Tolosa Press Year In Review

Bay NewsCompiled by Neil Farrell

The Bay News’ coverage of the Estero Bay communities in 2014 had a bit of everything, including

a failed recall attempt, new City leaders hired in Morro Bay, and continued work on a new sewer plant for Morro Bay and Cayucos, even as the Los Osos sewer project began construction of a plant, the deaths of two local civic leaders, and a major project to rebuild the Cayucos Pier got started. [Pages 3-12]

Government controversy might be what many people remember about 2014, but the Five Cites also saw progress in long standing projects, changes in city leadership and

people uniting to preserve natural beauty. With an eye towards the future, take a look back at the highlights of the past year. [Pages 13-22]

It was the year of development and land use deals in SLO and along with that eye on the future came a healthy dose of, “not in my neighborhood, thanks.”

Dorm and housing projects aside, it was a bullish year for the region’s entrepreneurs and an election managed to show that every vote does matter in local races. It’s all over for the moment, but for your amusement and remembrance the SLO City News here presents a blow-by-blow of the stories that shaped a community for 2014. [Pages 23-31]

Coast NewsCompiled by Theresa-Marie Wilson

SLO CityCompiled by Camas Frank

Tolosa Press · January 1 - 7, 20152014Year In Review

2 • January 1 - 7, 2015 • Tolosa Press

Table ofContentsContents

Year In Review ............... 3-12

Bret Colhouerpublisher

[email protected]

Neil Farrellmanaging editor The Bay News

[email protected]

Theresa-Marie Wilsonmanaging editor The Coast News

[email protected]

Camas Franksection editor

SLO City [email protected]

Paul Winninghoffsports reporter

[email protected]

Gareth Kellybusiness / lifestyle reporter

[email protected]

Michelle Johnsonart director

Christy Serpaeditorial design

Kathrene Tiffi ncopy editor

Kaila Lugoadministrative assistant

ADVERTISING

Dave Diazinternet, text & loyalty marketing

Dana McGrawsales manager

[email protected]

Zorina Riccisenior advertising executive

SEO [email protected]

Carrie [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

Teri BayusMichael Gunther

King HarrisVivian Krug

Evanne MingoriBetsey Nash

SLO NightwritersRay Ambler

Ruth Anne AngusAmy Joseph

Carrie JaymesErin O’Donnell

This is a publication of Tolosa Press, Inc., Copy-right 2007–2013 all rights reserved. One free copy per person. Additional copies can be obtained at our offi ces 615 Clarion Court, #2, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401. Tolosa Press makes every reasonable ef-fort to ensure the accuracy of its contents. Please notify us if information is incorrect.

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Entertainment .............................................................. 32

805 Sound ............................................................. 33-35

Dinner And a Movie.....................................................36

Good To Be King ......................................................... 37

Lifestyle ....................................................................... 38

Tax Page ..................................................................... 39

Year In Review ............. 13-22 Year In Review ............. 23-31

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Tolosa Press • January 1 - 7, 2015 • 3


Year In ReviewBAY NEWS

JANUARYThe Morro Bay Tourism Bureau

started the New Year looking for a new director, after its inaugural one handed in her resignation in December. Karin Moss, who was hired Dec. 5, 2012 to take over the newly-formed Tourism Bureau, told The Bay News that she prefers to work independently and not under the auspices of a board of directors. She also prefers to work on project-oriented marketing, not so much what the Bureau has in mind.

“This is a seven-days-a-week job,” said Moss.

The search was on for interim city government leaders in Morro Bay and the City Council picked an interim city manager in January. Acting City Manager, Susan Slayton, presented a list of candidates, people who do this kind of specialized temp work, to the council for consideration. A retired city manager and former police chief, Ed Kreins, was hired for the job and he stayed on until late September.

Efforts to recall Morro Bay Mayor Jamie Irons fell short of gathering enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, a spokesman for the group pushing the recall said in a statement. Morro Bay Forward gathered about 1,600 signatures, some 150 short of the 1,754 needed to qualify for the ballot. “The reason that we did not achieve our goal had nothing to do with the efforts of Mayor Irons’ supporters or the bias of The Tribune’s Editorial Board,” said Bill Peirce, secretary for

Morro Bay Forward. “It was the result of our inability to knock on enough doors in the 90 days we had to collect the signatures. The shorter daylight hours this time of the year and holiday travel made it diffi cult to fi nd enough registered voters at home. We are confi dent that if we had attempted the recall in the spring we would have been successful.”

Members of the Cayucos Historical Society rolled out the red carpet to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit at the Cayucos History Museum, located at 41 S. Ocean Ave. The museum, which opened July 2013, is now featuring a history of the Cayucos Pier, with story boards telling the story of the town icon, historic photos and even a scale model of the pier built by local school children using popsicle sticks.

“To be able to walk to the water, have a cup of coffee by the Pier, and take in the bird life, the locals who are always friendly, and to realize we live where people come to rest or vacation. Wow, we are fortunate!” said Bob Crizer, who, with his wife Beth, was selected as the Los Osos/Baywood Park Citizens of the Year. But these 33-year residents of Los Osos consider themselves not just fortunate citizens of their own community, but citizens to all communities. For example, when they read about a Los Angeles woman who was scammed out of her small home, they raised $20,000, recruited a team of 19 from Los Osos, Morro Bay and Cayucos, drove to L.A. and demolished and rebuilt the home in one week.

The sale of a city-owned property in the Cloisters went bust after it was discovered a previously approved 6-lot subdivision would need a permit from the Coastal Commission. The City Council last November approved extending the tentative tract map for the subdivision on the .99-acre vacant lot at San Jacinto and Coral, at the request of a potential buyer, Broc Assets. Broc Assets offered the city $935,000 for the property, the fi nal, large parcel in the Cloisters subdivision. Interim City Attorney Anne Russell said they asked the planning commission to look at the property and make sure it was consistent with the general plan. “It seemed like a slam dunk,” she said. Instead it was more of an air ball, as the staff discovered that when the Cloisters was originally subdivided in the early 1990s, all of the potential residential development credits were transferred to the 120 residential lots clustered into two neighborhoods. “There are no residential lots left in the development,” said Russell.

The Morro Bay Power Plant was given a closure date by the State of California and nearly 60 years of producing power came to an end. According to



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County Supervisors awarded a contract to build the Los Osos sewer treatment plant on Jan. 28, and as seems usual for the project, the bids came in over the estimates. Auburn Constructors, Inc., was the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, at $48.1 million. Add in a contingency fund of $2.4 million and the plant’s budget is $50.6 million. The engineer’s estimate was $46.3 million.

Some water customers of Golden State Water Co., in Los Osos were up in arms over plans to once again raise their rates, after the rates were just hiked last year. “We are seeing our quality of life suppressed with the excessive rate increases while the not-for-profi t water company across the valley (Los Osos CSD) sells water from the same source for half the price,” said

local activist, Al Barrow. (Discontent with Golden State continued into the spring when a group of citizens formed Los Osos FLOW [Friends of Locally Owned Water] to explore buying out the private company.)

FEBRUARYMorro Bay offi cials raised the water

conservation alert level in town in

response to continued dry weather and the Governor’s drought declaration. Public Works Director, Rob Livick, said the city was implementing “Severely Restricted Water Supply Conditions” which is up one level from the “Moderately Restricted Water Supply Conditions” that had been in effect for months.

An Arroyo Grande man was killed

when his RV ran off a 600-foot cliff near Ragged Point. According to Cal-Fire, they got a report of a RV driving over the cliff on Hwy 1 about 2:35 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2 about a half mile south of Ragged Point. Cal-Fire said the RV was “destroyed on impact” at the foot of the cliff and rescuers repelled part way down the cliff and hiked down to the scene. The Highway Patrol reported that the victim was Arthur “Clay” Watkins, 56, who was recently in the news after being arrested on suspicion of bank robbery. Watkins allegedly robbed a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Santa Maria last November, in a rather bizarre case that included another man trying to run off with the loot from the heist after Watkins allegedly dropped it while allegedly trying to escape the scene.

When you turn off Los Osos Valley Road onto Pine Avenue in Los Osos you see the Trinity United Methodist Church and across the street is what can perhaps best be described as a bunch of dead trees towering over a bunch of dead houses. But a proposal surfaced to donate that 5-1/2 acre property to the community and local leaders had hopes that a way could be found to both remove the eyesore and

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build a new park. “It’s actually 17 ‘dead houses,’” said Daryl Roe of Los Osos Investment Group, LLC who along with his partner, Scott Black was trying to turn a troublesome property into something the community has wanted for a long, long time — more parklands. “We’re not too proud to be the owners of this ‘gem,’” he added.

Neighbors of a proposed hillside road project in Cayucos that would open up some 30 lots for development, gathered at the Vet’s Hall to discuss ways to block the project. “Preserve Cayucos,” led by John Carsel, Carol Baptiste, Ralph Wessel and Arley Robinson, asked the 40 or so residents and property owners there to help them raise $5,000 to hire a consultant to critically analyze

the project to extend Gilbert Avenue. “Preserve Cayucos is not against the project per se,” said Carsel, who lives on Gilbert and led the meeting. “We want to ensure it is done right and safely. And if it is not, then we are not in favor of it.” (The geological study showed tremendous potential for the hillside to slip if the project moved forward.)

A giant excavator crushed up Morro Bay’s Lemos Feed & Pet Supply store, tearing down a building with deep roots in the community to make way for a new store. Company founder Mike Lemos said that the new building would mark the third location for the company in Morro Bay. They started out in a space up on Quintana Road, he said, as the excavator made scraps of a barn that used to be at the Main Street location. “We’ve been in Morro Bay since 1978.” (The new store opened in November and is an attractive addition to town.)

MARCHThe City of Morro Bay hired a new

interim city attorney, one with more than three decades of experience in municipal law. The City Council voted unanimously to hire the law fi rm of Aleshire & Wynder, LLP with the principal attorney for Morro Bay being Joe Pannone. Pannone is a veteran municipal attorney who has worked for numerous cities and special agencies and districts across California. He was also the contract attorney for the cities of Lompoc and Bellfl ower and also city attorney in the City of Baldwin Park until last December. That’s when a new city council majority fi red “without cause” Pannone along with the Chief Executive Offi cer, Vijay Singhal and Police Chief Lili Hadsell. (In December, the “interim” label was removed and the law fi rm hired full time.)

Amid little fanfare, the Morro Bay Harbor Patrol took possession of its new $400,000 patrol boat increasing its abilities for search and rescue, as well as marine fi refi ghting. Built by D.R. Radon of Goleta, the blue, fi berglass-hulled boat features a full compliment of electronic equipment — GPS, radar, radios and RDF — and is a couple of steps above the departments three other boats in that regard.

It’s been a part of the Morro Bay waterfront for nearly 60 years and a new investor came onboard to help Virg’s Landing continue on well into the future. Virg’s owner, Sharon Moores, said they leased their boats to Denise De Cock and she will also take over the day-today operations as manager. De Cock, who was born and raised in Capetown, South Africa, said she has long had a love of the sea. Her father was a master mariner who sailed all over the world. “My father spent his whole life at sea,” she said. (De Cock was by the end of the year in the process of buying the whole operation.)

Morro Bay High School’s principal resigned from his job but continued to work for the school district. Dan Andrus reportedly resigned his position March 7 after being away from campus since Feb. 7, fi rst on medical leave (Feb. 7-19)



and then administrative leave (Feb. 20-March 7). He reportedly informed the faculty and staff of his resignation March 7 via E-mail. Assistant Principal Kathy Buehler was named interim principal and is expected to serve out the school year in that capacity. (Los Osos Middle School Principal, Dr. Kyle Pruitt took over in the fall).

Morro Bay’s “Solo Sailor” departed on life’s fi nal bon voyage. Bill Yates, a four-time elected Mayor of Morro Bay, died in March after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 66. Yates served two terms as mayor from 1993-1996, a third term from 2003-04 and a fi nal term from 2010-12. He always said he loved being mayor. In January of 1997 until 2000 he solo sailed the Pacifi c Ocean writing about his adventures on a blog (see: morro-bay.com/morsels/yates). Yates wrote in his blog, “It’s a perilous business undertaking a long-distance solo sailing voyage; there’s no denying that. But I have never worried about not making it. What’s the point in that? I have always maintained an attitude that if I prepare properly and sail with intelligence, I will make it just fi ne.”

APRILMorro Bay’s community radio

station, 97.3 FM The Rock, fl ipped the proverbial “Big Switch” Saturday (March 22) and hit the airwaves, broadcasting live from outside the Chamber of Commerce offi ce, 695

Harbor St. It took two years to get a Federal Communications Commission license for the station, which has enough power to be heard in Cayucos, Morro Bay and Los Osos, and sometimes Cambria and SLO when weather conditions are right.

Attention turned from the Righetti Ranch site on Hwy 41 to another site farther up Morro Valley, as work on a new sewer treatment plant continued in Morro Bay. The City Council also adopted an ambitious, 5-year schedule for building a new plant, setting a target date of Feb. 25, 2019 to have it completed. But before that giant leap takes place there is a load of interim steps the sewer project must overcome. “We need to pick a site location before we can make signifi cant progress,” said Public Works Director, Rob Livick.

Work by the Council of Governments on a Class-1 bike and pedestrian trail paralleling Hwy 1 from Morro Bay to San Luis Obispo shifted gears. SLOCOG held a public meeting at the County Government Center to gather comments on the so-called, “Chorro Valley Trail.” The meeting was part of a feasibility study on what could eventually be a 12-mile biking, walking and jogging path connecting Morro Bay, Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly. Jessica Barry, a SLOCOG transportation planner, said they got a $42,000 grant from the Federal Byways Program to start work on what’s expected to be a $52,000 feasibility study.

MAYOliver “Hoppy” Hopkins has

experienced the thrill of chasing salmon and swordfi sh on the open sea up and down the West Coast and saw fi rst-hand the horrors of war. Now he’s getting ready to take another adventure when he joins other war veterans on an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Hoppy, who like a teenager says he “will be 91 in July,” sat for an interview in the modest Morro Bay home that he shares with Morgan, his old boxer dog and companion. “I trained him as a service dog,” says Hoppy, “and he was a hell of a good service dog at one time. But he’s like me, he’s poopin’ out. He’s 11 now.”

For the people aboard the Dos Osos whale watching boat, it was probably the greatest morning of whale watching ever, but it certainly was no fun for a gray whale cow and her calf, when they were attacked by a pod of killer whales about a mile outside the Morro

Bay Harbor entrance. For much of the day, the orcas repeatedly rushed the whales, raking them with their teeth and ramming them, trying to separate the mother from baby. The orcas would swim off when the gray’s dove deep cruising the area for a time then meeting up again in a cooperative attack, repeating the strategy over and over. Sometime that day or night, they succeeded too, as reports came in of killer whales feeding on a dead gray. And the sheer terror of what it must have been like for the young whale was plainly evident that Saturday, when its carcass washed ashore on Morro Strand State Beach opposite the Cloisters. With it’s entire head gone, the sea gulls were next to feast on the whale, which had teeth rakes in its fl esh from the tail to the missing head. On Monday, City workers buried the carcass in the sand.

JUNEAnother of Morro Bay’s Living

Treasures has died. Dan Reddell, 66,



died June 3 after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

He was born in Los Angeles and lived in Porterville until 1959, when the family moved to the Central Coast. He was a graduate of Coast Union High in Cambria, Cal Poly and earned a master’s at U.C. Santa Barbara. He went into the family construction business rather than pursue a doctorate and became a real estate broker in 1983. He opened Bayshore Realty in 1997.

Reddell was a tireless volunteer in various organizations including Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce and the Harbor Festival. He was the Chamber’s 1987 Citizen of the Year, the 1988 Morro Bay Rotarian of the Year, the Chamber’s 2013 Living Treasure Award winner and the 2013 Realtor of the Year. He was also active with the Morro Bay Grange, Friends of the Fire Department, and the Scenic Coast Association of Realtors, serving as president of Rotary, and the Police Foundation, and was also a founder and past president of the Harbor Festival. The Festival’s main stage was permanently dedicated to Reddell at last year’s event.

He has also adopted the cause of Si Tennenberg to send care packages to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and asks that donations in his memory be made to that cause or the fi ght against Lou Gehrig’s.

Morro Bay avoided a run-off election in November to fi ll the remaining city council seat, after the interim city attorney decided that more than 120 questionable ballots wouldn’t be counted, giving John Headding the necessary votes to win outright. City Clerk Jamie Boucher, who is the offi cial city elections offi cer, said, “Deducting the 123 blank ballots cast along with the two over-votes [voting for three instead of two] from the Ballots Cast ‘line’ (3,952) gives us 3,827 ballots cast from which to determine a possible majority. Mr. Headding’s 1,940 votes gave him 50.7% of the vote resulting in no November run-off being necessary, and he being declared a winner.” (Newcomer Matt Makowetski and Mayor Jamie Irons won the other seats. Also, in the November election voters did away with the Primary Election system in Morro Bay.)

Morro Bay’s 2014-15 fi scal year budget was balanced but not without help from a special reserve fund. Employee costs are expected to rise and reserve funds are being spent on capital projects. Residents can expect hikes in water and sewer rates and given those hits, the City staff doesn’t think it wise to ask for more taxes just now. That was the nitty-gritty of the City’s new spending plan. “The General Fund is balanced,” said Interim City Manager Ed Kreins in the budget’s summary letter, “but not without help from the

City’s Risk Management Reserve in the amount of $135,688.”

Once again, the Morro Bay fi shing industry was leading the way, after a deal was fi nalized to keep so-called “Catch shares” with the local fl eet. The deal involved The Nature Conservancy,

and a special non-profi t organization, The Morro Bay Community Quota Fund, to hold onto the fi shing rights for the local industry. It will allow the fl eet to fi sh the “deep water complex,” catching such groundfi sh as petrale and dover sole, black cod and black gill, among other species. These groundfi sh

are caught in 200-plus fathoms of water and are the backbone of the local industry.

JULYMorro Bay Police Department sought

to fi ll a couple of open positions as



summer kicked into high gear, after two offi cers left the City, one under somewhat mysterious circumstances and one for greener pastures. Over the past few months, the department was down as many as four offi cers, as Cpl. Mark Martin had been off duty for sometime with an injury, and Ofc. Gene Stuart was on leave after a death in his

family. Also, Ofc. Leslie Daily, who had been with the department for 10 years left, and Chief Amy Christie declined to talk about why. “I’m not going to discuss these personnel matters,” she told The Bay News. Under state law, agencies are not allowed to disclose why an offi cer left, no matter the reason. Daily was listed in the Department’s

2013 Annual Report as the “Terrorism Liaison Offi cer.”

A new principal for Los Osos Middle School was named, replacing the former principal who moved up to Morro Bay High. Andre Illig was recently announced as the new principal by the San Luis Coastal Unifi ed School District,

Christin Newlon district personneldirector said in a news release. “Mr.Illig rose to the top because of hisbackground as an outstanding scienceteacher, experience as a middle schoolprincipal,” Newlon said, “and strongcommitment to the STEAM modelstarted at Los Osos Middle School. Mr.Illig is enthusiastic and personable.”

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Coast Guard Station Morro Bay was given the green light to submit plans for a new crew quarters on a vacant lease site adjacent to the Krill’s Saltwater Water Taffy store. The City Council voted unanimously to approve a “consent of landlord” decree that basically promises to lease the site to the Coast Guard and allowing it to submit building plans. But while the site is vacant, the USCG’s plans include taking over the area where a public restroom currently stands. The Coast Guard said it has about $200,000 in its budget for the project that could be used to build a relocated bathroom. (At the end of the year, no plans had yet been submitted.)

AUGUSTMorro Bay’s emergency dispatch

center at the police station was eliminated and the City contracted for the service with the County. Though the matter had not been specifi cally agendized in any council meetings, it was discussed in closed session, evolving fi rst as an “emergency item” out of employee contract negotiations talks, The Bay News learned. Also, on July 1, affected City employees were called to a meeting and told of the possible change, and that the dispatching jobs might be eliminated. They were also instructed not to talk about the matter publicly. As a closed session matter, the council can’t comment about it either, until it goes public on the 11th. Interim City

Manager Ed Kreins told The Bay News, “There obviously has been no decision made by the council and we will have a presentation at the meeting by me, [Fire Chief] Steve Knuckles, [Police Chief] Amy Christey, Cal Fire representatives and Sheriff’s representatives, answer questions, and hopefully the council will have enough information to make a decision.” (By the end of August, the switch in dispatching services had been completed and seems to be working smoothly.)

The County and State renewed their long-standing arrangement for fi re protection in the unincorporated areas of SLO County. County Supervisors recently approved the 2014-15 agreement between Cal Fire and the County Fire Department, an agreement that has been renewed annually since 1930 and this year will cost county taxpayers more than $15.6 million.

SEPTEMBERMorro Bay picked a career military

man for its new city manager, though one who brings a lot of controversial baggage to the job. Interim City Manager Ed Kreins announced the hiring of David Buckingham, a retired U.S. Army colonel, as the new city manager, effective Sept. 29. Kreins took the extraordinary step of explaining to the audience the troubles Col. Buckingham had as garrison commander in Vicenza, Italy, and a dispute he had with the City of Bishop over not being hired as

that city’s manager, before landing the Morro Bay job, adding that of the 50 applicants, Buckingham was unanimously chosen by a citizen committee, a staff committee and the city council. Kriens said a gracious good-bye to Morro Bay after seeing the City through a rough several months.

With one application for a wave energy plant offshore at Morro Bay rejected, Dynegy is now pursuing permits for a wave park to connect to its Morro Bay Power Plant. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been publishing legal notices locally in The Tribune announcing a comment period for two wave energy projects that would be placed in Estero Bay. Called the “Dynegy Point Estero Wave Park,

LLC.,” FERC is seeking comments on a “preliminary permit” that would allow it to study the feasibility of such a project that would be developed in phases. First phase is to install one, 1-megawatt buoy as a demonstration project. Called a “GWAVE Power Generating Vessel,” it would be a large buoy connected to the sea fl oor via chains and a large anchor. The buoy goes up and down with the waves and produces energy, transmitting it via underwater cable to the plant, where it would be fed into the energy grid through a PG&E-owned substation. (The City Council later voted to oppose Dynegy’s proposals and applied to become an offi cial intervenor.)

A local company got the job to repair



the Cayucos Pier, as County Supervisors awarded a construction contract to Associated Pacifi c Constructors, Inc., of Morro Bay. Associated was the lowest responsible bidder at $1.7 million. The County received three bids with base bids ranging from $1.6 million to $3.4M.

A nearly eight-year nightmare for a handful of Los Osos residents came to an end when the Regional Water Quality Control Board voted to lift cease and desist orders (CDO) on their properties. In 2006, the water board, in reaction to the Community Services District’s abandoning of a sewer project that had already broken ground following a recall election, fi ned the CSD $6 million and proposed handing down CDOs to 45 “randomly selected” property owners within the sewer prohibition zone. This for allegedly violating the “basin plan” and discharging wastewater into the groundwater basin through septic tanks.

Morro Bay High School and the surrounding town seem a good fi t — both are in some ways lost in time, out of touch with the 21st Century. And

while that might do for a quaint little fi shing village, it’s not too good for the high school. The San Luis Coastal Unifi ed School District is asking voters to approve Measure D in November, a $177 million bond needed they say mainly because the District’s high schools — San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay and Pacifi c Beach — are due for major upgrades and expansion. (The measure was overwhelmingly passed in the November Election.)

OCTOBERThe Morro Bay Harbor Department

and volunteers conducted a clean up of the Oyster Beach below Bayshore Bluffs Park, part of the statewide Coastal Clean Up Day. Some 53 abandoned boats — catamarans, canoes, skiffs and small sailboats — were hauled off and towed down the harbor to Coleman Beach, where they were winched out of the water and drug to the department’s storage yard by Morro Creek. What resulted was a large pile of mostly useless boats, but a few gems, too.

California’s drought was taking its toll on many species of plants and trees, and in Baywood Park the drought

is believed contributing to the decline of some beautiful and historic Italian stone pines growing near the bay’s edge. Mark Ruddell of Ruddell’s Tree Service in Los Osos said in addition to the drought, the estimated 80-year-old trees are suffering from living in a harsh, sea-air environment, an insect pest mealy bug that infests them, and many have been pruned incorrectly over the years. “They leave the canopy too high [when pruning],” he said, “and it exposes the tree to the salt environment.” The decline has been going on for about the past 5 years or so, he estimated. And the drought hasn’t helped, even though Baywood and much of Los Osos has high ground water due to decades of septic tank use.

NOVEMBERIn a heated staredown between the

City of Morro Bay and local business people over ongoing license audits, ‘twas the City that blinked fi rst. The City Council approved moving forward with changes to the municipal code’s business license section to establish a 90-day amnesty period for business people to comply and pay any and all taxes owed, thus avoiding penalties;

extend that grace period to business people who have already paid and give refunds of penalties; and establish another license category for artists, handymen and home hobby businesses of $10 a year, so long as they can prove they’ve earned less than $12,000 a year on their work.

Yet another nail was hammered into the coffi n of the Morro Bay Power Plant. The Regional Water Quality Control Board is being asked to rescind the “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit” or NPDES, that allowed the plant to take in seawater for cooling and power plant use and discharge it at the outfall canal at the base of Morro Rock. The NPDES permit was tied intricately with the plant’s once-through seawater cooling system and provided limits on chemical make up along with temperature, which cause so-called “thermal” impacts to surrounding ocean waters when discharged into the sea. The permit forfeiture comes on top of last year’s announcement by Dynegy that the plant would close if it could not secure a contract for its output. It closed this past February.

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Having the waters off San Luis Obispo County declared a National Marine Sanctuary could mean a $23 million a year boost to the local economy and create some 600 new jobs, bringing in federal government dollars and increasing tourism by ensuring offshore oil platforms are forever banned, concludes a recent study done for the Sierra Club. For the fi rst time since 1995, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking applications for NMS status, which has touched off a renewed push for such a designation off our shore.

DECEMBERAuthorities arrested eight people and

seized about 4 total tons of marijuana, in the latest episode of a drug-smuggling boat being landed on the North Coast. According to SLO County Sheriff’s Cmdr. James Taylor, at 3:30 a.m. Nov. 27 patrol deputies spotted a suspicious white panel van in San Simeon and followed, eventually stopping the van for a vehicle code infraction at Hwy 1 and Vista del Mar in San Simeon.

Deputies discovered a lone driver and a van full of the evil weed. (A second van was stopped and two more men arrested by Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies in Big Sur, and another 2 tons of marijuana seized.)

Los Osos CSD water customers were asked once again to further cut back on usage after a new groundwater study showed seawater marching under foot at an accelerated rate. Rob Miller, the CSD’s engineer, said the study offered “a good time to educate the public and focus on the groundwater basin and the issues we’re having.” The main issue is that seawater intrusion into the deep, lower acquirer, in the 700-plus foot depth and where the CSD’s drinking water wells supply roughly half the community, is getting worse. “It’s the only water we’ve got,” said Kathy Kivley, the CSD general manager during an interview with The Bay News. “If we don’t conserve, we won’t have any water to pump.”

Morro Bay Police arrested a former city resident for allegedly killing

his wife, closing an open case that happened fi ve years ago. According to police, the case involved the suspicious death of Sherre Ann Neal-Lypps, 62, who died at a home in the 2400 block of Greenwood Ave., Morro Bay back in June 2009.

It looks like all the hiccups and hitches in the get-a-longs of the City of Morro Bay have been worked out and a project to build a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Morro Creek at the beach will fi nally get underway. It was the second attempt to bid the more than $1.2 million project, after the last attempt in October had bids come in more than $240,000 above the available budget. The fi ve bids that were accepted were: Cal Portland, $1.1 million; Souza Const., $1.2 million; Specialty Const., Inc., $1.3 million; Dawson Mauldin, $1.4 million; and R. Burke Corp., $1.5 million. Cal Portland got the contract.

It took the better part of two years but the Morro Bay City Council fi nally settled on a site for a new sewer plant, and now, with the Cayucos Sanitary district also onboard, the project can start in on the mountain of studies and reports needed to get the plant built. The council voted unanimously to build a new treatment plant at the so-called Rancho Colina site, which is east of town on Hwy 41 up behind the Rancho Colina MHP. It’s been a long, arduous journey to reach what is effectively a “jumping off point,” as the Council has looked at the property, owned by Steve McElvaine, from several angles and issues, all while still keeping an eye open at the possibility of building at the so-called CMC plant site behind Cuesta College. In the end, the CMC site eliminated itself, especially after a detailed analysis put the cost at $161.5 million (including both Cayucos and Morro Bay). The Rancho Colina site came back at $74.2 million.

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Year In ReviewCOAST NEWS

January The visitor experience at the Rancho

Nipomo Dana Adobe Historic Park will soon expand. The County Board of Supervisors approved plans for the construction of a visitor’s center, outdoor amphitheater and Chumash interpretive area on the on the 130-acre site. In a unanimous vote the Board certifi ed the fi nial EIR and adopted the updated land use ordinance for the project.

The City of Pismo Beach rang in the New Year as offi cial owners of the Chapman Estate located at 1243 Ocean Blvd. in Shell Beach. The stunning bluff-top property includes a four-bedroom home and interior contents, a working windmill, pool, lighthouse, guest cottages, fountains, and gardens. Clifford Chapman purchased the property in 1962 and upon his death in 2012 he willed the $12 million, 1.5-acre estate to the City.

After multiple meetings and discussions throughout 2013, the Arroyo Grande City Council voted 4-1 in favor of placing a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot asking voters to approve converting to a charter city.

A Sheriff’s Department Search and Recovery operation underway for seven days continues with personnel searching for answers and wreckage following a plane that crashed into the ocean.

FebruaryAfter some debate, consumers can

continue to purchase farm-fresh produce and a variety of prepared foods and crafts on Saturday mornings in the Village of Arroyo Grande. The City Council unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the farmers’ market to operate where it has for more than 30 years. The market has taken place in the parking area of Olohan Alley between Short and South Mason streets since the 1980s, but last year, staff realized that it had never been formerly entitled to do so.

County offi cials confi rmed someone at Ocean View Elementary School in Arroyo Grande was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus. Due to confi dentiality, information has not been released whether it was a student or a member of the staff.

Property owners in Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande and Oceano will decide the fate of additional funding for the Five Cities Fire Authority. On Friday, vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out to parcel owners asking them to approve forming a benefi t assessment district. Property-owners of single-family residences would pay $66 annually no matter the property value.

Plans to convert the Mesa Dunes Mobile Home Estates in Arroyo Grande from a rental-only park to a resident-owned park have come to a halt, for now. The San Luis Obispo

Board of Supervisors backed a decision by the Department of Planning and Building and denied an appeal by the park’s owners citing an incomplete application.

A jail isn’t a typical focal point of a park, but a group of community members and organizations are backing a revamp project featuring an early 1900s hoosegow in the Village of Arroyo Grande. The Arroyo Grande City Council recently voted unanimously in favor of a conceptual plan for renovations at Hoosegow Park, which staff says is “underutilized and poorly designed.”

Pismo Beach is asking citizens to watch their water-use. The City Council voted to initiate moderately restricted water supply conditions and increase enforcement practices. Historically, Pismo Beach gets about 19 inches per year of rainfall. In 2013, the driest year on record, total rainfall was 4.13 inches, which is only slightly above the historical average for the month of December.

After several years of anticipation, the City of Arroyo Grande will provide funding for the purchase of property intended for transitional or low-income housing. The City Council gave unanimous support for an agreement with the Housing Authority of the City of San Luis Obispo (HASLO) for the acquisition of property at 224 S. Halcyon Road. Project plans came to a halt after the California Supreme Court upheld a law abolishing the state’s

redevelopment agencies (RDA) in 2011. RDA funding was used in part to promote economic development and housing programs.

Pismo Beach Police Chief Jeffrey Norton announced that he would retire effective July 29 4after more than 30 years in law enforcement. Norton has led the Pismo Beach Police Department since 2009. In that position he directed a staff of 34, including 23 sworn offi cers, managed a budget of more than $5 million, and retained the department’s nationally accredited status for 9 years.

Doubling oil production in Price Canyon was the topic of debate during a public meeting held at the South County Regional Center. Freeport McMoRan Oil & Gas wants to increase crude oil production at the 1,480-acre Arroyo Grande Oil Field northeast of the City of Pismo Beach from 5,000 to 10,000 barrels daily. The increase in production would require eight new well pads and modifi cation of 33 existing pads to provide for up to 450 new oils, 100 of which would be replacement wells. The oil company said it plans to build 45 new wells per year over a 10-year period.

MarchMore than 130 students representing

13 middle schools from four counties converged on the Arroyo Grande High School (AGHS) campus on Saturday to test their academic skills during the Central Coast Regional Middle School Science Bowl. The 26 teams competed in a fast-paced question-and-answer tournament designed to test students’ knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy, earth science and general science. In the end, the fi ve-member team from Norris Middle School in Bakersfi eld walked away victorious.

Sheriff’s Underwater Search and Recovery Team divers found what they believed is the wreckage of a small plane that crashed Jan. 14 into the ocean off Oceano killing the pilot and a passenger. The Federal Aviation Administration identifi ed the pilot as David Casey of Friday Harbor, Wash., and the passenger was later confi rmed to be Alan Gaynor of Los Angeles.

At the request of numerous residents, the Arroyo Grande Planning Commission began the process of making home vacation rental regulations a part of the City’s municipal rule book. Currently, the City does not have offi cial guidelines for property owners looking to trade space for cash. The ordinance would address



permit, business license and transient occupancy tax (TOT) requirements, neighbor notifi cation of operation intent, restrictions on the number of guests per room and the accessibility of a local contact person should complaints arise.

Central Coast New Tech High School (CCNTH) in Nipomo is feeling growing pains of a sort. Two years ago, the school bell rang for the fi rst time and ushered in about 100 freshman students. Come September, a little more than 300 9th through 11th graders are expected to enroll and more classrooms are

needed. The Lucia Mar Unifi ed School District Board of Trustees recently approved the addition of two modular classrooms with a restroom that will be set up for science as well as absorb two portable classrooms already on the NHS campus. The $800,000 cost will be allocated from developer fees.

Efforts to turn a 900-acre private ranch into public space got a boost earlier this month, but time is running out to meet a dollar-to-dollar fundraising challenge to help create the proposed Pismo Preserve. PB Coast Views LLC owns the property, and The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo

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GRANDMA’S FROZEN YOGURT AND WAFFLE SHOP Morro Bay’s newest downtown business, GRANDMA’S FROZEN YOGURT & WAFFLE SHOP is open and offering Old Fashion specialty waffl es, Real frozen yogurt, and refreshing sorbet. Non-electronic activities are available throughout the week, including board and card games. Located on the corner of Morro Bay Blvd. & Main Street, they also provide a public restroom for downtown guests. Come and enjoy the newly created courtyard as you watch downtown come alive during the Saturday Farmers Market. Live music is available periodically. Be sure to Facebook us for daily yogurt fl avors and activity updates! Hours: 10am-7pm Sun-Thurs and Fri- Sat till 10pm. Come see us after the show! 307 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay, CA Call (805) 704-YUMM (9866)

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wants to purchase the land that runs along the hillside behind Pismo Beach City Hall to Price Canyon Road. IT comes with a $11.7 price tag. The Land Conservancy is working to get about $8 million from state agencies and $2 million from local government.

A hotel project in the heart of downtown Pismo Beach didn’t muster full support from the Planning Commission after three hours of deliberation. Discussions were continued to a public workshop. As proposed, The Inn @ the Pier would include a 108-room hotel, a convention room, retail space, an outdoor dining area, roof-top pool, fi tness center and underground parking garage on the 1.2-acre dirt lot bounded by Cypress Street, Pomeroy Avenue, Hinds Avenue and the Pismo Beach Pier parking lot.

Registered sex offenders looking to take up residency in Grover Beach will have very few options. Last week the City Council voted 4-1 to approve doubling the distance of restricted zones to 2,000 feet. Under the new restrictions, residency would be limited to a few small parts of the city in the southwestern, northeaster and northwester corners.

Businesses large and small, brick-and-mortar and online alike are all vying for the consumer’s dollar and the City of Arroyo Grande doesn’t want local businesses to go unnoticed. The City Council backed a “shop local” campaign that would help the profi t margins of business owners and increase city revenues as well.

AprilThe dust may have fi nally settled on a

controversial ruling intended to reduce dust emissions originating from the Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area on the Nipomo Mesa that pitted California State Parks against the San Luis Obispo Air Pollution Control District (APCD). Last week, the APCD board and California State Parks agreed to jointly petition the Court of Appeal to approve a so-called consent decree and dismiss all appeals in the pending litigation related to implementation of “Dust” Rule 1001.

After a $715,000 surprise, a “disappointed” Arroyo Grande City Council unanimously voted to reject all bids received in the uphill battle to upgrade the police station and begin the process anew. After several go-rounds in November of 2013 the council had approved renovation, relocation and funding plans. In February, the police department set up temporary digs in the Arroyo Grande and Women’s Club Community Center with dispatch servicing being moved to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Offi ce.

What is today an empty 33-acre parcel of property in Nipomo will soon be fi lled with the sounds of children laughing and playing outside with family and friends—for some, this kind of participation has been a lifelong challenge. With long-awaited permits in hand, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for Jack Ready Imagination Park—the county’s fi rst universally-accessible park designed so that all children, regardless of physical limitation, will be able to play side by side.

A symbolic groundbreaking ceremony kicked off the Lucia Mar Unifi ed School District’s (LMUSD) energy effi ciency and solar power project. After about two years of planning and discussion, last September, Chevron Energy Solutions and LMUSD entered into an agreement that will generate clean energy, save money and provide budget predictability. The solar photovoltaic equipment is projected to offset about 80 percent of the electrical usage at each site.

The Pismo Beach Planning Commission weighed in on conceptual plans for a new development on Shell Beach Road that would see the demolishing of a decades old building. The applicant, Isaman Design, proposes to demolish the Cape Cod Hotel on Shell Beach Road between Santa Fe and Castaic avenues and build a new mixed-use development featuring four commercial-retail spaces and four second story two-bedroom, two-bath residential units.


Year In ReviewCOAST NEWSAfter about three months of agenda

jumping, consideration of previously approved coastal development permits for the proposed Grover Beach Lodge and Conference Center were unanimously given the green light by the City Council.

A little more than fi ve months after being hit with a lawsuit challenging the practice of prayer at the start of its meetings, the Pismo Beach City Council voted 3-0 to cancel the invocations. The group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and Pismo Beach resident Dr. Sari Dworkin of Atheists United of San Luis Obispo fi led the complaint in Superior Court. The suit charged that the invocations promote Christianity and thus violate civil rights. The City will pay the plaintiffs nominal damages and attorney fees totalling about $47,500.

Voters did not approve a parcel assessment that would have boosted the Five Cities Fire Authority operating budget. The fi nal ballots were counted last Friday with 40.3 percent of property owners voting in favor and 59.6 voting against the measure.

MayThe County’s fi rst cross-agency

emergency dispatch service consolidation was resoundingly approved last week. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Offi ce will provide 911 services for the Arroyo Grande Police Department (AGPD), which offi cials say will provide increased services, improve multi-agency communication and reduce costs.

It was about three decades ago when what was then Grover City became the benefi ciary of a piece of property that was to be used as a park. Today it remains a vacant lot, but change is on its way. Community philanthropist Clifford Clark offered to donate $7,000 to fund a pocket park at the entrance to the property.

Last week, the Grover Beach Parks, Recreation and Beautifi cation Commission gave the initial green light to the project.

Government can be a complex endeavor balancing the needs of a community while existing within the parameters of federal mandates. Combing through the history of our Nation’s bureaucracy one would be hard pressed to come across a quote similar to the one uttered at the Pismo Beach City Council meeting last week. “We have several goats in the City right now that are raised for the purpose of surfi ng,” said Community Development Director Jon Biggs. The surfi ng goats, nanny goat Goatee and her two kids

Pismo and Grover, and their owner Dana McGregor were once again in the media spotlight up and down the state after the City Council voted 4-1 in favor of allowing the animals to be raised within city limits as well as to stroll though public parks, on leashes of course.

JuneOffi cial rules will soon be on the

books regarding vacation rentals and the increasingly popular homestays within the City of Arroyo Grande. The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance updating municipal codes to include regulating residential getaways. The regulations would apply to traditional vacation rentals 30 days or less. Similarly, “homestays,” where a room or two is rented out short-term in an owner-occupied home, would also have to adhere to permit, business license, and transient occupancy tax (TOT) policies.

Nearly one year after its creation, the Arroyo Grande Tourism Business Improvement District (AGTBID) has been deemed a success and given unanimous approval by the City Council to continue operations. The AGTBID levied a 2 percent assessment on all lodging charges to go toward tourism efforts to attract more hotel stays in the city.

The fate of development in Price Canyon could be decided by voters this November. Enough signatures were collected by group of citizens to place

an initiative on the ballot amending the city’s general plan as it pertains to the area.

Price Canyon is within the city’s sphere of infl uence, or expected area of growth, but outside the city limits meaning the land would have to be annexed from the county.

In an effort to avoid a lawsuit that has been successful in other communities throughout the state, the Arroyo Grande City Council voted 4-0 to repeal an existing municipal code relating to proximity restrictions to children’s facilities for registered sex offenders. In 2010, the Council approved proximity laws prohibiting registered sex offenders from being within 300 ft. of certain children’s facilities primarily schools, parks and daycare centers.



Embracing the theme of “Classic California Beach Town,” the Pismo Beach City Council recently approved a vision for its downtown core. With a nod to the past, a look to the future and an eye on economic opportunities, the strategic plan will serve as the direction the City will move toward over the next decade. The plan addresses the pier plaza, parking, city branding and creating individual districts, among other items.

After more than three decades under the same ownership, one of South County’s favorite watering holes has a new owner—one with a long history in Pismo Beach.

Harry’s Night Club & Beach Bar has changed hands, but don’t expect it to lose the vibe that has made it a favored haunt for so many years.

“It’s a melting pot,” managing partner Mike Frey said. “Harry’s is about rock-n-roll, it’s about fun. It’s a beach bar. It is a great place to come visit with your friends, dance, enjoy the music and have your favorite drink.”

The Five Cities Fire Authority has a new addition to its fl eet thanks to a grant from Momentous Insurance Brokerage and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. FCFA received $29,833 in funding to purchase a command vehicle replacing their existing one which interim Fire Chief Riki Heath said is outdated and should have been replaced two years ago. The 2014 Dodge Ram pickup is the fi rst new command vehicle the department has had in 10 years.

Facing ongoing drought within in city limits, the Grover Beach City Council approved the implementation of mandatory water conservation measures. The rainfall was about 33 percent of benchmark, and storage behind Lopez Dam is about 56 percent or capacity as of March. The Stage III declaration will also allow the City to impose penalties for failure to comply with water reduction or use prohibitions.

JulyAfter about two years of discussion,

community input and public outreach, the Arroyo Grande City Council unanimously approved asking voters in the November election to determine the fate of converting to a charter city.

Voters in Grover Beach will be asked to support a bond measure to perform citywide street repairs that have long plagued the community. During a special meeting last Wednesday, the City Council voted 4-1 to move forward with placing a $48 million bond measure on the November ballot in order to do more than patch the problem.

With one major event under the City’s belt as owners of the Chapman Estate, the Pismo Beach Planning Commission gave the green light approving a conditional-use permit (CUP) for continued events.

Arroyo Grande residents will see an increase in their water bills over the next fi ve years. The City Council recently approved a restructuring of rates to keep reserves in check with projected debt service and future projects.

The paintbrushes have been put away, the scaffolding is gone, the caution tape has been removed and the rest, as they say, is history. Arroyo Grande’s massive public art project refl ecting the historical and cultural past of the community is complete.

After a little more than two months of work, artist Coleen Mitchell-Veyna fi nished work on the mural covering the east-facing wall of the former JJ’s Market building at 303 E. Branch Street. The mural is a visual narrative of the city’s rich agricultural history.

The Central Coast is an agri-topia of sorts with verdant fi elds yielding a diverse supply of fruits and vegetables year round, yet the majority of people purchase produce that has often been trucked thousands of miles to a grocery store. Two years ago, Talley Farms planted the seeds for Fresh Harvest, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program that makes farm-picked local, fresh and seasonal produce a part of the daily diet. Today there are more than 2,800 subscribers, who receive a bounty of fruits, vegetable and occasionally dry beans or other surprises conveniently packed in one box.

A local children’s museum closed

its doors following the arrest of an employee who faces felony charges of fraud and embezzlement. Following an investigation, Stacy Halvorsen, 40 of Arroyo Grande, turned herself in on July 5. She was booked on suspicion of two counts of forgery and one count of embezzlement. Investigators then submitted the case to the County District Attorney’s Offi ce.

Surrounded by a cacophony of gunfi re, screaming and blaring alarms, four armed police offi cers clustered in formation entered the administration building at Arroyo Grande High School in search of a gunman. The scene was part of a rigorous tactical training to better prepare Arroyo Grande police offi cers for the threat of an active shooter.

AugustA familiar face is at the helm of the

Pismo Beach Police Department. After 20 years with the department, Jake Miller offi cially took over as chief on Aug. 1. He replaces Jeff Norton who retired after 30 years in Law Enforcement.

Following multiple meetings, public workshops and a tweaking of design elements, a new lodging, retail combo venture in Pismo Beach is on the right path. The Planning Commission recently gave resounding support for the proposed The Inn @ Pismo Pier project. The three-story structure will be constructed on what is now the dirt lot across from the pier.

Jim Copsey, who has served dual roles as the police chief and the assistant city manager for Grover Beach, plans to retire in December. Copsey has 27 years in law enforcement, the last 10 of which have been as chief of the Grover Beach Police Department. In November of 2013, he took on the role of assistant city manager following a stint fi lling in for City Manager Bob Perrault, who took a leave of absence due to illness. Copsey says he will miss the daily interaction with the community.

The Pismo Beach Planning Commission unanimously approved permits for a mixed-use project at the site of the former Marina Realty building at 1677 Shell Beach Rd. The project would demolish the existing offi ce buildings and storage sheds to make way for construction of a new two-story building with commercial space and two residential units totaling as well as a 300 square-foot deck addition. The deck would allow for outdoor seating for the existing Steaming Bean coffeehouse located next door merging the property lines.


Year In ReviewCOAST NEWSA deal designed to create harmony

between two sides of a controversial issue surrounding one of the county’s biggest moneymakers was shot down last week. The Second Appellate District Court in Ventura rejected the consent decree proposed by the county’s Air Pollution Control Board (APCD) and State Parks intended to resolve what could become costly litigation.

An attorney hired by the City of Arroyo Grande to investigate an alleged after hours tryst extra-marital affair between two City employees, says claims of inappropriate behavior are unwarranted. On July 3, police found City Manager Steve Adams and Community Development Director Teresa McClish in City Hall in a questionable situation. Attorney Michael McMahon, with the fi rm Carmel & Naccasha, which contracts with the City for legal services, began looking into the incident a few days after it was reported.

A new hotel, retail combo project in Pismo Beach that was called a homerun could become a swing and a miss. Two residents appealed the Inn @ Pismo Pier project approved by the planning commission

SeptemberFor nearly four decades, a volunteer-

driven organization has been helping to provide hot, nutritious meals to local people in need. Five Cities Meals on Wheels (5CMOW) is a local non-profi t meal delivery service that provides hot, well-balanced meals Monday through Friday to between 85 and 100 folks of all ages and economic levels in the Five Cities area who are homebound or

recuperating.

History is in the making for the City of Pismo Beach. Construction on the long-awaited historical park honoring the city’s founder, John Price, is set to begin after years of planning. About 50 City dignitaries, park volunteers and community members attended groundbreaking ceremonies for the initial phase of the Price Historical Park.

About 30 Oceano Elementary School students shared their artistic talents last week to help the local homeless population. The students, along with adult volunteers, decorated ceramic bowls at the Oceano Library as part of the upcoming 5Cities Homeless Coalition’s Empty Bowls fundraising event.

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County is ready to sign on the dotted line to purchase a $12 million dollar piece of property with an equally valuable view in Pismo Beach. Last week, the state Wildlife Conservation Board approved the fi nal $4 million needed to purchase the 900-acre ranch known as the Pismo Preserve.

After more than 40 years, Coastal Christian School fi nally has a place to call home. On Tuesday, the K-12 school opened its doors to nearly 200 students at its new campus located at 1005 N. Oak Park Blvd. in Pismo Beach.

In the midst of one of the worst droughts in state history, water conservation is on the minds of almost every resident in the area, and when the City of Arroyo Grande dumped about 35,000 gallons of water during

maintenance of one of its water tanks,it raised questions. The 250,000-gallonpotable water tank on Stagecoach Roadhad not been worked on since it was builtin 1978. More than 200,000 gallons ofthe contained water was released intothe city’s distribution system from anoutlet about 2-feet up on the side ofthe tank. The remaining 35,000 wasreleased into a storm drain—a commonpractice among water purveyors duringnecessary maintenance, but one the Cityadmits should have been reconsidered.

The City of Grover Beach will installsurveillance cameras at one of its parksto deal with what police have said is anincreasing problem with vagrancy.

Last week in a unanimous vote theCity Council approved the installationof multiple cameras at Ramona GardenPark. In 2013, police responded to 487incidents involving homeless peopleat the popular park. The majority ofarrests were for public intoxication,trespassing and outstanding warrantsand disturbances.

An independent investigation intothe July 3 incident between CityManager Steve Adams and CommunityDevelopment Director Teresa McClishwill move forward. During an atypicalSaturday closed-session meeting, theArroyo Grande City Council agreed thata new investigation was in order.

OctoberJim Hill, a longtime South

County resident and former OceanoCommunity Services District president,fi led papers Friday to become a write-in candidate for mayor challengingArroyo Grande mayor Tony Ferrara.Hill said he is challenging Ferrara who



has come under fi re for his handling of a controversial matter involving two city employees, which resulted in a unanimous vote of no confi dence by the Arroyo Grande Police Offi cers Association.

About 15 minutes into last week’s Arroyo Grande City Council meeting, Mayor Tony Ferrara called for public comments and a large group stood at once to the applause of others. The council chambers were packed, but it was the Arroyo Grande Police Offi cers’ Association (POA) that stood united in their dissatisfaction with the handling of a controversial July 3 incident involving City Manager Steve Adams and a subordinate, Community Development Director Teresa McClish.

Folks will soon be able to enjoy a

little wine while shopping for produce in Arroyo Grande. The City Council recently raised their glasses in support of adding wine tastings at farmers’ markets. Although the county has a booming wine industry, squeezing the melons while drinking the fermented grapes wasn’t legal until July of this year when Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB2488 into law allowing licensed wineries to hold “instructional” wine tastings at farmers’ markets.

Despite the town once being heralded as the “Clam Capitol of the World,” clams are pretty scarce in Pismo Beach. With the exception of the three iconic cement sculptures welcoming people to the city, the clam heyday is a shell of its former shelf. Can the mighty mollusks make a comeback? At the request of the Central Coast Aquarium Society, Cal Poly professor Dr. Lisa Needles and her

team looked into the decline of the local clam population and the possibility of restoring it. The last legal-sized clam, 4.5 inches, in the area was taken in 1993.

The 5Cities Homeless Coalition held it’s3rd Annual Empty Bowl Community Luncheon event and the community turned out in droves to the tune of 800 people paying $25 to eat soup donated by restaurants in take-home handmade

ceramic bowls made by local artists and served by city dignitaries, law enforcement offi cials and other well-known personalities. The event held in the parish hall at St. Patrick’s Church brought in about $35,000 dollars.

Tourism dollars made a huge wave in the budget for the City of Pismo Beach. Last April the city raked in a record amount of $701,610 in transient occupancy tax (TOT) commonly known as a hotel bed tax. TOT contributes

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more than $6 million dollars annually to the city’s general fund budget and the City Council voted to keep those dollars coming in strong by approving a county Tourism Marketing District.

Brian Higgins holds the keys to a new life. After two years of living with his mother after his wife passed away, he and his two young daughters recently moved into newly-built affordable residential housing in Arroyo Grande.

The Courtland Street Apartments is the fourth People’s Self Help Housing (PSHH) project for the non-profi t organization within the city. The 33-year-old Higgins, who lives in a two-story, three-bedroom one-and-a-half bath with his 5 and 7-year-old daughters, said he would never have been able to fi nd a place to live if it hadn’t been for PSHH.

NovemberThe Arroyo Grande City Council

approved a new noise ordinance that places restrictions on two long- established watering holes in the Village of Arroyo Grande. Despite pleas from the owners of Bill’s Place and

Ralph & Duane’s, the Council voted 3-1 in favor of amendments to the current ordinance that would pull the plug on outdoor amplifi ed music as well enforce a closed door policy after 10 p.m.

Following months of controversy, the Arroyo Grande City Council voted 4-0

last week to move forward with plans to hire a new city manager to replace Steve Adams, who announced his retirement in early October.

Voters in Arroyo Grande did not approve Measure C in favor of converting from general law to charter

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city status. Right around 65 percent of voters cast “no” votes. Streets in Grover Beach will undergo major repairs. Measure K, the $48 million bond measure for street rehabilitation, passed with 66.9 percent of voters in favor. Pismo Beach residents gave a big show of support (65.7 percent) for Measure H that requires voter approval for major development in Price Canyon. Folks also supported keeping a half-cent sales tax increase on the books established in 2008. A new 4th District Supervisor will step into Caren Ray’s seat. Lynn Compton earned 53.86 percent of the votes to incumbent Ray’s 45.91 percent.

In an almost unheard of turn of events, a write-in candidate for mayor has won the election over an incumbent

with 16 years on the city council. Two weeks after the election, unoffi cial results from the County Elections Offi ce show Jim Hill as the winner with a 95-vote advantage over incumbent Mayor Tony Ferrara. Hill got 3,090 votes to Ferrara’s 2,995. Total write-in votes were 3,116 and all but 26 were for Hill.

It was another full house at a special Arroyo Grande City Council meeting held to determine the fate of employment for beleaguered City Manager Steve Adams.

In a closed session, the council reached a unanimous decision, with Mayor Tony Ferrara absent, to accept Adams’ resignation and immediately put him on paid administrative leave. An interim city manager will fi ll in until a replacement is found.

DecemberIt was nearly three weeks

after voters headed to the poles that incumbent Pismo Beach Mayor Shelly Higginbotham received the news she was hoping to hear. In a nail-biting election race, Higginbotham was the victor by a mere two votes.

The Five Cities Fire Authority will once again have an offi cial chief at the helm. Steve Lieberman, a former Grover Beach Mayor, will begin duties on Dec. 8.

The FCFA hasn’t had an offi cial chief/executive offi cer since Joel Aranaz left the position in May of 2013 after serving about 18 months. At that time former FCFA Chief Mike Hubert returned as the

interim chief followed in that position by Battalion Chief Riki Heath.

If you were looking for a silver lining in the devastating drought that California is in the midst of, ECOSLO might have found one.The Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo, better known as ECOSLO, is taking advantage of low water levels in area lakes and removing debris along the expanding shorelines that were in most cases previously under water. The low water levels resulting from one of the most severe droughts recorded in state history provide a great opportunity to remove the litter before the rains wash it away. Cigarette butts were the most prevalent trash item found.

Newly-elected City Council members

were offi cially sworn in last week while others said farewell as their terms came to an end. In Arroyo Grande, write-in mayoral candidate Jim Hill, incumbent Councilmember Tim Brown and newcomer Councilmember Barbara Harmon took the oath of offi ce in front of a full house at the council chambers. In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals and rookie council members Barbara Nicolls and Miriam Shah were sworn in. In Pismo Beach, Shelly Higginbotham took the oath of offi ce for her second term as mayor. Longtime councilmember Mary Ann Reiss and newcomer Sheila Blake were also sworn in as councilmembers.

Economic recovery is alive and well on the Central Coast according to the county’s Economic Vitality Corporation. There are about 7,900 companies in San Luis Obispo County. Economic drivers include tourism, agriculture, education and government, according to the EVC. Two-thirds of the employers are in the private sector, 19 percent are government jobs versus 15 percent statewide and 11 percent of the population is self-employed, which is the highest rate of sole proprietorship in the state.

The Arroyo Grande City Council voted to end a longstanding tradition of beginning meetings with prayer. The council voted 3-2 in favor of a moment of silence in place of prayer.

“Our policy as it currently stands runs afoul of the current Supreme Court decision in the Town of Greece v. Galloway,” City Attorney Tim Carmel said. “It allows a larger pool of groups to participate, pretty much unlimited. You can’t restrict it based on beliefs or content.”


Year In ReviewSLO CITY NEWS

JANUARYIn the fi rst meeting of 2014, the

SLO City Council took part in their annual tradition - itemizing priorities in its annual Legislative Action Plan. Something they’ll have to consider shortly for 2015. Last year they gave the green light for a broad set of actions that will affect City residents whether we feel it locally or not. With 94 other priorities on the table they also agreed to write a letter to the County Board of Supervisors asking for a ban on fracking in SLO County. The meeting also saw fi nal adoption, 3-2, of a long debated Mobile Vendor Ordinance one reviewed at the end of 2014.

A slew of disappointed residents turned out to give their elected representatives an earful about Cal Poly’s decision to build new dorms on Grand Avenue. Residents of the Alta Vista Street neighborhood and others with homes near the Grand Avenue and Slack Street entrance to Cal Poly claimed that the City Council did not do enough to protect the interests of voters in the face of the university’s decision-making powers. Citizens said they were taken aback by Cal Poly President, Jeffrey Armstrong’s decision to go ahead with a 1,400 bed freshman dorm facility consisting fi ve buildings, a parking garage, a welcome center and police kiosk. That was in part because he announced the decision several days before the comment period ended on the project’s environmental impact report, leaving neighbors feeling cheated out of their chance to participate. Cal Poly is currently drafting a new Campus Master Plan, which will no doubt include the dorms.

FEBRUARYSLO’s Water Reclamation Facility

got some major upgrades in 2014,

the fruit of a $9.5 million private partnership with Pacifi c Gas & Electric. The sprawling facility on Prado Road treats an average of 1.7 billion gallons of sewage and wastewater a year and is currently home to a hodgepodge of equipment, largely kept running 20 years past design life or installed during a 1994 system retrofi t project. Parts of the building foot print date to the 1920s. The City decided to allocate the money for the overhaul in 2013 and The City Manager, Mayor and other public offi cials turned out for the ribbon cutting at the start of February. In November the City got their fi rst rebate check from energy producing upgrades at the facility.

With plans to move into new digs at the old Pacheco School on the corner of Grand Avenue and Slack Street, something they managed in the fall, students of Charles E. Teach Elementary were eager to show off a little of what makes their academically accelerated educations different. Local fourth-sixth graders who enjoy a non-traditional learning environment hosted the “Innovation and Exploration Initiative” in their temporary classrooms at Bishop Peak Elementary. The event showcases projects the kids worked on all year with the help of Cal Poly professors and engineering students, something they’d like to do more of in the new location.

In a lot of news for a short month, public offi cials started deciding whether or not to seek reelection. SLO City Councilwoman Kathy Smith became the last major public servant to announce her retirement at the end of her term after the District Attorney and County- Clerk Recorder. Her departure left an open seat on the council, that is now occupied by Dan Rivoire. That conclusion was far from certain at the start of the process though as both Mayor Jan Marx and Councilwoman Carlyn Christianson

were up for reelection. It was déjà vu all over again for Christianson, who was elected in 2013 to fi ll out the remainder of former Councilman Andrew Carter’s term. Carter is now the City Manger in Guadalupe.

MARCHAfter a contentious appeal hearing

the Old Mission School went full speed ahead with their plan to build a school annex on Palm Street. The plans went up for an architectural review hearing after neighbors railed against the project, which called for two new buildings on a lot at 772 Palm St. The property is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese in Monterey, which

has long had plans for it to be used by students. Neighbors though said they thought the existing homes on the property would be remodeled, not torn down and replaced. The project, the design of which Councilman John Ashbaugh called “beautiful and wonderfully done” and who then voted against it, will house three classrooms for students in 7th and 8th grades when it’s completed. At the end of December the site was taking a break in construction with stormy weather.

In a trend that set the tone for the rest of the year and added a, some would consider false, sense of urgency to the Land Use and Circulation Element Update, the City of SLO started a



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ground-breaking number of, well, groundbreakings. The Community Development Department got some help in dealing with a fl ood of building applications during a mid-year budget review, but the department director, Derrick Johnson, still called their workload “crushing.” Johnson’s

request for additional salary and benefi t allocations to bulk up his staff was granted. Other positions were added or had their workloads revised as the year went on.

The SLO City Farm, a program of the non-profi t group, Central Coast

Grown, got a whirlwind of recognition and activity after a year in preparation. They kicked of the spring with an open house called, the “Urban Farm Fun-Raiser” at 1221 Calle Joaquin in SLO. The ground had already taken some real breaking in, with the drought affecting soil and delaying the planting

of crops. Wells were drilled August 2013. Not to be deterred, Nico Farms, the fi rst tenant on the property (owned by Nicola Allegretta, of Mama’s Meatballs Restaurant in San Luis Obispo) put most of their crops in on March of 2014. CCG Executive Director, Jenna Smith, held an opening ceremony, and then inviting the public to celebrate with them in the fi rst week of April, the fi rst time the site had been open to the public since a 20-year operating lease was signed.

APRILIt was a rough couple of weeks in

February and April for the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo, the agency’s leadership, the County



Board of Supervisors and their municipal partners after a scandal involving the behavior of County Dist. 3 Supervisor Adam Hill and the agency’s demotion of his fi ancée Dee Torres. With major changes to CAPSLO’s $2 million homeless services program and more on the way through the year, County and City of SLO politics around the issue got distracted from the issue at hand. “My focus is on getting services to the people that need it,” said Supervisors Chairman Bruce Gibson, shortly after receiving a letter from the CAPSLO Board president, Frances Coughlin, outlining the non-profi t’s “serious concerns and disappointment” in actions taken by Hill who later apologized as the reorganization went forward and pledged to respect confl ict of interest guidelines going forward. (Torres eventually lost her job and is suing.)

The name had changed but the controversy remained surrounding a proposed major development of farmland in southern San Luis Obispo. On April 7 the team working for developer Gary Grossman at Central Coast Builders went to work on several new conceptual plans for the San Luis

Ranch Project. They didn’t exactly go back to the drawing board but their intentions for the property mark a stark contrast to the former, highly contentious, Dalidio Ranch Project on the same site. Where the former project, twice the subject of ballot measures to determine its fate, featured high density commercial and residential lots, the

initial proposals Grossman submitted during the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) Update called for up to 500 individual homes 200,000 sq ft, of “hi-tech” offi ce space and even a 200-room high-end hotel with room for conference facilities. T(he exact scope of the project was still an issue at the end of the year as the City Council

voted to override the Airport Land Use Commission to allow such projects.)

MAYA group of Cuesta College vocalists

trained for their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity through the spring. The Cuesta Chamber Singers quietly fundraised all semester for a trip to Europe in July. They managed but it wasn’t for a vacation. Once there the 24-member group (22 students and two faculty members) had to represent not only the Central Coast but the entire U.S. during the “Festival Choral International” in the French Aveyron Region. “It’s a mind-blowing experience, and an opportunity,” said John Knutson, Cuesta’s director of choral and jazz ensembles, who explained the use of mind blowing as, in this case having a blindfold removed. “It’s a life changing perspective for how much a person can do, where you can go as an artist.” The trip did go well in July when they met with 30 other Choirs representing countries from around the world.

Conservation Ambassadors is an extraordinary nonprofit that has been inspiring and educating the Central Coast community, and beyond, about wild and exotic animals for over twenty years. Their mission is to provide encounters that educate and inspire all ages to protect wildlife while also providing a permanent, loving home for these animals that have been displaced, abused, abandoned or permanently injured.

Live “Animal Ambassadors” offer unforgettable up-close and personal experiences, motivating children and adults alike to join the wild animal conservation movement for future generations. More

than a million children around the state have experienced Conservation Ambassador’s interactive Zoo to You programs that include live animals and story telling.

Mark your calendars now for an upcoming special event at The Zoo on April 25.

“Get Buzzzed with the Beasts” will allow attendees to participate in the harvesting of honey from rescued bee hives while enjoying a variety of wines, beers, coffees and artisanal foods. Tickets go on sale in February.

To donate, volunteer or learn more about Conservation Ambassadors and Zoo To You, visit www.zootoyou.com

Casper, a black and white ruffed lemur, is one of the Animal Ambassadors that teach the public about conservation.

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Cuesta was a happening cultural spot in May. An ambitious art project by renowned experimental sculptor, Robert Irwin, was tested out on the campus. The work, done with a small scale mockup at Cuesta

College’s SLO Campus, hoped to take some of the bugs out of a proposed roll out at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., scheduled for installation in spring 2015. Since Irwin is in his mid-80s, the legwork for the prototype arrangement was done by former Cuesta and Cal Poly

art instructor, Jeff Jamieson, with the help of assistants, family, and faculty members.

The killing spree in Isla Vista on May 23 left shattered lives in communities across the Central Coast. As names of victims were released, many SLO residents found to their dismay a familiar one, Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez of Los Osos. With that revelation, friends of Michaels-Martinez and the staff at SLO High School — who watched the young man grow up — found themselves personally sharing the pain of those in Isla Vista. With the psychology and upbringing of the troubled young gunman and his obscene manifesto making salacious talk show fodder, Richard Martinez, Christopher’s father, didn’t discuss his son’s killer. Instead, Martinez told reporters on scene about his son, a 20-year-old U.C. Santa Barbara sophomore, who graduated from SLO High in 2012 with, plans to go to law school. Martinez spent the weeks and months to come as a reluctant national fi gure, speaking to D.C. power brokers and campaigning to keep guns from appearing in the hands of would-be murderers.



JUNESLO City News’ police blotter

featured a troubling rash of mental health-related crises on May 30. “A local doctor told police at 1:36 p.m. that a patient said her son told her he wanted to hurt people. A female student told police at 3:14 p.m. that another student said she was contemplating suicide. At 4:30, police went to the 500 block of Higuera because a possibly suicidal subject might be slitting his wrists.” All of the reported incidents of suicidal individuals or someone willing to harm others involved young people or students in our community. It could be a coincidence that the events coalesced just before Cal Poly’s “dead week” the run-up to fi nals week, but he SLO Police Department said they’d seen it all before. SLOPD Capt. Chris Staley said. “I hate to say it fl ies under the radar, but it does. Sometimes the stress of fi nals and the end of school year can cause people to make those decisions.” He added that despite teen-age angst being a classic mental health concern, they don’t take on the stress of a scholastic career as much as college students tend to, with the investment of family fi nances and energy riding on their performance. Mental health services are available though through the County and Cal Poly. Hopefully 2015’s start to June will be less eventful.

After a storm of vehement opposition from would-be neighbors to the establishment of a commercial composting facility on Orcutt Road, the last many residents heard of such a project was its unceremonious withdrawal ahead of a second SLO County Planning Commission hearing. However, the dropping of the application by rural property owner Tim Perozzi, and Bunyon Brothers Tree Service owner Ron Rinell, still has not solved the issue for the County’s

Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA) which needs to fi nd a place to send the tons of yard debris generated by residents in their service area, from Cambria to Nipomo. IWMA Manager Bill Worrell found himself once again explaining that, without a local site, compost is piling up before being shipped off to Santa Maria at considerable expense. Several sites had been considered, including one by the SLO airport but plans (and compostable materials) remained in the air at year’s end.

The June Primary Election came and went but no offi ce in SLO was up for grabs. Local politics didn’t go to sleep during the month though. Former City Planning Commissioner Eric Meyer, dropped out of the race for two open seats on the City Council. His announcement, citing the importance of maintaining friends in the community over politics, came shortly after the entrance into the race of Daniel Cano, executive director of the non-profi t organization, The Link. Just a few days after Meyer’s withdrawal, a new challenger emerged with Meyer’s support, Dan Rivoire, the executive director of the SLO County Bicycle Coalition (and now current City Councilman), who fi led his Candidate Intention Statement the day after the primary. John Conner also launched his abortive run against Mayor Jan Marx. He was also to withdraw before the election. Cano, in the end, couldn’t make up his mind what offi ce he wanted, withdrawing from the Council race to challenge Marx in the mayoral pool before returning to the Council race and coming in dead last in the November returns.

JULYSLO County Drug and Alcohol

Services started a new program July

14 to help alcoholics to detox. “The medical consequences of alcohol detox are quite risky for long term users,” Jeff Hamm County Health Agency director said. “People don’t understand the importance of clinical intervention. ‘Cold Turkey’ is not easy. ” The new program employs, a full time case manager, a psychology technician and a part-time nurse and is supposed to treat 150 people a year, 25 at a time, through a combined counseling and medication regime at various clinics throughout the county. Until July, Hamm said, most health insurance that locals had access to only covered medical detoxifi cation in a residential program, an expensive service and not one that is provided near SLO.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) handed down a restrictive ruling on the operation of civilian unmanned aerial vehicles (drones to you and me). Hobbyists, entrepreneurs, and even old fashioned model aircraft operators looked to fi nd a safe haven. The FAA rules were seen as restricting hobby drone fl ights and fl at out banning commercial drones. That’s especially ironic for residents of the Central Coast where some cutting edge technology in the computerized fl ight and engineering of the drones is being developed, both at Cal Poly and in the private sector. For the moment private drone operators haven’t heard from the FAA, at least not that they shared with SLO City News, but they haven’t breathed a sigh of relief yet either.

It was green T-shirts versus residents in blue, as supporters of the Pismo Preserve project used public comment time to petition the SLO City Council for funding in the effort to acquire the land adjoining the City’s green belt. That rubbed a few SLO property taxpayers the wrong way, as they came to the podium advancing a plan (actually on the agenda) to save Laguna

Lake (the city’s only lake). “It’s so ironic that we began this meeting with people that want money for use outside the city when we have to beg,” said one woman who was on the verge of tears. The lake languished through the drought until rain arrived at the start of winter, but the Laguna residents didn’t waste the time. They’ve since organized an active Facebook group and are launching a website in time for New Year...stay tuned.

With exactly one week left for candidates to fi le nomination papers for the 2014 election, one new entrant into the race for SLO City Council race fi led. Mike Clark was drafted for the Vietnam War and after three decades of service, ending with the rank of Colonel in the California National Guard, found himself retired in SLO. He started doing volunteer work serving on the County’s Grand Jury fi rst as a juror then as foreman. The election may be over now but the contributions of candidates to the debate probably shouldn’t be forgotten in the New Year. Clark still appears at investment oversight and other meetings to stay informed. At the end of 2014, Clark and fellow former candidates Gordon Mullin and Eric Meyer were still frequent sights around City Hall.

AUGUSTIn summer the drought started to

worry PG&E, the utility responsible for the high voltage power transmission lines criss-crossing the county. It was good weather for their cleanup program though, taking helicopters to each tower for a little high pressure blasting. It took some tricky maneuvering to help prevent future outages, according to company representatives. The washing blasts off dirt, calcium, and salt deposits that may have built up on insulators that attach lines to the support towers.



Build-up on the insulators can trigger power outages by giving the electricity a route to ground (other than through the line, where customers can eventually make use of it). For similar reasons it’s also a lot safer and faster for aircraft to perform the washes than send crews through ranchlands in ground vehicles.

Local fi rm, Digital West, Inc., focused

on providing Internet access and fi ber optic connections for businesses throughout the Central Coast, had a City of SLO Architectural Review Committee hearing on its proposed new headquarters. Ahead of the meeting, Digital West CEO Tim Williams said the Committee’s approval was the last hurdle to overcome in a process that took several years. Coupled with the last phases of negotiation between the County and the City of Grover Beach to fund a fi ber optic connection through that city, to a subsea data cable in the pacifi c, the company is poised for some big changes. Williams said he was glad the plans for the new headquarters had been delayed from their conception in 2008. That was not least because of the economic crisis, but also, thanks to more effi cient technology, the amount of power required to run the facility is now projected to be half what it would have been had they gone forward with the earlier plans.

Decreasing oxygen levels in Laguna Lake caused thousands of invasive carp and a few other fi sh species to die and wash ashore. Local residents and frequent visitors to the park even started pulling carp out of the water to hasten decomposition. At its Aug. 19 meeting, the City Council was confronted with the spectacle by resident Paul Bonjour, who brought several pictures of the fi sh with him as well as examples of the trash that had concentrated in the evaporating water. Bonjour called the situation “a disgrace” and lambasted the City for not doing anything to mitigate effects of the drought in the City’s open space areas. Councilwoman Kathy Smith brought the issue back for consideration. She got the body to direct staff to hold an immediate meeting and provide some kind of relief, although the best they were able to do was remove some of the foulest smelling debris.

SEPTEMBERThursday, September 11, a

1,500-pound horizontal I-beam, salvaged from the wreckage of New York’s World Trade Center, was given a police escort from a remembrance service at Laguna Lake Golf Course to a display at Chorro and Higuera Streets during the Farmers Market. It was then returned to Fire Station No. 1 on Santa Barbara Ave. for the fi nal time. The steel

waited since 2009 through the Public Art Project selection process and over 100 design proposals before a suitable tribute was decided. By September 2015, organizers of a memorial to be built in the station’s front courtyard hope their vision will be complete, making the piece an educational exhibit and reminder for all the fi refi ghters at station No. 1 of what their work means.

Neighborhoods around Cal Poly and the campus itself were frenzied with WOW Week activity, while incoming freshmen got some new neighbors. Teach Elementary, opened shop in their new site on Grand Avenue. Moving Teach to the former Pacheco Elementary campus wasn’t without cost. Several tenants at Pacheco since 2001 were displaced, including multiple charter schools, a preschool and, notable for proximity to Cal Poly, the University Of SLO School Of Law. After looking for a permanent site for

the school and a place of their own, Teach still shares the campus with the SLO Classical Academy, which has a lease through 2018.

Bill Nye ‘The Science Guy, also the CEO of the Planetary Society, missed some of the excitement during a tour of the Cal Poly’s PolySat/CubeSat lab, when he visited campus. It took team members another month to test the LightSail CubeSat that he had come to see but the project, funded by his organization, is getting closer to deployment. CubeSats are small satellites that can be placed in orbit relatively cheaply, as secondary cargo on other launches and the university has been a leader in the fi eld over the past decade. Nye is a champion of robotic space exploration through his position and if nothing goes wrong with the launch, Cal Poly’s work will be the technology’s fi rst successful test for the Planetary Society.

OCTOBERStats came in for Cal Poly’s Week

of Welcome, which meant a lot of overtime and extra units on duty for the SLO Police Department. They went on full deployment to handle the influx of newcomers. That included some help from seven Deputies with the SLO County Sherriff’s Department, as well as coordination with the SLO Fire Department to handle emergency calls. Plain clothes (read - undercover) details worked with the California Alcoholic Beverage Control agency to spot 22 violations specifi cally related to alcohol just on Sept. 19. “It is something new we were trying,” said SLOPD Capt. Chris Staley. “We hoped the word would get out that we were out in the crowd. It’s three or four guys in a group wearing normal street clothes to blend in.”

For the sixth year Softec, the Central Coast Software and Technology Association, sponsored the region’s only Student Robotics Expo at the SLO Elks Lodge. The event featured local high school, elementary and collegiate robotics teams who all specialized in something a little different. Sponsored leagues included, “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology” or F.I.R.S.T, First Lego League, the Marine Advanced Technology Education or M.A.T.E, and VEX. Demonstrations included the County Sherriff bomb squad’s robot being run through its paces and underwater bots piloted through challenges in the Elks pool by visitors.

A year after a group of residents organized under the banner, “SLO Hosts,” got a public hearing on the right to rent out part of their home to occasional out-of-town visitors. The practice, using online services such as AirBnB, has still been technically illegal in the City for years but the provision had largely gone unenforced. After six months of work by the City’s Special Projects Manager, Greg Hermann, and a team of folks working in the Community Development Department, an ordinance tailored to allow such activities on a permanent basis, was approved by the Planning Commission. For the most part, said SLO Hosts’ leader, Kurt Friedmann, the resident’s got what they asked for, but there are some restrictions. “The City did a really fi ne job in talking to us about our needs and crafting this ordinance,” said Friedmann. Work on the ordinance was delayed though as Hermann and other workers were pulled from the project to assist development applications delayed during the prolonged Land Use Update Process.

“Yes” still means what it has always meant; so does “No.” The California



Senate passed Bill 967, a proverbial game changer, requiring that some form of affi rmative consent be obtained by all parties in a sexual act. However, due to the vagaries of State funding mechanisms and the abilities of law enforcement, it only applies to college students in a State funded system (locally those are Cal Poly and Cuesta students). Institutions that violate the provisions are open to sanction by their university, as well as the usual criminal investigation that follows accusations of rape. The law prompted a lot of response from SAFER, Cal Poly’s center for sexual assault prevention, which wanted the students to know their rights and responsibilities but said the college was already in compliance on their end.

The college also launched its update plan for developing the campus over the next 20 years, in order to, “meet student educational needs and the local, state and regional demand for Cal Poly graduates.” The plan update followed a contentious decision by the university to place a new dorm project in a parking lot near the campus’ Grand

Avenue entrance, which was not in their current master plan. The master plan update process includes extensive engagement of the campus and SLO communities said their statement, and numerous opportunities for public input and involvement.

NOVEMBERIf you ever wanted to read the City

of San Luis Obispo’s 1911 Charter, or dig into the nitty-gritty of the last budget with an interactive graph, SLO City offi cially rolled out their “Open Government” website. In development for several months, special projects manager Greg Hermann, worked on creating a paradigm of “no boundaries between external and internal databases.” It doesn’t sound too sexy at fi rst but the folks over at the SLO Hothouse and Small Business Development Center have already been cooking up uses for all that info. The system is expected to grow in 2015.

SLO City Councilman John Ashbaugh had a bad month, culminating in his colleagues’ “public condemnation,

criticism and disapproval” after the body took the lightest option available to them in dealing his perceived violation of California’s Ralph M. Brown Act. “I was wrong. I’m sorry,” said Ashbaugh. The action stemmed from a public spat with fellow Councilman Dan Carpenter that bled over into a statement about the conduct of a closed session meeting, a big no-no under the act. Ashbaugh character was defended by a number of speakers, including some political opponents who hoped the public would understand that integrity in his convictions and passion and led him to error. Council critics and Carpenter himself were not so lenient, but barring unforeseen events, the two will be on the Council together for the remainder of their terms in 2016.

A senior California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) manager was in town as an invited guest of a local citizen’s group. The SLO Property & Business Owners Association had Barbara Ware, a senior pension actuary of CalPERS since 1997, speak at the group’s Nov. 20 holiday lunch meeting at Café Roma. Elected offi cials from

six of the County’s seven cities, as well as County Supervisor, Debbie Arnold and Supervisor-elect Lynn Compton attended. While 50-60 people were in attendance, approximately 10 percent were elected offi cials or recent candidates. Representing the City of San Luis Obispo, Finance Director Wayne Padilla joined Councilman Dan Carpenter. As with many politically oriented luncheons, some attended out of long time interest in the group or out of interest for the subject, but others were there to enjoy collective ideology. Indeed many of the elected offi cials present ran on the Republican ticket and the meeting was a glimpse at some hard-line battles yet to come.

DECEMBERThe SLO County Planning

Commission was so swamped with an estimated 11,000 public comments regarding a proposed rail extension to increase crude oil deliveries to a Nipomo refi nery, that they’ve postponed the item until February 2015. The Phillips 66 refi nery project has the potential to impact much of SLO County, as the train tracks run through Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, over the Cuesta Grade and down through SLO, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach and the outskirts of Oceano, before heading uphill onto the Nipomo Mesa. Opposition and comments have been statewide. Local policy regarding railroad traffi c and safety isn’t settled yet though. Residents can speak up again in January when the SLO Council of Governments (SLOCOG) and Regional Transit Authority (RTA) boards have a joint meeting. Three items on that Jan. 7 agenda will affect rail in the region and public comment is welcomed.

Dan Rivoire was sworn in as the new SLO City Councilman with Carlyn Christianson retaining her seat on the body. It was just in time for Rivoire to cast the swing vote on something brewing for the last two years, overriding the regional Airport Land

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Use Commission so that the City could move forward on the, long-belabored, Land Use update. It was the debate over this topic that only a month earlier caused the fracas between Ashbaugh and Carpenter. They voted 4-1, with another vote reaffi rming the decision on December 16 to overrule the Commission, which had imposed restrictions on development on the City’s southern border near the SLO airport.

On a happy note to end the year, the old Springfi eld Baptist Church on Broad Street neared completion of its restoration into a home for Cal Coast Construction owner Caleb Lopez, who had spent years working on the structure while there was a congregation in residence and after purchasing the building to keep the faith in its new life. The 2-story building, fi rst constructed as a Mormon Church in 1923, has changed hands many times, hosted several congregations, but has historically been a church. It became Springfi eld Baptist sometime around 1947. Broad Street residents will be seeing more of their new neighbor in Feb. 2015.

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The Shell Beach Library is back in business! The newly remodeled neighborhood branch is now open Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, featuring special guests Pismo Mayor ProTem Ed Waage, City Manager Jim Lewis, County Supervisor Adam Hill, and SLO County Library Director Chris Barnickel. Light refreshments will be served. The library is located at Leeward.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse is holding a special New Year’s Eve party with a performance of the musical play, “Duke’s Place,” featuring Duke Ellington’s music and starring some of SLO County’s best vocalists. Tickets are $130, all Inclusive and available form the Playhouse Box Offi ce, call 927-3877 or online at: www.pewterploughplayhouse.org. The night includes a buffet dinner, the show, and an after-show party in the PPP lounge.

Voice Recognition, Gary Garrett and Anjalisa Aitken, will bring their passion for music to St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, 545 Shasta Ave., Morro Bay at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2. Cost is a donation of $15 and doors open at 6:30 for mimosas and fi nger-foods. Donations benefi t the Monday Night Meals at the Vet’s Hall Project. Call the church at 772-2368. St. Peter’s is the fi rst stop in SLO County as they complete a 10-gig West Coast holiday tour. Schedule and samples of their music are online at: www.vrec.us. The concert is produced by Art Goes Places, a spin-off of AGP Video, under the direction of Nancy Castle. On view in the parish hall will be Castle’s installation of a collage of her collages, made over the past two years.

A group of master musicians will team up for a fun show at the Red

Barn Music Series in Los Osos set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3. Cost is $15 at the door. There’s a potluck supper at 5, so bring a dish to share and place settings. Calling themselves “The Guttersnipes,” the all star line up is Kenny Blackwell (mandolin), Doran Michael (guitar), Louie Ortega (guitar) and Ken Hustad (bass). The Red Barn is located at 2180 Palisades Ave, Los Osos. This show is made possible through the support and assistance of the entire Red Barn Community (“Children of the Barn”) and support from KCBX Public Radio and Live Oak Music Festival.

The Zongo All-Stars are again hosting the 2014 Time Traveler’s Ball, a costume ball set for 8 p.m. to whenever, New Year’s Eve at the South Bay Community Center in Los Osos. Tickets available online at: zongoallstars.com. Dress from any time period — past or future — and enjoy a great night of music and dancing. Bands include The Monroe, Solstice, and then the Zongo’s. At midnight, there’ll be an all-star jam to ring in the New Year.

SLO Skiers, a local non-profi t sport and social club, is having its next monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Elks’ Club Lodge, 222 Elks Ln., SLO. Membership is $40 per year and open to all adults. Sports activities and social events are held all year long. See the website at: www.sloskiers.org or call 528-3194 for more information.

Morro Bay Art Association will host the Third Annual “For the Birds” exhibit of paintings, photographs, drawings, and 3-D works, all depicting birds, in the Main Gallery at the Art Center Morro Bay, 835 Main St. The exhibition/sale will hang from Jan. 15-Feb. 23 and there’s an opening reception set for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18. Gallery hours are noon-4 p.m. daily. Call 772-2504 during business hours

for more information.

The Otter Rock Café in Morro Bay will host its annual New Year’s Eve Party starting at 9 p.m. Dec. 31 and featuring the music of Lulu & The Cowtippers. No cover charge, free champagne toast at midnight.

The Morro Bay Fire Department is hosting a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training seminar in January. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff and the Fire Chiefs of San Luis Obispo County are sponsoring the program designed to teach basic level of expertise in such areas of disaster preparedness, search, and rescue procedures. Classes start the week of Jan. 6 and will be held at the Morro Bay Fire Department, 715 Harbor St. Space is limited and sign-ups are fi rst-come, fi rst-served. There is also a class fee to cover materials. Email to: [email protected] or call MBFD at 772-6242, Cal Fire in Los Osos at 528-1053, Cayucos Fire at: 995-3372 or Cambria Fire at 927-6240, or see the Estero Bay CERT website at: www.esterobaycert.com.

The SWAP Weed Warriors will host another workday at 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 3 to battle weeds and erosion in the Elfi n Forest in Los Osos. Home-baked cookies follow and new volunteers will receive a Weed Warrior badge. Dress for wind, fog, or sun. Layers work well. Wear sturdy shoes, long pants and sleeves. Bring work gloves and a shovel. Meet at the Elfi n Forest entrance north at the end of 15th Street off of Santa Ysabel Avenue in Los Osos. Don’t block driveways or mailboxes when you park and leave pets at home. For more information call 528-0392.

The Fifth Annual San Luis Obispo Film Festival comes to the Palm Theater Jan. 10 and 11. The Film Festival is an intimate event dedicated to screening short and feature fi lms that celebrate the diversity of the Jewish experience from around the world. The fi lmmakers and local experts who share their insights with the audience in lively Q&A sessions after each screening accompany the carefully selected fi lms. This year’s theme is tolerance and acceptance. The Festival kicks off Saturday at a Food and Filmmakers’ reception at Luna Red on Chorro Street.

The opening event is an opportunity for patrons, guests and fi lmmakers to meet and mingle. Just before 7 p.m. , the crowd will make its way over to the Palm Theater for the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award and screening of City Slickers II, a fi lm Mr. Stone proudly worked on and brings a light-hearted start to the festival. The movie also highlights Jewish culture in the West. Sunday the Festival doors reopen at 10:30 a.m. with two simultaneous screenings, in theater one will be the short fi lm Machsom, about a pacifi st Israeli soldier stationed at the one of the most dangerous checkpoints in the West Bank, followed by the heartwarming documentary Touchdown Israel that celebrates the broad cultural and religious diversity that is Israel through the metaphor of American football. On screen two, will be Machsom and the feature narrative Bethlehem, an tense drama about a Israeli secret service offi cer who fi nds himself in a complex relationship with a Palestinian informant whom he considers a son. In the afternoon, fi lmgoers with be served the a delicious little fi lm titled Gefi lte Fish about an independent Russian widow who reluctantly aligns with a young black man to make her holiday dish and hoping to prove her independence. This is the world premier of this short that was recently awarded the Director’s Guild Award for outstanding student fi lm. Following it is Above and Beyond, a fascinating feature documentary chronicling the Jewish American pilots who smuggled planes out of the US, trained in Czechoslovakia and against great personal risk, fl ew for Israel in its War of Independence. Taking a break there around 4 p.m., there will be a Kibitz Hour at Luna Red. Festival attendees can share a glass of wine and review the fi lms so far. A Sponsors’ Dinner, custom designed by chef Shaun Behrens will follow. The festival continues back at the Palm, with a preview of Lives Well Lived a fi lm by local fi lmmaker Sky Bergman that shares the secrets, wisdom, and wit of our elders. For more information and a schedule of events, www.jccslo.com. ✤

Voice Recognition, Gary Garrett and Anjalisa Aitken

The Zongo All-Stars are again hosting the 2014 Time Traveler’s Ball


find your beat

8 50 sound

The old year is closing out, and a new one is beginning. It’s a time of celebration, and a time

of contemplation. As a newcomer to the Tolosa Press family, and with your kind indulgence, I’d like to take the opportunity to tell you about me.

I wasn’t always a goddess. I was one of those kids in high school who felt invisible much of the time. This was a small school, too, four grades, 500 students, all girls. I was in choir, school plays (minor parts and tech staff), dance classes, and eventually president of the Equestrian Club, but was largely ignored when I walked through the halls. Why, I still don’t know. I was near the top of my class scholastically, and I had my own friends, but I was a long way from popular. Not that it mattered to me. I was never into cliques, and I befriended misfi ts. Maybe I was a little bit of a nerd? I was defi nitely a wallfl ower at the school dances. Anyway, I survived childhood in the San Fernando Valley.

Music was always a big part of my life. I was in the children’s choir for at least a year in grammar school, and we sang at church every Sunday. My brother, Bill, shaped a lot of what I listened to on the radio and records, as he was the oldest of my three whole brothers. He introduced me to the Grass Roots, Steppenwolf, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and of course the Beatles, who I really started to listen to in 1974, when I was in sixth grade. I spent a lot of my teenage years fl at on my back with the headphones on, listening to my favorite albums: besides the Beatles, I especially loved John Denver and Stevie Wonder. My mom had a great record collection going back to the 40’s, including lots of 78s, so I listened to Eartha Kitt and Harry Belafonte.

If I wasn’t listening to music or reading, I was probably out walking

through the fi elds with the family dog, or, later, riding horses. Horses are my other great passion, and I started working as a groom when I was 13, and was training horses when I was 15. I would get home from school, ride till dinnertime, and then go back out until bedtime if it was warm enough. I probably had the only horse with a tape deck.

I studied Animal Science at Cal Poly, and from there went back to L.A. to continue training horses. I worked for a lot of celebrities. One of my jobs was to ride horses on the beach in Malibu for a famous movie producer.

I missed San Luis Obispo, though, and it was only seven years later that I returned to make my home on the Central Coast. I continued to work with horses, but also worked as an animal hygienist, for the State Parks, and for a hardware store for many years, as well as a lot of other jobs. I was the Garden Goddess before I was the Goddess of Groove. I have always been a housesitter/petsitter too.

About six years ago, I found myself dumped by my then fi ancé. Although it was a relief to me, it was still the death of a relationship, and I found myself devastated by the loss of the life we had been planning together. I started hanging out at the now defunct SLO Down Pub in Arroyo Grande, which had live music seven days a week. I would just sit on the couch, stunned, and absorb the healing music. Eventually I was befriended by family members of the bands and some of the regulars. This grew gradually into a strong social group, of which I am one of the leaders, From talking with the musicians, I learned how poorly they get paid in most circumstances, and I wanted to help them. I started promoting their gigs to everyone I could by word of mouth. People in my group started asking me what we were going to do that

w e e k e n d ! Eventually, I started texting “our” plans to the group. When that grew too cumbersome, I started sending out a weekly email, which now goes out to over 300 people, and lists my picks for great places to listen to live music and dance. About four years ago, at the request of one of my musician friends, I became a booking agent at my own agency, Love Live Music. I started producing my own events last year, and am organizer of the SLO County Live Music Meetup group. I just purchased my own dance fl oor, so we’re going mobile. I have created music venues. A few months ago, I was offered a column in this very paper, and here we are!

Most of all, I’ve made lots of friends. These are wonderful people who share my passion for live music. Many of them are musicians. Some of them are wealthy. One lives in a van. Many of them love me silly, and we take care of each other.

All of this came about because of my passion for music. I feel richly blessed and wonderfully loved every day. Every day people thank me for the work I do to help promote live music and musicians. What I’m going to say to you is nothing new, but it’s very true: Following your passion is the door to fi nding your purpose. There are doors everywhere. If you don’t see a door, make a door. Believe in yourself, and fi nd others who believe in you, too. Most of all, never give up.

Today, I still work with horse, I petsit, I book music, I put on events, and I write a weekly column in the music section of the Tolosa Press.

Not bad for a wallfl ower. ✤

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3434 • • January 1 - 7, 2015 • Tolosa PressJanuary 1 - 7, 2015 • Tolosa Press

South CountyTHE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com.F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on alternating weekends.HARRY’S NIGHT CLUB AND BEACH BAR: Cypress and Pomeroy, downtown Pismo Beach, 773-1010. Every Thu. Front Row Karaoke. ½ Theese & The Sweetness 9pm-1am 1/3 Mid Life Crisis 9pm-1am LAETITIA WINERY: 453 Laetitia Vineyard Drive, Arroyo Grande, 805-481-1772. www.laetitiawine.com. Live Music Saturdays and Sundays 1-4pm. LIDO RESTAURANT AT DOLPHIN BAY: 2727 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, 773-4300 or thedolphinbay.com. Join Three-Martini Lunch every Thurs. and Fri. from 6-9pm. Live Music Every Tues. from 5:30-6:30 and Thursdays and Fridays 6-9MANROCK BREWING CO.

TASTING ROOM: 1750 El Camino Real ste A, Grover Beach, CA 93433. Tasting room M-Th 4pm-10pm, Fri 3pm-12am, Sat noon-12am, Sun noon-7pmMONGO’S SALOON: 359 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach, 489-3639. Karaoke Tuesday and Wednesday 9pm. Live Music and dancing every Friday and Saturday at 9pm. MR. RICK’S: 404 Front St., Avila Beach, 805-595-7425 www.mrricks.com Happy Hour Monday-Thursday 4-7pm ¼ J&B Rocks 1-5pm 1/10 Shamless 8pm 1/11 Lenny Blue 1-5pm 1/17 Soul Sauce 8pm-12am 1/18 Soul Sauce 1-5pm 1/30 Klass-X 8:00pm-12am 1/31 Booty Shakers 8pm-12amSEAVENTURE: 100 Ocean View, Pismo Beach, 773-4994. www.seaventure.com Live music every Wednesday from 6-9pm in the Fireplace room. Acoustic Sundays from 3-6pm on the Deck. SHELL CAFÉ: 1351 Price St., Pismo Beach, 805-773-8300 www.shellcafepismo.com ½ Swing Shift 7pm 1/3 Stringtown Ambassadors 11am ¼ Lenny Blue 11am 1/7 Blues Master Jam 6:30pm 1/8 Songwriters at Play 6:30pm 1/9 Avenue & DeJaVu 7pm 1/10 The Ginger Ups 11am 7pm

The Mooks 1/11Mathew Szlachetka 11am 1/21 Blues Master Jam 6:30 1/22Songwriters at Play 6:30pm 1/17 Ricky Montijo 11am Dr. Danger 7pm 1/18 John Alan Connerley 11am 1/21 Blues Master Jam 6:30pm 1/22 Songwriters at Play 6:30pm 1/23 Code Blues 1/24 Ted Waterhouse 11am Avenue & DejaVu 7pm 1/25 Louie Ortega 11am 1/28 Blues Master Jam 6:30pm 1/29 Songwriters at Play 6:30pm 1/31 Jon Stephen 11am TALLEY VINEYARDS: 3031 Lopez Dr., Arroyo Grande, 489-0446, talleyvineyards.comVENTANA GRILL: 2575 Price St. Pismo Beach, 773-0000, or ventanagrill.com. Matt Cross plays on Mon and Wed. evenings.VINO VERSATO: 781 Price St., Pismo Beach, 773-6563 or vinoversato.com. Every Tuesday: Side Effects CREATIVE JUICES LOUNGE: 874 Guadalupe Street, Guadalupe, CA 93434, 805-219-0518 www.creativejuicelounge.com

San Luis ObispoBON TEMPS CREOLE CAFE: 1000

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Monterey St. pappymcgregors.com or 543-KILT (5458). Live music is Wed./Thurs./Fri. from 6-9pm. Old Time Fiddle & Banjo Show every Wed. from 6-9pm.SLO BREWING CO.: 1119 Garden St., 543-1843 or slobrewingco.com 1/7 AMP Live w/ Ill-Esha 7:30pm 1/9 The Dustbowl Revival & The Tipsy Gypsies 7pm 1/10 Proxima Parada 7:30pm 1/16 Randy Rogers 7pm The Budos Band 7:30pm 1/18 Bears Among Men 6:30pm 1/20 Cody Canada & The Departed 7:30pm 1/21 Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin w/ The Guilty Ones 6:30pm 1/22 Kim Simmonds & Savory Brown 7pm 1/24 Agent Orange 7:30pm 1/25 The Expendables winter blackout 2015 7pm 1/27 Natural Vibrations & Junior Reid 7:30pm 1/30 Y&T 7:30pm 1/31 Natural License 7:30pm

North Coast10TH STREET GRILL: 2011 10th St., Los Osos, 528-2011 or 10thstreetgrill.com. CAMBRIA PINES LODGE: 2905 Burton Drive, Cambria, 927-4200 or cambriapineslodge.com. Entertainment every night in the Fireside Lounge. FUEL DOCK SALOON: 900 Main St., Morro Bay, 772-8478MOZZI’S SALOON: 2262 Main St. in Cambria, 927-4767. Friday Night: Karaoke, Saturday Night: Live MusicOLD CAYUCOS TAVERN: 130 N. Ocean Ave., Cayucos, 995-3209. Fri.-Sat.: Live music. OTTER ROCK CAFE: 885 Embarcadero, Morro Bay, 805-772-1420. www.otterrockcafe.com Every Wed.: Karaoke, 8pm. Every Thu.: Thursday Night Spotlight, 8pm. *Closed every Tuesday 1/1 Frankie Parades w/mud on the Tire 1-10pm 1/3 Tres Gatos 8pm-12am ¼ Crosby Tyler 4-9pm 1/11 Cloud Ship 1/15 Frankie Parades w/ Mud on the Tire 1/16 Three Times Bad 1/17 The Easy In 1/18 More Than This 1/22 Vet Anslinger 1/25 Mud On The Tire 1/29 Frankie Parades w/ Mud on the TireSKIPPERS RESTAURANT: 113 N Ocean, Cayucos, 995-1122. SWEET SPRINGS SALOON: 990 Los Osos Valley Road, Los Osos, 528-3764, sweetspringssaloon.com. Friday and Saturday: Live music from 9pm to 2am.TOGNAZZINI’S DOCKSIDE: 1245 Embarcadero, Morro Bay, 772-8100. WINDOWS ON THE WATER: 699 Embarcadero, Suite 7, Morro Bay, 772-0677. Live music every Monday and Friday evening.

North CountyASUNCION RIDGE: 725 12th St., Paso Robles, 237-1425 Live music Saturdays from 5-8pmAVION & CLAW: 6155 El Camino

Real, Atascadero, 461-9463 or avionandclaw.com. Live music Thurs.-Sat. from 7-10pm.BROKEN EARTH WINERY: 5625 Highway 46E, Paso Robles, 239-2562. BRU COFFEEHOUSE: 576 El Camino Real, Atascadero, 464-5007. www.brucoffeehouse.com Live music every Friday from 7-9pm. ½ Max Martinelli 1/9 Young Ireland 1/16 MothraCAMOZZI’S: 5855 El Camino Real, Atascadero, 466-1880. D’ANBINO VINEYARDS AND CELLARS: 710 Pine St., Paso Robles, 227-6800 or danbino.com. Every Saturday 2-4:30 pm wine and music events. LA BELLASERA HOTEL AND SUITES: 206 Alexa Ct., Paso Robles, 238-2834, www.labellasera.com. Guitar/Vocal duo, Adam Levine and Judy Philbin play every Thurs. from 7-9pm, in the dining room/barLAST STAGE WEST: Halfway Station on Highway 41 (15050 Morro Road at Toro Creek), 461-1393 or laststagewest.net. Most shows start at 6pm. 1/3 BanjerDan 1/13 The Banjer Dan Show 1/14 Bluegrass Jam Night 1/20 The Banjer Dan Show w/ special guest Cliff Stepp 1/28 Bluegrass Jam NightPAPPY MCGREGOR’S: 1122 Pine St. in Paso Robles. www.pappymcgregors.com or 238-7070, PASO ROBLES INN CATTLEMAN’S LOUNGE: 1103 Spring St., 238-2660. Live entertainment Friday and Saturday at 9:30pm. PINE STREET SALOON: 1234 Pine St., Paso Robles. www.pinestreetsaloon.com 805-238-1114. Every Monday Open Mic. 9pm. Every Tuesday/ Friday/ Sunday Marilyn’s Karaoke 9pm. Every Thursday North County Line Up Live Music 9pm. THE PONY CLUB AT HOTEL CHEVAL: 1021 Pine St., Paso Robles. www.hotelcheval.com 805-226-9995. *Most shows 7-10pm unless stated otherwise 1/2 Louie Ortega 1/3 Lance Robinson 1/9 Michael Keeney 1/10 Lance Robison 1/16 Purple Thumb Notions, Music by Kenny Taylor 4-7pm 1/17 Lance Robison 7-10pm 1/23 Rob Larkin 7-10pm 1/24 Lance Robison 1/30 Luke Bryon 1-31 Lance Robison The Ranch: 1285 Mission St. in San Miguel, www.liveattheranch.com or 467-5047. 11/29 Chris and Nick’s “Rave Circus” 18+ SCULPTERRA WINERY: 5015 Linne Road, Paso Robles, 226-8881. Steve Key presents “Songwriters at Play” Sundays from 1-4pm www.sculpterra.comVINA ROBLES AMPHITHEATRE: 3800 Mill Rd., Paso Robles, 286-3680. 1/10 Melody Klemin 1-4pm 1/24 Martin Paris 1-4pm Check out Vina Robles Amphitheatre online for tickets, times, and pricing www.vinarobles.com.

find your beat

8 50 sound


Dinner and a Movie

1. Guardians of the Galaxy. This is the perfect movie with a fun plot, a tight script, strange

and wonderful creatures that we will come to adore. Marvel hit another one out of the park with this soon-to-be iconic fi lm. Guardians is nothing short of amazing; I loved and laughed every minute. Not only does it have the impressive set pieces and enough action to last you a lifetime, it has an emotional core and you actually get to care about each and every single character.

Guardians of the Galaxy plays out like Star Wars on crack, its fast, ferocious and an entertaining thrill ride throughout. Following a rag tag group of intergalactic criminals, Guardians has the plot line of a Star Wars fi lm, the characters of a Dirty Harry movie and the action of every Marvel movie combined.

2. Chef. Chef serves up its plot, simultaneously sweet and tart with a generous helping

of memorable characters and gentle comedy. Filled with star cameo performances, this fi lm shows Favreau’s (who produced, wrote, directed and stared) clout in Hollywood, as one huge star after another popped up for small parts.

The fi lm follows a master chef whose career is derailed and as a last resort, opens a food truck and drives across country with his young son and his sous-chef. Along the way, we’re treated to food-porn at its best and introduced to a cast of characters that would make Woody Allen blush — Oliver Platt, Dustin Hoffman, Sofi a Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansen, and a slew of other familiar faces. The pairing of sumptuous shots of food preparation with Latin beats is hard to resist, and the food scenes in Chef are so luscious and evocative that you can almost smell what’s cooking.

3. Birdman. Birdman is spectacular, a perfect piece of cinema. This is a miraculously

crafted original story with brilliant

screenwriting that blends existential drama with pop culture savvy. The g r o u n d b r e a k i n g c i n e m a t o g r a p h y that presents possibly the best use of a Steadicam ever conceived. I was in love with every aspect of this fi lm from the fi rst frame.

The fi lm stars Michael Keaton as a washed-up actor named Riggan, who had previously been famous for his portrayal of a superhero called Birdman. Riggan is attempting to create a new name for himself as a theater actor and put on a Broadway play in which he is both starring and directing.

4. Fury. Fury pits a tank fi lled with fi ve American soldiers at the end of World War II, as they

struggle to fi ght off a small army of Nazi soldiers that are closing in on them. David Ayer directs this brutal and grim war fi lm with no romance to it. Ayer’s fi lm is bloody and unrelenting and fully captures the absolutely horrifi c nature of war. My favorite line: “Ideals are peaceful...History is Violent.”

The cast of characters is solid across the board with just the right amount of interaction and personality to make them worth rooting for until the end. Brad Pitt’s character (Wardaddy) is a man who is truly run ragged by this war. Fury depicts not only the atrocities of war but also the ideology of brotherhood with this fi lm.

Fury is a masterwork of fi lm production. The close quarters of the men in the tank, the ugly muck and mire of the grime-soaked ground. It showed the gritty authenticity amidst the graphic and unspeakable violence.

5. Big Hero Six. With the action of Marvel, the drama of Disney and the comedy of both, I loved “Big

Hero 6.” What made the movie special is its focus on the main character and his relationship with his brother and the invention. This is where the story

is sincere, quite compelling, and almost leading the audience to tears. Because it is a Disney fi lm, the protagonist must suffer a devastating loss. But as a superhero movie, everything you seek is accounted for — quest, an evil villain and handy sidekicks.

6. Gone Girl. I will honestly say, this is the fi rst time I will tell you to skip the book and watch

the movie. Director, David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven) used his visionary attitude of an incendiary novel. Like Fincher’s previous fi lms, he wants to bring the viewer into the world that characters live in by focusing on the setting and place. Staring Ben Affl eck as Nick Dunne and Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne, this “Who done it?” with an astonishing twist is tight, well written and will scare men to death.

7. The Lego Movie. I was glad that they made this movie with a nod to the parents (and

grandparents) who have fond memories of building masterpieces from these plastic toys. This movie made me laugh the entire time, with adult humor that was pleasantly over the kids’ head, without sacrifi cing his chuckles.

The fi lm had absolutely breath-taking detail when it came to making the computer animated graphics look as though they were fi lmed entirely in Lego bricks. The wide variety of characters, gave a sense of worlds colliding as well as charm.

8. Her. A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly-purchased operating

system that’s designed to meet his every need. Here is a fi lm about the journey

itself and not about where the journey ends. It’s about companionship, love, loneliness, joy, heart break and everything that that comes with it.Director/writer Spike Jonze always takes a different approach and it shows in spades in this fi lm. This movie was directed in a way that the person watching gets consumed by the story, the characters, and the situations. A compelling love story mixed with self-discovery leaves one watching breathlessly. The subject matter could have gone stale and trite so easily, but this is classic storytelling at its fi nest.

9. The Book Thief. I was moved beyond words at this epic tale where the message consisted

of what I have always believed. The act of storytelling can heal, sooth and enhance a soul.

The Book Thief is a breath-taking fi lm, nuanced and thoughtful, and buoyed by strong performances. We watch as Germany falls under the storm of war, the country slowly descends into madness, as we follow this lost girl who fi nds a home in the care of a childless couple. Papa is a merry man whose soul is as light as a child’s (Geoffrey Rush) and mama is a woman who rumbles like a thunderstorm (Emily Watson). She makes friends with a yellow haired boy Rudy (Nico Liersch) and learns to trust again under his tutelage. What follows is all the horrors of war we have come to know — Jewish hero’s wasting away in basements, neighbors turning on each other and relentless bombs being dropped on peoples head as they just try to fi nd enough food to eat.

10. Authors Anonymous. Written by our local media celeb, David Congalton,

this independent fi lm is about a writing group. The fi lm is fantastic, a perfect display of writer support, love, then envy, insecurity, vanity and dysfunction. The fi lm stars Kaley Cuoco as Hannah. She starts out as a non-reading, mother dependent ditz and goes on to become a successful writer.

The fi lm is shot in a “Mocumentary” style so the actors break the third wall to explain their writing process, goals and aspirations. The writing group meets and they all interject, pontifi cate and give opinions as to where each story should go next. It is a perfect comedic telling of the writer’s mindset. ✤

Teri Bayus can be reached at: [email protected] or follow her writings and ramblings online at: www.teribayus.com. Teri is also the host of Taste Buds, a moving picture rendition of her reviews shown on Charter Cable Channel 10. Dinner and a Movie is a regular feature of Tolosa Press.

My Top 10 Movies for 2014By Teri Bayus


OPINION

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oh, forgive me. I just

realized my enthusiastic salutation might be a bit too acute for those of you who may have excessively celebrated the demise of a year that was already not unlike a bad hangover.

So for that I apologize, and will do my best to keep any further bold or capital letters to a minimum throughout the remainder of this article to keep your aching head from pounding any further.

I wish I could offer a cure for the uncomfortable condition in which you fi nd yourself, but alas, I cannot, because, and I know you don’t want to hear this, especially at any volume, high or otherwise, there really isn’t one, despite the amazing advances of science.

Since it’s too late to tell you how to prevent the ultimate curse of the spirit world now that you’ve hoisted on high one glass too many, accompanied either by the strains of “Auld Lang Syne” played by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, or the beat of Dick Clark’s “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve,” (which always gave me a headache even without alcohol).

And since time has passed for me to offer advice as to how best minimize the damage, like prefacing your party with a glass of milk or a tray of hors d’oeuvre’s and drinking vodka or gin instead of bourbon or red wine along with the copious amounts of Gatorade required to keep you from dehydrating, I can only pass on a few remedies that might alleviate some discomfort but treatments I am reluctant to guarantee.

If your head feels close to exploding, like it’s center stage to that Jimi Hendrix experience performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 where he kneels over his guitar all ablaze after fretting the most amazing version of the “Star Spangled Banner” ever electrifi ed, you’re probably in need of some kind of painkiller.

That would be aspirin, but medicos agree that while this might somewhat relieve the ache, it can inspire your stomach or liver to further revolt en masse more than they already have.

If your brain feels more bruised than battered, like it has entertained one too many choruses harmonized by the Carpenters, then it’s your own darn fault for listening to them in the fi rst place.

I might suggest Alka-Seltzer, but even that fi zzy concoction has its perils as once related to me by one WWII veteran who recalled being

stationed in Britain when, after a night of revelry, he offered a white tablet of this particular medicine to an English comrade. Unfamiliar with the remedy he swallowed what looked to him like a large pill with a glass of water, which

immediately caused him to writhe around on the fl oor with foam coming out of his mouth. That prompted him to believe and frantically vocalize between burps that his American buddies were out to get him, much to their hilarity and his chagrin.

I could also recommend, as some people do, that you consume a sturdy grilled and greasy bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. But frankly just between you and me, the thought of trying to digest that kind of payload the morning after anything I fi nd kind of nauseating anyway, and I’m sorry for using any word stemming from nausea, given your current dilemma.

Perhaps you might try a shot of fructose or glucose, which can be found in a can or bottle of tomato or orange juice, but then you may feel tempted to graze the proverbial hair of the dog by adding to either of nature’s nectar the vodka that brought on your hangover in the fi rst place.

And although the procedure is sworn by in some circles, many say it just exacerbates and prolongs your suffering.

You might want to avoid coffee, by the way, because all that does is dehydrate you further and wakes you up enough so you not only realize just how much pain you’re in but also reminds you of the evening before, which I’m sure you’d just as soon forget.

If there is a banana on your kitchen counter, or any vitamins in your medicine cabinet, or a jar of honey in your pantry, you haven’t got anything to lose by swallowing any or all, as any or all may aid you in your quest for relief, but you might want to think twice before experimenting with home remedies like skullcap tea or the extract from certain artichokes, if you can think at all.

Ultimately, however, I’m afraid time is the only tonic, and sleep the only antidote. Hopefully, you’ll awake to a more joyous and prosperous New Year, one that proffers not only a cure for the hangover we all seem to have, but to all of mankind’s current ailments.

HERE’S TO 2015! Oh, sorry about that. ✤

New Year’s RemediesGood to be King

By King Harris

This Holiday Break, Catalyst Soccer is celebrating with a special week of Indoor Soccer and Futsal Camp.This special week of soccer fun and learning is for boys and girls who enjoy the game and are excited to play the skillful game of Indoor Soccer with the Coaches and Players of Cal Poly Mustang Soccer!

Go to our website for more information and to register online.

ANNUAL HOLIDAY INDOOR SOCCER AND FUTSAL CAMPS

Go to www.catalystsoccer.com or call 805-541-3031

INSPIRE! EDUCATE! CELEBRATE!

Three Great Locations! Week 1 A .......Dec. 29th-Jan. 2nd ........ (M-F) ........... Atascadero Bible Church ...........Atascadero Week 1 B .......Dec. 29th-Jan. 2nd ........ (M-F) ........... SLO Nazarene Church ...............SLO Week 2 A .......Jan. 5th-9th .................. (M-F) ........... Paulding Middle School .............Arroyo Grande

Two great programs for your kids! BOYS & GIRLS!

Little Skillsbuilders........ (Ages 4-6) ......(9:30 to 11am) Super FUNdamentals .... (Ages 6-14) ....(9 to noon)

pen New Yeear’s Evve Dayppppppeeeeeennnnnn NNNNNNNeeeeeewwwwww YYYYYYYeeeeeeaaaaaarrrrrr’’’’’’sssssss EEEEEEEvvvvvveeeeee DDDDDDaaaaaayyyyyyOpOOOOOOppppppOOOOOOOom 7:00amm to 10::00pmoooooommmmmm 777777:::::0000000000000aaaaaammmmmm tttttttoooooo 1111110000000::::::00000000000000ppppppmmmmmmrorrrrrroooffffffff

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Come Home for New Year’s Eve to celebrate with Friends & Family at the Quarterdeck!

DINNER SPECIAL STARTING FROM NOON TO CLOSING ON NEW YEAR’S EVE ONLY!

Tender Filet Mignon, petite Main Lobster tail and a giant King Crab Leg. Along with that you will receive, full dinner choices (potato, rice or pasta & soup or salad) and a glass of Champagne.

All for only $39.99

Call 481-FISH (3474) for Reservations


LifestyleLifestyleREAL ESTATE

Do you confuse goals with typical New Year’s resolutions? Resolutions are

born out of fl eeting emotions, whims or a general dissatisfaction of where we are in life. People poke fun at resolutions because they are rarely kept. The following year, the extra 20 pounds are still there and it seems like there is more debt than ever and so on..

A goal, on the other hand, is accompanied by serious thought as to why you want to accomplish that goal and then it always works best if you take the time to formulate a plan on how to get there. It’s really not hard. In fact, the hardest thing about it is picking up the pen. If this is not you, perhaps you could share this with a friend!

Here are 3 great reasons to make 2015 Estate Goals today.Avoid Procrastination

Are you a procrastinator? Many of us don’t like to admit it and some even brag about it. It’s hard to believe, but before you know it, we will be halfway

through this year and well on our way to 2016. If you have been thinking about selling a property or purchasing one in 2015, take the fi rst step by making the goal and write out your plan. This is as simple as making a short list starting with what you need to do fi rst. Put that fi rst step on your calendar and be sure you follow through.Get in the Game

Are you always lamenting about and living in the past? It’s time to accept the current state of the market and get in the game. I hear people moaning about how much they could have sold their home for several years ago and just will not let

that number go. What they often don’t realize is that while they are focusing on the past, the present is here and ripe with new opportunities. Others are holding onto the hope that prices will decline and they want to wait for a better deal to come along. The truth is that this is a great time to buy or sell. Remember if you don’t play, you can’t win.Enjoy the Benefi tsAside from the wonderful feeling of making a goal and accomplishing it, owning your own home allows you to keep more of your hard earned money at the end of the year instead of giving it over to Uncle Sam. If you have needed to downsize or move up for awhile now, imagine how great it will be to have fi nally taken the steps to do that. Will the family be happier and will you be in a better fi nancial place once you have taken the necessary steps?

My initial consultations are always

3 Reasons to Make 2015 Real Estate Goals Today

By Nancy Puder

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FREE. If you would like to have a «no obligation» discussion about how to set a real estate goal, implement a plan or just talk to someone who understands the real estate market, call, text or email me at (805)710-2415 or [email protected]. ✤

Nancy Puder is a real estate broker with Nancy Puder & Associates, which is a premier real estate boutique company in Arroyo Grande. Nancy Puder is one of the largest listing brokers on the Central Coast. You are invited to contact her with questions concerning your property anytime as she always enjoys hearing from you! Text or phone (805)710-2415 or email [email protected]. To enjoy other real estate articles written by Nancy, go to www.NancyPuderAssociates.com or Facebook.com/Nancy Puder Realtor

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Call Bayshore Realty at: 805-772-0500www.BayshoreRealty.net

Rare opportunity. Downtown district office/business space on Main Street, Morro Bay. Plenty of off-street parking. Major upgrades to building. OMC 1st.

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LifestyleLifestyle TAX HELP

Don’t Worry, Be HappyBy Gretchen Ross, CRTP

805-772-9988 798 Morro Bay Blvd., Suite D

Morro Bay www.cctaxpros.com

[email protected] [email protected]

30+ years experience Reliable advice

Responsive service Reasonable rates

Every year we are forewarned that this will be the worst tax fi ling year in the history of fi ling

taxes and the media latches onto it and honest taxpayers get into a needless panic. Yes, it is true that in 1985, the IRS managed to misplace quite a few returns, but with the advent of electronic fi ling, that is unlikely to reoccur. IRS budget cuts are real which means if you need to contact them, the hold times will be longer and you may not get through. On the plus side, the IRS dot Gov website is better than ever and increasingly user-friendly. Often taxpayers can fi nd the answer to their questions easily and the forms needed to fi le an accurate return are easily obtained.

There are some are changes this year that are confusing to many. I am referring to the compliance necessary due to the new Affordable Care Act. This does not affect everyone like we are led to believe and yes, it does require a new form to be fi lled out by the self-insured but it is not insurmountable. I will be writing more about it in a later article--so don’t get anxious! If you do fi nd yourself overwhelmed by it, you may consider to have a professional prepare your taxes this year.

As always, this is the time of year to get yourself organized and ready to fi le. If you use your car for business, take a photo of the odometer so you have a

record of what your mileage was at the end of the year; plan on doing it again next year. Consult your 2014 calendar to see what you did and what you spent for tax deduction purposes. Prepare for the onslaught of documents coming in the mail in the next few weeks that are necessary to fi le your taxes. Put an envelope, box or fi le folder where you keep your papers that is dedicated only for 2014 tax fi ling. Here’s a tip, if an envelope reads: IMPORTANT TAX DOCUMENTS, put it in your fi le. When you have all your documents together, you should be good to go! There’s no

need to panic. Take a deep breath and know that you can get through it. ✤

Gretchen Ross has been preparing taxes since the 1993 tax season. She and her husband, Mike Foster, CPA, run Central Coast Tax Professionals in Morro Bay. Together, they provide personalized attention to their clients. They have over 50 years of combined experience in helping people prosper. Gretchen has her BA in International Studies, has run various businesses and has been involved in many aspects of real estate from development to management.

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There are hundreds of different transactions that can dramatically affect your tax return. Being proactive and well informed can help reduce your tax liability.

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Integrated Financial Services


From our family to yours…Happy New Year!

FURNITURE & BLINDS

(805) 489-8533

www.donnasinteriors.com

Tolosa Press Year In Review

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