SLO LIFE Magazine Feb/Mar 2015

Stunning custom Edna Valley estate is the perfect place, offered at $1,995,000. Call for more details.

RUSS LEVANWAY

Q&A

With the hotly contested 4th District seat race behind her, Lynn Compton shares her views on politics and family alike.

On The Rise

San Luis Obispo High School Female Student of the Year Dorothy Monza reminds us that it’s never too late to change directions.

Business

Consultant Jim Rizzi offers insight on managing burnt-out employees.

Out and About

Jeanette Trompeter explores a local hotspot in the seaside town of Cayucos.

Now Hear This

The Jade Jackson Band is taking the Central Coast by storm and shooting for the stars (even if it means landing on the moon).

Travel

Dwelling

Inspired by a trip to Italy, this Shell Beach home amazes with Mediterranean styling.

Real Estate

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

Special Feature

Take an in-depth look at San Luis Obispo’s Clean Energy plan and find out why too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

Explore

Bringing the meaning “if you build it they will come” to life, SLO Makerspace is the new adult playground.

Health

Tired of being tired, we did our research and discovered some handy tips for getting a restful nights sleep—and it doesn’t include counting sheep.

Kitchen

With a romantic evening in mind, Chef Jessie Rivas shares one of his favorite recipes—perfect for two.

Happenings

We know life is busy, but we promise it’s worth it to schedule some time for these upcoming events around the Central Coast.

The Last Word

Jill Bolster-White of Transitions-Mental Health Association opens up our eyes to the realities of Mental Health and life in the “Happiest Place on Earth.”

Well-known surf photographer Chris Burkard takes us on a safari to the Kamchakta Peninsula in Eastern Russia.

Black Diamond

A couple of years ago I asked my oldest son what he would like to do for his 6th birthday. Without skipping a beat he said, “Go skiing.” Whoa, really, skiing? I wonder where he got that idea? My wife and I did not know how to ski and neither of our families had any history with the sport. But, that was about to change.

The morning of his birthday we were crammed into the rental hut at the ski resort along with what felt like a hundred other families. After our two oldest kids tried on far too many boots, we finally stepped outside onto the bunny hill for their lesson. Our kids then huddled up with their fellow students and after some quick instructions the teacher lined them up at the rope tow. It was quite a scene as one rookie after another held onto that rope for dear life, lunging and jerking their way up the microscopic hill. Amazingly, a few minutes later our kids came skiing down to the bottom with the instructor in front calling out “pizza” (to form a wedge and slow down) and “French fries” (to place the skis parallel and go faster). They nailed it on the first try! I turned to my wife and said, “We’ve got to do this.”

With the waive of my hand I pulled a classic Jedi Mind Trick on the ski rental guy—“these aren’t the droids you’re looking for” became “this kid here is going into kindergarten”—and my two-year-old, Harrison, magically met the age requirement and was fitted with skis along with my wife and me. Suddenly our whole family found ourselves together on the bunny hill. It turns out that there is an age limit for a reason. And after struggling for a while in frustration, I tossed his toothpick-sized skis aside and hoisted him onto my shoulders. He and I combined looked like a nine-foot-tall skier as we were cautiously “pizza-ing” our way down the hill. That was fine for a while, but after the third run Harrison started yelling at me to “do French fries, Daddy!” But, even in full-on “French fry mode” you can only go so fast on the bunny hill. So we decided to take our business to the next run, which had been marked clearly on a green sign, “Easy.”

Getting onto the chair lift was relatively straight-forward, it was the disembarking part that gave us trouble. After falling flat on our faces, the lift operator smacked the “Stop” button as we collected ourselves for the inaugural run. I did a little duck walk forward and began to feel the ground move beneath me with Harrison squealing in joy, “French fries, Daddy; French fries!!” I was terrified. Speeding down the hill, completely out-of-control with my son eagerly encouraging my irresponsible parenting, a snowboarder took a fall directly in our path. Taking a hard left to avoid a pileup, Harrison and I went end over end. Both skis left my feet and we found ourselves buried halfway into some fresh powder. I lifted my head to see the twisted up expression that every parent would immediately recognize: scared, hurt, and about to burst into tears. I, on the other hand, couldn’t help but laugh at the situation as I asked, “Harrison, are you alright?” His face began to lighten as he replied, “Daddy, that was awesome!”

Since that first outing, skiing has become my single most favorite thing we do together as a family. There’s something about all of us being around the same skill level learning on the fly, plus we’re enjoying the great outdoors and experiencing the exhilaration that comes with some small element of risk. Harrison, who is now five years old, has progressed to the point where he is skiing between my legs. During our last weekend warrior trip recently, the whole family was carefully crisscrossing one of the “Moderate” runs when he and I hit a patch of ice, changed direction and skidded out of bounds and onto another run with a sign that declared in bold, black letters, “Expert.” With all four of our skis pointing downhill on a slope close to a 90-degree angle, I “pizza-ed” as hard I could. But it was no use—we were toast. After a couple of cartwheels the two of us laid in the snow facing each other. We lifted our heads out of the dent in the ground to assess the damage, and both of us had an ear stuffed full of snow. “Harrison, are you ok?” I asked scooping the white stuff out of my head. While rubbing his ear with his big brother’s oversized glove, he said, “We just had an epic fail, Daddy—let’s do the Black Diamond again!”

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.

Live the SLO Life!

Tom Franciskovich tom@slolifemagazine.com

SLOLIFE magazine

4251 S. HIGUERA STREET, SUITE 800, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA SLOLIFEMAGAZINE.COM info@slolifemagazine.com (805) 543-8600 • (805) 456-1677 fax

PUBLISHER

Tom

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

CONTRIBUTIONS

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NOTE

The opinions expressed within these pages do not necessarily reflect those of SLO LIFE Magazine. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the expressed written permission of the publisher.

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

Letters chosen for publication may be edited for clarity and space limitations.

You said it...

“

Great to see the continuing prosperity of SLO Life - it proves that print is “alive and well!”

Reading FRESH TAMALES TO GO reminded me of the special dinners at Estrada’s as we drove to Visalia from Tulare where I grew up. And my folks called it “Spanish” as well. We always enjoyed the steaming hot tostadas, fresh from the oven along with the tamales and enchiladas.

Cool to see your tie-in with driving to town with your grandpa and then at Cal Poly with your son, after the serendipitous tamale lady remembrance.

Also great to see Lesley on the cover - she is a wonderful influence and addition to our community.

Thanks for your continued dedication to publishing a high quality magazine.” — PETER HOUCK

MEET

LESLEY SANTOS DIERKS HISTORY, OUTREACH

I have read many of your publications and all of them seem to be geared to the wealthy, up and coming elites of SLO, so sad. I am a fourth generation county resident and my husband fifth generation resident, we have totally different eyes on what’s happening here!!! Clearly you are “newbies” here!!! Your magazine has no pertinence to our lives. Actually my husband’s family gave the property the Mission is on to SLO, and more, and clearly as a newcomer you have no idea of the history of SLO or its people. Your publication seems to dwell on the “rich and upcomers” of our area, i.e. the new wealthy members of SLO. You have lost me, and many others. But, maybe you have a different focus than what I expected!!! Done with your “elitist” publication.

— KATHY BERGMAN

Your article GETTN’ LUCE in the Dec/Jan issue of SLO Life Magazine was very informative and got to the heart of several broad issues facing SLO residents. Having lived here for over forty years, I would like to compliment you on how well thought out your explanation was of SLO history leading up to current problems.

Our home is three blocks from Cal Poly and our block is 60% student occupied. Your article states SLO has a 67% rental rate in housing but shows no breakdown for percentage of those rentals going to students. My search has turned up 2010 data showing total of 20,553 housing units in SLO with 7,547 owner occupied, 11,646 renter occupied and 1,360 vacant which would have given a 57% rental rate in 2010. Cal Poly shows year 2013 enrolled student population of 18,739 with 38%, or 7,120, housed on campus. If this is correct then 11,619 students were renting off campus either in SLO or neighboring communities. Of the total student body 4,750 were freshmen and 98%, or 4,655, lived on campus.

I found your suggestion of solving the student housing problem with large oncampus living units built with publicprivate financing an intriguing idea. I scanned information on line regarding the company you mentioned, American Campus Communities, and found they had contracted with 70 campus projects plus 23 off campus across the

nation. Some of this type of student housing could be developed on some of SLO’s larger land holdings such as the old Dalidio property.

Since we know Universities communicate among themselves can we assume this idea has been discussed? It does present a light at the end of the tunnel. This would revitalize neighborhoods for family owned housing and meet the need for affordable housing.

Sincerely and thanks for your excellent research.

— JANE BATTERSON

Thank you Tom Franciskovich for a very informative well thought out article regarding the SLO housing crisis. I only hope someone thought to send it to President Armstrong at Cal Poly!

— J.C. WHITESIDES

I look forward to receiving each issue of SLO Life and read it cover to cover. Your ability to take complex issues and distill them into succinct, easily understood articles is a gift to this community. GETTIN’ LUCE is a perfect example. Thank you for never failing to comment on the “elephant in the room,” our off-campus dormitories. We, 33% permanent residents appreciate your acknowledgement and support.

— LINDA WHITE

& NONPROFITS

The SLO Life article GETTIN’ LUCE was pure genius. Thank you for doing the research and providing the information to the public. Your writing style is captivating!

— MILA VUJOVICH-LA BARRE

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated GETTIN’ LUCE as an article and in particular the depth to which you went in making the connections. It appears the only way to get Poly to do anything is either more lawsuits or a continuing and relentless barrage of negative publicity.

I make this statement because during my thirty-seven years on the faculty of Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design I watched in utter amazement as three successive university administrations ignored the recommendations of experts on our faculty in areas of campus design, planning and civil engineering. Two examples: First, the collection of stupidities leading up to the traffic and safety problems created by the expansion of the stadium is a case of putting the wrong facility in the wrong place for the wrong reasons. The curve on the Highland road entrance is super elevated the wrong direction (normally a sophomore engineering exercise) and contributed to the death of a student. As the director of the Hearst Lecture series in our College, I invited the Facilities Planner from Princeton University to lecture on the Policies and Tools of Successful Campus Planning and Community Relations. Two weeks in advance, I personally hand-delivered invitations and posters to the president and senior administration as well as various management in the Department of Facilities Planning and followed up with phone calls. It was a standing room only lecture in the Business Building Rotunda and not a single person from the administration was there. They just couldn’t be bothered learning how it was done properly.

As you clearly point out, the current situation has many interconnected interests and concerns. Two of them that seem to have gone under the carpet are the CSU chancellor’s requirement to increase enrollment by an arbitrary number that apparently came out of thin air. I can find no reason why the citizens of San Luis Obispo should put up with having the quality of their community negatively impacted by someone in Long Beach. What if the chancellor had said ten or twenty thousand instead of five? Where is the limit? And why should we put up with an edict and an arbitrary enrollment increase? I am quite sure there is room at the Channel Islands, East Bay and Stanislaus campuses.

The other item that continually goes missing is that of Cuesta College. There are twenty community colleges in California and ten of them have housing on campus. Around seven thousand Cuesta College students currently live in San Luis Obispo. Cuesta has no viable excuse for not having student housing on campus. It has plenty of land and Cal Poly even owns an enormous parcel

immediately adjacent to the Cuesta campus. And since Cuesta is the back door into Cal Poly as much as it is a community college, it is past time for Cuesta and Poly to seriously engage each other on the topic of housing. I know of at least six locations available for student housing on campus that would not terrorize the Slack Street neighborhood. And by the way, Princeton doesn’t build new housing to accommodate increased enrollment, it LIMITS enrollment and it is one of the reasons a degree from there is valuable.

— GARY DWYER Professor Emeritus College of Architecture and Environmental Design Cal Poly State University

I want to thank Tom Franciskovich for his article in the recent SLO LIFE MAGAZINE about the City over-riding the Airport Land Use Commission’s safety zone. GETTIN’ LUCE hit the nail on the head with regard to the driving force being “affordable” housing, not to mention lots and lots of money being “contributed” to elections and now recently the Bike Coalition by developers. I have been trying to convince the council to spend their energy and efforts in lobbying our legislature and/or our Governor’s office to provide funding for more on-campus housing at Cal Poly. It appears they are not interested in doing that so our problem with student overload in our neighborhoods will continue, creating the investment mecca that has been growing, and will continue to grow, in our City. We will never have real affordable homes in this City, no matter how many they build, without Cal Poly housing more of its students on campus. Everyone knows this!!

I am very concerned about our Council over-riding the Airport Land Use Plan. There was an airplane crash in Maryland today in a residential neighborhood that killed a mom and her two children in one of the homes—a mile from the airport—as well as considerable damage and fire to adjacent homes. All on board the plane were killed as well. The Dalidio (San Luis Ranch) property is a prime area for another plan crash, so it is beyond me why our current leaders would want to put families in such jeopardy. Your article has been read by many residents and I have been getting e-mails and text messages about it. So, again, thank you for your insight and willingness to “tell it like it is.”

— CAROLYN SMITH

Thank you for your excellent article GETTIN’ LUCE. I hope the powers that be will pay attention to your well thought out arguments.

— JOHN GOODELL

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Thank you to Tom Franciskovich for another intelligent and clear article. You rightly assert that LUCE or no LUCE, SLO’s problems remain with students taking over our family homes. Cal Poly has so much land, administrators have no excuse for not building any more dorms. They could even build some in the middle of campus if the two story run-down dorms such as Shasta, where there is no privacy and no peace to study, were razed and replaced with modern dorms like Poly Canyon Village. As you mentioned it before, public/private partnership is an ideal financial solution. However, it is a mistake to focus only on Cal Poly. Cuesta has 3,000 students who come from various parts of California, and who live in our family homes. We must put pressure on Cuesta to build dorms for these students. Finally, the San Luis Coastal School District has turned several of our neighborhood schools into semi magnet schools without dealing with the resulting mess. Cars, school buses, large numbers of outsiders threaten and pollute what used to be peaceful neighborhoods, therefore many long-time residents who lived around the schools moved out and turned their homes into student rentals (some areas around Bishop’s Peak and

the new Pacheco are 75% students.) The City leaders must demand responsible decisions from all the schools we shelter and support with our taxes, but they will do it only if we, the residents, are fully committed to save our city whether we live or not in an impacted area.

— ODILE AYRAL Professor emeritus, Cal Poly

Thank you for identifying the “crisis” that is occurring in nearly every neighborhood within a 3 mile radius of Cal Poly! The lack of affordable housing for families in the City of SLO is pathetic. I have lived in my home for over 50 years so have witnessed the gradual erosion from permanent residents to transient residency (students). President Armstrong has at least opened dialog to more student housing on campus but of course, we disagree with the placement of nearly 1,500 Freshmen directly adjacent to a well established neighborhood therefore compounding the problems that we are so desperately trying to eliminate. Increased traffic is the least of our problems; just one of many. Working together is the only possible way to get out of this mess!

— KAREN CORDA ADLER

The GETTING’ LUCE article was quite interesting. I would like to give you some history concerning the Dalidio Ranch. This entire acreage was the Wood Ranch until the 1920’s. Forest Wood’s parents give this entire piece of land as a wedding present to Forest and Ann E. Wood. Forest moved the spectators’ barn on rollers up to the present location. There was a horse race track below the ranch where the town’s people would watch the horses race. The spectators sat in the upper portion of the barn. It is still there today. The little house on the property was connected to the barn and Forest moved it to the present location and put a sidewall on it. That is where Forest and Ann E. lived until their new ranch house was built. They raised all their children in that ranch house. The Woods had a thriving ranch with rich soil and crops and cattle and the stream flowing through had very large fish that Forest would catch with his pitch fork. Ann E. kept a fine house and raised their five children. They were very active in the Baptist Church on the corner of Osos and Pacific Streets which the Adventists bought. Forest’s parents paid for the lot and the building of the church. Mother, Pauline Bray Martin, attended there and loved Ann E. Wood and used to go out to the ranch and help Ann E. I have a picture taken in 1917 of my mother holding the youngest daughter as a baby and there is the ranch house we see today. That baby grew up and was a wonderful friend of my mother. On her Birthday of 90 years Ernie Dalidio let the family have the party in the old ranch house. It was special. Elsbeth Wood Osborne enjoyed her surprise party. Last January Elsbeth passed on. In the 1920’s the Dalidio’s bought the property. Rose and Ernie Dalidio, Sr., were dear friends of Mother’s. Mother was active in the Emerson School P.T.A. and encouraged beautiful Rose to run for president. Rose did just that and later went on to the Monday Club to take leadership roles there. Rose always thanked Pauline Bray Martin in how she encouraged her. At Elsbeth’s surprise party I met Ernie, Jr., and his wife. We both went to Emerson School but I never knew him.

I thought you might enjoy this bit of SLO history. Sincerely, — Jean A. Martin 80 years young and a bright mind to appreciate dear SLO

GETTIN’ LUCE generated a huge amount of response, including from San Luis Obispo City Councilman John Ashbaugh who suggested a novel solution to one of the potential pitfall to building on the old Dalidio property. He said that deed restrictions could be added to the new homes that are eventually expected to come up for sale at San Luis Ranch which would prohibit them from becoming rental properties. We called Gary Grossman of Coastal Community Builders to ask him if he would be willing to do such a thing. His lawyer, Marshall Ochylski, called us back and said, “We are considering adding deed restrictions, but no decisions have been made at this time.”

TEACHABLE MOMENT

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL BOUTON

During 37 his years as a biology instructor in Michigan— half of those at a community college in Grand Rapids— Bill Bouton was constantly in search of meaningful ways to bring the miracles of nature to life for his students. When he first picked up a camera and started messing around shooting “mushrooms or flowers or whatever fit into the lesson plan,” he knew he was on to something. The photos invigorated his teaching and also gave him a new energy for his field of study. There was just something about the impossible colors and textures he was capturing on film that continually amazed his students as well as stoked his insatiable curiosity.

When Bouton finally said, “Goodbye,” to the classroom he turned his full attention to photography. His new home in San Luis Obispo offered plenty of material and he soon made the leap to a digital single lens reflex. Inspired by the surroundings of the Central Coast, Bouton discovered his passion and his days became filled with efforts to capture nature in its essence. “I have never been a fan of black and white,” the Midwesterner states plainly. “Nature is so fabulous because of the color.” Today his Flickr account boasts some 5,000 or so photographs. And, he is most well-known for the now ubiquitous shot featuring the young woman on a stand-up paddle board next to one of the whales that surfaced near the shores of Avila Beach a couple of years ago. “I was on the beach a while ago and began talking to these two British men when that photo came up. They told me they saw it in the London Times,” Bouton marvels.

In stark contrast to the international attention given to our local whales a while back pales in comparison to the solitude found in the photo you see here. While he was out scouting around the tide pools of Montaña de Oro in search of “interesting critters” to photograph, Bouton stumbled upon this lone star, a Bat star (Patiria miniata) to be precise. The creature was likely lifted up by the tide and placed on the surf grass as it went back out. This day produced and extremely low tide with the light and the clouds in full cooperation. With his camera mounted on a tripod and set to a slow shutter speed, Bouton captured this photograph. If you look closely at the legs of the starfish you can faintly recognize a bit of blur, which was created because the animal was moving toward the pool of water just below the frame. “They’re a lot faster than you would think,” lectures Bouton, who cannot resist the opportunity to teach a little biology. SLO

LIFE

12/3

In his first public meeting as San Luis Obispo’s newly elected councilmember, Dan Rivoire, asked to postpone the vote to ratify the LUCE (Land Use and Circulation Element) in order to get more feedback. A week later, he voted, “Yea,” along with three of his colleagues (Dan Carpenter dissented) and the LUCE was approved.

12/17

The City of SLO approved an ordinance allowing for the inspection of rental properties by a 3-2 vote. Under the new program, which could take up to a year to fully implement, rental properties will be subject to routine city inspection to ensure that health and safety standards are met.

the County DECEMBER ‘14

12/28

12/28

Kevin Swanson, of Morro Bay, survived after being bit by an 8 to 10 foot long Great White Shark while surfing at Sand Spit Beach in Montaña de Oro. The fifty-year-old was attended to by two doctors that happened to be on the beach that day until he could be airlifted to the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

12/29

Grover Beach resident, Byron Tate, 52, was killed after being struck by an off-road vehicle near the camping area in the Oceano Dunes, which, in light of the ongoing concern over the dangerous air quality it generates, brought the overall safety of the State Vehicular Recreation Area back into question.

A teenage girl who became separated from her family while shopping in downtown San Luis Obispo was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a homeless man who had a long record of previous sexual crimes. The incident occurs a month after another homeless individual sucker punched an employee at the Flip Flop Shop.

1/17

Dave Romero, is named Citizen of the Year by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce after having served the city for 52 years. At 86 years old, the former mayor has not slowed down much after being termed out of office in 2010 as he remains active in the Rotary Club of SLO and the Retired Active Men’s Society.

1/5

Following their wins in the November election, Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Lynn Compton [see page 24 for more on Compton], ClerkRecorder Tommy Gong, District Attorney Dan Dow, Controller Jim Erb, Assessor Tom Bordonaro, Sheriff Ian Parkinson, and Superintendent of Schools James Brescia, were sworn in before a standing-room-only crowd at the County Government Center in San Luis Obispo.

JANUARY ‘15

1/20

Against the objection of Councilman Dan Carpenter who argued that, “We need a paradigm shift,” the San Luis Obispo City Council voted to allocate a $250,000 grant toward the design and construction of a new homeless day center at 40 Prado Road. The grant brought the funding total to $1.9 million for the $4.4 million project.

1/14

Following the report of three sexual assaults at Cal Poly fraternities, the university suspends all social gatherings within the Greek system indefinitely. All of the incidents reported that a young woman had been raped at a party off-campus where drugs and alcohol played a significant role.

1/22

Arroyo Grande’s former city manager, Steve Adams, threatens a lawsuit if he did not receive $107,000 in severence even though he had resigned his position on November 19th following a cloud of controversy over alleged misconduct with an employee. AG’s city council, fearing litigation, decided to negotiate with Adams and will hand over another check to go along with the $26,553.87 he had already received while on leave, plus another $54,219.51 for vacation accrued.

Climbing the Ladder

Fresh from her recent victory in the hotly contested 4th District seat on the County Board of Supervisors, LYNN COMPTON, talks with us about everything from tractor pull politics to how not to spy on your kids…

What do you like to do for fun? I raise minihorses. I have fifteen mares and two stallions. They’re like little lawn mowers; they eat hay, and they’re totally worthless. You can’t ride them, but they are so cute. About a year-and-a-half ago, a woman from Oxnard called me and said, “We have two Alpacas that have been abused. Would you consider temporarily homing them on your ten acres? We’ll bring them up to you.” She had heard of me from another animal rescue. Something like that always makes its way to our house, whether it’s an injured horse or an abused animal that we are taking care of. We have done owl rehab. We’ve had fawns that have had their leg cut off in hay bailers. There’s always something at our house that we’re trying to rehabilitate. I’m a sucker for it, and it always ends up that someone calls me and says, “You know, can you...?” So, that’s kind of what my spare time revolves around; that and all of the kids’ activities.

How did you get into rescuing animals in the first place? Remember when Greenpeace had that “Save the Seal Campaign” concerning the clubbing of that cute little harp seal? I couldn’t stand that; he was too cute, so I was going to leave college and get on a Greenpeace ship to Antarctica to save the seal. I was going to blanket my body over a seal, but then I got my job and I realized, “I’m a Republican.” [laughter] But, the animal thing—it’s funny because I deal with a lot of animals, and I’ve done a lot of animal stuff, and so many of those people are really liberal Democrats, and we get along over the animal thing. I don’t talk politics and they don’t either and it’s like, “Well, okay, we’ll do our rescue thing.”

Are loving baby seals and being a Republican mutually exclusive? No, not at all. But, I look at it from a business perspective. We own a small business. California is the least friendly State to do business in, yet it wants to tax and spend more. San Luis Obispo County has the highest percentage of small companies in the State— almost 70% of our county’s income is generated by sole proprietorships, businesses with four or less people. So, it means less taxing and spending, more fiscal restraint, less government interference, and letting the free markets do their thing. Plus, I was raised in a small town in Indiana where we played on the streets at night with all the kids. Our doors were never locked. We didn’t have

crime and so I think I grew up with this idealistic view of things, which has shaped my life. It’s a lot different now. I have twin 13-year old girls and the things that I was raised with are so different now than what they are faced with. I mean we go round and round about the iPhone with, “Why are you texting at 10 o’clock at night?” It’s so much harder now to raise decent kids than it was for my parents to raise decent kids.

So, what can you do? Well, for example, my girls got into Instagram and I kept saying to them, “Now you are being careful who you talk to, right?” And they’d say, “Oh yeah, we aren’t even friends with people we don’t know.” So I checked one of their phones and she had like 500 friends! Now, I know she doesn’t have 500 friends—give me a break, she’s only in the seventh grade. So, I said to my husband, “I’m going to set up an Instagram account, and I’m going to befriend the girls to see if they accept the request.” I was prompted to create a username and couldn’t find one because they were all taken, so I ended up with something like “Starfire,” or something. And then I added a little humming bird picture. My daughters both befriended me within a minute. Okay, so they don’t even know who this person is, but I’m watching and nothing weird is going on. Then about a month later I’m in the car and one of them says to me, “Mom are you Starfire?” I said, “Why do you say that?” She said, “Because the only two people that they’re friends with are Kate and me, so I figured it was you.” I said, “Yes, it’s me—and I’m watching you.”

So, Starfire, how did your daughters cope with the recent campaign? [laughter] Very funny. You know, honestly, they just hated it. They were just mortified by it. I had a van that was wrapped with my face all over it for the campaign. I had to park a block away from school to let them out because they were just so mortified that their mom was running for office. They just didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I had never run for anything before. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did run for Tractor Pull Queen when I was in college. I went to Purdue and was in the Ag Department. And, yes, I will admit that I was a finalist for Tractor Pull Queen. [laughter] I actually told some people that story the other day and they said, “You just went up two steps on the ladder for us.”

Making Up for Lost Time

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS BERSBACH

Early in life, RUSS LEVANWAY lost his hearing. For twenty years, except for sign language, he was unable to communicate. Growing up in a small town in Upstate New York afforded little support and he found himself very alone and isolated. As a boy, his life was centered around family, books, and computers. Eight years ago, with the help of cutting edge technology, Levanway suddenly regained his ability to hear speech. The whole world opened up and he left Cuesta College where he headed up their Information Technology (IT) services and went on to found TekTegrity, the San Luis Obispo-based IT company that now employs 62 people. He and his wife, Sarah, have two young daughters, six and four. Here is his story…

We like to take it from the top, Russ, where are you from? I actually grew up in Oneonta, which is in Upstate New York. It was quite rural with cold weather, lots of snow. I’m the oldest of six siblings. The youngest, my sister, is the only girl. My parents gave up trying for a girl after having five boys, so they adopted her. My father is Irish-French and my mother is Italian. My mother’s family was all from New York City and Long Island. They are a very Italian family—big dinners, big get-togethers, animated conversations. It was awesome. My mother grew up in a little L-train apartment in Brooklyn. It was a very tough, hard-scrabble life for her growing up. That’s one of the reasons when she met my father in college they decided to settle upstate instead of in the city.

So, exactly how did you lose your hearing?

When I was four years old I became really sick. I was visiting my grandparents in Albany, and I couldn’t hold anything down. I was just so sick. This went on for a day or a day-and-a-half. I started running a very high fever and my parents took me to the emergency room. I have little flashes of memory here and there of what happened. I remember that I started to lose my hearing on the way to the hospital. By the time we arrived, my hearing was totally gone. The high fever killed the hairs of my cochlea. It turned out that I had spinal meningitis. At that

time the fatality rate was very high, about 70% didn’t make it. Once I arrived at the hospital I went into a coma. I was there for a couple of weeks and for the first few days the doctors didn’t think that I was going to survive. Especially that first day, they didn’t think I would make it through the night. It got to a point where they told my parents, “He’s in a coma. We don’t think he will ever wake up. And if he does, he’s going to be brain damaged, paralyzed, and unable to hear.” The doctor asked if they wanted to take me off life support at that point. And my parents are the type to not give up easily. My mom’s response was, “Just do everything you can to keep my son alive.” There was a lot of prayer and lot of support. I did finally pull through and the only long-term damage was the loss of my hearing.

Wow, that’s incredible, what was life like after that point?

So, it went from a normal childhood up until the age of about four-and-a-half to not being able to hear. And that changes your whole world. It’s hard to describe. It’s a very personal thing, but perhaps a story worth telling. After that point, for all of my growing up life I wore hearing aids but had very little speech understanding—pretty much none. Communication would really only happen with my family. I really couldn’t communicate with other people. I couldn’t hear my own voice

either, so it was hard for me to speak clearly so that people could understand me. I went from having a big world to a really small world. The other part of it was that they thought that I would be paralyzed because your inner ear controls your balance. And when I first came out of the hospital I could not walk. I could only crawl and I had no sense of balance or stability. But the human body is kind of miraculous and even though my inner ear was gone, my muscles learned to compensate. Over a period of time—about six months—I slowly learned to walk again with my muscles controlling my balance instead of my ears. It’s crazy, just crazy. So the doctors’ prediction turned out to be quite wrong. Except for the hearing part.

And, what about school?

I loved reading, but in class I could never understand the teacher. It was very lonely. Since it was such a small community there were no sign language interpreters available. There wasn’t a lot of support or special services for someone who was deaf. I used to watch other students to figure out what was going on. I didn’t even know that a test was coming sometimes, so I often had to look over someone’s shoulder to copy the answers because I didn’t know the material. I just kind of smiled and nodded and followed

peoples’ cues. It worked most of the time but did lead to some pretty embarrassing situations. I remember when my school took a trip to the YMCA—of course, I didn’t know about it until we started lining up at the bus—all of the other kids had been informed by the teacher to bring a bathing suit. I had no idea. I was eight years old at the time, and I really wanted to go swimming. Luckily the teacher let me swim in my underwear. Everyone was in the pool at the YMCA and there I was in my underwear! [laughter] Those types of things would happen, circumstances where you ended up holding the stick at the end because you just didn’t know what was going on. To this day I don’t like being left out of things. But, I think that I had become so used to it happening that sometimes now I have to be conscious about being intentional and participating in something, and not just letting it sail by without my involvement.

And what brought you here to the Central Coast?

When I was 18 years old, my parents made the decision to move out to California. You know this story. My parents took a trip out to visit my uncle in San Francisco. He took them down to the Central Coast, and guess what happened? They fell in love with the area, as we all do. My mother made a decision right then and there that “someday, we are moving to San Luis Obispo.” They also loved rural areas around Arroyo Grande. I remember taking a couple of trips out here when I was a teenager with my mother and father to find a place to live. They eventually bought a ranch on Corbett Canyon Road. The entire family hopped into a Ryder truck and moved to the other end of the country. It was the modern version of moving out West. But, it was the lifestyle here and the opportunities they wanted their children to have—that’s why they did it. They thought, “Why not do it? Why not take the gamble and do that?” And, so it turned out to be a pretty big inflection point in my life.

How so?

I enrolled at Cuesta College and volunteered in the computer services department. Computers are something I have always enjoyed working with and tinkering with and playing with. My mother had one of those big green screen computers from the 80’s and I would work on it as a child. When I was 14 years old I bought my first computer with savings from allowance over the years. I learned a lot by volunteering at Cuesta, but then they offered me a full-time position. First I was a technician and eventually became the senior network administrator. It was great. I worked there for almost eight years total and got to know them really well, great people. Plus, Cuesta College is where I met the love of my life, Sarah.

Okay, Russ, now you have to tell us how you met! We were both students there and did not really get to know each

other actually until graduation day standing in line together in our cap and gowns. I had a sign language interpreter, and in some of my classes I had a note taker. Sarah was studying sign language and had been assigned to me as a note taker. But the note taker comes in, takes the notes, hands them over and leaves. So we never got to strike up a conversation. Plus I was shy, and she was shy. It just didn’t happen until we were stuck in line together for 45 minutes. [laughter] We got to know each other but I just didn’t have the guts to ask her for her email address. I just couldn’t do it. But we did talk about the classes we were going to be taking over the summer. I told her that I was going to be taking a World Religion class to finish my requirements and complete my degree. And she said that she was going to be taking Speech classes over the summer. I figured out that there were six Speech classes offered that summer so I made a plan to sign up for all of them and then I would drop whichever ones she was not in. And then I would ask her out on a date. On the first day of summer school I walk into my World Religion class and guess who I see? Sarah. She said, “Oh, it turns out that I needed to take this class, as well.” We ended up becoming study partners, then dating and falling in love.

Did Sarah learn sign language to communicate with you?

No, no, before we met she already knew sign language really well. So, we had a common bond right from the beginning. I couldn’t talk with very many people, unless they knew sign language. After being married for about three years I had learned about a new type of hearing aid called a cochlear implant, which is the hardware that I have in my head all of the time now. I did some research and found out that a certain percentage of people had a lot of success with them. Traditional hearing aids only amplify sound; they don’t help with speech awareness or understanding. They don’t create any auditory discrimination. The cochlear implants, on the other hand, completely replace your ear. They actually implant an electrode into your cochlea within your inner ear and it sends electrical stimulation directly to your brain. It’s amazing technology. But, success with the implants is all over the map. For some people it all just sounds like noise to them. But, because I did hear and did learn speech as a child, the doctors thought I would have good success with it. So I decided to do it. And after my first surgery they waited for about a month for everything to heal before they turned it on for the first time. After 20 years of nothing, the first two words I heard were from my wife. She said, “Hi, Honey.” When I heard those words I just started to cry. Until that day I had not heard speech since I was four. I cannot even begin to describe the feeling.

Wow.

Before the implants there was only lip reading because what little sound I could hear didn’t make any sense. It’s hard to describe. But with the implants, sound made sense again. From there, my speech recognition gradually grew and improved. With just the one implant I very quickly went from zero speech recognition to about 50%. Then, a few years later I had a second implant, so I had two of them. With two of them now, my speech recognition is close to 90%. I can’t really enjoy music or listen to the radio, things like that. >>

It doesn’t come naturally, it’s very mechanical and computerized but it’s precise enough to understand speech. I can’t pick out different musical instruments, for example. But, now I can get on the phone and have a phone call, or have a conversation with you, or go to a business networking event. I couldn’t do any of those things before the implants. It was transformative. It created a new social sphere, new opportunities to get to know people, an opportunity to start a company. They really opened up a whole new world that had been closed for a long time.

won’t be able to understand them. So there is a big psychological barrier to communication that has built up over a long period of time. Still, to this day, it is very hard. It’s hard for me to go into a social setting with people I don’t know and just strike up a conversation because psychologically I still think that I am not going to understand. It’s very hard for me to pick the phone and call people who I don’t know very well, in business for example. I’m afraid that I will not understand them and will end up looking like an idiot. That’s still a big hurdle even now after having the implants for eight years. The reality is that I’m still a baby when it comes to communication, especially in social settings, because I have only had a short time to be able to actually have normal conversations.

Okay, so how did you get into business?

Being a network administrator is a great job, and sitting in front of a screen all day without any interpersonal interaction was fine when I couldn’t understand anyone anyway. But then I realized that if I am actually going to take advantage of my newfound ability to hear, I needed to get to know people and build relationships in the community. I needed to do something different. I started doing IT work on the side for school districts because there was a big unmet need. Rural school districts did not have adequate IT support and services. A few people began referring work to me and I eventually began doing all of the IT work for some schools. So I would work at Cuesta four days a week, ten hours a day. Then on Fridays and Saturdays I worked at various school districts. Eventually I got to the point where I said to myself, “It’s time to take a leap of faith.” In 2004 I gave Cuesta College 30-day’s notice and set out to start my own company. Through starting a business, I began to get the social interaction and relationship building I was looking for. It was really at that time that I

came to fall in love with the community here. And over time, we went from doing IT services just for schools to business IT services, which is now about 95% of our work. We went from having just myself in 2005 to bringing on my partner Jeremy [Koellish] in 2006 to now having 62 employees. So we have had quite a bit of growth and success over that time.

What motivates you now?

I have felt like I have a lot of catching up to do. It felt like I was

What do you mean by that?

If you go through life expecting that this is how it is always going to be, it becomes your comfort level. Once I got the implant I started to realize that I could have a real conversation with people. It took me a long time—and it still does—to build up the confidence to talk to people who I don’t know. That’s from having so much of my life assuming that if I ask somebody a question I won’t be able to hear the answer. Or if somebody comes up to me and says something, I

starting from square one when I started to hear. I think that created a lot of drive and focus. I did change a lot. If you ask my wife she will tell you that it was kind of difficult for a while because what we knew when we got married became very different over the course of time. It was just us and our little circle. Then, all of a sudden I was getting to know a lot of people. I was starting a business and there was a lot of risk involved in that. I see it as a drive to make up for lost time, and I still have that now.

Eventually I got to the point where I said to myself, “It’s time to take a leap of faith.”

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Dorothy Monza

Seventeen-year-old San Luis Obispo High School senior DOROTHY MONZA shares her passion for serving others.

What sort of extra-curricular activities are you involved in? I’m involved in the SLOHS ASB as the Senior Class President, the San Luis Obispo County Youth and Government delegation as the Delegation President, the SLOHS GSA as co-president, and as a volunteer at the San Luis Obispo AIDS Support Network. I also work part time at Teaberry Frozen Yogurt Cafe.

What recognition have you received? I was chosen as the SLOHS Female Student of the Year for 2014-2015 and have been on the honor roll throughout high school.

What do you want people to know about you? I never held a major leadership role in a club or organization until my senior year, and I only discovered my interest in international relations during my junior year. I’m a strong believer that it’s never too late to change your mind about what you want to be, or take your life in another direction.

What is your favorite memory of all time? When I was able to save up enough money to go on a trip to South Africa last summer to volunteer in a foster home for children affected by HIV and AIDS. The entire two-week trip was the happiest I’ve ever been! It made me certain I want to dedicate my life to service.

What is important to you outside of high school? Learning for the sake of learning, rather than for a grade is important to me; I try to always expand my knowledge of the world and issues important to me by reading print and online publications. I also value my part-time job because I like the responsibility and being somewhat financially independent from my parents.

Who or what has influenced you the most and why? My involvement with Youth and Government has influenced my life more than anything else in my high school career. It improved my confidence, helped me find my voice, and awakened my interest in government and policy.

If you could go back in history and meet anyone, who would it be and why? I would meet Mahatma Gandhi because of his actions as an anti-war and civil rights activist. I am particularly amazed by Gandhi because, despite all the injustice he witnessed, his message never faltered to violence or hate. His ideal “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” guides my future career aspirations.

What career do you see yourself in someday and why? I hope to someday work for a Non Governmental Organization that promotes health and human rights in developing countries. I’m very interested in international relations, advocating for and providing services to underserved populations, and traveling.

What do you dislike the most and why? I dislike apathy and the inaction it breeds. I think we should all be doing everything we can to make the world better by affecting change, big or small, in our families, circles of friends, and communities.

What schools are you considering for college? I’m mainly considering private colleges on the East Coast. I hope to attend a university in Washington, DC.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I’ll hopefully have received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees and will be just returning from the Peace Corps.

SLO LIFE

Know a student ON THE RISE ? Introduce us at slolifemagazine.com/share

The Disenchanted Long Timer

BY JIM RIZZI

Acommon challenge for small business owners is the disenchanted long timer. The employee that has worked for the company many years, but over time has gone from the best employee to the most challenging. For the purpose of this hypothetical example, let’s call this person Julie. And, now imagine that she is employed by you.

Julie works at your business, a small widget manufacturer. You make the best widgets on the Central Coast, bar none. She has been with the company for 15+ years and during that time has always been a top performing salesperson. The company has five salespeople, and on any given month Julie’s billing can account for as much as 50% of all sales. She is by far the biggest sales producer.

Julie was an excellent employee and team player. She believed in the company, and its mission, but most importantly, she believed in you, the owner. You were a mentor to Julie.

You shared your experience and knowledge with Julie, guiding her development as a salesperson. She was your go-to person, someone you could always count on for support. She had a very positive influence on the staff, a respected leader.

About seven years ago, the economic downturn caused a significant drop in sales for the business. Fewer people were buying widgets and everyone was cutting back on their budgets to survive. Until sales came back, operating expenses at the company had to come down to match the lower revenue.

This meant, among other things, layoffs and compensation reductions.

You were forced to lay off three people, and worse, you had to ask Julie to accept a lower commission structure. For the first time, Julie pushed back. She understood business was off, but she was already making less money because her sales declined during the recession. She simply could not believe you were asking her to take less commission on her already lower sales. She was very upset, but there was nothing you could do. To keep your company afloat, reductions had to be made everywhere. Besides, you took a bigger pay cut than anyone and, when things were really bad, you went nearly a year without paying yourself at all.

Today, business has improved, but it has never gotten back to where it was in the past. It is still a constant struggle. The business is run with a smaller staff, and every expense is carefully monitored. You were never able to restore Julie’s commission structure to the previous level. The old commission structure worked with greater sales, but not at the current pace.

Julie is a very different employee today. Year-toyear, she still bills more than any of the other reps, but it feels like she is working for herself and her clients, not the business. She works from home nearly all the time, rarely coming into the office. And she feels that staff meetings are a waste of her selling time. Today, you can count on Julie to not support new initiatives, ideas or change. Many of these things she flat out refuses to implement. Deadlines do not mean as much as they used to; she gets her work done, but other departments have to accommodate her schedule. The guys in the factory making the widgets roll their eyes when they see her.

Most frustrating of all is that you feel responsible for Julie’s behavior. Once sales dropped, you were desperate for every dollar. The company was so dependent on Julie’s sales you didn’t want to call her out on her bad behavior for fear she would leave. You just let it all go. You told everyone, yourself included, “Oh, that’s just Julie, don’t worry about it.”

Morale is down now among the other employees. The last few years have been tough, and Julie’s bad attitude has not helped the situation. It is difficult to make positive changes when the employee with most tenure and the lion’s share of the sales refuses to participate. All of your attempts to change her behavior have failed. You used to be good friends, now all conversations seem to end badly.

Julie has become a disenchanted long timer. She has been with the company a long time, has made tremendous contributions to the success of the company, and still does today, but her attitude is negatively impacting your efforts to move the company forward. What do you do?

What is more important, the positive contributions or the negative attitude? How much should your personal loyalty affect your decision about how to handle this situation?

You have a business to run, but without her contribution would your business have survived?

If you let her go, how much of her sales will go with her? Is there business on her prospect list she is not getting to because she is not working as hard as she once did? If she leaves, will other staff start looking for a new job?

If this story sounds familiar, you are not alone. This is a challenging situation, but, in my experience, surprisingly common to many small businesses. The right decision in this case, of course, is situation-specific. The one certainty is that you will need perspective to figure out what to do about Julie. You are likely too close to the situation to have the objectivity necessary to make a good decision. Talk to someone outside your organization, someone not emotionally involved who can help you sort out all the many variables involved in this very critical decision. Too many of these scenarios play out in emotional outbursts, “I’ve had it. I can’t take it anymore. You’re fired!” Don’t do that. It may feel good in the moment, but it is almost always the wrong approach. Instead, be proactive and get ahead of the issue. Seek objective, fair counsel. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of any major decision. And then do what’s best for your company—now and moving forward.

JIM RIZZI is the owner of KickStart Solutions Group, a San Luis Obispo-based business coaching and consulting firm.

HAPPY HOUR

Treasuring Schooners in Cayucos

Most tourist towns have them—places the locals gather. We’ve paid a visit to a pretty special one as we searched for gems in our own backyard.

BY JEANETTE TROMPETER

Sometimes the places where locals gather are the places tourists flock to, as well. Such is the case at the beachside restaurant and bar in Cayucos where we found all kinds of fun when we were Out and About.

It’s fitting that a place in an old seaside port town should be called Schooners. And you’ll believe that even more so by the time you finish reading this. Like a lot of gathering places in beach communities, it offers up a steady stream of amenities that draw the crowds. “The atmosphere, the view, the food, the drinks, the people,” says Rick McNellie.

Schooners is well known for its calamari, but there isn’t much on the menu I wouldn’t recommend. And it’s a hot spot on holidays and weekends, “It’s shoulder to shoulder on a

Friday night. You gotta fight your way to the bar,” laughs McNellie.

It’s also busy anytime there’s a special event in town, particularly during the Polar Bear Dip on New Year’s Day. “Yeah, everyone comes out for Bloody Marys afterwards. It’s probably the next biggest day next to 4th of July for Bloody Marys. They mix ‘em in five-gallon buckets!”

But on any given day, the afternoons provide an easy atmosphere for winding down, because Schooners offers a bird’s eye view of one of the best shows in town. It’s a great place to take in the sunset. “When it disappears behind the point, then the locals have to bet on something else,” explains McNellie. “For the longest time we were taking bets on when it would go down, and I was winning a lot because I was looking in the tide book!” he fesses up. There are a lot of guessing games like that when you’re sitting in a place like this. “It was lucrative for awhile, then they caught on to what I was doing.”

The wagers for the guessing games are really just bragging rights, but those are worth a lot in a place filled with characters like those found at a place like Schooners. “You would not believe what there is to bet on,” McNellie chuckles.

It’s a place where banter is bartered easily enough and strangers feel like friends pretty quickly, even among a steady stream of regulars. It’s definitely a Central Coast version of Cheers. But the regular sitting at the end of the bar nursing a beer is not a heavyset guy named Norm. He’s a pirate named Randy.

He’s been voted Customer of the Year, in part because of his regular attendance. “Pretty much,” says Randy Crozier. “Any afternoon you can come in here and find me.” And his pirate chest of treasures makes him pretty popular with the kids, as well. “We’ll be sitting here on a weekend afternoon or something and a little herd of them will come running up here, tear into the treasure chest, get a goodie and tear off on out of here.”

How appropriate for a place called Schooners to have a main character and the rest of his gang hanging around making happy hour, well, happy. It’s a place worth stopping in the next time you’re Out and About.

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

MUSIC SCENE

LOOKING UP

If you’ve ever star gazed under the Santa Margarita sky, you know full well the stars shine bright. Over the past year, a new cluster of stars has formed in the ‘Marg: The Jade Jackson Band, and they’re set to extend their light beyond SLO County.

BY DAWN JANKE

left to right Brenneth Stevens, Jake Vukovitch, Jade Jackson, Tyler Miller, and Andrew Redel.

Imet the members of The Jade Jackson Band at Jackson’s parents’ restaurant, The Range, a quaint little place on Route 58 with the best food ever (try the elk!). With old-time country music coming from the stereo and images of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash smiling from the walls, Jackson and her band were the perfect hosts: serving peppermint bark and coffee with whipped cream and making me feel like part of their family as we laughed about life and reveled in the Central Coast music scene.

As part of that scene, The Jade Jackson Band story is pretty amazing.

A self-taught guitarist, Jackson started performing at fourteen and has shared the stage with The Charlie Daniels Band, The Devil Makes Three, and Dwight Yoakam. After high school, Jackson enrolled at the California Institute for the Arts to pursue a degree in music, but when she first arrived, she broke her back and was in a wheelchair. For a while, she felt like her dreams of becoming a touring musician were shattered; yet she continued to make music with her friends.

One night in a friend’s basement back home in Margarita, Jackson created a demo with guitarist Brenneth Stevens and bassist Jake Vukovitch. Jackson says, “I put out two albums before I made that demo with Brenneth and Jake, and I cried in the car when I listened to it for the first time. That was what I had always wanted to sound like.” After the demo, the clouds shifted for Jackson: guitarist and vocalist for legendary punk rock band Social Distortion, Mike Ness, contacted her after hearing about her from his wife, Christine, a Morro Bay native.

By all accounts, Ness has been The Jade Jackson Band’s biggest supporter, driving up to the Marg’ for rehearsals, offering notes and encouragement. “He is giving us an amazing opportunity,” says backup vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Redel. Drummer Tyler Miller chimes in to ask, “What rock star of his status takes a weekend and drives up to Margarita to give us his honest criticism about our music because he cares about it?”

Ness does so on a regular basis, enjoying a bowl of popcorn as the band practices and making suggestions with an ear towards moving the band further into the light. Vukovitch says, “Ness is a driving force behind The Jade Jackson Band,” and Jackson agrees: “Mike is the nicest, most wonderful person. I want the band to be successful for him.”

While the band may be primed for success beyond Santa Margarita, The Jade Jackson Band is in many ways as down-home SLO County as you can get. Jackson, Vukovitch, and Redel were all born and raised in Margarita. Jackson and Vukovitch bonded over music in middle school, and Jackson says she “really looked up to Redel,” the elder of the band at 25, who is well known in Margarita as the music man at church. Redel is also trained in opera and earned a music degree from Cal Poly.

Miller, from LA, is currently earning a music degree from Cal Poly and plays for both the Cal Poly Jazz Band and the Jazz Combo. As the new guy in town, he doesn’t own cowboy boots yet, but Redel says, “We’re slowly breaking Tyler in to country life—he’s turning into one of us, skipping rocks on the tracks and everything.”

Stevens, who was born and raised in Atascadero, is somewhat of a virtuoso: he is self-taught at guitar, banjo, mandolin, and pedal steel guitar. Redel and Stevens have been friends since they were eight, and Jackson met Stevens two years ago when they started playing together along with Vukovitch. Jackson says Stevens is her “right-hand man.”

“I could not be where I am without these guys,” Jackson gushes. The guys chime in to remind me that Jackson is an amazing lyricist and that when they workshop a song, they

focus on the music. “I would listen to Jade’s songs every day, even if I wasn’t in the band,” says Vukovitch. Jackson says all band members are most interested in inviting the audience to listen to what they have together. “When this band got together the stars aligned,” she declares.

The stars aligned, indeed, and the band works in part, I think, because their music transcends genre. With influences from Hank Williams to heavy metal, classic rock to Mazzy Star, and jazz to punk rock, The Jade Jackson Band sound is delightfully intangible. Redel says, “We all like similar artists, and yet we each bring a unique flavor to the table and then together as a whole. What results is a sound that reaches a variety of audiences.”

When the band played the outdoor stage at the back of Frog & Peach as part of the Twang ‘n Bang Music Festival, between songs you could hear a pin drop as the crowd waited with bated breath to hear what the band would do next. Jackson says she’s experienced that attentiveness of audience at other recent shows, too, and that’s what makes her feel like “this is really going to happen.”

It is happening, and perhaps the best testament to their success yet was when they opened for Social Distortion, Hank 3, The Whigs, and Jonny Two Bags at the Pozo Saloon in September. The band also played at The Slidebar Rock-n-Roll Kitchen in Fullerton in October: “We up and took our Santa Margarita there to Fullerton and people liked it,” Jackson says.

The Jade Jackson Band is eager to take their Margarita on the road. Jackson says, “Our main focus these days is

to rehearse and get really tight.” In addition to their show with Merle Haggard at the Pozo Stampede in April, Jackson is working on an album and the band has plans to tour this summer.

“Our whole thing right now is to dream big; we’re shooting for the stars, and if we land on the moon that’s good too,” says Redel. Whether they reach those stars or walk on the moon, I recommend following Jade Jackson and her band to wherever they may land.

DAWN JANKE directs the Writing & Rhetoric Center at Cal Poly and keeps her pulse on the Central Coast music scene.

Check out The Jade Jackson Band at the Pozo Stampede on Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26, 2015. Follow Jade Jackson on Facebook for more information on upcoming shows.

La Bella Vita

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY TREVOR POVAH

How Harvey Green transformed his falling-down Shell Beach bungalow into a tiny Tuscan-villa-for-two.

turn this space into cafe for two. The high ceilings found throughout the home make it appear larger than it is, and the unique LED lighting framing the curved hallway ceilings provide added intrigue to the space.

TTwenty-three years ago, Harvey Green was stressing out. The decision about whether or not to buy the little falling-down beach bungalow eight lots from the ocean in Shell Beach was “scary,” mostly because the price just seemed so high. Green mulled it over as the old adage, “Location, location, location,” bounced around in his racing mind alongside the memories of his youth. Throughout his childhood, his family owned a trailer down the road in Oceano. This little stretch of the Central Coast was considered old stomping grounds. With his courage summoned, and figuring that he was letting his emotions get the better of him, Green signed on the dotted line to make a purchase he

now considers “the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”

Originally, it was intended to be a vacation home; a little crash pad to escape the Valley heat on the weekends. During the Monday to Friday grind, the Hanford resident was busy selling Ford trucks out of the Fresno dealership to his extensive customer list, made up mostly of local farmers and ranchers. But when the workweek ended, Green hopped onto Highway 41 and headed to “the Coast.” It was during those drives that the car salesman began thinking about his retirement. The kids were growing up, and he would be on his own soon. >>

KITCHEN Warm hues and dark woods work together with a custom hood and a six burner gas stove to

And, he was “… having a hard time leaving Shell Beach and going back to the Valley, especially when it was hot during the summer months.” In fact, it was so hard that Green decided to roll the dice again. Twelve years ago, he made his last Monday morning drive back to Fresno where he gave his notice at the dealership. With a long list of happy customers, Green found a home at Perry Automotive in San Luis Obispo where half of his business still comes from farmers two hours away. “Now, they just call me and

tell me what they want, and I’ll ship it to them,” he explains the modern version of a handshake deal.

The plan worked out great, but over time the damp ocean air wreaked havoc on the little bungalow, and the maintenance requirements were beginning to snowball. One thing after the next, it seemed, was needing to be replaced. And every time something was replaced, whatever had been connected to it started to fall apart, too. It was quickly

turning into a never ending rabbit hole of a property. Seeing the writing on the termitefilled wall, Green sat down with an architect to find out what could be done to shore up the structure. Very quickly it became clear that a complete tear down—a brand new house—would be the better way to go. The plan materialized in fits and starts, with the delays caused by Green’s difficulty in making decisions. “There were just so many things to choose from that I had a hard time figuring out where to go with it. In the end, I just >>

DETAILED STYLING Exquisite attention to the Italian style stonework in the bathroom give the space a feel of quality without the stuffiness. Thoughtful use of both natural and artificial lighting along with careful placement of windows and vents facilitate an open and airy space as nearby ocean breezes flow easily.

decided to build it for myself and forget about what would make it more valuable. I was going to be living in it, so I wanted it how I wanted it to be,” he explains.

With approved plans in-hand, two years ago

Green held the mother of all garage sales. Everything must go! All of the items in the house, with the exception of some family heirlooms and mementoes, were sold for pennies on the dollar to early morning “garage salers.” And once the last bit of furniture was carried away, the demolition crew arrived. Making quick work of the project, Mark Sullivan Builders got started right away and plodded along to meet the eight-month building schedule on the Mediterranean-style 2-bedroom, 2-bath home. The home design, which was inspired

by Green’s trip to Italy, would not look out of place in Tuscany. And, with its abundant outdoor living space, the idea was to embrace the Italians’ appreciation for “la bella vita,” or “the good life.” Simple, yet elegant and warm and highly energy-efficient with liberal use of flagstone, Green, his girlfriend and his two boxers, have hit the jackpot. Walks on the beach often proceed cooking in the well-appointed kitchen followed by settling in to watch the sunset from the living room in the neighborhood that Green—to use his words—has “fallen in love with.”

SLO LIFE

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

INVITING QUARTERS A stone fireplace is the focal point in the living room where heavy, dark furniture contrasts with the otherwise bright and open feel of the home. Flagstone tiles make it easy to sweep up the sand and serves as great conductivity for the warmth coming from the radiant floor heating underfoot.

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

tank farm

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

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

2013 57 547,794 537,208 98.10 57

2014 61 633,643 622,489 98.39 51

+/7.02% 15.67% 15.87% 0.29% -10.53%

2013 25 678,820 678,036 99.89 20

2014 28 750,737 740,442 98.74 39

+/12.00% 10.59% 9.20% -1.15% 95.00%

2013 32 558,181 548,062 98.43 33

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

2013 17 888,494 871,847 98.15 66

2014 25 625,342 610,273 97.80 42

+/-21.88% 12.03% 11.35% -0.63% 27.27%

2014 15 1,057,067 1,024,972 97.15 65

+/-11.76% 18.97% 17.56% -1.00% -1.52%

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

2013 47 644,016 628,385 97.64 38

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

2013 50 657,016 644,642 98.11 37

2014 41 742,041 726,136 98.27 44

+/-12.77% 15.22% 15.56% 0.63% 15.79%

2014 57 671,681 659,129 98.09 40

+/14.00% 2.23% 2.25% -0.02% 8.11%

2013 44 600,643 596,434 99.26 31

2014 29 673,190 656,281 97.66 85 johnson ave *Comparing 1/1/13 - 12/31/13 to 1/1/14 - 12/31/14

+/-34.09% 12.08% 10.03% -1.60% 174.19%

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS®

SURFING

RUSSIA’S KAMCHATKA PENINSULA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS BURKARD

It’s hard to imagine that just ten years ago, Grover Beachbased photographer, Chris Burkard, was sitting in a classroom at Cuesta College when an instructor placed a camera in his hands—a real one, a film-based single lens reflex—for the first time. He was so inspired by the course that he set out to buy his own, which he did at a Goodwill store for $65. After shooting and developing an entire roll of film, he realized that the camera didn’t work. Undaunted, he borrowed one from his girlfriend’s mom. The twenty-eight-year-old photography phenom has not stopped since.

After climbing his way up the ultra-competitive world of surf photography, Burkard is currently the Senior Staff Photographer for Surfer Magazine where his photojournalistic editorial features are eagerly anticipated by wave riders each month. While he has crisscrossed the globe following the top surfers in search of the best waves, it was a trip he took in 2012 that sticks with him most. After years of planning, Burkard, along with four surfers (Keith Malloy, Trevor Gordon, Cyrus Sutton, and Dane Gudauskas) and a writer (Ben Weiland) made their way to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia for a two-week long surf safari. The whole thing, which required years of planning was a huge gamble, and

that is what made the trip worth taking.

As the crew first caught a glimpse of their destination from the windows of the twin-engine helicopter, they knew they that they were in for an experience of a lifetime. The weather was perfect and the waves were exceptional—far better than they had expected. After loading up the Soviet-style off-road people mover with surfboards and provisions, they twisted through overgrown vegetation as they weaved between active volcanoes. The scene was somewhat reminiscent of a cold weather Hawaii. Bouncing and lurching along, they navigated one rough patch after another. When the travelers spotted the ocean off in the distance, the anticipation grew. One of the guys optimistically began putting on his wetsuit. The hulking mass of military surplus crested the last dune and then back down. It inched to the edge of the shoreline. No one was around. And, the surf was pumping.

One by one the surfers plunged into the icy water, hooting and hollering the whole time. The surf gods were smiling down upon them, and they did not delay in accepting the offerings. Burkard set up his tripod and began clicking away. There was so much to take in and it was all so new. For a full 360 degrees the strange land provided as many questions as it did answers. What they were seeing just did not mesh with what they had

heard about Russia. The landscape was magical, an unspoiled territory with a rugged beauty and natural history they could not have imagined. And, who would have thought that the surf would be so great?

Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula is due east of Siberia. The earth there is alive with volcanic activity. Blown mountaintops encircle an abundance of hot springs the travelers were able to soak themselves in after a day of cold water surf. Nearby rivers provided plenty of sustenance as the local fish were biting. Most of all, the weather was near-perfect. With the exception of a bit of rain and a little fog, Burkard and his team were treated to sunny “Central Coast-like” days in the land found on the Eastern edge of the former Soviet Union—not far from where the first Native Americans put one foot in front of the other in search of food as they crossed the iced over Bering Straight. The land of geysers and glaciers did not disappoint. One surf spot led to another, which led to another. The band of nomadic wave riders migrated southward where they continued to be surprised by the incredible surf they uncovered. By day, Burkard filled his digital camera with images unlike anything he had seen before. At night he huddled over his computer in his tent, which he called “Surfer Magazine

Despite the feverish deadline rush back home, there was nothing but time and space on the Russian shores. During one especially quite moment, as he floated around in the water waiting for one of the surfers to come shooting by—possibly framing a cover shot— he marveled at how perfectly the whole trip had turned out. The people of Kamchatka could not have been more hospitable. And, the waves could not have been better. But, at the end of the day, it really wasn’t about that. “Whether we had gotten really good waves or not, the adventure of it is so fresh in my mind,” remembers Burkard. “We didn’t shower for two weeks and spent every night in a tent. That’s what surf trips should be.”

CHRIS BURKARD is a self-taught photographer based in Grover Beach. His journalistic style is layered by surf, outdoor, lifestyle, and travel subjects.

Siberia Office” and uploaded his work to his editors who were eagerly awaiting the shots as the layout was already in full swing for the January 2013 issue.

Viorela Bauer, DDS

PARTNERS IN GOOD

The San Luis Obispo Collection is well-known for its unique merchant partnerships, which bring some of California’s best shopping and dining to the Central Coast. This year the SLO collection is also proud to celebrate its community partnerships. Through events like this spring’s San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF), the SLO Collection is pleased to

America.

THE SLO COLLECTION PRESENTS SURF NITE AT THE 2015 SAN LUIS OBISPO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The San Luis Obispo Collection and the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF) are excited to announce the 10th annual Surf Nite in SLO, featuring a double feature and filmmaker tribute. The California premiere of Hollywood Don’t Surf will kick off the evening, followed by the presentation of SLOIFF’s Spotlight Award and a screening of John Milius’ film Big Wednesday Surf Nite in SLO takes place on Thursday, March 12th at 6pm, at the historic Fremont Theatre in downtown San Luis Obispo.

Hollywood Don’t Surf, co-directed by Greg MacGillivray and Sam George, takes a comedic romp through the history of some of the most famous and recognizable surf films ever made. Tracking more than 50 years of bizarre but hugely entertaining surf cinema, Hollywood Don’t Surf culminates with an overview of modern day attempts to capture the essence and thrill of big wave riding. After the screening and Spotlight Awards ceremony, there will be a brief intermission, followed by a screening of Big Wednesday Learn more and purchase tickets at slofilmfest.org

join local nonprofits and cultural organizations in making SLO one of the happiest cities in

at our 2013 Cork Couture event

THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COLLECTION IS PROUD TO BE A PARTNER FOR GOOD

The SLO Collection is thrilled to partner with many of the arts and nonprofit groups that work so hard to make San Luis Obispo one of America’s “happiest” cities. We’ve hosted many amazing fundraising events, such as last December’s “Kids Day” on the Terrace in support of the Dambly Children’s Fund and our annual “Cork Couture” event benefiting Jack’s Helping Hand (2013) and Big Brother Big Sister of SLO County (2014). We also love to support local arts events and organizations, including the SLO Jazz Festival, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, Concerts in the Plaza, SLO Little Theater, and the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo.

From fashion shows that benefit local women’s shelters to clothing and school supply drives to support SLO’s homeless kids, The San Luis Obispo Collection is committed to partnering with organizations who are doing good in the SLO community. Follow us on Facebook or visit sanluisobispocollection.com for information on upcoming 2015 events.

Truth About Seafood performing on the Court Street Terrace

SLO Civic Ballet performs “The Nutcracker”

Rena Dambly at our December, 2015 “Kid’s Day” Enjoying paella

Abercrombie & Fitch abercrombie.com

The Apple Store apple.com

Bali’s Yogurt 805-594-1172

Banana Republic bananarepublic.com

Barnes and Noble barnesandnoble.com

Bull’s Tavern facebook.com/bullstavernslo

California Pizza Kitchen cpk.com

Cal Poly Downtown calpoly.edu

Chico’s chicos.com

Chronic Tacos Coming Soon Express express.com

GAP gap.com

Ian Saude Gallery iansaude.com

Jamba Juice jambajuice.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

Sal’s Paradise slosals.com

Sephora sephora.com

Shoe Palace Coming Soon 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

SLO CLEAN ENERGY

Friendly COMPETITION

BY TOM FRANCISKOVICH

The other day I was out running errands when the gas gauge on our family minivan was hovering over the “E.” Thankfully, I happened to be cruising down Los Osos Valley Road and the Costco was close by, so I decided to pull in and fuel up. When I arrived, I was amazed to find lines that were 18 to 20 cars deep. I was tempted to exit the line and head to the Arco down the street—I’m notorious for tempting fate by “running on fumes”—but I seriously doubted that I had enough fuel to make it. When I finally pulled up to the pump, I had to rub my eyes and blink twice… $2.29 it said under “Regular.” That had to be a mistake. Wow, what great news! Or, was it? The whole thing got me thinking…

With an economy still a little wobbly as it rebounds from the depths of the Great Recession, the fact that gas prices are half of what they were a year ago is huge. For many families and businesses fuel is a major budgetary line item; this means that there will be more discretionary funds left over for other things. That extra dough will likely be spent on all the stuff that we have been holding off purchasing for the past few years. Imagine a typical American family where mom and dad both work, commuting 20 miles each day plus running the kids around to soccer practice and attending PTA meetings. Using simple back-of-the-envelope math, if they each drive cars that are getting 15 miles to the gallon, they will save somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 per month. That’s the equivalent of George W. Bush’s tax refund check (remember those?). Imagine if prices hold for a while, or perhaps continue to fall? The leaders of OPEC have recently announced that they believe that will be the case, and with domestic production stateside at an all-time high, they are probably right. These low gas prices may be just the thing we need to finally kick start our economy back into gear for good.

A day or two after saving a cool 20 bucks on a tank of Costco unleaded, I came across an Associated Press news story with a headline that read: “2014 Was The Hottest Year Ever Recorded On Earth.” In some ways, these articles have become commonplace. It seems that something very similar was written in 2013, and 2012, and 2011, and 2010, and 2009, and 2008... But, what did at least feel different was the tone of this particular article. In the past, those stories would always emphasize that there was still significant debate about whether or not the weather was being impacted by mankind. This one, however, featured perspectives that were much less nuanced than they had been in the past. According to climate scientist Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University, “Any wisps of doubt that human activities are at fault are now gone with the wind.”

Back in 1992, I had just graduated from high school and received a gift that, for a lack of a better way to state this, scared the hell out of me. I was wide-eyed as I turned one page after another in Al Gore’s new book called “Earth in the Balance.” Although his writing style is as boring as it is to listen to him speak, the arguments he was making were blowing my mind. I had heard bits and pieces of the concept he then referred to as “global warming” (as we all know, it is now called “climate change”) and the accompanying graphs and charts clearly showed that we were headed for serious trouble. Some of the later chapters that identified a “tipping point” read like a Stephen King novel. Gore made the case that as carbon emissions— otherwise known as “greenhouse gasses”—filled the atmosphere, the feedback loop would accelerate to a point of no return. The air would become warmer so the arctic tundra would begin to melt and release its massive stores of methane gas (the most potent of the greenhouse gasses), which would hasten more warming. At the same time, the oceans would not be able to keep up the pace required to do their part, essentially scrubbing the air of the emissions because they have become saturated—like a sponge that is already full of water, you can’t add any more to it.

Yet, for all of his gloom and doom the future looked bright. Besides, in the early 90’s new technologies were on the horizon, and it was conceivable that over the next 20 or 30 years or so, we wouldn’t even be burning carbon

fuels anyway. We’d probably all be driving land speeders like Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. I put the book down, took a few deep breaths, thought about my future land speeder, and returned to my life as a typical American consumer. Plus, I learned years ago in a biology class that carbon in the atmosphere is actually a good thing. Carbon is the very reason that we are able to live on this blue marble in the first place, I told myself. There is a reason that lightning strikes forests causing smoke-filled forest fires. And there is a reason that volcanoes emit massive quantities of greenhouse gasses, far more than our minivan ever could no matter how many trips down Higuera Street. The Ice Age was ended because carbon filled the atmosphere allowing the air to warm, plants to survive and people to hunt and gather. Times were good, food was plentiful, and it was all thank goodness to carbon.

But, as I often tell my kids, usually after trick-or-treating, “Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.” And that is the message that famed environmentalist Bill McKibben has embraced. If there was ever a rock star in the tree hugger community, he is the guy. McKibben, who co-founded an organization called 350.org, is quick to point out that there is an optimal, natural concentration of carbon in the atmosphere expressed in parts per million (ppm). His research shows that the upper end of that threshold is right around 350ppm. Concentrations greater than that amount would trigger Gore’s tipping point and send us into no man’s land. Right now, the Earth’s average atmospheric reading for carbon concentration is a hair below 400.

honestly say that I would have been so willing to spend the $800 to convert it if diesel was as cheap as it is today.

For years now, alternative energy entrepreneurs have felt that the critical mass needed to bring about widespread adoption would come in the form of a carbon tax. The fundamental challenge with alternative energies is that consumers do not know how much a barrel of oil, or train car of coal, or a container of natural gas will cost tomorrow. The question on the mind of the consumer is, “How do I know if I’m getting a good deal?” If the boom in natural gas production we are experiencing domestically, largely due to fracking, is going to continue and supply outpaces demand then prices will drop. Suddenly, springing for the solar panels looks a lot less appealing if your neighbors are paying less and less for their power. Of course, most people want to do what they can to help the environment, but there are a lot of other bills coming due at the end of the month that seem more pressing than a few more carbon molecules floating toward the heavens.

In the fall of 2011, McKibben paid a visit to San Luis Obispo. As he sat in rapt attention at the Cal Poly lecture, Eric Veium was picking up what the chief environmentalist was putting down. Inspired, he looked around the crowd to gauge the reaction of others when he spotted Scott Mann, June Cochran, and Mladen Bandov. Veium made a mental note and returned his focus to the lecture. McKibben then recited his familiar mantra, “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed, and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from 385ppm to at most 350ppm, but likely less than that.” To Vieum, it was music to his ears, and a validation of his own convictions. He was more convinced than ever that now was the time to take action.

Carbon is found everywhere in modern-day society. And for most of the past 100 years, it is has fueled humanity’s growth and has been at the center of our most important advances in just about every area. Without it we wouldn’t be where we are now. But, going back to the idea that “too much of a good thing is not a good thing,” the idea of burning fossil fuels for our energy needs has become antiquated. A dizzying array of new technology in recent years has led to an explosion of alternative fuel options. Everything from algae-based jet fuel to high-altitude wind turbines have become legitimate options to power society. The biggest challenge to widespread adoption, however, continues to be price. Which brings us back to Costco gas. At $2.29, there is not much incentive to purchase a Toyota Prius, or a Chevy Volt for that matter, and there will be even less so if gas continues to drop. And, I have personal experience with this phenomenon. I bought my 1978 Mercedes which I promptly converted to run on waste veggie oil in 2008 when oil was over $100 a barrel. Although I love my car, and the fact that it smells like French fries, I don’t know that I can

If Apple’s Steve Jobs admonished us to “Think Different,” then it could be said that many climate watchers would say, “Think Distributed.” Since the onset of the Industrial Age, electrical power has come to us from a centralized source. Picture a soot-covered 19th Century London town outfitted with massive power plants burning around the clock, belching out black clouds that formed after the child labor force shoveled coal onto the superheated flames. That is not much different than what happens now, except that our coal-fired plants are much more efficient, and there are no kids wandering around. And, contrary to popular belief, despite presidential stump speeches in Western Pennsylvania, there really is no such thing as “clean coal.” So rather than waiting for the power to come to us, an increasing number of consumers have elected to generate their own. Anytime someone puts solar panels on their roof or a wind turbine on their ranch, the electricity has been distributed. No longer is it generated by a centralized source. It is already there, exactly where it needs to be.

In 2002, under pressure to break up the monopolies long-held by utility companies, i.e. centralized providers, the California State Legislature passed AB 117. The new law was named Community Choice Aggregation and it allowed consumers to combine their resources to bring in alternative forms of power through the wires that were owned by the utility companies. By law, monopolistic utilities would be required to provide electricity sold by their much smaller competitors. After McKibben’s lecture, Veium, Mann, Cochran, and Bandov found each other. They all agreed that they had to do something. But what? Many ideas were enthusiastically cast about before someone mentioned AB 117. The concept gelled quickly. It was something >>

tangible, and it had been done with success elsewhere. Plus, it wasn’t just some harebrained hippy bumper sticker slogan. It was real, and best of all, it would save people money. With that, SLO Clean Energy was formed. It’s mission: to bring alternative energy to San Luis Obispo County.

A small, but fast-growing portion of Californians are now customers of local alternative energy non-profit co-operatives. Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties have them, and the City of Lancaster, a rather conservative desert city north of Los Angeles, just launched one, as well. I spoke with Kate Kelly, the director of Public Affairs and Marketing at Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), who shared that their customers enjoy rates that are 5% to 8% lower than those provided by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), who like us on the Central Coast, is also their electricity provider. She went on to explain that local consumers have the option of becoming customers of SCP, or they can remain with PG&E. Everyone within their service area, Sonoma County, has the option. And those that do choose SCP continue to receive their electricity through PG&E. They still get their bill from PG&E, too. On it a line item stating “Sonoma Clean Power” is split out separately. A small delivery charge is added, and PG&E continues to service the home in the event of a power outage or emergency. The only difference is that SCP buys energy from clean, renewable providers and resells it to its customers. All of it is delivered seamlessly, as it was before, by PG&E.

Veium and company at SLO Green Energy have been watching Sonoma County closely, and share their success story often with policymakers around the Central Coast. Recently, the group has made progress with the San Luis Obispo city council and feel that some sort of resolution endorsing the nascent organization is imminent. Veium has his talking points down pat, but the word “momentum” punctuates much of the conversation. “There is huge momentum building,” he observes enthusiastically. “Everyone is kind of waiting to see how these other programs [in other markets] go, but the momentum is there. People want this to happen.” He then goes on to make a thoughtful case for the program in San Luis Obispo County. “What’s so powerful about community choice is that there’s something for everyone: lower costs, local control, and control over our energy future.” He goes on to explain that alternative, renewable energies are usually much more stable in price than carbon-based electricity. “Once you build a solar facility, the cost [to buy the electricity generated from it] doesn’t change much, unlike other traditional forms [of electricity].”

Of course, this whole conversation is altered here on the Central Coast by the presence of PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The facility is powered by nuclear energy, which emits very little carbon. The jury is still out as to whether nuclear power should be part of our energy future. This question is hotly debated, especially locally where fault lines and earthquakes magnify the concern over safety. Lately, Washington politicians have been speechifying about the facility, so who knows what the future holds for the dual-domes-bythe-sea. The one thing that is clear, however, and it’s as American as mom and apple pie, is the beauty of competition. And welcoming a new kid to the neighborhood—SLO Clean Energy—would certainly shake things up for everyone. The winners will likely be you and me, but also PG&E because the fact is that competition drives innovation. It’s the plucky upstarts that keep the big guys honest and compel them to refocus on those people that make their existence possible, their customers. And, while it may provide a temporary shot in the arm for our economy, $2.29 Costco gas and other currently cheap carbon fuels will not be how we lead the way for future generations. At the very least, we ought to leave the planet better than how we found it, and SLO Clean Energy may be just the thing we need to take a small step in that direction.

DATE NIGHT

Creating the Space

Marking their one year anniversary, SLO Makerspace is an open, collaborative machine, wood, and electronics shop and craft center where you can build projects of your choosing using specialized equipment while getting input and training from the experts around you. They host 3D printing, pottery, laser cutting, CNC routing, welding, woodworking, sketching, and more.

BY PADEN HUGHES

Married to a man who views any hands-on project as play time, I knew this date night would please him. So we signed up for a 3D printing class.

We walked into a large room of an eclectic assortment of workstations and a corresponding collection of tools and machines. Our guide for the evening was Nathan Brading, a chef by trade, insurance broker by day and, as we soon discovered, 3D expert by night.

Brading stumbled on SLO Makerspace through an ironic string of events. One day his TV broke and he contemplated the meaningless hours he had spent watching it and decided he wouldn’t replace it. He wanted to fill his time with something else. He found SLO Makerspace and discovered his interest in 3D printing and robotics. Within a week, Brading became the SLO Makerspace 3D printer guru. He truly embodies the vision behind SLO Makerspace; if you create a space filled with technical toys and allow people to innovate without judgment or prerequisites,

they will thrive and find their passion. Brading is now using the 3D printer to print all the parts of his own glow in the dark 3D printer. Yes, he’s using a printer to build a printer.

After touring the warehouse, Brading took us to the 3D printer and began to introduce us to the technology and various uses for it.

MWhen I asked him what inspired him to learn about 3D printing, he said, “How many times have you needed a specific piece to a dishwasher or another appliance that you can only buy online and have to wait a week for it to ship? I think 3D printing solves that. In fact, I think 3D printers will be in every house in 10 years.”

We went through a website of various 3D printing objects and each deliberated on what to start with. My husband wanted an iPhone holder that connected to our tripod. I wanted a small replica of the throne from Game of Thrones. We only had time to print one, so the iPhone holder won, due to its practicality.

For the next couple of hours we learned how to set up, complete, and fix 3D printing plans, as well as how to complete the print job to our specifications. What surprised us was how long it takes to 3D print. We watched for the first 30 minutes before we decided to leave and pick it up the next day. It was incredible to see how precise the set up had to be in order for it to print out to your project.

On the car ride home I asked my husband how he liked the date. He said, “Everyone has an inner artist and sometimes you don’t know how to use it. For me, I needed that space to be built so I can explore new hobbies. I could think of a 100 new projects I want to do. It’s functional art.”

SLO Makerspace provides the place and tools to allow you to learn, improve on and master a trade or craft. Going there with a significant other activates a different side of your brain than a typical date would. There is truly something for everyone and a community of inspired artists waiting to help you in your project or along your journey to mastery.

SLO LIFE

SLO Makerspace is located at 3988 Short Street, Suite 100 in San Luis Obispo behind Trader Joe’s and Food 4 Less. Memberships are $45 per month and a day pass is $30.

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

Everyone has an inner artist and sometimes you don’t know how to use it. For me, I needed that space to be built so I can explore new hobbies.

-Josh Gibson

SLEEP WELL

Sleep is a superhero, proven to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, improve our memory and mood, increase our cognitive function, and reduce our stress levels. It has even been shown to help keep us slim. So, how can we improve our sleep and get more of that waist-slimming shut-eye? Well, it’s not just about how much sleep we get. It turns out that when we go to bed, when we wake up, and the amount of light we’re exposed to before bedtime all play significant roles as well. >>

THE FACTS BEHIND THE ZZZ s...

CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS

A lot of what our body does is in response to the lightness or darkness of our environment. Circadian rhythms are biological processes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, and the main external cue for these processes is the lightdark cycle of a day. For example, our brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration, and other biological activities are all linked to the light-dark cycle.

CIRCADIAN RHYTHM DISRUPTORS

If we disrupt the light-dark cycle, we disrupt our circadian rhythms. Unfortunately, we do this all the time. Simply put, it’s too light at night. Artificial light allows us to stay awake long after sundown, and the blue light from televisions, computers, tablets, cell phones, and other screens only keep us up and stimulated later. All of this blue light suppresses melatonin production and interferes with our sleep.

MELATONIN

Melatonin is the hormone that makes you sleepy. It’s also a potent antioxidant and DNA protector, and helps regulate other hormones. When it’s dark, your body produces more melatonin. When it’s light, this production drops. Normally, melatonin levels begin to rise in the evening and remain high for most of the night. Then, in the early morning hours, those levels drop and the hormone cortisol is released, waking you up.

Melatonin helps us maintain our circadian rhythms by getting us to sleep. However, the blue light from artificial lighting and electronic devices suppresses melatonin production. If you’re out late, stay up watching TV, or lay in bed looking at Facebook, your body doesn’t produce the normal levels of melatonin. When you finally turn off the lights, you may not fall asleep right away.

1LIMIT THE LIGHT Dim florescent lights or turn them off completely. Lower the brightness of your phone and computer screen as you move into the evening hours.

BLOCK THE LIGHT New amber lenses that block blue light are proven to be very effective. This is a huge advantage for working late, watching TV, or taking your phone to bed. The lenses should be worn after dark until you go to bed. Okay, so they may not look sexy, but the ends justify the means, right?

DINNER FOR TWO

PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED CHICKEN ROULADE

with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil served over Fettuccine Alfredo

If you’re looking to impress, this recipe is perfect for a Valentine meal and is best enjoyed with a barrel aged Chardonnay or any good Edna Valley Pinot Noir, but when in doubt, a good California Sparkling always hits the spot.

BY JESSIE RIVAS

2 large boneless chicken breasts

2 slices prosciutto

4 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil

2 oz basil

4 Tbs Parmesan cheese

1 oz pine nuts

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1/2 lb fettuccine pasta plastic wrap butchers twine

Prepare chicken:

Butterfly the chicken and place between two layers of plastic wrap. Pound the chicken out with a tenderizer hammer until about 1/8 inch thick. Once the chicken breast is pounded to an even thickness set aside.

Breading mix:

Mix Parmesan cheese, chopped pine nuts, chopped basil, sun-dried tomatoes, bread crumbs and egg until all ingredients are incorporated.

CHICKEN ROULADE

Roulade:

Lay the prosciutto on clear plastic wrap. Next lay one of the chicken breasts on top of the prosciutto and spread the stuffing evenly over the chicken breast and lay the second chicken breast on top. Roll the prosciutto and chicken breast with the chicken breast seem side down. Wrap tightly between the plastic wrap by pinching both sides. Once rolled correctly the plastic wrap will be free of wrinkles. Unwrap from the plastic wrap so that it maintains its form and tie four lengths of butcher twine around the breast.

Cook:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. In a hot large heavy bottom oven safe pan add a small amount of oil and the chicken roulade and sear on all sides, then cover and cook for 15 minutes in the oven. Uncover and cook for another five minutes or until the chicken reaches 155 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.

ALFREDO SAUCE:

5 garlic cloves minced 2/3 cup heavy cream 1 cup Parmesan 1 tsp fresh oregano

Sautée garlic in small amount of oil on low. Heat until brown. Then add oregano and cream until it starts to simmer. Add the Parmesan to help thicken the sauce.

Cook fettuccini pasta according to the package directions.

Toss some of the sauce with pasta and place sliced chicken roulade over top. Add sauce over top the chicken and pasta dish.

JESSIE RIVAS is the owner and chef of The Pairing Knife food truck which serves the Central Coast.

FEBRUARY

THAT’S AMORE

Mesmerizing ocean views at the Dolphin Bay Resort provide the perfect backdrop for Opera San Luis Obispo’s annual Valentine-themed afternoon of song. Greatest Opera Ensembles performed by an internationally acclaimed quartet of opera stars.

February 8 // operaslo.org

SECOND CITY

Famed improvisation troupe, Second City visits San Luis Obispo during their 55th Anniversary Tour, filled with the best comedy created by some of the biggest names in the business, mixed up with brand-new material—some written especially about San Luis Obispo— performed by the red-hot talent of today. February 8 // pacslo.org

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN SLO Little Theatre presents a stage adaptation of one of the most celebrated and beloved films of all time. 1920’s Hollywood is the setting for this zany, lighthearted romantic comedy about the early days of sound film.

February 13 - March 15 slolittletheatre.org

HAPA

The New York Times calls Hapa “the most successful Hawaiian music troupe in recent history.” The group’s mellow fusion of traditional Hawaiian sound and folksy rock combines with harmonies and fluid guitar, charming fans around the globe.

March 14 // calpolyarts.org

LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO

The celebrated all-male “drag ballet corps” brings an evening of hilarity and awe back to SLO with its unique combination of ballet, parodies and physical comedy, along with true pieces designed to show off the performers’ impressive dance abilities. March 1 // pacslo.org

CHECKPOINT CHALLENGE

Grab a partner and head out to collect checkpoints on a kayaking, mountain biking, and trekking challenge through Santa Margarita’s beautiful backcountry.

March 28 // alloutadventureseries.com

IN THE MOOD

Complete with period costumes and choreography, In The Mood celebrates America’s greatest generation that listened and boogied to up-tempo big band rhythms and danced to intimate ballads. Experience the jazzy, brassy, sentimental and patriotic music of the World War II era. March 25 // pacslo.org

SLO Symphony presents the

and children’s concert with music that takes

on a journey up into the air, the clouds and the stars, to outer space and beyond. March 29 // slosymphony.org

OPINION

a LOCAL look at mental health

BY JILL BOLSTER-WHITE

How is San Luis Obispo County’s mental health? We have heard often about our designation as the “Happiest Place on Earth,” but what does it mean to be truly mentally healthy? First of all, let’s look at the facts:

• 20-25% of the population will have a mental health condition at any given time, for San Luis Obispo County, that is over 60,000 people;

• 5% of that group will experience a serious, persistent mental health condition;

• Only 40% of people affected by mental illness will seek and receive treatment;

• Mental health conditions generally emerge during late adolescence and young adulthood when many other life changes take place, which can make a mental illness difficult to decipher and diagnose;

• Mental illness does not correlate to violence; in fact someone with a mental illness commits only 4% of violent crimes. People with mental illness are 11 times more likely to be the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators.

• Perhaps most surprising of all: San Luis Obispo County’s suicide rate is 5% higher than the state average. Death by suicide is twice as common as are fatal vehicle accidents, and suicide is much more likely to be attempted by someone suffering from a mental illness.

We cannot talk about mental illness without acknowledging the stigma and discrimination that people with mental health conditions suffer and that prevent them from seeking treatment. A New England Journal of Medicine survey revealed that 46% of respondents believe those with mental illness are more dangerous than others; 71% said they would not want to work closely with a person who had mental illness; and 67% said they would not want a neighbor with mental illness. That high level of fear and misperception makes it clear that our community needs to understand mental illness first and foremost.

Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, or income. They are biologically based disorders, unrelated to one’s upbringing, character or personal willpower. Untreated mental illness results in

costs for all of us. There are costs borne by family members mystified as to where to find help; costs in the form of homelessness, isolation and the behaviors of those suffering from untreated mental illness; and costs in the form of fearfulness and ostracism from neighbors and colleagues. Most important of all we need to recognize that mental illness is treatable. Research has revealed that the earlier a mental or emotional illness is diagnosed and treated, the better the long-term outcomes are for that person.

People who seek help can start with their primary care physician if they are not seeing a mental health professional. A wide range of professionals from psychiatrists to nurse practitioners to licensed therapists can provide guidance and support. Often, medication ameliorates the symptoms of mental illness and, when combined with talk therapy, conscious stress-reduction, and practices of meditation and mindfulness, can make mental health conditions manageable. Support groups and the development of support systems within and outside of the family are extremely important. This process can take time, tenacity and self-advocacy.

For all of these reasons and more, we think that outreach and education about mental illness is the foundation of community mental health. If we all have an understanding of what mental health conditions are, if we know what successful treatment looks like and we have knowledge of what programs and resources are offered in our area, there is much we can do to prevent mental health conditions from worsening.

Recovery is a journey no one needs to take alone. When consumers, family members and professionals work together on a plan toward wellness, they take the first steps towards recovery together. And that is an essential element of community mental health.

JILL BOLSTER-WHITE

is Executive Director at

Transitions-Mental Health Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating stigma and promoting recovery and wellness for people with mental illness through work, housing, community and family support services.