Morro Bay Life • August 2023

As the summer sun starts to set on the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow over everything it touches, I find myself standing at the threshold of a new chapter. The end of summer is approaching, and with it comes a mix of emotions. While I will undoubtedly miss the vibrant energy and the bustling crowds of tourists that defined the season, I can’t help but feel a sense of anticipation as we inch closer to the start of a new school year and the return to normalcy.

This summer has been nothing short of incredible–days filled with laughter, adventures, and memorable moments with friends and family. The world seemed to come alive as tourists flocked to our city, infusing it with diversity and cultural richness. Every street corner became a canvas of vibrant colors, echoing the laughter and chatter of strangers turned friends. We navigated through crowded beaches, explored bustling markets, and made memories that will last a lifetime. But like all good things, the summer season, too, must come to an end.

As the days grow shorter and the nights slightly cooler, there is a shift in the air. The streets start to clear, and the city’s heartbeat

returns to a steadier rhythm. The end of summer marks a time for introspection, a moment to reflect on all that we have experienced and learned in these few short months.

While the prospect of bidding farewell to the excitement of summer might be bittersweet, there is a silver lining that awaits us–the return to normalcy. As schools prepare to reopen their doors, a familiar routine beckons. Although the idea of heading back to the classroom might seem mundane compared to the thrill of summer adventures, it brings with it a chance for growth and new beginnings. The new school year holds the promise of learning, self-discovery, and personal development. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, to broaden our horizons and nourish our minds.

As we transition from the vibrant and bustling summer to the more serene and focused ambiance of the school year, there’s an undeniable sense of comfort in knowing that life is returning to its natural rhythm. The city, once teeming with tourists, now becomes a canvas for us locals to explore and appreciate at our own pace. It’s the perfect time to visit those hidden

gems that were overshadowed during the busy season, to cherish the tranquility of our favorite spots, and to embrace the change of pace.

In this season of transition, let us not forget the lessons of summer–the importance of seizing the day, embracing new experiences, and cherishing the company of loved ones. As we welcome the end of summer and prepare for the new school year, let’s carry these memories with us, fueling our spirits as we embark on new journeys.

So, here’s to the end of summer, the beginning of a new school year, and the promise of less touristy days. As we bid farewell to the lively chaos, let’s embrace the calm and beauty that comes with the changing seasons and the return to normalcy.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Morro Bay Life.

We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Morro Bay Life

“Life’s most beautiful moments often reside in the spaces between chaos and calm, where the heart finds solace, and the soul discovers serenity.” unknown

If you know of a business or non-profit that deserves a spotlight, please send your nomination to our Ambassador’s Committee for review by emailing Lynsey Hansen at lynsey@morrochamber.org.

congratulations

Putting a Spotlight on Businesses

The Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce is putting a spotlight on local businesses! Spotlight Businesses are nominated and selected by fellow business owners in Morro Bay as a standout business with exceptional ownership.

Business spotlights recognize Chamber member businesses that provide a consistent, positive customer experience, are actively engaged in the community and demonstrate resilience during challenging times.

Please help us CONGRATULATE these businesses on their spotlight award by visiting their establishments, purchasing their products or services, and leaving good reviews online.

Find your shopping ideas by following us on Facebook, Instagram or our website morrochamber.org.

For more information contact Lynsey Hansen, Membership Director at lynsey@morrochamber.org

The Estuary Program releases its 2023 State of the Bay report

By the Morro Bay National Estuary Program

The Morro Bay National Estuary Program is a local nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring Morro Bay and the lands that surround it for people and wildlife. Every three years, the Estuary Program gathers available data to compile a report card summarizing the health of the bay and its watershed. This State of the Bay report tracks environmental trends and guides local efforts to protect and restore this special place. The report answers questions about eelgrass, water quality, sedimentation, climate change, habitat health, and more.

In the 2023 report, the Estuary

Program highlights the rebound in eelgrass acreage in Morro Bay. In 2017, mapping efforts revealed about 13 acres of eelgrass, while the 2021 map indicated about 500 acres of eelgrass. Although the reasons for the decline and rapid recovery are not fully understood, a combination of factors such as water quality, restoration efforts, and elevation change likely played a role. The Estuary Program will continue to monitor eelgrass acreage and bed health to track the status of this valuable habitat type.

Another highlight from this years’ report is the overall water quality of the Morro Bay estuary. Clean water is essential for safe recreation, oyster farming, and the health of aquatic life in the bay. Monitoring the health of Morro

Bay and the creeks that feed into the bay has been an ongoing project at the Estuary Program for over 20 years. The Estuary Program has conducted monthly bay bacteria testing at eight sites around the estuary since 2005, and results overall indicate very good or good bacteria levels for safe swimming. Testing by the state and local oyster farms indicate clean waters that support the bay’s two commercial oyster farms. We are lucky to be one of only a handful of areas on the California coast with a commercial shellfish farming industry.

The Estuary Program and its partners have worked to protect over 5,400 acres of habitat throughout the Morro Bay watershed. Between floodplain and wetland restoration projects, invasive

species control, and native plant planting, thirty restoration projects have been completed. These efforts create resilient habitats to help ensure that the plants and animals in Morro Bay can better adapt to challenges they face, including

from a changing climate.

Read more about the work of the Estuary Program and its partners on their website at MBNEP.org and see the full 2023 State of the Bay report online at MBNEP.org/state-of-the-bay-2023.

Measuring the ‘Soundscape’ of the Pacific

By NEIL FARRELL for Morro Bay Life

Agroup of marine scientists of various expertise has been visiting Morro Bay to conduct studies into the effects offshore floating wind farms might have on the ocean’s most iconic creatures.

Cory Hom-Weaver, a Cal Poly graduate and scientist with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center based in LaJolla, which has marine labs in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Piedras Blancas, among others, is leading a specialized study to listen in on the Pacific Ocean’s “soundscape,” recording what they hear via underwater microphones (called “hydrophones”), attached to small buoys that are released to drift with the current.

The aim is to identify what sea mammals — mostly whales and dolphins, but sea lions and elephant seals too — to understand how many there are in local waters at a given time, and try and help devise mitigations to lessen the impacts to these animals that is expected from the wind farms.

That’s a rather simplified explanation of what Hom-Weaver and her fellow scientists are trying to do. Included in the din of the ocean are sounds from boats and ships and man-made sources mixed in with sounds from nature.

The team has enlisted the help of the Fulmar, a 67-foot research vessel assigned to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s research and monitoring program. Both the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SFRC) and the Marine Sanctuary agency are under the auspices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), so cooperation is relatively easy to coordinate, though the demands on research vessels like Fulmar are high. That demand limits the windows wherein she and the team can deploy their equipment and this latest trip to Morro Bay was cut short by nasty sea conditions offshore.

The “Adrift in the California Current” Project, as it’s officially called, will be deploying buoys in the wind farm area, offshore from San Simeon 20-30 miles — recording whatever sounds they can, given the limited range of the hydrophones. They are “making passive recordings in the Morro Bay wind area and off Humboldt too,” Hom-Weaver said. They’ve already done the work off Humboldt — where the Federal Ocean Energy Management or BOEM sold two wind farm leases — in conjunction with Oregon State University, she explained.

They deployed the drift buoys but had some difficulty tracking them, as the ocean up north was rough and windy. Much as it was here.

They deployed buoys on the trip down from Monterey to Morro Bay, she said. They planned to pick them up again on the return trip a few days later.

Along for the trip was a scientist with the Marine Sanctuary program, which has stationary buoys deployed in the ocean in Estero Bay and Big Sur. The goal of that program is to study the

marine ecosystem via the noises the critters make. That work is being done as part of the study for establishing the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary that would span the coast from Cambria to down past Point Conception.

Because of that issue, Hom-Weaver said they will also be doing studies to further that process along. The point, she said, is to see what the underwater soundscapes are.

They are trying to discover what sea otters sound like underwater, she said, but more so, to see if they even make any underwater sounds.

“This is one of the best places in the world to see sea otters,” she said of Morro Bay’s unofficial mascots.

Hom-Weaver held up one of their drift buoys, which is basically a long shaft with floats near the bottom and a tall shaft that protrudes above the water. That top shaft has a radar deflector and flashing strobe light so it can be detected by passing boats. The instrument controls and GPS signaling device are also on top. But the guts of the device lies underwater, where a series of floats keep it at a steady depth, a small sea anchor manages the drift, and the hydrophones hang down at various depths in the water column. That’s because different species swim and hunt at different depths.

“We’re trying to understand the soundscape,” Hom-Weaver said. “We’re trying to identify baleen whales.”

Baleen whales are the giants of the sea and include humpbacks, California greys, blues, and other species that might swim past. “Bayleen whale sounds travel a long ways,” Hom-Weaver said.

One thing they are sure of is that vessel noises definitely impact the ocean, but not all the time.

They’ve recorded a lot of humpbacks and beaked whales, which Hom-Weaver said with a laugh are “funny looking.”

Their study started in 2020, she explained, and they have also collected older data from previous studies. Among the questions that will be

addressed is has the ocean soundscape changed over time? “Who’s there and when are they around?” Hom-Weaver said.

While in port here, Hom-Weaver said they also did some work with a group of Cal Poly students that are working on a special remote underwater vehicle outfitted with cameras and lights.

All the sound data they collect gets plotted on computers in the Fulmar’s cabin, which has a computer lab, testing lab, and galley. The interior of the boat is lined in wood with booths and tables covered with computer monitors and laptops.

Looking at one image, the water column shows a field of blue with small blips recorded near the bottom of the chart. That, they believe, was the sound of a blue whale.

Another of the scientists on board this trip was Aspen Ellis, a UC Santa Cruz grad student studying seabirds. Her work is trying to pinpoint the species and sizes of flocks of birds that traverse the wind area. She “counts birds and predicts which birds can be impacted” by the floating wind farms, Ellis said.

On the voyage to Morro Bay, Ellis said they went out to the wind area and she was able to get a good day of counting in. What did she see? “Lots of shearwaters,” she said. Ultimately she too wants to be able to predict “who’s using what region, and when.”

Hom-Weaver said they deployed six drift buoys in an array at the wind farm site. Normally they put them out in two rows of four (eight total), but the sea didn’t fully cooperate this time. “We had bad weather,” she said. “We only got six out. We’ll pick them back up on Sunday.”

The drift buoys instrumentation — the recording units and battery — comes from a company in New Zealand. They are able to record continuously for 45-50 days and sample the sounds up to 384 kilohertz. Baleen whales are at a lower frequency, with blue whales down lowest at about 50 kHz, which is barely audible. “Dolphins have

much higher vocalizations,” Hom-Weaver said. Dolphins’ clicks and whistles are higher than a dog whistle, so people can’t hear it, but the instruments pick it up just fine. Their equipment, a spectrogram, turns “audio signals into visual signals,” according to Hom-Weaver.

Do they ever hear anything that they have no idea what it is? Yes. “About a hundred times a day,” she said. “A lot of fish species are under-studied. Some sounds seem manmade but they’re biological.”

The point of all this is to study the expected effects wind turbines will have on the marine environment. “When they put in the wind farms,” Hom-Weaver said, “it will change the soundscape tremendously.”

Eventually their sound clips will be organized and posted on a website, Zooniverse, which contains numerous “citizen scientist” projects. That’s because they want to enlist the public’s help in identifying sounds they can’t ID.

“We have terabytes of data,” she explained. “We need help classifying it.”

The website will eventually have tutorials as well. “It’s just pattern recognition,” Hom-Weaver said. “It takes experience and time learning the sounds.”

They started with a fun species — humpback whales which are famous for the haunting songs they constantly sing.

BOEM is funding their study to establish a baseline of the soundscape before the wind farms are installed. It’s part of the exhaustive efforts being done to satisfy environmental laws in the face of jumpstarting a brand new energy industry — offshore, floating wind farms.

But, “How they use the data is up to BOEM,” Hom-Weaver said. “We will help with the environmental mitigation plan.”

Their work is also separate from environmental study by the leaseholders, which in the wind area is from 800- to 1,300-meters deep (over 4,200 feet at the deepest). Eventually a report will be sent to BOEM and released to the public, as part of the permitting process.

Last December, BOEM sold leases to three patches of ocean here totaling nearly 400 square miles. The three companies — Equinor Wind US, LLC; Central California Offshore Wind, LLC; and, Invenergy California Offshore, LLC — are now slated to begin their environmental studies. BOEM took in a total of $757.1 million selling the three local lease sites plus the one off Humboldt.

The BOEM has said the Morro Bay Wind Area can produce 3 gigawatts of electrical generation but the actual number of windmills that will be installed depends on what size turbines they use — 110 megawatt vs. 14 MW.

There will also have to be at least one giant substation built somewhere between the wind area and Morro Bay, where the power is slated to come ashore and be distributed via the electrical power

grid at the old power plant.

The research vessel Fulmar sits tied to the South T-pier in Morro Bay, grounded by bad weather offshore. Fulmar is assigned to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and was on loan to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center to conduct its underwater sound recordings. Photo by Neil Farrell

The Morro Bay National Estuary Program publishes a State of the Bay report every three years. You can find it online on at MBNEP.org or in print at the Estuary Program Nature Center at 601 Embarcadero.

‘No Batteries’ group faces Embarcadero businessmen

By NEIL FARRELL for Morro Bay Life

Leaders of the movement against plans for the world’s biggest battery storage facility, proposed for the Morro Bay Power Plant property, were in the spotlight July 11 at a special meeting of the Embarcadero Master Leaseholders Association.

The Master Leaseholders, who hold the leases on such places as Dutchman’s Landing and Morro Bay Landing, invited members of the public and the business community — many of whom were from the Embarcadero — to the Dutchman’s Seafood House.

About 40 people in total packed the dining room to hear from the proponents of the initiative attempting to give voters the final say over the BESS Project.

Officially, its title is: “Initiative measure to amend City of Morro Bay’s General Plan (Plan Morro Bay), adopted by city council on May 25, 2021, to prohibit, unless approved by Morro Bay voters, any change to land use designations of visitor-serving/commercial or commercial/recreational fishing, on certain designated parcels within the city,” as written by the City Attorney’s Office and recorded by the City Clerk.

If it qualifies for the ballot, it would then be given an election code name — Measure something.

Of interest, three people signed the notice to circulate petition document: Barry Branin, Jeff Eckles, and former Mayor Janice Peters. That document, once it was presented to the City Council, was summarized by the city attorney and approved for signature gathering by the City Council, a process that is ongoing now, with a deadline set for sometime in mid-October. They need over 800 valid voter signatures, and only from people registered within Morro Bay. If the signatures can be validated and there’re enough of them, it goes to the City Council for a vote on whether to accept it as presented or let it appear on the ballot — either the 2024 March Primary or November General Election. Or the council could call a special election, but that isn’t likely to happen because of the expense.

At the July 11 meeting, the Master Leaseholders invited Branin, accompanied by two of the movement’s leaders, Betsy Cross and Rachel Wilson, to make a presentation on their initiative and answer questions from the audience. They also sent a set of questions in advance to help Branin and the others organize their presentation raising issues

the group is concerned about.

For example, the first question the group had asked: With the zoning of over 100 acres of undeveloped property (Vistra and the old water treatment facility) as visitor serving uses, how do you envision the ultimate build out to look?

A. How many new hotels rooms do you anticipate will be developed?

B. How much new retail and restaurant space will be developed?

C. What other visitor serving uses do you anticipate being developed?

D. Are you concerned that the sheer size of the area solely zoned Visitor Serving/Commercial expands land in that zoning category by more than 10 times the size of the existing Embarcadero?

Other questions concerned Measure D — the voter initiative that established the area from Beach Street north on the Embarcadero, including water areas, as reserved for commercial fishing uses or businesses that are incidental to commercial fishing, and for recreational fishing, as well. But that area has several successful and well-established restaurants as well as the relatively new Morro Bay Landing, which is a mix of businesses (boat/kayak sales and rentals, an oyster company, visitor center, a small taco restaurant, and sport fishing landing).

“Does your initiative expand the area that is currently under the 1981 Measure D initiative?” the question was posed. “If so, in what areas and why have you tailored it to do so?

“Does your initiative respect the carve-outs and grandfathered exceptions to the 1981 Measure D initiative?”

They also wanted to know if the anti-BESS initiative would increase the Measure D zoning area to include the area along Coleman Drive. Was it their intent to commercialize the area “from the intake structure all the way to Target Rock?”

When asked this, Branin held up the zoning map contained within the Plan Morro Bay document, pointing out that the area is already zoned visitors-serving and their initiative simply reaffirms that approved zoning. It requires the City Council to ask voters to OK any land use changes within that area.

Branin began their slideshow presentation by stating that he’s owned property in Morro Bay for over 30 years, including along Quintana Road at Burger King and Urgent Care. “Most of us can live anywhere in the world,” he said, “I know I can.” He pointed out that we all live by choice in Morro Bay, and over the years, the industrial facilities in town have gone away.

The Chevron Marine Terminal, he said, was once the largest oil port on the Central Coast. On Panorama Drive, there was a Navy jet fuel depot that saw tanker ships moor offshore of Atascadero Beach to offload jet fuel that was then piped (96 miles) to the Lemoore Naval Air Station. “That’s gone now,” Branin said. “It was the second ‘brown zone’ in Estero Bay that was cleaned up.”

The Morro Bay Power Plant, which was in operations from the late 1950s to 2014, when Vistra Energy shuttered it, is the last big brown site. “It needs to be cleaned up,” Branin said. He added that the zoning change in Plan Morro Bay was meant to remove the final brown (industrial) site in town. It was also changed before Vistra proposed its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

“This initiative affirms the general plan,” Branin argued. “We’re not changing anything.”

Cross explained that she’s new to Morro Bay, having retired from teaching high school in Visalia in November 2020. Wilson explained that she comes from a farming family in Tulare. “Our goal is to preserve and enhance our brand,” she said. “Tourism is our business.”

Wilson said the city gets about 800,000 visitors a year, which generates $161 million for the local economy. The city collects about $7 million a year in sales taxes and over $4 million in bed taxes, she said, so the tourists equal over $11 million a year of the city’s General Fund budget. That’s what pays for basic services.

Cross added that the estuary has the estimated biomass of a rainforest. “Our goal is to enhance economic opportunities by protecting our brand,” Wilson said. They also seek to protect the estuary and the bay and “enhance opportunities for existing businesses.”

She added that land use designations “can be changed by a vote” of the majority of the City Council — three of five members. The BESS is inappropriate for the middle of town, considering the potential for a big fire to break out.

“Imagine the damage to Morro Bay’s brand if we had to shelter in place or evacuate?” Wilson asked. “Even out of an abundance of caution?”

She noted all the things within a half mile of the plant site — including the Embarcadero, Morro Bay High, and the State Beach. “How do you evacuate? 10,779 people would have to evac uate,” she said.

They then wrapped up the brief slide show and took questions. Bob Fowler, a Master Leaseholder member, asked in

light of the climate emergency declared by the president and governor, what happens if they decide to put in the BESS through a process like eminent domain?

Wilson said she’s been attending and speaking at Coastal Commission meetings for months, traveling out of town to do so, and they have certain misconceptions about the project and about Morro Bay. “They thought we were an industrial port,” she said. She added that the State Lands Commission, which has jurisdiction over publicly owned coastal properties, and whose meetings she’s also been going to, “also thought we were an industrial port.” Their group has been talking to both commissions, she said.

Branin added that there are more appropriate locations for battery plants.

Commercial fisherman and fishing advocate Jeremiah O’Brien said the presentation mentioned commercial fishing five times, but he didn’t see anything regarding the commercial fishing industry. He disputed the notion that Morro Bay was thought of as an industrial town, saying that the fishermen have met with both these agencies. “Where is this perspective coming from?” he asked.

They were asked why do an initiative? “You can change zoning on any property,” Branin responded, saying if it’s a “non-conforming use,” meaning the zoning doesn’t match the proposed use, it can be denied. But Vistra could then appeal to the Coastal Commission. “All it takes is three votes to change the land use,” Branin said.

Assembly Bill 205, a new law that gives the California Energy Commission authority to essentially take over land use authority for the BESS from the city, was a sticking point for some in the audience. They worried about losing local control over a project review, and the chance to put special conditions on Vistra aimed at benefitting the town.

They were asked why they believed the local land use decision-making process needed to be changed?

Wilson told a story about a meeting last September with Rincon Associates, the company doing the environmental impact report for the BESS. Their representative said zoning “was nothing — just a signature” and “we’ve got it covered.”

Fowler asked if the initiative expands the Measure D boundary?

“This is an affirmation of the land use” as it is now, he said. “We want to make sure if the land use changes, the voters get a chance to speak,” he continued.

Fowler pointed out that AB 205 says the state can step in if differences can’t be resolved. “Vistra could appeal to the CEC immediately,” Fowler said.

He pointed out that the power plant property in total is “something the size of Disneyland, and there isn’t a developer in the world that would want to go through a process like this.” It would put the area into visitor-serving/commercial zoning in perpetuity, “by bypassing representative government. The land use process is an important process,” Fowler said. He’d rather have elected representatives make the decision rather than the electorate.

Fowler summed up the feelings of the Master Leaseholders that the greatest fear is that the Energy Commission will simply take it over. “Your initiative forces Vistra to appeal to the State Lands Commission” through AB 205, he said.

Wilson countered that AB 205 allows the bypassing of Morro Bay and “takes away power from the people.”

Branin said, “I will do anything I can to stop the batteries.”

During the slideshow, they addressed another question posed beforehand: What do they see being built there instead? It was suggested that it could be an event center, with a 500-600 seat outdoor amphitheater, exhibit buildings with kitchens for large parties and special events, and much of the land left open for a circus or carnival to come to town and for parking.

It should be noted that the City Community Development Department is working on a specific plan for the area of the power plant property not part of the proposed BESS project.

Though nothing was resolved by any measure, the meeting was a chance for business leaders to hear from the initiative’s main proponents and perhaps more importantly, to meet amongst themselves, to discuss the project and ponder the future of the most valuable land in Morro Bay — the waterfront.

Meanwhile, the initiative group, Preserve Estero Bay has a website, see PreserveEsteroBay.com.

The group meets at 10 a.m. Tuesdays at the Buttercup Bakery, 430 Morro Bay Blvd. Volunteers also man an information/sign-up table from 2 to 4 p.m.

Building joy and creativity

Becca Russell turning former mortuary into fun place for the community

By BLAKE FRINO-GERL for Morro Bay Life

The former Benedict-Rettey Mortuary and Crematory is transitioning into a place for gathering, relishing in the arts and joyous events. Becca Russell, along with her husband Peter and their children, Rachel (8) and Liam (6), plan on bringing light and some fun to the building and large property on Quintana Road. It will serve as a way to celebrate life while living and no longer one that is honoring one’s passing.

Born in Fullerton, Becca spent her junior and senior years at Morro Bay High School.

“When I moved to Morro Bay at 15, I experienced a kind of freedom and a kind of community that I hadn’t previously,” she says. After journeying through a few moves since high school, she adds that “I always wanted to get the opportunity to live in my ‘hometown’ again and make a place here that I could share.”

Becca knew that she loved working with children and in creative environments, as well as having a fondness for the performing arts. She also found that while working “a series of jobs in catering here and in LA during my 20s” she really liked the idea of having a space where people came together and celebrated.

After moving back to the Central Coast and in search for a place in which she could create an acting program for her children and friends, Becca found and bought the property of the defunct Benedict-Rettey Mortuary and Crematory.

“I fell in love with it immediately,” Becca says.

Having been practically vacant since the start of the pandemic, it put the property and building in less than ideal shape.

Still, Russell “saw the property as a perfect opportunity to not

ANTIQUES

only build the children’s performances space that I wanted, but also as an ideal location to create a venue for our two towns of Morro Bay and Los Osos to come together in multiple ways.”

The property was developed and opened in 1964 by the Benedict family and owned and operated by them over two generations, Becca clarifies. Since she values the historic and architectural elements, as well as the community’s remembrance of the property, she wanted to “show gratitude and respect to the Benedict family and to the community” to name the business and building “The Benedict.”

Owning a comimercial property and changing its use has been tasking, but they have “created a garden with some creative nature scape play areas that can be enjoyed by children without overwhelming the outdoor ambience in case of a more mature event,” Russell says. She mentions that they also “worked on some restoration to the Mid-Century Modern origin of the building,” which includes tiling the restrooms, installing wood flooring in the lobby and offices, painting and removing 30-year-old wallpaper. In addition, they “repurposed the old church pews to a six-piece wooden stage that can be removed if needed.” They soon will be adding stage curtains to give the full stage effect.

Russell plans to offer options of renting parts of the property by the hour and day, accommodate local nonprofit groups with their monthly meetings, and also events celebrating the seasons, including an October Festival, movie nights, open-mic comedy shows and community barbecues. They have received support from The SLORoll, a nonprofit that organizes skate parties for fundraisers, and hope to host its pop-up skate clinics in the future. By The Sea Productions has also offered encouragement, advice, and support with regards to the theatre and stage design.

Russell is strategizing the performing arts program for grades K-12 to “explore all aspects of live theatre from acting to script writing, sound and lighting to set design,” she says. Russell hopes

Cayucos Antique Engine Show scheduled for Aug. 5-6

By NEIL FARRELL for Morro Bay Life

Folks interested in how machinery worked in the early days of the U.S., can visit the 49th Annual Antique Gasoline Engine Show, set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 5-6, in Downtown Cayucos at the corner of North Ocean Avenue and D Street.

Admission is free to the event that brings old hit-miss gas engine enthusiasts together to display their meticulously restored antique engines and the variety of applications the platform could be used for.

Such engines were in wide use before the invention of the internal combustion engine. They are highly flexible and able to be configured to do almost anything — from sawing logs to pumping water and agitating clothes during a wash cycle.

to launch a pilot program in late August or early September.

Russell feels very fortunate to have returned to the Central Coast to raise her children and have “them take so much pride in what we’re building here,” she says. “The idea of laughter, joy and happiness in this building seems to be bringing things into balance in a way … We want to make this a space that the community comes together to meet, and make fun memories of their hometown.”

Morro Bay Recovery: Rodeway Inn closes & Recovery Center takes over

By BLAKE FRINO-GERL for Morro Bay Life

The Rodeway Inn closed this year, and is now open to serve as Morro Bay Recovery (MBR). It is operating as a residential alcohol and drug treatment program. The owners, Twins Bay Incorporated, made the decision as a means to make consistent income and provide what they feel is a positive move.

Welcomed from all over the county, residents will reside on the property to overcome their addictions. It is the only in-patient drug and alcohol treatment center in San Luis Obispo County. Rich Donald, former general manager of Rodeway Inn for the past two years, will now work as the clinical supervisor and program director as he is already a licensed substance abuse therapist.

Committed to protecting the privacy and security of Protected Health Information (PHI) in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its applicable regulations, MBR accepts many insurance plans, as well as a sliding scale fee system for those who are uninsured or underinsured.

Employees assisting patients are residential alcohol and drug technicians, certified substance abuse counselors, and therapists. The facility’s in-house services include group and individual counseling; medication treatment and relapse prevention; aftercare plans; and family, group and holistic therapy.

“Therapists at the facility are responsible for providing one-on-one therapy and assessment evaluations,” Donald says. Clients will receive 15-30 minute daily checks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The swimming pool has been filled with cement and will be used as a recreation area. To go off premises, clients will be chaperoned by staff.

MBR will eventually work up to the approved 28 patients as needed. It offers one- and two-week Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) detox and the “residential portion” is typically 30 days, but can be completed in up to 90 days.

MBR’s website states that its services set it apart from other addiction recovery centers in that it has an “unwavering commitment” to the clients’ journey and success. Donald says that it is “cookie cutter for other facilities.” He adds that typically 70 percent of people make it to a year of sobriety who stay in the 30-day program, while the success rate falls to 30 percent for those who do not do the full 30 days.

For those who choose to not complete the program, they will be driven to the community they originated from, and that goes the same for those who complete the full program.

Relapse life skills, family integration, and case managers are provided to better ensure their success rate. Once the program is completed, then a release plan is set.

Donalds says his bosses are “community-minded people” and aside for their desire to keep the property running, they found a need in the county for this change of business.

The former Rodeway Inn property is now Morro Bay Recovery, a residential alcohol and drug treatment program.

Photo by Blake Ashley Frino-Gerl

(left) Local Antique Engine enthusiast and tractor mechanic Tim Stewart looks at antique engines at Mike McKinney’s house, who is the president of branch 27 Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association (EDGE&TA).

Photo by Vickie Stewart

The Russell family from left: Peter, Rachel, Liam, and Becca pose in front of their newly transformed community center. Photo by Blake Ashley Frino-Gerl

FOURTH OF JULY

‘Surf, Sand, Stars and Stripes’: Cayucos Celebrates July 4th

About 20,000 people, adorned in red, white, and blue, lined Ocean Avenue in Cayucos for the Annual Lion’s Club Independence Day Parade. Some 39 of all manner of folks and businesses danced, rode, and roller-skated down Ocean Avenue to the delight of the throngs. Children rushed into the street between entries as people tossed handfuls of candy out in what has become one of the signatures of the parade.

Returners this year included Central Coast Roller Derby, Nana’s Bunch, the Robinson Family, and Cayucos Rotary. The parade’s house band, The Wave Hogs, fresh off a “world tour,” played surf music and rock ‘n’ roll from the deck of a trailered boat. New this year was the Coast Skate Club. Sea Shanty owners Carol Kramer and Billy Shea, who are celebrating 40 years in business this year, were Grand Marshals, and their Sea Shanty also had the coolest float, a red, white, and blue locomotive.

SUBMIT

EVENTS

NOW THROUGH AUGUST 7

ROCK, PAPER, PRINT & ABSTRACTION AND GLASS EXHIBITS

ART CENTER MORRO BAY 835 MAIN ST, MORRO BAY

12-4pm

Art Center Morro Bay is proud to present two shows: Rock, Paper, Print and Abstraction. Rock, Paper, Print is an exhibition of artwork featuring members of the Central Coast Printmakers, a group of around thirty artists who share the love of printmaking. Exhibit is concurrent with the glass artworks by artist Carolyn Niblick.

AUGUST 4, 11, 18 AND 25

FOOD TRUCKS AND MUSIC

ST. TIMOTHY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH 962

PINEY WAY, MORRO BAY

4-7pm

Enjoy listening to music and connecting with the option of purchasing food from varying food trucks.

AUGUST 5, 11 AND 25

SUMMER MOVIES IN THE PARK COLONY PARK, ATASCADERO

8-10pm

Bring a blanket, chair and snacks to enjoy movies free to the public, beginning around 8:15pm. August 5–Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (PG), August 12–Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (PG) and August 26–Super Mario Bros. (PG).

AUGUST 5, 12 AND 26

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

ATASCADERO LAKE PARK, ATASCADERO

6:30-8:30pm

Bring a blanket or chair to sit on and enjoy the summer at “Saturdays in the Park” concert series. August 5 will have music from Unfinished with the Beatles, Painted Red Music on August 12 and The Cinders Blues Band on August 26.

AUGUST 5, 12 AND 26

MOVIES IN THE PARK COLONY PARK, ATASCADERO

8-10pm

Bring the family, along with a chair or blanket to sit on while watching a movie under the stars. Concessions will be available for purchase. For more information, call (805) 470-3360.

AUGUST 12

5TH ANNUAL CENTRAL COAST CIDER FESTIVAL PAVILION ON THE LAKE & ATASCADERO LAKE PARK

5–8 pm

The 5th Annual Central Coast Cider Festival offers a great opportunity to taste a variety of ciders, meet the cider makers, and enjoy the community of Atascadero. VIP early entry begins at 4 pm with special pours from producers and short educational talks from cider and industry professionals.

AUGUST 18

30TH ANNUAL HOT EL CAMINO CRUISE NITE

DOWNTOWN ATASCADERO

6:30–8:30 pm

Hot El Camino Cruise Nite is one of the largest and most popular annual events in San Luis Obispo County and one of the City’s signature events. On Friday evening, over 400 local cruisers from the 1950s and 1960s come downtown from across California.

AUGUST 19

MID-STATE CRUISERS CAR SHOW

ATASCADERO LAKE PARK

10–3 pm

Check out the interior and exterior of a wide variety of antique cars. These cars will then cruise to downtown at 5 pm and park in a VIP area next to City Hall to kick off the 7th Annual Dancing in the Streets.

AUGUST 19

SANDY CARINO Broker Associate

Realtor® | Lic#02007590 (805)714 - 8223

scarino@pbnassoc.com homesbysandycarino.com

VERONICA CHAVEZ

Mortgage Loan Officer

NMLS#1148073

Lic#01943051 (805)714 - 3432

veronica@pbnassoc.com

7TH ANNUAL DANCING IN THE STREETS

DOWNTOWN ATASCADERO

5 pm

Dancing in the Streets will jump-start the evening with performances from local bands scattered throughout downtown. Enjoy your favorite bands, community entertainment, food trucks, beer, wine/ cider, and distillery vendors who will be ready to celebrate a fun evening of music and dancing.

AUGUST 25

REBOOT STORYTELLINGTOP DOG COFFEE

857 MAIN STREET, MORRO BAY

7-9pm

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