Avila Beach Life • July 2022

LOCAL NEWS ... BEACH VIEWS • JULY 2022

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Happy 4 of July th

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2 | Avila Beach Life — JULY 2022

Making Communities Better Through Print™

A Summer of Independence

Publishers

Hayley & Nicholas Mattson editor@13starsmedia.com

LAYOUT DESIGN Lauren Miller

Ad Design Jen Rodman

N

ow that the warmer temperatures are here, there is no better place to spend the summer than attending all the events. From concerts, wine festivals, summer activities (see page 6), eating late dinners outdoors, long days at the beach filled with visitors from near and far, and at the end of the month, the California Mid-State Fair.

A summer of sweet independence.

We start the month of July planning and preparing for our 4th of July activities and BBQs. Getting together with family and friends to celebrate our independence is a summertime staple. But how much do we actually know (and remember learning) about July 4, 1776.

It is important to look back and understand what the founding fathers went through, what they sacrificed, and what our freedom actually means. No matter your political views, we are all here because of that day 246 years ago; now, what we do from here is up to us.

Summarizing the beauty in America can be

Dana McGraw Brooke Brinar

Administrator

Cami Martin office@13starsmedia.com

CONTRIBUTORS Mary Foppiano Betty Hartig

Kathy Mastko

John Salisbury Rick Cohen

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America The Beautiful O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern impassioned stress A thoroughfare of freedom beat Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife.

Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!

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found in the lyrics of “America the Beautiful,” which first appeared in print in the weekly journal The Congregationalist on July 4, 1895, written by Katharine Lee Bates.

In the summer of 1893, Katharine Lee Bates took the trip that would inspire her best-known work. She traveled west to teach English for a few weeks at the Colorado Summer School in Colorado Springs. One day she joined a group of teachers for a trip by wagon and mule up Pikes Peak, a summit in the Rocky Mountains.

When they reached the top, joy at the beauty of the landscape replaced Bates’s exhaustion. Back at her hotel, she wrote the first draft of the poem that would become “America the Beautiful.”

Bates was a noted scholar, poet, and writer.

She was a prolific author publishing many volumes of poetry, books on her travels to Europe and the Middle East, and stories, verses, and plays for children. She also published several books on Shakespeare and pre-Shakespearean English Religious drama.

Bates remarked on the immediate and lasting success of the song, stating, “That the hymn has gained, in these twenty-odd years, such a hold as it has upon our people, is clearly due to the fact that Americans are at heart idealists, with a fundamental faith in human brotherhood.”

We wish you all a very safe and meaningful 4th of July and a wonderful summer. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Avila Beach Life.

Until next time, Hayley & Nic

JULY 2022 — Avila Beach Life | 3 FOUNDATION NEWS AND VIEWS

Simpler Days, Cherished Memories

Rick Cohen

avila beach foundation

G

reetings, fellow Avilones. “Saturday, in the park, I think it was the 4th of July. People dancing, people laughing, a man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs.” Yep, just like last month, I begin this column with another musical reference to times past—this one the popular song released by the band Chicago in 1972. There’s just something about summertime that takes me back to the days when I spent countless hours at the beach with my friend’s tanning, playing frisbee, listening to music, and frolicking in the waves. Kinda reminds me of what it looks like in Avila every summer. Thanks for indulging me and my proclivity for looking back to the simpler days that are etched forever in my cherished memories.

Fast forward to the here and now, I am pleased to report that proposals from eligible agencies/organizations are now being accepted by the “Foundation” for programs, projects,

or events to take place in 2023. Grant applications in Word format can be acquired by logging onto our website at avilabeachfoundation.org. Or, you can email me at avilafoundation@gmail.com to request one. The application due date is September 11. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at (805) 234-0855.

You may recall the “Foundation’s” recent Community Impact Fund Initiative, whereby we sought proposals for projects that could greatly impact Avila Beach. The winning project was selected in April, with details finalized in May, but not in time to be published in the June newsletter edition. So, I am now delighted to report that the I Must be a Mermaid Project was chosen for its creative approach to a growing problem.

Local artist Patricia Martin is the project coordinator, and describes it as follows: “The I Must be a Mermaid Project is a program to promote public awareness of our beach and the ocean through a community participation art installation that showcases the volume of plastic children’s toys left behind on our beach each week.”

Starting the week before Memorial Day and ending the week of Labor Day, selected groups and individuals will be invited to create a mermaid purse inspired by swell shark egg sacks. This I Must be a Mermaid Project showcases material ecology, and everything used can be re-used in another way. If you would like to participate, stop by the Friday night Avila

Farmers’ Market. You can also view the project display on the fence along San Francisco Street in Avila Beach. Our thanks again to the Rossi Foundation for generously making this project possible.

More news comes by way of Chevron and PG&E, both of whom recently awarded grants to the “Foundation” to help cover the costs of our PathPoint summer beach area clean-up project.

They join SLO County District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg, who previously contributed to the project. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning through October 4, a crew from PathPoint will be working to remove sand and debris from designated sidewalks, gutters, and planters along the beach front, making the areas safer and cleaner. The concentration of work is on areas not maintained by the County or Harbor District. The amount of sand and hazardous debris transferred from those departing the beach is immense and builds up as the prevailing winds blow. Having Chevron, PG&E, and Supervisor Ortiz-Legg as funding partners enables us to continue this project. We appreciate your support!

Speaking of PG&E, you are likely painfully aware that we have moved into the season when power outages due to high winds and wildfire danger looms large. This has already occurred a few times. I suspect not many of you receive the PG&E online newsletter published by local representative Eric Daniels, but the most recent edition addresses this problem, so I share with you the following from Eric:

“As wildfire season nears, emergency preparedness is becoming even more critical. We continue to provide portable battery solutions to customers as part of the Portable Battery Program and have expanded funding and eligibility for the Generator and Battery Rebate Program. The availability of Backup Power Transfer Meters, which makes it easier and safer to connect a generator, has also been expanded.”

He continues, “PG&E has activated its Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) on circuits throughout our service territory that include high fire-threat areas, as designated by Cal Fire. EPSS technology helps prevent wildfires by automatically turning off power within one-tenth of a second if an object, like a tree branch, strikes the line. While EPPS improves wildfire safety, customers may experience outages more often, and those outages may be longer in duration as crews must inspect the entire circuit to ensure it is clear of debris before we restore the power. We acknowledge the toll these types of unplanned outages have on residents, businesses, and visitors. Please know, we are taking additional steps to help mitigate these impacts, including improving our communication with customers, adjusting the sensitivity on the settings, replacing equipment to improve functionality, installing additional technology to help identify outage sources more quickly, and adapting patrol methods to shorten restorations”.

That’s it for now, fellow Avilones.

See you at the beach!

Ruh Roh—What Do I Do Now? The 7 trading days ending June 17, 2022 saw historic stock market selling, with 5 of those 7 days seeing 90% or more of the stocks in the major indexes trading down. That hasn’t happened ever, even going back to 1929. After similar bouts of selling, often there has been a rebound that has been substantial.* Of course, there’s no certainty that will happen this time. In fact, a couple of those rebounds were followed by even greater losses. ^ Normally the key for any investor has been to allocate properly between stocks and bonds to reduce risk. However, that hasn’t helped much this year. As I’ve noted in this space, the “60/40” stock/bond portfolio couldn’t reduce risk due to excessive bond valuations, which have also declined.

So, maybe it’s time to figure out another way to de-risk your portfolio and possibly increase your income so you can enjoy your life now. To learn more, please visit our website and/or call for a time to review your situation (no obligation or fee). *Source: Sentiment Trader 06.16.2022: ^This note was written on June 21 so it will be interesting to see if history is a guide

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4 | Avila Beach Life — JULY 2022

Making Communities Better Through Print™

OPINION

A view from the beach …

Mary Foppiano

Avila Beach Civic Association

H

i All — Summer fun came early this year… hot weather, beautiful beach, and severe winds…okay, two out of three is not bad unless you have allergies like I do. Not to mention, of course, the hundreds of tourists that are causing traffic jams, lack of parking spaces, trash on the beach, and noise everywhere.

Don’t get me wrong…we live

in paradise, and I totally understand why everyone wants to join us here. I have lived on both coasts and moved here from Venice Beach, which was a lot of fun…before the pandemic encampment. I have found Avila Beach to be more friendly and welcoming than any place I have lived and never want to leave.

Our local businesses are generous to all of us non-profits and support our community as we try to help our residents and visitors alike. I hope that you will all have a terrific summer and stay safe!

Don’t forget…the Avila Beach Civic Association’s annual Pancake Breakfast and Doggie Parade on Monday, July 4! Breakfast is from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at the Community Center, with tables inside and outside in our Healing Garden. We will have puppy sitters in the garden

to allow pet parents to either eat inside or outside with their dogs prior to the parade. Tickets are $7/ person ($5/person for members) and $3/child six and under. The breakfast is delicious and a great start to your holiday.

Following breakfast, our Doggie Parade will be at 11 a.m. on the Avila Beach Promenade. Registration and check in will be outside the Center from 9 to 10 a.m. and in front of the Old Custom House from 10 to 11 a.m. You can download your registration form at avilabeachcc. com. We are in need of volunteers for both events, so please get in touch with me at (805) 627-1997 or avilabeachcc@gmail.com.

San Luis Yacht Club will be presenting a 4th of July Boat Parade at noon, following the Doggie Parade. The San Luis Harbor Patrol Fireboat will lead the

parade, which starts at Harford Pier.

Boats will be decorated with 4th of July banners and flags and sailed to the mooring grounds between Cal Poly Pier to Avila Pier. The parade will do a few cycles to show off the colors to the crowds. Greg Jackson, SLYC Boat Master, will be sailing Second Wing, the SLYC sailboat that was just relaunched from having being refitted and with new bottom paint. There is no sign-up sheet so far but anyone with a boat, kayak, or paddleboard is invited to join the fun.

The next Avila Apple Festival committee meeting will be in the ABCA office on Tuesday, July 19, at 2 p.m. If you are interested in being part of this great event, please contact Sylvia Remmenga, our Event Chair, at (805) 245-9352 or sylvia.remmenga@gmail.com to get involved. The Avila Apple Festival,

our major fundraiser, will be held on Saturday, September 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. in our Healing Garden.

We need silent auction items and volunteers to help us with an afternoon of wine tastings, delicious appetizers and small bites, entertainment, and other fun activities.

I mentioned last month that we need book donations for our Free Little Library that is located outside the Post Office by our Healing Garden. If you have any books to donate, please drop them at our office or let us know if they need to be picked up. This really is a great way to share your books and find new ones to read.

Cuesta College is offering a free senior yoga class at the Community Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 10:20 a.m. from June 14 through July 19. Register at (805) 546-3942.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Harford Seafood Co.

O

By MARY FOPPIANO For Avila Beach Life

n May 25, I had the pleasure of doing a ribbon-cutting for the Grand Opening of the Harford Seafood Co., a new seafood market located at the end of the Harford Pier in Port San Luis Harbor. It has been some time since a local seafood market has resided in Avila Beach, and Shaun Corrales and Yvette Chaix are proud to bring this back to the Central Coast community. They strive to supply quality sustainable seafood by working with the local fishermen to supply as much local fish to our community as possible.

Their market also brings a variety of seafood to their customers. They have both live and prepared fish in addition to a beautiful oyster bar where they offer a variety of oysters from all over, including local Pacific Gold.

You won’t be disappointed when you visit their one-of-a-kind market and experience their live tanks and oyster bar…and they can shuck them for you! You will also want to try their freshly made ceviche or shrimp cocktail.

There is sure to be something for everyone.

Supplying the freshest, Quality Sustainable Seafood is their commitment to you!

Owner Shaun Corrales cuts the grand opening ribbon.

Harford Seafood Co. is open Wed–Sun from 11am–6pm. Contributed photos.

FURRY SPOTLIGHT

Leo is the Pet of the Month!

By MARY FOPPIANO

L

eo is a 12-year-old rescue pug with a kind heart. Lori and Leo have lived in our wonderful dog-friendly community for 8 years. They used to hike 6-8 miles on all the area trails; however, we are now happy walking to our two parks in our Indian Hill community and seeing their many doggie friends. Leo’s favorite pastime is napping, treats, and an occasional walk at the beach to get a scone. Life is good!

NEXT MONTH’S PET OF THE MONTH

Leo with Lori Green.

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!

JULY 2022 — Avila Beach Life | 5

Mid-Century Life at the Lighthouse

kathy mastako

Board Of Directors Point San Luis Lighthouse Keeper

I

dentifying and tracking down the young military men stationed at Point San Luis after the Coast Guard took over operation of the light station in 1939 is an ongoing pursuit for staff and volunteers. Frequently this research hits a wall, but occasionally there are breakthroughs. The station’s guest register, often signed by A Coast Guardsmen newly assigned to Point San Luis, provides valuable clues. And visitors to the lighthouse sometimes surprise and delight our docents with their tales of living there.

What was life like at the lighthouse during the middle years of the last century? Memories, photos, and old letters shared by Coast Guardsmen, their wives, and their family members provide us with some insight. Here is one of their stories.

Robert Dean “Bob” Bruhn was stationed at Point San Luis on a very short rotation, from March to November 1953. He married Lucille Frances “Frankie” Stonehouse while he was stationed there.

Born in 1930, Bruhn enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1951, perhaps to avoid the Korean conflict. Prior to his transfer to Point San Luis, he was on the Coast Guard boat in Louisiana.

Point San Luis was his first and only lighthouse assignment.

Bob first met Frankie while on home leave in Nebraska in 1952. His older brother Earl was dating Frankie’s friend Jackie. In early 1953, Earl and Jackie married. Bob got leave to attend the wedding, serving as Earl’s best man; Frankie was maid of honor. While back home for the wedding, Bob and Frankie made plans to marry; it was a whirlwind courtship.

These are excerpts from some letters Bob wrote Frankie between March and May 1953, while he was waiting for her to join him: —am now on a light station halfway between Frisco and LA, on top of a mountain. There are four married men here with their families and me. They give me extra bucks for chow, so have my own cooking to do. For the last couple of days, I’ve been on a canned diet. We’ve got one boat to get to shore in, but you have to wait until the tide is in to use it. The only other way is to walk around the mountain or by horseback. The station did have a horse here a year ago, but he got too old…

—I’m the only engineman here, and I believe that’s one too many as I can’t find anything to do.

I’ve got one small boat, but that doesn’t run unless the tide is in and they go to town to get supplies, which is seldom, and a power plant that only runs when the electricity goes out, and that is the extent of my duties.

—There are four other guys stationed here, but they are all married and live in separate houses, so that leaves out even a game of cards or something in the evening. We’ve got a foghorn that keeps blowing and sounds like a sick calf. I guess it’s so the ships won’t pile up on this point that sticks out in the ocean. One of the guys’ wife did send over a piece of pie tonight.

—I’m lonesome here by myself. I wouldn’t stay here if my hopes dwindled on you not coming out

as I would prefer sea duty to this. At least you don’t have to cook, and they have a movie now and then.

This is a good place for a married couple, though.

The past week I have been working on the outboard so we can use it on the skiff when the tide is too low for the big boat. The guy in charge [ John Schulz] took it out for a trial run and also to get the mail.

He made it there alright, but on the way back, it conked out, and he had to row about a mile, so I lost all the points I made.

—I am pretty sure you will like it here as it really is beautiful around the station. There is a pretty nice beach here, so you are going to have to learn to swim this summer. The water isn’t too deep until you get out a ways. They have got the station all sowed with grass and lots of flowers and whatnot, so it looks pretty nice.

—Remember I was telling you last week I had the flu. It just so happened the whole station came down with it. Funny part was nobody had a cold with it, and everybody’s bowels were in an uproar for a couple of days. About the same day all this happened, I started the main pumps for the water to the houses and put some chlorine in the water. I didn’t realize I put so much in until today, when I started the same process and read the directions.

I had put in about five times too much the other day. It’s a wonder I didn’t kill everybody. Anyway, everybody is contented to think they had the flu, and I’m not going to say anything as they would probably hang me.

After they married in May 1953, Bob and Frankie lived in the left side of the Victorian duplex (later demolished). Frankie recalls that it was “real nice inside” with a new electric stove and “Heywood Wakefield furniture with wood arms and cushions.” It was two stories, with a freezer in the dinghy basement. “We had to freeze our milk because sometimes you couldn’t get to town for a month.”

Abalone were plentiful, and Bob used to dive for these mollusks, which he would prepare for Frankie by pounding and pounding them to get them tender enough to eat—but she wouldn’t touch them, delicacy or not.

There were five men at the station at the time. Richard J. Collins and his wife lived in the house attached to the lighthouse (possibly the last family to live in the Keeper’s dwelling), and the Bruhns and another couple lived in the Victorian duplex. The officer-in-charge, John Schulz, who was the best man at their wedding, lived in the “real modern” 1948 duplex, along with another Guardsman named Art Dyer.

Frankie recalls that to get to Avila, they could “walk through the mountain and get thousands of ticks or when the tide was in, we could take the boat.” But taking the boat was very expensive, and tricky. Once a big wave struck while Bob was trying to dock it, and the boat got damaged, “so you pretty much walked the trail.”

On Sundays, Frankie walked the trail to attend mass at the Catholic Church in Avila.

The church, St. Peter’s chapel, had just recently been built. It seemed to her no bigger than a two- or three-car garage. In November 1953, Bob was discharged, and the couple moved back to Nebraska.

Bob and Frankie visited the lighthouse in 1964, with their two sons, Bob Jr. and Shane, during a family trip to California. Bob Jr. still remembers the harrowing Jeep ride up the one-lane, unpaved lighthouse road with its steep drop-off down to the bay—not much different from today, except that now the road is black-topped.

Robert Dean Bruhn passed away in July 2010 at the age of 79. Frankie still lives in Nebraska.

Future columns will feature stories of other

Bob Bruhn on Coast Guard riverboat in Louisiana circa 1952. Photos courtesy of Robert Bruhn Jr.

Coast Guard boat assigned to Point San Luis in 1953.

It was new at the time, Frankie recalls.

A dining room inside the Victorian duplex is shown furnished with Heywood Wakefield furniture. The ceramic bull on the sideboard was purchased by Bob and Frankie Bruhn during their brief honeymoon in Tijuana. This is a rare interior view of the Victorian duplex, which was built in 1890 and demolished in 1960.

The staircase in the Victorian duplex is shown. The railing and balusters are similar to those in the Keeper’s dwelling. On the landing, the open door on the left (not seen) leads to the bathroom.

Coast Guardsmen stationed at Point San Luis during the twentieth century’s middle years.

The stories offer a window into the “Coast Guard era” at Point San Luis. While life at the lighthouse changed after the Coast Guard took

over from civilian keepers, the basic mission— aiding mariners—remained the same.

A shorter version of this article appeared in the April 2022 edition of Keeper’s Log, the Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers’ newsletter.

6 | Avila Beach Life — JULY 2022

Making Communities Better Through Print™

WILDLIFE

Slithering Down the Path

By BETTY HARTIG For Avila Beach Life

A

long the Bob Jones Pathway, many sights and sounds exist that will stimulate your senses. Stately coastal live oaks provide beauty and shade. Bountiful green shrubs line the trail. The adjacent San Luis Creek provides a rich haven for flora and fauna.

Avid walkers, strolling families, and numerous athletes trek the footpath daily. However, people are not the only pathway users. It is also a prime location to encounter snakes! Those slithering reptiles tend to make your heart skip a beat. The warm summer months, together with drought conditions, are optimal times to see these footless creatures.

California has about 50 native snake species.

A high number of those species can be found on San Luis Obispo County hiking trails.

The Bob Jones Pathway is no exception. Be on the lookout! Running into a snake can be a surprise, oftentimes hidden by trail shade or brush. The elongated reptiles are usually perceived as creatures to be feared, which is a misunderstanding. Motion pictures, folktales, and sci-fi contribute to that fallacy. Snakes are a common element in adventure movies; think Indiana Jones. If you want to make an audience squirm, throw in a few snake scenes. Nonetheless, some individuals marvel at its formation. In a few cultures, snakes are considered as good fortune.

Luckily, most of the local snakes are nonvenomous. Some can be quite showy in appearance, such as the shiny scaled California

Kingsnake head close up.

Kingsnake slithering along. Photos by Victoria Morrow

kingsnake with its banded body. Symmetrically designed vertical bands, usually alternating in color, white and black rings or reddish-brown and cream, make the approximately 33-inch body easy to spot. Left alone, it is docile.

Handling or aggravating one can cause it to hiss, excrete a smelly musk, and bite. Another distinctly marked snake is the striped racer, which is about 3 feet 9 inches long. Distinguished by smooth, uniformly black, or brown scales with a single yellow or orange stripe on its sides, a long whip-like tail, and a flattened head. A racer can move fast with its head held high off the ground; hence racers are appropriately named. Gopher snakes are probably one of the most sighted snakes. Gopher snakes are known to grow up to 7 feet in length and are regularly misidentified as rattlesnakes, sharing similar skin markings, hissing loudly, and rattling in imitation of these serpents. The ability to mimic rattlesnakes serves as a deterrent to predators and humans, but rest assured this species is nonvenomous.

Snakes are important for many reasons.

Snakes provide an environmentally friendly pest control service. Not only is this service natural it is also free. Rapidly reproducing rats and mice are snake menu items. Snakes keep the rodent population in check. Often people try to control rodents with chemicals. Those chemicals pollute the environment. Chemicals have a negative effect on the food chain as well. The mouse eats the poison, and the hawk consumes the mouse; you get the idea. It is a devasting domino effect. Some snakes eat other snakes, kingsnakes, for instance. Its diet includes rattlesnakes. Naturally resistant to the venom, controlling the venomous rattlesnake is a provided benefit. Did you know snakes can swallow food whole? A flexible jaw allows them to devour prey larger than their head. An additional plus regarding snakes is they are also prey. Snakes are an important food source for birds and mammals. In nature, it is all about survival; eat what and when you can.

There are many interesting facts about

snakes, including the ability to survive months without eating. Snakes can limit their resting energy because they are cold-blooded, expending the minimum amount of energy needed to survive. Do you wonder how snakes hunt? Snakes smell the air to search for food by flicking their tongue, smartly equipped with a special organ called the Jacobson’s organ located in the roof of their mouth. This nifty organ allows them to pick up scent molecules collected by their tongue. Another nicely designed anatomical feature is their hearing skills. Snakes do not have ears yet can still hear.

Internal ear bones allow them to detect sound vibrations traveling through the ground and air.

A further unique snake characteristic is shedding skin. Adult snakes can shed 2 or 3 times a year. Juveniles will shed more frequently while growing. Rubbing on rough objects allows snakes to scrape off the unwanted skin. The skin will shed either in patches or as one long piece. After shedding, a snake reveals a bright new covering of scales.

Snakes go into brumation during the colder months of the year. The inability to regulate body temperature causes snakes to become sluggish below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Some warm-blooded animals go into hibernation, snakes do not. Snakes find cold-weather shelter in caves, holes, under rocks, logs, in tree stumps, or underground. These winter dens are commonly shared with dozens of snakes.

Undoubtedly the most feared limbless reptile in our area is the rattlesnake. The sound of its rattle can make your knees shake…more on that next month.

July Calendar of Events july 4

july 4

july 4

Avila Beach Pancake Breakfast

Avila Beach Doggie Parade

San Luis Yacht Club Boat Parade

AVILA BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER

AVILA BEACH PROMENADE

AVILA BEACH COASTLINE

8:30am – 11am Start the 4th of July off with delicious pancakes; all proceeds will go towards the operations and maintenance of the Avila Beach Community Center.

11am Check out all the pups dressed for the 4th walking in the parade.

12pm The San Luis Harbor Patrol Fire boat will lead the parade at Harford Pier. Boats will be decorated with banners and flags and sailed to the mooring grounds between Cal Poly Pier to Avila Pier.

july 4 Pismo Beach July 4th Celebration PISMO BEACH PIER

The City of Pismo Beach is excited to welcome Pismo Beach residents and visitors back to the July 4th Celebration! For more info, visit experiencepismobeach.com

July 13, 20 & 27 23rd Annual Atascadero All Comers Track & Field ATASCADERO HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIAL STADIUM

month of july Summer Concert Series ATASCADERO LAKE PARK

6:30pm – 8:30pm Band Line Up Includes: July 2: The Rockin’ B’s Band July 9: The Jump Jax July 23: Ghost Monster July 30: The Cinders Blues Band

July 16 Rock to Pier Run MORRO ROCK, MORRO BAY

8am 3:30pm – 9pm Join the 52nd running of the Brian Waterbury Join in for fun, sweat, and cheers for a track and Memorial Rock to Pier Fun Run. For more info field event for everyone! and tickets morro-bay.ca.us

July 29 – Aug 14

month of july

july 4 4th Annual Colony Days Bluegrass Freedom festival ATASCADERO LAKE PARK

2pm – 8pm Admission is free, and there will be food, beer, and wine available for purchase, bring your low-back lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the show!

July 5, 12, 19 & 29

Point San Luis Summer Concert Series

Atascadero Community Band

PT. SAN LUIS LIGHTHOUSE, AVILA BEACH

7pm – 8pm Bring lawn chairs and a picnic and enjoy the Atascadero Community Band Free at the Lake Park.

For more info and to purchase tickets, visit pointsanluislighthouse.org Band Line Up Includes: July 09: Upside Ska | July 23: Tipsy Gypsies

July 16

ATASCADERO LAKE BANDSTAND

July 20 – 31

Ice Cream Zoofari

California Mid State Fair

CHARLES PADDOCK ZOO

PASO ROBLES EVENT CENTER

5:30pm – 8pm Head to the Zoo for a relaxing and delicious ice cream-filled event! Tickets are $15 for 12 yrs. and up; $11 for 3 to 11 yrs.; FREE to ages 2 and under.

The California Mid State is back in full force; see daily schedule on page 25 or visit midstatefair.com

every thursday

every friday

Steel Magnolias

San Luis Obispo

Avila Beach

888 MORRO ST. SLO

FIVE BLOCKS OF HIGUERA STREET BETWEEN OSOS STREET AND NIPOMO STREET IN DOWNTOWN SAN LUIS OBISPO

AVILA BEACH PROMENADE

Thurs – Sat: 7pm Sat & Sun: 2pm San Luis Obispo Repertory Theater Presents Steel Magnolias, a live theatre production. Cost $20 $38. For more info visit slorep.org

6pm – 9pm

*Due to COVID-19 all events are tentative and dates are subject to change. Please call ahead or check online for more details.

4pm – 8pm

JULY 2022 — Avila Beach Life | 7

Just the Facts: Part 3 ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES (ZEVS)

John Salisbury contributor

T

he last two articles were about the problems of batteries, solar, and windmills and how they shouldn’t be the main source of renewable energy because they are not going to be sustainable. That is because of the lack of supplies, minerals, tariffs, foreign dependence on needed rare earth materials, and numerous other embedded costs you do not hear about.

Plus, the destruction of the earth’s crust from all the digging and just alone the huge amount of non-renewable fossil fuels used throughout the complete womb to tomb operation from mining, processing, construction, and transportation between operations of the solar and windmills to their final destination. There isn’t the physical ability to kick up energy production when needed for hot summers or cold winters because you can’t crank up the wind to blow more nor expand the number of hours of sunshine like you can do by pumping more fossil fuels. It is what it is, and solar and windmills are not the technology to mostly rely upon for renewable energy for the basket to put in all your eggs in.

Watch out this summer. Blackouts are coming, and the 23 percent combination of solar and wind isn’t going to cut it ramping up to help alleviate the increased demand. Look to PG&E cranking up all the large dirty diesel generators they have been quietly buying.

How many Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) are going to be stranded waiting for the power to come on to charge their batteries in a blackout on a trip just from San Luis Obispo to San Francisco or Los Angeles? I can see ZEVs for tooling around town or short distances, but not for anything over 250 miles. I drove by Madonna Inn’s 17 charging stations on a Sunday, probably many travelers on their way home; all the chargers were filled with five cars waiting, which reminded me of the gas lines in the 70s. With only 93,000 public chargers scattered around the country, that is hardly enough to handle the numbers of ZEVs and hybrids out there. Feds sent the states $424 million for public chargers four years ago, and only half has been spent. Some of the money got siphoned off into other projects like lower-emissions bus fleets and maybe a Bullet Train to nowhere. Feds are now proposing sending states $7.5 billion for 500,000 public chargers, one every 50 miles along major routes, but estimates are that 1.2 million will probably be needed in eight years. The money will most likely face a similar path as the first allotment.

A recent study reported by the Wall Street Journal in the San Franciso Bay Area found that less than three-quarters of the charging station worked. Plugs, screens, and payment systems were broken, plus many connector cords weren’t long enough to even reach the car’s hookup port.

You do know if you run out of charge on the road, you will need to call a flatbed tow truck to haul you and your ZEV to a charging station; plus, you can’t tow a ZEV with a chain without causing damage. There is a standard 40-pound battery on board for electrical accessories like radio, air conditioning, etc., so you may be able to get some charging into the 1,000-pound battery, but it is kind of like mating a Jackrabbit with a dairy cow.

With ZEVs at an average of 35 percent more expensive than gas-powered vehicles (new Hyundai - $70,000), Tesla just raised their prices by $6,000 across the board, and others are following suit. Small ZEV car makers are experiencing a cash crunch because of difficulties raising capital and logistics headaches and are trading on the stock market at 80 to 95 percent below their peaks, and several may not survive. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who just exercised a 1.6 million dollar stock option in an electric vehicle technology firm, says if Americans are fed up with high gas prices, they should just purchase an electric car. That is like Marie Antoinette saying, “Let them eat cake,” and you know what happened to her! I am sure my farm worker friends who are squeezed down to just 40 hours/week because of the new time and a half pay rule and usually drive at least 25 miles daily to work with low mpg cars at $6.50+/ gallon can pop for one of them.

A study by the World Bank, in an article by economist Stephen Moore, states that moving to 100 percent wind, electric batteries, and solar energy would be just as destructive planet-wise as fossil fuels because of millions of tons of raw materials needed from non-friendly countries.

We have the potential to dig and process many of these minerals here in the states, but exploration, new mines, and operation of existing mines are being held up by environmental opposition. I guess it is alright to dig into other countries with lousy environmental and labor guidelines that add much more to world pollution than we do.

The President is thinking about invoking the War Time Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of these minerals but good luck with that unless he loosens up the regular

environmental review rules and gets those environmentalists, tribal activists, and uncompromising greenie religious acolytes on his side. With the U.S. now getting around 70 percent of its energy from fossil fuels, getting to zero fossil fuels in the next two decades would be economically catastrophic and the loss of millions of jobs.

Moore, along with E.J. Antoni, also provided an “Apples to Apples” comparison done by the U.S. Energy Information Administration measuring initial costs, the lifespan of generation and storage systems, maintenance and fossil fuel costs, decommissioning expenses since windmills and solar panels do not last very long and need to be replaced, subsidies, etc., and compared with how much electricity is produced over a power plant’s lifetime versus natural gas.

The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Storage (LCOS) used for measures found solar and on-shore windmill farms are four times more expensive than natural gas. Offshore windfarms, upcoming off of Morro Bay, are six times more expensive than natural gas, which is a lot more reliable for the same electricity. I would wager that pumping natural gas out of the ground, which we have a lot of, is a heck of a lot better environmentally than other unfriendly countries around the world digging up the earth’s crust for exotic minerals. Once again, “Green” wind and sun energy are “non-dispatchable,” which means their output can’t be changed to match increased demand.

To put things into perspective, Bloomberg reported that the land space for windmills and solar panels to get to zero carbon in the USA in the next 30 years would require a land area equal to five South Dakotas “to develop enough clean power to run all the electric vehicles, factories, and more.” Just to keep Manhatten lit up at night, you would need to pave over Connecticut with solar farms and windmills. How about a pause while coming up and playing catchup with better zero-emission ideas and in the transition period, beef up our fossil fuel production, open up mines and finish up the nearly completed canceled pipelines without draconian environmental rules, and cut back on the littering and tieing up the landscape with solar and windmills, no more pressuring financial institutions from loaning to drillers, and quit begging hostile and autocratic countries, including sanctioned Iran and Venezuela, all over the world to pump more of their dirty oil as compared ours just so we can get gas prices down. It is just transference because it will be drilled instead of our cleaner

fossil fuels if we import their lousy fuel, a classic “out of sight—out of mind.”

Talk to Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, and other oil-producing states instead. Get back to where we were net exporters again. We should build, replace, or resurrect some refineries since none have been able to be built since the 1970s with a guarantee they won’t be shut down by the government until an agreed-upon time. These would put Americans back working, especially because most solar and windmills products are not made here in the states, we just install them.

Next month, we will propose some ideas to invest in and research for better home-grown emission-free production, including Modular Nuclear Fission Plants, Green Hydrogen, enhanced Geothermal drilling, underwater and surface turbines harnessing tide movement, kite-powered energy by the wind to generators, ocean kites for towing ships, space-based solar harvesting sunlight, better less dependent rare earth batteries, and many more innovations.

“Elite ideology divorced from reality impoverishes people and can get them killed.” Victor David Hanson (i.e. Congo children (40,000) hand digging toxic cobalt for ZEVs and Uyghur and Muslim convict labor in Xinjiang, China for highly toxic polysilicon for solar panels).

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Paine Financial Services 6627-A Bay Laurel Place (Avila Village) Avila Beach, CA 93424 805-473-6679

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Branch office: 1186 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 — (805) 473-6670

8 | Avila Beach Life — JULY 2022

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