December 2014 Journal Plus Magazine

TONY HERTZ | THE SYLVESTER’S | ARDITH KNADLER | CELIA ZAENTZ | JEANNIE MALIK

JournalPLUS DECEMBER 2014

MAGA ZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

MacSuperstore’s

SHANE WILLIAMS

805-543-2172

www.farrellsmyth.com

21 Santa Rosa Street #100 San Luis Obispo

805-904-6616 110 E. Branch Street Arroyo Grande

www.414Westpoint.com

www.864Tarragon.com

Larry D. Smyth

Jennifer Hamilton

Owner/Broker

Linda Aiello-Madison Broker-Associate

Relocation Director

Desirable Laurel Creek Community, Turn-key, mint condition, upscale 2009-built with two full master suites with multiple closets. Euro-style balconies, granite kitchen counters w/ upscale cabinetry & appliances.

Lovely carpet, inside laundry, convenient large pantry/storage area at garage level, fire sprinklers, intercom system, finished, well-lit attached 2-car garage. High-efficiency central heating & air. Community clubhouse, EZ commute to Cal Poly, downtown, dining & shopping. $395,000

Cool Ocean View Unit - Panoramic Ocean Views from this spacious One Bedroom unit. Don’t miss this opportunity to live in the desirable Bay Cliff Village. $439,000

Ken Arritt

Valerie Simpson

Broker-Associate

Twila Arritt

REALTOR®

www.250WarrenWay.com

www.FairwaysHome.com

Broker-Associate

Simone Viola

REALTOR®

The Fairways at Blacklake. Bring your golf clubs and enjoy life on the Central Coast. Spacious floorplan with two private master suites. Skylights, dual pane windows. Easy care yard and fenced...perfect for your pets. Golf cart garage. Great opportunity to live in this highly sought after golf course community. $449,000

Well located just North of Foothill. Three bedroom, One Bath. Close to Bishop Peak School, Cal Poly and Shopping. $529,000

www.1123Coral.com

Mary Rosenthal REALTOR®

www.3425Johnson.com

Carol Beard

Laura Pyzer

Pamela Bliss

Penny Parrish

REALTOR®

REALTOR®

Broker-Associate

REALTOR®

Nice Laguna Lake Three Bedroom. Well located away from traffic and close to shopping. $559,000

Nice home on the sunny side of town. Four Bedroom, Fireplace, two car garage in a convenient location. Homes in this sub-division are in demand. $629,000

Theresa Carroll

Deane Naylor

REALTOR®

Jerry Collins REALTOR®

REALTOR®

Paddy Doron REALTOR®

Patricia Garrison REALTOR®

Vicky Hall REALTOR®

David Hamilton REALTOR®

Linda Irigaray Broker-Associate

Annette Mullen REALTOR®

DETROIT, THE NEW WATCHMAKING CAPITAL OF AMERICA.

720 HIGUERA STREET, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93401 | 805-547-0662 KEVINMAIN.COM/SHINOLA

CONTENTS

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

8

SOPHIE AND PAUL DOERING

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 Susan Stewart PHOTOGRAPHER Tom Meinhold DISTRIBUTION Jan Owens, Kyle Owens

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22

JEANNIE MALIK

TONY HERTZ

ADVERTISING Steve Owens CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Susan Stewart, Natasha Dalton, Joseph Carotenuti, Dr. Julian Crocker, Sarah Hedger, Maggie Cox, Will Jones, Deborah Cash, Heather Young, Stacey Hunt, Sherry Shahan, Gordon Fuglie, Jeff Parsons and Jan Marx.

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 a free monthly distributed to over 600 locations throughout the Central Coast and is also available online at slojournal.com 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 BY TOM MEINHOLD

PEOPLE

8 10 12 14 16 18

SOPHIE AND PAUL DOERING SHANE WILLIAMS ARDITH KNADLER JEANNIE MALIK RICHARD AND TRUDY SYLVESTER CELIA ZAENTZ

HOME & OUTDOOR 20 22 24 26 27

SAN FRANCISCO’S EXPLORATORIUM

COMMUNITY 28 30 32 34 36 42

OUR SCHOOLS—Dr. Julian Crocker HISTORY: Harford Horse Railway HISTORY: Fort Point, San Francisco JT HAAS Giving Back PALM STREET SLO Mayor, Jan Marx COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

BUSINESS

37 DOWNTOWN SLO What’s Happening 46 EYE ON BUSINESS

TONY HERTZ PHOTOGRAPHY FOOD / AT THE MARKET THANK YOU FROM HOPE’S VILLAGE SLO ART SCENE—Poetry at Arts Obispo

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COMING UP AT THE

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AUDRA MCDONALD

THE NUTCRACKER

December 03 | 7:30 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center

December 13 & 14 | 2:00 p.m.

December 13 | 7:00 p.m.

Presented by Cal Poly Arts

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by The Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo

BRIAN REGAN December 04 | 7:30 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Cal Poly Arts

LET’S GET RAD - STUDIO @ RYAN’S AMERICAN DANCE December 13 | 7:00 p.m.

December 14 | 2:00 p.m.

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by Studio @ Ryan's American Dance

UNIVERSITY JAZZ BANDS’ FALL JAZZ CONCERT

AN IRISH CHRISTMAS

December 05 | 8:00 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre

December 15| 7:30 p.m.

Presented by Cal Poly Arts

Presented by Cal Poly Music Department

A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION December 06 | 8:00 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Cal Poly Music Department

FORBES PIPE ORGAN HOLIDAY CONCERT & SING-ALONG December 21| 3:00 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Performing Arts Center Outreach Services

SYMPHONY FALL CONCERT: ‘SYMPHONY AT THE OPERA’

MEN ARE FROM MARS WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS LIVE

December 07 | 3:00 p.m.

December 21 | 7:00 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre

Presented by Cal Poly Music Department

WWW.PACSLO.ORG | 805-756-4TIX (4849)

Enjoy this Season of Smiles!

From the publisher

T

wenty years ago when we started this magazine I needed a computer wiz to help get us started.

Shane Williams was that guy. He has been servicing our needs ever since. As you know, computers continue changing by the day and it’s his company that makes sure we stay updated and get this magazine published each and every month. This last month MacSuperstore celebrated its 16th anniversary. We thought you would enjoy his story about managing family and business.

GIVE US A CALL AND WE CAN MAKE YOUR SMILE SHINE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON! REMEMBER WE HAVE MOVED!

11545 LOS OSOS VALLEY ROAD SUITE A • SAN LUIS OBISPO • PARKING AROUND THE BACK

Madonna Road

El Tigre PARKING

Gordon Fuglie writes about Tony Hertz’s photography.

Tony was the Tribune’s photographer when I was transferred here as the paper’s Advertising and Marketing Director in the late ’70s and ’80s. He left the paper in 1988 to start his own photography business.

Tony’s work was exceptional then and is even better now.

We included three of his photos and encourage you to go to his website to view more. You won’t be disappointed.

This is County Superintendent of Schools Julian Crocker’s final column as he is retiring this month. We wish him the very best in this next stage of his life. He deserves it.

The column will continue with incoming Superintendent Jim Brescia taking over in January.

There’s plenty of great reading in this December issue.

Enjoy the magazine,

Los Osos Valley Road

Steve Owens

CALL US AT 805-541-5800 TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT.

Cal Poly Athletics

Performing Arts Center

CASA

The Prado Day Center

Court Appointed Special Advocates

h

Child Development Center

Rotary Club

of the Central Coast

of San Luis Obispo

Family Care Network

SLO Noor Foundation Clinic

Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County

Tiger Athletics

Hospice SLO

San Luis Obispo High School

San Luis Obispo County

Women’s Shelter Program

Pacific Wildlife Care

of San Luis Obispo County

San Luis Obispo County

h

We are proud to support the local organizations that contribute to our community.

Woods Humane Society

Best wishes to all our clients and friends for the Holiday Season www.RealEstateGroup.com 962 Mill Street • San Luis Obispo, California 93401 • 805.541.2888

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PEOPLE

Sophie boban-Doering and Paul Doering Sophie Fromagerie Cheese shop

By Will Jones

Cheese is milk’s leap toward immortality—Clifton Fadiman Already known as the happiest city in America, San Luis Obispo became a little happier on November 20, 2013. That’s the day Sophie Boban-Doering and Paul Doering opened Sophie Fromagerie, their Paris inspired cheese shop, on Garden Street. I had the pleasure of meeting them and discussing their business and its origins while relaxing on the beautiful and colorful brick-walled patio behind the shop just one month prior to their first anniversary as local merchants.

Paul and Sophie met through mutual friends on a bike ride in October 2007. “Riding side-by-side on the local roads, we talked about Art Deco, loving to antique shop. I remember what I liked most about Paul was his eyes were always smiling. I loved that about him,” Sophie said. Paul enjoyed the ease and comfort with which they communicated about their mutual interests. “Our meeting was such an accident. I wasn’t even going to go on that ride, but a friend talked me into it.” They officially started dating after attending a Super Bowl party in 2008, and they were married in 2009.

Born in Paris, Sophie moved with her French mother and Croatian father to San Francisco when she was four. “I grew up in a European household. My parents held onto their roots, so we grew up close and very food oriented. My mother is a great cook.” Sophie attended the University of Texas, Austin, to study foreign languages, with an interest in teaching French.

“I was married, my husband passed away and I was lost for a couple of years. I moved back to California in 2003 because I wanted a career change. I was working in the software industry, but, having always been very active, a triathlete, I wanted to become a fire fighter. I moved to

attend Allan Hancock Fire Academy and pursue a life in that world.”

Sophie graduated and became a reserve fire fighter for Atascadero.

After two years it became apparent that her dream of being a full time fire fighter was not going to be fulfilled. “It was then I met Paul and I felt my life was at peace. After my first husband passed away, I was constantly searching for something and meeting Paul changed everything.” Sophie had been living in San Luis Obispo and working as a service manager at the Wells Fargo bank on Marsh Street. “I came here to help a friend’s mother move and fell in love with the town. I saw how active minded everyone here is and that really attracted me. I was always living in big cities and it was nice to be in a smaller environment.”

Paul has lived in San Luis Obispo since moving here from San Diego to attend Cal Poly, where he majored in applied mathematics. He is a real time operational data specialist for Pacific Gas and Electric. He has been an active member of Concerned Central Coast Mountain Bikers, helping to build and maintain trails throughout the area.

Having two jobs has cut into Paul’s riding and service time. “I loved to go out after it rained and work on areas of San Luis Mountain that needed to be repaired. I was out riding recently and was pleased to see some of the work I’d done two years ago still intact.”

So how do a chance meeting, a couple of unusual common interests, and a mutual love of the outdoors become a fromagerie in San Luis Obispo? Sophie and Paul decided to celebrate Paul’s fiftieth birthday in 2012 with a two-week vacation in Paris, the first time they vacationed together without other members of Sophie’s family. “Paris is wonderful because you can find all of the variety that exists, small businesses side-by-side each with a different specialty,” Paul said.

“They love food so much it seems everyone is in the business. Butchers, bakers, cheese mongers … it’s heaven as far as food goes. We were inspired by little shops turning food into art.”

Paul praised Sophie’s cooking. “She doesn’t measure anything,” he said. “I learned from my mom. She loves to experiment,” Sophie added. “Growing up we’d pick a new country every month and create

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Paul and Sophie did a lot of research, met with many cheese brokers who connected them with importers, and they connected them to the best cheese makers. The result is a data base that includes over three hundred cheeses, “but we probably carry around seventy-five cheeses at one time, depending on seasonality,” Sophie said. “We have excellent goudas and our soft cheeses sell very well, most of which are imported from France and are hard to find locally. Recently a lot of people came in wanting really stinky cheeses! I was thrilled!”

At Sophie Fromagerie, a love story and the inspiration of a great city, combined with a lot of hard work, has yielded a labor of love. “We love working in this shop. The customers are always happy and it’s fun to watch people enjoy our cheeses, to see that dreamy, melty look on their faces when they try a sample,” Paul said.

a meal, everything from scratch, all natural whole foods. Even today we still look at cookbooks together. I grew up eating cheese, the stinkier, the better.”

While roaming Paris, Sophie and Paul got excited talking about what they could bring back to San Luis Obispo that would reflect their Paris experience, something that would add quality to the community. “There are very good restaurants in SLO. With all the wineries and the fresh food markets, we thought a fromagerie was something unique we could add to the growing interest in good food. We could bring the best cheeses to San Luis Obispo.”

Sophie and Paul hope Sophie Fromagerie will be part of the San Luis Obispo community for a long time. They have partnered with Art After Dark, the SLO Symphony and Cal Poly to support and enhance the city’s cultural experiences. They have started a cheese club and hope to offer classes in the near future. “We would love to have a butcher shop next store and see other small food businesses like ours around town. Garden Street is perfect for a European style bistro environment. We have been very well received and we feel very lucky.

We want that to continue, to be knitted into the community.”

So the next time you’re downtown, stop by Sophie Fromagerie at 1129 Garden Street for a sample and a smile. It’s not exactly Paris, but on the Central Coast it’s the next best thing. You can even practice your French, or, if you really want to impress, your Croatian, with Sophie.

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PEOPLE

Only in SLO-Town— MacSuperstore’s

shane williams

By Susan Stewart

I

t was a double whammy hit: In late 2007, the giant company Apple opened a store in the heart of downtown SLO. And then the Great Recession of 2008 descended with a vengeance.

Owner of MacSuperstore Shane Williams was faced with a tough choice.

“Do we get out now, while we can?” “Do we stay in business and get beat up?” or “Do we challenge ourselves, knowing that competition creates better players?” Williams and his managers chose the latter, leading to one of the sweetest small business success stories on the Central Coast.

Born in Indianapolis, Shane Williams was just three when his parents, Gary and Kitty Williams, returned to San Luis Obispo to raise their two children, Shane and his younger sister, Stacie. Educators for most of their lives, Gary and Kitty are today best known locally for The Fitting Image, a tailoring shop they’ve owned and run for more than 20 years.

In high school, Williams kept high grades and played sports, while showing an interest—and an aptitude—for computers. He bought a unique model by Apple, called the Mac Plus, and soon he was being paid to show others how to use it.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Williams attended Cal Poly, earning a degree in Business and Finance in 1994. He supported himself and paid for his education by continuing to build his Mac consulting computer business. After college, he opened HiQ Solutions, moved his business from his apartment to a real office, and became a fulltime Apple dealer. Soon he was landing such well-known clients as New Times and Copeland Sports.

Williams served a brief stint as the marketing director of a software company, but soon returned to what he knew and loved most: Apple computers. Why? “I’ve been reflecting on that question recently,” he said. “I think it’s because Apple has the unique ability to make things that work. I love

Shane putting up his store sign in its earlier days.

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seeing what that does for people. From the beginning, I believed in the Apple philosophy to make things easy to use.”

Williams had kept his old Mac clients from college, and a few years later, he was ready to open MacSuperstore. “In 1998, Steve Jobs announced the new iMac,” he recalls. “I went to what was then MidState Bank for financing and opened my first store on the corner of Higuera Street and Madonna Road.”

Shane and Brenda at Laguna Seca.

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As Apple grew, so did Williams’ loyal client base. “Looking back,” he says, “we grew only because they [his customers] were good to us, and we were good to them.” For years, hard-core Mac people and novices alike sought him out and the business thrived.

When the local Apple store opened, Williams’ revenue dropped by 25%. And the recession that followed hit him even harder. “We had to give people a good enough reason to come back,” he said. “The loyalty of our customers saw us through those times.”

Today, the SLO MacSuperstore is located next to Target on Los Osos Valley Road. And now, there are three more: One in nearby Santa Barbara, one in Monterey, and one in Colorado Springs. “We went from two to four stores in less than a year,” Williams marvels.

A mutual friend in Colorado Springs introduced Williams to his wife Brenda in 2001. They have two children, 10-year-old Shannon, and 7-year-old Shawn. He used to travel a lot, he said, when the new stores first opened, but recently hired a regional manager to work directly with the stores—so he can better run the company from SLO and keep a focus on the family.

“Finding that balance is hard,” Williams admits. “I don’t want to spend all my time at work; and I know I can’t spend all my time with my family. … These days I go home at night and try not to screw up what Brenda has done,” he jokes.

Hard work, be-there parenting, and his longstanding work as a member of Grace Church all serve to set the kind of example his own

Shane loves to surf when time permits.

parents set for him. “We were a strong family,” he says. “My parents have a good marriage; they are both entrepreneurs. And they are good people who gave us a strong sense of direction.”

Surfing with his buddies is the one hobby Williams still makes time for. In a life where his job and his family hurl never-ending questions at him all day every day, a few hours on the waves takes him away like nothing else can. “When I’m out there, nothing else matters,” he says.

Back at the SLO location of MacSuperstore, Williams waxes sentimental about the town he grew up in. “Travelling around gives me so much appreciation for San Luis,” he said. “We are so different! People here have such big hearts.”

So while hard work and tenacity helped him survive the double whammy hit he took, it was the people and the character of San Luis Obispo that did the rest.

The Williams Family: Shane, Brenda, Shannon and Shawn.

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PEOPLE

ardith knadler

Teacher for 65 years and counting

By Heather Young

A

rdith Knadler loves teaching so much that she has been a teacher for 65 years, one year longer than she has been married to her husband, Jim, who retired from teaching 20 years ago.

Knadler has been teaching children of all ages since 1947 and is certainly due for retirement, but said she continues because she loves it,

and loves the students. But she never intended to be a teacher. She came from a long line of teachers, so wanted to do something different. Her grandfather founded the first public school in San Jose, so she was up close and personal with what teaching looked like.

“What has always sort of tickled me was I was told by people that I should be a teacher,” Knadler said. “I told people I’d never be a teacher.”

In her senior year of college, however, she stopped fighting it and realized it was just meant to be. She said that what has kept her going are the students and that she’s always learning.

“If you’re teaching them, you have to keep leaning,” Knadler said, adding that she had to learn how to teach Common Core. “One of the difficulties of being a home instructor, you have to [learn new teaching methods] on your own.”

Knadler said that she’s learned many new teaching methods over the years, some of which have been short-lived, others have held on longer. The most difficult, she said, is learning the new math, because it’s different from what people are used to. She said it’s definitely easier for new learners rather than older students and adults who are used to the previous method.

“I’ve taught everything from kindergarten to high school,” Knadler said. Not only has she taught all ages during her teaching, she’s also been an elementary school principal and worked with special needs adults through the adult school in San Luis Obispo.

Currently, Knadler works in the San Luis Obispo Coastal superintendent’s office in student supplemental services, going to the hospital for students who have a doctor’s order to not attend school for whatever reason.

Knadler, and the other teachers who do home hospital, work directly—most commonly via email—with the students’ teachers to get homework and the lesson plans, so the students are learning the same thing as their peers. Knadler meets with her students for one hour each school day. Her max student load is five students, but it changes often. Right now she teaches two high school students.

“An hour is not much time,” Knadler said.

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“Our aim is to get them [able to fit back in at school] when they are well. It allows the kids to keep up. It also relieves their anxiety.” She added that in some of the subjects, the students can do a lot of reading on their own.

Former Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services for San Luis Coastal Unified School District Mary Matakovich said that Knadler is an educational gem, having taught at all instructional levels, as well as the preparation she puts into her lessons.

“She spends whatever time necessary to ensure that she is wellprepared for her classes,” said Matakovich, who is also a member of the Orchid Society. “In particular, as a home teacher, she would have the assignment to deliver instruction in English, math, social science, science, physical education, visual arts for each of her students in her caseload and they would always be able to accomplish their lessons due to the breadth of her intellect. If there was a student who needed special assistance, Ardith was the teacher to whom we could depend on to provide the necessary instruction and support.”

Knadler lives in Santa Margarita in Tassajara Canyon with her husband, Jim, who is a retired teacher. Jim went to Cal Poly on the G.I. bill. After he graduated, they moved to the San Joaquin Valley to farm, but it wasn’t long before they returned to the area. They married in 1948—now for 64 years.

“Of course you can’t stay away from San Luis once you’ve been here,” Knadler said.

The Knadlers have three children, a son who lives next door and is a teacher at Avenal High School, a daughter who lives in Paso Robles and another son who lives in Oregon. Knadler lives on 15 acres with her husband and does a lot of gardening.

“We have a variety of chickens and ducks that supply us with eggs for ourselves and friends,” she said. “We also have a vegetable garden with raised beds, so we enjoy vegetables nearly year round. We’re still enjoying tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant from summer this year. On cold rainy days during the winter it is great fun to pore over the seed catalogs and plan for ‘next year.’”

When she’s not outside with her garden, she also loves quilting and knitting. Outside of her home and school, she’s also managed to keep the Cabrillo Orchid Society, Inc. going in the area.

“Cabrillo Orchid Society, Inc. was founded in 1976 by 16 orchid enthusiasts whose purpose was the promotion of orchids, their culture, growth, care, history, collection, and enjoyment,” Knadler said. “We meet the third Tuesday of most months at the Union Bank Building in San Luis Obispo and participate in the Five-Cities Orchid Show each spring.”

Knadler has been the president of the society for the last several years. She said she and her husband, who were both charter members of the group, became interested in raising orchids when they lived in SLO, where they could raise many orchids outside.

“Since we moved to Santa Margarita, we have built a greenhouse for the plants that cannot tolerate the cold and heat we have here,” Knadler said. “Many of our orchids still grow outside, however. Jim and I enjoy the challenge of growing orchids and the thrill of the blooming plants. In addition there is always the excitement of learning about a new species.”

817 Vista Del Brisa, San Luis Obispo

A great house with an over sized lot. Awesome updated backyard with professional landscaping. 3 bedrooms/3 baths and bamboo flooring in one of the bedrooms. A great house for entertaining and an extra sun room that adds additional square footage with an indoor/outdoor feel. Wood burning fireplace, on demand water heater, two car garage and close to parks and across the street from Laguna Lake. Reduced to $549,000. Go to www817VistaDelBrisa.com for more details.

Johnny Hough Owner / Broker

(805) 801-5063

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

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PEOPLE

JEANNIE MALIK

ONE IN A MILLION...STARS, THAT IS

By Deborah Cash

I

n the lives of others, we often detect a theme: perhaps adventurer, scholar, inventor, teacher…in Jeannie Malik’s case, “Shining Star” quickly comes to mind. Whether you’ve just met Jeannie or have known her for a long time, it’s clear she’s not your average Ursa Major. Her smile lights up a room; her energy level leaves everyone else in the dust. Add in that she’s a truly kind and compassionate spirit who cares deeply for her community and Jeannie’s star quality is undeniable. Oh, and she just happens to be as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside.

The “Star” theme goes even further than her persona and ability to juggle a full time job, civic involvements, being a wife, mom and caretaker of a menagerie: she’s also the coordinator of the Friends of the Atascadero Library’s “Dancing With Our Stars” event that to date’s raised over $330,000, providing major dollars for the expansion of the Atascadero Library that opened its new facility in June.

From her young days as Miss California Rolling Skating Queen to her 2011 debut as a Community Star Dancer, Jeannie’s lived a life that young women would love to emulate and well, for the rest of us, we’re just happy to read about.

Jeannie’s dad served in the US Air Force and was stationed in New Hampshire when Jeannie decided to join the family; the nearest hospital was across the border in Kittery, Maine so that’s where she entered the world in 1956. Not long after, her family, including an older brother, was transferred to Évreux, France where her younger brother was born. Later stints for her dad included assignments in New Mexico and the Philippines, where Jeannie remembers seeing Bob Hope entertain the troops on leave from Vietnam at Clark AFB. Because of her dad’s hard work and subsequent successes, Jeannie said she enjoyed a memorable childhood. “In the Philippines, we were given options of morning or afternoon school sessions. I chose the later session so I could ride horses in the mornings at the AF Base Dancing with former County Supervisor, Jim Patterson

riding academy. This is when I developed a love for horses.” She very much recalls dashing home from rides to change into her school dress, “I went to school, smelly like a horse!”

In 1967, a transfer brought Jeannie’s family to Vandenberg AFB and Lompoc, CA where Jeannie graduated from Cabrillo High School. During this time, her love of serving the greater good was awakened, “I was in Future Nurses, French Club, Home Economics Club, FFA and my Church youth group.” She attended Allan Hancock College and obtained her A.S. degree in Dental Science. Following graduation, she married her college boyfriend and supported him through his final year at Cal Poly. They lived in Bakersfield where they had three children, Tyler, Travis and Michelle.

“I love Bakersfield!” she pronounced, aware that along the Central Coast, she might be a bit unique in her appreciation for the Valley town from which many flee annually to the coast to escape the heat.

“I loved the people, the community and the opportunities available.

When you’ve moved a lot in your life, you learn to adapt and appreciate being in one place for a while.” Plus, she said, “The kids thrived, we were able to build a lovely custom home on acreage and we had a horse in the backyard.” In 1994, the family relocated to the Central Coast. Jeannie said, “It finally felt like home. I love it here, I have roots.” Her children went through the local school system and Jeannie said she was excited to be involved in their scholastic activities, scouting, sports and outdoor outings, especially camping trips.

Jeannie and her husband divorced in 1996 and she remained single, working as an R.D.A in a dental office and taking care of her kids.

Then, she said, her face lighting up, “One day in 2002, I was swimming laps at Kennedy Club Fitness in Atascadero and a handsome guy asked

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garnered first place and she’s been the event’s biggest champion—and director—ever since.

“Dancing With Our Stars has taken the community by storm,” she says, adding she is proud of and grateful for her role in helping the cause of opening the new library.

When not involved in work and civic duty, Jeannie spends time with her family and animals; both she and Greg love to travel, especially to Hawaii. “When I met Greg,” she said, “I had three kids, a dog, a 25-year-old horse and a cat. I told him we were a package deal and he was fine with that, even though he hadn’t grown up with animals.” Greg’s daughter Brooke rounded out the clan, allowing Jeannie to realize her dream of four children, 2 boys and 2 girls. “Greg absolutely adores his expanded family and all the critters!” Today, dogs Sophie, a Boston terrier, and Annie, a golden retriever, calico cat Buttercup and goats Molly and Murphy hold down the fort at the Malik’s Atascadero home.

Jeannie and her family

if he could share my lane. We later went to lunch and we’ve been together ever since.”

Greg Malik proposed to Jeannie a year and a half later while they were out deep-sea fishing.

“Six weeks later we got married by the pool where we met!” she happily recounted.

Jeannie found that she was really interested in the world of real estate. “Greg had been selling real estate in Atascadero since 1980 and invited me to join his team in 2005.” Jeannie’s passion for photography, her people skills and community involvement make her a perfect partner in—and marketing manager of—Greg Malik Real Estate. “I finally found myself, my passion and then I met Greg. It all fell into place.”

In her job, Jeannie stages homes for sale, takes photographs, creates virtual tours of properties, and handles extensive marketing “putting people’s homes for sale in the best light, literally!” She says that selling—or buying—a home is dealing with one of life’s

biggest investments. “All those involved deserve the best treatment,” she says.

Her workload doesn’t stop there, however; Jeannie says she also enjoys her involvement in organizations and activities that benefit people and the community she loves. “I’ve really shifted my focus to the community,” she says. “After recovering from back surgery due to a spinal cord injury in 2008, I reached out to those around me and they responded. I was invited to join the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and elected to chair in 2012-13. It was a great experience!” In 2011, she was invited to be a community star dancer, and even though she had just finished a rigorous round of physical therapy for her back, she was—after a long time of barely being able to walk—in dancing shoes at one of Atascadero’s biggest fundraising events a couple months later.

For now, the stars seem to be aligned for a continued successful career, a wonderful life and lots of “rolled up sleeves” for Jeannie… but stay tuned for more from this superstar of a lady who just may someday have a “Gal”axy all her own.

The following year, she and dancing partner Jim Patterson, former county supervisor,

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TRUDY AND RICHARD SYLVESTER MORRO BAY’S SALT OF THE EARTH, AT HOME AT SEA

By Natasha Dalton

I

f you’ve ever been to Morro Bay, you must’ve seen her: Her cheerful colors are easy to spot even on a foggy day. Trudy S, a yellow boat parked by Giovanni’s, is as much of a fixture in Morro Bay as is her owner, Richard Sylvester, and her namesake and Richard’s wife, Trudy—the couple, who next year will be celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary.

Both Trudy and Richard come from fishing families; but while Trudy’s kin has lived here, on the Central Coast, for generations, the Sylvesters’ roots lay in the Azores—one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal, consisting of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, (and located about 850 miles west of continental Portugal)—whose motto reads: “Rather die as free men than be enslaved in peace.”

“I couldn’t speak English when I went to school,” says Mr. Sylvester, recalling his childhood spent at his grandparents’ dairy farm outside of San Luis Obispo. They spoke Portuguese at home, only switching to English when there were visitors around.

Richard’s grandparents moved to the United States in the mid-1930s because they didn’t

want their boys to serve in the Portuguese military. They landed in Massachusetts in hopes of joining the big fishing community near Gloucester, but discovered that there was no going to sea for them without speaking English.

At that time, Richard Sylvester’s Dad, Joseph Ricardo Sylvester, was only 16. “He was very shrewd, and even though he couldn’t read or write, he did very well for himself,” Mr. Sylvester says. “He got a job at the Kennedy’s Compound on Cape Cod.” “There wasn’t so much of a class difference then, and the Kennedys treated him well,” Mr. Sylvester says, still impressed by the fact that his dad, who worked for the Kennedys as a gardener, was able to meet the future President and his family.

However, when his brother Manuel was advised by a doctor to move to the West Coast, Joseph Sylvester decided to follow him. In Morro Bay, he met a Native American, Duke Pierce, Trudy’s dad.

One of Trudy’s Wedding Cakes.

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later—when their children, Richard and Trudy, got married—family.

Today, you can see in Trudy’s artwork the traditional Salinan motiffs colored in bright turquoise, purple and blue—colors also popular on the Azores (with the very name of the islands being a derivation from the word ‘azul,’ which means blue in Portuguese), and of which she’d heard so much from her in-laws.

“Everyone in Morro Bay knows Trudy and Dickey Sylvester,” says an old family friend Don Huntington. “Trudy’s cakes are legendary here. Wedding cakes, birthday cakes, anniversary cakes… she always finds a way to make her cakes very personal and special, and they’re so beautiful, you almost don’t want to cut them,” Mr. Huntington says.

“There’s a big history of fishing in our background,” Trudy Sylvester explains. “My dad was one of the Pierce brothers who fished abalone in Morro Bay, and Dickey’s dad also started an abalone plant—in Avila.”

Trudy Sylvester, who made her first wedding cake for her brother’s wedding, has been perfecting her art of baking for 45 years, but still refuses to call her work a business. “It’s a hobby,” she says. “The very first wedding cake that I’ve made was for my brother Donny, who just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary last year. We have four daughters, and I made all of their wedding cakes.”

They were very different, a fiery Portuguese and a quiet Salinan man, but they became good friends and business partners, and

Among other things she’s been making are colorful tools, painted rocks and traditional Native American baskets.

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Dickey, he is still fishing,” she adds. “You can find his fish up at the other end of the bay, at Tognazzini’s Dockside Restaurant & Fish Market.”

“She is very creative,” says Evelyn Pierce, her sisterin-law. “She doesn’t use any pictures or patterns; she just comes up with her designs herself.”

“Trudy has always been a person of many talents,” Richard Sylvester says of his wife. “Even as a child, she could just pick up a pencil and draw things—no Detail on a hammer handle. matter what you’d ask her to draw. I cannot draw a straight line, but she just keeps making all these beautiful things.”

Trudy’s father, Duke Pierce, was fiercely protective of his family, and Trudy, along with her other siblings, still remembers many fun things they did as a family. He was a fisherman and an avid hunter, and the kids enjoyed fishing, camping and playing with him. “Duke was an interesting man,” Evelyn Pierce says, “and they always did interesting things as a family.”

The Pierces lived on a ranch on Toro Creek, and Trudy spent a lot of time with her grandma Kate. “Grandma loved wildflowers, and she taught me how to arrange them. I remember that we used to add some red poison oak for color, and, surprisingly, somehow it never bothered us,” Trudy Sylvester recalls.

Born in 1942, she, like many girls of her generation, didn’t think of getting a job once she grew up. “I just wanted to get married and have kids,” she admits. But when her youngest daughter went to school, Mrs. Sylvester began working there as a teacher’s aide. It was 37 years ago. By now, with all her daughters long out of school, married and with kids of their own, Mrs. Sylvester is still there, at Del Mar Elementary.

“I enjoy working with little kids,” she says. And the kids love her back: “She is very friendly, creative, and sharp—that’s why they admire her at school so much,” Mrs. Pierce, who’s known Mrs. Sylvester most of her life, says.

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“If there’s anything you want to know about fishing, you just have to ask Dickey,” Don Huntington, an old friend and another Morro Bay native, says. “From fishing tricks to politics and everything in-between—Dickey’s got his stories.”

“A lot has changed since he first began fishing, but he’s still got it,” says Mrs. Sylvester of her husband. She, too, still has it: she just keeps on making beautiful objects that please the eye and warm the heart.

“Everyone in Morro Bay knows these two people,” Don Huntington says. “I cannot remember the time when Dickey wasn’t fishing—he is a hard-working man. And Trudy, she is just a delight: families of Morro Bay love her and her cakes.”

One of Trudy’s Baskets.

And at home, there’s room for some creative projects as well. Making baskets out of dry pine needles is an old Native American tradition, which Mrs. Sylvester learned from a relative, and then taught to her granddaughters. It’s one of the many projects she thinks up to keep kids entertained during family long camping trips. But she is also mindful of carrying on her tribal tradition.

“They’re the type of people who had to fight for everything they’ve got—nothing was given to them,” Mr. Huntington adds. “They came out of all these struggles with grace and renewed appreciation for life. How can you not admire that?”

Over the years, each of Trudy’s and Richard’s daughters has been elected “Queen” at the Portuguese celebrations, and all the girls’ beautiful capes were made by their mother.

“Every one of those costumes was an art piece in its own right,” Evelyn Pierce says.

There’s no wonder that the girls have their mother’s eye for beauty. “Whenever you came to their home, you’d see a project on the table,” Mrs. Pierce remembers. “I think that’s why, even though the girls never studied art, they’re so good at various crafts.”

All their married life Richard and Trudy have lived in Morro Bay; most of the time—in the same house they bought more than half a century ago. And all these years, Richard’s boat, which he bought soon after he and Trudy got married, has served them well.

Richard named the boat Trudy S, and the name proved to be lucky: it took him wherever the fish was, from San Francisco to Alaska and helped him to make a good living. “We all love this boat,” Mrs. Sylvester says. “Our daughters still like to come down there, and they leave notes on the boat when they cannot find us. And

805 Aerovista #103, San Luis Obispo

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Celia Mingus zaentz larger than life

By Stacey Hunt

F

rom muse to two creative geniuses, to record company founder, to movie producer, Celia Mingus Zaentz has done it all. Now 89 and settled in Los Osos, Celia sat down with me recently to talk about her very interesting life.

Born in Fresno, California, Celia’s first big adventure came at age 17, when, during the war years, she trained to be a Rosie the Riveter. Traveling to Santa Barbara with a girlfriend in 1942, she learned how to rivet sheet metal to work in the Kaiser shipyards, but instead went to work as a secretary for the Navy at the Naval Supply Depot in Oakland and later, Treasure Island.

Celia began dating her childhood sweetheart, Jon Nielson, a trumpet player who introduced Celia to the jazz scene. During a short breakup with Jon, Celia met jazz great, bassist Charles Mingus at a night club where she had gone to see him perform. He was instantly charmed by the flirtatious redhead. “Mingus wanted a serious relationship from the beginning, but I was still in love with Jon,” said Celia. After Celia and Jon decided to marry, she told Mingus of this new development. He did not give up without a parting shot. “He told me ‘have a great adventure—you’ll still have your first son by me,’” she remembers. It was a prophetic statement indeed.

Celia and Jon married in 1948 and moved to New York City, where Jon tried to break into

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the music business while Celia supported them by working for the Gale Agency, as secretary to the opera singer Robert Merrill.

New York was not the panacea they had hoped for. The music business was in a bad post-war slump and there were few jobs for musicians, even famous ones. After two years of struggling, Celia and Jon parted ways.

Mingus turned up in New York and he and Celia were married in 1951.

The couple started Debut Records in 1952, which became a legendary jazz label. They began by showcasing all of the up and coming musicians. Getting Debut off the ground was quite a challenge. Once Mingus and Max Roach recorded and made the masters, it was Celia’s job to get records pressed, design and order labels and jackets, write liner notes and find distributors in New York and other states. Their biggest recording ever was “Jazz at Massey Hall,” recorded at a concert at the Toronto Jazz Club. “Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Max Roach and Mingus played together for the first time,” said Celia.

“That record is still selling 65 years later.”

True to Mingus’s prophecy, Celia gave birth to their son, Dorian, in 1957. However by that time the marriage was in trouble and Celia moved back to Fresno with her young son to recuperate. She was persuaded to move back to the Bay Area, where she took a job with a small Berkeley label, Fantasy Records. Her boss was Saul Zaentz, a young and ambitious executive. They fell in love and were married in his sister’s garden in Palo Alto in 1960. Celia continued to work at Fantasy Records until their son, Josh, was born in 1962, followed by Athena in 1964 and Jonathan in 1966. In 1969, Fantasy Records went up for sale, and Saul raised the money to purchase it.

Shortly afterward, Saul was approached by a young singer-songwriter from El Cerrito, who

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had recorded a few records at Fantasy for the previous owner that had not been successful.

Saul had always believed this young man, John Fogerty, had great talent, and offered his advice and financial help. Creedence Clearwater Revival became one of the biggest bands of the ’70s. Their first recording, Suzy Q sold half a million copies. Watching the band catch on was an exciting time. “When any one of us would hear the record playing on the radio, we would telephone everyone else to tune in.”

Suzy Q was followed by Proud Mary and the rest was history. Fantasy’s fortune, and the Zaentz’s, was made.

“It was one of the happiest times in my life,” Celia recalls. The family moved into a large English Tudor home in Berkeley, and they began entertaining record company executives and distributors. “We were catapulted into a different lifestyle. It was very exciting at first not to have to watch every penny.”

They began traveling. “Every January at Cannes MIDEM held a convention where all the music and record industry people could congregate. Saul decided all of the partners and their wives would go first to England and then Cannes for the convention and finally to Paris for a few days. It was a wonderful trip.”

It would be good to say that everybody lived happily ever after, but it was not to be. As Celia put it, “As the dollars continued to pour in, the joy began ebbing away.” Despite Saul offering John Fogerty higher royalties and a 10% share of Fantasy, he became more and more disgruntled, broke up the band, and finally left Fantasy for Asylum Records.

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In 1997 she received a telephone call from filmmaker Don McGlynn, who was working on a documentary about the life of Charles Mingus, called Triumph of the Underdog. He asked if he could interview Celia and their son, Dorian Mingus Zaentz, for the film, and they agreed. That chance meeting began a decade of collaboration, with Celia producing several of McGlynn’s films under her company Blue Sea Productions, including Louis Prima, The Wildest!, and The Howlin’ Wolf Story.”

Deepak Chopra and Celia

One of Saul’s partners, Ralph Gleason, was pushing to start a film department for the company, so Fantasy Films was formed. Both Celia and Saul had read Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and fell in love with it. Saul learned that the film rights to the book were owned by Kirk Douglas, who had hoped to play McMurphy in the film, but was now too old. Kirk agreed to let Fantasy make the movie, but only if Saul allowed his son, Michael Douglas, to co-produce. With Milos Foreman in the director’s chair and Jack Nicholson starring, the 1974 film went on to win best picture at the Academy Awards in 1975, and Saul and Celia had entered the motion picture business in a big way.

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“I remember one day thinking my life was absolutely perfect,” says Celia. Her children were older and she had more time to herself. She was taking sailing and French lessons. She and the children went on skiing trips. She and Saul were being introduced to the inner circle of Hollywood through Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas. Then Celia and Saul’s marriage began to flounder and Celia began a period of self-exploration. The marriage ended and Celia moved to Larkspur in Marin County in 1976 and lived there for 30 years. She traveled around the world, lived in France and studied French intensively. She purchased an island off the coast of Nova Scotia, where she spent summers unwinding from her busy life, and an apartment in Manhattan where she went several times a year to visit old friends from her life in New York and attend all of the Broadway plays.

In 2007, Celia moved to Los Osos to be nearer to her nieces. She has kept busy volunteering for the Natural History Museum in Morro Bay and with Circle of Friends. Through Blue C Productions she has produced two short documentaries about Mneme Therapy, a type of art therapy used with those suffering from dementia, autism, and other mental problems. Both films were screened at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, and she has printed and distributed free copies of the documentaries to retirement homes and Alzheimer’s facilities around the country. Celia is a founder and current board member of Ecologistics, Inc., a San Luis Obispo-based nonprofit that puts on the annual Central Coast Bioneers Conference. She has entered into a 10-year lease with Ecologistics on land she owns in Los Osos to operate the Blue C Community Garden. “The garden was named after a song Mingus wrote for me called Blue C,” Celia explains. “I have really enjoyed watching that garden evolve and grow.”

Celia has seven grandchildren and is very close to her nieces and nephew. She puts together Thanksgiving family reunions that have taken everyone to Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, San Antonio, Las Vegas, on a cruise, and for 2014, Palm Springs.

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weekend getaway:

san francisco exploratorium

By Sherry Shahan

M

ost of my family lives on the Central Coast where we bounce like molecular Ping-Pong balls between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Names of zoos, museums, and theme parks are scribbled on slips of paper and stuffed in a mason jar. Once a month we take turns plucking a destination for a weekend getaway.

Cool! rang out from my two young grandsons when San Francisco’s Exploratorium was chosen. This hands-on museum has been described by the New York Times as the most important science museum to have opened since the mid-20th century, chalked up to “the nature of its exhibits, its wide-ranging influence and it’s sophisticated training program.”

This combo scientific funhouse and experimental lab is the brainchild of physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer, who believed everyone could be a creative genius no matter what their age. There are few display cases, fewer computers. Kids are never told, “Don’t touch.”

It first opened at the cavernous Palace of Fine Arts in 1969, which was originally built for the 1915 World’s Fair. Today, the new waterfront home is located at Piers 15 and 17 on the Embarcadero at Green Street.

The renovations themselves are a feat worth taking note of—triple the exhibition space to 330,000 feet or the length of 3 football fields.

The new $200 million facility is held above water by 1,800 wood-andconcrete pilings that were first pounded into the Bay sludge nearly 100 years ago. Over 1,100 were repaired when the project began in 2010. More than 5,000 solar panels were installed on the acres of sunexposed roof, making it the largest rooftop installation in the city. The goal is 100% self-sufficiency.

Driving up Hwy 101 with a map of the Exploratorium in hand (printed it from the website), the adults in the car devised a scheme to tackle as many of the 600 thought-provoking exhibits as possible. However, the plan quickly flew out the proverbial window as soon as we entered.

My grandsons made a beeline to the Osher West Gallery where several other kids had climbed into a carefully shaped structure that’s best described as a mini-tornado. A large mist generator and fans let kids experience the grasp of every-changing mist and winds.

Focusing on human behavior, this gallery encourages people to investigate emotion and judgment, as well as experiment with cooperating, competing, and sharing. Giggles erupted from the Tactile Dome, a touchy-feely geodesic edifice where visitors crawled through a course of ladders and slides, bumping their way in the pitch-black. The sense of touch being their only scary guide. Note: Patrons must be at least 7-years-old and those with claustrophobia might want to sit this one out.

Next stop: Bechtel Central Gallery, which features a mix of new exhibits and old classics, such as Sound Bite (listening through the jawbone instead of ears) and Bright Black (a trick that persuades onlookers that an object is white when it’s nearly all black).

Since my grandsons are picky-eaters and museum menus tend to be limited and pricey, we brought our own backpack lunches knowing benches were available in the outdoor North Gallery. The buildings protected us from the chilly breeze, but still allowed for breathtaking Bay views.

Between sandwiches and juice boxes the kids climbed on a bridge and swung on rails, while the adults tuned in to music coming from a 27-foot harp strummed by the wind. If we’d been standing in this spot

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Central Demo Station. My grandsons were quick to notice bright lights illuminating an Exploratorium Explainer (one of hundreds of paid high school and college docents).

With a scalpel in one hand and tweezers in the other, the young woman was dissecting the eyeball of a cow. To me, it looked like mangled fish guts. But to the kids the grossness was very cool. Questions abounded. They were rapt. The discussion covered the intricacies of rods and cones and how the muscle in a human eye lets people adjust their vision to see up close and far away.

The demo stations change from day to day, often hour to hour, so one never knows what to expect. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to experience every thought-provoking exhibit in a single day.

200 years ago, we might have been part of a Native American tribe harvesting muscles from tidal rocks or fishing from a tule boat.

Sometime around 4 hours into our mind-bending explorations fatigue began to creep in. I’d read about the Tinkering workshop in the South Gallery—a tranquil corner with a table topped with every imaginable type of art supply. There, a half dozen people were working on Cardboard Automata. Basically that’s a box fixed with wheels and levers creating mechanical movement.

We spent a calm hour there, which was the closest thing to a nap.

Recharged, we hit the ground running, rounding a corner to the

The decision was unanimous to put this destination back in the mason jar. After all, who ever tires of visiting a mad scientist’s funhouse where you get to play with everything?

Know Before You Go: Location: Piers 15 – 17 (Embarcadero at Green St), San Francisco, CA 94111 Hours: Tuesday thru Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm.

Tickets: Adults (18 – 64) $29. Youth (4 - 17) & Seniors (65+) $24.

Children (3 & Under), free.

Free days: Go to www.exploratorium.edu/visit Metered street parking available, plus nearby public parking lots.

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slo county art scene tony hertz: Journeying into the photo zone

By Gordon Fuglie

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rriving on the Central Coast in 2008, among the first artists I met was Tony Hertz. Looking for SLO County artists to exhibit, I trawled the Cuesta College art department web site and found a link to the Shell Beach photographer. At that time, he was concentrating on color scenes from nature. Taking a superficial glance at Hertz’s personal site, I consigned his work to Sierra Club calendars. Safe, I thought; no one will be offended, and the local easy-to-please art crowd will be reassured by its familiarity.

But not so fast, said a voice in my head. One of the life lessons that is finally taking root is my learning to heed that voice when it counsels me to give people, art, movies, restaurants, books, etc. a longer look before I pass judgment. So I visited Tony’s studio, and after contemplating his work, discovered more than I had first assumed.

One photograph that struck me was his (almost) monochromatic image simply titled Carrizo Plains. An overcast wintry panorama from atop the Caliente hills that surveys the enclosed basin and the expanse of Soda Lake, such a photograph can only be created by an artist who fine tunes his poetic radar to sense what a place says to his heart and spirit. From that comes Hertz’s wilderness aesthetic. His “method” is a solitary venture into the natural world—preferably late afternoon, absorbing the sights and sounds of nature’s realm. Being patiently present allows the image to emerge. And with 35 years of camera work, Hertz doesn’t have to fumble around with aperture settings, exposure times, and other technical rigmarole. His cameras are second nature to his artistry, extensions of his vision.

Interestingly, Carrizo Plains has kinship with the stern compositions pioneered by the painter J. A. M. Whistler whose famous mother seated in profile became an “arrangement in gray and black and white.” Hertz arranged his composition in terms of a few intersecting diagonals. The white saline Soda Lake fixes the distant horizon, while the foreground is a choppy sea of gray grass upon which is tossed a piece of ochre

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refuse splotched with reds.

The tension created by this angular warmly hued object and the far white and gray planes gives Carrizo Plains its remarkability, as well as his integration of the foreground, mid-range and distant horizon. Such complex visioning is what separates Hertz from the mass of click-and-shoot photographers.

Hertz entered the world of photography in 1971 when he enrolled in a photography class at San Bernardino Valley College, which served a blue-collar community east of LA. His instructor recognized his aptitude and made Hertz his studio assistant. Drawn to photojournalism through looking at Life Magazine, he applied to Cal Poly to study photojournalism, eventually becoming the photo editor at the Mustang Daily. Hertz graduated in 1977, including recognition as “Photojournalist of the Year” by the Journalism School.

He soon was hired by the SLO Telegram-Tribune (now The Tribune), where he earned awards for his photojournalism. Hertz left the paper in 1988 to become a free-lance photographer, developing clients in major media, industry, agriculture and the licensing of his growing stock image library. In 1992, Hertz was hired as a photojournalism instructor at Cal Poly where he was the first in the department to teach Adobe Photoshop digital software. In 2001 he was appointed as an adjunct photography instructor at Cuesta College, teaching both film (darkroom) and digital photography. He is in his 15th year at the campus.

Paralleling his photojournalism, Hertz cultivated an artistic sensibility. He cites inspiration from the classic modernist photographers

Carrizo Plains

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Emphasizing blue, green and orange, Cuesta Grade Wildflowers is constructed on his favored foreground to far horizon compositional strategy. Far from being yet another “purtee-poppeepickchur,” the image puts in play three concave and convex zones: the floral hillside, the verdant and sinewy valley, and the dimly turquoise sky. This tripartite presentation gets our eyes moving to and fro. The wind-wafted poppy stems are literally in our face.

Three Lupine “accents” (leaning left, vertical, and arcing right—a floral trinity) lock in the foreground. The visual tension is generated by the flickering orange field that contrasts with the restful green hills and cool pellucid sky.

In recent years, Hertz has turned to black and white for his landscapes.

Among his most captivating works is Tide Study, a photograph taken near Trinidad (CA) in 2010. Using a time-lapse exposure, Hertz’s image bears comparison with the brush and ink landscapes painted on screens by Chinese literati artists like Wang Lu and the Japanese Zen Buddhist Sesshu in the 14th and 15th centuries. With its “Asian” symmetrical composition, subtle tones, and natural subject, Tide Study is a virtuoso meditation on water, rocks, sand and sky.

Edward Weston, Minor White, and Wynn Bullock. In 2004 Hertz committed himself to fine art photography, concentrating on the natural subjects, shooting them in color.

In the year ahead Hertz foresees a national photographic campaign to document historic tree plantings related to a NASA space experiment in the 1970s. When not photographing nature, teaching or going on the road, Hertz also squeezes in wedding photography. He’s one of the best in the county and knows the most attractive locales.

For Tony Hertz’s artistic photography, see www.tonyhertz.com

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at the market

Glorious green soup with broccoli, kale and garlic

By Sarah Hedger

D

ecember makes Winter official, regardless of what time of year it may feel like! Our local farmer’s markets offer an abundance of winter produce, leaving no shortage of options to create goodness in the kitchen.

Aside from apple season continuing

into December, there are also Kiwi, the beginnings of citrus, as well as cherimoyas, kumquats, and pomegranates to choose from. The vegetable options during winter include (and definitely not limited to), the Brassicaceae family (Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.), spinach,

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potatoes, winter squash, yams, fennel, and garlic, just to name a few!

One of the things that excites me most about Winter is the soup making as soup is one of those one pot wonders that can not only feed, but nourish the household for a week.

The other thing I like about soup is that it is pretty easy to wing it with random, seasonal, ingredients floating around in the fridge, with little effort and tasty results! I recently was told by a chef (who admitted judging other chefs by their soup making abilities), to only cook a (vegetable) soup as long as you would cook the vegetables in it. So, say potatoes (chopped) are your main ingredient, you only cook the soup just long enough for the potatoes to be cooked. Or, if greens are your main ingredient, then the longest you would cook them would be very quickly as they barely need to be heated to be cooked.

I have also resigned my belief to cook the initial ingredients over high heat, giving them a more caramelized flavor as this flavor distracts from the actual ingredients themselves, so when they are cooked over a milder heat, just to translucent, it allows their flavor to permeate the soup with their own unique flavors, rather than turning to one, collective soup flavor.

This month’s recipe, Glorious Green Soup (with Broccoli, Kale, and Garlic), is one I can’t seem to get enough of lately. It is inspired by Anna Thomas and her ability to make amazing soups, with a collection of seasonal options in her recent book, Love Soup. This recipe is a base to incorporate more greens, or use up greens in the fridge, or if I’m needing to top up my immune system as it is chock full of nutrient dense ingredients. What I also like about this recipe is that little is measured, making it even more simple to wing it, and have it turn out tasting amazing! For the herb element, I have been using cilantro lately, but by all means follow your own taste buds and use basil or any other favorite herb you have (or even a collection)! If you have other greens floating around, such as asparagus, or cabbage, or zucchini, use it! The lemon juice adds just the right amount of acid, bringing out more of

glorious green soup with broccoli, kale and garlic Makes 8 cups of soup 2 T olive oil 1 onion, chopped 5 green/spring onions, finely chopped (and/or 1 leek) 1 bunch coriander or basil or nettle, chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled 1 tsp sea salt 1 potato, chopped (peeled if thick skin) the flavor of the ingredients. And, if you get to the end and it lacks flavor and tastes flat, add a pinch more salt as most people seem to forget this final step and it really is the final touch that can take something from being bearable to delicious (no joke)! I usually finish the soup with a drizzle of good olive oil, and find something good to dip into it as few things top fresh bread and a delicious, nourishing bowl of fresh (hot) soup. Enjoy!

1 head of broccoli, roughly chopped ½ head of cauliflower, roughly chopped 4 cups (give or take) of hot water 1 bunch spinach, thoroughly washed 1 bunch kale 1 T lemon juice 2 T your favorite olive oil Fresh ground pepper and more sea salt to taste

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Place olive oil in large, heavy duty soup pot over medium heat.

When hot, add onion/s, cilantro, garlic, and salt. Give a good stir and cook for a few minutes until transluscent. Do not get impatient and turn up heat as it will brown the ingredients and we don’t want this. Add potato, broccoli, and cauliflower. Add enough hot water to just cover the ingredients. Cover with lid and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potato is cooked through.

Add spinach and kale, covering again and cooking for a couple minutes (or until wilted). Remove from heat and let sit (with lid on) for another 10 minutes. Using either an immersion blender (or very carefully with a normal blender as liquid is extremely HOT), blend until completely smooth. Add lemon juice, pepper, giving a good stir. Taste and add more sea salt if it tastes flat. Serve in bowls, topping with a little extra of your favorite olive oil and your favorite soup accessory (mine is homemade paleo foccacia with avocado on top right now). Enjoy!

Find this recipe and more seasonal inspiration at http://www. seasonalalchemist.com

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HOME/OUTDOOR

thank you from hope’s Village a letter from Becky Jorgeson

Happy Holidays T FROM THE STAFF AT

Journal PLUS MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

oday we are donating our 30th RV to a homeless veteran here on the Central Coast!

Many thanks to all donors who opened your hearts to our veterans who can’t be helped through other avenues. Because of you, more veterans who were living on the streets are now in their own little homes, safe from harm and out of the weather. Some are parked in mobile home or RV parks; some are at private clubs (Elks, American Legion, Moose); some choose to be mobile and stay in private, county, state, or national campgrounds. Some have left the state for greener pastures.

After three years, Hope’s Village is turning this successful program over to Paso Cares. Vice President Cherie Michaelson has mechanics on board who volunteer their time to work on RV’s needing repair.

It’s a simple program—no money exchanges hands, no liability incurred, no lengthy paperwork or process. We hook the donor up with the veteran in need. They go to the DMV, change title, and get the vehicle registered. Insurance is purchased, and off the veteran goes with his or her home on wheels.

We get calls from all over the country about this program. We advise others how to start it up—with a desire to help, a telephone and a computer. Thanks to the simplicity and success of this program, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Diego are starting their own “RV’s for Veterans” program!

Please call Cherie at 805/714-7067 with any information or questions.

And thank you all for caring ... what a way to honor our veterans!

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slo county art scene Poetry, Poetry, Poetry at Arts Obispo

I

t is all about the literary arts at ARTS Obispo with three different programs focusing on poetry: the Ingrid Reti Literary Awards, Poetry Out Loud and the new San Luis Obispo County Poet Laureate.

Each year the Ingrid Reti Literary Awards targets a specific literary genre, rotating between poetry, playwriting, short stories, novels and screenwriting. For 2014, the focus is on poetry and nineteen San Luis Obispo County poets submitted up to ten pages of poems each. The five judges were impressed with the high quality of entries this year, making their decision very difficult. Each year there is $1,000 available for the Awards, and for 2014, the judges awarded a first and second place, plus three honorable mentions.

Joe Amaral of Arroyo Grande took first place for his poem, “The Farm I’m From.” Second place was captured by Beverly Boyd of Los Osos for her poem, “Rocks Again.” For their body of work, honorable mentions were given to Patti Sullivan, Marguerite Costigan and Bonnie Young. A celebration of the winners and a reading took place recently at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation program, is in full swing at high schools throughout San Luis Obispo County. Students are selecting and memorizing poems to compete in their classrooms, with winners continuing on to school level competitions in December and January. Each school will send their champions to the SLO County Poetry Out Loud Competition on February 12, 2015, 7-9pm at The Monday Club in San Luis Obispo. Our county winner will then go on to compete in Sacramento against thirty other California County Champions. The program is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

On October 7, 2014 the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors proclaimed San Luis Obispo poet Marguerite Costigan Poet Laureate for 2015/2016. The Poet Laureate program is new to ARTS Obispo and Executive Director Jenna Hartzell

stated, “We are thrilled to be working with Marguerite over the next two years as she promotes poetry and the literary arts in our county.”

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ARTS Obispo is the local partner of the California Arts Council. This non-profit arts agency advances the arts in San Luis Obispo County through programs that promote public access to the arts, arts in educational settings, local arts planning and collaboration, and opportunities for artists and arts organizations.

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COMMUNITY

Our Schools the december dilemma: Religion in public schools

By Dr. Julian Crocker, County Superintendent of Schools

E

ach year at this time, schools often find themselves between the proverbial “rock and a hard place.”

This happens because it is during the December holidays when the issue of religious expression in public schools sometimes becomes visible. Questions about the use of sacred music, religious symbols, and decorations in the classroom put the matter of “separation of church and state” before us again.

The definition of a dilemma is a choice between two equally unsatisfactory alternatives or between two equally compelling arguments.

The dilemma for public schools is trying to balance the appropriate recognition of religion in American life and society with the clear obligation not to encourage or sponsor a particular religious belief. My experience is that the public can be confused about how to deal with religion in public schools. There are usually very strong opinions on both sides of this issue. Fortunately, there has been much written and decided on this issue by constitutional scholars and the courts, so we are not completely in the dark about how to deal with this matter.

The basis of the dilemma is the interpretation of that portion of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Within these few words are contained two very powerful concepts, separated by only a comma. On the one hand is the prohibition against the state (i.e. government) establishing or supporting a religious belief or practices. This is referred to as the “establishment” clause. On the other hand is the “free exercise” clause which guarantees religious freedom of American citizens, including students in public schools.

This is not the place to review all the legal opinions on this issue, so here are some general guidelines which hopefully will allow these two equally important freedoms to live together peacefully in our schools.

1. Religion is a personal matter and individual students are free to express their religious beliefs in school as long as it does not interfere with other students, or with the instructional program. One observer noted that as long as there are Algebra tests there will be prayer in school!

2. Religion is too important in our history and heritage for us to keep it out of our schools, but it should be addressed within the context of the instructional program. This is the classic rule to study about religion, not to promote or support a particular religious viewpoint in school.

3. Students are captive audiences. They are required by law to attend school. Therefore, schools need to be very sensitive to practices that may offend students whose families may hold religious beliefs that are not shared by the majority. Just because no one complains does not give schools the right to become overly involved in religious practices. Students should not be made to feel like an outsider based on religious preferences.

4. Songs, symbols and practices, which clearly have a religious purpose, are not appropriate as stand alone activities in schools. It is possible for schools to address these, but as part of the curriculum with a specific instructional purpose. There are some accepted legal “tests” to guide us in this area. Schools should include a study of a variety of holidays and religious traditions throughout the year and not just in December.

5. Schools should remember that even though symbols such as Santa Claus and trees have become very commercialized, many non-Christian parents and students could see these as religious in nature. The best solution is for schools to remember our educational role and to provide secular instruction about religious traditions and not appear to advocate a particular religion.

6. It is very appropriate for our public schools to teach values such as respect, honesty, caring, the value of hard work and responsibility.

Just because public schools may not promote religion, we certainly should be promoting the core values of our American society.

7. Finally, when questions about religion in schools do surface, it is often an ideal “teaching opportunity” to have students explore the meaning of the First Amendment to our Constitution. Nothing like a controversial issue at school to motivate students.

In actual practice, this December dilemma is usually handled in our schools without problems. But we need to remember when government and religion occupy the same room, the space between the rock and the hard place can become very narrow.

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History

john harford’s horse railway: Railroad’s beginnings on the central coast

By Jeff Parsons

R

ailroading on the Central Coast began at San Luis Bay. It started with the “Tramline,” John Harford’s horse railway connecting Harford’s new deepwater wharf with the road to San Luis Obispo. Because the Tramline eventually extended into the narrow gauge (3 feet between the rails) Pacific Coast Railroad, that railroad is acclaimed as the first common carrier narrow gauge railroad in California.

Harford (pictured left as a young man and one older) was a businessman. Born in 1828 in New York, he lived for a time in Illinois before he crossed the Plains in 1850 for California. He ranched and worked as a butcher in Sacramento Valley, and married Miss Maggie Harris.

They moved to San Luis Obispo in 1862.

Starting with $500 each, Schwartz, Harford & Co. became lumber dealers and started the lumberyard. Harford also helped start the Bank of San Luis Obispo, and was a County Commissioner. Folks described him as “honest to a penny, generous to a fault.”

Ships originally unloaded cargo on the beach at the mouth of San Luis Obispo Creek whence goods were taken in wagons to San Luis Obispo 10 miles away. Cave Landing was improved by Captain Mallagh in 1864 with a derrick “elevator” for loading goods and passengers, and an improved stage road, today’s Cave Landing Road. But this landing was close to cliffs and rocks. In 1869, Harford joined with others to construct the People’s Wharf out from the beach where the town of Avila had been laid out.

Harford had hoped to build a wharf in the protected deepwater area near Point San Luis, but the costs to construct a wagon road along the cliffs was prohibitive, and the group settled on a wharf off the beach at Avila Beach.

river cliffs, building a large trestle to cross Wild Cherry Canyon, laying ties and 15 pound rails to a 30 inch gauge. A team of six horses walking inline pulled three car trains of flat cars, one of which was equipped with benches for passengers. The line was opened in September 1873.

From the wharf the Tramline climbed the cliffs to a summit of 80 feet elevation near where today’s San Luis Bay Inn stands above the creek mouth. This section could be operated as a gravity railway. Horses would pull trains up to the summit, and then unhitched. Upon release of the brakes, the train glided downhill for two thousand feet along the cliffs and through a small tunnel, then rolled to a stop on the wharf, a notable engineering feat. Eastern portions of the Tramline, however, were a blend of hills, two summits and runs, and had a horseshoe curve across Harford Canyon. Only a portion of this route, followed today by Blue Heron Drive along the golf course, allowed for gravity operation, so trains were horse drawn all the way, with braking on downhills to prevent overrunning the horses. A short portion of the Bob Jones Trail follows the horse railway. It is marked by small hills with 2-5% grades, while the rest of the trail, following the later narrow gauge steam railroad, is nearly level.

Tramline operations were a success, and the deepwater wharf, now Port San Luis Pier, eclipsed the other landings. Railroaders purchased the wharf and Tramline for $30,000 in late 1875 to extend it inland as a steam railroad, but for nine years Harford ran the wharf as Captain of the Port.

Two sons were born. Then, in 1882, he sold everything and moved to Pataha City, Washington where he engaged in landowning, banking and milling. Two daughters were born. Captain Harford retired after 1889.

Attempting to convert the horse railway for steam railroading, the railroaders found the curves and grades inhibiting. So the eastern portion of the horse railway was abandoned in 1876 when the “Great Trestle” was built across the mouth of San Luis Obispo Creek and trains first ran through Avila. Western portions of the horse railway were bypassed in 1883 when the “Surf Line,” new bridge and embankment at Avila opened. Until the sixties remains could still be seen in the cliffs, then it was graded away for the new Avila

Still, Harford persisted on his own. He had purchased a strip of land encompassing the cliffs fronting the bay. Raging narrow gauge fever for smaller, cheaper railroads in places where standard gauge trains built to haul and transport a gallon … did not have more than a quart to carry likely influenced him. There were horse railways already in the lumber regions of northern California, and a system used for grading in San Francisco. Learning what he could, Harford designed and laid out his deepwater wharf with a 2 mile long horse railway along the bay cliffs to San Luis Obispo Creek, and then along the creek to a flat on the road to San Luis Obispo across from Cave Landing Road.

With a crew of Chinese workmen, Harford constructed the wharf and railway starting in 1872, grading a narrow shelf in the bay cliffs and D E C E M B E R

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The tunnel near Harford Pier as it existed about 1960 before construction of Avila Beach Drive destroyed them.

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A view from the eastern summit of the horse railway today

Beach Drive. The eastern portion became a private ranch road. It was widened and paved in the sixties and is now Blue Heron Drive.

It follows the horse railway grade, but the modern road has replaced the original grade. One can feel the horses pulling to get the train up the hills while hiking it today.

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history

San Francisco’s fort point Who discovered the golden gate?

By Joe Carotenuti

W

ho is not awed by the majesty of the magnificent San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge? One of the modern wonders of America, it also overshadows and seemingly embraces another national gem. Standing silently as she always has done, Fort Point is the oldest structure in San Francisco (next to Mission San Francisco) and has no peer in the Golden State.

Yet, few of the millions of yearly visitors by land and sea (and many residents) have enjoyed a visit to this engineering marvel.

Planned and built for war, it never has served in combat but has struggled to survive in peacetime. In defiance of the opportunities for “Progress” to declare its demise, this historical masterpiece waits to impress guests. In its obstinacy to avoid becoming rubble, it shares its legacy with local structures (Sunny Acres Children’s Home and La Loma Adobe for example) of benign neglect.

Here’s the story.

While formally named in 1882 after Civil War General Winfield Scott, the 29 acre National Historic Site has never had an identity crisis. Built over the Punta del Cantil Blanco (White Cliff Point)—a Spanish adobe gun battery—it guards the magnificent bay that eluded discovery by the seafaring Spaniards for centuries.

The innumerable galleons sailing past the California coast by the Spaniards in past centuries missed one of the great harbors of the world. Shrouded in fog or simply too far to see, the mile wide opening to this natural treasure was first noted in 1769 … and then was misidentified as simply a river. History buffs will enjoy Who Discovered The masonry has withstood the test of time.

the Golden Gate?, a thoroughly researched and well-written account

by Frank Stranger and Alan K. Brown.

Once discovered, the bay became the goal of the Anza Expedition (1776) and the earliest non-native settlers in the area. Still a somnolent seaside village, the quest for el dorado opened the bay and the land of California to the world. Amid the frenzy of the Gold Rush, tens of thousands of adventurers found a chaotic home including Charles H. Johnson and other locals who would pioneer life in San Luis Obispo.

An 1850 report to Washington recommended placing batteries on Fort Point and the opposite Lime Point as well as the inner islands of Alcatraz, Angel, Yerba Buena, and Point San Jose as part of a formidable defense system. Fort Point became the most heavily fortified with over 100 artillery pieces, walls measuring five to seven feet, and sufficient munition and supplies to withstand a six month siege including five cisterns capable of holding 200,000 gallons of water.

It took a year to level the site and then create a 15,000 foot platform near water level including plans for a never completed moat. The first of three lighthouses was built at the time. The last was constructed in 1864 and the last keeper or “wickie” left in 1934.

Materials for construction proved problematic until permission was granted to import less expensive granite from China for the first level.

By 1857, millions of bricks formed on site—and master masons—completed the structure with stunning architectural merit. Designed for 141 cannon positions, the Fort was a wise defense position, but the outbreak of the Civil War made it a vital guard for the Bay. By 1861, troops occupied the unfinished Fort for fear of a land attack but had no cannons. San Francisco was a tempting target as the Mint was sending

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Even though thewasprospect moving m personnel, the Fort designated aof National Historic Site in 1970.

Continued dedication future, you owe it to yourself to learn h today by many as well as on-going projects carefree living your ownashome have returned thein Fort to visitors a spec- for man tacular structure and legacy from the past to future generations.

You Don’t Have toA rare Move and opportunity to walk in Feel the past,Safe the

tens of millions of dollars in gold bullion to the east coast yearly. The Union paid much of its bills from the mines of the Golden State.

Fortunately, no Confederate ship ever tried running the bay’s gauntlet of artillery.

To protect it from the sea, a 1500 foot granite seawall was added but with the end of the Civil War, the cannons’ usefulness diminished with the advent of long range artillery.

The Fort began a long decline in use and physical integrity although still attracting visitors. The destruction of the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 spared the outpost but by then the disrepair and the everpresent vandals cast an ominous shadow over the structure. Fortunately in 1914, some remodeling was started to prepare the Fort as a detention center to complement the then military prison on Alcatraz Island. The plan was never implemented but the refurbished space allowed use instead as a barracks for unmarried men stationed at the Presidio and a trade school for a short while. By the mid1920s, the Fort was once again abandoned to the returning vandals. Only the integrity of its construction kept the building upright. As with some local historical gems, time wasn’t as deadly as humans to preservation.

When Joseph Strauss began construction of the bridge above, the Fort was kept as a museum and was used by workers. Again, the dedication of the bridge in 1937 cast a pall over the structure below now sheltered under its own arch.

World War II presented a potential new invasion and the Fort was again prepared for battle. As a further deterrent, a submarine net was stretched across the bay’s mouth between Fort and Lime Points for a few years. Again, no enemy entered the bay. To accommodate its new use, some remodeling was done on the interior. While there were continued calls and interest in restoration and preservation of the bastille, a major effort began in 1959 with the formation of the Fort Point Museum Association. Funds were solicited and (heroic) efforts made to insure the Fort’s future. Culminating the members’ efforts, many retired military

“that fired a shot in Pristine anger” is wellIt’s a fact of life that asfortwe getnever older, is fully worth a visit when in The City. some day-to-day tasks become too licensed and insu Visit the website at www.fortpoint.org. much to handle on our own. That All of our worke The cannons ondoesn’t the Fort’s roof guarding the entrance.

Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com mean you have to move away are carefully scre from the comfort of your home. and pass a crimi • Personal Pristine Home Services is• aHousekeeping local background che Care that helps San Luis Obispo and drug test, gi • Yard company • Handyman Maintenance County residents avoid the high cost when someone f Servingof moving All oftoSan Luis Obispo County a retirement facility. in your home.

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Enjoy Affordable Living personal care. S Home Services Specialist All of our services can be provided

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When Mary was diagnosed Our personal care services include a friend. with cancer, is no longer ato threat, the ” C. shopping, daily errands, mealwhich preparapeople at Pristine became a very important tion, transportation part andofnon-medical Before you ma our team. They were trustworthy, care. Our housekeeping services keep reliable and always stood by ourcould side. Weaffect yo our relationship their staff.

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Our yard maintenance crews Before you make any decisions that could affect your future happiness and standard of living, take every s “What know how to take care of your favorite the time to read these two FREE reports: about living i rose bushes and keep the grass neatly “What every senior needs to know about living in a retirement facility.” mowed. Our handyman services are “Four critical “Four critical questions to ask a service provider...before you let anyone work in or near your home.” provided by specialists in plumbing, service provid We invite you to call Pristine rightwork, now so that we can sendrepairs you these two FREE reports by mail. electrical painting, and anyone work safety rail installation.

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Jt Haas wins $5000 and donates it

By Blair Jones

A

San Luis Obispo man has been recognized by his employer, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), for his 30 years of volunteer work at a local mental health nonprofit and he’s giving the organization his $5,000 prize money.

James “JT” Haas (pictured below), an industrial power engineer for PG&E, began volunteering with Transitions-Mental Health Association as a carpenter in 1984. After spending time with the organization’s staff and clients, he became more involved, and his commitment deepened. Today, he is the organization’s board president.

In recognition of his service, Haas recently received PG&E’s Frederick W. Mielke Jr. Award for Outstanding Community Service. It’s his third time winning the annual award, which is named after a past PG&E chairman and CEO and honors employees whose volunteerism has made a significant impact in their communities.

Transitions-Mental Health works to eliminate the stigma often associated with mental illness. Their goal is “to inspire hope, growth and recovery” through a multitude of programs in San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties. The nonprofit provides work, housing and life skills to teens and adults struggling with mental illness.

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“These are wonderful, caring people,” said Haas, referring to his clients at TransitionsMental Health. “When you see how you’ve positively affected someone’s life, to the point it can make you cry, then you know why you do it.”

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16. *Sinatra was Danny ____ in 1960’s “Ocean’s 11” 17. Also 18. Musical show 19. *Home to 32 newly-independent countries in Sixties 21. *Where the music invasion came from 23. Sense of humor, in text 24. Look for 25. Cartographer’s creation 28. Royal Indian 30. Like Black Mamba’s bite 35. Deserter 37. Cry weakly

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39. *Twiggy didn’t tip it 40. Gardening tool 41. Like a snicker 43. Prayer leader in a mosque 44. Groups of workers 46. At any time 47. Capitol feature 48. *Like the 1960s to “The Four Seasons” 50. Black tropical American cuckoo 52. Grandmother in Britain 53. Not as much 55. Pigeon sound 57. *Woodstock to NYC 61. *It intersects Ashbury 64. *Flower _____ 65. Exist 67. *Steve McQueen in “The _____ Escape” 69. A bootlicker 70. Summer chore 71. Approaches 72. Crumbs or scraps 73. Hankering 74. To impede or bar

DOWN 1. Indochinese language 2. Ancient Peruvian 3. Medieval domain 4. Ivan and Nicholas, e.g.

5. Junior’s predecessor 6. I, to a Greek 7. *First name of mastermind behind the Great Leap Forward 8. Exploratory spacecraft 9. *Many ran bare in the mud at Woodstock 10. Bulgarian money 11. Small ornamental case 12. At what time?

15. Kids ride, pl.

20. Leg protectors 22. *1966 hit, “___ Rubber Ball” 24. Drool, pl.

25. *King’s _____ on Washington 26. Cognizant 27. Hokey-_____ 29. *Johnny’s “Jackson” partner 31. *Like some rock by Grateful Dead or Jimi Hendrix

32. Bourne’s portrayer 33. Andean animal 34. Arab country 36. Obscene 38. Genesis garden 42. “Fear of Flying” author _____ Jong 45. Wages that aren’t hourly 49. Up to the present time 51. Well-groomed 54. Morally degraded 56. Shrek and Fiona, e.g.

57. As far as 58. Standard’s partner 59. Special law enforcement unit 60. Koppel and Turner, e.g.

61. Shaped with an ax 62. Furnace output 63. Hawaiian tuber 66. Wade’s opponent 68. Recipe amount

D E C E M B E R

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COMMUNITY

palm street perspective Thank you once again

By SLO City Mayor, Jan Marx

T

hank you San Luis Obispo for re-electing me Mayor! I am honored to have been re-elected Mayor by 75% and excited to be the first woman to serve a third term as Mayor in our city’s history. I am grateful to each of the 8150 city residents who voted for me. I also want to thank my family, especially my husband Steven, my children and grandchildren, and all the friends and campaign supporters who kept me grounded throughout the campaign.

I am privileged to have the opportunity to work with this newly elected council. Congratulations to Carlyn Christianson on her re-election and to newcomer Dan Rivoire. I predict this council will have the energy, civility, and vision to work well together to meet the challenges ahead. I am excited that Measure G won decisively, which demonstrates the vote of confidence in Council, City management and the upward trajectory of San Luis Obispo’s future.

When people ask me why I won by such a wide margin, my response is that I was the only candidate for Mayor with the necessary experience as well as a positive and a practical plan to implement it. My stand has been for hope, good government and responsible stewardship of our human, fiscal and natural resources. Together, the people of San Luis Obispo have created a unique formula for a sustainable community that actually works. It is not just a theory.

Because of our quality of life, our natural resources, our fiscal stability and our excellent planning, San Luis Obispo has made numerous “Best of ” lists, including, National Geographic’s “Happiest City in North America, Movoto.com’s “Friendliest small town in the nation,” and Livability.com’s best places to live in the country. We are number three on the list of America’s Best College Towns, number five on Gallup-Heathway’s list of America’s Healthiest Towns, and number one on Gallup Poll’s list of favorable work environments.

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These ratings are no accident. We have carefully planned for sustainability for decades and faithfully implemented those plans. In 1994, we articulated San Luis Obispo’s Vision in our Land Use Element, and reaffirmed this inspiring vision in the new Land Use and Circulation Element Update.

Here is an excerpt: “Our vision is of a sustainable community, within a diverse natural and agrarian setting, which is part of a larger ecosystem upon which its existence depends. San Luis Obispo will maintain its healthy and attractive natural environment valued by residents, its prosperity, and its sense of safety and community, within a compact urban form. Our community will have a comprehensible scale, where people know each other and where their participation in government is welcome and effective…”

I will continue to be guided by our unique vision during my third term.

Of course, our city will always face challenges. But challenges can also offer opportunities. The first challenge will be the update our Land Use and Circulation Element, which was tabled by the old Council for the newly elected Council to decide. We will set City goals during the budget process in January and hear residents tell us their priorities. Then, the budget process will begin, including the budgeting of Measure G revenue.

I will do my best to live up to the high calling of serving the City of San Luis Obispo. Thank you, again, for re-electing me as Mayor!

Downtown

Around

The Magazine of Downtown San Luis Obispo

Inside:

December 2014

W hat ’s U p Mee t our Ne west S ta f fer Mee t the Downtown Ambassadors

W h a t ’ s

U p

A r o u n d

E

D o w n t o w n

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will help you recall a great experience. ach year when December rolls around I begin a process in which I simply ur staff at the Downtown Association reflect on the last 12 months and review works hard all year long to keep our our different events during the past year. neighborhood vibrant and safe for people Essentially I watch the highlight reel of to visit each day but we also work hard life and all of the happenings that make to produce top quality events for locals it great. This year I got a bit of an early that will evoke smiles and long lasting Dominic Tartaglia, start and put that in motion for the last memories. The Downtown experience Executive Director twelve months which has inspired this is all about being engaged in a beautiful month’s article for Around Downtown. Our environment and having a good time. Whether amazing Digital Marketing Coordinator and staff you are at one of our Concerts in the Plaza or just photographer, Mukta Naran, has been busy this window-shopping Downtown I hope that when year snapping shots of each of our events and you get home you will have enjoyed your visit to hand picked some of the best photos from the Downtown and that you can recall that trip for year to help tell the story of what happened years to come. This holiday season I feel blessed Downtown this year. The following images tell not to be part of a team that continues to bring an only the story about our organization but I know entire host of events to help you make memories that each one of these shots tells a story for many with your family, friends and neighbors. people who were there in that moment. It is my Happy Holidays! hope that you will look at one of these pictures and see yourself or somebody you know and it

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On the Cover: Holiday Happenings at Mission Plaza attract people from all around the county each year with events ranging from musical acts to arts and crafts. Visit DowntownSLO.com for a schedule of events. Photo by Mukta Naran.

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n 2009 she graduated from Cal Poly SLO with a degree in Graphic Communications and more recently she worked as the Outreach Director for the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. If you see her around town be sure to flag her over and say hello. Aileen is excited to be back in SLO helping keep our Downtown vibrant!

D o w n t o w n

owntown Ambassadors began patrolling the streets of our district in October.

The Downtown Ambassadors work together with SLO Police Department in making sure the Downtown area is safe. The team also welcomes tourists to the area, communicates with business owners and staff and keeps our streets clean. Downtown Ambassadors are dressed in brightly colored red shirts with the “Downtown Ambassador� logo on it.

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A m b a s s a d o r s

ext, we would like to introduce you to Rick Grosvenor.

He moved to SLO a little over a year ago and is thrilled to be a Downtown Ambassador. He says, "I think it's great and I want to help others enjoy irst, meet Mikhael Downtown. I've also Rick Grosvenor "Khael" Cometa. He been helped by many people in my life and is originally from the if, in my new position, I can give a hand to Philippines, but grew someone down on their luck, I'd feel like I up in the Los Angeles was 'paying back' my good fortune in life." area. He moved to rosvenor is a Vietnam era veteran who the Central Coast just served on the Korean DMZ as well as three months ago to a retired Orange County deputy sheriff. He escape the big city also belongs to both the American Legion lifestyle and live in and the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). In the "Happiest City Mikhael "Khael" Cometa addition, he is a volunteer mentor with C.A.S.A. in America!" When (Court Appointed Special Advocates). In his asked about being a Downtown Ambassador, spare time, Rick enjoys going to the movies, Cometa says, "I'm excited to help promote watching baseball and live entertainment, safety in the area, maintain the neighborhood especially at the Performing Arts Center. feel of the district and meet new people."

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G

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utside of being a Downtown Ambassador, Cometa serves as a mentor to young boys at a local group home. He also enjoys surfing, reading and hanging out with friends.

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f you see our new Downtown Ambassadors, be sure to stop and say "hello" and help us welcome them into our neighborhood.

For more information on Downtown Association events, programs and activities, or to sign up for our weekly Deliver-E newsletter, visit www.DowntownSLO.com

THE BULLETIN BOARD

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SLO Grange hall upgrades

The SLO Grange recently held an open house to unveil a 150-foot long Frieze depicting the natural and cultural history of SLO County.

The Frieze is a series of paintings or murals on the walls that encircle the main meeting room of the Grange Hall. The idea was born in the mind of Ken Haggard, noted local Architect and painted by Ken, Carol Paulsen and other local artists. Utilizing 28 panels, the Frieze realistically depicts our local history from the indigenous peoples, the Spanish Missions, the building of the railroads, early to current agriculture and much more. A must see work of art. The SLO Grange is located at 2880 Broad Street. For more information call Shirley at 543-0639 or visit the website at www.slogrange.com.

united way honors businesses and volunteers

United Way of SLO County held its Annual Recognition Event recently at Madonna Inn and honored several local businesses and individuals for their contributions to the community and to United Way. United Way is very thankful for the sponsors for this event that allowed us to thank and recognize our supporters and volunteers. The event was sponsored by Joan G. Sargen, the venue by Madonna Inn and reception donors included Opolo Vineyards and Standing Sun Winery. Pictured above is Marian Anderson (center) accepting the 2014 Excellence Award on behalf of Bank of America. Presented by Rick London, United Way of SLO County CEO, and Alexis Okumura, President.

League of women voters elect officers

arts obispo honors five

ARTS Obispo is honoring outstanding achievement in the performing arts in SLO County with an exciting event on January 31, 2015 called ARTS Obispo Honors. This will be an annual awards presentation that will honor five individuals in five categories for its inaugural year: Dance (honoring Leslie Baumberger, nominated by CORE Dance Company), Director (honoring Gary Lamprecht, nominated by Vocal Arts Ensemble), Drama (honoring Anet Carlin, nominated by San Luis Obispo Little Theatre), Instrumental (honoring Clifton Swanson, nominated by Symphony of the Vines), and Vocal (honoring Jacalyn Kreitzer, nominated by OperaSLO). TICKETS: $75 per person, or $100 if you include your 2015 ARTS Obispo membership (50% off membership when buying a ticket!). This event is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket through ARTS Obispo online. Limited seating available. To learn more about ARTS Obispo visit www.artsobispo.org.

The League of Women Voters of SLO County recently announced Officers and Board of Directors for the 2014 – 2015 program year. Officers are: Marilee Hyman, President, Sharon Kimball, 1st Vice President, Vera Wallen, 2nd Vice President, Mary Beth Armstrong, Treasurer, and Vallerie Steenson, Secretary. Members of the Board of Directors are: Alice Bunker, Jean Chinnici, Patti Dale, and Carrie Pardo. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government. If you would

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like to support the League of Women Voters or join in any of these activities contact the League of Women Voters at 782-4040 or go to the website www.lwvslo.org. Pictured, left to right: Carrie Pardo, Jean Chinnici, Marilee Hyman, Patti Dale, Vera Wallen, Sharon Kimball, Mary Beth Armstrong, and Vallerie Steenson. Not pictured Alice Bunker.

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donate new coats for christmas

For the past 17 years, the San Luis community has generously provided our County’s homeless with a wonderful home-cooked Christmas Day dinner, live entertainment and much needed care packages containing brand new sleeping bags, hooded sweatshirts, winter jackets, socks, underwear and toiletries. The event is spearheaded by the Jewish Community, but is not limited to any one religious persuasion. For as little as $20 you can provide a warm, winter jacket that will help make a tremendous difference in helping someone through our cold, wet winters. Donations to the Coats for Christmas Day program can be made by going to the United Way of SLO County website at www.unitedwayslo.org. Checks can be mailed to PO Box 14309, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406. Please write “coats” on the memo line. For more information on Coats for Christmas Day, please contact Sheri Eibschutz at 594-1999.

christopher meadows memorial scholarships

cuesta college men’s & women’s welding teams

Eight Cuesta College welding students took home first place recently at the 2014 Welders Without Borders: Welding Thunder, a portable welding competition designed to allow instructors and students to work together and showcase their skills in a fun and competitive manner. Six teams from various California high schools and colleges competed; Cuesta College was represented by one team consisting of four men and another of four women.

The men’s team placed first overall, while the women received first in Women’s Team and first place in Technical Design. Both teams tied for first place for best individual theme: “Beer, Wine, & BBQ Time.” Over the course of two days, the teams built hot dog-themed BBQ carts. “Once again, Cuesta’s welding students prove to be the best of the best,” said Mike Fontes, Cuesta College welding instructor. “Working side-by-side with my students was a great way for us to collaborate, learn from each other and help one another become even better welders.”

C rossword S O L U T I O N S

Five Central California paramedic students from a fivecounty region have been selected as the 2014-2015 Christopher Meadows Memorial Paramedic Scholarship recipients following interviews held recently at Cuesta College. The awardees are Dustin Bury and Jonathan Nugent from NCTI in Santa Barbara, Taylor Alaimo from Foothill College in Los Altos, Danielle Vidal from WestMed College in San Jose, and Natacia Garcia (pictured) from Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. A record number of paramedic students from a five-county region applied for the $3,000 memorial scholarships, which are given out annually to Central California EMS workers pursuing paramedic education. More information can be found, and donations are also gladly accepted, at www.meadowsscholarship.org.

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THE BULLETIN BOARD

slo transit marketing video going viral

In honor of Rideshare Month, SLO Transit provided FREE rides from October 20th to the 24th. All indications point to a success with 27,117 riders taking advantage of the promotion this year. The Ride Free week was made extra special with the debut of the Luchador SLO Transit hero known as El Transporté. The masked SLO Transit insignia colored (blue and yellow) hero went around town distributing little golden “transit goodie bags” filled with transit related perks during this special week.

john villa becomes California small business board member

John Villa recently announced that he will be joining the Board of Directors of the California Small Business Association (CSBA). As a new board member, Villa will play a vital role in representing the needs of CSBA members and the millions of small businesses throughout California. John Villa is the proud owner of Villa Automotive in San Luis Obispo, which opened in 1912 and has a long legacy as a family owned and operated business. Through several generations, the Villa family has been a cornerstone of the local business community. Outside of business, John Villa has been deeply involved in the community, with coaching of youth sports being his passion.

new casa volunteers and staff members

AG Rotary club 7th annual holiday concert

The Arroyo Grande Rotary Club is proud to announce its 7th Annual Christmas and Holiday Concert and Sing-Along on Sunday, December 21st. This special 4pm matinee will be presented at Arroyo Grande’s intimate Clark Center. Attendees will be able to enjoy great regional music and dance groups while also joining their family and friends in singing all their favorite holiday songs including the crowd captivating “Twelve Days of Christmas!” Net proceeds from this event are donated annually to the music and arts programs of various South County schools. Tickets for the Christmas and Holiday Sing-Along are only $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for children & students and are now available from the Clark Center Box Office at 489-9444 or www. clarkcenter.org. Special family discount pricing (in advance only) allows up to six family members to attend for only $30!

Unitarian fellowship of slo donate to womenade The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Luis Obispo County donated $1,124 from their Community Outreach Offering to Womenade. We are grateful to partner with Reverend Rod Richards and the congregation. 100% of this donation will go directly to community members in need.

foundation donation to big Brothers/sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters has received a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation SLO County (CFSLOCO). The grant will be used to support the enrollment and matching of potential volunteers with vulnerable, local children, ultimately helping youth achieve higher aspirations, greater confidence, better relationships, avoidance of risky behaviors, and educational success.

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Juvenile Court Judge Linda Hurst recently swore in three new CASA volunteers and three new CASA staff members. The advocates will be assigned to an abused, neglected or abandoned child or sibling group or a young adult who has recently left foster care and has requested a mentor. All of the children and young adults live in SLO County. CASA provided the new volunteers with 30 hours of initial training; each volunteer completed a thorough screening and background check. Volunteers are recruited from all areas of San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit www.slocasa.org.

Photo left to right, front row: Angelica Gomez, Yuliya Moiseyeva, Diane Cassidy. Back row: Cindy Porterfield, Judge Linda Hurst, Jamie Rizzo, Sarah Donahue

free senior health care screening

Screening for adults and seniors 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 blood sugar. Counseling and referrals as needed. Please call 544-2484 ext. 1 for dates, times and locations.

THE BULLETIN BOARD help our local veterans

VA clinic in San Luis is asking for volunteers to serve our Veterans as shuttle drivers. To help pay tribute and express your appreciation for their service, learn about volunteering at your local VA clinic. For more information contact your local VA volunteer representative Mr. Larry Foster at 805-354-6004 or send an email to Lawrence.Foster@va.gov

Botanical Gardens December events

Celebrate the season with family bonding and gingerbread fun constructing and decorating confectionery homes on December 6th. All materials are provided, and proceeds benefit the Garden. 2-4 people can work on a house! Workshop is $40 for Garden members/per house and $50 non-members/per house. Class is limited, pre-registry required. Details at slobg.org/gingerbread Create your own beautiful, living wreath just in time for the holidays on December 10th! All materials are provided for this hands-on class, and proceeds benefit the Garden. The workshop is $45 for Garden members/$55 non-members. Details at slobg.org/wreath We will find out where Bristlecone Pines can be found, how to get there, and where to stay on December 13th. Discover how these remote and hostile environments contribute to their longevity. $5 for Garden members, $10 for non-members. Followed at 2PM by a free docent-led tour of the Garden. Details at slobg.org/tree.

jewish community annual hannukah downtown

The JCC Federation of SLO is pleased to host the annual Hannukah Downtown starting on Tuesday, December 17 at 5pm. The celebration includes a candlelighting ceremony above the steps at the Old Mission, with songs and storytelling. Immediately following the first night’s candlelighting will be our Hannukah party at the end of

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Mission Plaza with a Kids’ Zone and Schmooze Zone. Candlelighting continues through the eight nights of Hannukah until December 23. All nights begin at 5pm, except Saturday night at 6pm. Each night is sponsored by different area Jewish organizations. For more information log onto www.jccslo.com

united way youth board

The United Way of SLO County Youth Board is proud to announce its members for the 2014-2015 year. This group of 37 high school students hail from 7 cities across SLO County and seek to increase philanthropy and leadership, improve programs to better serve our community, and promote positive relationships between youth and adults. This year’s officers are Leila Assal (President), AnnaSara Bridgeford (Vice President), Tessa Oates (Secretary), Malea Martin (Treasurer), and Evan New-Schmidt (Director at Large). Members of the Youth Board are: Amina Assal, Nick Attala, Sarah Attala, Griffin Berlin, Callum Bolger, Becca Canfield, Kalena Cirone, Nick D’Acri, Abigail Dorman, Karissa, Fluit, Sophia Gardner, Samantha Good, Jenny Grady, Blake Griffith, Avalon Hatcher, Amber Iofis, Cecily Jacinth, Hillal Jarrar, Celeste Koch, Trey Lowerison, Thomas Phelan, Guadalupe Ramirez, Kieren Reynolds, Alexander Saad, Page Smith, Tori Smith, Bella Stenvall, Andrew Toh, Callan Treur, Connor Troy, Mollie Walker, Keenan Wells and Matt White. As part of their philanthropic work, the Youth Board will award three $1,000 grants to local youth-driven programs. For more information email rcementina@unitedwayslo.org, visit www.unitedwayslo.org,

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D E C E M B E R

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COMMUNITY

eye on business

year end musings on forks in the road

By Maggie Cox, Barnett Cox & Associates

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wrote last month about my anticipation of author Megan McArdle’s presentation at the Central Coast Economic Forecast. Megan, author of “The Upside of Down” was heading to SLO to talk about how abject failure can drive future success, and she didn’t disappoint. The Washington DC based author and business blogger offered uplifting examples and a great perspective.

The combination of Megan’s presentation, numerous year end business planning sessions and holiday spirit have me thinking about how an awful lot of what we do in business is simply hang on and ride the waves. I think about those old five year plans (or one year plans, for that matter) and see that success is shaped more by economic ups and downs, personal challenges and endlessly unexpected curves than by all the great strategic thinking in the world. The real challenge is managing the wild ride. How do we handle the hard times, stay focused and keep forging ahead?

My husband, Dave, and I owe much to our parents for their living example of how busi-

ness is conducted. We grew up hundreds of miles apart but with the same immovable values. Dale and Agnes Cox, and Marge and Jim Henderson were unyielding in their commitment to hard work, integrity and self-sufficiency. All were children of the Great Depression who lived through World War II, yet who had unflagging optimism. These four simply did not tolerate excuses, or wimpy, self-absorbed behavior. They believed our futures were in our own hands. And they believed in us.

I am reminded of Halloween 1989. Our daughters were two and four years old and Dave and I were at a career crossroads. We thought we wanted to return to the Monterey Bay Area, where we had met and where we had an opportunity to buy a marketing firm.

My parents came down from the Bay Area to enjoy Halloween with us, and they offered to spend the day with our girls while we drove up to Salinas to meet with the business seller. We had reviewed the books, done research and headed north, full of excitement and anticipation. As we drove home that afternoon, we were rethinking our plan. And by the time we

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pulled into the driveway in San Luis Obispo we had decided we would not buy a business.

We would instead stay in San Luis Obispo, take out a second on our house and start our own company. In retrospect, this was a maybe bold, maybe ill advised decision for a young family that had a lot of enthusiasm but not much else.

But here’s the best part of it all: we walked into our home and announced our decision—and my parents never batted an eye. No shrieks.

No chiding. No “what are you thinking?” They jumped on our bandwagon and offered their support. The four of us talked and planned. I have since wondered what their after hours private conversation was that night, but I’ve never asked. Why spoil the dream?

We have a great photo from Halloween 1989 that speaks volumes. One daughter is in a unicorn costume and one in Supergirl. Doting grandparents. When I look at that picture I get nostalgic remembering a fun Halloween with young children, but more than anything else, I see a moment in time where the road forked. Would we pack up and move, or stay and jump into a new venture? You know the rest. What you may not know is how grateful we are that SLO was the path we chose.

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As the year ends, I want to say thank you to all the people who make our lives—business, personal and everything in between—such wonderful experiences. Not always easy, not always successful, but always taking us places I never dreamed we’d go. Happy Holidays and the best for a wonderful 2015.

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