SLO LIFE Magazine Dec/Jan 2016

If you don’t recognize the sender of an email in your inbox, or a message appears to be sent from your Nana, or your cat Leon, both of whom you know hate emailing (those darn tiny keys!), delete the fishy email immediately. We guarantee you if Nana is trying to get ahold of you, she’ll call. You know how she loves to hear your voice.

SARAH BELLUM

Q&A

Associated with Leadership SLO since its inception 25 years ago, Sandi Sigurdson shares her insight on the organization.

On the Rise

A natural born leader, Victoria Paige Smith shares her ambitions for the future.

Out and About

After a more than two-year-long closure, the town of Cayucos celebrates the reopening of its iconic pier.

Now Hear This

With a penchant for rock, the bandmates who make up Hot Tina are drawing a crowd and breaking stereotypes along the way.

Explore

After a long work week spent on her feet Paden Hughes hunts down one of San Luis Obispo’s best kept (affordable) secrets and indulges in a foot massage.

Dwelling

The Cameron’s thoughtful attention to detail combined with a creative eye bring this California bungalow back to life.

Real Estate

We share the year-to-date statistics of home sales for both the city and the county of San Luis Obispo.

Inspiration

Publisher Tom Franciskovich shares his inside perspective on literacy and its often misunderstood and overlooked impacts on our community.

Health

With winter upon us we hit the books to discover seven savvy ways to keep the blues away.

Taste

From old school to new school and everything in between, Jaime Lewis savors some of the Central Coast restaurants’ best made steaks.

Kitchen

Move over spiral sliced ham, Chef Jessie Rivas shares his recipe for pork loin roast just in time for the holidays.

Happenings

Check out the calendar to discover the best events around the Central Coast in December and January.

After Hours

With strong convictions and voices to match, the Purify’s reveal their secret to lasting love and their passion for building up the community around them.

The Last Word

Activist William Ostrander takes his turn on the soap box and discusses his thoughts on campaign finance reform.

Bad Grammar

Words have generally come easy to me; math, not so much. That is why it felt like such a cruel irony when, as a seventh grader, I settled into my desk in the corner of the English 1 classroom. On the chalkboard Mrs. Maddox scratched out something that looked suspiciously like long division—she called it “diagraming a sentence.”

Up to that point, I had never given much thought to subjects and predicates—never knew they existed, to be honest. Most of the time, a story would pop into my head and I would jot it down on paper, oftentimes one of those blue composition booklets, then grab a football and head out to recess. Done deal. Now I was learning that there were rules involved, lots of rules. And, these weren’t the logical rules of mathematics. They were ridiculous, arcane, arbitrary rules.

It was during a visit to my Aunt Melba’s house when I first debated proper comma usage. Aunt Melba was actually my mom’s aunt, which made her my great aunt. She was a child of the Depression who saved just about everything, and repurposed and reused almost all of it. She “upcycled” before it was cool. In her bathroom, which was so small that I could almost touch two of the opposing walls with my outstretched fingers, I found the most confounding bit of grammar I had come across at that point in my young life. Sitting there on the back of the toilet, framed a hand-stitched placard that read, “We aim to please you aim too please.” Although I suspected I was dealing with a dangling participle, at the very least I figured a comma or two was in order. Perhaps, “We aim to please, you aim too please.” Or, two, “We aim to please, you aim too, please.” Or, even three, “We aim to please, you aim, too, please.”

It’s funny how much a comma—or lack thereof—can really screw up a sentence. And, it’s not uncommon for a healthy debate to break out here while copy editing the magazine. Consider some classic examples concerning the power of a comma. The most shared story, perhaps, is one you may have heard a variation of at some point. In the early twentieth century, a man was sent on an expedition to the Congo in search of a gorilla for a zoo in New York. The man sent a telegraph back to his boss which said, “They want $75,000 for the ape. Should I buy it?” His boss immediately replied back, “No price too high.” And, the man showed up a few weeks later with a seriously overpriced gorilla. The boss, of course, messed up the grammar after “No.” See how, “No, price to high” completely changes the meaning?

If that is not enough to illustrate the point, consider another, much more controversial example. Think about how grammar can affect this statement: “A woman without her man is nothing.” Depending on your point of view, and likely your gender, you may add a couple of commas. “A woman, without her man, is nothing.” But some different, and likely more accurate statement, comes about with different grammar. “A woman: without her, man is nothing.” You can see how complicated this stuff becomes, but also how important it can be. [oops… I just ended this sentence with a verb!] And in this new era of Tweets, texts, and posts, bad grammar can be found everywhere. Yet, there is hope, as in the case of the man buying a gorilla in the Congo, if he were contemplating the purchase today, he probably would have done a video conference.

I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone who had a hand in producing this issue of SLO LIFE Magazine and, most of all, to our advertisers and subscribers—we couldn’t do it without you. And, to you and your family, my best wishes for a happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2016.

Live the SLO Life!

Tom Franciskovich tom@slolifemagazine.com

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PUBLISHER

Tom Franciskovich

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Sheryl Disher

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Jeanette Trompeter

Paden Hughes

Dawn Janke Jessie Rivas Jaime Lewis William Ostrander

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Trevor Povah

Mark Gvazdinskas

Elliott Johnson Gil Igleheart

Tina Morabito Waggoner Scott Kam

CONTRIBUTIONS

Have some comments or feedback about something you’ve read here? Or, do you have something on your mind that you think everyone should know about? Submit your story ideas, events, recipes and announcements by visiting us online at slolifemagazine.com and click “Share Your Story” or email us at info@slolifemagazine.com. Be sure to include your full name and city for verification purposes. Contributions chosen for publication may be edited for clarity and space limitations.

ADVERTISING

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NOTE

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR info@slolifemagazine.com 4251 S. Higuera Street, Suite 800 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

AT HOME

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BEHIND the scenes

It was the first time that an interview subject showed up without any shoes, and it was a cold day! She rode her bike to our office. It was an old Schwinn that she had crocheted with these funky plastic doilie-like things. She said the bike was about 30 years old, and you could tell when we took turns lifting it off the ground. It must have been made out of solid steel because it weighed a ton.

We really get to know the people we write about, particularly with the “Meet Your Neighbor” feature. It usually amounts to a couple of interviews, some follow-up phone calls, then a photo shoot, sometimes two. After talking with Sarah we decided to meet her out at Avila Beach to do some photography. True to form, she pedaled her bike all the way out there, bare feet and all, to meet us at the pier.

of a buzzword these days, in that everyone seems to talk about what they are passionate about. Interestingly, Sarah is probably one of the most passionate people we have ever met, yet she never once used the word “passion” in talking with us.

You said it... LIFE

Thank you for researching and writing such a thorough article on WILD CHERRY CANYON and its history of conservation deals falling through. Such a sad history, but hopefully a good ending is finally in the works.

MEET

JEREMY BATES INSPIRING OUR YOUTH & DEALING HOPE

Thank you for writing the special feature article about WILD CHERRY CANYON You provided clear, concise, historical information, along with important issues related to Avila Beach. Your introduction perfectly expresses the concerns that Avila residents as well as visitors have regarding Avila’s unique location. Currently, Avila advocates are asking the County Board of Supervisors to responsibly consider the negative impact of the numerous “mega” proposals for the area. As you mentioned, traffic and parking are already beyond the maximum.

As you wrote about, traffic is bad on many days, water is scarce, and we live with the possibility of an earthquake, tsunami, fire and nuclear accident. And with one road out, this is really scary. To think of adding hundreds more people and cars from huge developments is mind-boggling.

— HEATHER NELSON

Very nice article about WILD CHERRY CANYON , Tom Franciskovich. Thank you for putting it altogether for those of us who have followed this project over so many years.

I was very happy to see that the potential for conservation of the property is still a possibility. It seems like such appropriate use of the land at this time and in this community.

What can us citizens do to help move this along?

BY TOM FRANCISKOVICH

was much smaller in scale to boot. But, the little campground-by-the-sea was a nearly universally supported project and would serve as the perfect market entry for HomeFed. Plus, their point man, Blessent, could move up to the Central Coast and start engaging in a more meaningful way as an Avila local. The whole thing made sense, until it didn’t. In a surprise move, this past August, HomeFed announced that it was pulling out of the Harbor Terrace

100% of the necessary funds accounted for, the final hurdle facing the ALC was the Public Works Board hearing where the formality of allocating $6.5 million of State Parks funds—the last piece of the puzzle—would be

eucadia needed a Plan B, so it tasked HomeFed with envisioning a new destiny for the property: high-end estate homes. To test the waters, a senior vice president from HomeFed, Kent Aden, and their local frontman, a consultant named Tom Blessent, invited Woodruff out for a cup of coffee in downtown San Luis Obispo. After some pleasantries, the pair carefully moved the cups and saucers from the table and unfurled a set of oversized papers, flipping through them slowly, one page at a time. “They showed me very detailed plans,” Woodruff recalls, “descriptions and pictures of Mediterranean-style houses, landscaping, and other buildings. I told them immediately that I most definitely did not think that it was a good idea.” Despite Woodruff’s unambiguous response, HomeFed decided to share their idea at a special Avila Valley Advisory Council meeting. Although they never unveiled the detailed plans featuring the exquisite Italianate architecture of stately homes overlooking the Pacific, they did go on record explaining that they were looking at developing “as many as 1,500 homes” to help alleviate some of the pressure felt by “the lack of affordable housing” in the area. The energy in the room was tense, and although the crowd was polite, it was clear that if it had come to a vote, it would have fallen somewhere between “No” and “Hell no.” But, HomeFed was undeterred. It had experience with large-scale development, and suspected that it could slowly win over the natives. Maybe it could be “greenwashed” by building the much talked about trail connecting Avila Beach to Montaña de Oro. If only it had a foothold in the community so that it could begin to foster relationships with local politicians. That foothold came in the form of the Harbor Terrace Project, which HomeFed bid on and won. Curiously, it was unlike any of its previous developments, and

forge ahead while everyone else goes on with their lives, when suddenly, one day, tides turn, zoning changes, and the project is rubber stamped. Denise Allen, a local doctor and See Canyon resident, is hoping to change the way the game is played in the future. In 2000, the SOAR Initiative in San Luis Obispo was proposed but ultimately failed with county voters. The legislation, which stood for Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources, has been adopted in various forms in an increasing number of communities nationwide, including in Ventura County where it was designed to put rezoning matters before a vote of the people, effectively ending the practice of developers buying up agricultural land then pushing the planning department to rezone, or “upzone,” for a much more valuable residential or commercial use designation. As of now, the initiative Allen is currently contemplating would cover just the Wild Cherry Canyon. It remains to be seen if it will end up on the ballot.

It can be reasoned that it is the zero-sum quality of large-scale development that stirs the emotions on either side. Just the fact that we have an “either side” makes it selfevident that when one of those sides wins, the other loses. And vice versa. But, maybe Wild Cherry Canyon is setting up to become one of those elusive “win-win” deals that self-help gurus all seem to talk about. Conservation appears to be the only way forward. On the one hand, Leucadia stands to hit a home run now with the real estate market recovering. Instead of the land value coming in at $21 million as it did in the last appraisal, it is likely now in the $24 to $25 million range. Considering an initial purchase price of around $5 million, that’s a pretty sweet profit. And, for “we the people” of the Central Coast, gaining access to a natural preserve in the form of a state park that connects Avila Beach to Montaña de Oro with a 20-mile trail is a unique opportunity to benefit many generations to come. And, it appears that a deal is within reach, as Sacramento is now running surpluses, and the guy who would personally oversee the process, Secretary of Resources John Laird, who, incidentally, in 2010 was bested by Sam Blakeslee for a seat in the state senate, has shared privately that, “the State wants to do this.” The only question now remaining is, “Do we want to do this?” SLO LIFE

I wanted to thank you for your well-written article on WILD CHERRY CANYON that appeared in the Oct/Nov issue. Your opening paragraph very adeptly touched on the myriad of issues we face in Avila with parking and traffic. The remainder of the article is an excellent overview of the historical perspective and current situation with Wild Cherry Canyon.

— JIM HARTIG

I enjoyed the IN BOX letter written by Odile Ayral in your last issue because I’d been watching the same thing happening with the County of SLO. I know nothing about Poly, but since I came to the County in the 60’s the ratio of population to administration has been a joke. The services have gotten no better because the actual number of workers has not grown with the increase in bosses. It is what my husband had called “welfare for the college graduates.”

WILD CHERRY CANYON

We hear you...

BY NICKI NYSVEN

were crawling on her. She had trouble bending over and could only reach as far as her knees.

Symptoms continued, and when she was in 4th grade, her knees hurt so much she was no longer able to participate in sports. She had loved playing soccer, but I had to pull her from the last game of tournament because of her pain. It was devastating for her. The pain became so unbearable, she was even unable to participate in school recesses.

I promised her that would never give up trying to find out what was causing her so much pain. There had to be a reason, and I wasn’t going to stop until we had an answer.

For six-and-a-half years we had hundreds of doctor appointments, volumes of blood work, MRIs, CAT Scans, and specialist after specialist, including a team of physicians at a children’s hospital within a major California university. We were told that they could not find anything wrong with her other than a vague diagnosis of Reactive Arthritis. They said she would have to live with the pain and learn pain management for the rest of her life.

Then, took her to a naturopathic doctor (ND) who ran more extensive lab tests, and when they came back, they showed CDC Positive for Lyme disease. We finally had the answer that I promised my daughter.

Looking back, I now believe my son contracted Babesia around the same time frame that my daughter contracted Lyme. With all that I have learned about the diseases this past year now recognize that he had the symptoms all along, but was able to function. The symptoms were subtle enough at first that he felt it was normal for him. His insomnia, stomach pain, migraines, and random body extremity pain

I was most interested in THE LAST WORD, “Creating Awareness” regarding Lyme Disease. There was one very important word not mentioned: TICK.

Ticks are the cause of various forms on Lyme Disease. I was bitten many times by ticks and fortunate not to contract any aspect of the disease. I did see the doctor very quickly as a precaution.

People, look on the Internet or in books to see what these ugly bugs look like and check for ticks on your dogs and when you go hiking in woody or grassy areas.

Thanks to Nicki for a great article, THE LAST WORD, on Lyme.

Not only do people on the Central Coast not know about Lyme, but neither do a HUGE segment of the medical community.

I contracted Lyme on the East Coast and my daughter and husband, due to researching the internet finally found help for me. I had seen four doctors, after a series of ailments: neck pain, arm paralysis, Bell’s palsy, polyarthritis of my lower limbs, none of whom suggested a test for Lyme (and one of them had a wife who had Lyme... go figure).

I was finally treated by a wonderful infectious disease internal medicine MD after suffering these major neurological symptoms.

There are several good documentaries highlighting the focus of special interest groups (i.e., medical, insurance and pharmaceutical industries) and their impact on the treatment and diagnosis. Take a look at “Under Our Skin,” and “Touched by Lyme.” They should be mandatory material in every medical school in America.

Increasing awareness is essential. Lyme is one of the most prevalent undiagnosed and mis-diagnosed diseases in this country.

ISRAEL

— GRACE AND MIKE VAN DOREN

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@marvelous

Michael Hunt

Home for the Holidays

PHOTOGRAPHYBY MARK GVAZDINSKAS

Central Illinois and the Central Coast are quite a bit different, and that is especially true during the holidays. For Mark Gvazdinskas, growing up in the Midwest meant dramatic weather and often cold, really cold, winters. While there is something undeniably nostalgic about seasonality, perennially sunny California is hard to beat. Except, maybe, during the holidays.

Drawing and painting always came naturally to Gvazdinskas, though he claims to be “not that good at it.” With that said, it was during a trip while a student at Colorado State that he stumbled upon his lifelong pursuit. New Zealand provided all the fuel the rookie photographer would ever need to stoke what is now a full-blown passion for landscape shots, particularly those where creating a surrealistic effect is possible. Years of feverish study and experimentation followed, as did a never-ending quest for more, new vistas. Before long he found himself teaching photography, this time with a group bound for Iceland. But, it was during a monthlong road trip with a buddy that he discovered the Central Coast. After couch surfing for a couple of weeks, the recent college graduate vowed to return just as soon as his “ski bum gig” in Colorado finished that winter. True to his word, he returned, this time with a trunk loaded with camera equipment.

Craving some snow and missing family, Gvazdinskas, now a professional photographer, left his home in Avila Beach one morning before first light on an exceptionally cold December day to practice a new photographic technique he had been studying. On his way to work, he spotted some dim lights just off the shoreline to his right and curiosity led him to the Pismo Beach Pier. Unfolding his tripod, the bitter cold sent a shiver immediately transporting him to his childhood. With his Nikon D800 fitted with a dark filter and a 70-200 mm lens, the shutter was set for a long exposure, about ten seconds. With the pier remaining stationary, the waves in the shot you see here appear to be in constant motion. Looking up to behold the majestic beauty of the deep blue sea, Gvazdinskas whispered under his breath through a widening smile, “I see no need to move from here, ever.”

SLO LIFE

...the bitter cold sent a shiver immediately transporting him to his childhood.

Around the County

OCTOBER ‘15

10/7

By a 3-2 vote, with Debbie Arnold and Lynn Compton against, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors opted to explore methods to partner with Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties to bring consumer choice when it comes to electricity. Currently, PG&E enjoys a monopoly with its utility service, but by forming a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA)—similar programs currently operate in Sonoma and Marin counties—locals will have the ability to choose an alternative power source, which will likely lower rates and offer more environmentally-friendly options. The City of San Luis Obispo endorsed such a plan in March.

10/19

Countywide, the economy has not only recovered from the Great Recession, but also appears to be expanding. With an employment rate of just 4.1% and construction booming, San Luis Obispo County embarks on $100 million in new building projects, including the women’s jail expansion ($40 million), juvenile hall expansion ($21 million), a new airport terminal ($32 million), and reconstruction of the Cayucos Pier ($4 million).

10/22

A Thousand Oaks-based attorney was arrested in a San Luis Obispo courtroom for resisting an officer. The 49-year-old lawyer, Jennie Mariah Kelly, was apprehended during the seventh day in front of a jury panel that was to decide a civil case involving the Atascadero State Hospital and the California Men’s Colony versus a variety of State agencies. Trouble started during a heated exchange with opposing counsel which led to Kelly shouting and then resisting the bailiff’s attempts to remove her from the courtroom as ordered by Judge Barry LaBarbera.

10/19

The long-prosecuted saga involving Kelly Gearhart—a real estate developer and former Atascadero Citizen of the Year, who had been convicted of defrauding Central Coast investors through an illicit Ponzi scheme—finally came to a close when 67-year-old James Hurst Miller was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison. Miller, who had operated Hurst Financial as a middleman for Gearhart’s activities, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and money laundering.

10/30

Public feedback was solicited on a new proposed development dubbed San Luis Ranch, which would include up to 500 new homes and 350,000 square feet of commercial space on the 131-acres historically known as the Dalidio Ranch. Concurrently, Avila Ranch—a proposed 700-home development near Buckley Road and South Higuera—was also seeking citizen input. In both cases, significant concerns about water and traffic were voiced. Both developments will likely see a long road ahead if approval is to be gained.

NOVEMBER ‘15

11/3

A year-long whistleblower lawsuit against the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) finally comes to an end when the organization reached an undisclosed settlement with Dee Torres-Hill. The suit had alleged that Torres-Hill was the victim of retaliation by her then employer, CAPSLO, after she expressed concern for the safety of homeless clients at the Prado Day Center and the Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter. Conversely, CAPSLO had claimed that Torres-Hill, the wife of Supervisor Adam Hill, had been demoted as part of a staffing reorganization to operate more cost-effectively in order to better serve the homeless population.

11/5

An unexpected choice emerged when it was announced that Deanna Cantrell of Mesa, Arizona would be tapped as the new SLOPD Chief. In May, SLO City Manager, Katie Lichtig, fired then Chief Steve Gesell at a cost to the city of $120,000. While it was widely expected that Lichtig would have selected one of the SLOPD Captains, Keith Storton or Chris Staley, who had been taking turns as interim chief, instead she opted for the Arizonan, which is ironically where Gesell had spent most of his policing career.

11/14

Chevron submits an application to convert its 95-acre ocean front property, formerly a tank farm, into a 232-unit resort for Avila Beach. Pushback from locals is decisive and immediate, with most objections centering on concerns about traffic into the tiny seaside village. The proposed development comes on the heels of the already approved 184-unit Harbor Terrace campground, which is expected to add significantly more traffic upon its anticipated completion next year. Avila Beach is also subject to a proposal to develop Wild Cherry Canyon, which would bring as many as 1,500 new homes to the area.

11/9

While playing near a known homeless encampment in Little Morro Creek next to Lila Keiser Park in Morro Bay, two young children were accidentally punctured by a discarded hypodermic needle. Previous efforts by the city to clean up the creek were met by a recent resurgence of the homeless population in the area, which has coincided with a corresponding increase in calls to the police department for various issues.

11/17

The San Luis Obispo City Council weighed in on Cal Poly’s Master Plan, the governing document for the campus over the next twenty years. By a 4-1 vote, the councilmembers elected to craft a letter asking university president Jeffrey Armstrong to incentivize faculty and staff to live in the existing neighborhoods near campus while encouraging an increase in new on-campus housing construction for students. The lone “no” vote came from John Ashbaugh, who argued that the city should take a stronger position on the addition of a university sewage facility as well as plans for new neighborhoods north of Slack Street and west of Stenner Creek Road. SLO LIFE

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

For twenty-five years, SANDI SIGURDSON has been involved with Leadership SLO, a yearlong educational program designed to strengthen community involvement within the county. Initially a member of the first class, and currently the organization’s Executive Director, she also counsels inmates at the county jail as a volunteer, sits on the board of the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and would like to square dance more often with her husband, if only she could find the time. She stopped by to visit with us recently…

What do you remember from that very first Leadership class? We were on our Ag Tour Day down in South County and a farmer/rancher named George Dana was leading the group. Now, George is a pretty conservative guy; and I’m not. At one point we were standing side-by-side looking at the exact same landscape, which had farm buildings in the front and fields behind and the hills further away; some more farm buildings and a house. And George says, “When my people got here,” and the Dana family goes way back, “there was nothing; and look at what we’ve built.” And somehow in that moment I got it. What he was saying in terms of his work, his family’s history, their productivity, their contribution to the community, making food for people; and that was now side-by-side with my point of view. I just wanted everything to be green and the way it was when, you know, when it was created. And I just kind of understood, in that moment, how two people could look at the exact same thing and hold very different, but very true thoughts. That really struck me, and has carried with me for all these years.

Coming out of that Leadership experience you actually decided to run for political office, right? Yes, I entered the race for District 3 Supervisor. Shortly after declaring my candidacy though, my husband [Steve McGrath] and I were in a head on collision with a drunk driver. It took us out of action for quite some months. That really interrupted the campaign. It was bad. It was 20 years ago this month, actually. We were out on the 227. We were coming home from the Symphony. We used to perform down at the Church of the Nazarene in Pismo Beach. I had a cash box from the event in my lap and, thankfully, I didn’t have an airbag on my side, because a drunk driver was coming the other way and tracked our headlights; and it was slam, pretty good speed and drove the front of the car into the cash box, into my ribs and ruptured my spleen. I was very lucky to be alive. Once I came out on the other side of that experience, it took a long time to get healthy in my heart, and my head, and my body. I realized that I didn’t really have the fire in my belly to pursue politics the way I think you need to. You need to have that passion for it.

What is it about Leadership SLO that drives your passion now? It’s fabulous, just fabulous to watch a couple of things. One is the relationships and the kindness between people that might not otherwise spend time with each other. You know, whether it’s a significant age difference, or I don’t know what peoples’ political leanings are going in to something, but often they’re revealed over time. And to see people forge really deep friendships and caring despite their political views, that’s

really rewarding. It’s great to see people raise their hands after Leadership. Watch them say, “Yeah, I’ll be part of this board, or I’ll get involved with something to make the community better, stronger.” It’s so cool to see people who may not have been involved in the past graduate from Leadership and put their heart and energy to giving back to the community in the way that they really wanted to, in a way that it really making a difference.

I want to switch gears for a minute and talk about you, Sandi. Tell us about yourself. Well, I grew up in Southern California and was really shaped by that city, Los Angeles. I lived in Inglewood; travelled all over the city on the bus with my sisters. We spent a lot of time at Griffith Park and the beach. I think my parents helped me cultivate a real affection for the place. Then I went to University of Colorado at Boulder, got my degree there in political science. Came back to California and worked in the hotel and restaurant industry for a long time. I worked at a resort in Big Sur, Fernwood. I was there in the very early 70’s and had a great time. Then I was the manager at Cambria Pines Lodge. Steve and I got married, and we made a decision—because I’ve had some nice opportunities to move up in the restaurant and hospitality world and go to the corporate side— but we made a real decision to stay here and be part of this community. And I’ve seen other couples struggle with that same decision. You know, where they have to kind of decide, “I could be doing something bigger, better paid, more prestigious.”

So, you stayed here… Steve was a construction person and it was after we got married—we’ve been married for 30 years last month—he got his contractor’s license and he swung a hammer for a lot of years. Went on to CAPSLO and now the work that he’s doing with harbors, first Port San Luis and now San Mateo. We have two daughters and a son; two grandkids. We’ve been living in our little house on Buchon Street forever. We call it the “working class part of Buchon,” it’s not the cute Victorians. [laughter] Yeah. It’s a sweet house, 1,000 square feet. We always thought, “How can we possibly raise three kids here?” We did. And now they’re all living some place else and 1,000 square feet is just fine. You know, it’s been really special to be in the same place to watch my kids grow up, and see their friends grow up. It’s one of the things that I really treasure. I can’t believe that Sarah, our daughter Sarah—I wonder if it’s okay to say that she’s 40?—she is. When her friends come to town, we still get together; and to be able to watch these wonderful young women, all of them, making their way through life with curiosity and art and family at the heart of whatever they’re doing, it’s just wonderful.

TRASH TALK

By day, you can find SARAH BELLUM working at the Hemp Shak in downtown San Luis Obispo, by night she is busy trying to save the planet from its addiction to all things plastic. In her free time she can be found roaming Central Coast beaches collecting trash, crocheting bikinis from plastic bags, blogging about how to live life without creating any trash, and advocating a simpler existence for us all.

Let’s take it from the top, Sarah. Where are you from? I’m from Portland, Oregon. I really loved it there, it was nice growing up by the forest and just having so much open space and trees to climb. It’s a great city, friendly. But, when I turned 18 I just needed to get out. I needed something new and adventurous, something new in my life. I was working at this place called Pizza Schmizza in Portland

with a girl who grew up in the area and she told me about the Central Coast. I’d never been here before. I just bought a one-way Amtrak ticket. And found paradise. That was five years ago now. I’ll never forget stepping off the train in San Luis Obispo, the very first thing I noticed was that the streets were sparkling in the sun. I was so excited. And the palm trees. I was so excited about the palm trees. It felt so tropical to me.

How was the transition? It took me about a year to settle in. I just started working at restaurants and that’s when I met my boyfriend, Scott. At the time I was making a bunch of beenies and Scott would jokingly call them “Sarah Bellums,” and it made me laugh. Then I started researching that part of the brain, the cerebellum, and I learned that it is in charge of your balance. I liked the double meaning of the name and the way it sounded, so I kept it. We’ve been together for four years now. He’s a surfer and got me involved with the ocean, the surf culture, and the Surf Rider Foundation. I started going to the beach all the time and it was very new for me. Every time we’d go, he’d pick up some trash and so I’d pick up trash, too. There would be trash every time; loads of trash, so much that we couldn’t carry it all back with us. It really got me thinking about the plastic pollution issue, and I started volunteering with Surf Rider. And I just kept finding more and more plastic. Somewhere along the line I thought about what we could do with it. How could I re-use it? When I was eight years old, my mom taught me how to crochet. I found out that, if you cut it into strips, you can crochet a plastic bag just as you would some yarn. It takes a lot longer than with standard materials, but it’s the same motion. I thought to myself, “This is what I was meant to do.”

So, you crochet with plastic bags? Yes, and you can make just about anything you can with any other materials. You just cut it into strips and then tie the two circular strips together then crochet like normal; it’s pretty simple. I’ve made bathing suits, hats; you name it. I even crochet bombed my bicycle with 188 plastic bags. People always stop and ask me about it. I’d like to think that they’re inspired by it. They’re like, “Whoa, that’s cool—it’s a crochet bicycle!” And then they start touching it and ask, “What is that? Wait, is that plastic bags?” And so it’s kind a cool moment where they’re like, “Oh, wow, that’s really beautiful. And then they find out the story behind it. I think it’s a great way to approach environmentalism, in a beautiful way rather than showing pictures of dead birds with their guts spewing plastics.

Okay, but just why are plastics such a problem? So, plastic does not biodegrade. It photo-degrades, which means it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces without ever actually going away. And right now, the plastic to plankton ratio is 6 to 1 in the ocean. And a lot of people say, “Oh, we should just clean it up. Let’s just figure out how to clean up the ocean.” Currently, more and more of the marine animals that consume plankton are also consuming plastic, so it’s working its way into the food chain; eventually working its way into us, right? It’s getting substantially worse. So, I say the plastic pollution ratio is 6 to 1, but really it is accelerating very quickly along with our consumption. The last I heard it was 24 to 1, but I usually stick with 6 to 1 because it freaks people out a little bit less.

I think it’s a great way to approach environmentalism, in a beautiful way rather than showing pictures of dead birds with their guts spewing plastics.

Aside from crocheting with the stuff, what can you do? I personally practice the zero waste lifestyle as best I can. And so I shop at SLO Natural Foods Co-op. I bring my own reusable bags and buy in bulk. And I shop at the Farmers’ Market for produce. There was an “ah-ha moment” for me about a year ago after I had been crocheting with all these plastic bags. I went to get a snack and opened my refrigerator and said to myself, “Oh my gosh, everything’s wrapped in plastic.” So much food is contained in single-use plastic packaging. Since then, I have been steadily working toward zero waste and not having any plastic in my life at all. I think the important thing though is just to

get started. We have to start reducing our consumption of the stuff. It’s really hard and it doesn’t happen all at once. But once you start moving in that direction, it gets easier every day. For some it may just mean picking up a reusable water bottle and stop buying plastic water bottles. When you start looking into it, you will be shocked by how much plastic there is everywhere you turn.

Where might we be surprised to find it? So, for a long time, I was thinking about toothpaste, right? Toothpaste comes in this little plastic tube, one-time use. And, oftentimes toothpaste actually comes

with little polypropylene plastic balls that are inside. They’re called “microbeads.” They’re very small, little plastic beads and they’re in a lot of facial cleansers and toothpaste and they’re designed to go inside of your body; and directly down into the drain; into, eventually, our oceans because they’re so small that they slip through all the filtration systems. Fortunately, they were recently banned in California, so starting in January you can’t sell it here anymore. But, for years and years this stuff was found in many of the major brands of toothpaste and cosmetics. All that time we had been putting plastic directly into our bodies and then letting it flow out into our oceans. I personally use just baking soda instead of toothpaste. I really like it and I feel like it makes my teeth whiter. I like it plain, but you can also try adding a little peppermint, or essential oils, or stevia powder.

In a way, aren’t you ostracizing yourself from society by striving for this zero waste lifestyle? Ironically, it’s been just the opposite. You get to meet all these people, local people, doing awesome things. And you get to learn from them what they are doing and what is working. And you get to support local people and eat healthier. I go to the Farmers’ Market with my reusable bags. I’m more tuned in to where my food is coming from. I can talk with the person that grew it. And it’s just fresher, too. But getting back to your question, there are also a lot of people who are starting to rise up against plastics. Recently, right here in town we were able to ban the use of polystyrene, or Styrofoam, and are working hard on expanding it countywide. And the beach clean up days I talked about earlier, there are lot of people involved in that effort, which is a great way to invite people into the conversation in a very approachable kind of manner, rather than getting them all depressed on the facts.

I’ll admit that I’m feeling pretty depressed about the facts. Do you see any hope? I think there’s tons of hope! At the root, for me, plastic is oil, right? It’s a petrochemical product, and so weaning ourselves from our fossil fuel-based economy I think is really important, especially with climate change and everything going on with that, as well. And investing, taking investments toward a zero waste policy change. And encouraging citizens to become activists, to take action, I think is really important. I see it happening more and more. I talk to people my age, and I think the Millennial generation is ready. It’s our time to step up. And, I think the older generations, too; the much older generations remember life without plastic. I mean, plastic did not really become mainstream until the 1930’s, and even then there wasn’t much of it around. So there’s a few people that I know that remember life without plastic. And you know, people were doing fine without it for a really long time. In the scheme of things, it’s a relatively new material. So, yeah, I think that informing people and inspiring people, and building a community and meeting our neighbors and talking about these things is really important, because that is where it all starts.

But we all start from different places, right? For sure. I was, like, completely brainwashed growing up just by the whole consumer culture. Who isn’t? We’re watching TV and being seduced by commercials and eating junk food. It’s been quite a change for me. But it has been a positive change, and wonderful getting to know myself better and getting to know our community better. And really taking a step back and witnessing our culture, and really trying to live consciously. Thinking back, it was really interesting to grow up in a divorced family; to see two very different households, two completely

At the root, for me, plastic is oil, right? It’s a petrochemical product, and so weaning ourselves from our fossil fuel-based economy I think is really important...”

different styles. One where the TV was always on, and there’s candy and lots of packaged goods, potatoes from a box. And, then at the other house, where my mom would make green smoothies. And we all care, we definitely care about the world and we care about each other in the community, but it’s hard to take that caring and that knowledge and translate it into activism, and actually doing something. My little brother, who is 16 now, thinks that I’m a totally crazy hippie [laughter].

Is he right? I don’t know. Some people probably think I’m crazy. I think everyone’s a little crazy. It’s good to embrace it. But no, a lot of my friends in the community, they’re really supportive. People like what I’m doing. They like to see that at least I’m trying to do something to make a difference. We’re all just one person. We can do what we can, but we all have to realize too that we are so powerful. But in our consumer culture, they want you to feel disempowered, you know? And so I think it’s really cool to inspire people and empower everyone to be an activist, in their own way, themselves. Our culture has taught us how to be great consumers and they have seduced us with all of these advertisements and such. And they don’t give—they don’t empower people to be great citizens. There’s a consumer muscle, and there’s a citizen muscle. And our consumer muscles are really strong. Everyone knows how to shop and consume really well. But, our citizen muscles—how to get involved in our community, how to make a difference—are pretty weak. We can all use a little strength training in that area.

What are you up to these days? I’ve been making bicycle panniers— you know, those little racks on the back of bikes—out of plastic kitty litter boxes that had been tossed out. They’re water proof and really sturdy and durable. They’ll mount on the back of my bike for my ride up to Portland. I’m doing a zero waste bike tour and will be interviewing trash activists along the way, and stopping to visit landfills to see how they’re managed. In San Francisco they use some very progressive processes, which will hopefully start to get adopted elsewhere. I’m leaving on February 2nd and will be camping out and blogging the whole way. You should check it out. It’s sarahbellums. com, that’s with an “s,” my name, sarahbellum.com was already taken. [laughter] The whole thing will be zero waste, zero emissions. Yeah, I’m going to camp and I’m trying to get gear right now. I’m going to get everything either used, or I’ll make it myself out of trash. I’m going to take my time and will drop in to talk with a lot of people who are working on this issue to see what they’re up to.

So, you’ll ride your crocheted bike all the way to Portland then fly back? No, I’m actually, in 2016, I’m not getting into a car for the entire year. No car, no plane, no petrochemicals. Just simplifying my life has been really eye-opening and feels really good, so I’m going to keep moving in that direction. No plane for me. I’ll be riding back. My plan from there is to go with the flow and see what the universe has in store for me next. We’ll see how it unfolds. I really just want to do whatever I can to best serve the world, really. Whatever I can do to make zero waste more accessible to more people is what I will be doing.

There’s a consumer muscle, and there’s a citizen muscle. And our consumer muscles are really strong. Everyone knows how to shop and consume really well. But, our citizen muscles—how to get involved in our community, how to make a difference—are pretty weak. We can all use a little strength training in that area.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Victoria Paige Smith

Eighteen-year-old Mission College Prep senior, VICTORIA PAIGE SMITH, is an active volunteer and shares her inspiration with us.

What sort of extra-curricular activities are you involved in? At my school, I am president of Interact (two years), Royal Ambassadors, and I was junior class president and am now senior class president. I participate in Mock Trial (three years), and last year was a part of Peer Mediation and Not In Our Schools, a club that worked toward eradicating bullying. I am also on the United Way Youth Board and work with CASA. Additionally, I created a group called Fun Faces (Facebook @SLO Fun Faces) that go to different charitable events and face paint for donations. The donations all go to the charity the event supports. It’s a very fun thing to connect with the community and face paint! I feel very fortunate for the opportunities I have, as well as the life I have, and the more I am involved the more I feel like I can make a difference.

What recognition have you received? I have been recognized for attending RYLA, a rotary leadership conference. I recently received the Elk’s Student of the Month award. I am an AP Scholar and with one more semester due in December and will be a CSF lifetime member.

What are your interests? I mostly love being involved in my community and trying to make a difference. I am motivated by meeting people and connecting with them. When I tore my ACL and meniscus, my sports career ended, opening up a whole lot more time for me to get involved. The highlight of my Junior year was a missionary trip I took to Nicaragua. It was so eye-opening and really very fun to connect to new people and speak Spanish; I loved the people I met.

Who has influenced you the most? I have been blessed with many great influences in my life. My parents, of course, have made the largest impression upon me by raising me to be someone with good values and center. My life changed for the best when I moved to SLO from Orange County, despite how much I didn’t want to move. SLO is a great place to grow up and the community at Mission I have found has been amazing at allowing me to grow and explore different things. My teacher Joannie Hamm really inspires me and has been a great role model in my life. She always puts others first and is very deeply caring. Cathy Nino is another person who has influenced me. She is everything I hope to be one day and shows me that person whenever I see her. She is forgiving, caring, loving, and patient.

What is something that not many people know about you? Music really is important to me. I have played piano since I was four and picked up the guitar last year. I am trying to write a song right now and love singing with my sister. Music can express so much more than even the lyrics and I love how there are certain songs that fit every mood and lyrics that say things better than we ever could.

What is it that you look forward to? Seeing where I end up. I know today it doesn’t seem clear, but by now I have learned that things happen for a reason and you learn from everything.

What schools are you considering for college? I have eleven schools on my list right now. If I got into every school on my list, I would attend Duke as my first choice. Truth is Duke is probably out of my reach though. Which is why I am applying to business schools on both coasts.

Know a student On the Rise?

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CAYUCOS PIER

Forced to close for more than two years when officials found damaged piles and cross-bracing that could have caused the pier to collapse, Cayucos celebrates its success in the reopening of this iconic landmark.

BY JEANETTE TROMPETER PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIL IGLEHEART

The history of the pier can be traced back to the man who put this little beach town on the map. Captain James Cass settled in Cayucos in 1867 on 320 acres of a Spanish Land Grant. He saw a future shipping dairy products, cheese, hides, beef and fresh water out the protected little bay. Once Cass and his partners (who, depending on who you talk to, included Captain J. Ingalls, John Harford of Port Harford fame, William Beebe and L. Schwartz) built the pier, a store and a warehouse, a booming little community of commerce was born.

“It was longer and it was wider at the end, much wider at the end. There were rails that ran out to the end,” explains Greg Bettencourt, chairperson of the Cayucos Pier Project.

Once Cass’s heirs donated the pier to the state in 1920, it became more of a tourist attraction, drawing fisherman from the valley, as well as fishing excursion tours. Cayucos is no longer such a hot spot for fishing or abalone, but it has continued to draw more tourists each year, and the pier is part of the package that has attracted them here. It’s been repaired, patched and altered a little here and there over the years, but its bones trace back to the beginning.

It was a little more than two years ago when this beloved boardwalk over the Pacific showed its age as fireworks trucks headed out to set up for the big 4th of July display. “The pier was shifting. I mean you could feel when you walked out here when there was surf, like being on a ship,” says Gil Ingelheart, who worked with the Rotary Club of Cayucos to raise money to save the pier.

In an effort to preserve this well-known Cayucos landmark, the tight-knit community came together raising the funds needed to support the county money and grants necessary to cover the $3.5 million renovation. The county wanted proof it wouldn’t be footing the whole bill. “Our original goal with the Save the Cayucos Pier Project Committee was $105,000,” says Igleheart. “And by the time the dust settled, and we’re still taking money in for plaques, but I think it’s close to $700,000 that we raised.”

Telling the story of how a community of just 2,500 raised that kind

of coin made it much easier for county officials to ask their federal counterparts to kick in. “So we have something here we call ‘Cayucos Rules,’ which is basically: ‘You do whatever you need to do, in order to get something accomplished,’” says Bettencourt. “They didn’t want to see us march on Washington to demand money for our pier,” jokes Igleheart.

Cayucos’ gem of the Pacific recently re-opened, and seems to stand as tall with pride as the people who made it happen. Improvements include new night lighting, “It also illuminates part of the water,” says Igleheart. “Waves come in you can see highlights of the waves—phenomenal.”

“You can see Morro Rock so wonderfully from here, and all the fronts of the Cayucos buildings along the pier. It’s really picturesque,” says James McCoy, who along with his wife, Elizabeth Spurr-McCoy, stepped up quickly to make a $10,000 donation toward the reconstruction efforts.

Day or night, the pier is once again a symbol and beautiful offshore beacon of all the hard work and activity that happens onshore in the quaint community of Cayucos.

The hope is a major over hall will not be needed again for a long, long time, and the folks with the Cayucos Pier Project intend to make sure of it by raising money for its upkeep for the enjoyment of generations to come.

JEANETTE TROMPETER, KSBY News anchor and reporter, hosts the “Out and About with JT” series every Tuesday evening at 6pm.

MUSIC SCENE

THE WOMEN OF ROCK

“Our music is not background music, and I think that reflects how we approach life as women: we are not background music.” This is how bassist Alexandra Wenzl sums up the sound of female-fronted, local band Hot Tina.

BY DAWN JANKE PHOTOGRAPHY BY TINA MORABITO WAGGONER

As a quintet, Hot Tina has been around for just about

two years now, but all five band members have been involved with the local music scene for quite some time. Wenzel and keyboardist Hannah Slobdenik, for example, played together as a duo called Trash, while lead guitarist Shea Kelly performed in the Dirty Pink Slips with guitarist Rose Hall. In its initial stage, Hot Tina was an all-female band, but when the former keyboardist and drummer left about a year ago, Slobdenik and drummer Brian Monzel were invited to join.

“At first, I was excited about being in a band with all women, in a band that didn’t require one token man holding everything together,” says Wenzel, “but with Brian it’s egalitarian.” Hall adds, “Everyone in the band brings something unique to the table.” Kelly concurs, “A long time ago, a great musician gave me this advice: play with your friends, and everything else falls together. Well, we’re all friends, and it’s wonderful.”

According to Kelly and Wenzl, Monzel brings a lot to the development of a new song because he’s been playing music for so long and has such a great feel for it. Wenzl says, “It’s so interesting where a song starts and where it ends up when one of us brings it in.” Hall, Kelly, and Wenzl write music for Hot Tina and Monzel adds to the arrangements, complementing the four female vocalists, including the operatic contralto sound of Slobdenik.

“It’s cool that we have four vocalists,” says Kelly, “but I think that’s something that’s difficult for most sound people when we perform live.” “It can be hard to get the sound right, and it’s one of our band goals to get the sound right,” says Wenzl. In an effort to do so, the band will soon begin recording with Randall Sena at Certain Sparks Music in Lompoc. Kelly says, “Lately we’ve been noticing that while some live shows blow us away, the same band’s recordings do not capture that passion. In the studio, I think that’s what we’re going for—we want to capture the passion of our live sound.”

“For me, music is a sonic experience,” Kelly continues. “I can go to the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, watch someone play piano beautifully, and then discuss it with my mother, but I enjoy having that sonic body experience. People often wonder why we are so loud,” she says, “like there’s an image of how women are supposed to be when they play music.” Wenzl adds, “Like that coffee shop vibe that’s really palatable.” “But I want our audience to enjoy our music sonically, to be engulfed in the music at a rock show instead of being offended by women who rock,” says Kelly.

Kelly goes on, “We don’t write abrasive music—we write inspiring music with socially conscious lyrics.” Wenzl interjects to add, “But I also don’t mind slapping someone in the face with music. If we are pretty or nice, that’s great, but it’s not the point. We are people expressing our lives and our passions, and that doesn’t always sound pretty, but that doesn’t make what we say less valid or less worthy of experiencing.”

Influenced by bands like Sleater Kinney, Skating Polly, and L7, Hot Tina uses its music to break down barriers. Kelly says, “Women get shamed a lot, and our music is important because we don’t let people shame us. We are middle-aged and have kids and still have this hobby, and we are not going to let people shame us.” Wenzl adds, “There are certain standards that our culture puts on women, and we want to work against that.”

For members of Hot Tina, working against society’s expectations of women extends beyond the stage at the local bar. Wenzl explains, “There are not enough spaces that are pro-women around the county, where women feel safe to express themselves, and we want to create more spaces for young women to come out, network, and get involved.” Toward that end, this past August, Wenzl and Kelly worked on the first annual, all-ages Ladyfest, a music and arts festival with proceeds from the event donated to MUSE Arts Education, a local non-profit that offers musical instruments and lessons to students with disabilities or financial hardships. Kelly explains that one of the goals of Ladyfest was to encourage local women to be supportive of each other: “We are each other’s advocates.”

“Right after world peace and our children, playing music is so important to us,” says Wenzl. Kelly adds, “It’s cathartic: we’re weighed down by the week and after an hour and a half of playing together we just feel so good.” Hall agrees, “It’s a nice outlet to have that’s different than anything else you’re doing in a week.” Wenzli shares, “For us, music helps to wash it all away.” She continues, “And thankfully SLO

County has a group of movers and shakers, people like Patrick Hayes and others, who put their heart and soul into making sure that good live music is happening.”

Good live music is definitely happening on the Central Coast, and Hot Tina is there in the foreground. Check them out, and let them give you a sonic experience to wash it all away.

DAWN JANKE, Director, University Writing & Rhetoric Center Cal Poly, keeps her pulse on the Central Coast music scene.

MODERN COPY

With history in mind the Cameron family xxx

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TREVOR POVAH

ith the professor droning on about a math problem, Mark Cameron began daydreaming about the house with the “For Sale” sign he had walked through earlier that day. The Cal Poly student was getting close to wrapping up his engineering degree and had no desire to leave San Luis Obispo. And, there was just something about that house.

Originally built in 1928, the 900 squarefoot California bungalow was one of the

first homes in the Caudill Tract off Broad Street. With distinctive styling, which could very well be described as Spanish on the outside and Craftsman on the inside, it captivated Cameron’s imagination. Thoughts of the house continued to occupy his mind, so the college kid called and made an offer on the place. In 1988, just prior to his graduation Cameron was handed the keys and began what would become a twenty-one-year stay.

As he settled in, he started noticing things, lots of things. And, Cameron possesses an attention to detail at a level well above most. Although he earns a living fighting blazes statewide with Cal Fire, he has clearly not forgotten his engineering training. “I loved how the house breathed,” he remembers. “The gaps in the doors, the single pane windows, its orientation on the lot; it had a really nice feel to it.” Cameron talks in solid five-minute bursts as he bounces between the intricacies

of vintage door hinges and the benefits of lath and plaster versus Sheetrock. But, one day in 2002, something else caught his attention.

A hot shot graphic designer was moving into the rental next door. Missy Reitner-Cameron had always loved Los Angeles, but she needed a break and a place to regroup. She loved visiting her sister who had attended Cal Poly, and her parents now lived in Shell Beach. San Luis Obispo, she figured, would be the

perfect place to clear her mind and refocus on her profession. Cameron introduced himself and welcomed her to the neighborhood, and before long the two were making up reasons to borrow items from each other. The rest, as they say, is history.

During the next few years, the couple was married, and their love for each other spilled over to a mutual adoration for the house. The only problem was that the little bungalow >>

was showing its age, and things were falling apart. “We talked about a remodel, but when we looked at what had to be done we started looking into a complete rebuild,” shares Reitner-Cameron, now the creative director and co-owner of iii Design. The couple began sharing their ideas for a brand new home, but they kept coming back to the same question: Why not build a modern copy?

And, if it were to be a copy of the original, why not take it a step further and build it in exactly the same way they would have in 1928? Soon every square inch of the house was measured, analyzed, and photographed. Material samples—paint colors, plaster textures, hardwood floor patterns—were cut away and stored. A vision began to bubble up as the couple realized they could keep everything

about the house that they knew and loved, but also modernize it for comfortable contemporary living. Plus, Reitner-Cameron’s daughter would be entering her teenage years before too long, and a bit of extra elbow room could be a good thing. By adding a basement, bumping out the back of the building about five feet, and building a second floor, the eventual 2,200 square-foot structure would serve the family’s needs for >>

years to come. And, most importantly, the home would look and feel pretty much exactly as it did, only better.

Since the couple had purchased the next door rental property, tearing down the original house would be the easy part. Storing the many salvaged parts, doors, hardware, light fixtures, window casings, and on and on, would fill a shipping container in the backyard. A year later, in 2010, the basement was constructed

after eleven feet of excavation. Remarkably, the entire house was built by just three men, all of whom shared the passion and the vision for the modern copy concept: Allan Stanley, Charley Lackey, and Lee Genthner. Cameron pitched in when he could, and various other subcontractors got involved to a lesser degree at different stages, but the trio would remain on the job site for five years straight, from foundation to finish work. “Not only did they build a modern copy of the old house,” Cameron marvels, “but they did it in

much the same way, using the same techniques as they would have in the 20’s.”

The beauty of the house is found not in its size and scale, but in the details. The deeper you look, the more you see. Screws are slotted and not Phillips because that type had not been invented yet; paint that had been thinned to the consistency of a white wash of the era leaves faint brush marks, as rollers were not available then; the threading found inside door handles

XXX xxx

is just so. The list goes on and on. “The details on this house, it just keeps going. It’s five years of crazy,” Cameron shares. The couple shares stories of the massive multi-year treasure hunt

that developed in pursuit of every last period detail. Glass door knobs were debated—were they 20’s or 30’s vintage? And, what of the P-trap visible under the bathroom sink—was it made of chrome or nickel brass? Perhaps the biggest score of all came from across

town when they learned that The Madonna Inn was selling a small trove of vintage furniture. After repairing the pieces—some needed a new leg or two, which had to be custom fabricated and then stained—the furniture is seen throughout the home. Additionally, much of the wood and other materials that could not be salvaged from the original have been repurposed. The headboard in the master bedroom started its life as kitchen cabinets, and a dresser was reincarnated from old shelving.

Throughout the process, the couple painstakingly built a home that did more than just look like the original. Although most of the exterior walls are now comprised of ICF (cement) block walls, and radiant floor heating is found throughout, the windows are all single

pane carefully positioned to the same sill depth as they were before. And, the front door, which had been salvaged has exactly the same sized gap below it, so the home breathes in much the same way it had during its lifetime. The plaster is the same color and texture as it was before. The exposed 2 x 4’s on the back porch actually measure two inches by four inches as they did during that time, as opposed to the watered-down half-inch less version of today. And the old linseed oil and cork kitchen floor, which was painstakingly installed over five long days, is exactly what you would have found in the later part of the 1920’s. The whole thing is a sight to see, a marvel of engineering and history to be sure, but if you are not careful you can miss it—unless you look very, very closely.

LIFE

TREVOR POVAH is an architectural photographer here on the Central Coast.

Meet our family

“Working with The SLO Land Conservancy on the Octagon Barn Center has special meaning to me. This landmark project is going to add great value to our community and will be a gathering place for my family and others for many generations. It is a great reminder of why I got into this profession in the first place.”

Greg Crabtree, Project Manager

ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS

laguna lake

Total Homes Sold Average Asking Price Average Selling Price Sales Price as a % of Asking Price Average # of Days on the Market

2014 53 620,689 609,912 98.39 45

tank farm

Total Homes Sold Average Asking Price Average Selling Price Sales Price as a % of Asking Price Average # of Days on the Market

2014 26 756,640 744,630 98.48 42

cal poly area

Total Homes Sold Average Asking Price Average Selling Price Sales Price as a % of Asking Price Average # of Days on the Market

2014 23 640,289 624,709 97.75 41

country club

Total Homes Sold Average Asking Price Average Selling Price Sales Price as a % of Asking Price Average # of Days on the Market

2014 14 1,073,643 1,039,612 96.99 64

2015 60 692,255 674,612 97.93 63

+/13.21% 11.53% 10.61% -0.46% 40.00%

2015 25 731,672 725,751 99.24 58

+/-3.85% -3.30% -2.54% 0.76% 38.10%

2015 31 572,748 552,470 97.44 33

+/34.78% -10.55% -11.56% -0.31% -19.51%

2015 12 1,044,917 1,031,750 95.95 39

down town

Total Homes Sold Average Asking Price Average Selling Price Sales Price as a % of Asking Price Average # of Days on the Market

2014 38 751,679 735,068 98.21 41

+/-14.29% -2.68% -0.76% -1.04% -39.06%

2015 23 716,339 720,408 101.37 19

+/-39.47% -4.70% -1.99% 3.16% -53.66%

Total Homes Sold Average Asking Price Average Selling Price Sales Price as a % of Asking Price Average # of Days on the Market

2014 51 682,412 670,212 98.20 38

2015 42 736,155 724,749 99.86 29

+/-17.65% 7.88% 8.14% 1.66% -23.68%

2015 42 746,507 723,603 97.52 37 johnson ave *Comparing 1/1/14 - 11/20/14 to 1/1/15 - 11/20/15

2014 22 676,709 657,856 97.39 78

+/90.91% 10.31% 9.99% 0.13% -52.56%

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS®

Abercrombie & Fitch abercrombie.com

The Apple Store apple.com

Banana Republic bananarepublic.com Barnes and Noble barnesandnoble.com Bowl’d facebook.com/bowldslo Bull’s Tavern facebook.com/bullstavernslo

California Pizza Kitchen cpk.com

Cal Poly Downtown calpoly.edu

Chico’s chicos.com

Chronic Tacos eatchronictacos.com

Express express.com

GAP gap.com

Ian Saude Gallery iansaude.com

Jamba Juice jambajuice.com

Lush Handmade Cosmetics lushusa.com

Moondoggies Surf Shop moondoggies.com

The Movie Experience themovieexperience.com

Open Air Flowers openairflowersslo.com

Palazzo Giuseppe palazzogiuseppe.com Papyrus papyrusonline.com

Pizza Solo pizzasolo.com

Pottery Barn potterybarn.com

Powell’s Sweet Shoppe powellsss.com

Salon Lux-Aveda salonlux.com Sephora sephora.com

Shoe Palace shoepalace.com

SloCo Pasty Co. slocopastyco.com

Solstice Sunglass Boutique solsticesunglasses.com

Starbucks starbucks.com

Splash Cafe Seafood & Grill splashcafe.com

Sunglass Hut sunglasshut.com

Urban Outfitters urbanoutfitters.com

Victoria’s Secret victoriassecret.com

White House Black Market whitehouseblackmarket.com

LEASING INFORMATION:

Therese Cron Therese@copelandproperties.com 805.785.0511

A TIMELY

MAKEOVER

KEEPS LITERACY HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

BY TOM FRANCISKOVICH PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELLIOTT JOHNSON

y earliest memory in life takes me back to my grandparents’ kitchen table. Eggs and bacon were crackling on the stove top, and the coffee percolator was chugging along like a locomotive struggling with an oversized load. Directly across the table from me sat my cotton-farming grandfather, fresh from the shower with a thick mop of silver and white hair combed straight back.

Looking down at his yellow legal pad, he scribbled some numbers he found in the commodities tables of the previous day’s Wall Street Journal . Relieved to see that planting a field of alfalfa was likely to pay off if the weather continued to hold up in the San Joaquin Valley until harvest, he motioned to my grandmother. “Marian, get this kid some more side pork,” which is what he called bacon, as he reached over and handed me the front page of the paper. I took the gesture as a passing of the torch, an acknowledgment of my figurative place at the table, even though I was only five years old or so at the time. As grandma reached in over my shoulder and skillfully dropped two more oversized strips of side pork on my plate, I pulled the paper in and focused my still-sleepy eyes

on the headlines. Running my fingers along the smudgy line of the paper’s lead story, I started sounding out the first word.

The empowerment I felt from that experience with my grandparents has never left me, and has led to a life-long love for the written word. It also gives me a greater appreciation for the struggles faced by those who fall short in their proficiency with reading and writing. Unlike many other social challenges, the marginalization that occurs with those who find themselves unable to read to their children or fill out a job application, the solution is readily available—but, it requires a lot of work. My sisters and I were fortunate to see this effort first-hand while we were growing up, as my mother taught ESL (English as a Second Language) at the high school, and then later at the local community college. It was a rare day that we did not encounter one of her former students, often while visiting the grocery store before dinner. “Mrs. Susan,” a stranger would say, which was a dead giveaway that it was, in fact, a student, because pronouncing “Franciskovich” was an unfair request according to my mom. “You will never believe it,” the former student would begin. “I just got a job at such-and-such place,” the beaming, pride-filled expression on their faces would tell the rest of the story.

Research on the number of non-literate people living on the Central Coast is spotty because the ability to read and write, by its nature, is difficult to quantify. However, a reasonable estimate, extrapolating from national data, is around one in seven. That is, for every seven of your friends and neighbors, one of them struggles with the English language. The immediate presumption for many in California is that this population is made up primarily of Spanish speakers, which is inaccurate. While it is true that first-generation Mexican nationals do make up a significant portion of the group, it is also heavily represented by immigrants world-wide, including a surprising number of local high school dropouts, and even high school graduates that had slipped through the cracks. Up to this point, a non-literate person has had a couple of options locally: the ESL program at Cuesta College, or The Literacy Council of San Luis Obispo County.

The Literacy Council—recently renamed Literacy for Life—is a non-profit that provides tutoring services at no charge to its learners at one of ten locations around the Central Coast [full disclosure: I am the board chair of the organization]. Last year it served 419 San Luis Obispo County-based learners with 299 tutors, who logged 21,196 teaching hours. The tutors, all volunteers, go through a screening process to enter the program and then meet one-on-one with learners in one of the nearby learning centers. On any given day the centers are buzzing with activity, as the tutor-learner partners pore over study materials in preparation for a wide diversity of goals ranging from a better job, to citizenship, to passing the G.E.D., or better assimilation into their communities. The energy in the centers is palpable, inspirational, and reveals the wide variety of people and backgrounds seeking betterment through improved literacy—all of them working very hard to seize the opportunity.

Recently, Literacy for Life was able to seize an opportunity of its own when it was selected as the beneficiary of Verdin Marketing’s 24-Hour Give. The program, now in its second year, is an annual charitable donation made by the company within a single

24-hour period. It was designed to cram weeks, if not months, of marketing services into one day. Along with the branding effort provided by the San Luis Obispo-based marketing firm, a cadre of complimentary services are donated by other local companies, such as photography, printing, website design, videography, and advertising— lots of it. The value of the pro bono program provided by the various companies involved has been estimated at $80,000 in total. For Bernadette Bernardi, the executive director of Literacy for Life, the experience was a “game changer” for the organization. “It was intense, very high energy, which was just what we needed,” she reflected a few days after catching up on her sleep following the 24-hour event. “It made a huge impact, and was something we would have never been able to do on our own.”

Bernardi, who had been working as a vocational counselor prior to joining what was then The Literacy Council, saw first-hand the power of the organization when she was counseling a man in his

sixties who had been injured on the job and was going to be retrained for a different role. “When I gave him a skills assessment, I found that he lacked in basic literacy, which, of course, was going to hurt his chances at finding a suitable position.” As she searched for a solution, she found The Literacy Council and was so impressed by their results that by September of that year—1998—she had become its executive director.

But, something about The Literacy Council always gnawed on Bernardi—the name. To her, “The Literacy Council” evoked the imagery of official looking men sitting behind a table deeming whether or not someone was considered literate. The quasi-governmental feeling that the name conjured never felt right, and certainly did not match the warm, intimate learning breakthroughs that were happening daily at the learning centers. The night before the 24-Hour Give, Bernardi tossed and turned. “I just kept thinking about our name, feeling that if we were ever going to change it, now was the time.” That morning, during the intake session where Verdin Marketing employees sought to clarify the objectives of the branding effort, Bernardi threw a curveball. “What if we changed our name?” she inquired. A brief debate broke out between the executive director and the board members about the pros and cons of such a move, while everyone else began exploring different name options. In the excited, caffeine-fueled brainstorming session that followed, dozens of ideas were bandied about. At one point, someone threw out “Literacy for Life” as a contender. “Literacy is critical for a good life in our society, no doubt about it. If you want to have a better life, you better have some basic literacy,” states Bernardi plainly. “Literacy touches on all aspects of our lives—literacy for life is really what we do.”

LIFE

UNWIND

DATE NIGHT

Relaxing Chinese Foot Massage

They say the feet are the body’s second heart. Pressure points throughout the foot connect to key organs and functions of the body and by relieving built up tension in the feet, ancient Eastern massage practices believe these techniques create healing throughout the body.

BY PADEN HUGHES

f you work in the service industry, whether consulting, tourism or fitness, you spend your time taking care of others’ needs. Doing so hour after hour can deplete your energy. So what better way to recharge than by visiting our local spot for a Chinese foot massage.

Several friends recommended U-Relax Foot Massage off Broad Street for its clean, relaxing environment. Rumor has it that a couple can get in and out for under $60 and they allow you to bring in your own wine to drink while enjoying a foot massage—needless to say, we were sold.

I called ahead to book the appointment, and when my husband and I arrived a pleasant young man greeted us and helped us select what service we wanted. We chose a 45-minute foot massage, and at $26 each, the price was unbeatable.

From there we were handed a menu of three options: Chinese herb foot bath, milk crystal foot bath, or rose aromatic foot bath. We picked the Chinese herb foot bath because it boasted of over fifteen Chinese herbs all known for their healing properties.

Next we were led into a peaceful, clean sanctuary of relaxation where two bamboo buckets with warm herbal water were brought out. Sitting on the edge of a massage chair with our feet in the bucket, we were introduced to the first stage of the Chinese foot massage.

The Chinese historically have cultivated a number of unique techniques to provide a kind of outer physiotherapy. It starts with a neck and back rub, then the practitioner works their way down through the arms to the hands and then back up to the head and temples to release tension. I had no idea I had so many tight, painful places in the small bones of my hand. The massage felt amazing and I completely relaxed. After 15 minutes of this it was impossible to carry any remaining stress from the work day, and I embraced the remaining 30 minutes of the foot and calf massage awaiting me.

We moved from a seated position to a partially reclined position and they propped up our feet and began to kneed and roll every square inch of each foot. Being quite ticklish I am always wary of someone trying to touch my feet, but I admit I felt like I was in such a state of relaxation that I didn’t care and only wanted to release more tension.

On a weekday night it’s amazing that 45 minutes can create a respite of rest and jump start a date night. We left feeling rested, pampered and rejuvenated.

U-Relax Foot Massage has been providing locals that same experience for eight years. The owner, shared with us that it’s the only one in town that practices ancient Chinese techniques. The two young masseuses also communicated that they were trained in China. It felt like another world at U-Relax.

Very soothing, with Kenny G-like melodies floating through the air and with minimal conversation, it allows you to focus entirely on yourself. This is something I think can be difficult in modern day times. It’s hard to slow down, hard to relax and hardest to focus on yourself. It’s a challenge to take care of others when you haven’t taken care of yourself. So if you and your significant other need some “me time” before you can support one another, this is a great way to jump start an evening together.

PADEN HUGHES is co-owner of Gymnazo and enjoys exploring the Central Coast.

Beat the Blues

WITH THESE WINTER HEALTH TIPS

In the cold-weather months when daylight wanes and cold, blustery weather keeps you indoors, you should not sacrifice your health and well-being. You can stave off the winter blues and keep your spirits high by taking care of your body with a few simple wellness tips.

LONGER

Honor your circadian rhythm, which responds to your environment’s light and darkness. In the wintertime when the sun sets around 6 p.m., use this as a reminder to wind down. Leave your work at the office, keep the lights in your home dim and give into those feelings of sleepiness. Creating a sanctuary of calm in your bedroom with cozy blankets and your favorite pillow will have you dreaming in no time.

SIP TEA

Chamomile, Earl Grey, oolong, the list goes on, as do the benefits. Want to stay warm and prevent the flu this season? Stock up on green tea. Improve your antioxidants and reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by drinking black tea. In the UK, the Tea Advisory Panel commissioned a study that concluded that tea is just as hydrating as water, so no matter your favorite flavor, put the kettle on and warm your hand around a mug. >>

>TAKE A STEAM

If the idea of heading to the beach makes you feel instantly relaxed but you just can’t get away for a tropical vacation, head into a sauna or steam room this winter instead. While sweating it out in a heated room has not shown any medical benefits to the body, the de-stressing and relaxation effects may be just what your body needs.

ADD SPICE

If tucking into comfort food is the first thing you like to do at the hint of cold weather, consider adding some spices to your recipes. Cilantro is an important spice in the Ayurvedic diet, and is used as a medicinal herb to aid digestion. Dr. Michael Murray, a natural medicine doctor and author of The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, suggests trying nutmeg, which may encourage sleep by mirroring the effect of serotonin. Combat your irritable mood or low-level depression by sprinkling turmeric in your dish for a quick pick-me-up.

CURL UP WITH A BOOK

Have you been meaning to catch up on the classics, or did you buy a beach read that sat in your bag on the sand? Substitute a night of TV watching to focus instead on sharpening your memory and concentration with a literary romp. You might be surprised to learn that cracking open that hardcover may even make you smarter by expanding your vocabulary and your world view. >>

Regardless of the adjectives we assign to it (pampering, rejuvenating, therapeutic) or the reasons we seek it out (a luxurious treat, stress relief, pain management), massage therapy can be a powerful ally in your health care regimen. Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress related. And perhaps nothing ages us faster, internally and externally, than high stress. While eliminating anxiety and pressure altogether in this fast-paced world may be too idealistic, massage can, without a doubt, help manage stress.

Used for thousands of years for cosmetic purposes, as well as for their spiritually and emotionally uplifting properties, these health-promoting botanicals can be diffused, inhaled, applied topically, and incorporated into massage to inspire a positive emotional state. Research shows that the pure constituents in these oils stimulate olfactory receptors and activate regions in the brain’s limbic system associated with memory, emotion, and state of mind. To enhance your spiritual practice, dilute and apply meditative, empowering essential oils directly to wrists, feet, and behind the ears, or diffuse in a quiet space.

Steak:

Old School, New School and Somewhere In Between

As recently as 35 years ago, the term “fine dining” often meant one thing: steak. Whether a French entrecôte, New York strip or Western-style T-bone, steak was central to the menu for many serious restaurants.

BY JAIME LEWIS

oday, fine dining is defined more by approach than by any one dish, and Americans’ consumption of beef has decreased by 30 percent since 1971. But with our proud cattle-ranching history in San Luis Obispo County, steak is still a way of life. Here are three local eateries with vastly different—and delicious—takes on the classic. >>

JAIME LEWIS is a sommelier, world traveler, and food writer, who lives in San Luis Obispo.

It’s Nipomo on a Friday night at 7:30 p.m., and the bar at Jocko’s is as dark and gloriously dive-y as ever. Regulars sidle up to the bar for bottled beer and tiny glasses of wine beneath the glazed eyes of eight trophy heads on the wall. It would appear that nothing has changed since Ralph “Jocko” Knotts opened the saloon originally named “Jocko’s Cage” in 1925—neither the cattle brands adorning the restaurant’s walls nor the sign outside with the suggestion to “Come in an’ monkey around.”

Jocko’s is not the place for a dynamic, seasonal menu or vegan specialties. “We love our Iowa beef,” says Jocko’s General Manager, Ed Fitzpatrick, of Jocko’s corn-fed meat. He adds that a number of factors go into preparing the perfect Jocko’s steak, including aging the meat, seasoning it just right (a seasoning available for purchase at jockosmix.com), and firing it over red oak coals. The result is a hulking, meaty masterpiece: juicy, tender, smoky, and utterly enormous. Partner it with a salt-crusted baked potato, bacon-flecked Jocko’s beans, pillowy garlic bread and a bottle of Syrah, and you’ve got yourself one of the best dinners available on the Central Coast—or anywhere. >>

Old School

New School

Bright and beachy, The Spoon Trade opened earlier this year in Grover Beach to rave reviews from serious foodies and families alike. Owners Jacob and Brooke Town have created a warm, down-to-earth and casual neighborhood spot with serious street cred (between them, the Towns have worked at San Francisco’s RN74, Nopa and Rubicon) that serves what Brooke calls “elevated comfort food.”

Steak isn’t necessarily the focus here, but the Grilled Bavette Steak and Bordelaise has been on the menu since The Spoon Trade opened, served with tomatoes and blue cheese in summer, dragon tongue beans and oyster mushrooms in fall. French for “bib,” the lesserknown bavette is a bistro-style cut of flap meat, dense in texture and flavor. The Spoon Trade sources their all-natural beef from Niman Ranch, after which Chef Jacob seasons it with salt and cracked pepper, grills it to medium-rare and lets it rest. The bordelaise sauce is 12 quarts of veal stock and red wine reduced over the course of 16 hours to just one quart, requiring “lots of love and concentration,” says Brooke Town, which looks to be the way The Spoon Trade approaches everything. >>

A grilled hunk of meat with mashed potatoes and veggies isn’t the only way we do steak here on the Central Coast.

Check out the Steak Salad at Cello Ristorante and Bar at the Allegretto Vineyard Resort in Paso Robles for a leafy melange of lettuce, sirloin, and fried shallots.

Or Steak Fries off the “Street Fare” menu at Sidecar in SLO, akin to steak nachos only with french fries instead of tortilla chips.

And, of course, there’s always the gooey Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich from Sylvester’s Burgers (Oceano, Los Osos and Atascadero), thinly sliced tri-tip loaded with bell peppers, onions, and jalapenos under a blanket of melted Swiss cheese.

New-Old School

The Range in Santa Margarita manages to exude country-western warmth and modern cool simultaneously—like a chuckwagon crossed with a Parisian bistro. Owners Jeff and Lindsey Jackson transformed the former drive-thru into a small but swanky, low-lit and beautifully sparse restaurant where Tex Ritter spins on the record player and beer is called “barley pop.”

“I don’t know anything about computers, but apparently, we have a website,” Chef Jackson says before a server corrects him; the website to which he refers is actually Yelp. “Well,” he shrugs, “all I know is that people are writing whatever they want about us.” Some of those amateur reviewers have called The Range a steakhouse, a term Jackson hates. But it’s hard to argue with the quality of his steaks, in particular the Coffee-Crusted 12-ounce Angus Ribeye with Garlic Mash, Fresh Vegetables, and Wild Turkey Peppercorn Cream Sauce. Jackson uses organic Peerless ground coffee to crust Midwestern corn-fed beef, which, along with the whiskey pan sauce, make for thick, juicy and perfectly savory steaks every time. As quipped by Demetrtius, the Stetson-wearing cowboy server, “The only thing better than a ribeye here is another ribeye here.”

OTHER BEEFY GOODNESS

SLO LIFE

WINTER FARE

PORK LOIN ROAST

WITH APPLES AND WINTER VEGETABLES

Tender, moist and flavorful, Chef Jessie Rivas, shares his recipe for pork loin roast paired perfectly with root veggies and in-season, local apples. And while spiral sliced ham seems to take center stage for holiday meals, we’re betting your guests won’t complain if you break from tradition and offer this delicious main course.

BY CHEF JESSIE RIVAS

JESSIE’S TIP:

When you’re cooking pork, a good meat thermometer is a must. You can quickly go from moist to dry if you’re not carefully monitoring the internal temperature along the way.

PORK LOIN ROAST WITH APPLES AND WINTER VEGETABLES

See Canyon tart apples, sliced

cup cider vinegar

cup apple cider

Tbs whole grain mustard

1. In a large oven proof skillet or sauté pan add oil and heat on a medium flame for about two minutes. Generously season pork loin with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides until golden brown. Remove pork from pan.

2. Add onions, carrots, celery, fennel, smashed garlic, thyme and rosemary to the pan. Stir together and sauté about five minutes until golden brown.

3. Place the pork on top of the vegetables and sliced apples. Place pan in a preheated oven set at 400° until the pork’s internal temperature reaches 140°-150° about 30 minutes.

4. Transfer pork to cutting board and place vegetables on a serving platter.

5. Return empty pan to stove top on medium heat. Add butter, cider vinegar and apple cider to pan and reduce to half. Stir in mustard, adjust salt and pepper and turn off heat.

6. Slice pork in 1/4” slices and arrange atop vegetables and apples. Spoon pan sauce over pork and serve.

THE HARMONY OF

GERALD & BETTY PURIFY

HOW THIS GOSPEL POWERHOUSE COUPLE

Betty Purify was 13 years old when she arrived in San Luis Obispo by way of Missouri and

then Bakersfield. She explains that she had “fallen through the cracks of the system” and was on her own, but also “very blessed.” A year later she got her G.E.D. and was enrolled at Cuesta College, before long working her way through Cal Poly. In the fall of 1980 a big shot NFL prospect named Gerald Purify rolled into town from Stockton. The two set eyes on each other and could hear music—music that still plays today.

“It’s kept us married,” Betty reveals a wry sense of humor that has come in handy while the couple has raised eight children. First, their own children, all except one remain in San Luis Obispo today, and then four more. “We believe in helping those that are less fortunate,” were the only details Gerald would share about that fateful day when he and his wife drove up to Sacramento and returned to the Central Coast with their nieces and nephews who were 15 months, three, five, and seven years old at the time. With an empty nest at long last within sight, they suddenly had a new flock of mouths to feed.

No matter the troubles, they would always melt away with a song. Gerald and Betty figure they have been a duet team for over three decades now. And, uncannily, they both break out into the same song at exactly the same time as they recount their mutual history. Lord lift us up where we belong/Lord lift us up where we belong. Lost for a moment, they return with jubilant laughter—Gerald with a booming bass deep from the belly and Betty with bouncing shoulders playfully nudging as she leans into her partner. “It’s not uncommon to hear people say, ‘I came in here feeling bad, but I feel so much better now,’” Betty explains, “Somehow your burdens just seem to lift.”

The “here” that she is referring to is the Breakthrough Ministry, a Pentecostal Church founded by the Purify’s seven years ago. While Gerald is a correctional officer by day at the California

IS BUSY BUILDING THINGS UP

Men’s Colony, a career that has spanned thirty years, he has always ministered the teachings of Jesus Christ to the inmates whenever it was appropriate. Mostly, due to the various rules and regulations of the institution, that meant more often he had to “walk the walk” as opposed to “talk the talk,” which is what he prefers to do anyway. “We had a guy come here,” Gerald begins a story, “and it turns out the police had kicked him out from under the bridge where he was living. He told me, ‘I just feel dirty. All my clothes are dirty.’ So, we took his clothes home and washed them and then brought them back. When I handed him his clean folded clothes, he

just broke down and cried like a baby.” Betty, who is now pursuing a doctorate in psychology, observes that, “People should be treated like jewels, and should be allowed to blossom in their own time. Even if we don’t always get to see the outcome, it’s important to do a good job with what we do.”

The Purify’s, including in varying degrees their eight children, are now growing their church after having moved to a new location. For its entire existence, the house of worship had been located on Augusta Street in San Luis Obispo, but it has recently moved across town to a standalone suite at the San Luis Business Center on South Higuera. Gerald describes their services, which are held on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, as “high energy, with lots of singing and maybe even some dancing once in a while.” Betty reflects for a moment and then shares, “It’s a place of fellowship. It’s an inclusive thing. The goal is to help people, to encourage your brother, to be available with an open door and an open heart. No judgment. Just come in and bask in the love and the support. It is really just based on what Jesus would have done, and what he would have us do.” Gerald smiles and nods, politely waiting for Betty to finish her sentence when he adds, “When I was in school they talked about the United States being a melting pot. I want this to be a melting pot where everybody is welcome; everybody is celebrated. There are too many people tearing stuff down these days; we want to build it up, be positive and be supportive.”

THE HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA

See Scrooge find his Christmas spirit in a heartwarming tale of holiday magic, laugh until your sides ache at the zany characters in a fractured fairytale opera, and celebrate the music of the season in the Holiday Vaudeville Revue. This holiday triple bill is a special family tradition designed to bring a year’s worth of smiles wrapped in a great musical and theatrical experience.

November 19 – December 31 // americanmelodrama.com

DECEMBER

CHRISTMAS AT THE CASTLE

Take in the impressive sight of Hearst Castle decorated for Christmas circa the 1920’s creating an impressive spectacle and a special atmosphere that is sure to make the season bright for you and the whole family. December 1 - 31 // hearstcastle.org

HOLIDAY PARADE

SLO at the 40th Annual

Parade in Downtown San Luis Obispo. Starting at 7 p.m. on the corner of Palm and Chorro, the event is one of the largest parades on the Central Coast, attracting thousands of spectators and featuring all types of

bands, dancers, and more. December 4 // downtownslo.com

REINDEER RUN

This 5K route is perfect for runners and walkers of all abilities. Enjoy pancakes with Santa at the Senior Center immediately following the run/walk. Holiday-themed costumes encouraged.

December 5 // slocity.org

A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

The Cal Poly Choirs will present their annual holiday spectacular, “A Christmas Celebration!” Under the direction of music Professor Thomas Davies, PolyPhonics, the University Singers, and the Cal Poly Early Music Ensemble will perform holiday favorites and new works. The Cal Poly Brass Ensemble, conducted by Christopher J. Woodruff, will add to the festive performances. Susan Azaret Davies and Paul Woodring will accompany the choirs and perform solo works for piano and organ. Audience members will have the opportunity to participate in a carol sing-along.

December 5 // pacslo.org

THE SANTALAND DIARIES

BABES IN TOYLAND

December 5 - 6 // clarkcenter.org

THE NUTCRACKER

It’s Christmas Eve and Clara is about to have the night of her dreams. Audiences of all ages will marvel at the magic and wonder of this spectacular, professional production brought to you by the Civic Ballet and accompanied by the Opera San Luis Obispo orchestra.

December 11 – 13 // pacslo.org

A CHRISTMAS STORY

Based on the humorous writings of author Jean Shepherd and the motion picture of the same name, A Christmas Story follows the wintry exploits of young Ralphie Parker, who spends most of his time dodging a bully and dreaming of his ideal Christmas gift: a genuine Red Ryder BB Gun. Frequently at odds with his cranky dad but comforted by his doting mother, Ralphie struggles to make it to Christmas Day with his glasses and his hopes intact.

December 5-21 // slolittletheatre.org

The Santaland Diaries is a brilliant evocation of what a slacker’s Christmas must feel like. Out of work, our slacker decides to become a Macy’s elf during the holiday crunch. At first the job is simply humiliating, but once the thousands of visitors start pouring through Santa’s workshop, he becomes battle weary and bitter. Taking consolation in the fact that some of the other elves were television extras on One Life to Live, he grins and bears it, occasionally taking out his frustrations on the children and parents alike. The piece ends with yet another Santa being ushered into the workshop, but this one is different from the lecherous or drunken ones with whom he has had to work. This Santa actually seems to care about and love the children who come to see him, startling our hero into an uncharacteristic moment of goodwill just before his employment runs out.

December 5-21 // slolittletheatre.org

ZOO HOLIDAY MAGIC

Santa is visiting the animals at the Charles Paddock Zoo a little early to deliver special gifts to our animal friends. Join in the fun from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Santa has made his list and checked it twice and it turns out everyone was nice. Enjoy a visit with Santa and start your holiday off with tons of animal fun.

December 20 // atascadero.org

Cheer on Tom Piper and Mary Contrary and the characters of Mother Goose Land in their efforts to save the toy factory from evil. With stunning costumes, a beautiful set and the expertise of the dancers, Babes In Toyland is a Central Coast family holiday tradition.

JANUARY

RESTAURANT MONTH

Visitors and locals alike can experience the region’s locally inspired cuisine throughout January as participating restaurants offer various special menus and promotions, most featuring a three-course prix fixe menu. Reservations recommended. Prices and offers vary per restaurant. Dine out during this delicious month celebrating some of the finest cuisine on the Central Coast.

January 2 - 31 // visitsanluisobispocounty.com

POLAR BEAR DIP

Kick off the New Year by jumping into the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean off Cayucos as part of the 30th Annual Carlin Soulé Memorial Polar Bear Dip. Most participants wear swimming suits or come in costume, but no wetsuits— because that would be cheating. The festivities begin at 9:30 a.m., with the Polar Bear Dip at noon.

January 1 // cayucoschamber.com

NO SHAME THEATRE

No Shame is an opportunity for anyone and everyone to write, perform, and enjoy a variety of entertainment ranging from scenes to original songs to… you name it. No need to submit your work for approval. Admission is free, no reservations required. The first 15 scripts submitted will be performed. No script will be turned away as long as it follows these three simple rules: All work must be original. That means the performer either wrote the piece or has permission from the author to perform the piece; All performances must be five minutes or less; Nobody may break anything, including the law.

January 15 // slolittletheatre.org

DR SEUSS’ THE CAT IN THE HAT

From the moment his tall, red-and-white-striped hat appears at Sally’s door, a rainy afternoon is transformed by the Cat and his antics. This delightful stage show, produced by Childsplay, proves that with some tricks (and a fish) and Thing Two and Thing One, with the Cat in the Hat, the fun’s never done.

January 24 // pacslo.org

LITTLE WOMEN

Inspired by the life and work of author Louisa May Alcott, the play begins with Louisa May recalling her own childhood. We quickly meet the real Alcott sisters and the many literary greats who visited Orchard House, their home in Concord, Massachusetts, as well a host of other real-life characters who influenced Ms. Alcott throughout her life. As the dramatization of Little Women begins, the fictional plot of the novel and the real-life friends and family of Louisa May Alcott are cleverly entwined. This powerful, tender and touching play brings us new insight into the person Louisa May Alcott actually was and showers us with renewed hope in the strength of family bonds and the spirit of love.

January 15 – 31 // slolittletheatre.org

CHOPINIANA

ROMEO & JULIET

In this double-ballet evening, the company of 50 famed Moscow Festival Ballet dancers will perform Tchaikovsky’s original, magnificent Romeo & Juliet, as well as Fokine’s rarely seen work, Chopiniana. An evening of beautiful ballet, danced by one of Russia’s premier companies.

January 31 // pacslo.org

BACH WEEK

Enjoy a week devoted to the performance and exploration of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Events range from chamber music performed on period instruments to the collaborative performance of large vocal and instrumental works by students and professionals alike.

January 19 – 24 // bachweek.calpoly.edu

INTEGRITY IN OUR ELECTIONS ORDINANCE

Elections must depend upon the Voters, not the Funders

BY WILLIAM OSTRANDER

In a recent New York Times poll, 87% of Americans believed that our campaign funding system needs to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt. Since the disastrous Citizens United ruling, money so dominates elections that candidates for the presidency have for several months been engaged in an “invisible primary” seeking wealthy billionaires to finance their campaigns. GOP Senator Lindsey Graham decried the way that “50 people are running the whole show” in financing campaigns. Chris Christie and Rand Paul have called for measures to reduce the impact of big money in politics. Hillary Clinton supports a constitutional amendment to limit campaign spending. Bernie Sanders has made campaign finance reform a centerpiece of his campaign. It is recognized across the political spectrum that the legislative process is unduly influenced by the insatiable need by policy makers for campaign funding, leading to a very personal and primary conflict of interest.

But the corruptive impact of our finance laws extends beyond the shadowy organizations and multimillionaires that have effectively captured the presidential selection process. As Paul Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center has observed, “Practices are developed at the national and federal level, and those that work are replicated at the state and municipal level.”

Locally, real estate developers are playing an increasingly dominant role in our elections. The 2014 Board of Supervisors race was the most expensive in our history with many donations from out of the area and state.

Short of a constitutional amendment, which the SLO City Council urged our federal representatives to consider in Resolution No. 10395 (2012 Series), there are five measures that can help reduce the corruptive influence of money in politics at any level. All are measures that are perfectly compatible with Supreme Court rulings on money in elections.

1. Public financing of elections

2. Disclosure – meaning revealing the original source of the funding

3. A citizen’s ethics panel to review compliance to elections laws

4. IRS rulings that restrict 501(c)(4)’s, social welfare organizations, from engaging in electioneering communications

5. SEC – require publicly traded companies to reveal their political donations

The first three can be enacted locally to help change the system that betrays our democratic process and influences our representation.

At the August 18th San Luis Obispo City Council meeting, led by the Citizens Congress, a local non-profit, of which I am the director, local residents urged city leaders to consider a powerful antidote to the Citizens United ruling through a new ordinance called “Integrity In Our Elections.” This ordinance, consisting of public financing, disclosure, and a citizens’ ethics panel, will promote honesty and fairness in local elections, by removing the need for candidates to constantly seek support from our wealthiest citizens for their candidacies. Instead, candidates must convince all of us, not just the funders to win elections.

Publicly funded elections have been around for a long time and operate in more than 28 states and almost all other democratic countries. The Supreme Court supports public financing as long as the program is voluntary—candidates can elect to stick with private financing if they

choose. Experiences in other cities and states show that 83% of candidates choose the public financing system. Here’s how it works:

First is a $20 Democracy Voucher, a type of tax rebate much like a gift card, to be sent to registered voters in the City of SLO on or about July 1st, the filing date for candidates. That card can be “swiped” at a campaign event or used to make an online contribution, to any candidate or candidates in our municipal elections. Voters have the freedom to divide the $20 among as many candidates as they wish.

Second is public disclosure. Political speech is protected, but the ordinance requires electronic disclosure to the City Clerk’s office of any campaignrelated expenditure over $500 from individuals or organizations within 24 hours. Anonymous actors, often from out of the area, wishing to influence our elections, must report their spending, divulging who they are so we may consider their motives.

Third is a citizen based ethics panel. The ordinance empowers our existing campaign regulations committee to receive, evaluate and report alleged violations to the City Attorney’s office within 30 days. Unlike the Federal Election Commission, which was designed for paralysis by those who themselves might require an investigation, this program places political power back in the hands of citizens.

Funding for the program, which we suggest come from the city’s general fund, amounts to about one half of one percent of the city’s overall budget during an election cycle. Insuring integrity in our democracy is no different than maintaining the roads and sidewalks of our community and this program encourages greater participation from citizens. You can read the ordinance proposal at the Citizen’s Congress website, citizenscongress.us, and email your support to the city council at: emailcouncil@slocity.org. The city council will be hearing staff recommendations and voting whether to proceed with this ordinance in December. We urge you to show your support at this meeting. Citizens Congress partnered with the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C. and other election law experts in drafting this ordinance specifically to the needs of San Luis Obispo. Our ordinance is presently unique, but could easily be a model for cities all across America. Both major cities like L.A. and New York and small cities like Santa Fe, New Mexico and Tallahassee, Florida have public financing. Seattle, Washington is currently considering a similar program. San Luis Obispo would be the first in the nation to adopt our unique, comprehensive Democracy Voucher program. Reform always starts at the local level. We have the chance to move campaign reform forward nationally by enacting it locally. Just as we led the way with indoor smoking bans and farmers’ markets, we could be a national leader in the movement to strengthen our democracy.

If you would like to have The Last Word email us your 1,000 word opinion to info@slolifemagazine.com

WILLIAM OSTRANDER is the director of the nonprofit Citizens Congress, and a sustainable farmer, who is running for election to the 24th District seat of the United States House of Representatives.