Central Coast Journal • April 2022

slo county arts

SPRING BRINGS FLOWERY CELEBRATIONS

point san luis

THE MYSTERY OF SOUZA ROCK

outdoors

TRACKING THE CONDORS

Thomas Becker APRIL 2022 Prsrt Std US Postage PAID Permit 19 13Stars Paso Robles CA ECRWSS

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10 PASO ROBLES ART

APRIL 2022

IN THE PARK

AFTER TWO YEARS, THE PASO ROBLES ART IN THE PARK HAS BROUGHT BACK THEIR APRIL SHOWING.

By Camille DeVaul

ON THE COVER

20

THE TRAILBLAZER IF YOU HAVE HIKED JUST ABOUT ANY TRAIL IN SLO COUNTY, TOM BECKER HAS EITHER BUILT OR HELPED TO MAINTAIN.

By Simone Smith

24

BITTER CREEK CHRONICLES TRACKING THE CONDORS AT THE BITTER CREEK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, CALIFORNIA CONDOR SANCTUARY.

By Chuck Graham

Something Worth Reading 06

Publisher’s Letter

Community 08

Behind the Badge | Correction Deputy Training

Arts & Education 12

Paso Arts | The ART of the Paper

13

SLO Arts Council | Spring Brings Flowery Celebrations

14

SLO County of Education | Education Trivia Quiz

16

Point San Luis | The Mystery of Souza Rock

Lifestyle, finance & Health 18

Health | No Regrets

19

Finance | 5 Reasons Wealth Transfers Fail

4 | april 2022

Taste of Slo 22

Homestyle Cookin | Junior League Lamb

23

World of Wine | Taste Wine Like a Pro

Out & About 26

New York Times Crossword Puzzle

27

Calendar of Events

28

Crossword Answers

29

Photo of the Month

Last Word 30

Ablaze with Spring Color by Betty Hartig

30

Advertiser Directory

On the Cover

The SLO County Trailblazer, Thomas Becker Photo by Rick Evans.

Editor’s note: A huge thank you to Mark and his wife for use of the backyard.

Central Coast Journal

Something Worth Reading

FROM THE PUBLISHER “A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”

Jim Watkins

publisher, editor-in-chief hayley mattson

assistant content editor

layout & design

G

ood day SLO County! It has been a while since I went completely off-script in the publisher’s letter.

I wanna make it count. First, let me thank all of you fabulous readers who have been with the Journal since it wasn’t even Plus. Now, it is the Central Coast Journal and we are ready to make it the best monthly magazine in San Luis Obispo County. Get ready for our May issue when you will see things really take shape for the direction we head.

We will keep the character of the magazine as you have come to expect it, but we will add some things to it that will make it a must-pick-up every month. Also, you may be so lucky as to receive it in the mail now. We have begun mailing out to thousands of addresses in San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, and Pismo Beach to start, and we look to expand as we go.

It’s a true honor to serve the county I was born in. We began what was a dream come true in 2017 when we bought Paso Robles Magazine. Things were going so good, we started a sister publication in Atascadero in 2018 (then called Colony Magazine) and then a travel magazine in 2019. So well in fact that the owner of the local newspapers called and asked if we wanted to take over the newspapers here — of course we did!

That is when Hayley left her job in the medical industry to join our upstart. What a time. What a tale. We had no idea we’d watch the world crumble six months later with global health crisis. Really though, 2020 was a dumpster fire of a year in so many ways.

camille devaul

neil schumaker evan rodda

copy editor

ad design

michael chaldu

jen rodman

ad consultants dana mcgraw brooke brinar jamie self

office administrator cami martin

|

office@13starsmedia.com

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OUR NEXT ISSUE:

We made it through and you all know who you are who kept us going! We are happy to be on your team.

MEMORIAL DAY, NATIONAL TOURISM MONTH May 2022

So here we are now, after deciding in 2020 that we wanted to grow and not die as a company. So we did. We picked up five new publications and now serve the entire county of San Luis Obispo with great magazines, have a really young and fun team of 13 employees (yes, they are all Stars). We also serve Santa Ynez Valley with the SYV Star, and the amazing City of Malibu with The Malibu Times and Malibu Times Magazine.

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We all watched the world change (or not) over the past two years and it seems Abraham Lincoln was right — you will be just as happy as you make your mind up to be.

Our team likes the real world. We like real people. We like creating something you can keep on the counter or coffee table. We like printing something worth reading.

Since the beginning, you have given us something worth writing about, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and you can thank all our advertisers for making it all possible by shopping their stores and making a new friend for life. We all appreciate it.

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Central Coast Journal.

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Central Coast Journal is a free monthly publication distributed to over 600 locations throughout the Central Coast and is also available at centralcoastjournal.com.

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— Thomas Fuller, 1727

This month’s edition of Central Coast Journal is brought to you by all the local advertisers that fill our pages.

Thanks to them, we are able to bring you your local Hometown Magazine.

6 | April 2022

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Community

BEHIND THE BADGE

Correctional deputy hopefuls get tough training in and out of the classroom

BY SHERIFF IAN PARKINSON

A

couple of columns ago, I wrote about a pre-academy we had for patrol deputy candidates. At that time, I talked about the intensive training the candidates get even before they get to the actual academy.

On the correctional side, the training is no less intensive. The idea is we want deputies who are well trained to respond to any situation, whether they are out on the streets or inside the jail.

Recently we had a class graduate from a correctional deputy training academy. This training, like all the training taught at academies, is intense and not for the faint of heart.

But that’s why we train like that — to get the absolute best out of our candidates, and to expose to them all the demands this job can entail and all the responsibilities which we expect of them.

Let’s start by telling you some of the training these men and women go through before they can graduate from the academy. First, the academy is heavy on classroom instruction to make sure the candidates understand the different protocols and procedures we must follow in the jail. The cadets learn multiple disciplines when going through the academy.

Some of the main subjects include classes on cultural diversity, the Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations, effective communication skills, suicide prevention awareness, crisis intervention, and use of force training.

Many of these classes are designed to de-escalate situations within the jail. Why an emphasis on this? Because it makes the environment in the jail safe, not only for the inmates, but also for our correctional deputies.

The latest class of the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s correctional deputies academy poses during its graduation ceremony.

Contributed photos

right here on the Sheriff ’s Office campus.

Normally, cadets would be sent to an academy where they would live, eat, sleep, and train at an off-site facility. But the Sheriff ’s Office contracts with a company called 10-8 Tactics and Training, which runs the academy right here at the Sheriff ’s Office. The instructors at this company are all current or former law enforcement supervisors. Why do we do this instead of the traditional method? Because it’s a huge cost-savings for the Sheriff ’s Office This intensive six-week training is hosted and San Luis Obispo County.

Physical activity and agility are also important components of this training. The cadets need to be physically fit. As a result, we put the cadets through some practical scenarios.

For instance, they’re taught about search techniques both for housing units and patdowns of the inmates. They also learn about defensive tactics, cell extraction of inmates, arrest and control measures, and firearms training.

8 | april 2022

Working as a correctional deputy in the jail is not for everyone. It can be difficult, physically, and emotionally draining work.

Most days you are dealing with a population that can be dismissive of you and the law enforcement profession to sometimes downright hostile. But at the end of the day, you can rest assured that as a correctional deputy you have kept the inmates, yourself, and your community safe. That’s why we expect so much of our correctional deputies. Because we know, you would expect nothing less.

Central Coast Journal

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april 2022 | 9

arts & Education

ART SHOW

Paso Robles Art in the Park

BY CAMILLE DEVAUL

A

fter two years, the Paso Robles Art in the Park has brought back their April showing.

Steve Powers produces the Art in the Park show in the Paso Robles City Park twice a year.

However, both shows were canceled in 2020 due to COVID restrictions, only to return in October 2021.

Each year the show brings in new artists. This year Powers says there are artists coming to Paso Robles all the way from Oregon and Arizona, all showcasing their original work.

Powers only allows original art in the show. All items are handcrafted by the artist, who is with their work in the park. Visitors and art shoppers get to But this April, Art in the Park is returning, with speak with the artist directly and in person, someover 135 fine artists and craft designers ready to thing rarely seen at art shows anymore, says Powers. showcase their creations. Celebrating five years in 2022, the Paso Robles Art in the Park Show has Admission to the show is free and open to the general become the largest and finest show in San Luis public.

Obispo County. Over 7,000 people visit the show over its two days.

The April Paso Robles Art Show is 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, April 9, and 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, The producer of the show, Steve Powers, has been April 10 in the Paso Robles Downtown City Park. directing art shows in California since 1975. He first became involved with art shows when he started selling his handmade leather belts at shows during his college years.

“We’re looking forward to it [the show]. We pretty much have a full show and are ready to go,” said Powers.

Art that can be seen varies from fine art, metal and leatherwork, photography, jewelry, stained glass, and even handmade clothing. Many of the artists are SLO County locals, and others come from all over California. In addition, visitors of the show come from all over the Nation, and some come from Europe while they are here touring the State.

The April show brings beautiful Spring weather and a fresh atmosphere that the artists have missed for two years and are looking forward to getting back to a great art show. “All the artists have been chomping at their bits for a couple of years like most everyone else,” said Powers.

Some local artists at the show include: • Georganna Dean, Grover Beach • Andrew Wilkie, Morro Bay (teacher at AHS) • Nic Stover, San Luis Obispo • Julie Dunn, Atascadero • Barry Lundgren, Atascadero • Elaine Hyde, Los Osos 10 | april 2022

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april 2022 | 11

arts & Education

PASO ARTS

The ART of the Paper

BY LYNN KISHIYAMA

L

ynn has been collecting paper for as long as she can remember. She’s always been intrigued by the textures, colors, and weights of different papers. While living in Japan, her fascination with paper eventually led her to learn the craft of traditional Japanese paper-making at Saitama Dento Kogei Kaikan in Ogawamachi, Japan. Her work has been shown at the Ueno Metropolitan Art Museum in Tokyo, art festivals around the West Coast, and in galleries throughout California.

After Lynn returned stateside, she settled in Paso Robles where she grew olives, produced boutique olive oil, and raised a herd of cavorting alpacas. Her muse was calling, however, and she became a founding member of Studios on the Park in Paso Robles.

sumo tournaments, sorting through piles and piles of used kimonos at local shrine sales, and relishing Japan’s ever-changing seasons.

Lynn is fascinated with the versatility, capability, and strength of paper, and always asking “what if ?” She is constantly pushing the boundaries — the boundaries of her knowledge, her imagination, and of her materials.

Every piece she creates is an experiment, a dance with the medium, and no two are the same. Lynn will add, subtract, tear, cut, mix, and marry varieties of paper, from the ordinary to the exotic: cotton, rag, handmade, textured, and washi. Many of Lynn’s collages are inspired by her memories of Japan. She often uses elements from old kimonos and fans, and many of her works include maps, enigmatic scrolls, old postcards, documents, Asian currency, and other found objects.

Her art is colorful, fun, and always thought-provoking.

“I love to tell people the stories behind my work,” Lynn says.

Drop by Studios on the Park in downtown Paso Robles to view Lynn’s collages and other creations, or you can view them online at www.lynnkishiyama.com.

Before becoming a full-time artist, Lynn moved 10 times in 20 years, following her spouse from city to city, country to country. Each new environment required that she re-imagine herself and her place in the world. She worked a variety of jobs, including flight attendant, ski instructor, ranch hand, set and costume designer, and interior wall upholsterer. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and holds a master’s degree in spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

Lynn’s father was a U.S. soldier who met her mother in the Philippines following the end of World War II. Lynn was born in the Philippines and raised in Livermore, California. During her years in Japan she immersed herself in Japanese culture by attending Kabuki Theater, 12 | april 2022

Central Coast Journal

SLO ARTS

Spring Brings Flowery Celebrations

BY MISSY REITNER-CAMERON, SLO COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL BOARD MEMBER

this spring flower, an international symbol of friendship and peace, since 1953.

Versailles Fountain Show, Versailles, France Who knew that fountains need a season off ? During the winter, Versailles’ fountains do not run and many of the grounds are closed to the public. April 1 is when all the groves open and the beautiful fountains of Versailles wake from their slumbers, marking the start of spring spectacular.

Seeing a thread? Water, flowers, color. Spring in three words. A fun family-friendly spring project is flower pressing. You can keep the beauty of spring around all year! Listen to Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” focusing specifically on SPRING while searching for flowers.

The Canadian Tulip Festival, held in Ottawa, is one of many flowery celebrations around the world. Contributed photos

S

pring has sprung here on the beautiful Central Coast with vivid green hills, fields of yellow mustard and pops of purple lupin. When wandering around our amazing neighborhoods and parks, I often think about how others celebrate spring and how these celebrations might inspire or influence my work and the work of others. Here’s a few intriguing traditions starting with one close to home: Wildflower Viewing, Central California The Carrizo Plains Monument, aka our backyard, is one of the best places to see this phenomenon. In a good bloom year, wildflowers in multiple colors carpet landscapes across the state and it’s one of the most beautiful spring events around the world.

Holi, Rajasthan, India Rajasthan is a beautiful place with vibrant colors on a normal day but during Holi, color gets kicked up about 20 notches. Each spring, people in India celebrate Holi, the Festival of Colors. This may very well be the most wellknown spring celebration around the world and is celebrated by Hindus across Northern India. It involves throwing colored powder at one another, which pays tribute to the many

CentralCoastJournal.com

Flower Pressing:

Find a spot where you have permission to pick flowers and carefully pick a section from a plant. Try not to damage other flowers or Cherry Blossom Festival, Jinhae, South take too many.

Korea Open a heavy book and line it with newsWhile Japan usually gets the cherry blossom paper. Place the flowers you want to press on traffic, the Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae, newspaper between the pages of the book. with the smells and sights of over 1000 trees in bloom, makes travelers feel as if they are on Carefully close the book and weigh it down another planet! With week-long celebrations — additional heavy books work well as weights. consisting of light shows, parades and of course delicious food, you can’t go wrong here.

Store this pile in a warm, dry place and check on your flower specimens daily.

Songkran, Thailand Once your flowers are dry, carefully remove Songkran - known as the Water Splashing them.

Festival — is a celebration to mark the start of the Buddhist New Year. It includes many Now you have beautiful flowers to glue to different types of ceremonies but the wettest cards, make bookmarks with or to use in a and wildest is a huge water fight including decoupage project. buckets, water cannons and more.

Remember not all plants are easy to press.

Tulip Festival, Ottawa, Canada Some take a long time to lose moisture and tend to go moldy so check them daily. Bulkier Noted as the largest Tulip Festival in the plants are also more difficult to press well, so world. This 10-day festival is a result of the start small. over 100,000 bulbs that were gifted to Ottawa in 1945 by the Dutch royal family. That gift is Upcoming Events: known as the ‘Tulip Legacy’ and those tulips have now increased to more than 1 million. The The SLO International Film Festival April Canadian Tulip Festival has been celebrating 26 to May 1 hues of the spring season.

april 2022 | 13

arts & Education

SLO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION

Education Trivia Quiz

BY JAMES BRESCIA, ED.D. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

prohibits discrimination against students in federally funded schools based on sex?

11. What is section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act that protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities called?

14. San Jose 13. Reagan 12. Carter Education 11. Free Appropriate Public 10. Title IX 9. Lyndon B. Johnson Education Act 8.

National

Defense

violence 7. Safety and prevention of 6. Desegregation 5. WWII Mock Air Raid 4. Great Depression Tennesee 1917 3. Massachusetts 1852, constitutional US Congress passes 2. Horace Mann 1875 1. Nelson Mandela

Answers:

14 | april 2022

15. No Child Left Behind

Education is one of the most empowering forces in the world. Education can create knowledge, build confidence, break down barriers, increase opportunities, and promote social justice. Thank you for your continued support of education in our community. It is 10. What is the name of the education act an honor to serve as your County Superinpassed by the United States Congress in 1972 tendent of Schools.

16. Outdoor Preschool

6. What did the 1954 Brown v. Board 18. Which San Luis Obispo County school of Education Topeka unanimous Supreme district recently requested insurance coverage Court ruling end? for a high school student traveling to school on horseback?

7. Why was the Arkansas National Guard mobilized to Little Rock Central High 19. Which San Luis Obispo County school School in 1957? district covers more physical landmass than Los Angeles Unified?

8. What education legislation passed in 1958 because of Sputnik, the Soviet Union’s 20. Which San Luis Obispo County school launch of the first satellite to orbit the earth? district maintains a one-room school campus?

17. Atascadero

5. Why did students in the United States 17. Which San Luis Obispo County school practice ducking for shelter beneath their district still had student dormitories operating desks in 1942? in the 1980s?

18. Shandon

4. What was a significant factor that 16. In 1995 nine district teachers in Euprompted creating what we know today as gene, Oregon, introduced what non-traditionthe school buses? al program for instructional delivery?

19. Atascadero

12. In 1979 which President appointed Shirley Hufstedler as the first Secretary of Education and cabinet-level position fifteenth in the line of succession to the pres1. Who said, “Education is the most pow- idency? erful weapon which you can use to change the world?”

13. Which President’s administration published “A Nation at Risk” with recommenda2. Who advocated for the creation of public tions for how schools should teach students? schools that would be universally available to all children free of charge, funded by the 14. What Bay Area high school placed a state? new technology with a video game center on campus as an experiment to raise funds?

3. Which were the first and last states to offer free public schooling for all in the Unit15. What does NCLB represent in edued States? cation jargon?

9. Which President signed the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the 1966 Child Nutrition Act that established the School Breakfast Program?

20. Shandon

I

hope to provide some entertainment this month with an Education Trivia Quiz.

Schools have changed a great deal over the years and continue to reflect the changes in our society. Chalkboards were updated to whiteboards and then to Smart Boards.

Laptops and iPads replaced notebooks and textbooks in the same way that ballpoint pens replaced fountain pens and ink wells. Test your trivia knowledge and take some time to reflect on education as it was and is today.

Central Coast Journal

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arts & Education

POINT SAN LUIS

The Mystery of Souza Rock

BY KATHY MASTKO

The ”lighthouse keeper” the 1887 news article referred to was Antonio Souza; his wife, Francisca, née Oliveira. Souza was the man hired to maintain the steamship company’s private light and sound a cannon during foggy weather to help guide vessels into the harbor. Presumably he had been tending to the light ever since it was first installed, as a letter he wrote in 1900 noted that he’d lived at the Point for twenty-seven years.

In December 1888, the Tribune reprinted an article from the San Francisco Chronicle announcing that a new danger to maritime navigation on the west coast had recently been located in the vicinity of Port Harford. The paper reported that the steamship company employed “a Portuguese,“ whose job it was to keep a light and fire a gun in foggy weather. This man was a skillful fishermen, the reporter wrote, Diver exploring Souza Rock’s sea life, including metridiums, also known as plumose anemones. Courtesy of Shawn Stamback, SloDivers, Morro who in his spare time fished off the Bay Point and knew that fish were often little over two miles south- a barrier between the placid waters by the government’s unwillingness found in waters where the bottom east of the Point San Luis and the strong northers that occa- to erect a light and fog signal, the was rocky: light station lies a danger to sionally spring up inland. Facing Pacific Coast Steamship Company boats and a diver’s paradise teeming the Point reposes the mighty Pa- had taken matters into their own To ascertain what kind of botwith color and life. It’s an under- cific, which stretches away in the hands. In June 1881, the Tribune tom there is beneath him (when the water monolith that rises to within distance until the restless waters reported on a light the steamship depth is not over twenty fathoms) sixteen feet of the surface, jutting up seem to blend with the azure sky. company was installing: this cunning fisherman lies down abruptly from a depth of nineteen in his boat with one ear glued to fathoms. A gong buoy marks it, The paper noted, however, that Port Harford is assuming such the planking. Listening thus he painted red over green and with a the “aromatic atmosphere” interfered importance as a shipping port, that can tell by certain clinking, scrapred light, referred to as buoy 14SR. with the proper appreciation of the it is quite necessary that there be a ing or sweeping sounds whether view, describing the air at Whaler’s lighthouse at “the Point.” Messrs. he is passing over gravelly, rocky or The hazard is named Souza Rock. Point as “the rankest compound of Goodall, Perkins & Co. have been sandy ocean floors. In this case, he The question is whether it should villainous smells that ever offended unable to get the Government to recognized the clinking sound that be? human nostrils.” At the time, there take hold of this project, and have indicated the presence of rocks and, were twenty men living at the sta- attended to the matter at their own therefore, fish. Preparing to catch In 1887, the San Luis Obispo Tri- tion, engaged in shore whaling un- expense. The lantern and fixtures some, he dropped overboard his bune wrote about a whaling station der the command of John Oliver. came down on the [steamship] weighted line and was surprised on the mainland near Port Harford There were also two women living Orizaba last trip, and from this time when the sinker struck bottom at a (now called Port San Luis), referred at Whaler’s Point: Captain Oliver’s forward the light will regularly send depth of sixteen or eighteen feet… to as Whaler’s Point. The view, the wife Mary and “the wife of the out its radiance over the oft-trou- He repeated the cast and found his paper described, was without rival: lighthouse keeper.” bled waters. The entire expense of boat was over a small group of rocks building the lighthouse, together dangerously near the surface and To the left lies the spacious and Now there wasn’t an “official” with that of employing a man to heretofore unknown. splendid harbor of San Luis Obis- lighthouse on Whaler’s Point or, keep the lights trimmed and lightThe discovery was reported and po, walled in on three sides by lofty indeed, anywhere in the vicinity of ed, is borne by the Pacific Coast on the Queen of the Pacific’s next and rugged mountains that stand as Port Harford at the time. Frustrated Steamship Company.

A

16 | april 2022

Central Coast Journal

Close-up view of Souza Rock’s sea life. In the center is a large metridium. On the right is a white-spotted rose sea anemone.

Courtesy of Shawn Stamback, SloDivers, Morro Bay

was ever placed there.

14SR lighted gong buoy. Courtesy of Missy Lintner

trip down the coast Captain Ezekiel Alexander examined the area and found, almost in the general path of ships headed into Port Harford, “a narrow upheaval of rock, broken in such manner as to leave two points within seventeen feet of the surface.”

The Tribune reported later that same month that Souza, “the man who discovered the new rock in the bay,” was the recipient of a reward from the government in recognition of the discovery.

Less than two years after the rock’s discovery, Souza was appointed an assistant keeper at the Point San Luis light station which was finally built by the government in 1890. He served there for ten years before transferring to Point Conception.

Also in 1890, Antonio J. Silva—another Portuguese fisherman—started squatting on Whaler’s Island, which was connected to the mainland and Whaler’s Point by a small jetty.

Whaler’s Island had been commandeered by the government in 1876, reserved for lighthouse purposes, although neither a light nor fog signal CentralCoastJournal.com

Silva peacefully occupied this government property with the tacit permission of the Lighthouse Service until 1896, when the government began legal action to force him to leave. He did so, but not without protest. In fact, he managed to persuade United States Senator George Clement Perkins to write to the Secretary of the Lighthouse Board on his behalf:

wreck of vessels entering the Harbor of Port Harford.

Those who signed his petition included Captain Alexander as well as Charles Goodall, agent for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company. Alexander and Goodall were certainly aware of the circumstances surrounding the rock’s discovery, and would no doubt have taken issue had Silva’s claim been false.

I enclose herewith a petition of Antone [sic] J. Silva, Port Harford, California, for permission to occupy Whaler’s Island situated off Point San Luis Obispo, California and respectfully ask for it your early and favorable consideration.

(Further, a Notice to Mariners issued by the Lighthouse Service and printed in the January 30, 1889, issue of the Daily Alta California stated that Souza Rock had been recently discovered by fishermen.)

It appears that Silva has been allowed to remain undisturbed on the island for the last six years, during which time he has been engaged in fishing, and so far as I have been able to learn, is a peaceable and law-abiding person, attending strictly to his business, and is a steady and hard-working man. Captain Alexander and others, masters of vessels plying along the coast of Southern California, speak in very favorable terms of Silva, and say that he has always been on the lookout for any dangers to navigation when fighting the waters about Port Harford and on occasion has rendered good services to them during foggy and inclement weather.

Like Souza, Silva went on to become a lighthouse keeper. He served at Point San Luis from 1906 until 1933, becoming the station’s longest-serving keeper.

Who really did discover the rock?

My bet is on Silva. Souza, age thirty-seven at the time, was likely the boat’s owner and captain.

Silva, sixteen years his junior, was no doubt his fishing partner that day and most likely the one with his ear “glued to the planking” who dropped his weighted line and discovered the underwater hazard. Souza, employed by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, would have taken the lead What is startling is that, in his petition, Silva in reporting the discovery to his employer, who in wrote: turn would have informed the lighthouse officials in San Francisco about the discovery made by I am also the person who discovered and re- Souza’s boat. ported the dangerous rock known as “Susa [sic] Rock,” thereby in all probability preventing the Rank has its privileges. april 2022 | 17

Lifestyle, Finance & Health

HEALTH & MENTAL WELLNESS

No Regrets

BY DR. CINDY MAYNARD

R

egrets? Sure, we’ve all had a few. But you don’t get to be a certain age without experiencing some regrets along the way.

The problem lies in not being able to let go and they become an albatross around your neck. Like one friend said to me, “Regrets are like carrying an extra suitcase on my back.”

Regret is defined as “an emotion of self-blame, experienced when people realize or imagine that their present situation would have been better had they decided differently in the past,” according to Dr. Marcel Zeelenberg, Professor of Behavioral Research at Vrije University, Amsterdam.

According to research on the science of regret, we typically feel more regret for things we didn’t do rather than mistakes that we made in the past. Regret, an emotion of self-blame, negatively impacts our mental health and causes rumination thinking about “what might have been.” Romance matters tend to top the list of regrets, followed by family, education, financial matters, paths not taken, or losing touch with an important person.

Regrets are an inevitable part of life. It’s not the moment-by-moment experiences where perhaps we flew off the handle or said something inappropriate and we could easily apologize for it. It’s the lifelong regrets that we seem to obsess and ruminate about that cause us the most pain.

rather than having them cripple us.

“I regret that I never did comprehend how brief my life on earth really is.” Avila Beach local Ann Feeser states. “Too much of my time was spent thinking and planning about the future.

I am now firmly in my future and there is no future in it.”

Acknowledge your feelings. This can be liberating and break the power of isolation and shame. Many people are surprised to learn they aren’t the only ones who have gone through the same experience.

Another way to deal with regrets is to accent the positive in our lives. A few years ago I became certified to teach Dignity Therapy, a program developed by psychiatrist Harvey Max Chochinov that helps end-of-life clients write their legacy of important memories and accomplishments to pass onto their loved ones. It is a tangible way to look back on a life well-lived and show that their lives have had meaning.

But why wait until we are at the end of our lives to write this document? Each time you find yourself ruminating about past regrets, try focusing instead on the positive things you have accomplished in your life. This decreases the focus on regrets and unforgiveness common in one’s later life and shifts the brain to a positive focus which literally changes our brain chemicals.

• Tell me a little about your life history and the parts that you think are the most important?

• When did you feel most alive?

• What do you would want your loved ones to know or remember about you?

• What are your most important accomplishments; what do you feel most proud of?

• What are your hopes and dreams?

• What have you learned about life that you would want to pass on to others?

Regrets can either shackle you to the past or serve as an agent for change. If you have the ability to apologize for past behavior by all means, do. Vow to do better. If you can change your current situation for the better, do. If not, try and have compassion for yourself for past regrets you can’t change. If you didn’t follow a certain path, it’s possible that the path you chose was the best one after all. For those relationships that were hurtful, try and find the gift, or life lesson it taught you. Think, rather, how much you have changed or evolved. Lastly, for regrets where you missed out on doing something, put the “what ifs” behind you. It’s never too late to accomplish the dreams you had on the back burner.

Cindy Maynard PhD, RD, is a health psychologist, registered dietitian and a health and fitness What are some tangible ways we can deal Here are some questions asked of clients in writer. You can contact her at drcindymaynard@ with regrets? We can learn and evolve from them the Dignity Therapy program: live.com

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ESTATE & GIVING

5 Reasons Wealth Transfers Fail

BY SARAH SANTANA

F

amily coach and author Roy Williams surveyed more than 3,000 families and found that over 90 percent of family wealth transfers fail by the end of the third generation. But, in this context, what does “fail” really mean?

A failed wealth transfer can mean several things—disappearance of the family’s financial wealth, the dissipation of essential memories and values, and even intense discord among family members. So why is this happening so frequently, and how can you help prevent the same thing from occurring within your own family?

Little or no shared vision

Once your family is engaged in meaningful communication, the next step is to define your shared vision. Moving in contradictory directions will eventually seed conflict, so build common ground by identifying what you’re all working toward. What do you want your family’s legacy to look like? What family qualities do you want your great-grandchildren to still value? Giving each person a chance to clearly communicate his or her interests will increase understanding by all, and it’ll help the purpose and positive impact of your family’s financial wealth.

Disregard for intangible assets

Here are five of the most common reasons money doesn’t survive wealth transfers over When family communication focuses too multiple generations. much on financial wealth, the opportunity to foster a sense of gratitude can be lost. Be sure Lack of meaningful you’re also communicating about things that communication go beyond money – like your core values, the experiences that have had the greatest impact It’s critical for multiple generations of a family on your life, and the philanthropic causes you to engage in clear, open dialogue, which sets care about most. Structured communications the foundation for successfully passing down around these non-financial topics can help both financial assets and important values. Get- refocus everyone on what matters most: your ting to know how each of your family mem- family unit. bers prefers to communicate can also decrease the possibility of family discord. Encouraging Erosion of trust and clear communication can mitigate many of transparency the reasons wealth transfers fail, and dialogue should center on aspects that go beyond just You may have heard the adage “transparency financial wealth. breeds trust.” Well, it also goes the other way:

if family members believe transparency is lacking, trust can also erode. Transparency does not necessarily mean disclosing your net worth to every family member, but it does mean including them in discussions around the intended purpose of wealth you’ll pass down. Encourage family members to ask questions throughout your family dialogues, and be as open as you can with your answers.

Attitude of entitlement, not gratitude

If there’s one emotion that helps support wealth transfer success, it’s gratitude.

When family members are focused on what money can do for them, overspending and misuse soon follow. But by communicating about both financial and intangible wealth and participating together in charitable events, you can slowly strengthen an attitude of gratitude.

It’s not always easy to navigate the complexities of family wealth. But with open communication and the guidance of a trusted financial advisor, you can begin these important conversations and help set your family up for wealth transfer success.

This content was created by More than Money 360. Raymond James is not affiliated with More than Money 360.

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april 2022 | 19

on the cover

THOMAS BECKER

The Trailblazer of SLO County

BY SIMONE SMITH PHOTOS BY SIMONE SMITH, RICK EVAN, AND THOMAS BECKER

T

imes can certainly get crazy, but right now, you’re out there, on the trail. No meetings, bills, traffic jams, housework, or business to attend to. You have unplugged from the digital world, and as you follow the bend around the hillside, you begin to take notice of the quiet. The hush and feel of the breeze whispering through the pine trees, the cry of an eagle gliding off in the distance, the rustle of a cottontail darting into the underbrush, and the fragrance of sagebrush as the trail starts to climb. Whether you’re enjoying this time from atop the swaying back of a horse taking in the view over perked up ears, feeling the roller-coaster-like exhilaration of the climb, dips, and bends by bike, getting into the synchronized state of footfall and breath during a run or just out on a pleasurable hike, you can feel the tension in your body begin to relax as your mind starts to clear.

Since the beginning, Tom has enjoyed his contracting business, landscaping homes and businesses locally and from Newport Beach to Pebble Beach, but says that what he “really loves” is doing trail work and being out in the middle of nowhere, enjoying the peace and solitude. Tom says that if he’s not working on a landscaping job, he is out either riding or working on trails and that he has been avidly doing trail building and maintenance since the late ‘80s.

If you have hiked, biked, run, or ridden just about anywhere in San Luis Obispo County, you no doubt have been on one of the many trails that Tom Becker has either built or helped to maintain.

Much has been said about the mental and physical health benefits of unplugging and getting out into nature. No matter what studies say, the feeling of relaxation is undeniable.

Trails are often taken for granted, they’re there, and we use them without a second thought.

But thanks for these experiences should go out to the unsung and often never seen folks who create and maintain the trails, keeping them free of fallen trees, overgrowth, gullies, and ruts. Here, in San Luis Obispo County, one man’s passion has made a big difference in creating and upkeep of many public and After a three-year process involving memprivate trails, which have been enjoyed over bers of the CCCMB (Central Coast Conthe years by thousands of outdoor enthusiasts, cerned Mountain Bikers) to design and layout both locals, and visitors alike. the new trails for the Pismo Preserve, Tom was hired by the Land Conservancy of SLO Thomas Becker, resident and Santa Mar- to build the 11 miles of new trails. That’s in garita Beautiful’s 2019 Citizen of the Year, addition to the work he has done over the years originally came to San Luis Obispo in 1978 on trails at Santa Margarita Lake, Lopez Lake, to study at Cal Poly. After graduating with Montana de Oro State Park, and in the Los a degree in ornamental horticulture in 1981, Padres National Forest. Most recently, Tom has Tom continued his studies to obtain a master’s worked at Santa Margarita Lake on Rockies degree in business by 1984. It was during these Trail with a crew of about 20 volunteers from years at Cal Poly that Tom’s passion for trails CCCMB and has worked to repair the constarted to develop. He became more familiar ditions of Grey Pine Trail and work on trails with the area’s outdoor spaces by running track for private residents of the Ranchita Estates and cross-country, racing bikes, and riding near Lake Lopez. mountain bikes.

Limited by weather and rainfall, trail work After receiving his master’s, Tom began can only take place when conditions are right, working for local landscape companies until generally from around mid-fall to early spring, starting his own, Becker Landscaping, in 1988. when the soil is not too dry, hard, or powdery 20 | april 2022

and is wet enough from rain to work with. Tom says the main focus of building and maintenance is to prevent erosion and make sure that the trails slope to the side to keep water from causing ruts down the middle or creating other hazardous conditions.

Hundreds of hours are put in each year by paid or volunteer workers to keep our local trails open and safe to use. Many of the best volunteers are mountain bikers, such as Tom. They pay the most attention to trail details and are often quick to remedy a dangerous situation by bringing out hand tools to fill in ruts or holes, remove obstacles, or do some minor grading.

CCCMB organizes Trail Work Days throughout the county when conditions are right in fall and early spring. The biggest workday is their annual Super Bowl Sunday Trail Work Day at the beginning of February to repair trails at Montãna de Oro State Park.

This annual event has drawn up to 250 volunteers who abandon their homes and TVs to enjoy the camaraderie and hard work outdoors to make trails friendly for future users. After winter rains, needed repairs often include both hand and machine work to bring trails back to safe and usable conditions. Handwork on trails often includes shovels, rakes, and hoes or a McLeod for small to medium situations and cutting back and clearing brush. For machine work, Tom Becker can help out with his mini-excavator and compactor on the larger multi-use trails or on those areas that have been damaged by heavy use or where heavy water runoff has created deep ruts or unsafe conditions.

Tom says one of the best ways to preserve the condition of a trail is to stay off when conditions are wet and muddy after rain. Deep ruts or hoof prints in mud can harden into an unsafe situation for future hikers, bikers, or riders.

Next time you’re out on a trail, give thanks to those who have made or maintained those enjoyable paths, and if you love our county’s trails and would like to help out, you too can get involved by donating to or volunteering for one of CCCMB’s Volunteer Trail Work Days.

For info, go to cccmb.org.

Central Coast Journal

Photo by Rick Evans CentralCoastJournal.com

april 2022 | 21

taste of slo

SPRING COOKING WITH BARBIE BUTZ

Junior League lamb perfect for Easter

BY BARBIE BUTZ

P

lanning a menu for your Easter Sunday family gathering on April 17? Maybe this recipe for leg of lamb will help you get started.

Lamb has traditionally been served for Easter for centuries and continues to be a popular choice.

I found this recipe in one of my Junior League Cookbooks titled Simply Classic, compiled by the Junior League of Seattle and first published in 1993.

According to the League’s Mission Statement, “The Junior League

Ingredients • 1 boneless leg of lamb (3 to 3 ½ pounds) • ¼ teaspoon salt black pepper to taste • Stuffing: • 1/3 cup hazelnuts • 4 cups (packed) fresh spinach, washed, stems removed • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine • 1 medium clove garlic, minced • ¾ cup fine, dry bread crumbs • 1/3 cup golden raisins • 1 large egg • ½ plus ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne • 1 tablespoon olive oil

• ½ cup onion, chopped • ½ cup dry red wine • 1 tablespoon honey • 1 medium clove garlic, smashed • 1 cinnamon stick • 2 cups chicken stock • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin • ¼ teaspoon salt • 1 pinch cayenne • 1 ½ tablespoons flour • 1 tablespoon butter, softened

22 | april 2022

of Seattle is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”

There are other chapters of the organization around the country whose mission is the same. Many of them have also produced cookbooks, which are always filled with top-notch recipes. I hope you will enjoy this one.

Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Spinach and Hazelnuts

P

reheat oven to 350 degrees. Butterfly cut the leg of lamb, or ask the butcher to do it for you. Pound meat to an even thickness.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For Stuffing: toast hazelnuts in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Allow to cool. Place nuts in a towel and rub together to remove as much of the dark brown husk as possible.

Chop nuts coarsely. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Chop spinach coarsely and cook, uncovered, in a large saucepan with ½-inch of water, for 3 to 4 minutes, turning frequently so it cooks evenly. Drain cooked spinach thoroughly, pressing with back of a large spoon to remove

as much moisture as possible. Melt butter in same pan in which spinach was cooked. Add garlic and sauté over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add hazelnuts, spinach, bread crumbs, raisins, egg, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and cayenne.

Mix thoroughly.

Pat stuffing evenly over meat. Roll up from long end and tie with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Place seam side down in a heavy roasting pan. Rub with remaining cumin, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Roast lamb, uncovered, about 20 minutes per pound or until and instant-read thermometer registers 120 degrees for medium-rare.

Sauce

C

ombine onion, red wine, honey, garlic and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until liquid is syrupy. Add chicken stock, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and cayenne. Bring to a rolling boil and cook 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine flour and butter to make a smooth paste. Slowly add this to the simmering sauce, stirring with a whisk. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 more minutes. Set aside until lamb is done.

When lamb is done, remove from pan and set on a carving board, tented with foil. Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Drain fat from roasting pan and discard. Set roasting pan on a burner over medium-high heat. Strain sauce into roasting pan. Discard onion, garlic and cinnamon stick. Stir sauce to incorporate lamb drippings, being sure to scrape bottom of roasting pan well. Slice the roast and serve with sauce on the side.

Central Coast Journal

WORLD OF WINE

Taste Wine Like a Pro

BY MIRA HONEYCUTT

A

wine tasting experience awakens your five senses, from sight and sound to smell, taste and touch. So how do you engage all your senses in a skilled systematic way to taste wine like a pro?

Let’s begin with the sound experience: the pulling or popping of the cork as it escapes from the bottle, the liquid poured in the glass and the clinking of glasses as friends offer the customary toast. Then comes the touch, the sensation of a chilled bottle or the wine glass in your hand.

But the most important part of the wine experience lies in these three senses and in this order: sight (appearance), smell (nose) and taste (palate).

Appearance: The first thing you notice about wine is the color — white, pink or red. Then its clarity — clear or hazy — and its intensity, which can range from pale to medium or deep. A hazy wine that is dull in appearance is either very old or a badly stored wine. Sometimes the wine will have a hint of brown, however, that doesn’t always indicate a fault.

I’ve tasted some very old vintages that are hazy and brown, yet they express freshness and stand up to their age-worthiness.

CentralCoastJournal.com

As for intensity, is it pale, medi- tongue, acidity on the sides and um or deep? Tilt the glass against bitterness at the back. a white background (a sheet of paper or napkin) to determine its To get a complete impression color intensity. of the wine, take a tasting sip and draw in air through your lips. This In white wines, the colors range will allow the wine to coat your from lemon to gold and amber. entire mouth, with the vapors carIn Rosé wines, the spectrum runs ried up the back of your nose. This from pink to salmon and orange. is when the sense of smell comFinally, in reds, they can be deep bines with the sense of taste and purple, ruby, garnet or tawny. helps you detect the wine’s flavor Within these color ranges check characteristics. if it’s pale or particularly intense.

In white wines, older vintages get Assess the wine for its sweetdarker in color and reds get light- ness. Is it dry, off-dry, medium or er. A hazy brown coloring might sweet? Although all sugar in the indicate a fault. grape is converted to alcohol, a slight sweetness or fruitiness can Nose: Swirl your wine in the linger in the wine. Other than glass to release its aromas, then sweet late harvest dessert wines, take a sniff. Don’t hesitate to put almost all red wines and some your nose right into the glass. Are white wines are dry. Slightly there any off-notes or a fault like sweet white wines are known as cork-taint? At its worst, it can have “off-dry.” a damp-cardboard or pungent aroma in which case it’s undrinkable.

Of the wine’s acidity and tannin, If it lacks freshness, then you know is it low, medium or high? Acidthe fault is not that dominant in ity in wine gives it vibrancy and which case take a sip and assess freshness. It’s present in all wines the wine. with whites, in particular, retaining more acidity than reds. Tannin, In a healthy wine, common aro- derived from grape skins, depends ma and flavor characteristics run on the amount of skin contact from floral, fruit, oak, vanilla, dairy, during winemaking. Tannin gives spice or vegetable. Yes, some sensi- structure and its sensation ranges tive sniffers come up with sensory from bitter taste (felt at the back terms as ‘wet socks.’ of the tongue) to astringent on the gums. Soft ripe tannins will give Palate: Your palate is very per- viscosity and body to the wine. sonal and tasting can be subjective.

The wine’s body or mouthfeel However, the notable structural is the sensation of richness and characteristics on the palate will be weight. Is it a light, medium or sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol full-bodied wine? (Compare the and body. mouthfeel to skim milk, whole milk or half-and-half respectively.)

With that first sip of wine, you will use your sense of taste for the Once you have assessed the wine’s sugar, acidity and bitterness. above, what about the all-imWhile your tongue is sensitive to portant sensation, the wine’s flavor all types of taste, generally sweet- characteristics? This comes in the ness is detected at the tip of the form of aroma components such

as floral (rose, violet), fruit (green, citrus, red, black or stone fruit), herbaceous, vegetable, spice, oak, vanilla, dairy and mineral.

Now that you’ve gone through the tasting experience systematically, how is the wine’s finish?

Do all the desirable flavors linger in your mouth? A long complex finish will be a good indicator of quality wine.

Above all, when assessing wine, look for the balance — the harmony of fruit expression, tannin and acidity. As in life, wine is all about balance.

april 2022 | 23

ADVENTURE

BITTER CREEK CHRONICLES

Tracking the Condors

BY CHUCK GRAHAM

T

here wasn’t much going on at the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge (NWF). I was lying in the grassy, rolling hills of this California condor sanctuary, and I was waiting for something to stir. It was mid-afternoon and thermal updrafts were just beginning to waft skyward when a solitary condor rose above the refuge like a fighter jet off an aircraft carrier.

I sat straight up, holding my 300mm lens in my lap, thoroughly thrilled to see North America’s largest flying land bird soaring above, and quickly joined by another condor.

They circled overhead making several passes, their pinkish/orange heads standing out against their impressive velvety black 9-footplus wingspans, their wingtips extending outward like giant fingers on an outstretched hand.

Over the years, release sites like Bitter Creek have expanded throughout the condor’s historic range. There are currently 5 other sites besides Bitter Creek that serve as sanctuaries and release stations. Those include nearby Hopper Mountain, Ventana Wilderness along the Big Sur Coast, Pinnacles National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Baja California. The wild population is augmented with captive-bred birds. Their flight pens help garner condor behavior. The recovery program has been doing this since the early 1990s. And although the wild population is growing and old territories are re-established, it’s getting increasingly more challenging to track their whereabouts. Condors average around 150 miles per day in the air.

“It’s a sign of their recovery that they are expanding,” said Arianna Punzalan, supervisory wildlife biologist for the USFWS, who has worked with condors since 2012. “It’s a good thing and a bad thing because how do we continue to monitor these birds?”

Orchard Draw

left in the wild. It was now or never for these iconic raptors. Captive breeding was the only After walking beneath an old, green-leafed, option, so an aggressive plan was put in moapple orchard on what was then part of the tion to save these impressive scavengers.

Hudson Ranch, we hiked a short distance north to an exposed ridgeline overlooking There was one thing that stood out on the open book-shaped Orchard Draw on Bit- the barren knoll overlooking the southwest ter Creek. The narrow, nondescript canyon portion of Bitter Creek. It was an old horse was choked in scrubby chaparral, but at the carcass lying amongst some vibrant California bottom of the draw was a gritty sandstone poppies. It marked the site of an ambitious monolith. effort to capture the last remaining California condors. Wildlife biologists Peter Bloom For a good 30 minutes there wasn’t any and Dave Clendenon created their pit trap activity, and then finally there was some in 1987. movement. The sandstone rock outcropping possessed a few gritty cavities and emerging The two biologists dug a shallow grave parfrom the shadows of a shadowy alcove was tially burying themselves with organic debris an adult male condor, known as Condor 328. and a stillborn calf carcass lying across the top.

There was one egg in the cave and the doting Sometimes the two would conceal themselves parents swap out on parenting duties, which from sunrise to sunset, waiting patiently for means they share responsibilities on incubat- one of the last remaining condors to land ing their egg. The female is known as Condor on top of them. All they would have with 216. They’ve been together for 10 years. them was some food, water, and a pee bottle.

When a condor would land, they would grab Condors produce a chick every other year. it. Stories of black widows and rattlesnakes The chick fledges after 6 months in the cave visiting the pit trap while the two biologists nest. Condors are monogamous, and if the hid beneath were part of Pit Trap lore, but pair survives, they will return to the same nest anything to save these exemplary birds. site to give it another go. Currently, there are 300 California condors in the wild.

Getting The Lead Out “I got super lucky and saw the egg the day after it was laid,” said Laura McMahon, wildlife biologist for the USFWS. “It’s pretty easy spotting a nest when a condor is standing in front of it.”

Pit Trap

Besides habitat loss, the biggest challenge for the survival of the California condor is use of lead bullets in their habitat. There are alternatives out there for hunters to use, but change can be slow.

Condors are scavengers. They are the cleaners of the forest. With incredible eyesight, condors locate carcasses and feed mightily.

Lead fragments are soft and break down easily within the condor’s food source. However, lead fragments get in the condors’ bloodstream, attacking their nervous system.

California condors are Ice Age birds. Fossil records indicate they once soared all over North America. However, as megafauna died off so, too did the condor’s range. Fast forward to the 1800s, their range had shrunk to the point where California became their last stronghold, but it was shrinking quickly. Pred“If we remove lead from the environment, Nestled within the Transverse Ranges, be- ators were killed off, either shot or poisoned. condors can be self-sustaining,” said Puntween the Carrizo Plain National Monument Egg collecting and selling condor feathers zalan. “Change is hard, but lead is more of a and the Sespe Wilderness, Bitter Creek NWF were common practices. challenge. Partners are invaluable about getis a haven and another launching pad for reting the word out. Hopefully in my lifetime, leasing endangered California condors.

By the 1980s there were only 22 condors the condor will be delisted.”

24 | april 2022

Central Coast Journal

A California condor surveys the area at the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Reserve. Photo by Chuck Graham

A California condor, tagged for tracking purposes, is spotted at the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Reserve. Photo

by Chuck Graham

The Bitter Creek National Wildlife Reserve is part of the condor recovery program that’s been in place since the 1990s. Photo by Chuck Graham

A sign denoted a condor indicates who might be flying by at the Bitter Creek NWF. Photo by Chuck Graham

CentralCoastJournal.com

april 2022 | 25

Crossword

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26 | april 2022

(Solutions on page 28)

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, March 25, 2022

0218 ACROSS

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APRIL PUZZLE

out & About

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some injuries Belgian Expressionist James What might have ___ “Any ___?”

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Châteauneufthe place du-Pape Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than past 8 7,000 Dank puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

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PUZZLE BY AIMEE LUCIDO

Central Coast Journal

Stay up on all the events and happenings in San Luis Obispo County!

SUBMIT UPCOMING EVENTS TO: office@13starsmedia.com

DUE TO COVID-19 ALL EVENTS ARE TENTATIVE AND DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. PLEASE CALL AHEAD OR CHECK ONLINE FOR MORE DETAILS.

every

tuesday

apr

Central Coast Wood Carvers in Morro Bay ST. TIMOTHY’S CHURCH, MORRO BAY

9:30am - 12:30pm Wanting to learn the art of wood carving. You can now meet with a local carving enthusiast. It is open to beginners, intermediate, and advance. You will be learning a wide range of techniques and skills. The sessions are free, but masks are required.

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16

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23

9

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41st Annual Poly Royal Truck & Tractor Pull

Bunny Trail at SLO Farmers Market

CAL-POLY, 1 GRAND AVE, SLO

DOWNTOWN SLO FARMERS MARKET

1pm Put on by the Cal Poly Tractor Pull Club.

Tickets will be available to purchase online through Eventbrite or in-person on the day of the event! For more info visit eventbrite.com

6-8pm Downtown SLO’s Annual Bunny Trail at the Farmers’ Market is free, family friendly, and open to the public. For more info visit downtownslo.com

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23

Egg Hunt and Festivities

Earth Day Fair

17th Annual Taste of Pismo

ELM STREET PARK, ARROYO GRANDE

LAGUNA LAKE PARK, SAN LUIS OBISPO

DINOSAUR CAVES PARK, PISMO BEACH

10am: age 2-6, 10:35am: age 7-9, 11:15am: age 14+ Fun Egg hunt for the family and adults can interact with. For more info visit arroyogrande.org

11am - 4pm Admission is free and children are welcome. Learn how to be part of the change at Earth Day. For more info visit slocity.org

1 - 4pm The best of the best will show off their fine culinary skills to pair with delicious bites with some of the best wine and beer. For more info and to purchase tickets visit pismochamber.com

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11th Annual WALK for Autism & Resource Fair MISSION PLAZA SAN LUIS OBISPO

11:30am - 1:30pm The WALK brings awareness to those with autism. There will be vendor booths with child friendly activities, information, service providers, games, food, and fun for all ages. For more info visit sloautism.org

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

26 - may 1

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29 - may 1

2022 SLO International Film Festival

Morro Bay Kite Festival

SAN LUIS OBISPO

10am - 4pm The Festival is a FREE event for kite enthusiasts and families to watch kites in every size and color soaring in the abundant wind. For more info visit morrobay.org

MORRO BEACH

This year marks the Film Festivals 28th year that brings filmmakers from all around the world to SLO CAL to screen independent films

THURSDAYS

FRIDAYS

SATURDAYS

SAT / WED

Paso Robles

Atascadero

Atascadero

Morro Bay

Avila Beach

Templeton

Arroyo Grande

11TH & SPRING ST

SUNKEN GARDENS

SUNKEN GARDENS

MAIN STREET

PROMENADE

6TH & CROCKER

SAT: A.G. VILLAGE

11:30am - 1:30pm

3 - 6pm

3 - 6pm

2 - 4:30pm

4 - 8pm

9am - 12:30pm

12 - 2pm WED: SMART & FINAL

8:30 - 11am CentralCoastJournal.com

april 2022 | 27

Web browser out & About with a majority market share 16 Let drop, say County of San Luis Obispo 18 Like twill and All meetings below meet at the Countyfaille Government Center, Board of Supervisors Chambers, 1055 Monterey 19Room Rap’s LilLuis___ St, D170, San Obispo.

•Subdivision Vert Review Board • first Monday, 9 a.m.

20 “Told ya!”• first and Board of Supervisors third Tuesday, 9 a.m.

22 Balconette or Parks & Recreation Commission • fourth Tuesday, 6 p.m. racerback Airport Land Use Commission • 23 Wednesday, Be in limbo third 1:30 p.m.

Air Pollution and Control Board • 25 First national fourth Wednesday of every odd fraternity numbered month, with some exceptions.

9 a.m. to officially Local Agency Formation welcome Commission • third Thursday, 9 a.m. transgender Planning Commission • second members and fourth Thursday, 9 a.m.

(2014), County Phone Directory: 805informally 781-5000 26 Close-knit group 15

Dog that smells a lot 34 Group of commuters?

35 Issue *Visit slocounty.ca.gov for virtualultimatums, & up to date meeting info. e.g.

San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority 36 Commissions Phone: 805-781-4472 37 Cross Diesel 179 Street,often Suite A San Luis Obispo, CA found in a93401 Visit: slorta.org muscle car San Luis Obispo County 38 Wait on Office of Education Phone: 805-543-7732 42 Beauty brand 3350 Education Drive San Obispo, CA 93405 43 Luis Get across Visit: slocoe.org 45 Earth Clerk-Recorder San Luis Obispo Office 46 Musical lead-in Phone: 805-781-5080 to “So 8:00 Fine” Monday-Friday, AM -or 5:00 PM, excluding holidays “So Shy” 1055 Monterey Street Suite 47 “Hmm, let’s D120 San Luis Obispo, CA 93408 think where this leads us” 49 Exercise 31

Government and Business

APRIL ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE CROSSWORD SOLUTION D E B T S

B T S H O E

A R R O W

W O R E D O W N

P I A N O B A D A P P L E S

28 | april 2022

S R E A I N F K A T O N O S I T T T E R I C E S H E T L U S E S N S O R

A L A S

S T R U T

P O T

S H H E R E A E R R I P S A E A N A B O X I D L B E E

H A L C O O I R N E O B P E S L L K E E D E N

U D O N E M I R

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F R E S C O E S

E D W I N

A L I C E

S I N E W

Y E N R N S

H E E D S

count

55 56

Gorgon’s lock Uptight

57 Takes for a San Luis Obispo Chamber of while, Commerce in a way Phone: 805-781-2670 895 Monterey St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Visit: slochamber.org DOWN

Cambria Chamber of 1 Unceremonious Commerce

Phone 805-927-3624 2 Band with the Open Monday through Friday 9 to 5 lyrics “When I was younger, Please call first on weekends.

767 Main Street I used to go Cambria, California 93428 tip cows Visit: and info@cambriachamber.org

for fun, yeah /

Cayucos Chamber of Actually, I didn’t Commerce

do805-995-1200 that ’cause I Phone: Mailing Address:want the didn’t PO Box 106 cow be sad” Cayucos, CA to 93430 Visit: cayucoschamber.com 3

Ditch

Morro Bay Chamber of 4 Be with a Commerce

695 Harbor St group?

Morro Bay, CA 93442 Phone: 805-772-4467in 5 Language Visit:which morrochamber.org “thank

you” is “khàawp khun”

19 23

20 24

25

27 28 Avila Beach Community Services District. 31

32

Point San Luis Harbor 42 District

43

Phone: 805-595-2664 100 San Luis Street Avila 34 Beach, CA 93424 Mailing address is: 35 Avila Beach CA PO Box 309, 93424 Visit: 36 avilabeachcsd.org Phone: 805-595-5400 3950 46 Avila Beach Drive P.O. Box 249 Avila Beach, CA 93424 50 51

47

Los Osos / Baywood Park 54 Chamber of Commerce

Phone: 805- 528-4884 56 781 Los Osos Valley Road, Los Osos, CA 93402 Mailing: P.O. Box 6282, Los PUZZLE

BY BILLY BRATTON Osos, CA 93412 Visit: lobpchamber.org

14

Smarter than

Pismo Beach Chamber of smart Commerce

Phone: 805-773-4382 17 They graduate Visit: pismochamber.com quickly 649 Dolliver St Pismo Beach, CA 93449

Flipped 24 Michael E. ___, SUBMIT UPCOMING EVENTS TO: 6 Shows pioneer office@13starsmedia.com moodiness in coronary 7 Substitute for bypass surgery real money 26 Transcript list 8 GET I.O.U.MORE EYES ON YOUR AD 28 Lead-ins to 9 Earth, some prank poetically calls Promote your business 10throughout Bamboozle 30 They catch flies big-time San Luis Obispo County.

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puzzles, nytimes.com/cros Common MENTION THIS AD body AND GET 10% OFF YOUR 1/8 PAGE AD FOR 12 MONTHS types Read about and comment (805) 466-2585 • centralcoastjournal.com Central Coast Journal

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Boy on a tractor, photo by Melissa Jean Photography

april 2022 | 29

Last Word

WILDFLOWERS A-BLOOMIN’

Ablaze with Spring Color

BY BETTY HARTIG

T

he hills are alive! Purple, white, yellow, blue, and orange are just a few of the vibrant colors that dot the trails and hillsides of San Luis Obispo County. It is spring, and wildflowers are emerging with grace and glamour. The varying floras are delightful to view. Some plants and flowers are tiny, barely visible, and others bloom boldly like a spotlight beckoning to not be ignored. Tree and shrub blossoms contribute to the landscape; even weeds are part of the showy spring palette. When does this flower display happen? March is the magical month when it usually begins. Luckily, Central Coast residents and visitors get to enjoy thriving botanical displays for a lengthy period.

shrub bears white flowers and blue powdery coated berries that can be edible if precautions are taken. One vine found in several locations on the Bob Jones Pathway is a wild blackberry.

This plant’s stems and leaves have coarse, hairy leaves with prickly type needles. The fruit can vary in color from light red to deep purple. The berries are very tart, not sugary, like Sweet Tart candy. Fair warning! Choose and pick berries carefully. Not all berries are safe to eat. Highly poisonous black nightshade emerges on the pathway. Possessing white star-shaped flowers as well as shiny blackberries containing atropine, nightshade was used by Cleopatra to dilate her pupils to make her eyes appear large and thus more alluring to her suitors. This is a plant to Spring vegetation activity is easily observed admire, but not sample. The berries are toxic if while hiking or biking the numerous trails within ingested. Long ago, the Native American people the County. Johnson Ranch Open Space, Mon- used black nightshade berry juice for tattooing. taña de Oro, and Harmony Headlands are prime wildflower trails. You can even view flowers on Wildflowers do not only provide a vivid visual the predominately flat asphalt-covered Bob Jones show. Like most things in nature, a purpose is Trail in Avila that is inclusive to just about ev- served beyond what one observes. The colorful eryone. It can, however, be like an Easter egg bouquets provide habitat for pollinators, such hunt, where you must seek and find. What are as bees and butterflies. These flowers benefit insome of the flowers you can expect to see on sects, wildlife, and are important for ecosystem this trail? A variety of lupine with its upright function. During the winter months, when food lavender flower spikes, yellow field mustard, is scarce, wildflower seeds become a nutritional spiny thistle, glossy yellow petaled Oxalis, or- source for small mammals and birds. Wildflowange sticky monkeyflower, to name a few. Indian ers improve soil health as well as prevent erosion. paintbrush bright red tufts often pop out along the trail. The trumpet-shaped coast morning Interestingly, they play a role in improving glory grows well, which like the poppy, closes water quality by collecting water and allowing its bloom to retain heat when the sunsets or on it to slowly soak into the ground, therefore recloudy days. Often the morning glory will wind ducing runoff. This action minimizes the number its way up trees and shrubs, creating a nice floral of pollutants flowing into our waterways. There display on a nonflowering host. Brilliant, deep, are many additional ways wildflowers aid people. orange-colored poppies are a splendid treat to Humans have used plants, including flowers, see. An appropriate symbol of the Golden State, for food, healing ailments, and treating wounds, California poppies became the official California throughout history. state flower on March 2, 1903. Other beautiful contenders were in the running for this honor; Take time to discover and learn about wildpossibly, due to the floral fields representation flowers for not only beauty and fragrance but of gold sought during the gold rush, the poppy also their contributions that pleasantly benefit was selected. the environment. Examining wildflowers can be fascinating; each shape and design are integral Along with appealing blossoms, you can occa- works of art. Lace up your hiking shoes and head sionally spot berries adorning branches of vines, out on a trail while the blooms are out; you are plants, and shrubs, such as the elderberry. The sure to savor the experience.

Lupine

Oxtails

Poppies

DIRECTORY TO OUR ADVERTISERS • YOUR CENTRAL COAST JOURNAL IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING: Alan’s Draperies...................................... 18 Atascadero Greyhound Foundation........... 7 Avila Ranch............................................... 5 Bliss Fusion............................................. 23

Ekmanian Tax & Accounting.................... 11 Farrell Smyth............................................ 2 First 5 San Luis Obispo County.................. 3 Frederick Law Firm, A Law Corp............... 19

Jim Baugh.............................................. 11 Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance......... 32 Reverse Mortgage Specialist................... 18 San Luis Obispo County Office of Education.9

Senior Living Consultants....................... 11 Spirit of San Luis....................................... 9 The Tire Store.......................................... 19 Tom Meinhold Photography................... 11

Wheeler Smith Mortuary........................ 11

Support the Journal and get delivered directly to thousands of addresses in SLO County and dropped at hundreds of local locations • email sales@13starsmedia.com or call 805-546-0609 30 | april 2022

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Better Through Print.™ THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022

EDUCATION

Three TUSD Trustees Face Recall

and Yamagata, Swan, Dubost were handed at letters of intent the last school board meeting

By CAMILLE DEVAUL deronews.com camille@atasca

atascaderone ws.com • $1.00

MARATHON Paso Robles City Council Approves Senior Parking Program

Community Split Over Comments Made Last School Board Meeting

• WEEKLY

BEAR DIPPLUNGE CAYUCOS POLAR A COLD YEAR WITH

Ad hoc committee created to discuss funding for ECHO and to further address city homelessness in

Board recognized Paloma Creek High School for being a Model Continuat photo ion Margarita. Contributed High School 12 and 13 in Santa held on March Spartan Race

By CAMILLE DEVAUL blespress.com camille@pasoro

— On PASO ROBLES N — Three 15, Paso TEMPLETO School Tuesday, March met for obstacles took Templeton Unified City Council courses of the SUPER with 25 trustees were of the obstacleBy CHRISTIANNA of COVID,” also a 1-3k Robles meeting.

Board (TUSD) compete in one MARKS to pull it because place. There was a regularly scheduled notifying them Racers christianna@ata in Santa MargarHead of Media, smaller obstahanded letters an update from Spartan’s Racer said tan Racescaderonews.com The shares They received of kids race with a wave as he file for their participates in being postponed ita on March 12 and 13.

De La Rosa-Stotz days. of the intent to Central Coast the on both Spartan cles Race last weekend Board. The After to take Christine we Paso Robles S Coriginally time that in Santa Margarita, A D E R Owas obstacle ATA recall from the Spartan Race.

Energy, Paso race “Every single — and the 2020 running through Community was held on in 2020, the from all of 2020 and as a vineyard MarchSchool board meeting Unified an event it’s amazing. Robles Police Department, in Atascadero a part of the place in Local racers, racers course. Contributed and come to 10, in the Eagle event took place District and North County (AUSD) photo made itsmet Thursday, Mar. the United States, to see the community a Caltrans quarterly report finally for Afterover room. being postponedparticipate You get of see; it’s after being shut Margarita their regularly Canyon board update. appearancescheduled You get to kind racers worldwide in 2020, TUSD Santa 12 here. board meeting North County that you can’t transportation initial COVID the obstacle Homeless Races. March Leah Penner handed ontoTuesday, down due something appearance after being event in Spartan The El Camino wasinheld Yamagata, 12k just MARKS March 15, at 7 the in shut coming 12 down CHRISTIANNA (ECHO) racers about By President Nelson due competed p.m. following Santa racers lockdowns.

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Paso Robles Trustee Ted Dubost During their the 50K ULTRA orCHRISTIANNA up, everyonefunding — one wasHigh MARKS the 10K ready CONTINUED all the racers getting recall. wasA recognized was SUPER on Black March christianna@ata March Oak 13, the 10K ready.

13, before the event to go, and pretty intent for their SANTA MARGARIT forday Everybody’s seeing locationwith 25 obstacles took being a obstacles.scaderonews.com the much the much the housing Penner read all over a Model day before the event each other, place. meeting Continuatio we ended up having requesting public comment, wasisalso 8,000 racers from went off, we endedDrive.There each other for ECHO a 1-3k kids race Spar- went off, n High Board: School.

SANTA MARGARIT the first time, up at the up smaller obstacles having to pull with or a lot Principal Dr. of $444,000 a letter to the world showed it because of COVID,” of people, obviously, Libby 8,000 A — Over said on both days. one-time request ON PAGE A15 Madding gave racers who race Robles Spartan’s CONTINUED “Every Paso from all of the a presentation Head of Media, all over the world time with us, the City single time that we come froman Christhey’re seeing on all of the school’sGEOLOGYshowed up at the tine De La Rosa-Stotz, costs to their friends. event staffing Spartan theit’s amazing. You achieve- Santa It’s a really good of the 2020 to cover ments this year Margarita on March Race in Spartan Race. the community vibe as for by other get to see soon as you walk that earned 12 and 13.

You get to kind thatofare not paid here. fiscal up. It’s such a The race originally Local racers, racers CONTINUED 2023 see; just to nice moment to take ON PAGE A16 was to take place something from all over thefunders forit’s2022 it all in and be that you can’t in March of 2020 United States, really explain about able to see everybody and finally made and racers worldwideyear. coming as a for the first time its participate COMMUNITY tan Race until and CEO to a Spar- after a while,” his third career in Spartan Races. you actually come.

De La Rosa-Stotz ECHO President items with launchinghunter.

March just the It’s said a of general explained getting hunting for unique treasure everyone back Wendy Lewis kind of feeling you get by the in one way or together experienced The geode rock is ties to history Now intrigued CONTINUED shelter had ON PAGE A16 over a another. His favorite finds are rock, Hiner consulted with since estimated to be many cost increases Santa Lucia with connected to people or events increase is a friend at the its opening. One million years old EDUCATION history alive. , a non-profit shelter has had that bring local to staffing, as the finds are Rockhounds and club minerals unique enough staff Many of Hiner’s founded in 1992 difficulties hiring promoting the The museums, Paso Robles regions services. Before displayed in local project dedicated to uncovered to cover their minerals, Paso Robleswas ECHO and spearheaded including the study of rocks, completed opening the shelter, Society the remodel. as well as in early and fossils

By CAMILLE DEVAUL over 200 Area Historical projected to serve Nacitone gems, blespress.com “Benconcerned February Mendoza, who sciences camille@pasoro a 2019 report and Museum, owns u m , the natural Mendoza people based on u s e2022 formation Meat — he’s also were 224 ckwood) M with the Earth’s a — Paso ( L o also which stated there in Paso Kiwanian Historical The club —isasked PASO ROBLES me to go in Te m p l e t o n By CHRISTIANNA MARKS and geology. unhoused people first year and and treasure christianna@ata takeCalifornia more. However, the a and look of at Robles man their scaderonews.co the Museum, member kitchen, m and it Robles. During remains a Hiner has needed a lotl of of Mineralogica served 600 hunter Dale his greatest collection Federation of opening, ECHO women, with work,” saidisKiwanian is estimated to his personal ATASCADE affiliated Tony home as unearthed what men, RO Societies Villa.

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Before Hiner was main of of Mineralogical Societies. of those from as oneAtascadero That Connect to Hiner Meals donated he worked a complete Paso Robles.

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Police Department. packaging, The project volcanic eruption unearthed the was the heating sits on its and County Roblescompletedofficer, Hiner Salinas Riverbed. police in a week, County Paso Roblesof food happens in from the North as yard a young Yamagata, Swan, andEarth. on the Atascadero formation, District 1 SLO to lay kitchen and Dennis atCassidy Peschong geologic before being delivproperty only the Atascadero Dubost were handed car. unique It wasn’t took Senior in his squad Supervisor John ered to the fossils Citizens Center peopledating of ECHO. art at his home. that his ride-alongs who need it preserving (which spoke in support ago in our community.period letters of intent at is ultimately

by Mealsfollowed effort,” he until two weeks Cassidyused That back to the Neogenemillion Connect Liz Dunn with “I do support this career to clean the “Our focus, Kiwanis Club in ely 23 enforcement North County) (approximat the County volunteers in the last school board generally is the lawthe wife decided the know, of you her remodeled said. “As help cleaning a variation kitchen. Contributed completed PRPD Chief was youth, is estimated butItwhen been and painting ago). rock to discover we see somepath and becamein early 2007. photoLuis Obispo has years February meeting sheetrock of San the kitchen space, years almost perfect thing that 2022.

1997 to million of ECHO minerals and an to be done in over oneneeds but Villa brought that was necessary, uted of Police from to the project. decided that very supportive from law thatthe community, volcanic in new countertops, Many retiring wasn’t members ON PAGE A15 figure of a bird. hundreds of we go ahead After of Kiwanis in Paso Robles. as ago, CONTINUED “Getting

By CAMILLE DEVAUL brought painted and took the kitchen enough worked and collector and do it,” form the in new cabinets. people involved help Meals Hiner helped said Glen treasure hunter “I asked her who That Connect eruptions enforcement, We with something camille@atasca is a well-known remodel were able Hiner to the Dale project who thought who’s in chargeridges ofCasey, for Century deronews.com deliver Kiwanis. agent as important DeVaul/PRP meals estate of Community Photo by Camille After a trip industrial to ascertain two as this it,” said Hiner, real to local homem ago, mountainous onto the a bound to the site by Casey, is aroblespress.co Services at Kiwanis. really, really good stainless steel sinks. paso ON PAGE A15 about 17 years the bird was painted Mendoza, So CONTINUED 21. Then,individuals.

Including TEMPLETO feeling,” and Villa, it was we did a complete said Casey.

Liz D unn, thegot metal detector, N— elderly, his first decided that WEATHER physically rock. revamp the North Templeton Unified Three disabled, County twitter.com/ Casey of the whole 80s, enjoys he the COUNTY had a relationship entire kitchen veterans, and ess kitchen area.

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That Connect, free of charge. handed letters Depot from was EDUCATION That’s how asked by added Villa. facebook.com/ “So what we did, notifying them a previous ess Kiwanians Villa what she Tony Villa, Glen we did a @PasoRoblesPr project. of the intent COMMUNIT Y would complete And when The Atascadero wish for if she to file for their prompted, Kiwanis Casey, and Ben removal of Kiwanis put had a wishrecall from Mendoza list. together a grant thing in the kitchen. every- Club currently has Dunn simply proposal meeting the Board. The board close to to Home Put new 100 asked for floors was held on Thursday, members, and Depot to help down, replaced EDUCATION 28 of the with Mar. 10, some members in the Eagle Canyon worked and contrib- the project. But, sadly, they COMMUNIT Y MOVE 24135 7 board room.

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Three TUSD Trustees Face Recall

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Eats, Drinks Treats

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