INGA SWEARINGEN | CHRIS BARNICKEL | LORI MARAVIGLIA | DAVID BIDDLE
JournalPLUS MAY 2014
MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST
OPERA SLO GENERAL DIRECTOR
BRIAN ASHER ALHADEFF
805-543-2172
www.farrellsmyth.com
21 Santa Rosa Street #100 San Luis Obispo
805-904-6616 110 E. Branch Street Arroyo Grande
San Luis Obispo – Four-Plex
www.ZinVineyard.com
Larry D. Smyth
Jennifer Hamilton
Owner/Broker
Relocation Director
Wine Lovers Paradise! West Paso Robles...rural yet close to downtown. Home, Land, Vineyard, 4900+ Linda Aiello-Madison square foot steel shop. All secured behind electric Broker-Associate gate. Owner will consider carrying financing. $1,500,000
Solid four-plex just one block from the highland drive entrance to Cal Poly, Great rental history with low maintenance. On site laundry and parking. $849,000
Ken Arritt
Valerie Simpson
Broker-Associate
Twila Arritt
REALTOR®
www.avillagehome.com
Pismo Beach – Duplex
Broker-Associate
Simone Viola
REALTOR®
Pismo Beach Duplex or Vacation Home! It is all about the breath taking ocean view from this quiet cul-de-sac. Just a few steps from the beach. Large two bedroom upstairs, smaller one bedroom downstairs. Enjoy the fireworks on the 4th. Includes a fireplace, very large backyard, double garage and shed with electric. $825,000
Move-in Ready – near the Village of Arroyo Grande! You need to see inside to appreciate all of the amenities this well-cared for 3 bed, 2 bath home has to offer. Private wing tucks away the spacious master suite and bath. Kitchen upgraded with appliances, countertops, flooring all to match. Private rear yard. $669,900
Atascadero
Mary Rosenthal REALTOR®
Opportunity Knocks in Santa Maria
Carol Beard
Laura Pyzer
Pamela Bliss
Richard Potter
REALTOR®
REALTOR®
Broker-Associate
Theresa Carroll REALTOR®
Jerry Collins REALTOR®
REALTOR®
Serene Westside Atascadero 4.57 acre parcel with Majestic Mossy Oaks that surround the natural building pad. Only 1.3 miles to Hwy 101, but you’ll feel the you have found the quiet, natural spot to build your forever home. Positioned on the end of a paved Cul De Sac, a stunning neighborhood with upscale homes, each with plenty of space surrounding them. Make this the private spot your call home! $239,990
Paddy Doron REALTOR®
Patricia Garrison REALTOR®
Great opportunity to buy with seller financing, 20% down & no loan fees. This is a beautiful, spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath town home in a well maintained complex. Wrought iron gate opens into a courtyard entry with a nice patio. Living room has a large wood burning fireplace and slider opening to patio. $199,500
Vicky Hall REALTOR®
Deane Naylor REALTOR®
David Hamilton REALTOR®
Linda Irigaray REALTOR®
Annette Mullen REALTOR®
KIWANIS CLUB OF SAN LUIS OBISPO de TOLOSA’s
DRIVE-THRU BBQ DINNER
The Kiwanis BBQ Crew
Friday, May 9, 2014 SLO Veterans Building on Grand Ave, SLO Tickets: $50 Each dinner feeds up to six people and includes: BBQ Choice grade beef Tri-Tip, Beans, Salsa, Salad & SLO Sourdough garlic bread All packaged in a beautiful re-usable tote bag
For ticket information contact: Lynn Cooper: 805 544-9242 or Steve Owens: 805 546-0609 Give the cook the night off, pick up a mouth-watering BBQ dinner and help support the Kiwanis programs that benefit the youth of SLO!
4 past scholarship winners
CONTENTS
Journal PLUS MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST
The People, Community, and Business of Our Beautiful Central Coast ADDRESS
654 Osos Street San Luis Obispo California 93401
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CHRIS BARNICKEL AND THE LIBRARY STAFF
PHONE 805.546.0609 E-MAIL slojournal@fix.net WEBSITE www.slojournal.com
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Steve Owens ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Erin Mott GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dora Mountain COPY EDITOR Susan Stewart PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Meinhold DISTRIBUTION Keith Malcomson, Kyle Owens
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INGA SWEARINGEN
FIRECLIMB FUNDRAISER
ADVERTISING Jan Owens CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Susan Stewart, Natasha Dalton, Joseph Carotenuti, Dr. Julian Crocker, Sarah Hedger, Maggie Cox, Will Jones, Deborah Cash, Richard Bauman, Dan Carpenter, Ruth Starr, Sasha Irving, Gail Pruitt, Heather Young, and Paula Clark. Mail subscriptions are available at $20 per year. Back issues are $2 each. Inquires concerning advertising or other information made by writing to Steve Owens, JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE, 654 Osos Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. You can call us at 546-0609, our fax line is 546-8827, and our e-mail is slojournal@fix.net. View the entire magazine on our website at www.slojournal.com JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE is a free monthly distributed to over 600 locations throughout the Central Coast and is also available online at slojournal.com Editorial submissions are welcome but are published at the discretion of the publisher. Submissions will be returned if accompanied by a stamped self addressed envelope. No material published in the magazine can be reproduced without written permission. Opinions expressed in the byline articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE. Cover photo by Tom Meinhold
PEOPLE 8 10 12 14 16 18
BRIAN ASHER ALHADEFF INGA SWEARINGEN BILL O’NEIL CHRIS BARNICKEL LORI MARAVIGLIA DAVID BIDDLE
HOME & OUTDOOR 19 20 22 24 26
ESTATE SALES LOCAL FIREFIGHTER IN FIRECLIMB AVILA BEACH BIRD SANCTUARY
COMMUNITY 28 28 30 32 34 36 41
OUR SCHOOLS–Dr. Julian Crocker PATHPOINT TURNS 50 CALL TO THE COLORS HISTORY: William Rich Hutton HOSPICE CORNER / CROSSWORD PUZZLE PALM STREET Councilman Dan Carpenter COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
BUSINESS
37 DOWNTOWN SLO What’s Happening 46 EYE ON BUSINESS
FOOD / AT THE MARKET SLO ART SCENE
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A proud tradition of serving our community for over 30 years Opening Doors Since ‘84
David Glass, Cheryl Priolo, Tim Kubinski, Michelle Braunschweig, Traci Pimentel, Colleen Clarke, Johnny Hough, Sal Orlando, Steven Ferrario, Jeff Inman, Melissa Kues, Devin Hahn, Craig Losee, Susie Brans, Jenny Shaheen, Jason Vork, Adrianna Garza
ATASCADERO – You’ll find this 3 bedroom, 3 bath home with office has numerous upgrades and offers an exceptional living environment both inside and out. The gorgeous interior is an artful palette of colorful rooms with gourmet kitchen, upgraded lighting, upgraded carpet and tile, bar with wine refrigerator, wine storage area, full house speaker system and alarm system. The appealing outdoor living area has a salt water swimming pool, putting green, water & fire features, full outdoor kitchen and misting system. This inspired offering is a must see. $689,000 #3211 SAN LUIS OBISPO – Gorgeous four bedroom, three bath home in
highly desirable San Luis Obispo neighborhood. Great floor plan with lots of light. Located at the end of a cul-de-sac, this beauty is close to parks and shopping. $739,000 #3207
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Nicely updated home in desirable Margarita Villas. This complex features a pool, spa, and clubhouse! Home includes 2 bedrooms/2.5 baths with an open floor plan, vaulted ceilings, fireplace in living area and a 2 car garage! Rear yard is good size and fenced for the pups! $415,000 #3200 SAN LUIS OBISPO – This graceful Victorian, with a majestic wrap-
around porch and original curved corner windows, has long been a crown jewel of the coveted Buchon neighborhood. The interior features beautiful carved woodwork, polished original wood floors, spacious rooms with high ceilings & two fireplaces. The home was recently restored with impeccable taste – in keeping with the period style. This home is approved for Mills Act which significantly reduces the property taxes. $1,949,000 #3190
SAN LUIS OBISPO – New kitchen with custom cabinets, 33 ft of granite counters, tile floors, 3612 square ft. with spectacular views of both San Luis Mountain and Bishop’s Peak. The 4 bedrooms, den, and baths are on the main level. Oversized three car garage, with hobby & wine rooms, with extra storage space. Numerous fruit trees, garden area, large patio with built in barbecue in a very secluded setting. $930,000 #3164
805.541.2888
962 Mill Street • San Luis Obispo, California 93401 www.RealEstateGroup.com
“
Smiling is the way the soul says hello. JA R O D K I N T Z
From the publisher
” I
recently attended the special groundbreaking ceremony for the Jack Ready Imagination Park, the first universally accessible park for physically challenged
State Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian on the tractor. (L-R) Park property donated by Nick Tompkins, park contractor Steve Souza, County Supervisor Caren Ray, Bridget and Paul Ready, County Supervisor Adam Hill, JHH Director Karen Borges and County Supervisor Debbie Arnold.
children in San Luis County. The 33-acre public park will offer a universally accessible place where children of all ages, regardless of physical limitations, can play side by side. This will be a destination park used by families from across the state. Congratulations to Paul and Bridget Ready (pictured center) and the people pictured above for making this project a reality.
FAMILY, COSMETIC, AND IMPLANT DENTISTRY
Call us at
805-541-5800 to schedule an appointment NEW PATIENTS WELCOME!
This month we feature six outstanding people who are making a difference on the Central Coast. You’ll enjoy them all. Our cover story profiles Brian Asher Alhadeff, the General Director of Opera SLO. Brian has assembled a collaborative arts group, including Morro Bay High School Chorus, Civic Ballet and Kelrik productions to produce Show Boat. The Quarterly Veterans column is in this issue and Dan Carpenter tells us his views on campaign contributions from his SLO Council seat. Plenty of good reading again this month. Enjoy the magazine,
567 MARSH STREET · DOWNTOWN SLO
RyanRossDDS.com
Steve Owens
COMING UP AT THE
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Travel Back Through Time 5/3 • 8 p.m. Christopher Cohan Center Presented by SLO Symphony
MBHS & LOMS Spring Choral Concert 5/20 • 7 p.m. Christopher Cohan Center Presented by MBHS & LOMS
MET Live in HD: Così fan tutti 5/4 • 2 p.m.
Illuminate 5/22 & 5/23 • 8 p.m.
Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Opera San Luis Obispo
Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by Cal Poly Theatre and Dance
Black Cat Cabaret 5/8 - 5/10 & 5/15 - 5/17 • 8 p.m.
Arab Music Ensemble Spring Concert 5/24 • 8 p.m.
Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by Cal Poly Theatre and Dance
MET Live in HD: La Cenerentola 5/10 • 9:55 a.m. Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Cal Poly Arts & Opera San Luis Obispo
Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre
Presented by Cal Poly Music Dept.
Youth Symphony 5/25 • 4 p.m. Christopher Cohan Center Presented by SLO Symphony
Show Boat 5/10 • 7 p.m. & 5/11 • 2 p.m.
SLO HS Choir and Band Concert 5/28 • 7 p.m.
Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Opera San Luis Obispo
Christopher Cohan Center Presented by SLO HS
The Queen Symphony 5/17 • 8 p.m. & 5/18 • 3 p.m.
University Jazz Bands Jazz Night Concert 5/31 • 8 p.m.
Christopher Cohan Center Presented by San Luis Obispo wind Orchestra
Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Cal Poly Music Dept.
www.PACSLO.ORG | 805-756-4TIX
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All Aboard! Show Boat
Brian Asher Alhadeff’s
splendid musical spectacular docks at the PAC this month By Susan Stewart
S
ince 2007, when the doors of such renowned musical companies as New York City Opera, Bellevue Philharmonic, Opera Pacific, Beverly Hills Symphony, and most recently the half-century-old San Diego Opera began closing for good, the message was clear: “Classical music organizations need to change or die.” It’s a message our own Brian Asher Alhadeff heard, and soon this community will see the results of his inventive solution in a lush production of the 1927 smash hit Show Boat.
“I got the idea from my doctoral days at UCLA [where] the orchestra was designed to also accompany the opera, musical theater, and chorus,” said Alhadeff, Artistic and General Director at Opera San Luis Obispo. “In essence, the idea of collaboration was already built into the ground workings of the orchestra program.” After graduation, Alhadeff took that model to Grand Valley State University in Michigan where he reorganized the orchestra to support and collaborate with the choral program, opera program, musical theater, and theater arts. His production of The Nutcracker that year brought the GVSU Symphony and Ballet, the Grand Rapids Boys Chorus, and the Youth Ballet together, with sets and drops rented from Ballet Tuscon! So the solution here— to bring previously competing performing arts organizations together—was both immensely exciting and potentially life-saving for everyone. Born in Los Angeles, Alhadeff started piano lessons at age 7 and developed strong ties to classical music early on. “My Dad had a large collection of records,” he explained. “I began collecting recordings of all the greats … My influences were the great conductors of the 1950s and ‘60s: Bruno Walter, Herbert von Karajan, Fritz Reiner. They created a sound with the orchestra that I’ve been chasing ever since.”
San Luis Obispo arts community’s latest collaboration – Show Boat. Pictured above playing in the sandbox together (L-R) Civic Ballet’s Drew Silvaggio, Morro Bay High School’s Choral Director Colleen Wall, Opera SLO’s Brian Asher Alhadeff and Kelrik Production’s Erik Austin. M A Y
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But, “Growing up in public school was tough for me,” Alhadeff admits. “I never fit in. … I was a band nerd in high school; but everything changed when I went to college.” Alhadeff would later study with conducting teachers Bogidar Avramov, David Buck, and Jon Robertson. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola Marymount University, a Bachelor of Music from Cal State L.A., and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music. Today, “… he is an internationally acclaimed opera, ballet, and symphonic conductor with a unique specialization in both producing and conducting stage productions exceeding 200 artists,” reads his web bio.
PEOPLE Alhadeff conducting for the State Street Ballet at the Granada Theater.
Alhadeff is also in demand as a pianist and lecturer, university professor, and arts presenter both here and abroad. He landed in our neck of the woods in 2010 when he served as Associate Conductor with Robert Ashens (then Artistic Director at Opera SLO) on a production of La Boheme. He returned in 2011 to help with Barber of Seville, and was asked to step into the top position when Ashens left Opera SLO in 2012. Alhadeff saw the writing on the wall when both La Boheme and Barber of Seville—two of the world’s most famous operas of all time—filled only 50-60% of the seats at the PAC. He put his previously proven concept of collaboration to work on what he calls a “Multi-Media Classical Arts Blitzkreig,”—large-scale collaborations among dance, choral, orchestral, and theatrical organizations to create truly dazzling shows that have wide appeal and broaden audience exposure. “A ballet fan might not be too interested in opera, but when their favorite ballet company is involved in an opera, they might just give it a shot,” Alhadeff explains. For Show Boat, Alhadeff unites Opera SLO, Civic Ballet of SLO, Kelrik Productions, and the Morro Bay High School choruses to bring this quintessentially American musical to the stage. “Colleen Wall is the amazing, award-winning choir director at Morro Bay High,” Alhadeff begins. “Drew Silvaggio is a fantastic
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choreographer and the artistic director at Civic Ballet; Erik Austin is an established and super active musical theater director and artistic director at Kelrik Productions,” he continues. “And the Opera SLO Board of Directors has allowed me to dream unrestrictedly. This fantastic board works tirelessly behind the scenes along with many volunteers who love opera. None of this could happen without that valuable resource of energy and love,” he finishes. “It’s all about celebrating those who come together, proving that the sum of our talents together are much more successful than when we work separately.” Show Boat is the perfect choice for this splendid collaboration. First performed in December of 1927, Show Boat is a musical in two acts, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. According to the Wikipedia synopsis, it follows the lives of the performers, stagehands, and dock workers on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat, over 40 years, from 1887 to 1927. Its themes include racial prejudice and tragic, enduring love, and contributes such classic songs as “Ol’ Man River,” “Make Believe,” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.” Among its many revivals was a movie made in 1951 starring Howard Keel and Kathyrn Grayson. The upcoming County-Wide Arts Collaboration of Show Boat will feature a 40-piece orchestra, a 40-voice chorus, choreography by Drew Silvaggio, stage direction by Erik Austin, and a cast made up of SLO residents and internationally acclaimed Broadway stars. And guess who will play Magnolia, the female lead? None other than Kristen Towers-Rowles, the granddaughter of Kathryn Grayson! “San Luis Obispo has a strong patronage for musical theater,” said Alhadeff. “Much of this popularity is because the musical is first and foremost an American invention woven into our upbringing and national heritage. Opera SLO hopes to bring an entirely different slice of this Broadway pie to our community by offering a classical musical every other year.” Alhadeff plans to fill alternate years with a full scale opera through his Co-Opera partnership with Cal Poly. “I believe the power of collaboration is the new frontier for not only opera, but for all classical arts,” said Alhadeff. “When complimentary arts organizations hold hands and work together, creative forces emerge, new collaborative marketing and performance platforms are created; in essence, the planets align to produce extraordinary outcomes.” Show Boat opens Mother’s Day weekend, playing Saturday May 10th at 7 pm and Sunday May 11th at 2 pm at The Performing Arts Center. Visit www.pacslo.org for tickets and information. Also coming up are: Aida by Guiseppe Verdi on October 11th and 12th. And The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar on April 10th and 11th. “Opera and musical theater are the Olympics of classical music,” Alhadeff exclaims. “The crossroads where all classical arts meet together on one stage. … Where grand opera exists, classical arts thrive! San Luis Obispo is just one example of a town with a thriving melting pot for these classical arts.”
Alhadeff and performers at the Magic Flute finale
Have a look at our playful cover photo, and then come to Show Boat. See for yourself what magic is made when everyone gets to play in the same sandbox! M A Y
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PEOPLE
inga swearingen singer, teacher and mother By Will Jones “Inga has a gorgeous voice, very fresh and evocative and note-perfect, and that’s the sort of person you want to sing harmony to…” —Garrison Keillor, A Prairie Home Companion I first heard Inga Swearingen sing when she and her friend, Evan Ball, entertained between acts at the San Luis Obispo High School Battle of the Bands during their senior year. Already on display were two of Inga’s signature qualities as a performer, qualities that have contributed to her outstanding career as a professional musician over the last twenty years. First was her rich, imaginative voice, with a range that moved smoothly from soaring high to deep, resonant low notes. Second was her easy rapport with her audience. Inga has always been a warm, generous and gracious performer, with the ability to make individual listeners feel as if she is sharing a personal experience with them. It is no wonder, after her first successful appearance, that Garrison Keillor invited her back to sing on Prairie Home Companion over a dozen times on stages like Wolf Trap, Tanglewood and Town Hall in New York City. Inga describes her soon-to-be-released, but as yet untitled CD, as “rootsy, still jazz, but also influenced by the blues. Simpler but made more complex by the great jazz players on the recording. About half the tunes are covers and half are originals, focusing on themes of home and a sense of belonging.” To demonstrate, she reached for her National Reso-Phonic guitar and sang a bluesy version of “Scarborough Fair,” highlighted by a bass notes-heavy guitar riff she played with a slide. She transformed an old English ballad into a haunting Delta blues. Guitarist Jeff Miley and Inga wrote the originals, Jeff the melodies and Inga the lyrics. Dylan Johnson plays bass and Brian Kilgore is the percussionist. Joel Alpers and Zac Matthews also contribute percussion and bass, and Inga’s sister, Britta, sings harmony. Guests soloists, like Round Mountain, familiar to Live Oak audiences, and local blues artist, Guy Budd, may also perform. Inga grew up in a musical household. Her father, Don, plays piano and her mother, Meg, sings. “They’ve always supported making a life
Inga, Mladen and their son, Stellan
of music,” Inga said. She was into the Police when she was only five or six. “But my parents played all kinds of music, like Pat Metheny, Jean Luc Ponty and classical. We were exposed to everything. I didn’t go down a rabbit-hole of one kind of music.” Early in Inga’s life her family followed Don’s career as an architect and teacher to Sweden, Texas and Arizona, where Meg taught exercise classes at Canyon Ranch. While always singing in school choirs, Inga and Britta also got into horses and horseback riding. “It’s a big deal in Sweden. Then in Arizona we bought horses, and when we moved back to the Central Coast we lived on the farm in Atascadero. All through middle and high school we were involved in music, horses and farm life.” Inga’s first solo appearance was as Mrs. Farrell in a sixth grade production of Annie. “I loved it, but it was a long time before I thought about music as a career. I didn’t want to study music in school for fear it would squash my creativity.” After high school she attended three different community colleges, taking classes like African drumming, creative writing and modern dance, as well as a physics class taught at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. All the while she was playing guitar and singing solo in coffee houses. “My turning point was getting involved with Voce at Cuesta College. I started to feel like music was what I wanted to do. I love it, I’m good at it, and why wouldn’t I do it for a living?” All along friends like Evan Ball, her roommate Brant in San Francisco, and mentors like choir director Gary Lamprecht, encouraged her to stay with music. “But I’m happy for that exploring time of not feeling like I had it all figured out. That lateral swing back and forth was rich.” A couple of years into college, Inga listened closely to an Ella Fitzgerald tape Gary Lamprecht had given her. “I finally heard it, thinking to myself, ‘this is astonishing, absolutely incredible.’ I hadn’t learned what scat singing was all about up to that point, and then I got it.” Another big influence was Bobby McFerrin. Don went to a vocal workshop McFerrin conducted at Cal Poly and from then on his music was “blasting all over the farm when we’d be out working. He’s been huge for me, trying to use my voice as an instrument, playing other roles in the band, wanting to be in the fabric of the music. I also love both Ella and Bobby’s sense of playfulness and joy. They’re fearless.”
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finally she called on me. She had me take Summertime and scrunch up all the words up to ‘easy’ to where I had four measures to sing that one word. I had no idea you could do that. I learned that I was supposed to change the phrasing, exit now and then and come back to the form.” She returned to Montreux in 2003, where she won a vocal competition sponsored by Shure microphone and studied with Abbuehl for six months. Inga returned to the Central Coast after Florida State. Since then she has met and married her husband, Mladen, started teaching at Cuesta College, released her albums Reverie and First Rain, given birth to her son, Stellan, and continued to tour and perform in the state and around the country.
Being in Voce meant total immersion in music. “I really got into jazz. We would get together and just geek out, singing and holding notes against each other, and ‘ooh, that’s a major seventh!’, total music nerds. That’s when I started loving those close harmonies.” Inga eventually earned her bachelor’s degree in classical voice at Cal Poly and moved on to Florida State for a master’s in choral conducting. While still at Cuesta, Inga went to Montreux, Switzerland, with Voce, for the Montreux Jazz Festival. After a Voce performance she ran to one of Susanne Abbuehl’s vocal workshops, was late, but volunteered anyway when Abbuehl asked for someone to join her on stage. “I raised my hand and she kept looking at me like ‘you’re late, you’re too eager,’ but
“The opportunity to teach and then go out into the world and bring what I learned back to the classroom really helped me articulate and organize my thoughts and knowledge. It helped me move further out into the music world, but also understand the idea of longevity, not trying to make my career all happen in five years. I grew into the idea that I’m going to do this for the rest of my life, and I’m good with the slow climb, as long as I’m improving and pushing myself. And being a mother has helped me relax and recognize the potential of each day.” With less opportunity to practice formally, Inga finds herself singing new songs to Stellan, singing while she’s doing the dishes or making dinner. Along with her astonishing talent, perhaps that is what makes Inga so special and endearing to her audiences, the sense that she is one of us, a hard working wife and mother, both thrilled and grateful to share her musical gift with the people she loves. To share Inga’s journey and learn about upcoming performances and the release of her new CD, follow her on Facebook or go to http://ingaswearingen.com.
N MacB EW In sto ook Pro ck no w!
N MacB EW In sto ook Pro ck no w!
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Bill O’neil
on his role in space exploration Part 1 of 2 – “We give it our all” By Natasha Dalton “We’re a way for the cosmos to know itself.” —Carl Sagan It will be interesting to see if the new “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” series’ popularity will surpass that of the original “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,” which for years was the most watched series on public television in America. The ‘old’ “Cosmos” was narrated by Carl Sagan. His colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, who could be, by general account, a bit arrogant at times (“Who else knows as much as we do?”) all agreed that the series succeeded in presenting the history of space research and its future aspirations in a fun and exciting way. “I watched ‘Cosmos’ religiously,” says Bill O’Neil, who worked at JPL on the cutting edge of space exploration. “I thought it was wonderful.” Living up to the image of the introverted engineer, O’Neil adds: “Complimenting wasn’t my strong suit.” But he made an exception for Sagan when they met on the Cal Tech campus the day after the first episode was aired. “Carl was pleased to hear my praise of the series,” O’Neil says. “He gave me a big grin.” O’Neil knew Sagan well. He still smiles recalling the day when he and his wife Diane were invited to the taping of Sagan’s appearance at The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. “Johnny Carson thought the world of Carl Sagan,” O’Neil says, “and Carl always had a way with words”— so the interview went swimmingly. Gentry Lee (the Chief Engineer for the Planetary Flight Systems Directorate) and his wife were also in the audience that day. ““I worked with Gentry on Viking (first US landings on Mars), O’Neil says. “Gentry, too, is a bigger-than-life persona: he is also known for co-writing books with Arthur C. Clarke.”
“I think it largely escapes people that we made the first soft landing on Mars, and collected a tremendous amount of data” After the taping, the three aerospace big shots and their wives went out to dinner. “It was at some highly respected Italian restaurant in Los Angeles (that I’ve never heard of), and when Carl saw what my wife, Diane, ordered, he said, ‘I love the way it smells!’—and took a spoonful of food to try. Well, that was homey; don’t you think? He was such a gregarious fellow!” Indeed, Sagan was friendly and approachable—a rather unusual character trait in the adrenaline-pumped field of space exploraM A Y
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tion. Typically, O’Neil’s colleagues were more like the talented, but combustible Bruce Maury (a co-founder, with Carl Sagan and Louis Friedman, of the Planetary Society), or the somewhat aloof JPL Director William Pickering. “One day I happened to be on an elevator with Pickering, and he didn’t speak with me,” O’Neil comments. “There were just two of us, and he didn’t say a word. Maybe it was shyness,” O’Neil adds. Shy, reserved and intensely gifted, these dedicated men made a brilliant research team. O’Neil especially admired the Deputy Director of the Lab Bob Parks—for his cool head, and unassuming nature. “He was a very powerful person, and you never saw him make a mistake,” O’Neil says. “He was an icon.” But even applauding the others, O’Neil is cognizant of his own role at the Lab. And for a good reason: someone who can hurl an object into space at a 106,000 miles per hour, and six years later have that object appear exactly where he sent it, deserves a self-congratulatory pat on the back. In his youth, O’Neil was smart and (as it often happens) rebellious. He credits Diane, whom he started dating in high school, and his mom, Natalie, for helping him straighten up in time for college. The 1960s, when O’Neil began his professional career, was a great time for science: companies fought for talent tooth and nail, and all an ambitious engineer needed to do in order to move up was to move around. However, joining JPL made all these rules of conventional wisdom irrelevant for O’Neil. Initially, neither Bill nor Diane had any intention of moving to Pasadena—because of its reputation at that time for being the smoggiest place in the country. But during the interview, arranged more out of curiosity rather than serious consideration, O’Neil discovered that JPL was flying an aircraft to the Moon. The only other country doing this kind of work was the Soviet Union, and O’Neil immediately
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was headed, and what kind of maneuvers it had to take to correct its path. “It was a lot of numbers to crunch,” O’Neil says. “I think it largely escapes people that we made the first soft landing on Mars, and collected a tremendous amount of data,” he adds. Another thing that often gets overlooked is the complexity of the work involved in every mission. In the environment where expectations are incredibly high and failures are dramatically public, “people have a hard time admitting, even to themselves, that some things are just very hard to do,” O’Neil comments.
Bill meeting Pope John Paul II
understood the ramifications of joining the JPL’s team: the job promised to be not only exciting, but also unique, historic, and darn hard. He knew right away that he wanted it. While at JPL, O’Neil never considered leaving, and turned down every offer that came his way. He just didn’t want to work anywhere else. His very first assignment was on the Surveyor Lander: it had to be proved, prior to sending a spaceship to the Moon, that the astronauts would be able to land there without sinking. At that time nobody knew how big the rocket had to be to allow the spacecraft to slow down, and not crush into the Moon. “We didn’t know what to expect,” O’Neil recalls. “We just wanted to do something, and then see what needed to be done to improve it.” But when in 1968 JPL sent its Lander to the Moon, everything worked perfectly. There was nothing to improve! This success brought O’Neil awards and new opportunities. His team could now use the company’s helicopter—to visit the Hughes Space and Communications Company (HSC) in Los Angeles, or to catch flights from LAX to Cape Kennedy (now Cape Canaveral). “The helicopter would land next to the jet, so these 25-year-olds with brief cases could get on-board. What a rush!” O’Neil remembers. Later, O’Neil served as Chief of Navigation for Mariner Mars ‘71 and Viking. With computers that had less power than any of today’s cell phones, 40 people in his team were able to figure out where the spacecraft
For example, with Surveyor “the real challenge wasn’t so much the mechanical stuff, but the electronics,” he explains. The calculations were very complex, and the computers in the 1960s were still primitive, delaying the mission by two years. The last big solar project with a return mission, that O’Neil was to oversee, was ultimately cancelled after failure of the 1998 mission to Mars. “I had nothing to do with those failed missions, but my project got killed because of that,” O’Neil says. But the project was so difficult, and the budget was so low, that even today it still seems highly improbable.
The cover of Explorations Magazine
O’Neil presented the Pope with an album of the images taken by the Galileo spacecraft, including those of Europa (discovered by Galileo), which left the Pope in awe. Read part 2 of O’Neil’s profile in the next issue of Journal Plus Magazine.
O’Neil agrees with Bob Parks, JPL’s former Deputy Director, who warned against believing something just because you want it to be so. “Bob used to say: ‘Be objective,’” O’Neil cautions. But he also admits that the JPL’s engineers’ confidence that if something needs to be done they could do it, helped them solve some incredibly tricky technological problems. A great example of such challenges and human ingenuity is the Galileo Mission. As the Project Manager for the Galileo Space Mission, which sent a spacecraft and the first Orbiter to Jupiter, O’Neil received an honorary doctorate degree in astronomy from the University of Padua (Galileo’s school). He was also showered with NASA awards and medals. During a ceremony in his honor at his alma mater, Purdue University, O’Neil described his visit to Italy: “The conclusion of the conference (on Galileo the man, Galileo the spacecraft, and the Galileo telescope being built by the Italians on the Canary Islands) was at the Vatican, where we had a papal audience. It was appropriate that we got to see the Pope,” he comments: “It was this Pope, John Paul II, who exonerated Galileo.”
805 Aerovista #103, San Luis Obispo M A Y
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director of libraries
Chris Barnickel
working toward “customer friendly” libraries in slo county By Deborah Cash
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here’s a new chapter in the book of The San Luis Obispo County Library since Chris Barnickel, Director of Libraries, was hired in January to fill the position vacated by retiring director Brian Reynolds. Chris, a Missouri native, relocated to the Central Coast with his wife Catherine and daughter Eloise in 2013 to serve as assistant director and also realize a dream to live in the area he and Catherine had visited a decade before. Both were smitten with the atmosphere and feel of the small university town that was close enough to larger markets to fulfill their cosmopolitan longings and decided to make it their new home. Chris makes no bones about being thrilled to have succeeded Reynolds and said he knew when he came on board as assistant that there would be an opportunity to advance fairly soon. “I knew Brian would be retiring,” Chris said, “I basically told him I wanted his job. It all worked out.” It’s easy to see why Chris would have been an easy choice during the process. He is at once casual but sophisticated, low key but highly motived, work-driven yet well balanced and obviously liked by his staff while being unassumingly take-charge. As well, he’s highly educated and experienced with global ideas and local aspirations, and sincerely dedicated to his family and wholesome lifestyle. Describing himself, Chris says, “I take my job very seriously, but not myself.” “Blame it on my wife,” Chris said when asked why he chose a career path in library science. Catherine, a professional ballerina, showed him what it was like to do something you love and be able to do it anywhere in the world. “I knew I wanted to interact with the public in a special way, to provide a human touch and to mentor kids,” he said. “Being a librarian gives me those outlets and provides a venue for people to better themselves. And I can do it anywhere.”
found himself working at the prestigious Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City, Missouri. Advancing in the busy location to circulation supervisor, he saw a need for volunteerism and became coordinator of the effort. He obtained his MLS from the University of Missouri, Columbia and later, to work in his degree field, took a position in Kansas City, Kansas as a Business Librarian, where the focus was on stocks, research and a “Wall Street Journal approach” for getting into business. But, he said, it was soon clear to him that the library’s clients—mostly underprivileged from a tough urban core—needed help in career development and personal advancement. Chris shifted the focus of the library’s program to address their needs. “When your daily issues involve food stamps or gun violence, what the stock market is doing is not important,” he said. “There was a lot of unemployment; these people were able to take classes on how a resumé works and hear local business people speak. It was very well received.”
Chris attended a Jesuit High School and later, college in southeast Kansas where he initially thought he would become an automotive engineer. “I left in my junior year and then went back to school at age 25; I was trying to decide what to do. With a liberal arts degree in hand, he tried out a few corporate jobs that he says he “didn’t like at all” and at age 30
Chris said he’d like to look at ways to better serve SLO library patrons, too. “The library is really a ‘third place’ after home and work. It’s where people can come and gather, have a cultural experience.” To that end, one of his goals is to actually figure out for each community which hours of operation would best serve the users’ needs. He’d also like
Chris Barnickel and the County Library staff M A Y
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Even Dexter enjoys a good book at the Atascadero Library.
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computers, database and reference services. “These are places where people can access all types of media and enjoy specialty programs for teens and children,” he said.
Chris and his wife, Catherine on Cerro San Luis
to eliminate the “Hold Fee” for books and develop more programs that encourage family friendly environments in the 15-library system (which by the way, he notes, is a large area whose combined footprint is about two-thirds the size of the state of Connecticut.)
Children are especially on Chris’ mind these days; daughter Eloise is now 5 and baby Amelia joined the family on April 5. Catherine teaches ballet in Grover Beach and has her own massage business in Downtown SLO. Family outings take them—and often their dogs Bo and Talulah, both pit bull rescues—to the beach, hiking, camping and bike riding. Chris, who’s an avid cyclist, has been on dirt and street bikes since he was four years old and he says he hopes to participate in a triathlon this year. Travel also ranks high on their list particularly skiing and road trips, especially the back roads “where you can see so much more,” Chris says. During a family vacation to Italy, Chris recalls walking the cobblestone streets and thinking to himself about all the people who had walked there before him over time, illustrating his ability to appreciate small wonders that make big impressions. Just like libraries. “We want to welcome everyone. We want to create a space where people can learn, interact and enjoy the community,” Chris said, pointing out a recently
Chris and his daughter, Eloise along Point Buchon Trail
installed mural that frames the second floor landing of the library in San Luis. Such projects and Chris’ vision for a renewed appreciation of the library in our community are evidence that the system’s new chapter will be a must-read.
Chris applauds the dozen “Friends of the Library” groups that support their own community’s library through fundraising, volunteerism and advocacy. These groups provide huge relief considering Chris supervises six staffers in administration and 70 ½ FTE (full time equivalents), circulation of more than 2.4 million items, program attendance of 36,000 and 901,000 annual visits on a budget of about 8.5 million dollars. This type of community effort is essential and appreciated, he said. “They really put their money where their mouths are.” In addition, he’s a hands-on type of manager who paints and power washes when called on but also realizes the library needs to be run like a business. “I have to make decisions on a limited budget so, for example, I want to look at maybe not adding more hours but smarter hours so we’re open when people want to come in.” Ultimately, Chris says he hopes to help clear up some misconceptions of libraries and what those who work there do. “Across the nation, you’re seeing libraries as awesome platforms for public forums and not just books on shelves.” Chris noted locally there are Internet and access capabilities including Zinio where people can download monthly magazines for their personal devices (this is a free app with 140 titles) as well as eBooks, audible books, M A Y
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Meet biddle ranch vineyard’s General manager
lori maraviglia By Heather Young
with a furniture store in Ellensburg and continued to work there as the main designer after she graduated. There she was involved in the chamber of commerce and many other community events. She married her husband, Jim, in 1990. “Shortly after we got married, he got a job at Cal Poly,” Maraviglia said. In 1991, Jim started work at Cal Poly in admissions. He is now vice provost of enrollment services. That job required them to move from Washington State to San Luis Obispo. The Maraviglias’ move to the Central Coast was not without incident. Their moving truck –containing everything they owned– got stolen on the way from Washington. Jim had to buy a suit at JCPenney for his first day at work. However, after four days, the truck was recovered. It turns out that the driver got mad and ditched the truck on the side of the road and didn’t tell anyone where it was. Maraviglia said she and her husband just love the area. They have three daughters, Amie, Toni and Nikki, and one son, Kelley. In San Luis Obispo, Maraviglia got a job at Danica House and later Traditions Downtown. In 1999, she got into the wine industry via interior design when she went to work at Edna Valley Winery as a merchandiser/buyer. There she also helped in the tasting room during events. In 2005, she went to work at Baileyana and eventually became the wine club manager.
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ori Maraviglia, the general manager of Biddle Ranch Vineyard in Edna Valley, didn’t expect to get into the wine industry; it was something that happened over time.
When Maraviglia was a student at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., she started as a biology major. That was, until she got to medical microbiology. It was then that she changed her major to interior design with a minor in biology. She had an internship
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Now, at Biddle Ranch Vineyard since September 2013, Maraviglia’s job is to facilitate getting everything done. While wine is being made and there is a wine club, the winery has no tasting room. The tasting room is currently being constructed on Biddle Ranch Road next to a house that has been renovated to be rented out and used for events, such as weddings. In the meantime, Maraviglia said, a tasting room will be opened in the old Avila school house at 6985 Ontario Road,
Lori and her husband, Jim
PEOPLE nay grapes. Biddle Ranch Winery chardonnay is made with the estate grapes, the other varietals are made with grapes from other vineyards. Biddle Ranch is located on the corner of Highway 227 and Biddle Ranch road in the heart of Edna Valley. According to Maraviglia, the vineyard benefits from early morning fog, cool ocean breezes and sunny afternoons. This gives the valley the longest ripening season in the state.
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While the winery has only been producing for a few years, it already has medalwinning wines in its repertoire. As well as getting several silver and bronze medals, the winery’s 2012 chardonnay got a gold medal in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The 2010 sangiovese earned a gold in the Grand Harvest Awards. All five of the wines are available via Biddle Ranch Vineyard’s website, www.BiddleRanch.com
(L-R) Daughter Nikki, daughter Jamie, Jamie’s husband Daniel, daughter Toni and in front—grandsons Ty holding Rhone.
between the two Avila Beach exits. One of the winery partners purchased the old school house and is going through the permitting process now to have a tasting room in that location. It is expected to open in June. The tasting room on Biddle Ranch Road is slated to be open in about a year. Of course, people can join the wine club even before the winery opens. Maraviglia said that there have already been a couple of wine club events with more to come, including a party when the vacation rental opens. The vacation rental –called “Un po ‘di Cielo,” a bit of heaven–is a mix of rustic, midcentury modern and contemporary and was designed by Anne Fortini of Fortini Interiors in San Luis Obispo. “If all goes well, we’ll have two tasting rooms,” Maraviglia said, adding that in June, when the vacation rental is expected to be ready to rent, the tasting room should be open as well. “About in June, everything will go crazy.” The winery is owned by Mark Woolpert, Led Fortini, John Ronca, Roy Rawlings and Jerko Rendic. The winery recently hired Ryan Deovlet as the head winemaker. Deovlet took over from Patrick Muran in February. According to Biddle Ranch Winery, Deovlet has traveled all over Australia, Argentina and New Zealand, gaining first-hand experience working in the vineyard and crush. When he returned to California in 2005, he worked with Stephen Dooley, owner and winemaker of Stephen Ross Wine Cellars. In 2007, he became assistant winemaker at Red Car Wine Company.
She’ll love it here Classy, fun and always there for me – mom and The Manse on Marsh have a lot in common. Visit us and you’ll fall in love with the elegant boutique retirement community in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo. Schedule a visit to The Manse on Marsh today to see why so many families know “it’s the one.”
Visit today. TheManse.net (805) 541-4222
“I’m thrilled to be a part of this significant long term project with roots in the Edna Valley, and for an exciting new chapter in my life and career,” said Deovlet, who resides in Los Osos with his wife, Shauna, and their son, Jack. Surrounding the vacation rental and future tasting room are 20 acres of chardon-
475 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo
Starting at juSt $2,495 M A Y
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david biddle A caring kind of guy
Good Samaritan Homeless Shelter in Santa Maria. David, along with other volunteers from Kiwanis, and the Key Club members throw a monthly birthday party for any of the kids who are at the shelter and celebrating a birthday. On Valentine’s Day David put together an event where the Alzheimer’s patients living in the Magnolia Senior Center were sent roses and candy. He managed to secure a bus service to bring twenty children to the Center to help. “It’s a win-win situation,” explains David. We treat the patients by giving them special attention, while teaching the kids compassion and respect for the elderly.” Working with the children gives David a chance to teach them about volunteering. He hopes that the desire to be of service will stay with them as they grow older.
By Ruth Starr
For David, he is rewarded by seeing people happy, making a difference and giving back to the community. There are lot of people who are left alone at the beginning and those who are left alone toward the end of their lives. He affirms that both ends of that spectrum are entitled to happiness. On Thanksgiving he and other volunteers take Thanksgiving baskets provided by Kiwanis to needy families. During the Christmas holiday David and volunteers take Christmas presents, also provided by the Kiwanis, to elderly shut-ins. In the summer they go to elderly people living in their own homes and provide yard care. Before moving to the Central Coast, David lived in Orange County. He and his wife Erin moved up to this area in 1999, spending eight years in Arroyo Grande before settling in Orcutt. His brother Gary moved up to the Central Coast from Orange County about five years after David.
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hen David Biddle retired at only forty years old, he then discovered he had a lot of time on his hands. He soon began volunteering for a variety of organizations. His friends invited him to meetings and in 1999 a woman he met at the YMCA suggested he attend a Kiwanis meeting. David really enjoyed the people he met there, the organization’s diversity, as well as the tremendous support the Kiwanis gave to the community. He also thought the hands-on approach to volunteering was impressive. Kiwanis is an international organization devoted to bettering the lives of children and elderly in their respective communities. In addition to volunteering with Kiwanis, David is one of two advisors to the Santa Maria High School Key Club and the Pioneer Valley High School Key Club. Their combined clubs boast a membership of around 90 children. The Key Club is a volunteer organization throughout all high schools that provides services to other non-profit groups. They participate in Alzheimer’s walks, Special Olympics and various cancer organizations. The high school students provide the labor and funds for the different projects in the community. To celebrate their 80th year, The Kiwanis provided a place in a large park where they built a BBQ and tables and planted trees. The Key Club kids assisted with this large project. The children also travel around to various parks for cleanup days. There is a M A Y
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Gary came up with the idea of a Paintball Park. He wanted to provide a safe place for people age ten and older to play, versus doing paintball in public parks where people could get injured. They decided to go for it and rented land near Cuesta College from the State. They have been there for seven years now. David says it is the fastest growing sport in the world. Since they opened the field they have hosted countless fundraisers for fraternities and sororities at Cal Poly as well as the Santa Maria YMCA. Both David and Gary play paintball as a recreational sport. David and Erin are division leaders at their local YMCA. They work on the annual fundraising campaign that supports swimming lessons, summer camp, tutoring, and memberships for those who cannot afford to purchase them. He is very excited about one of the largest projects he is working on now. It is called Eliminate. The Kiwanis in conjunction with Unicef are working on eradicating neonatal tetanus around the world. Every nine minutes a baby dies somewhere in the world from neonatal tetanus. For $1.80 a woman can be vaccinated to stop the cycle of passing it on to new born babies. It has been eradicated in 26 countries so far. $45,000 will save 25,000 babies. He and Erin volunteer to do the shots in countries such as Ethiopia and wherever the Kiwanis want to send them where they are needed. Anyone interested in this project can get in touch with David at 805-431-9741 or Biddlemail@aol.com. Being a volunteer is a job that requires a special kind of person. One who is patient, understanding, giving and who enjoys caring for others. David Biddle is one of those people.
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shopping at estate sales— Finding and getting what you want By Richard Bauman
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ave you seen signs or ads for estate sales and wondered what they are? I’ll answer that by asking another question: Would you like to buy jewelry, furniture, household items, appliances, tools, artwork, knick-knacks, or a plethora of other items at bargain prices? Then head for an estate sale.
I went to my first estate sale a few years ago, when I spotted an estate sale sign on the front lawn of a nearby house. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t even know if I was allowed to go into the house, uninvited. My anxiety evaporated as I walked through the open front door and a woman sitting at table greeted me with a friendly, “Come in, look around.” I walked through the house checking out the bedrooms, the kitchen, living room and home office. Virtually everything had a price tag attached to it. I found a couple of recent bestselling books I wanted ($2 each), and some music CDs at a buck a piece. I took my finds back to the woman seated at the table, paid for them and left. It was that simple. I’ve since been to dozens of estate sales. At first I thought they were pretty much the same as garage sales, yard sales and the like. While there are similarities to garage and yard sales, at estate sales usually everything in the house, garage and even yard are for sale. Some items are in great condition and some not so much. People habitually think estate sales occur because the home’s owner has died. Often that’s the case, but not always. Homeowners also have estate sales when they are downsizing or liquidating possessions for any number of reasons from divorce to debt to job change. Occasionally, an estate sale where residents are doing major redecorating—it’s a case of out with the old and in with the new. If you want to do some estate sale shopping (and you know you do), here are twelve tips to make your the experience successful from the start. They’re based on my experiences, the experiences of other estate sale shoppers, and advice from professional estate sellers. 1. Search for estate sales ahead of time. You can find estate sales near you by checking websites such as estatesales.net, estatesales.org, and craigslist. These websites often list the type of things for sale, and some have photographs of major items. Classified ads in local newspapers are another source for estate sales. 2. There is usually a lot of stuff for sale. Estate sales can be overwhelming, so it’s a good idea to have in mind specific things you hope to find, and set a limit on how much you’re willing to spend at the sale. 3. The earlier you shop, the better the selection. If you spied something in website photographs or descriptions that you really want, get there early. The best items are usually sold in the first few hours. You’ll pay top price, true, but you’ll be getting what you wanted. 4. For the best prices, shop later. Estate sales often run from Friday to Sunday. Some sellers start discounting items 20% the second day, and 50% the third day. Late on the last day sellers are often open to offers. So if it’s late in the sale, don’t hesitate to make an offer, especially if you are buying several items.
5. Do a quick walk-through of the sale. Experienced estate sale enthusiasts go through every room looking for items on their list and “treasures” to be discovered. When they find them, they grab them. If you don’t find an item that was advertised, ask one of the sales staff where to find it. I went to one sale that had advertised knitting yarn. When I didn’t find it, I asked where it was. The seller forgot to put it in the sale area. Once you have your primary items, don’t hesitate to go back and explore in depth the rest of the sale. 6. It’s okay to prowl through boxes and bins. Sellers rarely unpack and layout every item, especially small and/or mundane things. Experienced buyers say you should look through boxes, drawers, and closets (unless they are designated off limits). When items are laid out on tables, be sure to look under the tables. Often there are boxes of stuff there just waiting to be discovered. 7. Leave large purses and backpacks at home. Theft is always a problem at estate sales, and many sellers prohibit large bags of any kind. A small purse might be acceptable, but keeping your wallet or money in your front pocket is a better idea. Estate sales also are often crowded and big bags just get in the way. 8. Check carefully before you buy. Look for flaws and/or damage before you buy an item. Most things are sold “as is,” and all sales are final. The majority of estate sales items are used. You have to determine, before you buy, if you can live with the flaws. If you’re buying an appliance or electronic item, plug it in to make sure it works as you expect it to. 9. Bring cash. While some professionally run sales accept credit cards, most estate sales are cash only. And forget about asking if they will take a check. 10. Buying large items, plan ahead. Are you buying something large such as a sofa, dining room table, or bed? Before you pay for it, ask about pickup policies. Most sellers will allow you to pick up large pieces later that day, (some prefer it) or possibly the next day—but not always. Bring your own help for getting large items out of the house and into your vehicle. Some sellers might help you, but others won’t for insurance reasons. 11. When you find an item you really want, grab it. Deciding you’ll go back for it, even a few minutes later, can leave you empty handed. If you don’t have it in hand, or right next to you, as you continue to shop, it’s fair game to other buyers. 12. Sign up for email lists. Most companies running estate sales have an email list. They email notices of upcoming sales, which often include a summary of what will be offered. In some cases they have special offers for those on their email list, such as before sales hours shopping or even discount coupons. Shopping at estate sales can be exhilarating and it can be frustrating, too. It always feels good to find that “just right” item and get it at a good price. On the other hand, it’s frustrating to miss out on an item you wanted. By following the tips from this article, you stand a better chance of leaving an estate sale with your hands full and a smile on your face rather than grimacing and empty-handed. M A Y
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climb to the top—
local firefighter, Brandon wall competes in the columbia center (Seattle) stairclimb fundraiser By Joe Carotenuti
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he statistics: The second tallest building west of the Mississippi River, Columbia Center towers 788 feet tall over the city with 74 floors to an Observation Deck.
The challenge: walk up the 1311 stairs to the top. Called Climb to the Top, 6000 participants began the trek to the top on March 23. The bigger challenge: climb to the top while lugging over 50 pounds of full combat gear–protective fire gear including air tanks –all the way. On March 9, the Columbia Center was more than an elegant structure of steel and glass towering over Seattle. It became a symbol of hope for the countless men, women and children suffering from leukemia and lymphoma; an extreme challenge for the men and women who struggled to the top, but, especially, a monument to the best humans offer to each other –mostly strangers– to keep up the good fight. Asking for nothing but a sense of accomplishment and solidarity with those who suffer, the climb is more than a feat of strength and will. It reminds us all that we are capable of going beyond ourselves in service to others. Here’s the story. For 23 years, the Firefighters Stairclimb has raised millions of dollars for research to find a cure for leukemia and lymphoma. Children and adults battle the ravaging disease that requires fortitude and the willingness to endure the consequences of treatment, including radiation. While astonishing improvements have been made over the years, too many do not survive the devastation of the disease. Too often, loved ones are left to mourn, but firefighters support them with their training, determination and will to hike to the top. Within an hour after opening registration, all 1800 slots were filled by men and women from a variety of states and departments. It is an expensive, grueling ordeal. Sponsored by Scott Safety, a leading distributor of fire and paramedic equipment, a $55 registration fee also requires each participant to raise a minimum of $300. Individual climbers and departments raise much more in addition to paying for transportation and accommodations. One firefighter raised nearly $19,000 and a department in Boise, Idaho $76,000. Anticipated total for 2014 is four million dollars. A central coast entrant, Templeton’s Brandon Wall, while setting a goal of $1000 was gratified by generous support of over $3500.
Captain Wall practicing on the Stairmaster preparing for the Columbia Center tower Firefighters Stairclimb fundraiser. M A Y
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Divided into battalions, firefighters from ages 19 to 64 muster at the fifth floor and enter the stairwell every 14 seconds wearing a timing chip. In an astonishing 11 minutes and 5 seconds, the first reached the Observation Deck followed by another 30 seconds later. The last participant completed the climb in 94 minutes. In between, on the 40th floor, each may have their 30 minute air tanks exchanged for fresh ones. Many simply continue without stopping. “It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life,” reflects Wall who attached pictures of afflicted family members to his helmet. Inspiration came from posters of those stricken –survivors (so far) and not– lining the stairwell to witness the efforts.
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LOCATED IN LAS LOMAS
The Columbia Center Tower is the tallest building along Seattle’s skyline. Pictured below is the Stairclimb. All firefighters had to be in full-gear..
Preparation for the ordeal requires rigorous training for months. Using the local gym, Wall –a Captain in the department– often fully suited used a stationary StairMaster for practice but “it really doesn’t prepare you for the exhaustion” as you trudge to the top. Fatigue required medical personnel to send 250 registrants back to the lobby. Interior temperatures, elevated by the sheer number of participant, reached the 90 to 100 degree mark. With minimal ventilation, the only relief is having water poured over the head and down the jacket’s back. It provides little assistance as liquid literally evaporates upon contact with the firefighter. The exhausted 1515 men and 138 women who completed the course descend, lugging their gear, in an elevator to the lobby. Afflicted children and adults heartily welcome the contestants. Unless recruited as a bottle changer as was Wall’s wife, JoAnn, families and friends wait outside. Images of the event are found at www.firefighterstairclimb.org. Greeted with cheers and “high fives” by leukemia and lymphoma survivors of all ages, the emotional finale reminds firefighters why they volunteered to subject themselves to the grueling, exhaustive ordeal. The mixture of fatigue and elation combine for some with tears of joy at the completion and tears of sorrow at the realization that the cheering comes from some who will not survive to cheer again. Heeding the day’s slogan: Climb.Conquer.Cure, Wall has already started planning for next year by inviting all firefighters to join him in Seattle.
Located in Las Lomas . . . a neighborhood of other fine homes. You’ll find this 3 bedroom, 3 bath home with office has numerous upgrades and offers an exceptional living environment both inside and out for comfort, beauty and functionality. Your office could be converted to possible 4th bedroom. The gorgeous interior is an artful palette of colorful rooms with features that include gourmet kitchen, upgraded lighting, upgraded carpet and tile, bar with wine refrigerator, wine storage area, full house speaker system and alarm system, among other features. The outdoor living area has great appeal with its salt water swimming pool, putting green, water & fire features, full outdoor kitchen with refrigeration, BBQ, and misting system in addition to other amenities. This inspired offering is a must see. www.11405Eliano.com
Johnny Hough Owner / Broker
(805) 801-5063
johnny@realestategroup.com 962 Mill Street, SLO See more listings at www.realestategroup.com
Questions? BWall@templetoncsd.org Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com M A Y
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newly named bird sanctuary:
avila beach bird sanctuary
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orro Bay was declared a bird sanctuary in 1970. Now there is a new bird sanctuary joining the central coast.
Avila Beach is the newest bird sanctuary in California. On Dec 3, 2013, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors passed the resolution creating the sanctuary designation at the request of the community of Avila Beach. Shirley Goetz, a long time resident of Avila Beach, collected petitions and made several presentations to local Avila agencies that endorsed the sanctuary proposal. Her campaign began when Goetz noticed an annual increase in migratory cliff swallows coming to Avila Beach from Argentina. Curious about reports that the swallows were bypassing the famous Mission San Juan Capistrano and flying further north, Goetz took a field trip to the famous mission to find out why. She found that the mission had been remodeled and all the existing nests knocked down. It had been anticipated that the swallows would return the following year and rebuild their nests, but that didn’t happen. Ceramic imitation nests were placed under the eaves of the mission in the hope that the birds would use them as a new nest. The mission also tried playing recordings of the swallows’ distinctive songs.
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credits Unocal for their efforts to clean up the infamous oil spill in Avila, adding that “They did a good job; it was a tedious and demanding endeavor that involved a lot of planning and work.” It was just 15 years ago the clean up effort in Avila was happening, and since then, the eco systems have returned to health and are thriving. This has enabled Avila Beach to define its
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future and promote conservation. Funding for the sanctuary signs was donated to the project by the Avila Tourism Alliance and the Avila Beach Community Foundation, which has established an account for the bird sanctuary. Donations are certainly very welcome. Well done, Avila Beach!
Partnership for the Children of San Luis Obispo County with
Nothing worked. “I noticed that all the waterways were lined with concrete and there were no natural stream beds with mud shores within the city,” said Goetz. “Mud is necessary for the cliff swallows to make their distinctive gourd-shaped nest, and natural streams provide plenty of insects. Cliff swallows love mosquitoes!” After Goetz returned home to Avila Beach, she began to notice how many different birds lived right in her own back yard. A bird sanctuary proposal began to take shape. Goetz collected petitions in support of the proposal and began presenting the concept to local agencies. With overwhelming local support and armed with numerous endorsements, she made her pitch to the SLO Board of Supervisors. When she learned the proposal has been approved on the board’s consent agenda on December 3rd, 2013, she was thrilled. “I am so delighted to see the community of Avila Beach come together to shape our future and join the sanctuaries of our sister cities,” said Ms. Goetz who also
Sunset present the 8th Annual
barbecue
To benefit Tolosa Children’s Dental Center, a nonprofit office providing care for thousands of underserved children in SLO County since 2003
Saturday
June 14th, 5pm
San Luis Obispo Country Club, 255 Country Club Dr., SLO Wine Tasting: Biddle Ranch Vineyards, Enfold Wines, St. Hilaire Vineyards, Tolosa Winery No Host “Cash Only” Bar also available Appetizers & Barbecue Dinner prepared by Chef Troy Tolbert Live Music & Dancing featuring “Unfinished Business” - 60’s Rock-n-Roll Band MAG-nificent Dozen Wine Raffle • Live Auction & Fund-a-Need Attire: Your best California casual chic; No denim jeans please.
TICKET DONATION $100 per person • $1,000 Premium Table for 8 (Includes wine for the table) Order online at www.tolosachildrensdental.org or call 805-801-5433 Mail PO Box 15259, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 *Partnership for the Children of San Luis Obispo County dba Tolosa Children’s Dental Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, Fed. Tax ID 77-0346861
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at the market
Apricot Scones with blueberries and vanilla bean Also—Tomato Mint salad with pan-seared haloumi and avocado By Sarah Hedger
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ay brings amazing goodness to our local farmer’s markets this time of year. The options seem nearly endless as a basket can easily get filled with all things delicious–from asparagus and spring herbs to first season apricots, blueberries, rhubarb, strawberries, artichokes, arugula, and our amazing local avocados. Freshness abounds with what we can create in the kitchen with all of this! May also brings a celebration and ode to the amazing mothers in our lives, via Mother’s Day. My mom and I have always been under the premise to celebrate mother’s day every day, and while some might argue it is a marketing ploy by Hallmark, I see it as a nice way, on one special day, to give thanks to what my mom has put up with over all these years! Ah, the trials and tribulations of mothers, I can only imagine. So, in the meantime, I can easily be grateful for the amazing job they do. The memories of what my mom has created for me in the kitchen over the years is enough for me to smile on any moments notice. I was lucky enough to have her around a lot
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sarah’s seasonal fruit scones
(Apricot, blueberry with vanilla bean) MAKES 9 SCONES For the Scones: 2 cups almond flour/meal ½ cup tapioca starch ¼ tsp flaky sea salt (or kosher salt) ½ tsp baking soda 2 T coconut sugar ½ vanilla bean, scraped or ½ tsp vanilla paste ¼ cup coconut oil 2 eggs 3 apricots (2 roughly chopped for scones and 1 sliced for topping) Handful of fresh blueberries Pinch of raw sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with baking paper or coat with a little coconut oil.
while I was growing up, and the fond food memories continue to inspire me on nearly a daily basis. She was (and is) so resourceful in the kitchen, using what’s around, in season, and on hand to make nourishing meals that always tasted amazing. So, with that tribute, there are actually two recipes this month as combined, they would make a perfect Mother’s Day brunch meal. The first is some amazing scones I have been making lately that can be altered to incorporate whatever fruits are in season. For Spring/late Summer, an amazing flavor combination is apricot with blueberries and vanilla bean. The base is almond flour and a little bit of coconut oil, and being they are low in sugar, the natural flavors of the fresh fruit really comes out. The second dish is one I can’t get enough of lately, Tomato Mint Salad with Pan-Seared Haloumi and Avocado. If you can get your hands on some little heirloom tomatoes, they are best as they are flavorful and juicy. This dish has few ingredients so finding a good quality vinegar is key. Haloumi is a fun cheese to use because it holds its shape when pan seared (or even grilled), while getting a nice golden crust. It is also a leaner (lower fat) cheese, with a fresh flavor that contributes to a dish without being distracting. It is usually made of cow’s milk however I have found it made of sheep’s milk before, which also has great flavor. If you aren’t in the mood to be adventurous (or being bothered to cook), you can easily substitute a fresh ricotta, mozzarella, or feta in for the haloumi. Including a local avocado brings perfect balance to this salad, with a little arugula to add just the right amount of bite to the finish. These two dishes can come together in under and hour, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the entire day...with your amazing mom.
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Combine almond flour, tapioca starch, salt, coconut sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Blend in coconut oil with fork until thoroughly incorporated. Add eggs and mix well. Add chopped apricots and mix in. Place a large tablespoon of scone mixture into 2 inch circles on baking sheet (a mold such as an egg ring works well for this to keep them tidy). Place remaining apricot slices and blueberries on top of each scone. Sprinkle with raw sugar and bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from oven.
TOMATO MINT SALAD WITH PAN-SEARED HALOUMI AND AVOCADO MAKES 2 SALAD PORTIONS For the Salad: 2 pints heirloom tomatoes, chopped in half 1 cup fresh mint, finely chopped ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped 3 T good quality chardonnay vinegar 3 T good quality olive oil 1 tsp flaky sea salt Fresh ground Pepper 8 ounces Haloumi cheese (or if you don’t want to have to cook this cheese, substitute a good fresh ricotta or feta), sliced into ½ cm thick pieces 1 avocado, finely sliced Handful of arugula Place tomatoes, mint, parsley, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper in bowl and give a good toss. Heat a medium saute pan over high heat and place a small amount of oil in pan. When pan is hot, add haloumi, cook for a minute, flip when golden, then remove from stove top. When ready to serve, divide tomato salad into two portions and place in bowls. Top with haloumi, avocado, and arugula. Drizzle any remaining dressing from the residual tomato bowl, over the top and season with salt and pepper. Find this recipe and more seasonal inspiration at http://www. seasonalalchemist.com
HOME/OUTDOOR slo county art scene 26
Afternoon of Epicurean Delights By Paula B. Clark
in a silent auction with items featuring local art and photography, hand-crafted jewelry, premium and reserve wines, get-away weekends, gift baskets, and much, much more. All while tasting the best food our longtime vendors, vintner, and confectioners have to offer.
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n Sunday, June 1, An Afternoon of Epicurean Delights (AED), will be held as always from 11:30 to 3:30 at the tranquil, beautiful gardens and grounds of the historic Chapman House by the Sea in Shell Beach. Afternoon of Epicurean Delights will celebrate 27 years of this spectacular event which benefits the Health & Prevention Division of Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County (CAPSLO). All proceeds directly provide over 10,000 medical, and educational & advocacy services for under-served families, women, men, and youth throughout our county. You are invited to stroll through this amazing estate on the bluffs of the Pacific Ocean with stunning gardens and panoramic ocean views, sit poolside, while listening to great music in two locations, participate
So far this year those participating include: 2nd Chance Winery; Ancient Peaks Winery; Baileyana Winery; Black Horse Espresso & Bakery; Bloom Microgreens; Bryon & Cambria Winery; Blue Skye Cafe; Castoro Cellars; Claiborne & Churchill Vinters; Cracked Crab, Gardens Restaurant, Firestone Walker Brewery, Frockling Frog Winery, Gerald’s Olde Tyme Chocolate, Honey Bee Cakery, Indigo Moon, J Lohr Winery, Jaffa Cafe Mediterranean Cuisine, Linn’s of Cambria, Marisol at the Cliffs, Novo Restaurant & Lounge, Peloton Cellars, Sage at Vista Grande, Saucelito Canyon Winery, Sculpterra Winery, Seaside Cafe & Bakery, Stephen Ross Cellars, Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steak House, Still Waters Vineyards, Testa Catering, Tolosa Winery, Trader Joe’s, Upper Crust Trattoria, Wild Horse Winery, Windows on the Water, Wolff Vineyards, Zorro’s Cafe and Cantina. Tickets for Afternoon of Epicurean Delights are available now for $100.00, and may be purchased by credit card directly from the Community Action Partnership Health & Prevention office: phone 805.544.2498, or through Brown Paper Bag, via our website at aed.capslo.org. As in past years, there will be a shuttle service from Shell Beach Elementary School for your parking convenience. For those not living on the Central Coast, Afternoon of Epicurean Delights has become the best excuse for a get-away weekend, and an experience that brings people back, year after year.
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slo county art scene
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Paso Robles Artsfest By Sasha Irving
S
tudios on the Park, the “beehive” of the arts in downtown Paso Robles, is orchestrating its sixth annual largescale rendezvous with fine art and fine craft for audiences of all ages and from locales near and far. The main event is scheduled for May 24, from 10 am to 4 pm. PASO ARTSFEST is the largest free art affair in San Luis Obispo County and presents a week’s worth of activities for artists, visitors, and local county residents. The spectacular happening, formerly known as Paso Robles Festival of the Arts, embraces many new features, and brings back the old favorites that have put this annual extravaganza on the map. Best known for the stunning main event that takes place the Saturday of every Memorial Day weekend in the Paso Robles downtown City Park, PASO ARTSFEST also includes an art dinner, a behind-thescenes wine tour and a special art tour at Hearst Castle.
At the heart of ARTSFEST are the sixty regionally and nationally acclaimed artists who exhibit and sell artworks in the Outdoor Fine Art Show & Sale. Their artistic mediums range from painting to jewelry, drawing to ceramics, glass to textiles, wood to photography, and much more. New to ARTSFEST this year is the thrilling Wet Paintings Sale & Auction. It replaces the Plein Air Art Show and Sale and brings in a
truly remarkable roster of talented artists from all over the country. Relocating to Paso Robles for the week, 21 legendary painters plan to spend the days prior to the festival creating beautiful renderings of picturesque SLO County, which are then exhibited and offered for sale at auction on event day. As Barbara Partridge points out, “There is no place on the Central Coast that hosts such renowned artists for audiences to meet, see their work first-hand, and then purchase a piece right here at home!” Also new this year is Playspace, an interactive area for would-be artists of all ages. Activities that are envisioned to be part of the fun include handson learning opportunities in flower arranging, woodblock carving, creative journaling, maypole dancing, cake decorating (and sampling), and more. Past festivals have been known for offering fine wine and this year is no exception. The Wine Bar serves the best wine by the glass in the whole of Wine Country: L’Aventure, Cypher, JUSTIN Isosceles and Windward Pinot head the list. While folks enjoy the shade of the oaks, they have a perfect vantage point to see what’s going on in the Pine Street entertainment arena. San Diego-based Todo Mundo is set to blend the musical flavors of Rumba, Reggae, Samba Gypsy, and other Latin American rhythms into an irresistible groove as the Sand Masters create their signature PASO ARTSFEST sand sculpture. And, as always, extra sand boxes are on hand for those who want to learn the craft from the “Masters.” An annual overwhelming success, the Kids Art Smart Zone returns with hands-on art stations for children, along with a full day’s performances on the youth stage, musical petting zoo, face painters, and ARTSFEST’s now-renowned Dragon Knights Stilt Walkers. So no one goes hungry for long, food and beverages are for sale in the park, in addition to the fabulous offerings of Paso Robles amazing downtown restaurants nearby. The event is admission free and has something wonderful to offer every age and every pocketbook! About the PASO ARTSFEST: Celebrating the arts every Memorial Day Weekend in the Paso Robles City Park, this year the FREE Main Event of the PASO ARTSFEST takes place Saturday, May 24th from 10am–4pm. The day features an Outdoor Fine Art Show & Sale, a Wet Painting Sale & Auction, hands-on interactive art experiences all over the park, exciting musical guests, dance performances and a full day’s worth of entertaining and artistic surprises. For more information on the entire week’s worth of special events, including art workshops, dinners and wine tours, go to www.pasoartsfest.com. M A Y
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Our Schools Disneyland and new apps By Dr. Julian Crocker, County Superintendent of Schools
W
hen our kindergarten granddaughter and her Dad were returning from Disneyland to the Bay Area, they stopped by for a quick visit. Of course, I asked her what she liked best about the Magic Kingdom. Her reply was that another young visitor had showed her a new app for her iPhone. Well, that wasn’t quite the response I expected (what about Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride?), but it also brought home the digital world in which our children live. There is no question that the “digital intelligence” that most students bring with them to school, and the technological tools and devices that are available, have dramatically impacted both what and how we teach. For example, this spring the testing for the new Common Core State Standards is being completed on electronic devices. No more “fill-in-the bubble” answer-sheets. The instant access to information creates a completely new role for our schools and our teachers. More than ever, the role of the teacher is to assist students in using information to solve problems, to think analytically and to evaluate possible solutions from several perspectives rather than just to deliver information. These are the skills that we want our students to master along with the access to information. These are also the skills that are required in the Common Core State Standards. However, I believe there are some very real cautions about racing to embrace the latest device and application - in school, at home, and at Disneyland. At the risk of being shunned as a “Luddite”, here are some suggestions for those of us in school, as well as parents and family members, to consider as we teach and parent our children. Relationships Still Matter: Whether in classrooms, on the playground, in a family, or in business, relationships still matter. The problems in our world are rarely technological problems, but very human problems that usually involve relationships, or the lack thereof. Teachers
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all know students who prefer to stay inside and play games on their iPad rather than go outside and play with classmates. How do you learn to build real relationships if you don’t talk, argue, laugh and perhaps cry with someone else in person? Students may be developing skills to become productive employees in the narrow sense, but all employers know that most employees who fail do so for reasons other than a lack of technological skill. Know the Difference Between the Real Work and the Virtual World: With students spending so much time in the virtual world, a concern is that their sense of reality may become distorted. What does it mean for our democracy if email and Twitter is the default mode of communication? The virtual world can be predictable, but in the real world, people are often unpredictable. We adults should keep this difference in mind and insure that our students have a balance of face-to-face and virtual communication. Use of Group Projects: Teachers can require that students use their verbal skills to work in a group to solve problems. No use of devices. Stop the group periodically and ask students to reflect, verbally, on how the group is progressing. Ask students how non-verbal clues, eyecontact and clear speech also communicate intentions or feelings. Incorporate the Virtual World Into the Real World: We can assume that students have access to information that used to be delivered in class or through a textbook. Start the class by asking probing questions or presenting problems to be solved using the information that students have gained electronically. How many times have we sat through Power Point presentations only to be read to? How about sending the Power Point in advance and start the class by asking for questions or structuring an activity using the information in the Power Point? Parents Can Limit “E-Time” and Encourage Conversation at Home: Families have house rules about when and how long children can watch television. Parents can add electronic devices to that rule and set a time to put the iPhone to bed. Whether at meals or other times, parents can make a conscious effort to engage in conversation that is not interrupted by the ding of a text message. Model the Real World: Teachers and parents should be aware that students are watching how we communicate as adults. I think they need to see both the appropriate use of technology as well as a healthy dose of human interaction. Note: Thanks to Angela Walmsley for her article on this subject in the Kappan (March 2014).
pathpoint at 50
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Providing opportunities with slo ymca to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace
P
athPoint, a Californiabased non-profit organization that provides comprehensive training and support services that empower people with disabilities and disadvantages, is celebrating its 50th year. Since its establishment, PathPoint has forged long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with communities and organizations throughout Central and Southern California, including the YMCA in San Luis Obispo County. One of the main goals of both PathPoint and the YMCA is to promote diversity and inclusion, which is achieved through PathPoint’s Job Placement Program for community members with developmental disabilities who find it a challenge to gain employment opportunities. “For more than 10 years, PathPoint is the main organization we work with in accomplishing our organization’s mission to promote diversity and inclusion in our workplace,” says Lori Paris, HR and PR Director at the SLO County YMCA. “We welcome all members of the community and enjoy having a diverse, talented, and helpful staff.” Currently, the SLO County YMCA employs 120-strong personnel—three of whom were placed by PathPoint. Bryce Lacey, 31, serves as part of the SLO County YMCA’s Member Services office since 2011. Part of his duties includes welcoming and greeting people, answering incoming phone calls, and tidying the lobby. The path toward Lacey’s employment at the YMCA was not easy. PathPoint ensured his abilities and enthusiasm are a fit to the organization through its Situational Assessment training. “Because of
his training, Bryce has been doing well with his front desk job,” says Barbara Furia, PathPoint’s seasoned Job Developer. “With his enthusiasm and welcoming voice and personality, he is an ideal fit for the position.” Pam Grow, 52, has been working with the SLO County YMCA since 2009. A previous employee at a local print and copy center, she now works at the SLO County YMCA’s Member Services office. “For five years Pam has successfully helped keep the office filed and organized,” says Furia. “Staff at the YMCA has a respectful, professional relationship with Pam and is very satisfied with her performance. The YMCA is extremely nurturing. They care about their employees.” Todd Rose, 46, is an avid surfer and family man who teaches instructional classes at the SLO County YMCA’s after-school program. It was important for Rose to find a job that would enable him to spend more time with his five-year old daughter, Sophia. “Todd loves how things fell into the right place with his job at the YMCA through PathPoint and having Sophia around him,” says Furia. “Members, staff, and children enjoy interacting with and learning from him.”
Pam Grow
the Department of Rehabilitation and we are dedicated to serving the people of San Luis Obispo community.” For extended history and service information, visit www.pathpoint.org.
PathPoint staff are passionate about helping people find their ideal working environments such as the SLO County YMCA. “Being able to work with and help employers, people, and the community for 50 years is no ordinary feat,” says Aline Graham, Vice President and Director of PathPoint for San Luis Obispo County. “We value our relationships with the business community and agencies such as
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VETERANS and friends
CALL TO THE COLORS By Gail Pruitt
V
eterans make up about ten percent of the residents of San Luis Obispo County. Ten percent. And many people who are not veterans do nevertheless have a connection to a vet; either a friend, a colleague, a family member. The mission of the Central Coast Veterans Memorial Museum’s is to care for and preserve the artifacts of their service and use those artifacts to tell the veterans’ stories so that future generations of our community can know the costs they paid for peace, and the realities they faced in war.
‘A White Table of Remembrance’ Will Open at Veterans Museum Monday, May 26th is Memorial Day. The Museum will be open for visitors from 10am to 3pm and will present two new permanent displays. One, ‘A White Table of Remembrance’ honors and remembers all those U.S. military members who remain prisoners of war or missing in action. What is ‘A White Table of Remembrance?’ A small table, set with a tablecloth that is always white signifying the pure intentions with which the honored have served. It has a place setting for just one person. In the vase a single red rose symbolizes the blood that has been shed and the families and loved ones left behind. On the bread plate a slice of lemon is a reminder of their bitter fate. The salt, the tears that have been shed by families and loved ones while they wait. The glass, inverted, speaking to their inability to be with us and toast with us. The candle, the light in our heart that accompanies the hope that they will return. The chair at the table remains empty. They are not here with us. The second new permanent display is a ‘Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross.’ That is, the combination of a soldier’s rifle with bayonet attached and stuck into the ground, helmet hung on the butt of the rifle, dog tags hanging from the rifle, boots of the fallen by the bayonet. The ’cross’ is thought to have begun during the Civil War to mark a hasty burial. Today it more denotes respect for the fallen among the still living comrades. Stop in and see these two new moving and solemn tributes. M A Y
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Our Museum Supporters The Veterans Museum is pleased to announce the renewal of annual support to the Museum by four local businesses: the Splash Café, Petit Soleil, San Luis Ambulance, and Coastal Peaks Coffee. Thank you! These four businesses each give $200 annually. Won’t you consider joining with them to support the work of the Museum? Their annual support, combined with the yearly membership/newsletter subscription of $30 by our currently 52 Museum Members, donations-in-lieuof-admission-fee given by Museum visitors, occasional sales of bronze plaques for the Wall of Honor, and other gifts constitute the entirety of the Museum’s annual operating budget. The Museum does not receive any regular, recurring, or annual funding from the City of San Luis Obispo or the County of San Luis Obispo. Since 2002 more than 500 people, often representing entire families, have supported the Museum through their donations of nearly 5,000 items and artifacts of every kind and description. Through its donation of space in the Veterans Memorial building the County supports the Museum by giving the Museum a home. Museum staffing support is made up of fifteen volunteer part-time staff positions and 34 volunteer docents, seven of whom are high school students. Some docents are in college or university. Some are vets and some are not. Some are working and some are retired. Several staff members double as members of the board of directors. They all share a devotion to history, to veterans and to the work of the Museum. We need more volunteers so please consider joining us and lending your time and your skills to this very interesting work. Call us So far this year 2,251 people have supported the Museum through their visits.
What’s Up on the Museum Display Floor
Another New Display Opens Soon— WWII Army Air Corps Uniforms A New Acquisition—Rare Card Issued to Recipient of Merchant Marine Defense Bar Added to Museum’s Merchant Mariners Display This original card certifies that the holder was awarded the Merchant Marine Defense Bar. The decoration was established by an Act of
COMMUNITY Congress on August 14, 1944. It was issued for service between September 8, 1939 and December 7, 1941 and was given to Merchant Marine seamen who served aboard United States merchant ships between those two dates. It was originally a ribbon-only decoration. In May 1992 the U.S. Department of Transportation made available new medals for civilian merchant seamen, recognizing their service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The Civil War—Medal of Honor Recipient Otis W. Smith Interred at Arroyo Grande Cemetery
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Nipomo held its annual “World War I Museum Night” at the school in February. The “Museum Night” was presented by the freshman class. The annual project brings together science, math, digital media, English and history to study the war. For the event, students “... transform Central Coast New Tech into a World War I museum and create display stations/exhibits that analyze and explain how different countries participated in the war…” While they were in the event planning stages for their museum night the students and their teachers visited our Museum. They came to gather insight and information about how exhibit elements are brought together to tell a story in a museum and to understand more about World War I itself. Museum Board President Jack B. Jones, COL, USA, (Ret.) was onhand to speak to the group and presented some vintage pictures and other WWI items to share with the students. In addition to his discussion of Museum operations, he had exercises planned for the students that had them moving around the various exhibits gathering information then returning and sharing what they found with the group. The Museum Archives also took the unusual and special step of loaning to the students a number of authentic items for display in their Museum Night. The items from the Museum’s holdings included uniforms and uniform elements, mess kits, personal items, maps and documents.
Otis Smith entered service with the U.S. Army in 1862 at Taylortown, Ohio. He was awarded the MOH for “...extraordinary heroism on December 16, 1864, while serving with Company G, 95th Ohio Infantry, in action at Nashville, Tennessee…” for capturing the flag of the 6th Florida Infantry (C.S.A.). He mustered out on August 14, 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky and lived with his wife Sara in Arroyo Grande. He died March 10, 1923 at the Veterans Hospital at Sawtelle (now the WLAVAMC in Brentwood) and was returned to Arroyo Grande for burial. The cemetery is on Brisco near Halycon.
Vets Museum and Our Community Save the Date–Museum & Calif. Law Enforcement Historical Society Joint July Fundraiser at Veterans Building in SLO The Museum is partnering with the California Law Enforcement Historical Society for the Society’s 11th Annual Police Memorabilia Collector’s Show to be held at the SLO Veterans Memorial building on Saturday, July 12, 2014, 9am to 2:pm. Admission is $ 5.00 per person, children under 12 are free. Museum Supports Nipomo Students With Project: This Time “World War I Museum Night” Central Coast New Tech High (CCNTH) in
Museum staff enjoyed the opportunity to again host, interact and assist these bright, interested students of history and look forward to continuing future collaborations with them and other area schools and students as well. Central Coast Veterans Memorial Museum 801 Grand Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805-543-1763 ccvmmus@gmail.com www.vetmuseum.org Museum Hours: Wed-Sat 10am-3pm Admission is free Become a Museum Member–$30 a year, tax deductible Become a Museum Sponsor–$200 a year, tax deductible Do a video interview here for the Veterans History Project Free Call us for more information
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history
william rich hutton By Joe Carotenuti
I
f William Rich Hutton were asked to consider his most notable life accomplishments, he would have a long list to ponder. In terms of size and lasting achievements, he undoubtedly would point to his long and distinguished career on the east coast as an engineer, architect and bridge builder. However, for California, his contributions were just as important… if not as grandiose. A man of many and varied talents, Hutton remains a key historical ancestor for the central coast…and other spots in America. Here’s the story. Born in Washington D. C. in 1826, Hutton’s distinguished relatives included Obediah Rich, his mother’s brother, famed as a bibliographer and collector of rare books and manuscripts obtained by years of study in Spain. Educated at the famous Benjamin Hollowell School in Virginia and Western Academy in the Nation’s capital, the young William’s eclectic interests included drawing, math and surveying… all put to good use locally. After his father died in 1843, Hutton’s maternal uncle, William Rich, lived with the family and was eventually appointed paymaster for the troops being sent to California after the invasion of Commodore Sloat of Monterey. The younger William was his uncle’s assistant. Early in 1847, the two men along with a younger brother, James, left Washington, D.C. via Panama arriving on the west coast in April. As part of their duties the uncle and nephew The map (boxed in) of San Luis Obispo in 1850
were required to travel extensively including a lengthy trip to La Paz and Mazatlán, Mexico. It was during this initial period in the future state that his interest in the flora and fauna of a new location included his collecting a specimen of a bird. Sending it to Washington D. C., the vireo (songbird) was formally described by famed ornithologist John Cassen who named it the Hutton Vireo (Vireo huttoni). In July, Hutton was in the newly dedicated pueblo today called Los Angeles and continued his love of sketching. The only known image of Fort Moore is a result of this trip. Hutton’s sketches are available in California: 1847-1852 including those of San Luis Obispo and other nearby spots. A few years later, he returned to the southern settlement with Lieutenant Edward Ord to complete the first survey of today’s megalopolis. The men were granted permission to seek private employment as the steep rise in prices required some sort of supplement to military pay. The following year proved to be an eventful one for the young man…but even more so for the central coast. As it happened, among his many acquaintances, he had met Henry Tefft, William G. Dana’s future son-in-law, who was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention held in Monterey. The two young men returned to the central coast. In Glimpses of California, a collection of his letters, Hutton relates his impression of the “beautiful country with dashing streams of clear water and with gravelly bottoms at every half mile or less.” He was more than a tourist as he was looking for employment. In May, he surveyed Dana’s 38,000-acre Nipomo Rancho. The following month, he attended the marriage of Tefft to Maria Josefa Dana and in the same month was appointed as the first County Surveyor.
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A Retirement Facil COMMUNITY 33
Dying in 1901, the Hutton rests in eternal Even though prospect of moving m repose in the cemetery next to St. Rose of future, you owe it to yourself to learn h Lima Church, the only known architectural carefree in your own home for man design heliving completed in partnership with his brother, Nathaniel.
do the residents of Hutton Street know You Don’t Have toToday, Move Feel Safe and of their namesake? How about your street?
A sketch done in 1850 of San Luis Obispo
In August, he petitioned the Court of Sessions (there would be no Board of Supervisors until the next year) for a license to “survey and make a plan” of San Luis Obispo. The specifications required a main street 20 yards wide with others five yards narrower. The result: a two square mile rectangular map (since lost). Elected County Surveyor in September and his brother James as County Clerk, he wrote to his uncle that he was “waiting for my pay for surveying the town here.” The bill was $627. He continued his private work as he surveyed three ranches for John Wilson. Before resigning his county position in early August 1851, he would survey Santa Manuela Ranch and the Huer-Huero spread. He was sure to write home about an exciting chase after Indian horse thieves earlier in the spring. Hutton continued living in California as an assistant to his friend from Monterey, Captain Henry W. Halleck (of Civil War fame) who was the superintendent of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine in Santa Clara County, considered one of the State’s richest deposits. When Halleck returned to San Francisco to form a law partnership to represent land holders in front of the Federal Land Commission (including one from San Luis Obispo), Hutton returned with him. Finally, on March 16, 1853, William Rich Hutton sailed from California to an extraordinary fifty-year career in the east. Marriage and family on the east coast complimented a stellar career. Remembered today as a designer and chief engineer of the Washington Bridge, a 2400-foot span over the Harlem River, he was one of the chief engineers of the Hudson River Tunnel, one of earliest tunneling attempts beneath a major river between New Jersey and Manhattan.
It’s a fact of life that as we get older, Pristine is fully Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com some day-to-day tasks become too licensed and insu much to handle on our own. That All of our worke doesn’t mean you have to move away are carefully scre from the comfort of your home. and pass a crimin • Personal • Pristine Home Services is aHousekeeping local background chec Care company that helps San Luis Obispo and drug test, giv • Yard Maintenance • Handyman County residents avoid the high cost when someone f Servingof moving All oftoSan Luis Obispo County a retirement facility. in your home.
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hospice corner I’d like to talk about my death, Please? By Mark Wilson
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e honest. Have you ever thought about your own death? I’ll admit I have…more than once. I’ve wondered when and how I’ll meet my demise. If I’ll see it coming or whether I’ll get taken out without ever knowing what happened. I’ve thought about the funeral and who might or might not show up. There will be lots of crying of course. I was clearly a great guy. I’ve even fantasized about ex girlfriends who might attend and, after finding out what a great and successful man I became in life, they’d kick themselves for letting me get away. Especially when they see how handsome I expect to look as I lay there motionless in my casket. Not long ago, I attended an end of life seminar at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. When one of the panelists asked the assembled crowd for their reaction to the word hospice, many actually booed like they’d just witnessed a bad call at home plate during a Dodgers game. I get it of course. Hospice means you’re dying, right? So if people could avoid hospice care, maybe, just maybe, they could avoid death. At the risk of upsetting some of you, I feel it necessary to remind you of what you already know; you ARE going to die! Sorry folks. As they say, death and taxes... As odd as it may seem, I just happen to think it’s time to have an honest, open discussion about the one thing we know we all have in common with each other. Yup…I mean death and dying… buying the farm…taking a dirt nap. As the VP of Business Development for Wilshire Health and Community Services here in SLO, I’ve had the opportunity to witness, firsthand, the profound effect hospice care has on patients and their families and friends. The real issue is that too few people understand what hospice is, and far too many believe it is something it isn’t. Allow me to give you my short version of hospice. Hospice helps patients and their families meet medical, emotional and spiritual end of life needs, often under some very difficult circumstances. Is it giving up on life? Does it mean that we’re just going to sit around and watch grandpa wither away and die? Absolutely not. It only means you’ve made the commitment to live your best life while you still have life. It means living out your remaining days with as much joy and dignity as possible… with as little physical and emotional pain as possible. You’re free to leave hospice care at any time. Trust me; it’s not a death sentence. Your condition might improve, making you ineligible for hospice care, or you may even choose to pursue a new curative treatment. Hospice simply provides choice and control of your own care and circumstances. Here’s the rub. We Americans are seemingly willing to discuss just about anything. Sex, drugs, toe fungus. You name it, we’ll talk about it. And yet the National Hospice Association found that
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Americans are more likely to talk to their children about safe sex and drugs than to talk with their own terminally ill parents about end of life preferences and options. Why is that exactly? Why are we so reluctant to ignore our own fate and the fate of those we love the most?
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Let’s imagine for a moment that you’ve been given 12 months to live. There’s a very small chance you could live 14 or 15 months but it will most likely be at a substantial cost of your comfort and, incidentally, a whole lot of money. Thirty percent of Medicare dollars are spent in the last months of life– almost $150 billion annually. Beyond that, a quarter of Medicare recipients spend more than the total value of ALL their assets on out-of-pocket health care expenses during the last five years of their lives. Thanks, but I’d rather spend my money on something else. Anything else! When it’s my time I’d like some peace, tranquility and some dignity, and I fully intend to let my loved ones and my doctor know what my wishes are well in advance. I want to avoid opposing directions coming from family and friends–or fights about intensive care unit treatment options, or any other such issues that may risk my opportunity to experience the “good death” that I so deserve. I think I’ve earned it.
STATEPOINT CROSSWORD THEME: DOUBLE-DUTY WORDS ACROSS 1. Wanderer 6. Equinox mo. 9. *Healing sign or picket line crosser 13. Rossini’s offering 14. Big-headedness 15. Wilderness Road trailblazer 16. Show opposition 17. “High” drink 18. What Pinocchio was doing? 19. *To alter or coins 21. *Shape where A=a≤ or town gathering place 23. Romanian money 24. Small ornamental case 25. Make lacework 28. Applies makeup, e.g. 30. In R.E.M. stage 35. *Regrets or streets in Paris 37. Giant kettles 39. What helicopter parents do
40. Eurasian mountain range 41. Anemic-looking 43. Delhi dress 44. _____ congestion 46. Arid 47. Children’s author ____ Blyton 48. “Not my brother’s ______” 50. Small mountain lake 52. *Seat of a bishop or to regularly date 53. London subway 55. Variable, abbr. 57. Follows teeter 60. *Far away or couch potato’s controller 63. Star bursts 64. *To take drugs or to employ for a purpose 66. Nail salon board 68. *Where happy person walks or Jimmy Fallon works 69. Definite article 70. Rental agreement 71. *Good or water source 72. Long fish 73. Yesteryears
DOWN 1. Affirmative action 2. Oil group 3. “Breaking Bad” product 4. “He’s _ ____ nowhere man” (The Beatles) 5. Repaired by stitching 6. Dole 7. Sensitive subject? 8. _____ beef 9. Miso bean 10. Coconut fiber 11. “Green Gables” girl 12. “Don’t make me ___!” 15. Resembling ocean’s color 20. Jelly fruit 22. In so far as 24. Another spelling for aesthete 25. *Elephant’s appendage or luggage 26. Saints’ lights 27. Badger and bug 29. *Fish or Chaliapin’s voice 31. Fail to win 32. Famous restauranteur Bob M A Y
33. Bone-chilling 34. *Deadly sin or pack of lions 36. Lover’s blow? 38. Evening in Italy 42. *Audacity or bundle of axons 45. *Infamous scarlet symbol or word from home 49. Part of Parisian address 51. That is to say 54. Beastly person 56. Young Montague 57. Voice quality 58. Like West Wing’s office 59. *One side of a coin or a spy 60. *Spool of film or lively dance 61. *Product of lacrimation or a rip 62. Gaelic 63. Right away 65. Mother, sister or daughter 67. Word for a nod
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palm street perspective
exceed the sum of three hundred ($300) dollars. While this was a very modest increase, it simply did not make sense to consider this change with the U.S. Supreme Court decision pending the likelihood of a decision that recognized the violation of individual rights of free speech and assembly.
By SLO City Councilman, Dan Carpenter
I encouraged my colleagues at that meeting to postpone this decision and consider eliminating all campaign contribution limits as this U.S. Supreme Court decision would eventually have implications affecting City policy. All four of my colleagues sided against my recommendation and proceeded to direct staff to return with an ordinance reflecting the higher limit change.
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n April 2nd, the United States Supreme Court (the highest Court in the land) in a narrow decision ruled that individuals should be able to give the maximum per-candidate and per-party contributions to as many party committees, presidential and congressional candidates as they want. Chief Justice Roberts announced the decision saying it did not strike down contribution limits per candidate and per party committee, but the decision does overturn previous rules that restricted individuals from giving those maximum donations to dozens of candidates and several party committees. Justice Thomas agreed with the
We are here for you.
outcome of the case, but wrote separately to say that he would have gone further and wiped out all contribution limits. Contributing money to a candidate is an exercise of an individual’s right to participate in the electoral process through both political expression and political association, the justices wrote. A restriction on how many candidates and committees an individual may support is hardly a modest restraint of those rights. The Government may no more restrict how many candidates or causes a donor may support than it may tell a newspaper how many candidates it may endorse. This upholds our right to freedom of speech and sets the tone for other campaign contribution limits to eventually be eliminated. The City of San Luis Obispo currently has a limit of $200 per individual limit on campaign contributions. On February 4th, the City Council appointed Election Campaign Regulations Committee recommended among other things to increase contributions by persons to candidates and/or controlled committees and acceptance of said contributions to not
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The fear mongering arguments to support campaign contribution limits are categorically unfounded. Many examples in federal, state, and even local elections have proven time and again that large sums of money don’t buy elections. To infer this fear based assumption is to insult the integrity of the voter. I for one am not ready to concede that a significant number of voters are naive and can be persuaded. Personally, I have the opposite reaction when I’m exposed to large amounts of money being spent by candidates to influence elections. Unlimited contribution limits are the ultimate form of transparency. Large donations are exposed and the potential for candidates to be beholden or indebted to an individual or organization is magnified. Spending large sums of money in connection with elections, but not in connection with an effort to control the exercise of an officeholder’s official duties, does not give rise to such quid pro quo corruption. Nor does theCSA possibility that an Lester Rogart& Nicole Pazdan, individual who spends large sums may garner influence over or access to elected officials or political parties give me cause to believe the electorate will lose faith in democracy. You have an opportunity to voice your opinion in front of your five City Councilmembers on May 6, at our 6PM regular meeting in the Council Chambers when these recommendations from our Election Campaign Regulations Committee will be considered in the first reading of the ordinance. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on the constitutionality of limits, I would hope my colleagues would agree that we cannot continue to participate in the violation of our citizens’ constitutional rights. As always, it’s an honor to serve you and I welcome your thoughts and opinions. Please contact me at dcarpent@slocity.org or 805-431-3174.
Downtown
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The Magazine of Downtown San Luis Obispo
Inside:
May 2014
W hat ’s U p Downtown B usiness Spo tlights
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embody the spirit of Downtown SLO. am a firm believer that it is good to stay busy and be involved in the community; that involvement his month we are looking forward to five of our keeps me rooted within the town that I love. Granted, Market's featured special events that will appeal not every person feels compelled to be busy all of the to all ages and tastes, starting off with a Main Stage time, but it’s nice to have options to pick and choose concert. Urban 805 brings an easy, smooth urban from when you do feel like being busy. Lucky for all jazz sound to Farmers’ Market on May 8th where the of us, busy or not, the San Luis Obispo Downtown San Luis Obispo Downtown Association will set up Association makes sure to provide lots of options our stage near the corner of Nipomo and Higuera throughout the year for our residents to carefully streets but that’s just the beginning. On this particular select the event that best fits their desires. This May night we are pulling out the stops and really kicking Dominic Tartaglia, we are bringing our “A” game with some of our Executive Director the month off right with our Annual Mother’s Day longest standing special events at Farmers’ Market. Flower Giveaway on the same night. Each year for Needless to say, we want to see you Downtown! Mother’s Day we make sure that every mom that ometimes we take things for granted and we forget to visits the Market feels visit our favorite shops or we forget how it feels to walk special by giving her down Higuera Street with our neighbors and friends while a complimentary rose. shopping in a true open air market right in our back yard. For all of you moms out At the Downtown Association we are happy to spark those there, we welcome you memories and to provide you with more of those unique to come down to the experiences that are only afforded Downtown. We put on Market and treat yourself our special events at Farmers’ because we want to encourage to some good music, a more people to come down and visit our shops and vendors bite to eat and top it all and remember how it feels to fall in love with Downtown off with a rose. San Luis Obispo. On a daily basis, I am reminded of how great that feeling of Downtown infatuation is when I walk into A future officer takes his first ride at the office and work with the programs and businesses that last year's Law Enforcement Night.
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On the Cover: Downtown Brown has been a highlight at our Thursday Night Farmers' Market for many years. This month Brown and friends will be out in full force for Brown's Birthday Party on May 29. Photo by Mukta Naran
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Place Postage Here
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he following two weeks we are hosting two of our coolest events to learn about local law enforcement and public works. On the 15th we will have booth spaces filled by the San Luis Obispo Police Department, the SLO County Sheriff’s Department, California All smiles at last year's Mothers' Day Flower Giveaway. Highway Patrol and other local agencies to give families a chance to meet the men and women in uniform that work to keep our town safe. This event is always a big hit with kids as there are interactive displays with equipment and vehicles from each department that help to teach kids what it takes to protect the community and often times is a great way for kids to interact with officers in a positive light. Not to be outdone by Law Enforcement Night, the following week is host to Public Works Night where the City Public Works Department brings out interactive booths and displays their tools of the trade to educate families about what it takes to keep a city running. If you or your kids have ever wondered what that it takes to maintain a town then this is the night for you to come down and meet the people that do it for a living in a fun and informal setting.
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astly, on May 29th Downtown Brown is having a birthday party at Farmers’ Market. Downtown Brown is our beloved mascot and has been the big brown bear that many children, and even some adults, have taken pictures with for years at the Downtown Association information booth. On this night, however, Brown’s fans will find a fun filled night with games, prizes and delicious treats all laid out in celebration of our favorite bear. Calls are being made and invitations sent out for all of Brown’s friends (other community mascots) to join the festivities at the corner of Higuera and Chorro streets to celebrate Brown’s 16th birthday. Please be sure to stop by and give Brown a hug or a high-five and we’ll try to save you a piece of cake.
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s we say, “Happy Birthday!” to Brown we are also saying farewell to spring and welcoming in summer where we are sure to see an action packed calendar filled with live music, food, drinks, shopping, sunsets and after work strolls through our Main Streets of San Luis Obispo.
Brown goes to work at last year's Public Works Night.
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SLO Good Garden & Gifts
Boki (pictured) & Bob Ackerman, Owners 741 Higuera Street (805) 787-0683 www.facebook.com/slogoodgarden
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ome into SLO Good Garden & Gifts, and well, you’ll be “SLOglad” you did! Owner and SLO native, Boki Ackerman (pictured) opened the shop at 741 Higuera Street to offer locals and tourists a souvenir and gift shop that’s welcoming, positive as well as reasonably priced. Boki owned a similar shop in Morro Bay, but says when the opportunity to be in Downtown SLO became available, she knew she wanted to be home. She says, “I’m from SLO and love the Downtown area and thought there isn’t a business like this. It’s also a great way to do something fun that I love and it just feels good.”
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LO Good Garden & Gifts carries a variety of San Luis Obispo souvenirs from mugs to key chains to postcards and
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clothing. You’ll also find quality “Life is Good” apparel for the whole family, Pillow Pets and decorative pieces for the garden. The shop is filled with lots of gift items either made in the USA or by local artisans. Plus, there’s always something on sale in the store and military receive 10% off everyday! You can visit SLO Good Garden & Gifts seven days a week or find them on Facebook! Photo & Written by: Mukta Naran
to-be baby #2. She is excited to be Catherine Barnickel (pictured), Massage Therapist here and is looking 1025 Pacific Street forward to building (805) 769-8274 relationships with people in www.SLOCOMassage.com the community LOCO Massage welcomes massage therapist, Catherine interested in Barnickel to their therapeutic center located at 1025 wellness, healing Pacific Street. Before joining SLOCO Massage, Catherine and rejuvenation. danced with the Kansas City Ballet for 13 years and turned She adds, “I feel to massage therapy herself to heal from an injury. She soon fortunate to be became interested in massage therapy and earned her National helping people with and State Certification in Therapeutic Massage. She gained their day to day lives, whether it’s reducing their stress or experience in deep tissue massage, recovery massage and helping athletes recover from injuries and muscle tension.” reflexology while working on her fellow dancers and other hether you are looking to relieve stress, need a healing athletes. Because of her career in dance, Catherine says, “I touch or simply be pampered, contact Catherine at know how massage therapy has helped me, so I try to bring that to my clients and provide them an alternative to medicine SLOCO Massage (805) 769-8274 or visit www.SLOCOMassage.com. for their pain in a relaxing, comforting, quiet and safe environment.” Photo & Written by: Mukta Naran atherine retired from dancing and recently relocated to San Luis Obispo with her husband, daughter and soon-
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natural, forage fed, no added hormone Steven & Holly Teixeira (pictured) beef that comes 733 Higuera Street from his family's (805) 547-1207 cattle company, Teixeira Cattle www.Stollys.com (coming soon) Co. Beef. Steve www.facebook.com/pages/Stollys-on-the-alley says, "My family's ust on the other side of SLO's famous Bubblegum Alley, been here on the you'll find Stolly's on the Alley! Owners Steve and Holly Central Coast for Teixeira invite you to one of the newest dining establishment in five generations, so Downtown SLO. Located at 733 Higuera Street, you can take choosing to be in in the charm of Downtown from the restaurant's patio seating Downtown SLO was and once you're inside, you'll feel the warmth of old country an easy choice! And being next to Bubblegum Alley is also hospitality. great because it's such a tourist attraction." Try Stolly's...it's right up your alley! tolly's on the Alley features a mix of American-Italian inspired cuisine using the freshest ingredients to serve tolly's on the Alley is open Tuesday through Sunday from you a meal that'll have you coming back for more! There's 11 AM to 2 AM, so stop by for lunch, dinner or late night something for everyone on the menu — from salads to burgers dining! to pizzas made from fresh dough to delicious pasta dishes. Photo & Written by: Mukta Naran Plus, Steve prides himself on using fresh, locally raised, all
Stolly's on the Alley
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Spring Thursday Night Farmers’ Market into action this month in Downtown SLO at
every Thursday 6 - 9 PM on Higuera Street between Osos & Nipomo for details call (805) 541-0286 or visit www.DowntownSLO.com
Mothers’ Day Flower Giveaway
Law Enforcement Night Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:
May 8
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May 15th Visit law enforcement agencies from throughout the Central Coast Event streets throughout Farmers’ Market
A special flower given to mothers during Farmers’ Market! Corner of Chorro & Higuera
Public Works Night
Downtown Brown’s
“Barnyard Bash” Birthday Party
Sponsored by:
May 22nd
“Building for today, Planning for Tomorrow” Come Downtown to Farmers’ Market to meet the men & women who help keep your city running! Chorro Street
Come celebrate with Downtown Brown and all his pals! Chorro Street
May 29th Sponsored by:
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Frederick named outstanding woman lawyer
Admired as a successful local attorney and an enthusiastic volunteer for a variety of philanthropic causes, Nipomo Attorney at Law, Jacqueline Frederick was celebrated by her peers as SLO County’s 2014 Outstanding Woman Lawyer of the Year. Frederick was awarded the honor by the SLO Women Lawyers Association. Frederick has successfully practiced civil law in Nipomo since 1991. Photo left to right: Angie King, Jacqueline Frederick, and the Honorable Judge Teresa Estrada Mullaney.
help our local veterans
VA clinic in San Luis is asking for volunteers to serve our Veterans as shuttle drivers. To help pay tribute and express your appreciation for their service, learn about volunteering at your local VA clinic. For more information contact your local VA volunteer representative Mr. Larry Foster at 805-354-6004 or send an email to Lawrence.Foster@va.gov.
CMSF offers “2-fer Tuesday” season passes
California Mid-State Fair is pleased to announce that once again, Season Passes will be offered through our “2-Fer Tuesday” promotion. During the month of May–on each Tuesday only, and between 9am and 4pm–Season Passes to the 2014 California MidState Fair will be sold as follows: Two (2) Adult Season Passes will be sold for $50 and two (2) Child’s Season Passes will be sold for $20. Season passes allow for entry into the 2014 Fair each of the twelve days. The Season Passes can be purchased at either the Mid-State Fair box office, at 2198 Riverside Avenue in Paso Robles, or by phone by calling 1-800-909-FAIR.
D ressing Windows in San Luis Obispo for over 39 Years
alan’s draperies 544-9405 alansdrapery@gmail.com
Alan “Himself” M A Y
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public forum for slo homeless service center
Efforts to build a Homeless Service Center in SLO are gaining momentum. The SLO City Council recently committed $250,000 toward the purchase of a nine-acre parcel on Prado Road as a site for the center. The SLO Regional Transit Authority, which will share the site, has committed to $1.5 million for the purchase. Local community and business leaders have formed a Homeless Foundation to raise money to complete the purchase and support the center. To keep the momentum going, the League of Women Voters of SLO County is partnering with the County Housing Trust Fund, United Way, and the Community Foundation San Luis Obispo’s Action for Healthy Communities to sponsor a forum to raise public awareness of plans for the center and answer any questions community members may have about it. This free public forum will be held Friday, May 9th from 9:30 to 11am at the SLO City/County Public Library, 995 Palm Street in SLO. Laurel Weir of SLO County Social Services, Grace McIntosh of CAPSLO, John Spatafore of the Homeless Foundation and business leader Bill Thoma will be there to present the latest information on the Homeless Service Center and answer questions from the public. For more information on this public forum contact the League at (805) 782-4040 or go to the League website www.lwvslo.org.
16th annual parkfield bluegrass festival
On May 8-11, the Bluegrass Music Society of the Central Coast (BMSCC) proudly presents the Parkfield Bluegrass Festival. Parkfield, known as the “”Earthquake Capital of the World,” springs to life every Mother’s Day Weekend with the best little bluegrass festival anywhere. Bluegrass music fans take over this small country village once a year for four days of concerts, workshops, children’s activities, camping and round-the-clock music jams! Attendees are welcome to come for the weekend with their RVs or tents. One day admissions are also available and the Festival offers a great day-trip outing from Paso Robles or San Luis. For details, please refer to the Festival’s website at www.parkfieldbluegrass.com Tickets are also available over the phone at 800-838-3006.
veterans express benefit fundraiser
A Texas Hold-Em poker tournament will be held on Saturday, May 10th at Mr. Rick’s in Avila Beach from 1-5pm. The proceeds from the tournament will go toward the Ride-On Transportation Veteran Express Shuttle program. The Veterans shuttle program offers SLO County Veterans rides from their homes to local Veteran’s clinics for only $3 each way. The balance of the expense is picked up from fundraisers like this one. The event offers great prizes, great fun for a great cause. For more information go to vetsexpress.org or call Greg Shearer at 801-4418.
Estrella warbirds museum annual car show
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Estrella Warbirds Museum and the Woodland Auto Display in Paso Robles will be hosting their 6th annual Warbirds, Wings and Wheels Car Show. Over 250 classic cars, hot rods, motorcycles, race cars and boats will be on display along with all the military vehicles, planes and the ever expanding, permanent auto display. One of the greatest names in racing history, Bobby Unser, is coming to Paso Robles on May 10th. Admission to the car show is free to spectators and all museum buildings are open at no cost to the general public the day of the car show. All proceeds from the car show go to support the Estrella Warbirds Museum which is a 501©(3) non-profit corporation. Please visit our website at: www.ewarbirds.org or call 805-467-2640.
local books: Guadalupe
Discover the history of Guadalupe in Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series from Doug Jenzen and the GuadalupeNipomo Dunes Center. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories from the early days of this California area. Author Doug Jenzen highlights the most prominent of these geographical features, the GuadalupeNipomo Dunes, which contain some of the tallest sand dunes on Earth. Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888) 313-2665 or go to www.arcadiapublishing.com
slo county women lawyers scholarship
The San Luis Obispo County Women Lawyers Association is now accepting applications for its 2014 scholarship awards. WLA SLO offers up to $750 in scholarship awards to current law students or students accepted for enrollment in law school with a demonstrated connection to San Luis Obispo County. Applications may be accessed online at http:// www.wlaslo.org/scholarships. Completed applications must be received by July 1st. For additional information please contact: Lisa Sperow, WLA Scholarship Chair, at esperow@calpoly. edu or (805) 756-2920.
cuesta college paper wins two national awards
The Cuestonian, Cuesta College’s student-run, student-designed monthly newspaper, won two Best of Show awards at the 30th annual National College Journalism Convention in San Diego, held February 27 through March 2, 2014. The Cuestonian took sixth place in the Two-Year Newspaper category and seventh place in the Website Small School category. Student news organizations from across the country competed for the honors, including both two-year and four-year colleges. Cuesta College was the only twoyear college to win in the Website Small School category. “I am so proud of the work these students have done,” said Cuestonian Advisor Kim Bisheff. “They challenged themselves to experiment with reporting and design, and the results were worthy of recognition.” The convention is sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press. Student newspaper editors, staff and advisers from all over the United States are invited to attend each year. This year’s complete list of award winners can be found at http:// studentpress.org/acp/winners/m13bs.html.
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5th. McPherson’s background includes 16 years as the founding president of the Fund for Women and Girls, a foundation that grew out of the Chester County Community Foundation in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
wine competition accepting entries
Children’s choir to perform spring concert
Central Coast Children’s Choir (CCCC) will perform their annual spring concert, “Celebration of Song,” on Saturday May 10th and Sunday, May 11th at 3pm at SLO United Methodist Church. Featuring favorite selections from 20 years of programs, the five levels of choirs for children ages 7-18 will perform carols from various countries celebrating the joy of music! Styles to please every palate include classical, calypso, spirituals, and contemporary, all delivered by smiling and sincere singers from the SLO community. In celebration of our 20th year, a generous Grant from the Handler and Steiner Family Foundation allowed CCCC to commission Cal Poly teacher and local composer Dr. Meredith Brammeier to write the song “Barter” in honor of CCCC. Tickets range in price from $10 – $18 at BrownPaperTickets.com This show is recommended for children over the age of five. Please call 464-0443 or email cccc-slo@ charter.net for additional information or check the website at www. CentralCoastChildrensChoir.org
new ceo for community foundation
“A strong sense of community service” and “a donor-focused philosophy” best describe the new chief executive officer of The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County (CFSLOCO). Heidi McPherson comes to the Central Coast from Lafayette, California where she has been consulting with the Women’s Funding Network in San Francisco, helping them with program, marketing and communications for their 160 member funds across the world. McPherson officially takes her post at the helm of the CFSLOCO on May
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The Central Coast Wine Competition has announced that it is now accepting entries for the 2014 competition, which will take place June 11-12, 2014. The competition staff strongly encourages wineries to take advantage of the opportunity to enter the competition online at http://cmsfw.fairmanager.com/. The entry book, which details the entry classes and guidelines, can be found at the California Mid-State Fair webpage or the CCWC blog at http://centralcoastwinecomp. com. The Central Coast Wine Competition is the largest evaluation event for wines produced exclusively on California’s Central Coast and is hosted by six Central Coast fairs: the California Mid-State Fair, Contra Costa County Fair, Monterey County Fair, San Benito County Fair, Santa Barbara County Fair and the Ventura County Fair. The 2014 competition features an internationally renowned panel of judges including wine writers, winemakers, sommeliers and wine buyers. For a complete list of judges, further information regarding the CCWC or CCVC and to submit online entries, please refer to the competition’s blog at www.centralcoastwinecomp.com. Entries will be accepted through May 23rd.
hope’s village gives 25th rv
Hope’s Village of SLO is happy to report that we’ve just given away our 25th RV! Thanks to an 87-year-old man from Oregon who drove to SLO with his wife (to gather up their belongings and hand us the pink slip), a very nice 40 foot travel trailer was given to “Paso Cares,” an organization helping the homeless in North County. It will be used as their warming shelter and will serve many unhoused veterans and other people with no place to sleep. We are in need of two more RV’s–one for a World War II veteran in his seventies, and another for a sick man currently living in a very old motorhome with mold. Please call if you have any information about anyone wanting to donate an unused RV. Thank you. Becky Jorgeson, President, HOPE’S VILLAGE OF SLO, 234-5478.
free senior healthcare screening
Community Action Partnership, Adult Wellness & Prevention Screening for adults and seniors is available throughout San Luis Obispo County. Free services include: screening for high blood pressure, weight and pulse. Finger prick screening tests for: high cholesterol, anemia and blood sugar. Counseling and referrals as needed. Please call 544-2484 ext. 1 for dates, times and locations.
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local books: R.E. Jack
The Central Coast’s leading historian on the Jack House and the Jack Family, Marilyn Darnell (pictured left) has written a book on R.E. Jack. Anything but Dull - The personal letters of R.E. Jack: His legacy from Maine to California 1856 - 1869 is now available in paperback and eBook. Anything but Dull is available at grci.calpoly.edu and Amazon.com.
Botanical Gardens 128 water thrifty plants
The Morro Bay 50th Celebration Committee recently contributed $2,500 toward completion of a public art sculpture to be installed at Target Rock near the entrance of Morro Bay Harbor. Central Coast Women for Fisheries has been working to raise funds for the larger-than-life-size bronze sculpture of a woman and two children looking out to sea. Titled “Those Who Wait,” it is dedicated to the families of fishermen who wait on shore. The Morro Bay 50th Celebration Committee hopes to make additional donations to the project as fundraising activities continue. The goal is to have the legacy art project fully funded before the end of Morro Bay’s 50th Anniversary year, along with the completion of several other community projects, including the burial of a time capsule and the planting of 50 cypress trees at key locations in the city. For the latest on all 50th Anniversary activities, go to www.morrobay50th.com. Information about the sculpture project and how to donate is available at www.womenforfish.org.
The SLO Botanical Garden, with funding support from The Community Foundation, has released the 4th Edition of “128 of Our Best.” This full color reference guide features 128 water-thrifty plants suited to the Mediterranean climate of San Luis Obispo County. The information listed with each plant includes photos, a botanical name, common name, suggested uses (i.e. border, ground cover, wall plant), and the plants’ sun and soil preference. “128 of Our Best” is being sold for $ 29.95 at the Botanical Garden Shop; open Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm.
Mental illness alliance honors local teacher
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of SLO County has honored Brian Kerr from Paso Robles High School as their ScienceHealth Teacher of the Year. More than 500 of Kerr’s health education students, have seen NAMI’s Ending the Silence (ETS) program in the past year. Ending the Silence (ETS) is a free educational program consisting of a 50-minute presentation for high school freshman/ sophomores. It gives students an opportunity to learn about mental illness through an informative PowerPoint and short videos. The presentation includes personal testimony from a young adult living successfully with a mental health condition. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, with nearly 1 million members, is the nation’s largest mental health organization focused on building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
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COMMUNITY
eye on Business Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Labs Keep Life Sweet By Maggie Cox, Barnett Cox & Associates
I
saw a story on KSBY-TV last April that got my attention. Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab, relatively new to Downtown SLO, was hosting a fundraiser from noon to 10 p.m. Ten percent of sales were being donated to Along Comes Hope, a nonprofit organization that assists families of children with cancer. The promotion had a fun kicker to it— every customer was given a gumball and encouraged to chew it, head to Gum Alley and add the gum to the wall to “Stick it to Cancer.” This event had it all: creative thinking, a shot of pizazz, and a longstanding commitment to community. Behind it all is Greg Steinberger, the big hearted businessman who shows us a thing or two about giving back every day. First, some facts: Doc Burnstein’s got its start in 2003. That’s the year Greg and original Burnardoz’ owner / master ice cream maker Chuck Burns got together to create an all new brand that combined their two names: Doc Burnstein’s. Fast forward only 11 years (including the tough years of the 2008-09 recession) and in addition to the Village flagship, Doc’s has locations in Orcutt and San
Luis Obispo, and fans literally all over the world. But it’s the amazing repertoire of community-based promotions that got my attention. Consider what goes on with this small business day in and day out. A monthly blood drive with United Blood Services. Donate a pint of blood and receive a free pint of the Doc’s flavor of your choice. The Doc’s Reading Lab Young Children’s Story Time is free every Tuesday afternoon. There are field trips where guests learn about ice cream making—8 tours a month that fill up fast. “Parlor Take Over” allows sports teams, clubs and classes to bring in a crew, run the show and receive 15% of proceeds. Every Wednesday the Live Lab Show gives audiences a chance to invent a new flavor (one week in April it was “Minion Madness,” a sweet combo of Dutch Apple ice cream with almonds and peanut butter cups). There’s Ice Cream for Breakfast events and All You Can Eat parties—all of this on top of Doc’s writing checks and supporting dozens of local causes.
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Greg Steinberger and Chuck Burns
But the cause to which Doc’s gives its all is that of Greg’s employees. Greg Steinberger is deeply committed to Doc’s’ people, and to their educations and career goals, and he shows it with the promotion that’s my favorite: Scholarship Night. Doc Burnstein’s turns over the parlour to its college-bound employees for one day, covering all operating costs and donating 100% of the day’s sales to a scholarship fund that is distributed among the eligible employees. I asked Judith Bean, president and CEO of the Arroyo Grande/Grover Beach Chamber of Commerce to tell me more about this caring man, and she bubbled with praise. “Greg is truly one of our hometown heroes in Arroyo Grande. He serves on the marketing committee for the Chamber and has been a tremendous supporter of our efforts to promote Arroyo Grande as a great place to visit. He dishes up a lot of merlot ice cream at the SAVOR event each year! What impresses me about Greg is his dedication to his staff,” she said. Greg Steinberger, his Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Labs and its abundant good works are sweet reminders of how life and business intersect on the Central Coast. It’s about much more than ice cream.