Avila Beach Life • March 2024

Foundation News and Views

Things to look forward to in the coming month: Sunday, March 10, is the start of Daylight Saving Time, where clocks are set to “spring forward” one hour. Sunday, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day —

remember to wear green. Tuesday, March 19, the first day of spring, and if you are a sports fan, the beginning of March Madness.

The Avila Beach Community Foundation is pleased to announce the availability of a new grant opportunity. Beginning March 1, the foundation will be accepting applications from local organizations or individuals to apply for a single $8,500 Community Impact Grant. Proposals for this one-time grant should focus on a new, innovative project, program, event, or service to benefit the greater Avila Beach communities, with special consideration given to applicants who would use the $8,500 sum to leverage a matching contribution. Interested parties are required to complete and submit an application and cover letter no later than April 30. To download an application and for

A View From the Beach

Hi All …

My definition of a hero is someone who helps another being because it is the right thing to do. Sandra Ruiz is a hero in my mind … especially since you all know how much I love dogs. Sandra Ruiz was walking through a parking lot and saw little Lucky, a shepherd/terrier/beagle mix puppy born on Nov. 29, 2023, that was for sale. She was afraid that he wouldn’t go to a good home, so he became her unplanned rescue. He is being isolated until they can get him fully vaccinated and he is growing and learning quickly. He is just a baby and gets along with cats, reptiles, and people. His mom is a brindle shepherd terrier with long legs and his dad is a beagle with shorter legs, of course, which Lucky seems to also have. He is crate training easily, funny, and has a little sassy attitude. He needs a loving home with a yard to run out his energy and someone who has time to work with him. If you are interested, please call Sandra at (805) 806-7880 and bring Lucky home.

The Avila Beach Community Center has not been able to offer classes since the pandemic began … but Sue Butzow would like to offer a Posture Class on Thursday, March 7, from 10 to 11 a.m. Sue helps people relieve their chronic pain through the Egoscue Method. Sue suffered low back discomfort for over 30 years until she discovered this method which has become her passion to eliminate pain and increase your energy to live your best life. You can pre-register and/or get more information at schedulicity.com/scheduling/SB4EQQ or call her at (408) 888-4405. She will be charging $20 for the class and will be available on ZOOM for future classes when not in our area.

The Avila Beach Civic Association is hosting our annual Spring Spaghetti Dinner/Bingo Night on Friday, April 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. The dinner will consist of delicious spaghetti with meatballs/meat sauce or marinara sauce, salad, bread, and dessert. Popcorn is served during bingo, and beer and wine are available for sale. Tickets are $10/person and $5 for kids six and under. If you are interested in getting involved with this event or any of our other upcoming events, please contact me at avilabeachcc@gmail.com or (805) 627-1997.

additional information, please visit our website at avilabeachfoundation.org.

This month, the foundation is spotlighting 2024 grant recipient the SLO Noor Foundation (SLONF). The SLO Noor Foundation (SLONF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, volunteer-based, health and safety-net organization.

In 2009, Dr. Ahmad Nooristani recognized the need to provide care to uninsured adults in SLO County. The first SLO Noor Medical Clinic opened in October 2011. The SLO Noor Foundation’s mission is to provide free medical, dental, and vision care to uninsured and underinsured adults in San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. SLONF works to mitigate the effect of the

growing number of uninsured adults residing in our neighborhoods, and the increasing risk of poor health conditions impacted by the lack of insurance. SLONF is committed to helping ensure that all people across our communities feel valued and have equal access to resources, services, and opportunities.

In 2024, the Avila Beach Community Foundation is pleased to award funding to the SLO Noor Foundation to support greater access to free healthcare for the uninsured residents of Avila Beach by increasing the capacity and availability of clinical programs, generating public awareness about SLO Noor Health Clinics, and offsetting a portion of the direct program expenses in providing free healthcare. Until next month, wishing all of you a wonderful March (Madness)!

Avila Community Spotlight: Tanya Richardson

By MARY FOPPIANO For Avila Beach Life

Tanya Richardson is the Director of San Luis Obispo County Parks & Recreation. She was born in San Bernardino, grew up and went to school in Redondo Beach, was a beach lifeguard for LA County, and graduated from USC with a degree in recreational administration. She got a teaching credential from Cal Poly, a second teaching credential in physical education from Cal State Dominguez Hills, and went back and taught at Redondo Beach High School.

Tanya has always loved the outdoors and being in the water. She has taught physical education; been in charge of aquatic programs; supervised a multi-generational center that had a waterpark, wellness center, and gymnasium; and worked throughout the country, including California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Virgina, and back to California, where we are so lucky to have her. She became the assistant director of parks in June 2021 and the director of parks in June 2023.

She has three children: Teagan is graduating from

Southern Oregon with a degree in psychology and graphics design; Tamzyn is a junior at Northern Arizona University in cultural studies; and Canon is a senior at San Luis Obispo High School and will be going to Cuesta College to study engineering in the fall. Tanya has two dogs, 11-year-old Layla and 5-year-old Koda, and Simba, a 12-year-old cat.

Tanya is a member of Pale Kai Outriggers and loves to hike, bike, paddleboard, and camp, to mention a few of her favorite outdoor activities. She loves our Avila community, its location, peaceful walks on the beach, paddling out at sunset when things are calm, and coffee

on the beach in the morning while enjoying paradise … I am sure you all see her trending at the beach which is one of the best things to do in our hidden gem!

As for the Bob Jones Trail updates:

• Ontario parking lot to Octagon Barn — there are two sections now until additional funding to purchase the right-ofway in the center

• Cayucos to Morro Bay pathway is in the permitting process

• Cave Landing/Pirates Cove — ADA parking spots/parking lot improvements and new trash cans as part of viewpoint access

Mary Foppiano Avila Beach Civic Association

(Left photo) Tanya Richardson. (Right photo) Tanya Richardson’s children (from left) Canon, Teagan, and Tamzynre shown with her dogs Layla and Koda. Contributed Photos

Rick

“Were it left to me to decide if we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” – Thomas Jefferson

The landscape of newspapers is in flux, as highlighted by a recent announcement from the editor of the San Luis Obispo Tribune regarding cutbacks on printed editions starting April 15. This decision mirrors a larger trend within the industry as newspapers confront the challenges posed by the digital age while striving for sustainability.

In his statement, editor Joe Tarica underscored the newspaper’s transition towards a more digitally focused future. This shift comes as no surprise, given the mounting costs associated with print production, particularly the steady rise in paper prices over recent years. Many newspapers nationwide have found themselves compelled to halt print operations entirely due to these financial pressures.

The Los Angeles Times, for instance, made headlines at the end of January with news of significant layoffs affecting more than 20 percent of its newsroom — one of the largest workforce reductions in its 142-year history. The necessity for these cuts was attributed to the paper’s inability to sustain annual losses ranging from $30 million to $40 million without commensurate progress in building higher readership, essential for attracting advertising and subscriptions.

Similarly, the historic Santa Barbara News-Press, a venerable institution in California’s newspaper landscape, ceased publishing in July of last year after its owner declared bankruptcy. Despite transitioning to an online-only format in April 2023, the publication’s digital presence also came to an abrupt end when owner and publisher Wendy McCaw filed for bankruptcy.

As the publisher of several newspa pers along the coast, including Avila Beach Life, I hold a deep appreciation for the significance of our print editions. They serve not only as a historical record but also as cherished documentation of local events within our region. Our newspapers offer a tangible account of our community’s narrative during specific periods, providing a unique perspective that digital platforms often fail to capture.

We have made every effort to preserve it, driven by our love for the community, but the financial losses incurred each month have become untenable.

Regrettably, we have had to confront the financial realities of continuing the printing of Avila Beach Life. Despite the support from the Community Foundation covering a portion of the mailing costs and our two advertisers, the publication cannot sustain itself. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we announce the cessation of Avila Beach Life starting in May until further notice.

Should anyone wish to explore ways to support the printing of Avila Beach Life, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at editor@13stars.media I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

We have loved publishing Avila Beach Life, and perhaps one day, circumstances will allow us to revive it once again.

With sincere gratitude,

Hayley Mattson

Publisher, Avila Beach Life

You probably are drinking less corked wines lately. Corked wines are those with that funky, musky taste and aroma that ruin the wine. Cork taint in wine happens when 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), a chemical mold compound, contaminates the wine. Its source can come from many places in the winery but predominantly from lousy corks. Industry wine sellers, restaurants, wine brokers, tasting rooms, etc., are finding fewer and fewer corked wines. In her “On Wine” weekly article in the Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague writes about the cause of less corked wines. Wineries are switching to new processes and products that remove the causes of wine taint. One is the DIAM cork, which has produced its micro-agglomerated cork. It is a chopped-up or ground natural cork treated with the Diamant process. This process uses carbon dioxide, which should make the “greenies” happy by making good use of what their big bugaboo is about: getting it into a state between gas and liquid to take out any TCA

GRAPEVINE

To cork or not to cork

that has found its way into the cork. The problem is they are expensive at around $5 to $6 apiece. It’s not something that you would put in a “Two-Buck Chuck” bottle!

Portugal-based Amorim, the largest cork producer in the world, has spent a third of a billion dollars to come up with a solution for corked wines. They came up with Naturity, a process using heat, purified water, and pressure to evaporate contaminants. They also run each cork through a fast chromatography machine for TCA that, in a second, detects down to 0.5 nanograms per liter (parts per trillion). Also, they run around $5 to $6 per cork, plus the cost of the seal wrapping. There are other processes that also try to tackle the problem. My favorite are, and have been, screw caps.

When we started making wines in 2002 from our grapes below Bassi Estates planted in 2000, we started having taint problems. Sometimes,

a bottle in a case. That got much better when we bought better and more expensive corks. It was still a possible problem when we opened the Schoolhouse tasting room next to the Bob Jones Bike Trail parking lot. It became necessary to taste each bottle before pouring for a dozen or so wine aficionados because they would be heading for the door if the wine was tainted. Of course, our servers never had a problem with that! It was worth it because they became more animated and talked more with the guests.

A year later, after getting to know our clientele better, we figured that much of our wines were being consumed quickly. Many of our guests were vacationing on the coast, and most of our wines were opened within the week or didn’t make it out by the weekend. So why pay for an expensive cork? We were paying about 85 cents for a cork ($1 to $3 now for a

standard quality cork) when it was not needed for supposing aging the wines. Plus, lots of vacationers were without corkscrews, which they had to pick up somewhere, plus a major inconvenience lounging at the beach and pool, hiking, picnicking, etc., and needed something to open and close easily.

If you are carrying a half-filled bottle of wine with a cork in the trunk of your car leftover from a nice dinner, the screw caps give you a lot more security and peace of mind than a cork. Also, an opened wine bottle with a screw cap seems to stay fresher than a cork-plugged one and is still good after three to five days if stored in a dark and cool spot. New Zealand screwcaps 90 percent of their wines and Australia 80 percent. They call them twisties, and others call them screwies.

They also do as good a job maintaining the freshness and quality of the wine as do the top-end quality oak corks for aged wines. Even high-end wine producers, who used to decry their use as a sacrilege, many are losing their snobbery and coming around to using screw caps now that they are accepted by consumers worldwide. Most winemakers now think there is nothing cheap looking about the bottle, and they are much more handy, especially for the desperately needed younger population who want things quick and easy and who have to replace us seasoned citizen wine drinkers. Plus, the screwcap at the cost of around 20 cents for each bottle with the wrapping makes it a much better cost-benefit by far.

“To hold a bottle for five to 10 years, it looks like screw caps are the way to go” — Dale Goode, Murphy-Goode Winery, Sonoma

John Salisbury contributor

ON WINE BOTTLES

Photo by Anthony Atkins

Nightly owl serenades just another aspect of nature in Avila

By BETTY HARTIG For Avila Beach Life

Ahoot and a screech are two familiar sounds heard during hours of darkness in Avila, along with sea lions barking, waves crashing, and our foghorn. These resonating noises contribute a bonus feature of living in a quaint beach town that has a rich land-based ecosystem adjacent to the sea environment.

California boasts diverse

A hoot and a screech

nearby oak forests. We hear them at night. These owls are present during daylight; however, we usually cannot see them. They are nocturnal and excellently camouflaged, well hidden in trees and shrubs.

The great-horned owl is quintessential, producing five to eight deep booming hoots. This readily visualized owl is frequently featured in storybooks. Despite their name they do not have horns. It has a large, stocky body, with enormous yellow eyes and two long tuffs that appear horn or earlike. Ears are simple holes underneath feathers. Greathorned owls have extremely soft, lightweight feathers serving as firstrate insulation during wintry weather, along with helping them quietly fly. Short, broad, wings provide the ability to maneuver efficiently in a forest setting. An especially interesting feature are pupils that open wide in darkness and retinas equipped with rod cells, giving them powerful night vision. In addition, their eyes are not capable of moving

To compensate, heads can swivel more than 180 degrees to look in any direction. Further distinct

characteristics possessed by great-horned owls are a facial disk directing sound waves to ears enabling extremely sensitive hearing. This acute hearing can detect a mouse stepping on a twig from 75 feet. Strong forceful talons and sharply hooked beaks allow them to successfully pounce on and tear apart a creature. This solitary species is well-designed.

Great-horned owls, like most birds, do not have teeth. They eat prey then later regurgitate indigestible pellets. A varied diet consists of small mammals, such as mice, squirrels, rabbits, other birds, and surprisingly skunks. Pee-ew! Flying silently allows them to easily ambush prey, including large birds. Raptors need to carefully avoid becoming an owl meal.

Perhaps you have noticed hooting more often during winter months. That is due to their unusual nesting season. Two mates will hoot back and forth regularly. Quite a duet! Pairs remain together for years, often for life. Interestingly, the female is a larger bird, but males have a bigger voice box, enabling a deeper pitch.

Another owl inhabitant is the strictly nocturnal barn owl which produces eerie screeching sounds, along with harsh screams. It does not hoot. Barn owls have a lanky, ghostly pale appearance, large round head,

a white heart-shaped face, dark eyes, an impressive wingspan, and short tail, which contribute to a loping buoyant flight style.

Barn owls are appropri ately named from nesting and roosting in abandoned barns and other building structures. Along with nesting in artificial sites, holes in trees, crevices, caves, and even nest boxes can be selected. Uniquely created barn owls have external ear canals offset in two ways. One ear is higher than the opposite and is also farther forward on the head. This ear arrangement assists in locating the source of sounds in three-dimensional space with precision. It can establish the direction of sound, its height, and distance. Excep tional low-light vision and keen hearing make barn owls outstanding hunters. In fact, it has the best talent of all animals in sound utilization. These owls are superb mousers providing a key role in controlling small rodent populations. It can catch a mouse in complete darkness. A barn owl’s seeking capabili ties are a welcome to farmers for eliminating unwanted pests, such as mice and rats.

Avila is such a little gem. Our rich environment is filled with the sights and sounds of nature. Delight in nightly owl serenades. Explore, enjoy, and preserve Avila for future generations to experience.

Skip

hiking trails and has brought them lots of joy and lots of exercise. Skip has made friends with Bo and Buddy and is looking forward to making many more friends.

NEXT MONTH’S PET OF THE MONTH

Please send your pictures and a short paragraph about your pet to avilabeachcc@gmail.com Thanks, and introduce us to your furry friend next month!

Investing in a Crazy World

I was thinking the other day about all the problems we read about in our daily news feed:

1) Ukraine/Russia War; the Israel/Hamas War; Oil shipping problems in the Red Sea

2) Inflation staying high—prices up 30% at the grocery store in the last 4 years^

3) Interest rates remain high, manufacturing is slowing*, and regional/small banks are in trouble^*

4) Concerns about border security and relatively few people happy with our presidential choices.

5) Japan, Germany, and the UK in technical recessions^^

I bring this up is because none of this has made a difference to the stock market and, as I type on Feb 22, 2024, the major indexes are trading at all time highs. So, what does matter? Alan Greenspan said this: “Fear and euphoria are dominant forces... Bubbles go up…as euphoria builds...fear hits, and it comes down sharply.” “... participants in financial markets are susceptible to waves of optimism.”

“It’s only when the markets are perceived to have exhausted themselves on the downside that they turn.”

Notice there’s nothing there about valuations or interest rates or inflation. It’s all about sentiment. Positive sentiment is now off the charts. At some point it will change and then what is your plan?

We all know “there’s no free lunch” and, eventually, the bill is paid. Give yourself a New Year’s present and destress your investments so you are prepared for when the euphoria ends.