November 2010 Journal Plus

PAUL SILVA | SANDRA DIMOND | NEW COLUMN “HUTTLE UP” | NEW HOSPICE UNIT

Journal PLUS NOVEMBER 2010

MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

Don Brady and Robert Hall

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CONTENTS

10 Journal PLUS MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

The People, Community, and Business of Our Beautiful Central Coast ADDRESS

654 Osos Street San Luis Obispo California 93401

PHONE

805.546.0609

E-MAIL

slojournal@fix.net

WEBSITE

www.slojournal.com

EDITOR & PUBLISHER Steve Owens ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Erin Mott GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dora Mountain COPY EDITOR Anne Stubbs PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Meinhold DISTRIBUTION Keith Malcomson

THE ART OF ROOT & CURRY

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16

PAUL SILVA

SANDRA DIMOND

ADVERTISING Jan Owens, Kristen Hathaway CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Susan Stewart, Natasha Dalton, Hilary Grant, Sandy Baer, Joseph Carotenuti, Dr. Julian Crocker, Sarah Hedger, Frank Rowan, Maggie Cox, Deborah Cash, Patty Thayer, Sarah Day, Julian Varela, Margaret Kensinger-Klopfer, Ruth Starr, Sharen Rund Bloechl, Jesse Sostrin, Bob Huttle, Jeanne Harris, Laurie Lackland, Richard Bauman, Gordon Fuglie and Phyllis Benson Mail subscriptions are available at $20 per year. Back issues are $2 each. Inquires concerning advertising or other information made by writing to Steve Owens, JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE, 654 Osos Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. You can call us at 546-0609, our fax line is 546-8827, and our e-mail is slojournal@fix.net. View the entire magazine on our website at www.slojournal.com JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE is distributed monthly free by mail to all single family households of San Luis Obispo and is available free at over 600 locations throughout the county.

Editorial submissions are welcome but are published at the discretion of the publisher. Submissions will be returned if accompanied by a stamped self addressed envelope. No material published in the magazine can be reproduced without written permission.

Opinions expressed in the byline articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the JOURNAL PLUS MAGAZINE. Cover photo provided by Robert Hall

PEOPLE 10 12 14 16

ALLEN ROOT AND DAVE CURRY ROBERT HALL PAUL SILVA SANDRA DIMOND

HOME & OUTDOOR 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 31

HUTTLE UP CARING CALLERS PULSE A NEW HOSPICE UNIT/HOUSE HOME DESIGN DISTRICT FOOD / AT THE MARKET KITCHEN IDEAS SLO COUNTY LIBRARIES

COMMUNITY

32 34 36 37 38 40 42 54

SLO ART SCENE REDDING’S SUNDIAL BRIDGE OUR SCHOOLS Dr. Julian Crocker VETS VOICE HISTORY: The Bears HOSPICE CORNER/ SUDOKU PUZZLE DOG NEXT DOOR ALMANAC – The Month of November

BUSINESS 43 48 49 50

DOWNTOWN SLO What’s Happening PEGGY PETERSON EYE ON BUSINESS THE BULLETIN BOARD

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From the publisher

F

or several years I have been talking to Bob Huttle about writing a regular column for us when he retired from teaching at San Luis High School. The only problem was that he kept adding another year to his tenure. Finally, after 38 years of teaching English, History, Drama and Creative Writing, he retired last June. Bob has moved into his next phase in life and is telling us all about it in our newest column titled, “Huttle UP.” Our cover story this month is on Robert Hall and his winery. The wines of Robert Hall Winery were voted the best in California at the prestigious California State Fair competition. This was the first time ever that a Central Coast winery beat out the wines of Napa and Sonoma. You’ll enjoy his story.

November 11th is Veterans Day. Our Vets Columnist, Frank Rowan, updates us inside on all the happenings on the Central Coast celebrating this special event.

If you consider yourself a lover of modern architecture, high end design, seamless construction or state of the art electronics then you must see this marvel. It is simply unlike any other house in the City of San Luis Obispo. Perfect location with the ideal climate. Very private. The owner spent $2500 per square foot on construction which can be documented.

See the web-site for additional photos and more information. Asking $1,350,000. www.2191santaynezave.com

Finally, Peggy Peterson was recently given the President’s Volunteer Service Award, signed by President Obama himself. Peggy has been one of the strongest proponents for the Arts on the Central Coast most of her life. I will never forget the meeting we had at her home when I first started the magazine seventeen years ago. I made her a promise that our magazine would include plenty of stories promoting the Arts in the County. It was the only way she would let me out of her house! I have kept my promise and will continue to do so. Included in this issue is our September 2002 cover photo of Peggy and Gerry along with a story on her award. Congratulations Peggy...you are the best.

Johnny Hough Owner / Broker

(805) 801-5063

johnny@realestategroup.com 962 Mill Street, SLO See more listings at www.realestategroup.com

Enjoy the magazine,

Steve Owens

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Sunday, Nov. 7, 3 pm Click, Clack, Moo Cal Poly Arts

Wed., Nov. 10, 7:30 pm The 5 Browns Cal Poly Arts

Nov. 11-13 & 18-19, 8 pm Antigone & Letters to Soldiers Lost Cal Poly Theatre & Dance Dept.

Saturday, Nov. 13, 8 pm SLO Symphony Classics II SLO Symphony

Sunday, Nov. 14, 2 pm The MET Live in HD: Donizetti’s Don Pasquale Opera SLO

805.SLO.ARTS Phone | 805.756.2787 Fax | 805.756.6088

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Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7 pm Warren Miller Ski Film: Wintervention

Friday, Dec. 3, 8 pm A Modern Gospel Christmas

Saturday, Nov. 20, 8 pm Bandfest 2010!

Sat.-Sun., Dec. 4-5, 2 pm Saturday, Dec. 4, 7 pm A Christmas Carol

Youth Outreach for the PAC (YOPAC)

Cal Poly Music Dept.

Sunday, Nov. 21, 3 pm Cal Poly Symphony Fall Concert Cal Poly Music Dept.

House of Prayer

Ballet Theatre SLO

Saturday, Dec. 4, 8 pm Cal Poly Choirs’ A Christmas Celebration

Cal Poly Music Dept.

Friday, Nov. 26, 8 pm Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano

Sunday, Dec. 5, 3 pm Joy to the World

Friday, Dec. 3, 8 pm Fall Jazz Concert

Wed., Dec. 8, 7:30 pm Jon Anderson

Vocal Arts Ensemble

Cal Poly Arts

Cal Poly Music Dept.

Cal Poly Arts

10

PEOPLE

ALLEN ROOT and DAVE CURRY “FERROMOBIUS STYLE BORN OF FIRE AND ICE”

By Sandy Baer

I

n Latin, ferro means iron and mobius suggests movement, a fitting business name for Allen Root’s local fine art metal sculptor business, depicting both stationary and permanent installations of metalwork for exteriors and interiors since 1973. Root is somewhat of an enigma himself, according to many of his clients and professional associates.

As Senior Planner for the City of San Luis Obispo, Pam Ricci says, “He’s an active artist with a mastery of metalwork. His work runs the gamut from ornamental to practical, with an art deco influence,” Ricci added. Jeff Bague, a local architect who has collaborated on several joint projects with Root, concurs. “Allen is as much of a sculptor as a master ironworker.”

One of the most recent Root-Bague partnerships was the design, ironwork and installation to create sidewalk patio seating in front of Big Sky Restaurant on Broad Street. Owner Charles Meyers reiterated others’ comments about Root’s work style. “Allen and his team, along with Jeff, is a wonderful cross between artists and professional ironworkers (and designers). They were smart and fun to work with.”

“It’s like we have always known one another after 30 years of personal and professional endeavors, including seismic-retrofit work downtown and a contemporary custom home in See Canyon.

I designed the home and Allen did all of the exterior and interior metalwork encompassing decks, railings, and a staircase that we call the ‘Wind Dance Railing,’” Bague says. “Allen has a fairly contemporary eye with a real attention to detail that transfers to the high quality of his creations.

As the private client says, “The world should know about Allen Root!”

Allen Root and Dave Curry

Riccci recalls, “Allen was a talented chairperson on the ARC during his eight-year tenure, two as chair. He was not divisive but respectful of the public and other commissioners’ input.” Root was also the liaison to the Tree Committee during his tenure on the ARC. Shannon Bates, who administers the public art program through San Luis Obispo’s Parks and Recreation Department adds, “We are very fortunate to have a City Council that supports our public art program. It is important to say that Allen is not only a master metalworker and artist; he is also an advocate for public art. He is a grounded voice for me and my work.”

Root was born in 1953 in the same hospital as his father and grandfather in Denver. His father, a self-employed dental technician moved his family (Allen has three younger brothers) to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to establish his own independent practice. For a family vacation, the elder Root treated his family to a train trip from Cheyenne west to California, largely traversing the coast between Los Angles and San Francisco, to visit relatives and friends, stopping along the way in San Luis Obispo.

Allen remembers the day his Dad informed the family, “I am never going to shovel snow again.” The Root family moved here in 1965 where he attended Quintana Junior School (now known as Bishop’s Peak Elementary School) and graduated from San Luis Obispo High School in 1972. Root has attended Cuesta College off and on for 13 years. “My stepmother, Mary Lou Wilhelm, for many years head librarian at Cuesta College, teases me about being the longest tenured student.” Root laughs.

“After high school I worked as an errand boy for a local car dealer and I hated it. I had taken some classes in high school and I had the good fortune of getting a job with G. K. Enterprises, a general purpose welding shop,” Root comments. “I fell in love with the process and began staying late after work and creating artistic pieces, at first like planters,” Root adds. “It was also my good luck that there were two or three employees there to work with and learn from.”

By 1976, Root was an accomplished welder and joined forces with a partner who was a local developer and contractor to begin his own welding operation in Grover Beach. “When we first started, we did everything – structural, commercial installations such as restaurants as well as ornamental metalwork. In 1984, Root began working with another partner in a shop in San Luis Obispo. “We were pretty aggressive in developing our client base which ran the gamut from residential decorative metalwork to commercial and public art,” he says.

“We did our first public art project in Palm Desert beginning in 1996.

Often our projects are long processes.” The contemporary, somewhat whimsical fence with art deco influences took a year to design, complete and install. “Dave does a lot of work on public art projects,” Root says.

Since then, Root and his current associate of 15 years, Dave Curry, a 1994 Cal Poly graduate in architecture, have completed seven public

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“When Allen gave me an opportunity to input my design ideas, to see my creativity translated into real work was very gratifying. It provided me the chance to see my work in reality,” Curry says. “Allen and I are complimentary. He is gregarious and he’s the man about town. I am more inclined to be at the drawing board with our man in the studio, Aren Brockert.”

“As with Root, who has a commitment to sustainability, I was initially drawn to my choice of profession by organic architecture such as that pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright,” Curry says. He estimates that 50% of their work is private, 30% is commercial or corporate and the remaining 20% is municipal public art.

art projects in such diverse locations as Coachella Valley to Los Angeles to Palo Alto.

“We are a team,” Root says.

Curry worked as an architect for a year but found “pencil pushing” less than pleasing. Even though he had never welded before, Curry interviewed with Root at a friend’s suggestion.

“Allen was my mentor in metalwork,” Curry says.

Root adds, “I can teach anybody welding, but I needed someone with an eye to design as well.”

“What makes us unique is we are a licensed contractor, trained as an artist as well as an architect.

We have a foot in two camps, both design and the knowledge of the rigors of construction scheduling and budget,” Root says.

Root’s interest go beyond metalwork and design. He was an active member of our local Mardi Gras for 19 years and reigned as King in 1994. Ferromobius have also won a number of Obispo Beautiful awards.

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“He sees the larger vision and has a fresh, genuine interest in humanity. Allen is bigger than life with a great spirit and passion for art…just his general level of living,” Bague says.

As his tagline reflects, “Innovative Designs for Living” can be appreciated by just walking down Santa Rosa to discern the detail in the metalwork on the Morgan-Stanley Building or observe the intricacy of the stair railing in the former Mother’s Tavern on Higuera Street.

Some people relish the intellectual challenge of an enigma, as it allows them to prove their intellectual capabilities to themselves and others. Root seems to have that full force of someone’s deductible ability to solve it. And his mastery of metalworking and artistic vision serves us all well.

Root fuses bronze, steels and aluminum with fabrics, stone and glass in many of his works.

(805) 541-9922

www.palazzogiuseppe.com

Palazzo Giuseppe Offers:

Weekend Brunch Starting @ 10:30 am

In addition to the NEW Lunch & Brunch Menu

Family Dinner Sunday, Monday and Tuesday 4:30 - close Traditional family dinner, large portions to be shared

More than 50,000 San Luis Obispo County residents suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Of those individuals 5,800 are military veterans. From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Depression, these conditions can affect up to one in four of SLO County’s bravest citizens. There is hope and there is help.

Visit slothestigma.org or call 800-549-4499.

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PEOPLE

robert hall

winery wins the wine “World Series”

By Sharen Rund Bloechl

T

here are many historical dates to remember in California, but two dates near and dear to winemakers are 1790, when the Franciscan Friars came to California and began planting their grapes, and 1855, when the California State Fair Wine Competition was established.

For most California winemakers, all the local wine competitions such as the Orange County, the Mid-State Fair, etc, are play-offs, which lead to the final game – the “World Series” – of winemaking at the California State Fair.

The California State Fair Wine Competition is the oldest and largest wine competition in North America – the 2010 competition included nearly 3,000 entries from 600 wineries from all over the state. For two days, panels of dozens of judges tasted 100 wines per day.

Unlike some of the winery magazines where if you spend enough money you can get a high rating, to protect the integrity of the competition, it is a blind tasting. The judges are only aware of the wine varietal, e.g. Merlot, not the producer, the AVA [American Viticultural Area] or any other details. One of the guest judges, Hank Beal, fine wine

buyer for the Gold Nugget stores raved about the process in which they were served each flight of wines at the proper temperature plus the quality of all the wines stating, “This is a good year for consumers . . . because many of the wines that won the highest honors are available at great prices!”

The Golden Winery honor is extended to the winery which has the greatest number of wines winning the highest number of awards.

Robert Hall Winery entered 10 wines and received 5 Best of Class. The winery also received 3 Gold and 7 Silver Medals for their top five scoring wines at the competition. This is the first time in the competition’s history that a Central Coast based winery has ever received the prestigious Golden Winery Award.

While talking with Robert, he stressed that this award is not only good for him and his team, but that it’s good for everyone in the industry. All his wines are made from Paso Robles area grapes – he doesn’t go with the Eastside/Westside thoughts of which are better – they all are great! Granted Robert Hall got the award, but he feels that, “. . . for the AVA we’re living in its GREAT news!

This is the best type of advertising that this area can get, and it helps sell all the wines!”

He received numerous calls, cards, flowers from local wineries – all congratulating him for bringing the award home.

After 40 years of traveling throughout the most acclaimed wine growing regions and 17 years checking out each of California’s wine appellations, Robert found the perfect terroir in the Paso Robles AVA. Here, with his friend Howie Steinbeck’s advice, Robert purchased the land for the Red-Tail Vineyard in 1995. Soon, the Bell Tower Vineyard – where the winery, caverns and Hospitality Center are located – and the exquisite Estrella Linda Vineyard were added – all chosen for their diversity and grape growing capabilities.

In order to capture the essence of the vineyard as well as enhance the quality of the wine by getting the best product possible out of each vine, all their grapes are handharvested in small select lots thus handling the fruit as little as possible. With over 400 acres in production, Robert Hall produces

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approximately 125,000 cases a year. It’s hard to believe that Robert’s original idea was a hobby vineyard with 40 acres and now he has 400. “It’s just another zero,” he says.

Robert has also set up an agreement with a number of smaller wineries that allows them to use his facilities for their crushing, etc.

Since opening his winery on the east side of Paso Robles ten years ago [five of them in the new tasting room and hospitality center], Robert Hall has been on a mission to put Paso Robles and the Central Coast on the world map of great winemaking regions.

Robert Hall wines are now distributed in 48 states and seven countries, and Hall is constantly on the road as one of Paso Robles’ strongest ambassadors. With this recent award, Robert has made another stride toward accomplishing that goal. Robert is proud to be rubbing shoulders with some of the best wine growers and winemakers in the country. “I think if I had a chance to do it all over again, knowing everything that I know now, I would locate right here,” Hall said.

Here in the greater Paso Robles area, where the temperatures can easily reach 100 degrees in the summer, an issue most wineries face at one time or another, is once you’ve invested in growing the best grapes you possibly can to make the highest quality wine, where do you store it to let the wine age gracefully as well as reduce the overhead air conditioning costs? Robert created caves using the “cut and fill” method. Crews dug a massive hole in the ground and used 700 tons of rebar and 7,000 tons of cement to create the caves – the ceiling is 18 inches of solid cement. The end result is caverns that provide a naturally cool area

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Paul Masson Winery in Saratoga. The fragrant aromas swirl around in the air.

When I asked Robert how he feels about this year’s harvest, he replied, “Due to the weather, cold damp spring – more water which created a good canopy, the grape size is smaller this year’s so the quality is way up. I expect it to be a good year for everyone.”

In closing our visit, I asked Robert point blank, “Are you any relation to the old Robert Hall Stores that used to be around?”

To which he smiled and replied, “Absolutely not!” So that should settle all the old questions and stories about him. where the wine matures in132 gallon oak barrels at an even 55-60 degrees and was built to withstand an 8.5 earthquake. In fact, all the equipment within the winery is built to withstand an 8.5 earthquake. Once the caves were finished, Robert wanted the caves to look old, so he asked artists Margaret Burrell-Hall and Steve Kalar to add the final touches to the caverns to give them that “old, lived in” feeling. You’ll find sconces that emit an “olde world” feel, and your guide will point out where the cement walls were distressed to give a comfortable “feel” to them. Robert Hall Winery’s caverns are the largest underground caverns – 19,000 square feet – in central California. When I first walked into the caverns, I was immediately taken back over 30 years ago to my first visit to the old

Recently, both the Independent Grape Growers of Paso Robles Area [IGGPRA] recognized Robert and his winery for promoting the greater Paso Robles wine region. As well as the San Luis Obispo County Supervisors adopted and presented a resolution recognizing Robert Hall Winery for being named the Golden State Winery for 2010 at the California State Fair.

Stop in and visit Robert Hall Winery – taste his wines and tour underground wine caverns. Located 3 miles east of Paso Robles off Hwy 46 East. 3443 Mill Road, Paso Robles; (805) 239-1616 – Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. where you can see the Golden Bear trophy is on display in the Robert Hall Winery tasting room along with the California State Fair’s life-size Golden Bear.

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       

         

        N O V E M B E R

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PEOPLE

paul silva

Director of Barbershop singing groups

By Ruth Starr

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aul Silva has jumped out of planes thirtytwo times. The San Luis Obispo resident, since 1961, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At nineteen-years-old, Paul joined the United States Army as a paratrooper and served three years in the Korean War. At the time he thought jumping out of planes was amusing. “I wouldn’t do it today,” quips Silva.

By the time Paul got out of the Army, his family had moved West to California. He decided to join them and headed to the coast and San Luis Obispo.

Not sure what he was going to do once he got there, Paul took a test to work at Southern California Gas Co. He ended up staying on as a meter regulated technician for thirty-eight years.

A shy and quiet young boy, Paul’s musical career began while he was in the sixth grade. He performed in a musical and sang “How Are Things in Glocca Morra.”

Many years later, his neighbor in San Luis Obispo, an old Barbershop choral member from Minnesota, convinced Paul to go to a Barbershop meeting. He was sold on the idea right from the start. In 1962, the Barbershop members decided to open a chapter in San Luis Obispo. He convinced his brother Babe, who was also living in San Luis Obispo, to join him. The only Barbershop chapter, at the time, was in Santa Maria, consisting mostly of men from the Vandenberg base. Much to their surprise, about thirty-five guys showed up for the initial meeting.

Barbershop music, consisting of unaccompanied four-part harmonies, is an uniquely American folk art. Although it is not known exactly when or where barbershop music began, it appears to be

Silva and the rest of the Barbershop Quartet

somewhere between the 1860s and 1920s, as defined by the types of songs that were popular at the time. The songs featured sentimental lyrics and uncomplicated melodies that could be harmonized in four parts. In the early years, singers improvised harmonies. Later, when there were printing presses, sheet music was printed with the quartet arrangements and accompaniment by piano.

In the San Luis Obispo local group, there is a music committee that sets the theme for the year and puts a show together for the following year. The past year has been “Songs from the Movies.” Paul is the director of the singing. There are about sixty-five men in the San Luis Obispo chapter. Typically thirty members will show up on Monday evenings for their rehearsals. The rehearsals are from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Unity Church in San Luis Obispo.

In order to learn the music, they make four part CDs so that those who cannot read music can listen to the parts. Paul had very little musical training, but over the years he has learned to read music on his own.

His group performs whenever they are asked and usually perform as volunteers. Each year they put on a large musical show and for the last several years it has been held at the Clark Center in Arroyo Grande.

Today there are chapters in every large city in the United States. Paul is in the far western district that is made up of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii. To belong to these groups, there are chapter fees, district fees, and international fees.

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This has been a very joyful part of Paul Silva’s life, and he has met many great people all over the country as a result of being a part of Barbershop Quartets.

This has been a very joyful part of Paul Silva’s life, and he has met many great people all over the country as a result of being a part of Barbershop Quartets. In addition to the large group, he also has a quartet named Pacific Express that includes his brother Babe, Max Frickey, and Kent Brahams. These guys have been together twentyeight years and sing for special occasions.

One year there was a big audience at an annual show. Paul was doing a solo with the guys behind him humming along. Unbeknownst to him, a guy behind the curtain handed a pie to his brother and Babe let it go hitting Paul in the face with the pie.

True to show biz, Paul continued singing. Everyone, including Paul, had a good laugh.

When not singing, Paul can be found playing golf. He spends most Fridays at Laguna Lake Golf Course along with brother Babe and friends.

To learn more about Barbershop Quartets, you can go to www.Barbershopharmonysociety.org.

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PEOPLE

Sandra Dimond A brilliant presence on the central coast

By Natasha Dalton

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Sandra with the Farmer, Joaquin Gomez and his grandson, Manuel

ast month Sunset Magazine held a spectacular SAVOR THE COAST event in Santa Margarita.

The event had an extensive schedule – with farms to visit, wines to taste and outdoor parties to attend. When the North County Farmers’ Markets Manager Sandra Dimond heard about the event, she knew she had to be a part of it. Sandra contacted O’donnell lane, LLC, the Sonoma-based company in charge of organizing the event, and pretty soon they were working together, making sure that SAVOR THE COAST would become a true celebration of local agriculture with a strong emphasis on its farmers.

“The three-day long event sponsored by Sunset was a definite success, and drew big crowds. We were able to include ten farmers this year,” Sandra says. Now Sunset is considering making SAVOR THE COAST into an annual event, only richer and with even more local connections.

That’s what Sandra is especially good at. She jumps into projects with all her passion and enthusiasm and becomes so essential that nobody can even remember the time when she wasn’t a part of the game.

“It’s time for me to give back, maybe do something profound,” she says. “I like to help people do something meaningful. I heard about a women’s collective in Rwanda that not only sells its handmade crafts, but organized its village to build its own solar cells. These women feel good about their lives now because they have money. Now, that’s the meaning of staying local!”

It’s easy to imagine Sandra in Rwanda. She and her husband Mike like to travel. They met in Europe where Sandra spent a year after graduating from college. And they’ve traveled plenty since then, having lived in Virginia, Oregon and even on Bonaire Island off the coast of Venezuela.

“We love adventures,” Sandra says. “We go someplace, and if we like it, we just stay there for a while.” This time, to prepare for her next trip, Sandra even bought herself a motorcycle.

“I learned to ride it so that – if we do go – I’d be able to travel in the mountains where cars cannot reach. And riding is so good; so much fun. I mean, it’s a blast! We go to Big Sur where the trails are so twisty.

I’m on a steep learning curve. I’ve fallen in the dirt five times, but, luckily, nothing broke!”

Sponsors:

The new home of Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo

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Of course, the Central Coast isn’t a place that’s easy to leave. The Dimonds came here seventeen years ago and “really liked it here. We ended up living in Paso, and I’m glad it hasn’t changed all that much – at least not where we are,” Sandra says.

PEOPLE It’s true: Sandra never seems to get tired of talking about healthy eating. “You can go ahead and buy junk food and trans fats, but in the end, you’re going to pay more. And you’re going to pay by being unhealthy,” she says. “Everybody who hits the 50-60-year hump knows that there’s nothing better than feeling good. So we need to educate people, and help people, and make it easy for them to buy healthy food,” she insists.

Sandra dressed up as Carmen Miranda

And that’s why – motorcycle or not – she just might stay put. For the last three years, she’s been managing the North County Farmers’ Markets and “thinking about starting a coop of some sort” so that the county would finally have a permanent farmers’ market.

As is always the case with Sandra, her manager’s job quickly turned into something bigger: she became a fierce farmers’ advocate and tireless healthy food promoter.

For a long time, the North County parents were talking about the need to improve the quality of the school lunches, but it was Sandra who launched the Farm-to-School program, convincing Food Directors that it’d be better for everyone if the schools would buy produce from the local farms, instead of having it shipped from across the country.

It wasn’t an easy proposition, but Sandra’s persistence and the Directors’ willingness to work with her, made it a success.

When the local schools began receiving health-related grants, school officials already knew whom to turn to for help.

“We wanted to use the Farm-to-School program to provide tastings and encourage the use of fresh produce in the school salad bar,” Laverne Buckman explains. San Miguel’s Lillian Larsen School, where she works, was a recipient of the obesity prevention grant from HEAL SLO. “Sandra has been very supportive of our efforts, working with us to get the produce, giving us suggestions, connecting us with farmers,” Laverne Buckman says. “She is committed to getting fresh food available to as many people as possible, and has been a great resource for our Soils to Succulent Flavors program.”

And she lives what she preaches. When it comes to Sandra’s personal diet, she describes it with two words: “anything green.”

“I’m at the age that what I like doesn’t matter,” Sandra laughs. “I need high octane gas for the tank. I have a sweet tooth, but sweets are not good for me, neither are breads. Also, when you hit 61 – besides buying a motorcycle! – you realize that you eat a lot less.

You can spend more money on other things!

So since I eat a lot less, what I eat becomes really important. Before I could eat whatever I wanted, and I felt fine, but now, if I don’t eat right, I don’t feel good – and I don’t like that.”

At home, Sandra makes three huge pots of stews a week – beans and vegetables. “I spice them up, but not too much,” Sandra explains.

“I use just water, and it tastes incredible. You can have a salad with this stuff, Mike can have a sandwich, or you can put it on beans or eggs.”

Another Sandra’s culinary specialty is her veggie drinks. “I take carrots, beets, kale, whatever I have, run it all through the processor, and all week I have this amazing, healthy drink in my refrigerator,” she says. Simple enough, isn’t it?

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to make our community better, while at the same time enjoying it thoroughly. I feel she’s an advocate for the Food Bank and for me personally, and I suspect that everyone who knows her feels the same way.”

Dean Hutton, the Executive Director of the Apple Farm Restaurant, sums it up like this: “Her never-ending energy and can-do attitude forges through all stumbling blocks. She was very instrumental in the fostering of great working relationships between local chefs and farmers.” Recently Apple Farm’s Chef Steve Walls has been experimenting with preparing homemade pickles of various types. “Sandra was extremely encouraging; she even offered him help in getting started at the farmers’ markets,” Dean Hutton says. “She is very connected with the farmers and maintains such a professional, approachable way to make things happen! I really wonder if she ever uses the word ‘NO!’ Anyone who knows her will agree that she’ll do anything within her ability to work toward the greater good. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said: ‘I don’t know about that, but I bet if you call Sandra, she’ll help you.’ We all could learn a lot if we hung around Sandra Dimond!”

More information at www.northcountyfarmersmarkets.com; phone: 805.748.1109.

Helping schools is not in Sandra’s job description, nor are fundraisers for the Food Bank and multiple other events that benefit our community; it’s just that when Sandra sees an opportunity to do something good, she wants to do it. Cal Poly’s Chef Robert Root, the founder of the Pallet to Palate program, cannot say enough nice things about Sandra’s enthusiastic support of his efforts.

The idea behind his program is to bring together the local chefs and farmers – so that they can work together. Since 2003, Pallet to Palate has been putting on annual fundraisers with all of the proceeds going to charity, mostly the Food Bank. “Sandra is incredibly good at everything she does,” Robert says.

“She is extremely inspirational.”

The Food Bank’s Director Carl Hansen couldn’t agree more: “What I love about Sandra is her passion for people. Farmers’ markets and local agricultural sustainability is her expertise, but her love for people makes her effective and a joy to work with. She’ll do anything asked of her, and she always brings ideas to the table. She clearly wants N O V E M B E R

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huttle up

By Bob Huttle

“EVERYTHING IS ALIVE; EVERYTHING IS INTERCONNECTED.”

---Cicero “You’re going to retire? Really? What are you going to do now?” everyone asked. “Plant a garden,” I replied.

Let’s back up a bit. After thirty eight years of teaching high school English, history, and drama (most of my career spent here, at San Luis Obispo High School), I decided the time was right to do something else; I wasn’t retiring from LIFE, just from my daily commitment to the classroom. My wife, Darrylin, also a teacher, decided to do the same. I suspected she just couldn’t imagine herself continuing her daily schedule while I, now “Endless Summer Bob,” greeted each day with its new possibilities. I play while she grades papers, attends meetings, supervises basketball games, conferences with

parents, plans lessons, checks standardized test scores, prepares her Advanced Placement English students for the national exam, drives fifteen miles to work and back? Unthinkable.

Last spring, as we approached the final days of our careers, we were offered a pristine gardening plot in the new community garden, set to open at Meadow Park. The timing was perfect. We had been on the waiting list for over a year and, truthfully, had this opportunity come along any earlier, we might have passed. School was taking up too much of our time, we now had grandkids to play with, excuse after excuse after excuse. Perhaps we could just “table” this for another time? We wisely chose not to do so.

We took advantage of our good fortune and signed on for a year commitment ($25.00, what a bargain) with Amy Voorhies of the SLO Parks and Recreation Department. We chose plot #24 (out of 40 offered) and were excited to check out our new 14’ X 12’ piece of real estate. My wife was a bit skeptical about my involvement in this undertaking; I am a neophyte gardener, to put it kindly. I love to eat the fruits (and vegetables) of labor that a garden rewards, but amending, fertilizing, planting, tilling, weeding, and harvesting were unknown activities to me. My feeble past attempts at planting tomatoes in our small backyard were disastrous and worthy of ridicule. “Tomatoes?” my neighbors asked, my efforts looking more like olives.

My wife is the green thumb in this relationship; I’m the expert at organizing our social events, perusing restaurant menus, buying wine and securing concert tickets, killing spiders, and watching Lakers and Dodgers games (not so much the Dodgers these days). I promised I would pitch in and this would be “our” garden.

The new SLO Miner’s store greeted us with open arms when they saw the long list of items we needed. After some sure-fired math calculations, I figured our winter vegetables – so far we have planted lettuce, onions, spinach, and something called kolirabi on about 1/3 of our plot – would be the most expensive in the history of the human race.

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None of this matters now. You should see this wonderful, productive, magical piece of land next to the Meadow Park softball diamond on South Street. Now I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know much about vegetable/flower gardens â&#x20AC;&#x201C; weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already established that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but I do know this: â&#x20AC;˘ The three SLO Rotary Clubs donated their time, money (over $20,000), construction expertise, and skills to make this project a reality. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not surprised, really. These service clubs (and others) are active in fundraising and helping numerous needy people and organizations locally, nationally, and internationally. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Service above selfâ&#x20AC;? is their motto. They certainly lived up to this when they built this garden on a site that previously was mostly weeds. And, by the way, other individuals and groups also lent a hand; a plaque saying so graces the main entrance to the garden. â&#x20AC;˘ The gardeners who so lovingly tend to their plots are an intriguing, spritely, environmentally-aware group. As far as I know, all individual gardens are organic (I found this out when I purchased non-organic, HEAVY bags of soil amendment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Take them backâ&#x20AC;? my wife and organically-conscientious step-daughter intoned). The soil was pretty much clumps of adobe clay (with a thin layer of topsoil) and needed to be worked vigorously.

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built the new Meadow Park Community Garden, to Amy Voorhies and SLO Parks and Recreation, which oversees its maintenance, to the gardeners themselves, who carefully tend to the daily survival and growth of the plants, a measure of love is the one constant that people in San Luis Obispo share in common. Cicero couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have said it better: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything is alive; everything is interconnected.â&#x20AC;?

For further information on the community gardens of SLO contact Amy Voorhies at avoorhie@slocity.org.

Bob Huttle hopes to make this column a regular feature. After all, he has nothing but time (and dirt) on his hands. Contact him at rhuttle@ charter.net.

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Among those out there working in the dirt are Leah Dean, Bobbi Binder and Katherina Koller. Leah, a mother of two young sons, uses the garden as her creative outlet and says the people involved are inspirational to her. She loves to expose her children to the process of growing their own food and teaching them how plants grow and where their food comes from.

Bobbi Binder is the official â&#x20AC;&#x153;e-mail organizerâ&#x20AC;? of the group and keeps everyone updated about whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on. She uses the garden to help her stay healthy, avoiding packaged and processed food whenever possible, and says the garden provides her a measure of FUN. As a young child, Katherina Koller survived the end of World War II in Budapest, Hungary. She and her family avoided starvation primarily because of her grandmotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s small garden. Katherina learned early in her life â&#x20AC;&#x153;about the precious gifts that the earth can provide in exchange for a little effort.â&#x20AC;? After retiring, Katherina moved here from Ashland, Oregon and now tends her â&#x20AC;&#x153;garden of life,â&#x20AC;? seeing its â&#x20AC;&#x153;miracle unfolding daily.â&#x20AC;? She says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;tending to my garden space makes my heart expand, and my veggies respond happily to that. My garden is like life for me; what I put in, I get back abundantly. Love is funny that way.â&#x20AC;?

And, it seems to me, love is the key ingredient in this new venture.

From the kind and giving folks who planned, organized, funded, and

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caring callers: A lifeline of support and connection for older adults

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ake a moment to reflect on your day. How many phone calls did you receive from friends, family members and co-workers? How many meetings, events or other connections with people filled your day? Even though some of these daily interactions can feel tedious at times, imagine what it would be like not to have any of these meaningful social connections. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many older adults in our community.

As older adults lose loved ones, friends and co-workers through the years, they can become isolated from the outside world. Often the distance between surviving family members is so great that it prevents regular contact and interaction. However, the basic and universal human need to love and be loved remains constant, even as we age. The desire to connect with others and stay connected and to be recognized as a valuable part of the human family continues throughout the lifespan. By fulfilling these human needs, people are more likely to experience happiness and health regardless of age.

By Jesse Sostrin, PhD

In a fast-paced world where time is a rare commodity, it is reassuring to know that there are still some bright spots that remind us how generous people are when it comes to providing comfort and care to older adults in our community. As resources are being cut at alarming rates and many non-profit organizations are struggling to keep their doors open, an organization known as Caring Callers is on the front lines of helping older adults in need.

Since 1982, Caring Callers mission has been to fulfill the unmet needs of the frail, socially isolated and home-bound elderly in San Luis Obispo County by developing mutually caring friendships, building much-needed support systems and creating new connections that enrich the entire community. Through their service, Caring Callers volunteers make free weekly, in-home visits that provide reassurance and comfort to homebound older persons. These regular connections connect seniors with vital resources, promote independence and sustain emotional well-being.

The mission of Caring Callers is particularly relevant in San Luis Obispo County. Many people do not know that while San Luis Obispo is ranked towards the middle of California counties in size, it is experiencing a growth rate in senior citizens that far outpaces the majority of the state. According to the State of California Department of Aging, San Luis Obispo is undergoing a 100-149% increase in elderly population aged 60 and over, and a 200-299% increase in elderly population aged 85 and over.

The problems for an expanding elderly population supported by rapidly decreasing resources are immediate. Older persons who reside alone are at risk for substance abuse, elder abuse, scams, fraud and depression. These risk factors can lead to extreme isolation, decreased quality of life and increased possibility of premature deterioration, illness and death. Creating opportunities for positive social connection is one of the keys to decreasing risks and meeting the needs of the aging population in our community. Caring Callers exists to stop the cycle of loneliness and isolation that far too many of our communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seniors face.

When older adults relocate for their retirement years, they leave behind the comforts of their familiar surroundings and the network of social connections that existed where they lived and worked. Factors such as limited access to transportation, declining physical abilities, and poor health can contribute to the inability of older adults to build new relationships in their new communities. The Caring Callers N O V E M B E R

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HOME/OUTDOOR Program has the ability to overcome these limiting factors as it creates a space where relationships can be fostered and vital connections to critical resources can be made.

Another primary focus of Caring Callers is to enable older adults to sustain a maximum level of independence and personal dignity. An inPoetry Readingd home visit by a compassionate volunteer adds meaning to a client’s life, helps them maintain their independence and may postpone or eliminate the need for placement in an assisted living facility. Frequently it is the Caring Callers volunteer who is the only consistent source of social contact for the senior. During their time together the pair may chat, play cards or board games, take walks and drives or go shopping. Many times this “service” grows into a deep friendship that lasts until the client passes on.

The Caring Callers Program also serves a great purpose to those who want to volunteer. Volunteers have the opportunity to strengthen their communities and experience the joy of enriching the life of another person. The program can also provide a great opportunity to bridge the gap that can sometimes exist between the young and the old. Caring Callers volunteers range in age from 18 to 98. The connections created through Caring Callers become an opportunity for growth and development for the clients as well as the volunteers. The following quotes from Caring Callers volunteers paint a true picture of the program: “My life changed after being matched with a homebound senior! It was scary at first but we became fast friends. I don’t know who benefits more, me or my senior friend.”

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“Volunteering for Caring Callers has been a meaningful journey. I give my time and energy, but the clients also teach me many wonderful things about living.”

“Now in his 80’s, Frank mentioned that he was a long time swing dancer.

One evening my wife and I took Frank over to Cal Poly for a swing dancing event. Not only did he enjoy the live band and watching the college kids dance, he actually got up and danced twice himself! You should have seen the smile on his face – it sure topped our evening.”

“Caring Callers opens up the chance for life because it gives the person something outside of their shrinking world to look forward to.

Their world has become so small with their contemporaries passing on and family members living elsewhere; Caring Callers gives them the feeling that they’re not useless just because they are older.”

To refer a friend or family member to the Caring Callers Program, or to get involved as a volunteer or donor, visit us at www.caringcallersslo.org or call 805-547-7025.

Caring Callers is a Wilshire Community Services agency. Wilshire Community Services supports individuals and families throughout San Luis Obispo County who face challenging circumstances and difficult life transitions. Together, Wilshire Community Services’ three primary organizations – Caring Callers, Senior Peer Counseling and Creative Mediation – provide possibilities for healing, connection, resolution and renewal. Wilshire Community Services is a non-profit division of Wilshire Health & Community Services.

Update on Dental Care

A Brighter Smile

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o doubt about i t . We ’r e l i v i n g l o n g e r, w e’r e l i v i n g better.

All t hat effor t put Dr. Dassenko i n t o d i e t a n d exercise is paying off. And while you’re going t h roug h you r pa ces on t he t read m il l, do consider another part of you that might need a bit of improvement: your smile.

With age, one of the first things to go is the freshness of your smile. At about thirty, tooth color begins to dim. There is a natural tendency for dentin—just beneath the enamel—to yellow. And if you smoke or overindulge in coffee or cola, darkening can be dramatic.

Exercise and low-fat foods count for less if your smile gives you away.

But just as our health habits

have improved, so has cosmetic dental technology. Now we have the tools and techniques to perfect the color of your teeth.

Toot h-wh it en i ng syst em s take many forms. Custom made at-home bleaching trays allow the patient to control the bleaching process. There are also less expensive take home bleaching kits and in-office bleaching. There are gels and solutions accelerated by light; the laser is coming into use to “jump-start” the whitening process. We can change color fast, or over time.

In any case, the result is visible in days and, with touch-ups, can last as long as you do.

Pamela Dassenko, DDS practices cosmetic and family dentistry at: 1250 Peach Street, Suite G San Luis Obispo CA (805) 549-8483 www.DrDassenko.com

A Paid Health Commentary

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HOME/OUTDOOR PULSE

the end of your comfort zone

By Julian J. Varela

Y

ears ago I purchased an absolutely lovely painting: oil on canvas, green background, beautiful woman with light brown hair in ringlets, porcelain skin, bright red lipstick, head lying in her folded arms upon a table, eyes closed.

I remember when I first purchased the painting I couldn’t take my eyes off it. And while I still find it beautiful, there are days when I walk past it without a glance. And, with apologies to my ex-girlfriends … I’ve also experienced this in relationships.

We’ve all experienced the early stages of romance: butterflies in the stomach, the eagerness with which we await the next phone call or text, the excitement of the

upcoming date. Fast forward two years (or even a few months) and you may have whole days go by without those affectionate phone calls or texts; the blush of new romance has left the rose. You take each other for granted, some days walking right past each other without a second glance – just like I did with my beautiful painting. I am not excusing or condoning this lackluster behavior, and frankly, I have higher expectations than that.

But it happens.

In my next relationship, I want to be smart enough to keep it vital by sharing new experiences together often, and by continuing to grow individually as well as together.

Now, I know you didn’t expect a “Dr. Phil” relationship column from me. This is a health column after all. I’m not a relationship guru by any means (I’m sure the women in my past will attest to that!), but I’m starting to figure out that complacency breeds indifference; and not just with relationships. My dating history is a perfect example of the notion that keeping things fresh and new is important to the vitality and sustainability of just about everything … your love life, your health, your workouts, even the work you do.

Today’s column is yet another case in point.

AUTUMN HARMONIES

Holidays with the

CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO Parks and Recreation Department

CRICKET HANDLER & JILL ANDERSON Artistic Directors Sunday, November 7, 2010 4 p.m.

United Methodist Church 1515 Fredericks Street San Luis Obispo Featuring pieces by Hildegard von Bingen, Brahms, Schubert, Debussy and Cal Poly composer Meredith Brammeier with Jennifer Dodson on horn and Janis Johnson on piano

Holiday in the Plaza Crafts|Gifts|Treats|Entertainment Saturday - Sunday December 4 - December 5 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mission Plaza Free Admission

Historic Jack House Victorian Christmas Open House|Candlelight Tours.

Friday - Saturday - Sunday December 10 - December 11 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

December 12 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Historic Jack House, 536 Marsh Street $2/person, Free/kids under 12

$15 General Admission $10 with Student ID 805.542.0506

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For more information: 781-7300 www.slocity.org/parksandrecreation

You see, in the beginning, I was always excited and inspired to write the next column.

I still enjoy writing, but I have to admit there are days when I don’t feel any inspiration at all; moments when I just stare at the blank page, with my deadline looming before me, and I’ve got zero, nada, bupkis. Not writer’s block, really, just lack of inspiration, and that’s called complacency. Think of an artist or a painter who relies on his or her skill to make a living. I know there are days when the last thing on earth they want to do is pick up that brush. Somewhere, somehow, they have to find a way to make it interesting, to change it up just enough to reinvent what they are doing, to shatter the routine that keeps them stuck.

Complacency breeds indifference and indifference can be downright frightening. To circumvent complacency, you have to get out of your comfort zone. I like to say that “life begins at the end of your comfort zone” and at some point today you’re going to have to get out of yours. If you’re working out, complete those extra few reps, or take a new and challenging class. If you’re in sales, go ahead: call that one prospect you think is so unapproachable. If you’re bored with your partner,

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plan a weekend getaway to a place you’ve never been before, or read a book together that will challenge both of you to think outside your comfort zone. Success with anything begins at the end of your comfort zone.

Even if you’re doing what works and you’ve done it again and again, do it at a higher level, kick it up a notch. Will it be comfortable? No. Will it be worth it? You tell me.

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Seriously, I’d love to hear your feedback on this one. Send your “I left my comfort zone today” stories to Julian@eqclubs.com. Maybe your story will inspire others to leave theirs, and start living again.

Julian J. Varela holds a Master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Julian co-owns Equilibrium Fitness and Equilibrium Fitness for Women. Julian can be contacted at Julian@eqclubs.com with questions or comments. Follow Julian’s Blog at julianvarela.blogspot.com.

Increases Energy Improves Digestion Decreases Constipation

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It’s About ExpErIEncE. It’s About pErsonAl sErvIcE. It’s About thE clIEnt.

L to R: Cary Adler, Dave Belmont, & Kevin Dye

©San Luis Obispo County VCB

protEctIng our clIEnts’ futurE drEAms AgAInst tomorrow’s uncErtAIntIEs. Cary Adler, Dave Belmont and Kevin Dye work hard to support their clients and community. Years of experience means that they can put together the coverage you need and the service to back it up. If you are evaluating your business insurance needs, call Adler Belmont Dye and let them put their experience to work for you.

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HOME/OUTDOOR

A new Hospice house: building a new unit of compassion

By Hilary Grant There’s only one guarantee in life: we’ll all die.

Regrettably, this most natural of passages is something most of us not only don’t want to think about, but may even deny until the very end.

Death can also turn into a scary experience because so many health care professionals have been taught that it’s better to prolong life with surgery and drugs – even when end-of-life care at home is clearly the more dignified and compassionate option.

But what about those people who are terminally ill and want to succumb in their own beds, but because they are on a limited budget, will instead find themselves hospitalized because there are no family members, friends or any other support network to care for them?

Hospice Partners of the Central Coast – the state licensed, not-forprofit San Luis Obispo County organization that began in 1998 and assists those who are diagnosed with less than six months to live, as well as their caretakers – has come up with a solution.

Within the next several weeks, HPCC will start construction on a home-like, inpatient hospice unit.

The unit will be located in what’s now a not-fully occupied, 32-bed wing at Mission View Health Center, a small SLO facility that already offers skilled nursing and rehabilitative services.

Hospice plans to turn the 4,500 square foot space into seven comfy rooms with nine beds; five private rooms and two semi-private rooms are part of the plan. There will also be staff offices and gathering room for family.

In addition, completion of the unit will make HPCC an unlikely trend setter because of this fact: there’s nothing like it in the Western United States. Indeed, Hospice Partners Administrator, Janet Jeffery says that while there are many intimate hospice facilities around the country, like the 13-year-old, eight-bed North Memorial Residential Hospice on a lake just outside of Minneapolis, nearly all, like North Memorial, are for-profit ventures.

The design of the new Hospice unit

In fact, some sort of inpatient facility like this has been on the drawing board for five years – and Jeffery says that it’s no accident that the premier unit is on the Central Coast (HPCC is under the umbrella of another non-profit, Wilshire Health & Community Services, which operates other health care services throughout California).

“SLO County is unusual in the number of older citizens who call this home,” explains Jeffery. “Many live alone with no close family, and others have elder partners who are incapable of the physical demands of caring for a dying person.

“Still others have symptoms that are distressing enough to warrant hospital care at the end – but hospitals don’t like to use bed space for patients who will not improve, and health insurance companies like to discharge under those circumstances.”

With Hospice serving as a support network to about 150 clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week (a huge increase from 1998, when just

“Nearly every community needs a safe and special place where dying clients and their families can go,” says Jeffery, a registered nurse who has been in her Hospice position for the last 11 years.

“Until our society is successful in normalizing death as a part of living, folks will need this sort of extra care.”

Jeffery adds that the Central Coast unit, with an estimated price tag of about $1 million – the figure includes two years of operating reserves – is cost effective and, she says, politically correct.

“We’ll improve an existing facility, and demonstrate to the community that Hospice knows how to create, and maintain, a wonderful environment for their loved ones,” she explains. “And if it’s successful, we can replicate it in other parts of the County.”

The idea isn’t a new one.

N O V E M B E R

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HOME/OUTDOOR While The Hearst Foundation has given a generous gift of $200,000 – with that donation, construction can now begin – more fundraising is underway via a new campaign called Opening the Door.

Hospice Partners Administrator, Janet Jeffery

35 persons were helped per day), how will the organization decide who obtains care at the unit – and who doesn’t?

“We’ll place patients based on need – first come, first served,” says Jeffery. “But only HPCC patients will be placed there, and the criteria are pretty strict. The patient has to be actively dying and has no caregiver.” Jeffery adds that the average stay will be about one week, with 95 percent of those patients dying there.

“Right now, we’re in a quiet phase of giving,” says Yvon Gresser, who is working as a consultant on the project. Instead of getting word out via social networking, mass market mailings or other advertising, she explains that individuals and businesses that would be likely supporters of the unit are learning about the campaign via “an old-fashioned, person-to-person approach.”

Gresser adds that while the current economy has impacted some funding, the collaboration with Mission View has also enabled HPCC to make the unit operational in a much shorter amount of time.

25

“Most people know that hospice can give them comfort,” says Janet Jeffery. “But most people don’t know that hospice can give them hope… hope that they might be able to realize their last few goals, like a soldier’s return home, or a wedding, or a grandchild’s birth.

“As word gets around about all that HPCC is able to do for patients, and families, folks realize how much we are able to help. This unit has been long needed and is almost a reality – I’m so excited.”

Visit hospicepartnerscc.org to find out more about Hospice Partners of the Central Coast, including frequently asked questions and a services overview, or call (805) 782-8608. A short video about the Opening the Door campaign is also on the web site.

Money is still needed to complete the unit.

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S L O IPNF EFTJHO EJTUSJDU

Quick Fall Touch-Ups

By Statepoint Media

W

ith the changing seasons, there are many things you can do to keep your home running smoothly and prepare for cooler months.

It takes only a weekend to get your house ready for the coming months and a few tips can keep things well-maintained:

Deodorize Your Home Baking soda goes a long way in removing odors from kitchen appliances. Place two or three tablespoons in the bottom of your dishwasher and let it sit overnight. When you next run it, odors wash away. Or you can invest in a self-cleaning dishwasher, like the GE Profile SmartDispense line, which will save you time all year round.

In order to ensure your beds are snuggly in the cooler months, air out winter bedding, such as flannel sheets and down comforters.

It’s also a good time to flip mattresses and wash pillows.

Get Organized Spring isn’t the only season for cleaning! When it’s time for Stay Warm and Bright warmer clothing, it’s also time to de-clutter your closets. Pull out Before the weather turns, check windows and doors to make sure they everything and sort items into three piles: keep, toss, or donate. If seal properly. If not, re-caulk any openings and install weather-strip- you haven’t worn clothing this season, decide how to get rid of it. ping. Doing so will save money on heating and costly future repairs.

Make sure you have enough lighting in closets to maintain good During the winter months we get less daylight and keep lights on organization. The right light bulbs make a big difference, especially more often. To compensate, install energy-saving compact fluores- when you’re reaching into your closet and don’t want to confuse cent bulbs, which come in a variety of colors ranging from warmer those brown and purple sweaters. Choose bulbs that reduce dull tones that are like incandescent bulbs to cool blue “daylight” yellow rays and make colors pop, such as GE Reveal CFLs that use colors. They also last up to ten times longer than regular bulbs. a special phosphor blend to provide pure, clean light.

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Avoid the High Cost of M A Retirement Facil

S L O

Even though the prospect of moving m future, you owe it to yourself to learn h living in your own home for man I P N F E F T J H O E J T U S J Dcarefree U

tear. Muddy footprints, sports equipment service. Consider steam cleaning drapes, and wet swimsuits can take their toll. Now sofas, chairs and other upholstery at the is the time to steam clean rugs and carpets same time.

It’s a fact of life that as we get older, Pristine is fully before the holiday entertaining season. preparation help you save some day-to-day tasksA little become too now can licensed and insu You can do-it-yourself by renting a commoney, stay cozy during winter and spend much to handle on our own. That All of our worke mercial steam cleaner or hiring a cleaning less time cleaning when spring returns.

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Make sure closets and pantries have enough lighting for good organization.

You can also use lighting to spotlight parts of a room, drawing attention away from less tidy areas.

Clean Those Rugs After a long summer with the family traipsing in and out of the house, your rugs and carpets have seen lots of wear and

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HOME/OUTDOOR at the market

Roast Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Vinaigrette and Pecans

By Sarah Hedger

N

ovember brings us closer to Winter and with that brings a change in the delicious local offerings on the market front. While we are quite fortunate to still have a variety of produce to choose from, unlike other parts of the country (and world for that matter), where potatoes are the Winter vegetable of choice (nothing against a good potato!). This is where the Central Coast shines as our winter weather tends to be milder, offering fine bouts of weather dotted with an occasional shower. Another of the major advantages are the year round farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; markets that continue to offer everything from the aromatic fresh citrus just entering its season as well as a variety of winter squashes, residual apple varieties, onions, pomegranates, and potatoes, as well as the cruciferous family of cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Not a bad selection at all!

November can often bring some people to a less positive outlook on the nutrition front when it comes to keeping up with eating healthy as the holidays (sorry I had to say it) approach. The recipe for this month

Paso Robles office at 220 Oak Hill Rd. is now open!

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proved to be a little bit more challenging than usual only because there was a decision to be made between two recipes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I wanted to be somewhat healthy while embracing the transition into winter as well as paying tribute to Thanksgiving traditions and all it offers. Thus I wanted to include a recipe that embraces tradition as well as promoting a healthy segue into the holiday season. I believe Novemberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recipe fits the bill just right. Roast Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Vinaigrette and Pecans is a salad that can be a healthy side dish while being warming at the same time. This recipe utilizes one of my favorite techniques of roasting. While a simple technique, it also brings

out the best in just about any fruit or vegetable, and the sweet potatoes in this recipe are no exception. They turn romantically buttery (without any butter) and even getting some carmelization resulting in little sugary bits that taste like something that shouldn’t be as healthy as it is.

Sweet potatoes are special in their own way with impressively high antioxidant qualities in the form of highly bioavailable amounts of both Vitamins A and C. While they seem to be a powerhouse in the nutrition department, there is something to be said for a root that has lasted over 10,000 years to still bring us delight and nutrition every winter! While the combination of ingredients in this salad might not be a “normal” or “usual” combination, I assure you they work! Try to find the freshest pecans as they have a wonderful crunch and being toasted for this recipe really complements the roasted sweet potatoes in the best of ways. The citrus adds a nice balance while the parsley and cilantro add a fresh zing as well as more Vitamin C. Thus, this salad really hits it out of the park in many ways, and I am excited for you to give it a try whether it is alongside a famous holiday meal or for a nice weekend lunch. I am confident you will like it too. Happy Thanksgiving and here’s to a great November.

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Roast sweet potato salad with maple vinaigrette and pecans

*This salad is too good to be only enjoyed this time of yearTry it now, then make it year round!

For the Roasted Sweet Potatoes: 2-3 organic sweet potatoes or yams, washed, peeled, and cut into ½ inch pieces 2 T. olive oil ½ tsp. kosher/sea sal ¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil or waxed paper (mostly for simplifying cleaning later).

Toss sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper together then spread evenly onto baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven.

For the Maple Vinaigrette: 3 T. pure maple syrup 2 T. sherry vinegar (rice wine would be a good substitute if need be) 1 T. fresh lemon juice 2 T. fresh orange juice 1 T. freshly grated ginger ½ tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. kosher/sea salt Pinch of red chili flakes 1/3 cup olive oil Whisk all of vinaigrette ingredients together except olive oil in a large salad bowl. Once well blended, whisk in olive oil and give a good whip.

For the Salad: 1 cup fresh pecans (toss these in the oven for 10 minutes to toast), coarsely chopped 2 green onions, finely chopped 3 T. flat leaf (Italian) parsley, finely chopped 3 T. cilantro, finely chopped When potatoes are still warm/hot, transfer them to the bowl with the vinaigrette and gently fold in pecans, green onions, parsley, and cilantro. Season to taste (with salt and/or pepper).

Enjoy hot or warm or cold. This salad is a delight! Enjoy! *Feel free to email me at sarahhedger@gmail.com if you have any food-related questions.

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HOME/OUTDOOR

Kitchen Ideas

induction cooking

By Sarah Day, San Luis Kitchen Co.

C

ooking is defined as the preparation of food by applying heat. Typically, in our kitchens on top of the stove, we do that by using some sort of appliance to apply heat to a vessel (pot or pan) containing the food. The heat source has traditionally been burning gas or using electricity to create resistance in an element. Now, more and more people are switching to induction cook-tops.

Induction cook-tops use a powerful electromagnet under the cook-top’s surface to “induce” energy into the metal of the cook-pot. The cookware used must be ferrous (or iron bearing) and able to react to a magnet.

Under the surface of the induction cook-top there is a coil of wire (called the element) that produces a high-frequency magnetic field when electricity is run through it. The magnetic field then causes a circulating electric current in the cooking vessel, which creates heat. Heat is generated within the pan itself, leaving the surface of the cook-top cool.

Cast iron and most stainless steel pots and pans work wonderfully on induction cook-tops. It is best if they have a flat bottom

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FIRST 15 PATIENTS TO RESPOND GET A FREE CONSULT N O V E M B E R

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for maximum contact with the surface. To determine if a pan is usable on an induction cook-top, just test it with a regular refrigerator magnet. If the magnet sticks to the bottom of the pan, the pan should work well.

If the magnet barely sticks or GE Induction Cooktop doesn’t stick at all, the pan is not a good choice for induction cooking. Many brands of cookware are now including a note in their literature that states if they work with induction technology. Also, there are now adaptors available for use with the induction top that allow for other (non-ferrous) types of cookware.

What are the benefits of induction cooking? Instant and precise adjustment of the heat level, no wasted heat, safety – a cool stovetop, cleanliness, and installation adaptability are major benefits.

• Perhaps you need the sugar for your lemon drops to come to an exact temperature or you want the perfect texture to your fried egg.

Instantly adjusting the heat level in a pot or pan can be critical to the end result of a recipe.

• With the heat only occurring in the pot or pan, your kitchen won’t heat up as much or as quickly as with other cooking methods. You will also see less need of ventilation in the kitchen. Induction cooking is also more energy efficient as all the energy goes into the pan heating the food – not the surrounding air. Typical efficiencies for induction cook-tops is 84%, while that of gas is 40% (per http://theinductionsite.com/how-induction-works.shtml) • Safety: the stovetop stays cool – no burned hands or fingers.

• Cleanliness: the stovetop stays cool – no burned on messes from spills or overflows.

• The relative thinness of the induction cook-top is ideal for the cook who is wheelchair bound. We can set the cooking surface at a lower height and allow for knee space under it easily. The sleek line generated by the thin, flush mounted induction cook-top lends itself nicely to contemporary and European kitchen styles.

As a safety factor, the induction element will not turn on unless it senses a (relatively) massive amount of magnetic material on the cook-top’s surface. This keeps small items like knives or spoons (or a ring on your finger) from getting hot when in contact with the working stovetop. Unfortunately, some very small pots – like a butter clarifier – may not have the mass to get the element going. How often do you use a teeny, tiny pot? – probably not often enough to forgo the benefits of induction cooking.

This is a very brief introduction to induction cooking. If you are interested in further information, please talk to a local kitchen designer or check out the many Internet sites available. I believe that induction cooking is a great idea – most likely the wave of the future.

COMMUNITY

31

san luis county library free downloadable E-books

By Margaret Kensinger-Klopfer, Youth Services SLO County Library

H

ave you been on the fence, waiting to purchase an e-reader? E-books now sell better than hardcover fiction on Amazon.com, and these devices will only become more prevalent. The San Luis Obispo County Library is now offering free downloadable e-books 24/7 through their website http:// www.slolibrary.org. This is a great time to jump on the e-reader bandwagon. E-readers are a must for the devoted reader in your life, but keep the following things in mind before you go out and buy one:

Luis County Library downloads. (This might change in the future).

The ability to use your library card to download best-selling books to your computer anytime for free makes this a great time to get an e-reader for yourself or as a gift. If you have any questions about the 24/7 e-book and audio book services offered by San Luis Obispo County, please call your local library or call 781-5782.

• E-books are often costly to download.

Check and see if the device you are buying is compatible with free downloadable books from your library. Remember, the majority of Kindle-compatible e-books cost around $9.99 to download. If downloading the latest books for free is important, you should check out the following website to find devices that allow free downloads from SLO County Library: http://www.overdrive.com/resources/drc/compatibleebookdevices.aspx.

These devices include Nook, Sony e-reader, and Droid.

• Do you have a computer to download the books onto, or do you need them to download directly into the e-reader? To use many of the e-readers, you will need to download to a computer first. Consider whether you want to pay for wi-fi connection, in addition to download charges. There is a reason why 44% of Kindle readers make over $80,000 a year. The Kindle downloads don’t come cheap and wi-fi service is a monthly fee. If money is not an object and ease of downloading is a top priority, you should purchase the Kindle. Kindles are not compatible with free San Luis Obispo County Library downloads.

• Other things to consider include ease of controls, quality of back lighting, and memory. Do you want a lot of pictures in your books? If you are interested in downloading art guides or children’s books then the iPad is a better choice. The iPad has a beautiful interactive, full-color e-book screen that is much better for graphic heavy texts. This will also require a monthly wi-fi charge and is not currently compatible with free San

Commonsense Leadership with a

new approaCh VOTE PAUL BROWN MAYOR! While San Luis Obispo is a paradise, we have complex issues such as affordable housing, job scarcity, traffic circulation, homelessness, growth, and budget deficits to overcome.

Creating viable solutions will take a Mayor with a diverse background who is trusted in our community and has the determination to get things done.

We need a leader to collaboratively promote our economic stability while still protecting our unique resources.

This is why current Mayor Dave Romero and other community leaders have encouraged and endorsed Paul Brown to be our next Mayor.

www.votepaulbrown.com Paid for by Paul Brown for Mayor 2010, 1214 Mariners Cove, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

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COMMUNITY

SLO county art scene a regional art collection

By Gordon Fuglie

O

f all the visual arts, photography may have the richest and most influential history.

When its “discovery” was announced simultaneously in Paris and London in 1839, the burgeoning industrial societies of Western Europe and North America were ready for photography. The arrival of this new visual technology, proclaimed as “the art of fixing a shadow,” made possible for the first time the capturing of fleeting reality in a permanent image. Within a decade photography was incorporated into the cultures in which it arose, impacting art, science, commerce and society.

The elements of photography comprise optical devices, metallurgy, chemical interactions and light – applied scientifically; yet “magical” elements remain. Principal among these is the traditional darkroom experience where a blank sheet of photosensitized paper immersed in a chemical solution allows the transference of the camera’s image to the sheet, gradually emerging before the photographer’s eyes. This thrill of recognition has few parallels in the visual arts. (It is less frequently encountered these days as photo-digital technologies are replacing film and darkrooms).

It was such a darkroom experience that caused Sky Bergman to abruptly change her studies from finance to photography in her last

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semester at the University of South Florida.

Currently a professor of art at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and chair of the Department of Art and Design, Bergman recalls the excitement that marked her career change some twenty years ago. Inspired to advance her photographic interests, she applied to numerous graduate art programs, settling on UC Santa Barbara because of the beauty of the campus, good weather, and a generous scholarship.

At UCSB she studied under Richard Ross—an internationally known photographer whom Bergman valued as a mentor.

Recognizing her talent, he hired her as a studio assistant when she completed her MFA. Bergman is also appreciative of her exposure to two other Santa Barbara photographers MacDuff Everton and Jesse Alexander, and worked for them as well. She remains in touch with all three today and appreciates their critiques of her work.

As a committed artist who also takes on commercial projects, e.g. The Smithsonian magazine, Bergman recognizes that photography is the least stable of the visual arts media.

Technological innovations and economic considerations keep it constantly evolving. This is unlike painting or stone sculpture where processes of production have remained largely the same for centuries. An early adapter of media technology, Bergman applied for a

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Sky Bergman

faculty position in the Cal Poly Department of Art and Design in 1994 and was the only candidate to include an interactive CD with her resume – a heads up for the search committee. Pictorial dynamism remains important for Bergman, adding a sense of movement in time and space to her photography, a component I believe that past photographers would have loved to have at their disposal.

During the 1990s and into the 21st century, the human body was explored by many Amer-

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remote and exotic places. The British public of the 19th century got a sense of what their empire looked like through the work of intrepid photographers willing to risk hardships; and Americans no longer had to be content with written accounts of the Great Plains or Rocky Mountains. Adventurous photographers displayed compelling images of the frontier throughout the cities of the East.

ican artists, with perhaps the more poignant work done by women, for whom the body and body image was an abiding concern. Bergman was among these, and at first used actual human figures, but later turned to a poetic, metaphorical approach in her black and white photographs of details of figurative sculpture in marble. The result was a prolonged exploration comparing stone and flesh with an aura of eloquent silence.

This collection became a book, The Naked & The Nude: Images from the Sculpture Series (Albion Press: 2000, introduction by Hèléne Pinet, a photography curator at the Rodin Museum, Paris).

One of the first breakthroughs that photography achieved was conveying to the civilized world an accurate depiction of faraway,

A similar impulse runs through Bergman’s photographs of the people, architecture and land of Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Similar to her photographic forebears, she sought out a place that for domestic political reasons is isolated from the rest of Asia and the world. Her extensive Burma series conveys with subtlety and dynamism a country on the verge of great social change, a theme that fascinates Bergman. Her Burma (Myanmar) series, curated with David Zapf, will be exhibited at ARTS SPACE Obispo, Arts Obispo, from November 5 to December 15. The artist is supplementing her photographs with a video film and still image projection. This is the first (non-Cal Poly) exhibition of Bergman’s work in San Luis Obispo County in ten years.

In the wider world, Bergman’s photographs have been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and are in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France. It is a happy moment to have her showing in her hometown as 2010 draws to a close. (www.skybergman.com; ARTS Obispo, 570 Higuera Street, Suite 175, San Luis Obispo, 93406, (805) 544-9251, www.sloartscouncil.org)

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COMMUNITY

Weekend getaway

CALIFORNIA’S MOST UNUSUAL BRIDGE SUNDIAL BRIDGE IN REDDING

By Richard Bauman

T

he Golden Gate Bridge is probably California’s most recognizable bridge, but the Sundial Bridge in Redding has to be a candidate for California’s most unusual bridge. As the name suggests, it is a huge sundial, its gnomon is more than 200-feet long, but that is hardly its only unique feature. Its materials of construction, how it works and its overall appearance, not to mention the controversy it evoked in the community, make it an out of the ordinary structure.

Made from glass, steel and granite it was designed by Santiago Calatrava, a world-renowned Spanish architect who has built spectacular bridges in Seville, Spain and Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is the first (and only) bridge he designed that has been built in the United States.

The 700-foot long span is literally a glass bottom bridge. Located in Redding’s Turtle Island Exploration Park, it connects the north and south sections of the park and is also the gateway to the ten mile long Sacramento River Trail System. It’s for pedestrian and bicycle passage only, and its traffic surface is made from rectangles of aqua colored translucent glass. It gives those on the bridge the feeling of walking on the water of the river below it.

Sundial Bridge

of controversy. The bridge even became the subject of a PBS special, “Angle Of Inspiration—Santiago Calatrava’s Sundial.”

A simple covered bridge was the structure of choice for many Redding residents. Others became enthralled with the futuristic sundial design. When Calatrava visited Redding with a model of the proposed bridge, those supporting his design became even more enraptured with the bridge’s concept.

Opponents weren’t so impressed. The local newspaper, the Redding Record Searchlight, received hundreds of letters, which the gist of most was: what is a town like Redding doing hiring a European to build an artsy and costly bridge when a conventional bridge, covered or not, could do the job. Some protesters described bridge proponents of having a bad case of “big-time-itis.” Ironically, Redding happens to be the biggest California city north of Sacramento.

Except for the glass surface, nearly all of the bridge is covered in pure white mosaic tiles. On bright days it shimmers in the sun’s light, and at night the bridge appears to glow in the dark because it’s illuminated by more than 200 light bulbs on and beneath it.

Undoubtedly, many of the bridge’s opponents were concerned with the cost and how the city (aka Redding residents) would pay for it. As it turned out, about two-thirds of its cost was paid for by the McConnell Foundation, a philanthropic organization, and the rest came from federal and state grants.

Every visitor probably has a different opinion as to what the bridge looks like, or the image it evokes. Some see it as akin to a ship with a large sail; others say its profile looks like an egret in flight. Some have described it as “harp-like.” One reporter likened it to a giant fish with its huge white fin protruding from blue water.

Those favoring the Sundial Bridge claimed it would become a major tourist attraction. In the fiscal year following its grand opening, July 4, 2004, Turtle Bay Exploration Park saw a 42% increase in visitors.

Undoubtedly, many nearby businesses also benefitted from the bridge’s lure to travelers on nearby Interstate 5.

The Sundial Bridge isn’t just aesthetically pleasing, it’s environmentally friendly too. It is a suspension bridge known as “a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge.” The 217-foot long pylon at the north end of the bridge supports the bridge through fourteen steel cables connected at various points to the bridge’s platform about a third of the way in from the bridge’s east rail.

The name “Sundial Bridge” is apt, even though in the technical sense it isn’t a true sundial. The bridge is situated in an exact north south direction, and the support tower at the north end of the bridge is also the gnomon for the sundial. A true sundial gnomon points toward the North Star. The bridge’s does not. It’s at an angle of 49-degrees (for bridge integrity purposes), whereas a true gnomon at Redding’s latitude would be at 40.9 degrees. Nonetheless, as it is positioned, it does give accurate sun time for part of each day.

The bridge is located in a sensitive salmon spawning habitat. Because of its design, however, no part of the 700-foot span touches the river, thus protecting the fish from intrusion by humans. Part of the reason the deck is made from glass is its translucence. It casts a minimal shadow into the river and is less disturbing to the fish. It also allows for unobstructed use of the river by those fishing from drifting rowboats carried along by the river’s flow.

In the mid-1990s, residents of Redding wanted a bridge over the Sacramento River to connect the north and south parts of the Turtle Island Exploration Park. The city had only a few million dollars budget for it. The bridge they eventually got cost a whopping $23 million, took more than eight years to build and generated no small amount N O V E M B E R

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As the sun rises in the east and moves westward each day, the gnomon creates a huge shadow on the ground around the bridge. From about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the tip of the shadow passes over a concrete arc a few inches high, about 240 feet long just north of the bridge. Imbedded at appropriate points on the arc are cast bronze disks with the approximate time embossed on them. The time is approximate because the sundial is dead accurate only one day a year—on the summer solstice—June 21. But it’s close enough to accurate on other days of the year.

The gnomon’s shadow is huge in both length and width. You can easily stand within it. And you can actually watch the tip of the

COMMUNITY gnomon’s shadow move along the arc at about one foot per minute. What you are actually seeing is graphic evidence of the earth’s rotation about its axis. The shadow’s movement is actually that point on the earth changing location in relation to the sun.

continuous, it would be significantly larger than the sundial in Pajala.

Some have described the Sundial Bridge as being the world’s largest sundial, which, as noted above it can’t be. The world’s biggest sundial, according to Guinness Book of Records, is in Pajala, Sweden. The Guinness record describes that sundial’s diameter as 38.33 meters (125.75-feet). If the Sundial Bridge was a true sundial, and its disk was

Glass surface on the bridge

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If you’re inclined to head for Redding to see the Sundial Bridge, it’s easy to find. Exit Interstate 5 at highway 44 (Exit 678/Eureka to Hwy 44 West). Head one mile west, to Exit 1/Park Marina Drive. Turn right at top of offramp to enter Convention Center/Turtle Bay complex, then follow the signs to the bridge.

The bridge is open every day 6 a.m. to midnight, and admission is free. One of the best times to see it is near dusk, because the lighted bridge at night is amazing. But whether you can visit at night or noon, the bridge is spectacular.

And I will light a candle for you.

To shatter all the darkness and bless the times we knew.

Like a beacon in the night The flame will burn bright and guide us on our way.

Oh, today I light a candle for you.

- Paul Alexander

Join Hospice Partners of the Central Coast at our San Luis Obispo

Light Up a Life Celebration Monday, November 29 • 6:00 p.m.

The Sun and gnomon

First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo Marsh & Morro • San Luis Obispo A candle is waiting for you to light in memory of your loved one this holiday season Participate in our Faces of Love photomontage during the ceremony by sending in a picture of your loved one To receive information, please call (805) 782-8608

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COMMUNITY

Our Schools: Lucia Mar Wins Grant

By Dr. Julian Crocker, County Superintendent of Schools

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he Lucia Mar Unified School District has been awarded a grant for $7.5 million to improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness over the next five years. This highly competitive grant was awarded by the US Department of Education as part of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program to assist schools to increase student success through improved teacher and principal effectiveness. The grant also proposes to increase the retention and recruitment of high quality teachers and principals which is needed as the district faces significant teacher and principal retirements. Lucia Mar was one of only four organizations in California to be awarded the grant. The grant targeted six schools in the district including Nipomo, Dana, Dorthea Lang, Oceano and Fairgrove Elementary Schools and Mesa Middle School.

The district will implement an approach known as TAP, The System for Teacher and Student Advancement, which is a systematic approach for assisting teachers and principals to become more effective and thereby increase

student success and achievement. This focus on effective teaching and leadership was the result of a year-long visioning process designed to produce a commonly held vision, mission and set of values to drive district-wide improvement. Community forums were held at which several hundred people attended. Meetings were also held with the staff at each school and with parent and student groups. During the visioning process, it became clear that although there were pockets of excellence, either for schools or in individual classrooms, there was not a district-wide agreement or expectation for effective instruction. The grant allows the staff and community to come together and develop this agreement for the district.

The TAP project focuses on the importance of the instructional process as the core work of schools. Since we know that the teacher is the key ingredient for student success, this project includes four primary elements to enhance teacher effectiveness. These four elements include multiple career paths, instructionally focused accountability, ongoing applied professional growth and

performance-based compensation. Although each of these elements has some power in assisting teachers and principals, it is the combination that is proving to make a difference in schools that have implemented the TAP system across the country.

Multiple Career Paths The object here is to provide career growth opportunities for teachers who wish to assume new roles while staying connected to the classroom. For example, a Master Teacher position would serve as the key instructional leader for the teaching staff.

The responsibilities for this position include frequent classroom visits, observations and demonstration lessons. This person meets frequently with other teachers to address how to improve and enhance instruction, as well as how to refine certain areas of instruction.

This is a leadership position that participates in the observation process for other teachers.

Another role is that of Mentor Teacher who is also a classroom teacher. This role also supports other teachers by observing, giving feedback, assisting with planning and demonstrating lessons. Master and Mentor Teachers receive additional compensation based on the responsibilities of these roles and their performance in these roles.

Instructionally Focused Accountability A mutually agreed upon teacher evaluation system is developed and implemented, including formal and informal classroom observations by the Principal, Master Teacher and Mentor Teacher. The system must be fair, research-based, clear, rigorous and differentiate effective from ineffective teachers.

motivation

Ongoing Applied Professional Growth Teachers receive continuous professional development directly related to their jobs and the needs of the students they are teaching.

There is a minimum weekly â&#x20AC;&#x153;cluster groupâ&#x20AC;? meeting to analyze student data, discuss instructional strategies and plan together.

These meetings are led by either the Mentor or Master Teacher. In addition to cluster groups, teachers receive individual support and coaching from the Master or Mentor Teachers.

isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a feeling, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an action.

Performance Based Compensation This element recognizes instructional performance that leads to growth in student learning with additional compensation. The effectiveness of teachers is evaluated using multiple measures including classroom observations using agreed upon rubrics, student achievement growth using valueadded methodology and school-wide achievement growth.

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This is an ambitious undertaking and the district should be complimented on receiving the grant and on its commitment to improving instructional practices for the benefit of students.

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Vets Voice

By Frank Rowan

H

urrah! We have a new San Luis Obispo County Veterans Service Officer. His name is Paul Burns. Paul was born and raised in Boston and graduated from Stoughton High in 1985. Three weeks later he joined the US Navy and after boot camp was assigned to the USS Constellation as a Fireman. In a typical military fashion, he worked as an electrician until 1987, when he was accepted for training as a Seabee. After attending “Builder A” School at Port Hueneme, he was assigned to the Mobile Construction group 40 and served in Spain, Guam and Sicily. He was promoted to E-5 and continued serving for 20 years. He retired in 2005. Paul put his Seabee training to good use and worked for various organizations as a Construction Management Specialist. Locally, he was in charge of building the Cuesta College Waste Water facility and the new SLO County Court House in Paso Robles. His appointment as VSO was effective September 19th. I met with him over lunch and must admit I was impressed with his knowledge of veterans affairs and needs. I expect he will serve the 26,000 SLO county veterans well.

Now to Veterans Day events. The San Luis Obispo Elks Lodge Number 322, at 222 Elks Lane, is honoring veterans with a special Veterans Day dinner on Thursday, November 11th, at 5 p.m. The theme is the Purple Heart and all veterans over 80 years old wearing any part of their uniform, ribbons, medals, or even just their dog tags will get dinner free.

Anyone who has received the Purple Heart will also get dinner free. For Vets without any uniform parts dinner is $5.00 and for non veterans $9.00. After dinner, two guest speakers, Tim Haley, a Past Commander of the American Legion, Cambria Post 432 and Chuck Ward will speak on the Purple Heart Trail program honoring all veterans who have received the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart trail signs are installed from San Ardo to SLO along Highway 101 thanks to Tim Haley.

On November 11, veterans and active duty military personnel are getting more than just recognition for their service. More than 400

November 11th is Veterans Day

bed and breakfasts and inns in 46 states and Canada are offering current and former military members and their families a free night’s stay on November 10th, the day before Veterans Day. According to Kathleen Panek, owner of the Gillum House in Shinnston, West Virginia, the promotion first was offered in 2009 by ten members of the West Virginia B&B Association, but this year has expanded nationwide.

Participating locations must offer at least one room free of charge, and service members wishing to take advantage of the promotion must present a current military or VA identification. For a list of participating properties, go to BnBsForVets.org.

Finally, a candle lighting ceremony will honor the ten local soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reservations are required. Call the Elks at 543-0322 by November 8th to beat the reservation cut off date.

The SLO Downtown Association will also honor veterans on Veterans Day, Thursday November 11th. They will have a special booth manned by our new VSO, Paul Burns.

Various veterans organizations will also have booths and all will be recruiting new members. The Marine Corps League will march as a color guard with backup from the Camp San Luis Obispo Grizzlies (pictured above).

They will end up at Chorro and Higuera where the various entertainment programs will play during the evening, The Atascadero Elks Lodge 2733 will have a special dinner honoring veterans on Wednesday, November 10th. Social hour is at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6:00. Tickets are

VSO, Paul Burns

$10.00. Reservations are necessary. Call the Lodge at 466-3667 before November 4th.

The American Legion Post 66 will place flags on all Veterans graves in the three San Luis Obispo cemeteries. They will be placed at 8 a.m. and removed at 4 p.m.

American Legion Post 136, Arroyo Grande, located at 417 Orchard Street will be hosting Veterans Day Festivities, beginning at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, November 11. Also participating will be VFW Post 10978 from Nipomo, VFW Post 2829 and Ladies Auxiliaries of the Five Cities. There will be guest speakers, recitation of Flanders Field, and patriotic music.

That about finishes everything I have been told about Veterans Day 2010. It should be a day of fun and thanks to the many veterans in our area, 26,000 strong, who served their country. To all veterans we say thank you for helping this great unfinished “experiment in democracy” continue for 234 years.

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history

san luis obispo bears

By Joseph A. Carotenuti

QUESTION: When is a grizzly bear a welcomed sight?

ANSWER: When it becomes food to ward off starvation!

Grizzly bears have played an important role in both the state and local history. While today there is the community of The Bears (Los Osos) and thousands of pictures have been taken of the Bear Fountain in the Mission Plaza, these dangerous beasts also helped in salvaging the Spanish “conquest” of California.

Here’s the story.

When the pioneer Spaniards began the historic trek from San Diego to San Francisco, bears were seen at various spots along the unexplored trail. Fray Juan Crespi, the chaplain and chronicler for the legendary 1769 expedition of Captain Gaspar de Portola, wrote of bears in this area on September 7: “On coming down to the plain we at once spied some seven of them in two or three different spots. They (soldiers) fired at one, which it took seven or more shots for them to kill, each shot wounding it in the body.”

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Tim Olson photo

One bear almost won the battle with another hunter coming close enough to wound the man’s mount. The plain – la llano de los osos – and its aggressive bears remained a vivid memory for the explorers.

By 1772, four missions and three presidio settlements had been founded but hunger was a close companion at all times. Supply ships were slow to arrive and primitive planting experiments failed to produce sufficient food. Pedro Fages, a member of the Portola Expedition and now in military command, remembered the bears and returned with 14 men to la llano in early summer to hunt the ferocious beasts. The hunt has grown in popular myths but in reality had limited success. The oft-quoted result of 9,000 pounds of meat has little historical verification.

COMMUNITY The pursuit went well for the men and within a few days, Fages was able to load five mules with stripped and salted meat and return to Monterey. There was now some relief from near starvation. He left Sergeant Mariano Carrillo and six men to continue the chase. Mariano and his brother, Guillermo, were members of the original expedition to settle Alta California. Additionally, the soldiers included their younger cousin, Raymundo who would became the ancestor of the famous Carrillo family of Santa Barbara.

Mariano, born in Loreto and a veteran of rugged frontier life, was not impressed by the Castilian Fages. The more aristocratic Spaniard and the Baja frontiersman had little in common. Carrillo reported the continued difficulties in killing bears after the initial success as the beasts quickly learned to avoid the soldiers. Upon his return, Fages retorted he could pluck the bears “from the ground” but “brought back only two and small ones at that” according to the sergeant before returning to Monterey. Carrillo reported he was again left “behind with 6 men that I have already mentioned, without any more provision for food than the bears we might chance to kill.”

The hunters’ luck did not change and to ward off hunger they bartered with the natives for food. Carrillo recalled: “there was (not) one of us who hardly had a stitch of clothing left, and nothing to cover himself with.” Fortunately, word of the arrival of two supply ships in San Diego delivered the men from desperation.

Fages and Padre Junipero Serra decided to head south to gather supplies as well as encourage the captains to sail to Monterey with the desperately needed food and materials. Carrillo was sent back to Monterey. It was on this trip that the fifth mission, San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, was founded on September 1, 1772.

The initial attempts to thin the bear population made an impression on the Chumash natives. In any encounter with the beasts, the natives would not emerge victorious. As a return favor, in the distressing initial period of establishing the missions, it was the local Tixlini

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clan that provided food for Padre Cavaller and the few men left to start the religious outpost.

As for the bears, they continued to roam the countryside and reports of mauling or deaths to settlers was not uncommon. If not killed, the beast was used for entertainment as a favorite sport was to pit a tethered bear and bull in a fight to the death.

However, the image of the animal as a food and recreation source also became an image of determination as the animal became a lasting part of the State flag and seal and an even more ferocious one on the County seal. Indeed, an incipient uprising is remembered as The Bear Flag Revolt.

In a strange melding of fact and fiction, the ever-popular teddy bear initially was linked to President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt but had little to do with the Chief Executive. An avid hunter, he refused to kill a captured bear as being unsportsmanlike behavior. The compassionate gesture became a popular icon of the times. The name remains and is possibly one of the best-remembered mementos of the 26th Chief Executive.

From the wild, vicious predator familiar in the “real West” tradition, today’s bear has been transformed into a cuddly, soft stuffed animal most adored as Winnie the Pooh.

Fortunately, there are few encounters today with the animals that were freely killed in times past. The closely monitored population of ursus arctos horribilis have little defense against modern hunters and weaponry.

Other than a zoo, the safest place locally to visit one is in the Mission Plaza at the fountain. Indeed, if the stylized bear and child had been that close together, it is fairly assured one would indeed become lunch for the other!

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COMMUNITY

hospice corner lights shine for loved ones Celebrating light up a life with hospice partners

By Laurie Lackland, RN, BSN

A

s the year draws to a close, we tend to think about all of those who have died and how to honor their memory. The Hospice “Light Up a Life” ceremony offers a meaningful way to pay tribute to those we remember and love – parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, grandchildren, relatives, and friends. It has become a tradition for all Hospices across this country to hold the ceremony in December.

This year, Hospice Partners of the Central Coast will be holding their ceremonies at five locations throughout San Luis Obispo County, including Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Morro Bay, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo. The Light Up a Life ceremony is not only for those who have been cared for by Hospice organizations, but is also for anyone who has lost friends or family members and wishes to remember them at this special time of year.

Hospice Partners’ Light Up a Life ceremony is unique in that it includes a special “Faces of Love” photomontage to memorialize loved ones.

Participants send in pictures of their loved ones that are digitally projected at the site that the participant will be attending. As the guests arrive at the ceremony, they have an opportunity to light a votive candle that will shine in the night for their loved ones and, at the end of the ceremony, they take the votive home as a symbol of remembrance and celebration. Hospice Partners’ Light Up a Life ceremony includes music and songs performed by the hospice musicians and reading of poems by the Hospice staff and volunteers. The focus of the ceremony is the traditional “Reading of Names” and the “Lighting of the Hospice Tree.” Individuals send in names of loved ones to be read at a particular site. The Hospice Tree is filled with lights that illuminate the memories of someone special, and is turned on near the end of the ceremony.

Each light provides a bright reminder of the warmth they brought into our lives while they were with us and of the lasting memories that stay with us. Individuals can send in donations to sponsor the lights on the Hospice Tree. The donations will help Hospice Partners continue on

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COMMUNITY with the end-of-life care that is provided to community residents, and will benefit hospice patients and their families.

For those who are unfamiliar with Hospice Partners of the Central Coast, we are a non-profit, state licensed, Medicare and Medi-Cal certified Hospice. Our organization was formed to assume the responsibilities of the San Luis Obispo Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s licensed hospice agency when it was privatized in 1998. The Hospice Partners team serves the residents of San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County, including those who are not covered by insurance or do not have the ability to pay for hospice care. We provide end-of-life care to our patients and their families with a team of professionals, including medical directors (physicians), nurses, medical social workers, home health aides, dietitians, hospice musicians, therapists, spiritual counselors, bereavement counselors and volunteers. The goal of hospice care is to provide terminally ill patients a means to achieve what they need most as they reach the end of life: freedom from pain; emotional and spiritual support; and the ability to control the direction of their own care. Families are also provided grief counseling by bereavement counselors for at least 13 months afterwards, and are guided to other community resources if needed.

41

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If you, your family and friends want to join with Hospice Partners in celebrating this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Light Up a Life ceremony, please contact us at (805) 782-8608 for information.

This monthly Hospice Corner is sponsored by Hospice Partners of the Central Coast. Laurie Lackland, RN, BSN, is the Director of Patient Care Services. For more information please call (805) 782-8608.

Living with Grief and Loss During the Holidays This free workshop is designed to support and guide you through the holiday season while coping with the loss of a loved one.

WHEN: Wednesday, November 17th 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Ludwick Community Center 864 Santa Rosa, SLO Informational packets will be provided To register for this free forum call (805) 782-8608

SUDOKU SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 51 N O V E M B E R

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COMMUNITY

dog next door

skipper loves the library

By Jeanne Harris

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kipper is a Portuguese water dog who loves the library as much as he loves the water. For nearly two years he has held an important job at the San Luis Obispo city library and the Los Osos library as a therapy dog with the PAWS to Read program.

Skipper is ready for work when he arrives at the library in his official red Therapy Dog International vest and neckerchief.

The children sit on a multi-colored circular rug and squeal with delight when they see him. Many reach out to pet him. Some are timid and cautious of the black, long-legged, curly-haired canine. But soon they realize that Skipper is gentle and respectful. Wendy Spradlin, his certified handler and “dog mom,” sits on the rug with Skipper and explains to the children that he loves to be read to. She pulls several books out of her overflowing book bag – all stories related to dogs – and begins to read to the mesmerized youngsters. As she reads, Skipper and the kids listen attentively. After the first story, Wendy asks if anybody would like to read to Skipper. Arms fly up, and one at a time the

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Liliana Hasley reads to Skipper and Wendy Spradlin

children take turns reading to the interested listener with the fuzzy coat.

Skipper became a registered therapy dog seven years ago. He and Wendy completed their training together and earned certification through both the Delta Society and Therapy Dogs International. Before joining the PAWS to Read program, Skipper worked in a variety of settings. He and Wendy were first placed through Hospice and for three years visited a 90-year-old woman named Irma. Once a week, Skipper lay on the bed with her while she shared memories of her past. Occasionally, Wendy wrote letters for Irma while Skipper napped next to his elderly friend. As she dictated to Wendy, Irma would run her thin, frail hands gently over Skipper’s soft, luxurious fur.

She and Skipper both benefited from the loving touch. After Irma passed away, Wendy and Skipper worked at the Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter where they befriended a family whose two children were drawn to Skipper. One of the children had reading difficulties and found it helpful to read aloud to the dog. Skipper began to visit the boy at school, in coordination with the boy’s teacher, and helped him improve his reading skills through sitting and listening attentively.

When Skipper isn’t on the job, he loves to run, chase and play King of the Mountain with his dog buddies. His canine pals respect him and consider him to be leader of the pack. He has a certain dignity about him.

Wendy says other dogs treat him like he’s the president of the United States. And actually, it’s not surprising that he seems presidential because he is related to Bo Obama, the First Dog and family pet of President Obama.

Skipper’s grandfather is Bo’s great, great

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grandfather. But Skipper takes his celebrity in stride. From time to time, when he is out and about with Wendy, they hear a child exclaim, “Look, Mom, it’s Skipper!” He is always friendly and well-behaved.

However, he does have a naughty side. Along with most other “Porties,” as Portuguese water dogs are affectionately called, Skipper has a predisposition for “counter surfing.” Wendy has learned not to leave meat or other tempting goodies unattended on countertops.

Skipper may well perch himself on his long limbs and reach up for a snack.

Skipper’s water dog heritage is long and storied. The first written description of a “Portie” dates back to 1297 when the breed assisted fishermen along the coast of Portugal. The rugged, strong swimmers served as couriers between fishing boats, and would dive into the Atlantic waters to retrieve broken nets, as well as haul nets from ship to ship. They also acted as foghorns when visibility was limited, and were responsible for guarding the fishermen’s catch. Portuguese water dogs are known for their loyal work ethic; but devotion to their humans has always driven them, regardless of their job.

Skipper is no exception.

He and Wendy work at the PAWS to Read program at the San Luis Obispo city library on the second Tuesday of every month, from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., and at the Los Osos library on the second Wednesday of every month, from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Interested parents and children are welcome.

Jeanne Harris not only writes about dogs –she photographs them professionally. Visit her website at www.dogsbyjean.com.

Downtown

Around

The Magazine of Downtown San Luis Obispo

Inside:

W h a t â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s U p New Business News

November 2010

W h a t ’ s

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D o w n t o w n

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tarting this month, I’ll be highlighting the committees of the Downtown Association Board, five in all: Promotions, Design, Economic Activities, Thursday Night Promotions and Parking and Access.

The people who serve on the committees come from all walks—business owners and employees, media, private individuals—as anyone is welcome and encouraged to join the groups that make many of the decisions affecting Downtown operations.

of all of our activities if you think of the summer Concerts in the Plaza series, special events at Farmers Market, Holiday activities—pretty much anything that’s fun! But, all that fun takes a lot of work: from thinking and discussing to strategizing and planning, budgeting and then actually setting it all up, working and taking it all down. Committee members, and their cadres of volunteers, along with staff, are the engine of the promotion machine.

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Deborah Cash, CMSM, tyled after the National Trust for Historic hat’s the point of it all? The job of the Executive Director Preservation’s Main Street Four Point Approach Promotions Committee is to PROMOTE of revitalization, the committee structure endeavors Downtown as the center of the community; to provide a combination of activities that ultimately activities are designed to bring people into the city’s core produce a vibrant, beautiful and successful downtown and maintain its image as THE place to be. This in turn area in which to conduct business and enjoy life. In San generates sales tax, maintains property values, communicates Luis, we are very fortunate that we were blessed out the excitement—all which translate into community benefit. gate with beautiful geography, rich history, visionary leadership, a fairly stable business climate (university, embers of the Promotions Committee are highly government and agricultural industries—here to stay!) motivated individuals, and their group energy is and a location halfway between San Francisco and Los especially dynamic. Chair Kathy Maino Collins, Maino Angeles and easily accessible from the Central Valley.

Brothers Corp., serving for three years, said she initially joined the committee because she wanted to be involved o while there wasn’t a lot of RE vitalization to do, there’s in local community activities and promote and maintain plenty of maintenance to keep the charm and the Downtown’s viability. She said, “Marketing the assets of vibrancy, that’s where the Downtown Association and its Downtown keeps business strong and shares the value of committees come in. Promotions is by far the most “visible” being in the Downtown area.” Michelle Blasingame,

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On the Cover: Veterans Celebration at Farmers’ Market falls on Veterans Day this year, Thursday, November 11. A procession, short

program, booths and displays are slated in honor of community veterans, their families and friends. At last year’s celebration, Tim Churney (shown on previous page) with SLO Submarine Vets, talks about his display and his organization with the public. Everyone is invited to participate in this special celebration starting at 6:15 with most activities on Chorro and Higuera streets. Photo by Deborah Cash

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Richardson Properties, said she wanted to use her public relations and event coordinating experience for a good cause, adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our promotions work well to get members of the community together and in doing so can help keep our Downtown businesses vibrant. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good for everyone.â&#x20AC;?

Three-year member Dominic Tartaglia, Tartaglia Realty, said he joined the committee because he feels the vitality of Downtown depends on the Downtown Association, of which he is a member. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have a stake in the game,â&#x20AC;? he said. Spikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pub owner Andrea Miller, whose favorite event is Concerts in the Plaza, says promotions are important because they bring people Downtown to shop, eat and gather, in essence, establishing a sense of community.

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Downtown Association, we would love to have your input.â&#x20AC;?

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ember Charles Gerencser, New Times, has served on the committee for about a year. He says his favorite activity is Santaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House, â&#x20AC;&#x153;of course!â&#x20AC;? and is excited to help create vibrant promotions Downtown. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Downtown SLO is the epicenter of life and commerce for the overall city and county,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think a big reason for this is the wonderful work of the Downtown Association. A vibrant downtown core is vital for a community.â&#x20AC;?

herese Cron, on the committee for five years, works for Copeland Properties and says she likes the new ideas and energy that members bring to the committee. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Promotions are crucial for the economics of Downtown,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The more revenue generated, the more Downtownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambiance is enhanced. And, we create a fun and exciting environment!â&#x20AC;? Therese recommends joining promotions because â&#x20AC;&#x153;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great creative opportunity, and Promotion Committee members and staff thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of business and community (in hats) (L â&#x20AC;&#x201C; R) Andrea Miller, Dominic involvement.â&#x20AC;? Blasingame agrees, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Promotions Committee is a varied group Tartaglia, Sarah Ragan, Reyes Miranda, Therese Cron, Kathy Maino Collins, of people with a common goal: to make Michelle Blasingame, Joey Chavez. Not SLO a better place for everyone. If you have ideas and the time to dedicate to the pictured Charles Gerencser, Sandra Foxford.

Photo by Deborah Cash

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f course, the committee wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be complete without the dedicated and talented staffers who do most of the heavy lifting and work odd hours and holidays with a smile on their faces: Reyes Miranda, promotions coordinator, Joey Chavez and Sarah Ragan, promotions assistants are all college graduates with backgrounds in event management.

I

nformation about the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activities can be viewed at www. downtownslo.com. Meetings are held the first and third Wednesdays of each month in the Downtown Association office at 9 AM. Call Reyes at 541-0286 for more information. Meanwhile, we hope you take advantage of the many, many activities hosted by the Promotions Committeeâ&#x20AC;Śaround Downtown.

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Elite Mobile: Sprint Preferred Retailer David Levine, Manager 845 Higuera Street (805) 439-1677

When his son, Ben, needed help starting a Sprint preferred retail store on the Central Coast, David Levine (pictured here) jumped at the chance to take the reins. Retiring from the furniture business and relocating from Colorado back to California, he and his wife Susan are now the managers of Elite Mobile’s San Luis Obispo location. Located in the Wineman Hotel building on Higuera St., the family chose its Downtown San Luis Obispo location for the new cell phone preferred retail store because of the high traffic location as well as the affluent customer base it can draw from.

Elite Mobile provides full representation for Sprint and all Sprint’s products and plans, and will be offering cell phone repairs in the future. They are the first Sprint preferred retailer in the area, a benefit for customers who can expect a personal experience, competitive pricing and a large coverage area. Elite Mobile also promises to match each customer with the perfect mobile device to fit his or her specific needs.

David and Susan intend on opening more locations on the Central Coast including one in Santa Barbara and one in Paso Robles to go along with the two Southern California locations that are already open.

Elite Mobile is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

By: Allison Platz

year with the Stuff the Bus event which provided local elementary school teachers and students with $35,000 of new supplies.

Charlene Rosales, Chief Operating United Way is now launching a program Officer called Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

1288 Morro Street Children will receive a new, age appropriate (805) 541-1234 book every month from enrollment up www.unitedwayslo.org to 5 years of age for just $50 a year. The community is invited to sponsor children and facebook.com/unitedwayslo give the gift of literacy and school readiness Left to right: Kara Edwall, Community Charlene Rosales is the COO at United Impact Coordinator; Charlene to low-income families that may find books Way of San Luis Obispo County, a nonprofit Rosales, Chief Operating Officer to be an unaffordable luxury. United Way organization dedicated to improving and Horace Morana, Resource Worldwide and Rotary International are the quality of life for local residents Development Coordinator anchor partners of the program and since 1996 through charitable giving, advocacy and over 25 million books have been distributed around the world. volunteerism. Rosales has been at United Way since 2004 Rosales said she believes if United Way can make more and oversees its operations, marketing and fundraising. While connections with businesses and volunteers, more United Way Worldwide is an international organization, improvements can be made in the community. She invites each member office operates independently to target small and large businesses to begin a workplace giving needs specific to their area; the three areas of focus for this program and to bring employees together for fun, community United Way center on education, income, and health. service projects. Contact United Way to find out how.

This past summer, United Way held an event called KidSpree.

United Way of San Luis Obispo County 160 underprivileged youth were given a $100 gift card and is open M-F from 9 AM-4 PM. paired with a community volunteer that helped them go shopping for new school clothes. The cards were purchased By: Anthony Tan using money donated by local individuals, businesses and service clubs. They also helped children prepare for the school

United Way of San Luis Obispo County

A glimpse from this year's Taste of San Luis ® "Rock The Casbah"

It’s My Choice.

You have the right to choose where you receive medical treatment. If your doctor recommends a medical procedure, insist on going to French Hospital Medical Center or Arroyo Grande Community Hospital. If your physician network or health plan will not allow you to choose your community hospitals, ask why not? If you don’t have this choice, perhaps it’s time to change health plans or your physician network.

My Health.

My Choice.

“I chose French Hospital and they saved my life.”

Will Jones

1911 Johnson Ave.

“Arroyo Grande Community Hospital is my hospital of choice.”

Jane Adrian

My Hospital.

805-543-5353

345 South Halcyon Road Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 805-489-4261

FrenchMedicalCenter.org

ArroyoGrandeHospital.org

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

San Luis Obispo County’s only not-for-profit hospitals — nationally acclaimed for quality and safety.

We believe in transparency and encourage you to review unsolicited and unbiased medical information through publicly reported data sources such as: HealthGrades.com, 100TopHospitals.com, NRCPicker.com and HospitalCompare.hhs.gov.

We accept all major insurance as well as many local and regional insurance carriers.

Call (805) 542-6498 for more information.

48

BUSINESS

slo Symphony honors peggy peterson receiving the president’s volunteer service award By Patty Thayer

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usic Director Michael Nowak and the SLO Symphony recently recognized Peggy Petterson with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor offered in recognition of volunteer service.

Established in 2003, the President’s Volunteer Service Award is available on an annual basis to individuals, groups and families who have met or exceeded requirements for volunteer service and have demonstrated exemplary citizenship through volunteering. The SLO Symphony submitted an application to the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation this summer, detailing the thousands of hours of time that Mrs. Peterson has donated to the Symphony over the past fifty years.

The certificate, pin and letter from President Obama was presented to

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Gerry and Peggy posing for the cover of the Journal – September 2002 Tom Meinhold photo

Mrs. Peterson in a small ceremony immediately prior to the concert in Harman Hall at the Christopher Cohan Center in San Luis Obispo.

“For more than fifty years, Peggy Peterson has shared her life, her love of music, her passion for education and her generous spirit with the community. Peggy has played an integral role in making the SLO Symphony what it is today” said Maestro Michael Nowak about the honor.

The former Peggy Winter grew up in Norton, West Virginia, the eldest of five children. She met dear husband Gerry while both were working at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center during World War II. In 1946, Peggy and Gerry relocated to San Luis Obispo where, in addition to raising three children, working full time as a teacher in San Luis Obispo and helping her husband Gerry to build a successful business (San Luis Phone & Wireless) Peggy always made it a point to give back to this community. The Petersons were generous founders of the Symphony’s endowment, donating property and cash to leave a legacy of music for years to come and inspiring others to do the same.

Peggy served as President of the San Luis Obispo Symphony Guild and on the Symphony Board of Directors, earning the distinguished title of “Director Emeritus” in 1992. For more than twenty years, Peggy presented Autumn Apex, a concert benefiting Music Education and featuring acclaimed artists such as Edgar Meyer, David Kim and Maria Jette. Today, the Symphony’s annual Children’s Concerts bear the name “Apex for Kids” and serve as a living legacy to Peggy and Gerry Peterson. The Petersons also played an integral role in realizing the dream of this beautiful Performing Arts Center and have supported the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center for its entire 25 year history.

In addition to, and perhaps more important than, the above contributions, it should be noted that Peggy has always been notorious about sharing the Symphony wherever she is and whatever she is doing. She is well known for standing in the grocery line and getting people’s names and addresses to be added to the mailing list or purchasing blocks of seats for concerts and distributing them at the doctor’s office or the bank. Peggy has singlehandedly increased the Symphony’s mailing list by hundreds of names, simply by sharing her love of music wherever she is with whomever she meets.

BUSINESS

eye oN business Economic Forecast show will go on

By Maggie Cox, Barnett Cox & Associates

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“Light Up A Life” 2010 Presented By

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his is a story of local tenacity and determination. For almost twenty years we relied on the UCSB Economic Forecast Project to provide solid economic data for use in making smart business decisions. Earlier this summer UCSB announced that it was shifting its efforts from a three county project to one focused only on Santa Barbara County. While that decision may have made sense for UCSB, it left us SLO County folks in the lurch.

But not for long. The existing local board of directors, led by president Terry Westrope, quickly convened and made a decision to march ahead as an independent organization. The group renamed itself the Central Coast Economic Forecast and tackled the challenge of creating an organization, acquiring insurance, managing tasks formerly covered by paid staff, raising significant funds to cover costs and, oh yeah, planning a half day economic forecast event for November 5th.

Little time, tight money, lots to do – and it’s been done.

Things are humming along. Business, government and nonprofit organizations stepped up to help with sponsorship dollars. The Hind Foundation, led by one of the Economic Forecast’s original members, Greg Hind, generously gifted the new group with a $20,000 grant to make things happen. The SLO County EVC agreed to serve as the fiscal agent and the SLO Chamber is assisting with registration and a myriad of other start-up details are tied down.

So now it’s on with the show: Friday, November 5th from 7-11 a.m. at the Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo, and by all measures the show will be a barnburner. The Economic Forecast folks are bringing back the feisty Chris Thornberg and knowledgeable Brad Kemp of Beacon Economics to offer a national, state and local perspective on just what is going on and what the short term future holds. KQED public radio’s John Myers, whose California Report is a mainstay on local station KCBX, will be talking all things Sacramento – and just 3 days after a wild state election.

Topping off the event will be the rollout of a seriously doable plan for local economic development. A group of 100 business executives have been working for months with the help of SLO County Supervisors Frank Mecham and Adam Hill, EVC President Mike Manchak and an economic specialist to plot a real world strategy that will not gather dust. This is one plan that has real legs.

And if all that super content isn’t persuasive enough, the organizers of the Economic Forecast recognized that a little levity also goes a long way, and will prove it with the masterful MC’ing of Bob Wacker of RE Wacker Associates. Bob is well known for being as much fun to listen to as his is smart about money.

It’s a great show waiting to happen, and it’s the people here who made it possible. There’s still time to register: www.slochamber.org. And count on hearing more about this countywide economic success story in the months to come.

In the Spirit of this National Memorial Event Hospice Partners of the Central Coast is pleased to host five ceremonies in San Luis Obispo County.

MORRO BAY

The Inn at Morro Bay Morro Bay State Park Sunday • November 28 • 6:00 p.m.

SAN LUIS OBISPO

First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo Marsh & Morro Monday • November 29 • 6:00 p.m.

ARROYO GRANDE

New Hope Church 900 Oak Park Boulevard Tuesday • November 30 • 6:00 p.m.

ATASCADERO

The Carlton Hotel 6005 El Camino Real Wednesday • December 1 • 6:00 p.m.

PASO ROBLES

First Baptist Church (New Location) 1645 Park Street Thursday • December 2 • 6:00 p.m.

For more information please

Call: (805)782-8608 N O V E M B E R

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THE BULLETIN BOARD Real Estate

Lynn R. Cooper Broker Associate Seniors Real Estate Specialist

Office: 805-543-7727 Fax: 805-543-7838 Cell: 805-235-0493 Home: 805-544-0673

711 Tank Farm, Suite 100 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 E-mail: lynn.cooper@sothebysrealty.com Website: www.wilsonandcosir.com

New farmers’ Market in SLO Opening last April at the Kennedy Club Fitness in SLO a new Farmers’ Market has opened. It has fresh produce, baked goods, crafts, seafood and entertainment for all ages in a nice, comfortable environment. It’s unique in that it is family oriented, convenient for locals with easy access and parking, and takes place every Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. It offers free face painting, bounce houses, and hosts a weekly raffle to win a basket filled with produce picked that day. By opening on Sunday, it gives our community another choice to get their fresh produce. Look at http://www.sloccfm.com for more information.

weavers guild 4th annual holiday sale

QUALITY AUTO REPAIR

John Kimball

805-543-3180 www.wronas.com

109 South Street SLO, CA 93401

“Specializing in Honesty and Integrity”

The Central Coast Weavers Guild invites you to their “4th Annual Holiday Sale and Gallery Show” November 5-7. The show will be held at The Strawbale Barn located at 9156 Santa Margarita Road, Atascadero. There will be an opening sale and reception on Friday, November 5, 4-8 p.m. with refreshments. The Guild sale and show will continue Saturday and Sunday. The Holiday Show includes handwoven clothing, household items, gifts and a gallery show of fine crafted handwoven items, including wall displays, clothing and jewelry. Looms and spinning wheels will be on display as well as ongoing demonstrations of weaving and spinning throughout the show.

For more information or directions please refer to our website: www.centralcoastweavers.org.

34th annual hunger run and walk The 34 Annual Hunger run/walk is scheduled again on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25th. Check in begins at 7 a.m. and the event starts at 8 a.m. The start and finish is at the corner of Tank Farm and Broad. There is an eight mile and a two mile course.

Anyone can participate. A $10 donation per person is requested and at least 2 cans of food. All proceeds will go to help those less fortunate in our community. Donations go to the Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, North County Women’s Shelter, Grass Roots II, The Senior Nutrition Program, Prado Day Center, Loaves & Fishes and the Maxine Lewis EOC Homeless Shelter. For more information call Pete Dorn at 543-4723.

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THE BULLETIN BOARD

51

Service for All Your Cars Personal Service. Exceptional Car Care.

For a full line of cars serviced by Rizzoli’s, please visit RizzolisAutomotive.com.

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San Luis Obispo 805.541.1082

Santa Maria 805.922.7742

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Jamie Foster photo

loren nicholson honored Loren Nicholson, local author, historian and retired Cal Poly Professor, was honored recently by the Central Coast Railroad Festival Committee, the History Center of SLO County and the SLO Model Railroad Association. Roberts was honored for his decades of community service on the Central Coast. Presenters and participants in the program are pictured left to right: Craig Kincaid, musical performer; Jim Keating, Pres. of the SLO Model Railroad; Dave Romero, Mayor of San Luis Obispo; Joan Sullivan – friend and videographer; Ken Schwartz, past SLO City Mayor; Loren Nicholson; Gary Hoving, Pres. of the South County Historical Society; Joe Carotenuti, representing the History Center of SLO County and Journal Plus Magazine; Curtis Reinhardt, Director, Central Coast Railroad Festival; Brad LaRose, Pres. of the SLO Railroad Museum.

Bill Mott

Loan Officer / DRE Lic #01359516

805.234.5081

bmott@bankofcommercemortgage.com www.bankofcommercemortgage.com

free senior health screening Free Senior Health Screening for seniors (50+) is available throughout San Luis Obispo County. Free services include: screening for high blood pressure, weight and pulse. Finger prick screening tests for: high cholesterol, anemia and diabetes. Take-home screening test kits for colo-rectal cancer available for $5. Nutritional counseling and referrals as needed. Please call 788-0827 for dates, times and locations.

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THE BULLETIN BOARD

52

HowaRd J. NiCHolsoN, Mai, sRa, GRi, sREs BRokER/owNER

40 Years of Comprehensive Real Estate Experience •

Cal Poly Graduate • R.E. Broker • Real Estate Appraiser • Appraisal Institute Member • CA Licensed General Building Contractor

THE aGENT YoU sHoUld HaVE woRkiNG FoR YoU Call: (805) 440-4835 e-mail: hnicholson@charter.net

NEW TO TOWN?

Get your free welcome packet!

It includes maps, civic info, coupons from cafes, groceries, wineries, auto hardware, garden, medical, dental, etc.

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Call your hostess or email centralcoastwelcome@gmail.com

Owner

•

SLO: Mary Bettencourt: 545-0731

549-7755

•

Los Osos/Morro Bay/Cayucos/Cambria: Annie Clapp: 772-9707

•

Nipomo/5 Cities/Avila: Liz Hiatt: 549-7755

•

North County: Sandy Hexberg: 238-1529

centralcoastwelcome@gmail.com

A FREE SERVICE TO NEWCOMERS

canzona opens its second season Canzona Women’s Ensemble opens its second season with a concert entitled “Autumn Harmonies” on Sunday afternoon, November 7 at 4 p.m. at the United Methodist church in San Luis Obispo. The group is led by co-directors Cricket Handler and Jill Anderson and comprises 22 singers accompanied by pianist Janis Johnson and French horn player Jennifer Dodson. Featured on the program will be classical pieces by such composers as Hildegard von Bingen, Schubert and Debussy, as well as some more modern music with feminist overtones. Also featured is the San Luis Obispo High School women’s choir, led by Paul Osborne. Tickets are priced at $15 for general admission, $10 for students. Order by phone at (805) 5420506 or by mail at 2264 Bushnell, San Luis Obispo, 93401; tickets will also be available at the door. The church is located at 1515 Fredericks St. in San Luis Obispo.

morro bay arts 36th student scholarship show Registration forms are available online at artcentermorrobay.com, click on 2010 Scholarship. Eligible participants must be enrolled in SLO County schools at the high school level or at Cuesta College or Cal Poly. Art categories are 2-D (drawings, paintings, pastels, mixed media), 3-D (ceramics, sculpture, assemblage), photography (black and white, color, digitally enhanced). More than $10,000 in scholarships will be awarded to winners. Take-in date will be Saturday, November 6th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Art Center Morro Bay, 835 Main Street, Morro Bay. The show will run from November 11 until December 12. Reception and awards take place Sunday, November 14th.

15th annual creek day clean-up

Dressing Windows in San Luis Obispo for over 35 Years

alan’s draperies 544-9405

Alan “Himself” N O V E M B E R

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Nearly 400 community volunteers stormed waterways throughout SLO County recently searching for one particular thing – TRASH. Working across 8 different cities, volunteers removed nearly 24,000 gallons of trash, which would overflow a 6-ft swimming pool that is 25-ft long and 20-ft wide. An additional 3,300 gallons of recyclable containers were collected and sent for processing. In just three hours, dozens of students from elementary to college age teamed up with families and committed adults to remove unsightly and unhealthy trash from local creeks before winter rains could wash it out to the ocean. Among the usual fast-food wrappers and beverage containers were more than 100 tires, 4 shopping carts, 3 washing machines, 2 bicycles, and nearly 5 pounds of cigarette butts.

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Voices for Children Holiday Celebration Lunch Celebrate the season of giving at CASA’s Voices for Children fundraising event in the Madonna Inn’s beautiful Gay 90’s Room, on Tuesday, December 7th, at 11:30. CASA’s Voices for Children luncheon will feature lively entertainment by emcees Chad and Andy, from Mega 97.1, a children’s musical performance by director Jennifer Blomfield’s cast of Cinderella, a silent auction featuring a selection of fine local wines, a live auction of beautiful decorative wreaths created by local florists and the perfect gift choices at the ever-popular “Jewelry with a Past.” A delicious luncheon and fabulous dessert will be served courtesy of Madonna Inn. Treat yourself, your friends or office staff to the perfect holiday party while supporting CASA! Tickets are $50. Call 541-6542 or visit www. slocasa.org to purchase tickets – Reserve by November 30, 2010.

252 Higuera Street San Luis Obispo (805) 541-TIRE

slo county band benefit for homeless The SLO County Band will perform its 16th Annual Benefit Concert for the Homeless on Sunday, November 14th, at 3 p.m., at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in SLO. Guest Saxophone Soloist, David Becker will also be in the program. The theme is titled, “136 Years of Music.” Tunes will include the classics, Broadway and Hollywood and plenty of John Phillip Sousa marches. For more information call 543-5691.

kennel club all-breed dog show On Monday, November 22nd, the Santa Maria Kennel Club (SMKC) presents its first annual All-Breed Conformation show at the Mid-State Fairgrounds in Paso Robles. About 150 different breeds will be eligible to compete for Best in Show each day. Admission is Free!! SLOKC (a Non-Profit organization) is donating a portion of the entry fee for each dog entered in the SLOKC show to local animal shelters for spay/neuter and immunization programs. For more information about SLOKC: go to www. SLOKC.ORG, link Bradshaw for detailed judging schedule. For information about SMKC: go to www.santamariakennelclub.org.

San Luis Obispo’s Best Kept Secret Power Carts Senior Discount (55) • 10 Play C ards • Tournaments Welcome • •

Tee Times on our website: lagunalakegolfcourse.org or call 805-781-7309

11175 Los Osos Valley Road, SLO

Big Brothers/sisters honor clint pearce Clint Pearce, Vice President of Madonna Enterprises and longtime Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer, received the agencies first ever Legacy Award, presented in honor and appreciation for his outstanding support and contribution toward youth mentoring. The award was presented at the agencies annual “Big Event” to a surprised Clint. Anna Boyd-Bucy, the agencies Executive Director, stated “Clint has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that children in our community have mentors. He has been on the board for five years, acting as board president for two of those years. During that time, he raised over $35,000 and made significant contributions himself, including offering reduced rent for Big Brothers Big Sisters’ office space in his building.

Sierra Vista seeks to add Helicopter access Seeking to bring additional safety to residents of SLO County, as well as address its trauma needs, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has plans to install a helistop on its hospital campus. Sierra Vista recently received a commitment to fund the $1.8 million structure from its parent company, Tenet Healthcare Corporation. The helistop, which has received regulatory approval and endorsement by the SLO City Council, is planned to be erected on top of the hospital’s new 5-story parking structure. It will be used primarily for the transport of trauma patients and to transfer critically ill babies in and out of the Sierra Vista Newborn Intensive Care Unit.

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COMMUNITY november 7-13 is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week.

NOVEMBER Almanac

By Phyllis Benson

Adopt a dog, a cat, or a shelter project. Your local shelter has a wish list for everything from volunteers to blankets. Visit the shelter for a paw-sitive experience.

hollywood walk of fame celebrates 50 years of star-studded

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then – we elected them.”

---Lily Tomlin

walkways this month. Over 2400 celebrity stars are underfoot on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine.

comedian don knotts said, “I can’t believe I have my own star.

I’m gonna come down here every morning and shine that sucker up.”

tinseltown honors dogs Strongheart, Rin Tin Tin, and Lassie national Authors day is November 1. Author James Michener

with Walk of Fame stars.

said, “I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.”

daylight savings time ends November 7 at 2 a.m. Set those

election day is November 2.

Golda Meir said, “I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.”

actor frank dane said, “Never vote for the best candidate, vote

football fans and players are TV-tuned, field-focused and

meteors: The annual Taurids meteor showers appear this month.

hall of fame player Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch reportedly said,

for the one who will do the least harm.”

Often called Halloween Fireballs for their autumn display, the small meteors come from the Taurus constellation. Look for the orange slow-moving fireballs after midnight.

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clocks, watches and gadgets back one hour.

game-ready.

“Hollywood made a movie of my life. The film had me proposing to my wife on the football field. I would never misuse a football field that way.”

team joke: Old quarterbacks never die. They just pass away. winter is creeping in. Test smoke alarms, check fire extinguishers, and put flashlights at bedside.

veterans day is November 11. Fly the stars and stripes in honor of military veterans.

weather: The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts cooler weather and clouds for Thanksgiving travelers.

jay Leno said, “You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out.”

turkey joke: Why did they let the turkey join the band? Because he had the drumsticks.

blitz day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, officially kicks off the

holiday shopping season. Savvy shoppers sleep in and let frazzled crowds fight for painted gewgaws and plastic gimcracks.

November Birthdays include comedienne Whoopi Goldberg, More Than 25,000 Copies!

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For Advertising Information Call 546-0609 654 Osos Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

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singer Neil Young, entertainer Dennis Miller, and actress Lisa Bonet.

harvest cooking fills kitchens. Fresh apple pies brown in

ovens. Grape juice simmers in pots. Pumpkin-walnut cookies cool on racks. Our mail carrier says spice and herb orders outnumber magazine deliveries.

Our garden is done and the last tomatoes hit the compost bin this week. This is autumn clean-up time as the cat tags mice and dogs fetch windfall apples. Savor these November days.

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