with a comfortable and
warm atmosphere.
Call for Reservations
(805) 878-4283.
share skateboarding’s history and culture with all ages of
skateboarders. See the complete history of skateboarding from the early 1930’s to present day. Over 200 skateboards
from all eras with rotating exhibits from extensive private
collections. Open Daily, 10 A.M. to about 5 P.M. Morro Bay
Skateboard Museum 601 Embarcadero (Marina Square) Morro Bay 805-610-3565
Highway 101 on the Central Coast of California. 401 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, CA 93449
(805) 773-4438 www.delspizzeria.com
Special Occasion.
BEACH BUTLERZ is here to make your beach experience
unforgettable! Beach Butlerz will set up your space and provide
you with all you need to enjoy your time at the beach. From beach
loungers, umbrellas, tables or logs and a bonfire to volleyball nets,
and more! Call today to enjoy an unforgettable beach experience!
THE MORRO BAY SKATEBOARD
MUSEUM opened in July of 2012. Our mission is to
You are invited to Del’s Pizzeria, where you smell the home baked bread
when you arrive. Feel the warm and cozy ambience, reminiscent of an old
Italian farmhouse, as you dine here. Since 1973 we have been hand crafting
our world famous pizzas and pastas and serving our loyal patrons with
warm personalized service is a top priority at Del’s. Come enjoy our award
winning wine list, tasty cuisine and enjoy our spectacular ocean sunsets.
Call for take-out & local delivery. Located in Shell Beach, Del’s is right off
Make every day a
PLAY
Now Serving
SEXTANT
WINES
on Tap
Live Music
Nightly
WHERE THE PARTY
NEVER ENDS!
(805) 542-0400 Mon–Thurs: 11–9; Fri–Sat:11–9:30; Sun: 11:30–9
11560 Los Osos Valley Rd. at the Laguna Village Center
(805) 773-1010
690
www.harryspismobeach.com
Open 10am-2am Daily
SHOP
•
35
ALOHA SHIRT SHOP An island paradise of items for men,
women and kids. All the best brands: Tommy Bahama, Reyn Spooner,
Tori Richard, Kahala, Paradise Found, Go Barefoot, Rum Reggae,
Jams World, Iolani and Bamboo Cay. Sizes XS- 7XL including big
and tall. Over 12,000 shirts in stock. Can’t visit us in person? Visit our
website at www.AlohaShirtShop.com. 458 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro
Bay • (805) 772-2480
LADY SPENCER For creative, unusual and
unexpected treasures, Lady Spencer Galleria and
Distinctive Gifs is your destination. You will find American
made items, Fire & Light hand poured glass tableware, sea
glass art and jewelry, ceramics, soy candles, and garden
items. 148 N Ocean Ave Cayucos, CA 93430
(805) 995-3771
the best place to find San Luis Obispo souvenirs
and “Life is Good” attire for the entire family.
From clothing, postcards, Pillow Pets & beautiful
Garden décor. The shop is filled with gift
items made in the USA and by local artisans.
Military receive 10% off everyday! Text the
word SLOGOOD to 56955 to join their Rewards
program and receive exclusive rewards!
3,/
good
showers, birthdays, special occasions or just because...Beautiful,
clothes and quality toys. It’s fun to browse and chat with the owner
as she wraps the gifts and they’re very accommodating! 119 E
Branch St. Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 805-473-9186
garden
& gifts
RALPH & DUANE’S Fun In The Sun! 2014 Summer
Series!!! Sunday, September 28- MGB. Music from 2-6 and
BBQ Served: 4ish. Thereafter every Thursday-Sat our DJ’s
hookin’ you up with Dance Music/Hip Hop & Daily Drink
Specials. Every Sunday 2-6 come enjoy our Live Music and
Santa Maria BBQ on the patio. Wi-fi available. 108 W. Branch St.
Arroyo Grande, CA (805) 481.2871 www.RalphandDuanes.com
gifts, retro toys & candy await you at The Chocolate Sheep! Across from the
swinging pedestrian bridge & free range roosters we make sea salt caramels,
peanut butter bark, creamy fudge and carry Arroyo Grande’s own Rooster
Eggs. Come play in the village & treat yourself to something sweet! --Check out
our The
Chocolate Sheep FB page for deals-- Mention this and receive free chocolate nibbles! 201 E. Branch
St. Arroyo Grande, CA (805) 591-0166
EST. 1974
Garden Street Goldsmiths
Modern, Vintage, and Custom Jewelry
In-House Jewelry Repairs, Watch Repairs & Battery Replacement
1114 & 1118 Garden St. in downtown San Luis Obispo
sWWW'ARDEN3TREET'OLDSMITHSCOM
SPRING!
N L
&O F
EW
DOC BURNSTEIN’S ICE CREAM LAB Experience our
new “Ice Cream Wonderland” located in downtown San Luis Obispo. Enjoy
the fun and wacky flavors made in Doc’s lab, while watching the train travel
through tunnels, around the giant ice cream waterfall, and through the
wall of flavors. Enjoy our Nostalgic Ice Cream Parlors in The Village of
Arroyo Grande and Old Orcutt. Watch award winning ice creams made
on-site, follow the model trains into tunnels and over bridges. Enjoy
the live performance of the “Ice Cream Lab Show” in Arroyo Grande,
Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm, where the audience helps create a unique
flavor. Each parlor is truly a one-of-a-kind Ice Cream experience!
For fundraisers, birthday parties and catering visit www.docburnsteins.com. 114 W. Branch St.
Arroyo Grande 860 Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo (805) 4744068
THE CHOCOLATE SHEEP Gourmet chocolate, travel games,
WHIZ
KIDS toy
store has been
serving San
Luis Obispo
and it’s surrounding cities
as Professional
Toy Consultants for over 25 years. We carry
high quality toys, books and activities for
children that encourage creativity and skill
building. We also carry many more items
online, so come on in, give us a call or visit
our website and let us help you choose the
perfect gift for the child on your list! 3979 S.
Higuera St, San Luis Obispo, next to Trader
Joe’s (805) 547-1733 • www.whizkidsslo.
com - Facebook.com/whizkidsslo
century downtown village. You’ll find an array of antique & specialty shops plus fine dining nestled
within the scenic atmosphere of historic buildings and natural beauty. The Village is a true picture of
Americana on the Central Coast. Stop by the Visitors Center upon your arrival at 214 East Branch
St., Arroyo Grande
BUTTONS
&
BOWS-CHILDREN’S
CLOTHING STORE Great quality gifts for baby
SMOOBAGE, which means “something that
you really love” is a delightful store that will peak
your senses as you search for the perfect item or
gift. You will find Artistic pieces from a variety of
local artists as well as a quaint store that houses
a paradise of colorful palettes & textures. From
leather goods to jewelry, greeting cards & a children’s section there are treasures abundant.
591 Embarcadero, Morro Bay. (805) 459-5751. Text SMOOBAGE to 56955 to Join & receive
10% OFF your next purchase!
SLO GOOD GARDEN & GIFTS is
THE VILLAGE OF ARROYO GRANDE, the Central Coast’s unique turn-of-the-
INES
LD AVORITES
ARRIVING DAILY
NOWN
OPE
“In the Village”
121 E. Branch St.
Arroyo Grande
805-574-1727
1022 Morro St.
San Luis Obispo
805-784-0664
UNIQUE FEMININE CLOTHING FOR
WOMEN JUST LIKE YOU!
www.shopapropos.com
840 11th St.,
Ste. 103
Paso Robles
805-239-8282
full bar | 12 beers on tap
family-friendly menu
200 E. Branch Street, Arroyo Grande
www.roostercreektavern.com
805.489.2509
open daily from 11:30 – 10:00
36
•
Entertainment
Roots Reggae Band Rising Son Ascends
Photo and story by Carrie Jaymes
N
ot all bands offer widely diverse
musicianship while still filling a
special niche with their music.
Rising Son, a roots reggae group out of
Ventura, California, has that distinction.
Rising Son launched their fist album
project in 2006 and has since risen
to fame through highly charged live
shows that provide their audiences and
themselves a signature experience as
well as more album projects. Live or
recorded, they continue to offer music
that resonates with their growing fan
base, which ranges in age from kids on
up.
“I’ve noticed that it appeals to every
age group. I’ve seen kids liking it to
elderly people liking it,” said drummer
Ezra Brooks Robinson.
The debut album, Take Root,
contained a dozen songs including
anthemic acoustical collections and
next generation funk.
Themes woven in the project reached
a broad range of music lovers. In 2007
they recorded the widely received
song, “Worldwide Love” and in the
fall of 2014 they released Forward, a
7 track EP. “Ethiopian Sonrize,” one of
the tracks off this EP, shines through
as an anthem with touching lyrics
combined with beautiful harmonies
and their outstanding musicianship.
“Ethiopian Sonrize” was written to
encourage the downtrodden people of
this world,” said singer songwriter Levi
Williams. “It is directed
toward Ethiopians who
have seen a degradation
of their culture and
have struggled through
a harsh regime and
propaganda to discredit
Haile Selassie and the
monarchy that reigned
for 2,000 years. It is
to remind them of
their royal roots and
culture and of their
indomitable spirit. It
can also be applied to
any person in this world
that is going through
struggles because we
all originated from Ethiopia where
the most ancient hominid fossils were
found—our common ancestor ancient
civilization. The place where we all
come from.”
The band includes Williams on vocals
and guitar, Teknique on guitar, K.C.
Easterling on bass, Filiblunt on keys,
Robinson on drums and Doc Smith
on percussion. The band members
have shared the stage with the likes of
Steel Pulse, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Pato
Banton, Bob Marley’s reggae/hip hop
musician son Ky-mani Marley, Alpha
Blondy and the late Mikey Dread.
They have also loaned their musical
strengths to projects with Bad Brains,
The Divine Crime, Ska Daddyz, and
have been featured on other recorded
and live projects. Including a track
Williams recorded in 2008 with Pato
Banton titled “Heal This World,” on
Banton’s Destination Paradise album.
Rising Son is hitting the festival
scene, nightclub venues and other
locales spreading their positive energy
and letting their uplifting music ring
through the air.
The band is also working on a fulllength album they plan to release this
year.
Be a part of the live experience and
catch Rising Son on Friday, April 24 from
9 p.m. to midnight at Rancho Nipomo
Gold Rush Cantina. There is a $5 cover
charge at the door.
The premier performing arts academy on the central coast.
SUMMER CAMPS
&CPEGŔ#EVŔ5KPIŔ2NC[CP+PUVTWOGPV
(FU:063CPEZ4QSJOH#SFBL4VNNFS
SFBEZJOUIFOFYU
March 16-April 10
April 27th - May 22
and June 1 - June 26
4 week training camp
5 days a week
(Mon-Fri) at 5:30am
Open to non-members
Early Registration: April 1–May 15… Limited Enrollment!
Vis
i it
i us
o liinne fo
on
f r detaili s
& Reg
egistr
t ationn
&CPEGŔ/WUKEŔ6JGCVGTŔ8QKEG
www.coastaldanceandmusicacademy.com/Summer_Camps
1030 Huston Street, Suite C | Grover Beach | 805.489.5678
Change
Ch
h
your llook...
k
* Some restrictions apply, not valid with any other pass or discount
DIBOHFZPVSMJGF
t#SPBE4U4-0t.BSJHPME$FOUFS
XXXFRDMVCTDPN
A cappella mavericks, The Bobs,
will play Cal Poly’s Spanos Theater
at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 18. Student
and adult tickets are $30.40 to $38 and
available in advance at the PAC Box
Office, Mondays-Saturdays, noon-6 p.m.
Call (805) 756-4849 or online at: www.
calpolyarts.org. The Seattle Times said
The Bobs were, “a musical equivalent of
a Gary Larsen drawing,” using only their
voices and body percussion to fill a room
with an orchestra of harmonious sounds.
Hailed as the premier “band without
instruments,” The Bobs have left an
indelible mark on vocal music, expertly
skewering standards and establishing
their own hilarious norms. Sponsored by
Tom and Susan Stenovec and The Apple
Farm Inn.
The Bobs, will play Cal Poly’s Spanos Theater
Spring
Into
Summer,
a
new concert series hosted by
Songwriters At Play, at Sculpterra
Winery in Paso Robles from 6-8 p.m.
every third Saturday of the month, AprilSeptember. Advance tickets are available
now at Sculpterra for $15 per person, $10
wine club members and $20/$15 at the
door. Wine sold by the bottle or glass;
cheese plates and other food will be
available for purchase. Longtime Central
Coast favorite Jill Knight will headline
the first concert on Saturday, April 18.
Special guest Chi McClean will open the
show at 6. Knight’s soulful sound delivers
a Southern texture blending Americana,
blues and weaving in a little R&B. Knight
has toured with India Arie, Shawn Colvin,
David Wilcox, John Prine, The Doobie
Brothers, and many others. Sculpterra
Winery is at 5015 Linne Rd., Paso Robles.
Call (805) 226-8881. Future Spring Into
Summer Concerts include Julian Temple,
Darius Degher (May 16), The Lady
Crooners, The Better Halves (June 20),
Damon Castillo, Nicole Stromsoe (July
18), Little Black Train (Aug. 15), and The
Salty Suites, Kristen Black (Sept. 19).
Acclaimed
Grammy
Award
winning singer/songwriter, Boz
Skaggs, will play the Performing
Arts Center at Cal Poly at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 19 and advanced tickets
are on sale now at the PAC Box Office.
Indie
music
recording artist,
Kristen Ford, is
playing a free
concert at 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 26
at Last Stage West,
315050
Morro
Rd.,
(Hwy
41
half way between
Atascadero
and
Morro Bay). Ford is
on a “never-ending
tour”
promoting
her new release,
“Tighten It Up”
which is available
Spring Into Summer, a new concert series hosted
online at: www.
by Songwriters At Play, at Sculpterra Winery
kristenfordmusic.
com. This is a free,
all ages show with
Call (805) 756-4849 or order on line at:
www.pacslo.org. Skaggs, who got his start the artist playing for tips and selling
with the Steve Miller Band, went solo in CDs. A Massachusetts native, Ford’s
1975 and struck platinum with his debut one-woman-band performance includes
album, “Silk Degrees” that had hits with guitars, percussion, and a variety of
“Lowdown,” which won the Grammy for looping effects pedals, to create a unique
Best R&B Song, “Lido Shuffle,” “What musical experience that’s different
Can I Say” and “We’re All Alone.” Skaggs every night. Her music fuses indie, folk,
is touring in support of a new album, “A country, and blues with a healthy dose of
Fool to Care,” slated to be released March rock ‘n’ roll.
31. The show is a co-production of Otter
Productions, Inc., and Cal Poly Arts.
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38
•
Entertainment
The
First
Annual
SLO
Multicultural Music & Dance
Showcase will be held Friday, April
17 at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 18
at 3:30 p.m. at the San Luis Obispo
Grange Hall on Broad Street. The two
shows feature music and dance from
across around the world, including
Ghana, Congo, Guinea, Mali, Hawaii,
the Middle East, the Mediterranean, the
Caribbean, U.S. hip-hop and Indonesia.
Tickets are $20 advanced and $25 at
the door for each show. See: bigbigslo.
com/showcase or call (805) 975-9663 for
ticket information.
advance at the PAC Box Office MondaysSaturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Call 756-4849
or order online at: www.calpolyarts.
org. The Paul Taylor Dance Company a
dynamic contemporary dance program
showcasing an extraordinary range of
emotions and vitality, as well as including
as a good dose of wicked humor. The
pieces performed will be Syzygy, Beloved
Renegade
and
Piazzolla
Caldera.
Sponsored by Barbara Bell, Jay & Carol
Devore, Dr. Moon Ja Minn & Paul Suhr.
Supported also in part by grant funding
from Western States Arts Federation
(WESTAF)
World-renowned choreographer,
Paul Taylor, will bring his dance
company to the Performing Arts Center
at Cal Poly at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 25.
Student and adult tickets range from
$24 to $50 and may be purchased in
The aerial artists at Suspended
Motion Aerial Arts are working on
their annual showcase in June and will
have a special sneak-preview performance
of their Cirque-Style show set for 7
p.m. Friday-Saturday April 24-25. The
performance
is
at the troupe’s
SLO
studio,
located at 207
Suburban Rd. (off
South Higuera).
Advance
tickets
are $15 general
admission,
$10
students,
youth
and seniors, and
kids 3-under free.
Complimentary
refreshments will
be available, and
BYOW
(bring
your own wine)
Paul Taylor, will bring his dance company to the
is
encouraged.
Performing Arts Center
The presentation
will
feature
Suspended Motion
among others. Accompaniment by Janis
performers as they climb, fly, free- Johnson and Matthew Evans, with Jumi
fall, contort, and dance on aerial silks, Kim directing.
ropes, poles, lyra, and other cirque-style
apparatuses. Suspended Motion’s annual
feature-length aerial ballet performance
Celebrate Los Osos is hosting a
of Grimm Eventyr’s: Ivy’s Magical
Adventure, at 2 and 7 p.m. June 6 at the benefit house concert to raise money
Clark Center in Arroyo Grande. For more for future community projects at 2 p.m.
information about Suspended Motion, Sunday, May 17. Tickets are $25 a person
see: www.SuspendedMotion.net, or www. and available online at: www.bigbigslo.
com/inga. The show will feature vocalist
facebook.com/suspendedmotionslo.
Inga Swearingen and guitarist Guy Budd
performing a combination of blues, folk,
soulful jazz and
original
tunes.
Guitarist, Dorian
Michael,
will
also
perform.
The concert will
be held in the
private gardens
on the estate of
Bill and Monica
Lee in Los Osos.
Details, a map,
parking directions
are available with
tickets. Seating is
limited.
Newgrass
folk
fusion
quintet, Susie
Glaze & the
HiLonesome
Band,
will
perform
the
next Red Barn
Community
The First Annual SLO Multicultural Music & Dance
Music Series in
Showcase will be held at the San Luis Obispo
Los Osos, taking
Grange Hall
the stage at 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 2.
Cost is $15 at the
Cuesta College’s Spring Gala door and there’s a potluck supper at 5.
Concert featuring students from Bring a dish to share, place settings and
the music department is set for 4 BYOB. The band plays an eclectic blend
p.m. Saturday, April 24 in the Cuesta of mountain folk and exciting new grassy
Performing Arts Center on the Hwy and Celtic-inspired originals, fronted by
1 campus. Tickets are $12 general Glaze’s remarkable voice, the band will
admission, $7 for students, seniors, be celebrating the release of its new CD,
and Jazz Fed members. Reserve tickets “Not That Kind of Girl.” The Red Barn
by calling (805) 546-3198 or online at: is located in the South Bay Community
www.cpactickets.cuesta.edu.
Parking park, on palisades Avenue. Doors open
is free. The show will feature Jessanne at 4:30 p.m. See: www.susieglaze.com for
Bulquerin, Griselda Cardenas, Max more on the band.
Eagle, Sam Fierro, Rainey Forzetting,
Christopher Kamas, and Sierra Simmons
Celebrity Golf
Tournament & Dinner
Friday, May 29, 2015
Avila Beach Golf Resort
Registration/Check-In - 8:00 AM
Shotgun Start - 10:00 AM
Register as a Threesome at $200 per golfer ($600 total)
Price covers tee fee, lunch, and two dinner tickets for each golfer.
Each Threesome will be joined by a celebrity golfer.
Celebrities include San Diego Charger and NFL Pro Bowler, Anthony Miller;
Pittsburgh Steeler and NFL Pro Bowler, Mike Merriweather; Olympic Gold
Medalist and LA Ram, Ron Brown; LA Raider, Mervyn Fernandez; LA Ram,
Leroy Irvin; New England Patriot, Sam “Bam” Cunningham; and San Francisco
49er, Eric Heitmann. Also playing in the tournament is “one of Hollywood’s
most iconic character actors,” Burton Gilliam.
Contests include a Hole-in-One, Long Ball
and Closest to the Pin Challenge
Social and Silent Auction at 4:00 PM
at the Alex Madonna Expo Center
Dinner at 5:30 PM
Guest Speaker—Steve Miller, CEO of the
Andre Agassi Foundation for Education
Individual tickets for the Social, Silent Auction and
Dinner available at $50 per person
To register a threesome or purchase dinner tickets:
visit our website at http://opcoy.org
or call (805) 592-2990
Proceeds will help Op C.O.Y. (Operation Coaching Our Youth), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, private
foundation, open a residential camp for at-risk adolescent males.
40
•
Dinner & A Movie
A Comforting Grilled Cheese Hallelujah Moment
By Teri Bayus
C
omfort food produces a physical
happiness that affects our
physiology. Studies have turned
up evidence that the comfort foods we
crave are actually artifacts from our
pasts.
We all have memories of happier
times, and by eating foods that remind
us of those times, we symbolically
consume that past happiness. Nothing
is more comforting than a grilled
cheese sandwich — that little bastion of
love your Mom prepared, cut the crust
off, and sliced into triangles.
Now as a grown up, I crave these
jewels of cheese and bread grilled to
perfection when I am sick or down.
Enter my “Hallelujah” moment, when a
food truck roared past the Tolosa Press
headquarters with the name, “Grilled
Cheese Incident.”
Even more joyful, I found that the
chef is one of my favorites, Mike
McGourty. Mike had worked for years
at the Cracked Crab, turning me on to
some amazing seafood concoctions.
He left the pot and leapt into the
pan opening and operating the Grilled
Cheese Incident with his lovely bride,
Annie Lynch, helping out and running
the register when needed.
Mike made five different sandwiches
for me to try, each a sample of the
simple and delicious creativity of the
perfect sando.
He first explained that the secret to
the perfect grilled cheese sandwich
is the bread. His is baked daily from
Brian’s Bread and he has French,
Sourdough, and Caraway rye. It is
sliced thin, but dense enough to hold
the creamy insides intact.
My editor had been talking about
The Hangover, which had started my
lusting after this food truck and was not
disappointed about this ridiculously
good mixture. Cheddar and Muenster
cheese with shredded potatoes, roasted
poblano chilies with bacon jam and a
fried egg was the elements. Ecstasy was
how I described the taste.
On to “The Incident.” This one has
sharp cheddar and gouda cheese with
slow cooked pulled pork, caramelized
onions with his own unique barbecue
sauce served on Brian’s Sourdough
bread. The savoriness of the pork and
the tartness of the cheeses made me
want to try some more.
Next was the Quintessential California
with Havarti and Jack cheese, smoked
applewood bacon, sliced tomato and
avocado on a cracked wheat bread. It
held up to its name representing the
most perfect example of quality.
We moved on to the Tavern Popper,
a twist on the popular jalapeño poppers
that you’d find in most bar food menus.
This one was served on French bread
with melted-to-perfection Jack and
cream cheese laced with fire-roasted
jalapeños. It was dipped into a sweet
chili Mae Ploy sauce that brought the
sweet and hot flavors exploding.
My last one was most unusual, and
my favorite. The Dragon has English
mustard and ale and sharp cheddar
with smoked applewood bacon,
balsamic onion jam, and sliced apples.
Sweet, hot, cold and savory. It was an
impeccable sandwich.
You can build your own using any
of the above items and Mike is there
making or supervising every plate. They
also serve Basil tomato soup, chips,
soda and water. You can find where
they will be parked on their Facebook
page or this schedule: Monday’s at
Bang The Drum, Thursday at Central
Coast Brewing, Friday at Tapit and
Saturday and Sunday at local wine and
lifestyle special events. As Mike likes to
say, “Stay cheesy my friends.”
The Grilled Cheese Incident is San
Luis Obispo County’s newest food truck
featuring gourmet grilled cheese on
local artisan bread. Look for them on
the road or follow them on Facebook
for specific times, places and specials
at:
www.facebook.com/pages/TheGrilled-Cheese-Incident.
Fast and Furiously Fabulous
By Teri Bayus
T
he Fast and Furious franchise
has raced into theaters once
again and I was glad. These films
are my guilty pleasure and I’ve loved
every one. It is the seventh film in this
massive franchise that only gets better
with each new segment.
In the fifth and sixth installments,
Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul
Walker), Tej (Ludacirs), and Roman
(Tyrese Gibson) had finally found
financial stability and cleared their
names to return home.
The character of Agent Hobbs
(Dwayne Johnson) helped reinvigorate
the franchise and Letty (Michelle
Rodriguez) was brought back from
the dead. Mia (Jordan Brewster) and
Brian were enjoying their newfound
family life, but as we found out at the
end of the sixth film, the evil Deckard
(Jason Statham) is set on avenging his
brother’s death.
Their seemingly peaceful life is
interrupted as the team begins to be
hunted down by this dangerous British
criminal. Enter a secret government
official known as Mr. Nobody (Kurt
Russell) offering them a deal to take
down Deckard.
There’s a Somali mercenary (Djimon
Hounsou), Ramsey, a hacker (Nathalie
Emmanuel), and a bunch of material
filling in for some fantastic action and
driving sequences. The adventure
travels across the globe with flying cars,
droids exploding in the Middle East,
the elegant buildings in Abu Dhabi, and
the City of Los Angeles.
I absolutely recommend you watch
this film. Yes, its cheesy, but the film
knows it. The action set pieces are
properly shot with little quick cuts and
do not induce headaches. The humor in
these films is a lot more organic and not
at the expense of stupid racist gags. The
female leads while attractive, are not
sexually objectified.
Diesel and Walker are the perfect
compliments to each other, the classic
muscle head and the tech-savvy friend,
both striving together to find common
ground. Then when you begin to build
in their supporting cast, you can’t
doubt the prowess of the writers.
The dysfunctional nature of the first
few movies turned into an incredibly
complex story line, filled with plot holes
that continued to be filled as the movies
continued.
J a m e s
W
a
n
directed this
Fast
and
Furious film.
Wan is well
known in the
horror genre
for directing
classics
likes
Saw,
Insidious,
and
The
Conjuring.
Even though
doing an action movie on this scale
is far away from where he normally
directs, Wan does a great job. I found
my self saying, “Holy smokes!” more
than once. This film has more action
scenes than probably any other film in
the franchise.
After the tragic death of Paul Walker
before the film completed filming,
production was shut down and the
film was reworked in order to deal with
this lose. The film deals with his death
perfectly, not killing him off, and giving
him one heck of tribute.
Body doubles, stunt doubles, and
CGI were used to complete the film
following Walker’s death. His brothers,
Caleb Walker and Cody Walker, were
among the stunt doubles, and also
provided voice over. This is a popcorn
movie at its best.
Teri Bayus can be reached at:
livewell@teribayus.com or follow
my writing and ramblings at: www.
teribayus.com. Bayus also hosts Taste
Buds, a moving picture rendition of
her reviews shown on Charter Ch.
10. Dinner and a Movie is a regular
feature of Tolosa Press.
Community
Volunteers Spruce up Downtown
V
olunteers
f r o m
Morro Bay
in Bloom, Morro
Bay Rotary Club,
Eco-Rotary, and
local merchants,
rallied
on
Saturday, April
4 to give Morro
Bay’s Downtown
area some spring
sprucing up.
More than 20 people worked to
clean up trees along Main Street
and Morro Bay Boulevard and
install lights. The work was part
of the implementation of one of
Morro Bay’s Local Economic Action
Plan’s (LEAP) initiatives designed
to revitalize the city’s business
districts.
Special thanks goes out to Susan
Stewart, one of the LEAP Action
Team leaders for revitalizing
business districts, for leading the
effort and walking the streets of
Downtown collecting donations.
The two Rotary Clubs were
the largest donors. Manpower
was provided by Morro Bay in
Bloom, Guerrilla
Gardeners,
Rotary,
EcoRotary,
Trina
Dougherty
and
Coast Electronics,
e s p e c i a l l y
Jon
“Woody”
Wordsworth.
The
new
tree lights are
commercialgrade LED strings, so are energy
efficient. Some nine outlet boxes and
nine extension cords were replaced
with a total of 30 sets of LED lights
and restringing 10 sets.
Seen in the photo working on the
lights (not in order) are: John Weiss,
Tim Crowley, Thomas Kessler, Larry
Rosen, Chuck Stoll, and Trina Doherty.
(Submitted photo)
It marked the second LEAP effort in
Downtown, after a temporary parklet
was installed in January in the 800
block of Main St., with somewhat
mixed reviews.
For more information about Morro
Bay’s LEAP program and communityled initiatives, see: www.morro-bay.
ca.us./LEAP.
Ì
Ì
•
41
Yard Sale — A Fun, Charming
and Delightful Chaos
M
orro Bay filled with perhaps
thousands of eager, yard-sale,
treasure hunters April 11-12
for the 12th Annual Citywide Yard Sale,
sponsored by Morro Bay Beautiful,
the Morro Bay Tourism Bureau and
numerous local businesses, including
Brenda Sue’s Consignment Shop,
which served as the event headquarters.
Though no serious injuries were
reported by the fire department, traffic
was crazy all over town, with people
mostly walking in the street (for a lack of
sidewalks), cars parking every-whichway and the whole town caught up in a
sort-of fun, charming and delightful bit
of chaos. Photo by Neil Farrell
Approximately 65% of people
with hearing loss are below
retirement age.
Ì
Approximately 1 in 5
Americans age 12 and older
experiences hearing loss
severe enough to hinder
communication.
Approximately
36,000,000 Americans
have some degree of
hearing loss, ranging from
mild to severe.
Hear
the
Spring
Season
Hearall
allthe
thesounds
soundsofof
the
Fall Season
ENJOY BETTER HEARING THIS SUMMER!
The perfect time for a complimentary hearing screening
is now. Fall is a wonderful time filled with the harmonious
sounds of the great outdoors and social gatherings.
January–March
Special
October
Special
March– December
- May Special
+ FREE hearing screening*
+ FREE technology demonstration
Call (805) 995-4826 today
to take advantage of our
FREE hearing screening offer!
*Solely for the selection of proper hearing instrumentation and not a medical diagnosis.
Call today for a
FREE hearing screening and
FREE 30-day trial.
Come in today to try it on.
1052 Main Street, Suite B | Morro Bay, CA
CALL TODAY
(805) 995-4826
© 2014 Starkey. All Rights Reserved. 29512-14_10/14
42
•
Community
Local Grocery Stores Sold
By Neil Farrell
T
here’s a new grocery chain in
town, one that boasts of “big
brands, organic finds, everyday
essentials, old favorites and locally
sourced goods, all at an affordable
price — and all under one roof.”
Haggen (pronounced “hay-gunn”)
Pacific Southwest Corp., recently took
ownership of its first SLO County
store — the Atascadero Albertson’s, on
March 9 — and will be transforming
five others in the coming weeks.
Haggen also bought a Vons in Paso
Robles, two Albertson’s in SLO, one
in Arroyo Grande and the Vons in Los
Osos, planning to close them for a day
or two and reopen as Haggen’s store.
The changeovers are part of some 83
California stores that Haggen bought
from Albertson’s that were ordered
sold by the federal government after
Albertson’s and Safeway merged.
The first California store to be reborn
was in La Costa on March 11. The other
stores will be remodeled during April
and May. All of the local stores should
have been done and reopened by April
11.
Haggen also bought 26 stores in
Washington State and 20 in Oregon
and plans to remake them all into their
brand. Every week they plan to remodel
and reopen 1-12 stores.
“Once the acquisition is completed,”
reads a company news release, “Haggen
will expand from 18 stores with 16
pharmacies to 164 stores with 106
pharmacies; from 2,000 employees
to more than 10,000 employees; and
from a Pacific Northwest company with
locations in Oregon and Washington
to a major regional grocery chain with
locations in Washington, Oregon,
California, Nevada and Arizona.”
The company CEO says he’s
excited even though his job just grew
exponentially. “We’re excited about
the changes we’re making to enhance
these stores with more locally sourced
food offerings, genuine service and
homemade quality,” Bill Shaner, CEO
of Haggen Pacific Southwest said,
“and we’re confident customers will
like the new look, convenience and
value offered at our new Haggen onestop, full-service grocery destinations.
Haggen has built its 81-year-old
business on providing excellent fresh
produce and high quality meats and
seafood. That focus will definitely be
reflected in each of the 100 stores
we’re opening in California, Nevada
and Arizona, introducing shoppers to
Haggen’s unique mix of healthy, hasslefree offerings.”
Darcy
Hagin,
Haggen’s
spokeswoman, said the local employees
won’t lose their jobs. “We’re thrilled to
welcome existing store teams into the
Haggen family and ‘keep them whole’
as part of this transition,” she said in an
email interview. “Frankly, we could not
do this without them.”
And the employees, who had contract
troubles several years ago that resulted
in an extended strike, will still be cardcarrying union members. “Haggen is
a union employer,” she said, “and is
honoring the terms and conditions of
union associates’ current bargaining
agreements.”
In Atascadero, the store there put all
its merchandise out at ridiculously low
prices. But Hagin said they wouldn’t
comment on what the stores are
doing with their inventories before
the transition. “Both the current chain
[Albertsons/Vons] and Haggen are
committed to taking care of customers
before, during and after the transition
from the prior brand to Haggen.”
As for the extras that local markets
do for their communities, in particular
donating to the Food Bank, Haggen is
committed to that sort of involvement
as well.
“Haggen’s commitment to being local
extends beyond its sourcing and into
the communities around its stores,”
Hagin said. “We plan to partner closely
with local farmers and producers to sell
their products on Haggen’s shelves,
Tourism Hearing Put Off to April 21
By Neil Farrell
D
ue to an error by the County,
a hearing on a proposed
Countywide
“Tourism
Marketing District” was put off for a
couple of weeks with a final decision
now due in June.
A
hearing
to
discuss
the
establishment of the TMD was set for
April 7 but not all owners of vacation
rentals in the county got notified of the
hearing, so it was pushed off to next
week, according to a news release from
the County.
“We want to ensure that all interested
parties are properly noticed and have
a chance to speak on this topic, which
is why we are extending the final
hearing date,” said Assistant County
Administrative Officer, Guy Savage.
So the initial public protest hearing is
now set for Tuesday, April 21, “to hear
public comment and receive protest of
the formation and assessments for the
proposed district.”
As a 1-percent tax on nightly room
charges by lodging businesses —
motels, hotels, B&Bs, RV parks, private
campgrounds and vacation rentals —
the assessment comes under the Prop
218 rules for voting on taxes.
Property owners have a chance to
protest the assessments. If 50-percentplus one file written (or emailed)
protests, then the countywide district
would fail. Every city council in SLO
County and County Supervisors, acting
for the unincorporated areas, have
already given the OK to hold the protest
vote. It’s up to the business owners
whether it passes or not.
Supervisors will decide on June 10,
after counting protest votes, whether
to approve the assessment district and
start levying the taxes as of July 1.
Visit San Luis Obispo County, a
non-profit organization that promotes
SLO County “through advertising,
marketing, public relations and group
sales,” according to its website (see:
www.visitsanluisobispocounty.com),
would be in charge of spending the
projected $3.2 million a year for the
initial 5-year term. After five years, the
assessments must be voted on again.
The organization’s members include
more than 500 tourism industryrelated businesses including lodging
properties, restaurants, wineries, golf
courses and retail stores, according to
the website.
Visit San Luis Obispo County is the
remade organization that rose from the
ashes of the former County Visitors and
Conference Bureau. The County TMD
is its brainchild and the organization
has taken the issue to all the cities and
Supervisors for their approval.
The 1-percent assessment is in
addition to a city’s and the County’s
transient occupancy taxes being
charged on room rates, which is 9% in
most of the county and 10% in Morro
Bay, and a 2% assessment paid by
county-area lodging properties (3%
in Morro Bay) for tourism business
improvement districts or TBIDs.
Local RV park owners have opposed
the County TMD saying that they
are already at a big disadvantage to
campgrounds and RV parks owned
and operated by the State Parks
Department and County Parks, which
charge zero TOT taxes. Whether they
have enough votes to block the County
TMD is unlikely.
Visit SLO County plans to spend
the money on outside advertising and
marketing and not duplicate the efforts
of the local TBIDs. They will have a
representative board overseeing the
with community members to give back
through non-profit organizations,
and small businesses to explore comarketing programs.
“We have a long history of giving
back to the communities we serve,
particularly in the areas of hunger
relief, youth education, and community
development. We want to demonstrate
that commitment as soon as we open our
doors, by establishing and maintaining
relationships with local food banks, as
we make a name and home for ourselves
in our new neighborhoods.”
Cuesta Tax
Levies Set
C
uesta College Trustees have
approved the tax rate for their
$275 million construction
bond and property owners will start
paying the assessments in January
2016.
Trustees set the annual levy at
$19.25 per $100,000 of assessed
property value. According to the
County Treasurer, Tax Collector and
Public Administrator, next year’s
property tax bills will be mailed out
at the end of October with an added
property tax line, “Cuesta CCD 2014
Bond.”
Last July, the Board of Trustees
voted to place the bond on the
November ballot for a total of $275
million, equating to a tax rate of less
than $20 per $100,000 of assessed
property value. The bond was
needed to address the needs of the
college’s two campuses — SLO and
Paso Robles.
Numerous
old
temporary
buildings must be replaced at
both campuses and they also
need extensive upgrading in both
facilities’ infrastructure — from
new HVAC units to Internet WiFi
access for the classrooms and the
building of a new administration
and classrooms building in Paso
among a long list of fixes.
Also, Cuesta’s Citizens’ Oversight
Committee for the bond, which is
required by the State for all school
bond measures, has been chosen
and held its first meeting April
10. The 10-member committee
is Pamela Avila, David Booker,
Daniel Cadwell, Gayla Chapman,
Susan Dressler, Ann Grant, Scott
Lathrop, Patrick O’Hara, Timothy
Roche, and Anneka Scranton. They
are supported by several Cuesta
staff members. For information
regarding Measure L, see: www.
cuesta.edu.
News
Police Awards Handed Out
By Neil Farrell
M
orro Bay Police and volunteers
gathered last week at City
Park to hand out the 2015
Department Awards and a non-sworn
employee was given the top honors.
Employee of the year was Support
Services Coordinator, Bonnie Johnson,
was named Employee of the Year,
announced Police Chief Amy Christey.
Chief Christey said she decided to not
separate the Officer of the Year and
Non-sworn Employee of the Year and
have one award for the department.
Johnson “was nominated for her
service to the community, going above
and beyond the call of duty to assist
members of the public including
members of the Morro Bay Police
Department each and every day,” reads
the award citation. “Her commitment
to Morro Bay is commendable and Ms.
Johnson has demonstrated exemplary
service in supporting the Police
Department and Morro Bay.”
Ofc. Maria Lomeli received the
“Excellence in Service Award,” for
sticking with a petty theft report and
recovering the stolen items for the
victim. “Officer Lomeli investigated a
property theft wherein she provided
exceptional customer service and
recovered the stolen property. A
community member said this about
Officer Lomeli, ‘Officer Lomeli handled
my case from start to finish, and I
wanted you to know that this is the best
of the best of your front line officers.
Officer Lomeli was professional,
personable, dedicated and highly
informative.’”
Sgt. Jody Cox, Det. Dale Cullum
and Ofc. Gene Stuart received the
“Investigation of the Year Award,” for
solving multiple commercial burglaries.
“Ofc. Stuart found the key piece of
evidence during a traffic stop,” reads
the citation. “This led Sgt. Cox and
Det. Cullum to the suspects. The team
developed leads, analyzed numerous
pieces of evidence, conducted lengthy
interviews, which netted arrests for
multiple
commercial
burglaries,
forgery and stolen property.” The
burglaries were at two Downtown
businesses and involved a suspect from
Arroyo Grande.
Bill Peirce was named “Police
Volunteer of the Year.” Peirce was
honored for “outstanding service as
a Police Volunteer by stepping in to
help, proactive patrol, responding to
call-outs, and assisting at community
events. Mr. Peirce has proven his
interest in the welfare of Morro Bay
by providing exceptional volunteerism
assisting the Police Department
accomplish its mission, vision and
goals.” Peirce is also a former longtime City Councilman and local
businessman.
The “Chief’s Commendation Award”
goes to police officers for the “highest
level of performance above and beyond
the typical duties of the employee.”
This commendation also signifies each
of the recipients’ true commitment
to the vision, “Excellence in service.”
Officers who received one or more
Chief’s Commendations were, Canine
Officer Stephanie Pipan for netting
the most arrests for DUI in 2014;
School Resource Ofc. Nicole Canby
and Senior Ofc. Robert Hufstetler for
their professionalism and exceptional
performance when dealing with an
extremely combative arrestee. Senior
Ofc. Derrick Porter and Sgt. Cox for
“exceptional efforts with detaining a
highly delusional subject who was in
possession of loaded firearms.” Det.
Cullum, Senior Ofc. Hufstetler and
Ofc. Tony Mosqueda for “exceptional
investigation of an armed robbery,”
and Senior Ofc. Hufstetler, Senior
Ofc. Porter, Cprl. Mark Martin, Det.
Cullum and Sgt. Cox for “exceptional
investigation of numerous thefts from
vehicles.”
Certificates of Appreciation are
awarded for an “outstanding act or
service that aids the Police Department
in carrying out its mission, vision and
goals within the community.” Several
Police Volunteers received a certificate
of appreciation — Ken Vesterfelt for
his commitment to public safety in
Morro Bay exemplified by weekly
proactive patrols; Susan Johnson for
her commitment to the department
and Morro Bay exemplified by her
consistent administrative support
and fingerprinting services; and Mel
Brenneise for his exceptional efforts
with serving as the “heart and soul” of
the annual Caroling Cops trolley for
more than 18 years.
Police Explorer of the Year was Deven
Blair, nominated for his service and
volunteerism assisting the department
with “providing exceptional public
safety services. Deven has proven
his commitment to the Morro Bay
community by assisting members of
our community with
daily tasks and his been
recognized as a very
helpful person who is
making a difference in
our community.”
L I V E P ER F OR M A NCE
we’re
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cable
(and other empty threats)
A C o me
medd y A b o u t Pa r e n t in
ingg
Benefiting Monarch Grove 5th Grade Camp 2015 & Monarch Grove PTA
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Food by The Grilled Cheese Incident | Beverages by Sea Pines Golf Resort
•
43
44
•
Sports
Sports Shorts
By Michael Elliott
M
5JNFGPS/FX$POTUSVDUJPO
PSB3FNPEFM
5JNFUP3FQMBDF5JSFE-FBLZ
)BSEUP0QFO0ME8JOEPXT
asterful- There’s a new
sheriff in town on the PGA
golf tour and his name is
Jordan. Indeed, Michael Jordan
just pulled off the greatest feat of
his illustrious career by capturing
golf’s… Did I get one over on you,
oh gullible one? Sorry ‘bout that.
Just clamoring for your attention.
Jordan Spieth is the newlycrowned Masters Champion as he
went wire to wire for his first major
championship. Spieth’s four-stroke
victory over Phil Mickelson and
Justin Rose was a veritable walk in
the park as Jordan paraded his way
around the hallowed grounds of
Augusta National in a record-tying
270 strokes for four rounds of play.
That computed to an astonishing
18 under par to match Tiger Woods
for a record for the ages. Time
and again Spieth came up with
the shots necessary to fend off his
closest competitors as he calculated
his approach shots, lagged putts
magnificently and drained the
inside-8-footers on a consistent
basis.
Nobody really caught fire on
Sunday in an attempt to run the
leader down. Both Mickelson and
Rose played admirably, but their
nondescript final rounds of 69 and
70, respectively, failed to put any
heat on Spieth as he remained a
cool 3 strokes ahead throughout.
He just refused to be reeled in.
It was quite interesting to notice
the constant verbal exchange
between Jordan and his caddie
Michael Greller. Golf is typically
a loner’s game and golfers usually
carry their pent-up emotions inside
themselves for the duration of the
round, unless you are Tiger Woods
(more on him later). It served
Speith well that he and Greller have
a solid line of communication and
trust in one another. It appeared
that any time he made a poor shot or
missed an important putt he would
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converse with
his
caddie
in
rather
animated
ways, which
I
believe
rid him of
chances for
nerves to crop
up in critical
situations.
It is akin to
the old adage that getting it all out
relieves pressure and you are free
to move forward because whilst
chasing around a little white ball
with a stick for 4-plus hours, one is
the loneliest number. Dig it Three
Dog Night fan.
Back to Tiger. Woods most
certainly wears his emotions right
out on his sleeves. He is trying to
make somewhat of a comeback
from physical and personal
roadblocks and actually performed
very well at this Masters. As one
of the commentators stated, “Tiger
looks like the old Tiger instead
of just looking old!” For a guy
trying to reshape his image it was
disappointing to see him take a step
backwards from his reparations
as he was caught on the television
microphone uttering a few choice
words that the viewing audience,
especially the youngsters, need not
to have heard. Sure, most golfers
have spewed forth a profane word
here and there while teeing it up,
but on this regal of a stage, Woods
should have the class and dignity to
keep it inside as he still holds sway
and influences the masses.
Watching the Masters golf
tournament is a splendid thing for
golfing enthusiasts. It’s ultra-cool
that rarely are commercials played
during telecasts.
The elegance
of the course is second-to-none,
as is the fluid delivery by CBS’s
legendary Jim Nance and the rest
of the commentators who seem to
know precisely when to and when
not to chime in. It is comforting to
see that the once-staid membership
of the exclusive country club has
loosened its grip and now accepts,
women members and sponsors
kid’s events on days leading up to
the professional competition.
And so, the 21 year-old newly
minted champion rides off into the
sunset towards his next event with
badge attached, having corralled
his competition. Cue it up Glenn
Frey, Don Henley and mates. Most
assuredly there is a “New Kid In
Town.”
Responses? Submittals? Please
contact Michael at sportshorts8@
gmail.com.
Community
•
45
26th Annual Kiwanis Easter Egg Hunt
By Neil Farrell
H
undreds of kids and their
families turned out Saturday
for the 26th Annual Bay Osos
Kiwanis Club’s Easter Egg Hunt at the
South Bay Community Center in Los
Osos. The free event included a costume
contest and egg decorating contest
with some nifty prizes donated by local
merchants. The Kiwanis Club cooked
up a free hotdog lunch, there was face
painting, the Balloon man story time
with the friends of the Library and a
4-H petting zoo, too. Photos by Neil
Farrell
New Ladder Truck Delivered
By Neil Farrell
M
orro Bay Fire Department’s
new ladder truck arrived
last Friday, and the crew
is busy outfitting what the fire chief
said will have a dual purpose.
Chief Steve Knuckles explained
that the new 75-foot ladder truck was
custom built for their needs. It has
a shorter wheelbase, he explained,
so it will be able to navigate any
street in the city, including the
roundabout. It will also be outfitted
with all the tools of the trade — from
rescue saws and Jaws of Life tools,
to paramedic gear.
“This will be the second engine
out on fire calls and the second or
third paramedic vehicle going out,”
he said Monday. “This will have all
the tools we might need for a second
[simultaneous] call out.”
The ladder truck — officially
No. 5341 — was built by Pierce
Manufacturing of Appleton, Wis., and
cost some $774,000. Knuckles pointed
out that the truck was paid for using
a $1.1 million bequeathment to the
department from the late Bertha Shultz,
so it didn’t cost Morro Bay taxpayers
anything.
He added that they plan to use the
leftover money to buy new breathing
apparatus, as the ones they have now
are 12-years old and near the end of
their useful lifespan.
“This donation was great timing for
us,” he said. “I didn’t have to go to the
City Council and ask for $250,000.”
Readers might think that the Measure Q
sales tax hike was taking care of the fire
department, but Knuckles said they get
about 40% of the roughly $900,000
a year from Measure Q. The police
department, and street and storm
drain repairs split the rest.
The new ladder truck, Chief
Knuckles said, will be in service
through at least 2045 (30 years) and
adds to an impressive upgrading
of the Fire Department that’s
taken place over the past 8 years
or so, after the December 2003
San Simeon Earthquake damaged
the old stationhouse and turned a
spotlight on the department’s plight.
The City built a new fire station
on Harbor Street that cost several
million dollars. Seven years go they
got a new $400,000 fire engine with
M-Q monies and five years ago they
bought a new paramedic rescue
truck for some $325,000, also out of
Measure Q plus a large grant from
the Hoag Family Foundation, which
the Friends of the Fire Department
secured. With this new $774,000
ladder truck, the department is looking
pretty good for the next few decades.
46
•
The Seven P’s of Sustainable Entrepreneurship
Bottom Line
By Michael Gunther
T
wenty years ago this month, I
started my business in Atlanta,
Georgia (I always have to put
Georgia because my friends the
Johnsons always get mixed up as to
which Atlanta I am referring to) and
have been plugging along evolving and
changing over the last two decades.
In reflection, I have identified
lessons learned as an entrepreneur
and a leader, that have allowed me to
continue thriving both personally and
professionally even after two decades
of consulting — what I call the Seven
P’s of sustainable entrepreneurship.
1. Purpose. My drive and
motivation has always been to be of
service and to assist individuals in
achieving their goals. Over the years, I
found myself getting diverted from my
mission due to potential opportunities
or challenges that were presented to me
as a business owner. Having a clearly
defined purpose or mission has become
more important as I have grown my
businesses to ensure I stay the course,
which provides both intrinsic and
extrinsic satisfaction.
2. People. They are the most critical
component of any business — whether
it is employees, customers or suppliers.
Therefore, being relationship centered
and truly caring about those you
interact with only allows you to grow
as a leader and achieve the goals you
desire. It is not enough to have great
people on a team. It is more critical you
know how to lead and manage a team to
optimize their strengths and abilities,
which inspires them to want to help you
accomplish whatever tasks are at hand.
3. Perception. You may feel you
have all the answers or understand
what is really
happening
with
your
organization,
but you probably
don’t
truly
know. There is
immense value
is
obtaining
an
outside
perspective
from mentors,
c o a c h e s ,
customers and
employees.
Don’t be afraid
of
receiving
f e e d b a c k .
A p p r o a c h
feedback as one
of the greatest
gifts you can
provide yourself
to grow as a
leader.
4. Persistence. Owning a business
can be overwhelming and it can
often feel lonely at the top. You may
even question your own abilities or
approaches as recessions, slumps, or
marketplace challenges engulf your
best-laid plans. Believe in yourself and
in your team. Trust you can, as a group,
get through any issue that presents
itself by being creatively disciplined
and adapting to any situation that
comes your way. Don’t lose faith in the
process or yourself.
5. Perseverance. You cannot rest
on your laurels. You must constantly
be striving to challenge the way you
are doing business to ensure your
relevance in the marketplace as well as
to your customers. Become a relentless
learner and never stop developing your
knowledge or skills, otherwise you will
eventually become extinct.
6. Profit. At the end of the day,
you must be able to create a profitable
entity. If not, your purpose, efforts and
goals become meaningless. Become
outcome focused not just with your
internal metrics of performance, but
also with the financial well being
of your organization. The lack of
consistent profit growth is a symptom
of other issues within the organization
and must be addressed feverishly as the
leader.
7. Playfulness. Have fun with your
business. You are going to spend more
hours on your business than you do
with most other adventures in your life.
You have to make sure you are enjoying
the journey, even with the ups and
downs, along the way and capturing all
the amazing moments and stories that
you have experienced.
Bottom Line
I am so fortunate to have the
opportunity to do what I love and
create a business that impacts people’s
lives and organizations in amazing
ways. It hasn’t always been easy (there
have been times when I wanted to give
myself a two weeks notice), but I could
not imagine a greater privilege than to
have the opportunity to live your dream
everyday through influencing others
to achieve their dreams and potential,
alongside an amazing team. It just
doesn’t get any better than that. Here’s
to the next 20!
This is another article in a series on
Michael Gunther’s entrepreneurial
story and how being raised in a large
family and his belief in creating a
growth company with a work-to-live
mentality has influenced his career. To
read the previous articles in this series,
visit his blog at: www.Collaborationllc.com.
Michael Gunther is founder and
president of Collaboration LLC, a team
of highly skilled business professionals
who are dedicated to assisting
proactive business owners to build
profitable, sustainable businesses
through results-oriented education
and consulting services. Learn more
at:
www.Collaboration-llc.com.
Bottom Line is a regular feature of
Tolosa Press.
•
47
Upcoming HR Rules Blipping on the Radar
Only Human
By Betsey Nash, SPHR
W
hen hiring or promoting a
department head at Home
Depot, I was careful to explain
that their salary was based on an
expectation of their putting in about 55
hours a week.
This wasn’t a 40-hour-a-week job and
they were paid accordingly. Not long
after I left, the company settled a class
action lawsuit brought by assistant
managers and department heads who
claimed, and from my experience
rightly so, that they were spending more
of those hours on regular employee
tasks than on management duties.
They said that if they were throwing
freight they should get overtime pay,
too. In California, a manager has to
spend more than 50% of their time
on managing, not counting inventory,
helping customers with routine
requests, or cashiering, in order to be
classified as exempt.
The upshot of the case was that
some management employees were
reclassified as “non-exempt,” and
thereafter were eligible for overtime
and breaks. I am sure the company had
to pay a fortune in penalties and back
pay for missed overtime and breaks.
Now the classification criteria
established by the Fair Labor Standards
Act is about to be changed, and the
result will undoubtedly be more exempt
employees reclassified and qualifying
for overtime. The feds are expected to
adopt California’s standard of 51% on
the “duties” test and to raise the salary
threshold.
The salary threshold is the cut-off
beyond which white-collar workers
are no longer eligible for overtime. It is
currently $23,600 (or $11.37 an hour
for full time), which sounds low in San
Francisco and New York, but makes
sense in cities where the standard of
living is not as high.
It is rare to find a manager, especially
in retail or hospitality, who is not
spending time doing regular duties.
So put it on your radar — audit your
employees’ duties and pay now so
you are not caught by surprise in the
fall, when the new standards (not yet
known) are expected to go into effect.
Guidance is coming soon for “wellness
programs.”
Employee
wellness
programs have long been recognized
as contributing to job satisfaction, as
well as reducing medical and health
insurance costs for the employer.
The Affordable Care Act established
maximum
levels
for
employee
incentives and tobacco cessation
programs as high as 30%–50% of the
cost of health care coverage, which is
quite a testimony to their effectiveness.
But they must be voluntary.
The EEOC has recently filed lawsuits
Dining
against companies that imposed
financial penalties on employees who
did not participate. If they didn’t offer
a reasonable alternative or waiver,
penalties could be discriminatory
against a disabled employee.
And there’s a privacy concern, as
well. Employers must have procedures
in place to safeguard private medical
information even as they measure
weight, blood pressure and other
wellness metrics in order to track and
award improvement.
Yes, it’s complicated, but there are
best practices tips out there to help
you. Google the non-profit “Employee
Retail
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com. Only Human is a regular feature
of the Tolosa Press.
48
•
Water Options Available to Morro Bay
The View From Harbor Street
By David Buckingham
W
e have a water problem. That
of course, is not news, but
it should be a call to action,
action at the individual level, and
perhaps more importantly right now,
in Morro Bay, action at the municipal
level.
While we can and must make
conservation a priority (and our
residents, businesses and City are
taking solid conservation steps) we
need to think, plan and act seriously
about securing our water supply for
the next 50 years.
Thankfully, Morro Bay has options,
infrastructure and opportunities that
other drought-stricken communities
would love to have. The solutions are
not easy, but can be easily imagined
and, with good planning and serious
implementation, we could attain
a more reliable, more sustainable
and, perhaps, compared to other
communities, more affordable water
balance in the decades ahead.
Wisely, one of the goals the City
adopted earlier this year was to
“improve water supply diversification.”
City leadership identified our water
supply as a problem requiring serious
action and set a number of objectives
— from conservation to supply to
purity — to begin to address that
problem.
Currently, our primary source of
water is the State Water Project. Years
ago the City bought into a state water
contract and we pay about $1,600 per
acre-foot for potable (drinking) water.
(The entire city uses about 3 acre-feet
of water a day.)
While this has been a reasonably
effective system to this point
(although we are on the hook to pay
the State a contracted amount no
matter how much water they are able
to deliver to us), with huge state water
supply challenges and massive state
infrastructure projects (and thus likely
further increased costs) in the years
ahead, we should explore options to
get off of state water. Options do exist.
Today, as you are reading this
column, we will dump of over 850,000
gallons of treated wastewater out to
sea. For a community in drought that
uses about a million gallons of water
each day, that sounds crazy.
So, completing the managed retreat
of our wastewater treatment plant
off the beach, and adding a water
reclamation component to that
system, makes lots of sense when it
comes to diversifying our water supply
for the next 50 years.
Whether the super-purified water
coming out of our future water
reclamation facility is put into the
ground so that we can pump it out
of our wells, treat it, and deliver it
to customers, or, whether future
treatment standards allow for direct
potable reuse, we have the potential of
recovering and using nearly as much
water as we currently get delivered
from the State.
Whether from agriculture or other
sources, we do have some manageable
purity challenges with our Morro
Creek basin wells (at Lila Keiser Park).
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However, adding over a million gallons
a day of highly cleaned water from a
new water reclamation facility has the
potential of solving a significant part
of our water supply problem to help us
get out of the State Water Project vice.
Another supply opportunity is our
desalinization facility. As noted above,
State Water costs about $1,600 per
acre-foot. Our small desal plant can
turn seawater into drinking water
for about the same cost — primarily
electricity.
Since it is likely the cost for state
water will increase far faster than
the cost of electricity, seawater desal
would further diversify, and further
strengthen our water supply fairly
economically.
Further, while we are locked into the
State Water Project contract for eight
more years, our desal plant can turn
high-nitrate, brackish water from our
lower Morro Valley wells, into pure
drinking water for around $1,000
per acre foot. Unfortunately, back in
2000, Morro Bay allowed our desal
permits to expire. One key waterrelated objective we have this year
is to complete Coastal Commission
permitting of our desal operations.
Thinking regionally and even more
broadly, perhaps Morro Bay has the
opportunity to be part of the solution
for our State’s serious water problems.
If we can supplement our own water
supply with desalinated seawater,
we might have the opportunity of
supplying desalinated water to our
region, and beyond.
With an existing ocean intake and
outfall, plenty of electricity coming
into the PG&E switchyard, and a
connection to the state water system
nearly within the city limits, could
Morro Bay become a net supplier of
desalinated water?
Perhaps a future use of a small part
of the Morro Bay Power Plant property
as a regional desalinization facility, an
activity that might not only help with
our local, regional and state water
supply problems, but be financially
profitable for Morro Bay as well.
What do you think about our water
situation? What are your ideas?
Comment on this column at: www.
facebook.com/cityofmorrobay
or
send me an email with your ideas or
questions to: dbuckingham@morrobay.ca.us.
David Buckingham is city manager
in Morro Bay. Send reader comments
to: neil@tolosapress.com. A view
from Harbor Street is a regular
feature of The Bay News.
•
49
From Trash to Tree
Story by Gareth Kelly
Photos courtesy of Alex Henige
A
s a San Diego native studying
landscape architecture at Cal Poly,
Alex Henige has spent many hours
on the freeway travelling between the two
places. Like many of us he noticed all the
trash that is strewn along vehicle arteries
crossing towns and cities. One day an
idea popped into his head.
“I was driving back home to San Diego,
looking at all the trash when it hit me,”
Henige said. “What if the trash could
actually seed the land? What if the all
this packaging contained seeds and could
bio degrade and instead of trash, flowers
popped up.”
Upon returning to Cal Poly, Henige
talked to a professor about taking a class
in packaging.
“The professor was really excited that
someone from the landscape architect
world was interested in packaging,” said
Henige. “I took the class and learned
all about packaging, how things are
manufactured and how
long things take to break
down. It was really
interesting. I decided to
use my idea for my senior
project.”
He found a company
in San Diego that
could
supply
the
paper he needed to
make
environmentally
friendly cups. A paper
that confirms to ASTM
D6400 that breaks down
within 180 days. He also
found about 20 different
California native species
of seeds to put in the
paper. Throw in a little
beeswax to coat the inside, and his first
prototype was made.
“I started doing more research, looking
at making reforestation areas and looking
at what species of plants needed bringing
back,” said Henige. “I realized in order
to get real manufacturing, I needed to
featured in Forbes.com, CNET the Today
Show and even got over 350,000 views
on a blogging site called boredpanda.
com, oh and now I’m in SLO City News!”
Not content with simply throwing
trash away this young, bright-eyed surfer
dude is hoping to change the way all
communities use and reuse their waste.
Henige hopes to have the final coffee
cup product complete by the end of this
September and is hoping to be in the
SLO Hot House accelerator program. He
also has other ideas he isn’t yet ready to
share. Armed with youth, conviction in
his beliefs and with a noble ideology, this
young man hopes to change the world
one coffee cup at a time. To find out more
about this impressive millennial and his
cup see: www.planttrash.com
gauge real interest from the public so I
started a kick-starter campaign. My goal
was $10,000, but the response was huge,
I got $21,000. I can now use this money
to get access to manufacturers and also
do a little marketing. The response to
the product has been amazing. I’ve been
As we turn into more a dust bowl what
water saving ideas or stories do you
have? Gareth would love to hear about
them at: gareth@tolosapress.com
Is your drinking
getting in the
way?
Why not give Alcoholics Anonymous a try?
For meeting times and locations or for more
information, in San Luis Obispo County call
(805) 541-3211
Toll Free (855) 541-3288
www.sloaa.org
Love
You
the music w
we play,
You’re really going to love our morning
news!
m
50
•
Prices Are Born Here
And Raised Elsewhere
A New COO, Zoo Passes Test and Fitness Guru Honored
Business News and Announcements
Compiled by Camas Frank
San Luis Obispo County is
celebrating National County
Government Month in April
with several public activities,
including tours at SLO County
Regional Airport and a volunteer
workday to clean up areas around
Lopez Lake Recreation Area. The
theme for this year’s National
County Government Month focuses
primarily on transportation and
infrastructure as, “the building
blocks for a safe, healthy, livable,
prosperous and well-governed
community.” See: www.slocounty.
ca.gov for details.
The largest inventory
on the Central Coast!
Locally owned and operated
for over 20 years.
The big yellow building across
from Smart & Final.
252 Higuera St, San Luis Obispo
Call Us: 544-9259 or 541-8473
The 5 Cities Swim School was recently honored with a Chamber of
Commerce Business Beautification Award
Now Accepting New Patients...
The SLO Chamber welcomed
new member, the Grocery
Outlet, with a ribbon cutting
ceremony last month. Grocery
Outlet is a national bargain chain
with the newest branch at 1314
Madonna Road in the Laguna
Village Shopping Center. The store
is owned and operated by Ryan and
Trust Your Honda to the People Who Know Honda Best.
Including Children!
SORINA RATCHFORD, DDS
General & Cosmetic Dentistry
New Services
Crowns & Bridges
Extractions
Periodontal Surgery
Implants
Invisalign®
Root Canals
Dentures
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Is your
“CHECK ENGINE LIGHT”
on? Come in for a
FREE BASIC INSPECTION
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UÊ,iÌÀiÛiÊ`>}ÃÌVÊVì
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We sell tires!
We honor all Honda and
Acura coupons
Factory trained technicians
Free local shuttle service
Serving the SLO area
since 1977
One coupon per customer. One per visit. Valid only at Sunset Honda. Please present coupon at
time of write-up. Cannot be combined with any other coupon or discount. Expires 01/31/15.
805-544-9500
12250 Los Osos Valley Road
San Luis Obispo
www.sunsethonda.com
Sales: Mon-Fri 7:30am-5:30pm
Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 11am-4pm
Service & Parts: Mon-Fri 7am-8pm
Sat 8am-4pm
FOR OUR NORTH COUNTY FRIENDS:
Visit our Sunset Service Center, 4850 El Camino Real, Atascadero.
Open Mon-Fri 8:00am-5:00pm. Please call for an appointment: 805-462-8199.
N O W O P E N S A T U R D AY S 8 : 0 0 A M - 4 : 0 0 P M I N S L O !
on
advising
and
supporting divisional
operations in each
of the six PathPoint
divisions.
Morris
&
Garritano
has
been named “2014
Brokerage
Firm
of the Year for
the Greater Los
Angeles
Area,”
including San Luis
Obispo,
Santa
Barbara
and
Ventura
The 5 Cities Swim School was recently honored
counties, by Anthem
Marielle DeFazio has been
with a Chamber of Commerce Business
Blue
Cross, Large
hired
as
PathPoint’s
fi
rst
Chief
Beautification Award
Group
Division.
Operations Officer
Morris & Garritano’s
innovative
benefit
The
International
Shannon Parrish, who relocated to
strategies
and
multi-year
solutions
Symposium
SLO from Washington. The store Chardonnay
were commended by Anthem
sells refrigerated and frozen foods, kicks off at the end of May Blue Cross for working to provide
fresh produce, meat, organics, in Pismo Beach. Featuring top employers with creative solutions to
dry groceries, beer and wine, global Chardonnay winemakers, minimize the transitional effects of
household, and health and beauty the event will be held May 28-30 complying with the new healthcare
at The Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa
products.
and The Cliffs Resort. A sampling provisions of the Affordable Care
of panel discussions includes a Act. “With healthcare reform,”
Employee Benefits Manager, Celia
Mike Z. Robinson, founder Hanzell Vineyards and Mount Eden Silacci, said, “we’ve been working so
Vineyards
retrospective
tasting
of San Luis Obispo-based
hard to ensure that our clients are
Personal Training Studio, MZR moderated by Fred Dame, and “To getting the best possible solution,
Fitness has again been selected Oak Or Not To Oak? Exploring so to receive this recognition lets
by the IDEA Fitness Committee as Chardonnay as the Chameleon us know that all our hard work is
being one of the “Top 3 Personal of Vitis Vinifera,” moderated paying off.” Morris & Garritano is
Trainers in the World.” He’s had the by Brian McClintic. Additional one of just five brokers in the state
distinction for three of the last four events include a vintners’ wine that have been working hand-inyears. The IDEA Health & Fitness tech symposium, artisan sausage hand with Anthem to introduce a
Association is the world’s largest for and Chardonnay pairings, a new product line over the past six
fitness and wellness professionals sommelier Chardonnay challenge, months. Founded in 1885, Morris &
with over 250,000 members. “This two grand tastings and La Paulée Garritano is a full-service insurance
Top 3 award recognizes individuals Dinner and Awards Ceremony. To agency focusing on business
whose outstanding leadership learn about and for tickets, see: insurance, workers compensation,
inspires staff and influences both thechardonnaysymposium.com.
employee benefits, personal lines,
active and under active people
surety and life insurance. See: www.
to commit to a healthy lifestyle
morrisgarritano.com for more on
Marielle
DeFazio
has
been
through successful, creative and
the firm.
diverse fitness programming,” hired as PathPoint’s first Chief
said Robinson. “The IDEA Health Operations Officer. Founded in
& Fitness Awards are considered Santa Barbara in 1964, PathPoint
to be the fitness industry’s highest p r o v i d e s
form of recognition and have been support services
presented annually since 1985. So that empower
with
it’s a really big deal in our field to people
be recognized as a Top 3 finalist and d i s a b i l i t i e s ,
again. I’m just excited and humbled e c o n o m i c
by this opportunity to be included disadvantages,
mental
with such a prominent group of and
illness to live
fitness professionals.”
and
work
as
valued
The 5 Cities Swim School m e m b e r s
their
was recently honored with of
communities.
a Chamber of Commerce
Business Beautification Award P a t h P o i n t
San
for new landscaping surrounding serves
Obispo,
the center. Notable but not pictured Luis
are colorful fish designed and made Santa Barbara,
by a French artist hanging above Ventura, Kern
the pool. In the photo left to right and Los Angeles
are: Mary Giambalvo, Adriana counties. As the
Pitchford, David Aldana, Nan nonprofit’s first
COO, DeFazio
Fowler, and Linda Osty.
will concentrate
•
51
The Association of Zoos &
Aquariums announced that
the Charles Paddock Zoo
in Atascadero was granted
accreditation
by
AZA’s
Independent
Accreditation
Commission. “Only zoos and
aquariums that meet the highest
standards are accredited by the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums,”
said AZA President and CEO, Jim
Maddy. “The community should
take great pride in knowing that the
Charles Paddock Zoo is a proven
leader in the care and conservation
of wildlife, and in inspiring people
to take action to protect the natural
world.” To be accredited, the zoo
underwent a thorough review to
ensure it has and will continue to
meet ever-rising standards, which
include animal care, veterinary
programs, conservation, education,
and safety. AZA requires zoos and
aquariums to successfully complete
this rigorous accreditation process
every five years. The accreditation
process
includes
a
detailed
application and a meticulous on-site
inspection by a team of trained zoo
and aquarium professionals. The
inspecting team observes all aspects
of the institution’s operation,
including animal care, keeper
training, safety for visitors, staff
and animals, educational programs,
conservation efforts, veterinary
programs, financial stability, risk
management, visitor services, and
other areas. To learn more, see:
www.aza.org.
Send
business
briefs
for
consideration
to:
reporter@
tolosapress.com.
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