March 2013 Journal Plus

VERNA GLADSTONE | JOHN BULLARO | BEN CHIU | EARTH DAY | DR. MA JOR

Journal MARCH 2013

PLUS

MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

TONY CIPOLLA

805-543-2172 San Luis Obispo

www.farrellsmyth.com

www.347Branch.com

805-904-6616 Arroyo Grande

www.2047SanLuisDrive.com

Larry D. Smyth

Jennifer Hamilton

Owner/Broker

Relocation Director

Excellent income property or owner occupant. Roomy 3 BR, 1 1/2 BA Linda Aiello-Madison main house, 1450 Sq Ft with distinctive arched French Doors. Coved ceilBroker-Associate ings in LR and DR, cool retro kitchen with two built in china cabinets, and vintage Roper Range. Duplex is two 1 BD 1 BA units with a service porch and private yard for each unit. Plenty of onsite parking. Original wood floors in each unit as well. Excellent rental history. $749,500

www.1740LosBerros.com

Fabulous location! 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in a wellestablished neighborhood. Approx. 2017 sqft, two car garage. Mature tree lined street. Always a high demand area. Don’t miss this one! $749,000

Annette Mullen REALTOR®

www.9062AvonneAve.com

Ken Arritt

Deane Naylor

Twila Arritt

Mary Rosenthal

REALTOR®

Broker-Associate

Broker-Associate

Pamela Bliss Broker-Associate

Country farm life close to town. Versatile 3 acres with charming 3 bedroom home + hobby/craft room and tool shed. Greenhouse. Apple, pear, citrus, and walnut trees. Circular drive with plenty of room for RV Storage. Creek on rear of property.

Easy access to US101. $449,000 www.501VillageCourt.com

Get a way to the Coast! Ocean View, Quiet & Peaceful. San Simeon, Large 2 BR/2.5 BA Townhome Style w/ 2 Car Gar. Lots of Storage. Fireplace & Laundry. Move in Ready! $359,000

Santa Maria – 5 Bedroom!

Vicky Hall REALTOR®

REALTOR®

REALTOR®

REALTOR®

REALTOR®

Janet Shaner

Chris Stanley

Theresa Carroll

Patricia Garrison

REALTOR®

Detached PUD has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths plus a 2 car garage. Next door to property is a great common area ready for a garden. Located in desirable Nipomo Village. Move-in ready! $325,000

You will quickly appreciate the spacious rooms and functional floorplan offered at this well cared for 2 story home. Nicely situated corner lot. Sought after east Santa Maria location. $299,000

Conveniently located in the heart of SLO & the Village of Arroyo Grande 21 Santa Rosa Street, Suite 100, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 110 E. Branch Street, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420

Marion Trombetta REALTOR®

Christine Williams REALTOR®

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

20 NORTH COUNTY MUSICAL VENUES

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 Keith Malcomson

12

14

JOHN BULLARO

BEN CHIU

ADVERTISING Jan Owens CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Susan Stewart, Natasha Dalton, Joseph Carotenuti, Dr. Julian Crocker, Sarah Hedger, Maggie Cox, Deborah Cash, Dawn Starr, Will Jones, Gordon Fuglie, Ptricia Bennett, Sherry Shahan, Ruth Starr, Marilyn Darnell and Andrew Carter.

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

TONY CIPOLLA VERNA GLADSTONE JOHN BULLARO BEN CHIU DR. MAJOR–Lions Club Eye Care

HOME & OUTDOOR 18 20 22 24 26 28

EDUCATION VACATION NORTH COUNTY MUSIC VENUES EARTH DAY EVENTS

COMMUNITY 30 32 34 36 41

THE MASONS INSTALLATION HISTORY: Fire HOSPICE CORNER / CROSSWORD PUZZLE PALM STREET–SLO Councilman, Carter COMMUNITY SHORT TAKES

BUSINESS

37 DOWNTOWN SLO What’s Happening 42 THE BULLETIN BOARD 46 EYE ON BUSINESS

FOOD / AT THE MARKET SLO ART SCENE Adrienne Allebe OUR SCHOOLS–Dr. Julian Crocker

M A R C H

2013

Journal PLUS

A proud tradition of serving our community for over 26 years

ATASCADERO – Westside retreat: Imagine stargazing from your Jacuzzi on a secluded deck, surrounded by mature oaks next to a seasonal creek. Wake to deer, turkey, fox, and squirrels, frolicking amongst the wild flowers on your 4.88acre property. Stroll through the garden picking fresh vegetables, and fresh fruit from your mini orchard. Entertain on your choice of private decks accessible from glass doors. This serene setting is in the heart of Paradise Valley, with much cooler summer temperatures than downtown Atascadero, only 6 miles east. What better way to decompress than taking in the views, peace and quiet from your own Shangri-La. $459,000 #3097

Avila Valley Estates

AVILA BEACH – The most sought after

neighborhood in Avila Beach. Avila Valley Estates is just a few minutes on a bike and you are at the beach, mineral springs, golf, hiking, restaurants. A ground to ceiling remodel completed in 2007. Remodel included everything: flooring, wiring, lighting, walls, fireplaces, cabinets, doors, heating, septic, appliances, outdoor kitchen/bbq, pool & hot tub, landscape, everything. Very private living in a meticulously maintained house. $2,150,000 #3089

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Office Exclusive – Great

location with this three bedroom two full bath home, each with double sinks, close to Cal Poly and downtown. No permits required for parking so ample space available. Vaulted ceilings in spacious living room with wood burning fireplace. Great Location! $619,000 #3096

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Move-in ready! This

three-bedroom, two-bath home is located in Silver City Mobile Home Park. This is a wonderful all-age family park with a club house and pool. This 2009 mobile home is immaculate. New carpet, linoleum, drapes also included in the sale, refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher. They do allow small pets. This is affordable living at its best. $119,000 #3088

Relaxed Luxury in Edna Ranch

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Enjoy uninterrupted views of vineyards and conserved nature from this Italian-styled single-level villa on 1.3 acres. With approx 4,000 sq ft of living space, this custom home is built to the highest standards and offers 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, plus an office, all built around a beautiful courtyard. The home features premium Sahara Gold marble floors, honed to a satin finish, and five energy efficient zones of radiant floor heating. The gourmet kitchen features clerestory windows, highest quality cherry cabinets designed by Randolph Lee Morris Studios, premium Viking appliances and a large butler’s pantry. Everywhere there is abundant natural light and a beautiful view or artistic feature. The oversized 3 car garage includes loft storage. Edna Ranch is a gated neighborhood of 51 homes on 1600 acres of vineyard and planned open space. $2,395,000 #3094

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Well maintained 3 bedroom corner unit in desirable Broad Street Community. Open floor plan with kitchen, dining room, living room and guest bath on main level, all with updated laminate wood flooring. Kitchen features granite countertops and abundant cabinetry. All bedrooms and laundry room on second level.

Master suite features large master bath with soaking tub, expansive closet, and great views over neighborhood. Attached 2 car garage and quaint fenced back patio area.

Complex is centrally located and features private park and walkways. $412,000 #3099

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Fantastic opportunity to purchase 2 homes on this R 2 lot! Front home is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with hardwood floors, wood burning fireplace, dual paned windows, light and bright kitchen and nice backyard. Back home has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. $599,000 #3092

PISMO BEACH – Fantastic ocean views are appreciated from the upper level living room, kitchen and view deck of the approx. 1000 sf, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, Shell Beach condo. Outstanding location, desirable neighborhood, and just one block from the ocean and Eldwayen Ocean Park.

The nearby Shell Beach community frontage road provides convenient access to a variety of services, restaurants, cafes, and Hwy. 101. Perfect for rental income or vacation home. $499,000 #3098

For more information on these and other Real Estate Group of SLO listings call us at

805.541.2888

962 Mill Street • San Luis Obispo, California 93401 • www.RealEstateGroup.com

From the publisher Purchase Units

Total Units

Units

O

ur cover story this month is no stranger to the Central Coast. For many years Tony Cipolla came into our homes each evening giving us the local news from KSBY-TV. Although many of us still miss him on the news, Tony has taken on a new role as Public Information Officer for the Sheriff’s Department.

Susan Stewart recently sat down with Tony and gives us an update. You’ll enjoy the story inside.

NMLS #254893

We Believe in SLO. Par

Ben Lerner

805-441-9486 blerner@bocm.com

CADRE#01435168 NMLS #395723

Par

Ben Lerner

805-441-9486 blerner@bocm.com CADRE#01435168 NMLS #395723

Par

Bill Mott

Par

Ben Lerner Rick Kirk

Par

Bill Mott

805-234-5081 805-441-9486 805-459-4101 805-234-5081 blerner@bocm.com rkirk@bocm.combmo tt@bocm.com bmo tt@bocm.com

CADRE#01435168 NMLS #395723 CA DRE# 01359516 NMLS #341086 CADRE#481245 NMLS#375012 CA DRE# 01359516 NMLS #341086

Tim Robinson Bill Mott Dave Wilson Rick Kirk Tim Robinson Dave Wilson Landon Spitler

Par

Sales Coo rdinator 805-234-5081 805-550-6933 805-459-4101 805-548-8186 805-550-6933805-471-0243 805-548-8186 trobinson@bocm. com rkirk@bocm.com bmo tt@bocm.com trobinson@bocm.dwilson@bocm.com com dwilson@bocm.com lspitler@bocm.co m

CADRE#481245 NMLS#375012 CADRE#1411227 NMLS #308160 CA DRE# 01359516 NMLS #341086 CADRE #01089803 NMLS #343856 CADRE#1411227 NMLS #308160 NMLS #633244

Tim Robinson Dave Wilson Landon Spitler Ron Penir Kevin Cunningham Landon Spitler

Sales Coo rdinator Sales Coo rdinator 805-550-6933 805-471-0243 805-548-8186 805-458-5178 805-471-0243 805-709-3426 trobinson@bocm. com dwilson@bocm.com lspitler@bocm.corpenir@bo m lspitler@bocm.co m kcunningham@bocm.com cm.com

CADRE #01089803 NMLS #343856 CADRE#1411227 NMLS #308160 CA DRE #01907878 NMLS #633244 CA DRE #01913449 NMLS #633249 NMLS #633244

CA DRE# 01115178 NMLS #325495

CADRE #01089803 NMLS #343856

Kevin JimCunningham Greenway 805-458-5178 805-548-8180 kcunningham@bocm.com jgreenway@bo cm.com NMLS #633249, CA #DRE #01913449

Jim Greenway 805-548-8180 jgreenway@bo

CA DRE# 01117236 NMLS #254893

CA DRE# 01117236 NMLS 254893

San Luis Obispo County’s #1 Provider of Home Financing in 2012* Kevin Cunningham

Jim Greenway

805-458-5178 kcunningham@bocm.com

805-548-8180 jgreenway@bo cm.com

NMLS #633249, CA #DRE #01913449

This month, we also feature four people that make a difference in our community.

Verna Gladstone spent more than 15 years in the Foreign Service, John Bullaro joined the SLO All-Volunteer Search and Rescue Team, Ben Chiu has produced a feature length movie called MindScans, and Dr. Major along with the local Lions Clubs continue their major emphasis on eye care for people on the Central Coast.

As North County continues to evolve, there is more than just winetasting over the grade. Along with the fine wines are several new musical venues available for your enjoyment. Dawn Starr writes about these groups and where to see them.

Finally, SLO Councilman, Andrew Carter recently resigned from the Council to take the Guadalupe City Manager’s position. His farewell note in the Palm Street Perspective is inside.

CA DRE# 01117236 NMLS 254893

Plenty of great reading again this month.

733 Marsh Street, Suite 200, San Luis Obispo, CA Jim Greenway (805) 548-8180 www.bankofcommercemortgage.com 805-548-8180

Steve Owens

jgreenway@bo cm.com Bank of Commerce Mortgage proudly supports Homes for Our Troops, a foundation building CA DRE# 01117236 NMLS 254893 specially adapted homes for our severely injured veterans at no cost to the veteran. Visit www.bocm.com/homesforourtroops for more information.

HUD Approved FHA Full Eagle Lender. NMLS ID #1839. Lending available in California Dept. of Real Estate Broker #01218426, Colorado and Nevada Mortgage Lending Division #3580.

CoreLogic®, a worldwide provider of real estate, mortgage, consumer and specialized business data and analytics

by

COMING UP AT THE

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER A Year With Frog and Toad 3/1 • 7 p.m., 3/2 • 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

3/3 • 2 p.m., 3/8 • 7 p.m.

3/9 • 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra 3/13 • 7:30 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Cal Poly Arts

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by CP Theatre & Dance

MET Live in HD: Parsifal 3/2 • 9 a.m.

Willie K 3/15 • 8 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by Cal Poly Arts

Cal Poly Just Jazz Concert 3/2 • 8 p.m.

Symphony Classics: Blooming Talent 3/16 • 8 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center

Christopher Cohan Center

The Black Watch & Band of the Scots Guards 3/5 • 7:30 p.m.

CP Arab Music Ensemble 3/16 • 8 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre

SLO International Film Festival Opening Night 3/6 • 7 p.m.

MET Live in HD: Francesca da Rimini 3/17 • 2 p.m.

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Opera SLO & CPA

Presented by Opera SLO & CPA

Presented by CP Music Dept.

Presented by Cal Poly Arts

Presented by SLOIFF

CP Wind Bands Winter Pops Concert: Strike Up the Band!

3/8 • 8 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by CP Music Dept.

Presented by SLO Symphony

Presented by CP Music Dept.

Beauty and the Beast 3/19 & 3/20 • 7:30 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by Cal Poly Arts

CP Symphony Winter Concert Student Showcase 3/9 • 8 p.m.

Rhythms: Shine On 3/22 & 3/23 • 7 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by CP Music Dept.

Alex & Faye Spanos Theatre Presented by CORE Dance Co.

Salomé Chamber Ensemble 3/10 • 3 p.m.

Carnival of the Animals 3/24 • 3 p.m.

Christopher Cohan Center

Christopher Cohan Center Presented by SLO Symphony

Presented by Foundation for the PAC

WWW.PACSLO.ORG | 805-756-4TIX

8

PEOPLE

Tony Cipolla

from the newsroom to the situation room

By Susan Stewart

S

ince July of 2012, when Tony Cipolla assumed his new position as Public Information Officer for the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, there have been two homicides, some major drug busts, and more than one panga boat incident that resulted in 20 arrests and the seizing of more than 2.4 million dollars’ worth of marijuana—prompting Sheriff Ian Parkinson to remark, “Tony, did you bring the news with you?”

It was a good question, given that Cipolla spent the first 28 years of his working life in broadcast news. But Cipolla felt it was time for a change, so he underwent a challenging set of interviews, a 32-page questionnaire, a voice-stress analysis test, and a mock news conference, as well as an oral board exam and an extensive background check. Cipolla was selected from dozens of qualified candidates to replace his friend and mentor Rob Bryn, who passed away in March of 2012, as Public Information Officer.

For 21 years, San Luis Obispo County residents spent their evenings with Tony Cipolla. His was the familiar face and friendly voice delivering the day’s news as the main anchor for KSBY-TV. He says that nearly 30 years in broadcast news helps him in his new position because he knows what journalists are looking for in a story.

Tony Cipolla with Sheriff Ian Parkinson and Under Sheriff Tim Olivas

“I know the angles, I know the deadlines, I know the pressure they face,” he said. “And having that knowledge, I can hopefully get out the information they need in a timely manner.”

Born and raised in the small farming community of Rochelle, Illinois, Cipolla was the youngest of five children in what he describes as “… a big, boisterous, fun-loving Italian family.” Back then, Rochelle had only one stoplight and one McDonald’s, and the town hasn’t changed much since. Tony’s parents, Bill and Delores, remained in Rochelle to this day, and would have celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary last month, but for Bill’s sudden death in January at age 84. Bill was a beloved fixture in Rochelle and will be missed by all who knew him. He was a first generation Italian-American who became a successful local business owner. Bill also served as Rochelle’s popular mayor for 16 years.

Tony Cipolla moved to the “big city” of Champaign to attend the University of Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism in 1985, and landed his first job writing and producing live daily newscasts for CNN Headline News in Atlanta, Georgia.

Next, he worked for a CBS affiliate in San Diego, and was offered a job at KSBY-TV, the NBC affiliate in San Luis Obispo, in 1989.

“I had some amazing adventures as a journalist,” said Cipolla. “From reporting from China, and being one of the few reporters allowed into Cuba, to flying with the Air Force Thunderbirds.”

As PIO, Cipolla is the point of contact for all media requests dealing with the Sheriff’s Office, a job that affords him an insider’s view of law enforcement.

The Cipolla family: Tony and Karen with AJ, Chiara and Dominic M A R C H

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“When I was journalist,” he explained, “I would always be stopped at the yellow tape of a crime scene. Now I’m invited by detectives

PEOPLE

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Tony Cipolla with Sheriff Ian Parkinson

to walk under the yellow tape and see the crime scene up close. To watch the collection of evidence. To see how they build a case.”

Cipolla says his biggest challenge is learning how law enforcement works, and looking at situations from a different perspective. “As a journalist, I’ve been the one getting the information,” he said. “Now I’m the one giving the information.”

For example, when there was a homicide in Cambria a few months ago, Cipolla was able to view the crime scene and relate what he had seen during interviews with the media throughout the day.

Having known his predecessor, Rob Bryn, for 20 years, Cipolla is well prepared to continue in Bryn’s tradition of quality service and community involvement. “I know I have very large shoes to fill,” he admits. In fact, Cipolla keeps a framed photo of a smiling Bryn in a funny outfit on his desk at work, to remind him of the “ … warm, genuine, sometimes crazy, always good-natured man he was.”

Cipolla has his own plans for the position as well. “I want to expand the Sheriff’s Office presence online and with social media,” he said.

“And I have another project in the works to provide the media with not only press releases and photos, but also video about different stories and programs that come out of the Sheriff’s Office.”

In his off-time Cipolla is busy with his wife Karen, raising their three children. Son AJ is 17, a senior in high school, and is currently applying to colleges with a strong baseball program. Daughter Chiara is 14 and a high school freshman. She’s a starter for her basketball team and also runs track. Youngest son Dominic is 9 and in fourth grade.

The Cipolla family at Tony’s official Sheriff’s pinning ceremony

Like Chiara and AJ, Dominic is an athlete who loves soccer, basketball, skateboarding, and baseball. Karen and Tony will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this year.

“Most weekends you can usually find us going from one sports activity to the next,” said Cipolla. “Sometimes three baseball games in one day!” His family, he says, is his passion. But there is one other.

“I am a life-long, die-hard, long-suffering, bleed-Cubbie-blue, Chicago Cubs fan,” he readily admits. Cipolla has been attending Cubs games since earliest memory, and still goes to as many as he can when they make the trip West. “The Cubs will go all the way this year,” he predicts. “And you can quote me on that.”

The transition from the TV newsroom to the Sheriff’s Office “situation” room (to steal a phrase from Wolf Blitzer’s CNN show) has been made easier by the generous outpouring of community support he has received since his selection was announced. And, said Cipolla, by his employer, Sheriff Ian Parkinson. “He is constantly coming up with innovations,” he said, “like the building of a new, state-ofthe-art coroner’s facility at no extra cost to taxpayers. … He runs an extremely open administration. He wants and encourages the public’s input. He is also supportive of his 400 employees while at the same time holding them to a high standard.

As a result, morale has improved dramatically within the department.”

Though he is still settling to his new position, Tony Cipolla’s familiar face and friendly voice is already taking hold as the media’s voice of the SLO County Sheriff’s Office. He is thankful for our support and promises not to let us down. Oh, and did he mention? The Cubs are going all the way this year.

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750 Price Street, Pismo Beach 773-1922 M A R C H

2013

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PEOPLE

verna gladstone

adventures in the foreign service

By Ruth Starr

V

erna Gladstone spent fifteen years in the Foreign Service beginning in 1977. She was born in Nebraska and grew up on a farm until high school age. As soon as she graduated she headed for California, where she could stay with a cousin. She landed in Santa Monica and worked in a dime store. Feeling she could do better work, she got a job at UCLA in secretarial work that lasted for six years. She married in Santa Monica and had a family —a son and a daughter, however following a divorce she transferred to a job in Sacramento to work for the State of California.

Her interest in the Foreign Service began in the mid-seventies, when she took a quick nine country European tour in twenty-one days. That did it. She was hooked on traveling overseas and set out to investigate what kind of job she could do to enable her to see a variety of countries. She found the Federal Building in Sacramento and inquired about a job overseas. Many applications were sent to her from the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. It was the beginning. Verna filled out all the applications. If the people in charge of applications liked what they read, then more documents were sent out for physical exams. They also sent a security officer to investigate her.

The Foreign Service is the diplomatic core of the United States Department of State. The people who work there are the ones who maintain the Consulates and Embassies all over the world. The United States sends representatives to each country and they interact between the United States and the country they are in.

A test of her skills was next, as well as more investigation. They wanted to know where she lived, who she hung out with, who her male friends were and checked out anyone she had associated with.

All of this took place over two years. It was now 1977 and Verna had Gladstone in Sri Lanka

turned fifty years old. She passed all of the tests and investigations and was finally ready for the adventure of her life.

Verna was sworn in with a group of people and then went for further training and orientation. Her first assignment was in Pakistan. On her way there she stopped in Cairo, Egypt, where she got to see the pyramids, sphinx and rode a camel. Her first assignment was in Islamabad, where she was met by her new boss and his wife who helped her get settled. They escorted her to three receptions that were very exciting. It was like in a movie, with receptions under colorful canopies, women in long dresses and being served by waiters.

The two years in Pakistan were very enjoyable as she learned a new way of life and a new type of work. On long weekends, Verna and other employees visited Kabul where they saw the cultural activities of the Pakistanis. They visited India where they saw the Red Fort in Delhi, and the Taj Mahal. They stayed on a houseboat for a week in Kashmir. Ten days were spent in China traveling by air, bus, and train and seeing the Great Wall.

Rest and Relaxation trips were also part of the program. She took an R and R trip to Kenya flying in a small plane with a woman pilot.

After she landed, Verna had a guide who took her on wonderful trips through the bush seeing great herds of animals including zebras, giraffes, elephants, and prides of lions. She continued on this trip to Sri Lanka where she stayed with a native family. They were very nice to her and she never forgot them.

The next two year assignment was to West Berlin. In between assignments she received around six weeks of home leaves to visit family or whatever or wherever she wanted to go and do. She got paid a wage while working for the government—the wages depended on the skill of the person. Free housing was also included. After a home leave, each person had to have a physical exam before going back overseas.

She was in West Berlin when the wall was still in place. The Embassy people could go back and forth with a specially marked license. She

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Family and Cosmetic Dentistry

Gladstone at the Equator

said that East Berlin was very bleak, but she could buy all kinds of goods at bargain prices. They had to cross to the East through check point Charlie between East and West Berlin. Verna thoroughly enjoyed her work as the job there was so interesting. Her boss served as a liaison with the army, so when any crisis regarding travel by air, rail, or road that came through the office, she worked on it.

From Europe she was sent to Kathmandu, Nepal. There were not that many women working there to hang out with so sometimes she felt lonely. She still managed to take side trips to points of interest. She went with some friends to a burial ceremony where they had the body on a platform. They threw flowers on it and set the body on fire waving it to eternal peace. There were always lots of ceremonies. After Nepal, she was sent back to Europe and Vienna, where again, she traveled to see other places nearby. She flew to France and England during this stay.

The next point for Verna was Warsaw, Poland. It was an Eastern Bloc country so she had to abide by different rules. She saw the Concentration Camp remains and Hitler’s Bunker. Verna liked her housekeeper a lot and still corresponds with her.

The last three years of this great adventure for Verna were spent in the Netherlands at the Hague. She adored her job there, her boss, the living conditions, and the Dutch people. It was easy living in the Hague and mostly everyone spoke English which helped. She was forced to retire at age 65 and really contemplated staying in the Netherlands. However her family all lived in the U.S. so she came back to be with them.

Verna’s family made their homes in California. Her daughter, Susan, and her family live in Oakland. Her son, Larry, lives in Los Angeles.

They are very proud of their mother, now age 87, and visited her many times when she was overseas. When asked why she moved to San Luis Obispo, she said she wanted to get back near the ocean. Verna had visited many times over the years before deciding to move here from Sacramento. She likes the friendliness of the people, the ocean nearby, and the temperate climate.

“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.”

We want to keep your smile memorable and bright this new year. Call our office today to set up your appointment.

ph 805.541.5800 ryanrossdds.com 567 Marsh Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

New patients welcome!

New additional hygiene hours now available

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PEOPLE

john Bullaro

a gift of service in search and rescue

By Patricia Bennett

A

t an age when most people choose a gentler path, John Bullaro, a self-described “adrenaline junkie,” had recently moved to the Central Coast with his wife Cynthia, and wanted to make a contribution of service to his new community. Guided by his lifelong study of wilderness survival, an inherent love of nature, and a penchant for learning new things, Bullaro opted for the challenging path of San Luis Obispo’s allvolunteer Search and Rescue Team (SLOSAR).

It was 1994 and he was 62 years old.

Community service was familiar territory to Bullaro, who had worked in the non-profit sector as Director of the Boys Club of Hollywood.

Following a brief detour, during which he pursued a financially successful, though admittedly unfulfilling career as an insurance executive, Bullaro reclaimed his passion and entered the academic world.

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, a Masters in Non-profit Agency Management, and a PhD in Educational Administration, he taught Parks, Recreation and Tourism Studies, first at Cal State Northridge where he became Department Chair, and then on the faculty at Cal Poly as a full time lecturer.

While the efforts of all SLOSAR Volunteers represent a legacy of dedication and service to the community, Bullaro stands out for having helped introduce and sustain, and sometimes exceed, the rigorous national training and certification standards of NASAR (the National Association for Search and Rescue, headquartered in Centreville, VA.).

When he joined in 1994, Bullaro and several fellow recruits took it upon themselves to enroll in the NASAR certification program when it was offered in Alameda County. Proud of his accomplishment and that of his fellow recruits, and confident in the highstakes value of NASAR’s training and certification program, Bullaro

advocated for its inclusion among the mandatory requirements for all SLOSAR volunteers.

In 2004, while still teaching at Cal Poly, he was asked to coordinate the NASAR program for SLOSAR and became its first NASAR Lead Evaluator, conducting exams and evaluating eligibility for certification, a status he’s shared through the years alongside a team of talented and dedicated Lead and Field Evaluators he helped train.

Today, thanks to Bullaro’s insight and dedication, the regimen of the NASAR training and certification program is a mandatory requirement for all SLOSAR Volunteers.

Recruits have a one-year probationary period during which they’re required to train for NASAR’s SARTEC certification. By the end of the year, a volunteer must pass a written 175-question test and demonstrate in-the-field competency in six different disciplines: tracking, ground following, compass bearing, walking through forty acres of different compass target sites while determining and maintaining the right pacing between each site, knot tying, and area and route search. While in the field, each Volunteer bears a field pack containing all required material, nearly the size and weight of field packs carried by army infantry.

“That,” Bullaro says, “is one of two or three dozen requirements to become a member of the SLOSAR Unit.

“Half of the SLOSAR Volunteers are EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians),” adds Bullaro, who holds an EMT-1 certification.

“Those who aren’t EMTs, must at least become a Title 22 First Aid Responder, which means they can administer advanced first aid.

“An EMT-1 is certified to ride in the ambulance and administer oxygen and Epinephrine in case someone has a bite that causes swelling.

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An EMT-2 is a paramedic. Volunteers receive their EMT training during a four-monthlong course taught by a local Emergency Medical Services Agency. And San Luis Ambulance puts on periodic workshops to help SLOSAR Volunteers maintain the skill level requirements of their EMT certification.”

Sgt. Mark Maki, a 32-year law enforcement veteran served as SLOSAR’s Coordinator and Liaison with the Sheriff’s Department from 2003 until his retirement in 2011.

“Being a SARTEC II is kind of like being a Navy Seal,” Maki says, and John Bullaro is one of the best. We became the unofficial NASAR trainers for the State of California.

There are many highly qualified and dedicated SLOSAR Volunteers, but the program wouldn’t be what it is today without John.

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SAR volunteer, Bullaro pauses a moment and then responds, “You have to have an interest in service because the job takes you out in the middle of the night on weekends and holidays. It’s not a convenient way to give back to the community and so you have to really be interested in service. You have to have a willingness to learn and spend time in training. And you have to be thoroughly physically fit.”

him won’t be as rigorous, he’ll continue to respond to search and rescue missions as a Mission Planner, when asked.

This past November, after eighteen years of dedicated service to the community, the SLOSAR Board of Directors approved Bullaro’s status as an Emeritus Member.

Although the physical demands placed upon

In modest understatement, he adds, “It’s a very satisfying way to give back to the community. My plan is to stay active as long as I can make a contribution.”

“It gets into your blood,” Bullaro explains.

“When you drive up to a mission, and there’s a command center, you get an adrenaline rush … I’m 80 years old, but when I go out on these missions it makes me feel like a young man again.”

“To be honest, before I became involved I thought, like a lot of people do, that it was just a lot of people with flashlights and orange t-shirts in the middle of the night,” Maki says with a laugh. “But I was sent to a Search Management Training and Certification Program, put on the by the State in Redding. After the first day of class, I told my wife I thought I’d made one of the biggest mistakes of my career, because I found out the organization of Search and Rescue is serious business.

“They teach you math and geometry, search theory, psychology and the importance of wilderness survival skills. I became a much better policeman by learning search management. It improved my skills for investigation, questioning and searching for people.”

Maki laughs again and says, “John is one of those crazy people who will get up at 3:00 in the morning on a cold wet rainy day and go out to some ugly, nasty far away place in the county with a cup of coffee in his hand and say, ‘When do we get started?’ Being associated with the SAR Team was probably the highlight of my career,” Maki says, “and probably where I had the most fun, to tell the truth.

“When I’m 65 or 70, I hope I still have the mental capacity and physical endurance that John has at 80. He has a great positive attitude and he really likes and is dedicated to search and rescue. We couldn’t have gotten the NASAR training to the point where it is without him. I’m honored to have been a part of Search and Rescue and I’m grateful to have had John as a mentor.”

When asked what he considers the three characteristics necessary to be a good SLOM A R C H

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PEOPLE

BEN CHIU

SCANNING THE MIND; SCANNING THE FUTURE

By Susan Stewart

T

“

he funny thing about movies,” said producer/director Ben Chiu, “is that if no one notices what you did, you did your job well.” His job, he explained, is to make it look like he wasn’t needed.

Chiu is the Studio Head of Alliance Digital Studios, and has just released a feature-length film, produced right here in San Luis Obispo County, and featuring an entirely local cast and crew. MindScans, a thought-provoking futuristic drama based on a story from best-selling sci-fi author Steven L. Kent, premiered last month at Atascadero’s Galaxy Theater to a sold-out crowd.

“The plan is to run it at every city in the Galaxy chain,” said Chiu.

With 120 screens located in California, Nevada, Texas, and Washington, the privately owned theater chain will give MindScans the kind of exposure indie filmmakers covet. And Ben Chiu is delighted.

Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Chiu’s love affair with film began as a latch-key kid. His father was in the import/export business and his mother worked for the New York school district and later, the county police department, while they raised their two children. Chiu has a younger sister.

“My babysitter was TV, so I watched a lot of it—Gilligan’s Island, Dragnet, I Love Lucy, all the classics,” he said. “Back then, going

to the movies was not an option, so I suppose TV is where it all started for me.”

Chiu attended New York University on an academic scholarship and graduated with a degree in Motion Pictures. “Most filmmakers at NYU worshipped guys like Andy Warhol and made artsy/experimental movies … so they used to make fun of me and my narrative movies and called me ‘Mr. Hollywood.’ In their eyes I was a sellout.”

But Chiu is philosophical about their digs. “It’s funny how something meant to be a put-down inspires you sometimes,” he said. He landed a job at Paramount Pictures right out of college and moved to California. He later attended the American Film Institute, taking classes at night and on weekends.

But his real education came from working alongside the masters. “The most important things you learn in film school is design—why things work or don’t work,” said Chiu. “This is art and while you can enjoy something on many levels, most people don’t even know how much they don’t know. … Craftsmanship is all in the details.”

John Summer in a scene from MindScans

At Paramount, seeing movie stars like Sean Connery, Robert Mitchum, and Eddy Murphy; or talking to Henry Winkler and Michael J. Fox were everyday things for Chiu. But one day, his early TV years caught up with him when he found himself awestruck by running into the actors who’d starred in The Brady Bunch.

“Well, seeing William Shatner had the same effect,” he said, explaining that Star Trek V was in production at the time. “But not to the same degree as seeing ‘Marsha and Greg.’ Silly, right?”

Michael Passerelli and Katy Ouse in a scene from MindScans M A R C H

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Chiu married his wife, Mary (“the smartest thing I’ve ever done!”) and they moved to San Luis Obispo when they decided to start a family. One day, while still living in the L.A. area, a woman was killed in a parking lot during a car-jacking gone wrong. The lot was for a sewing supply store that Mary frequented, and they knew they’d have to move. Ben and Mary searched for the best place to

PEOPLE “Essentially a guy that owns a camera and a few other guys that move lights. … [It’s] smart move-making to produce high-quality, low-budget features while residing in one of the best places to live in the world—San Luis Obispo, California.”

raise kids, and SLO was it! Besides, by this time, Chiu had become disenchanted with the “… whole who-you-know, not-what-youknow” mentality that seemed to govern his industry, and had begun working as a photo journalist and writer for hobby and computer gaming magazines. He soon landed a job as an author at Microsoft for the Flight Simulator series, then the best-selling entertainment software title of all time. To date, Chiu has authored nine books that have been printed in 11 languages.

Chiu is also a flight instructor, a ground instructor, holds a commercial pilot certificate, and has been an FAA-appointed Aviation Safety Councilor for the San Jose Flight Standards District Office for many years. He and Mary have three children, … “wonderful, talented, smart kids,” he says, currently attending middle school, high school, and college locally.

Soon after moving here, Chiu opened Alliance Digital Studios, which he describes as,

That “best place” is featured prominently in MindScans, the story about an investigative journalist, Sara, who is invited to write about the Prometheus Bionetic Interface, a controversial technology that connects the human brain to a virtual reality super-computer. While researching her story, Sara meets its creator/founder Tom Sobel, learns about the numerous lawsuits from its former customers, and struggles with the social and moral implications of this mysterious technology, as the lines between her ethics, the virtual world, and reality blur. (Synopsis adapted from press materials released by AllianceDigitalStudios.com.)

Locals will recognize their favorite spots, including Avila Beach, Cuesta College, a San Luis Obispo Cemetery, and the streets of Downtown SLO; as well as familiar local faces such as John Summer, Michael Passerelli, and Megan Maloney. Visit www. alliancedigitalstudios.com for screenshots and teasers. Full cast and crew can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/title/ tt2235633/fullcredits#

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And The Tribune’s Sarah Linn said, “… Ben Chiu’s ambitious, imaginative film examines the dark side of our modern-day obsession with technology, literally taking moviegoers inside the minds of its characters.”

Chiu said if the movie generates a following, he wants to spin it off into a TV series. And what about his own future? “The plan is to continue building a mini-movie industry here in SLO,” he said. “We have a business model that makes sense and we’ve proved we can make quality movies here. The only unknown is whether we can generate enough interest in our products, which in the end means dollars, to support making more of these.”

Support independent film in San Luis Obispo by supporting local companies such as Alliance Digital Studios, by seeing their movies like MindScans, buying the DVD at http:// mindscans.com, and spreading the word in person, via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media portals.

Why this project? “There are so many factors that go into green-lighting a movie,” said Chiu. “But story is one of the top criteria. … This is a great, timely story that explores society’s fascination with technology.”

New Times’ longtime film and music reporter, Glen Starkey, said, “The story is totally engaging. I couldn’t stop watching it. … [It’s] a cerebral thriller that, like Inception and The Matrix will have you questioning reality.”

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PEOPLE

Dr. Major and the Lions Club

the “Dinosaur” at the Lions’ Den: Local program is the envy of the nation

By Natasha Dalton screenings didn’t do them in their own towns: they wanted to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.

Since then the trend has reversed, and optometrists—for the sake of convenience—now opt for screenings in their hometowns. Thus, Doctor Major, an optometrist from Paso Robles and the program’s current coordinator, visits all six schools in Paso Robles; he also serves as a fill-in doctor in the case of emergencies. Doctor Hider sees the kids in Atascadero, and, Doctor Major’s partner, Doctor Hile does all the work at the preschools and Head Starts, from Shandon to Oceano. He covers 30 schools!

Dr. Doug Major

I

’ll go out on a limb and suggest that—when counting the advantages of living in this county—most people don’t put the Lions Club in their Top Ten list. But that might be because not everyone knows that for decades the Lions Club has been doing something quite extraordinary: it’s been taking care of all of the county kids’ eyes.

Generally, when a child gets a regular physical (and many don’t), her vision isn’t checked by a doctor, and definitely not by an optometrist.

Our county is exceptional in that regard because our Lions Club brings eye doctors to all the schools in the area.

This initiative, which has no equivalent in the nation, was launched in the 1960s by two doctors. They started it when one of them, Doctor McDonald, served as the mayor of Pismo Beach, and the other one, Doctor Pence, was the mayor of Arroyo Grande. Both of them cared deeply about their community, and both recognized the value of early intervention in the case of vision problems. The program began at the time when each town had its own independent pharmacies, all professionals belonged to service clubs, and medical advertising was considered improper. It was personal standing in the community that attracted new clients to a business, including doctors’ offices. For that reason, doctors who participated in vision

They, and fifteen other optometrists who currently work with the Lions, see firsthand the impact of the screenings. They also know that if the program lapses, it would be practically impossible to restart: where would you find a dozen doctors willing to disrupt their own practice on short notice?

Right next-door to us, in Santa Maria, people have been trying to start similar screenings for years—with no luck: they simply cannot convince enough doctors to commit their time.

Today’s pharmacies, as well as many optometric services, are corporate. Medical billboards are everywhere, and doctors in commercial settings, like Wal-Mart, aren’t into developing community ties; they work for a paycheck. Even in small towns, the small-town traditions are being replaced by new business models.

But in San Luis Obispo County, the old-fashioned program, based on the idea of community service, is thriving. “I’ve calculated that since I’ve started, we’ve seen close to 1,000,000 eyes!” Doctor Major says. A million eyes means half a million screens. That’s a lot of kids! Perhaps, the satisfaction of doing something that important is what motivates everyone involved.

“It’s almost surprising to see someone enjoying his work as much as Doctor Major does,” Mike Milby of the Paso Robles Lions Club says.

But this seems to be true for everyone who volunteers for this program.

From the very beginning, true to the Lions International’s commitment to meet a challenge from Helen Keller to be the “Knights of Vision,” the local Lions have been providing “a field office” every time doctors come to town for the screening. The “office” is built into a trailer, which at the end of the day moves to the next campus.

Lions Vision Screening

Lions Vision Screening Van M A R C H

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These “crusty old guys” do BBQs and donate the funds to families in need. “They’re amazing,” Doctor Major says. “They’ve done it for years, so they sometimes forget how much their work means to us all.”

When the trailer starts rolling, a doctor should be there every day.

Even if at times someone isn’t eager to leave his office for several grueling hours on a school campus, in the end the doctors come through, and they all do a great job. All together they screen 16,000-17,000 students and 3,000- 4,000 preschoolers a year!

Nurse Judith Gier giving an eye test to Diego Murillo at Hawthorne Elememtary School.

How big of a deal is this set-up for the county?—“It’s a very big deal,” Doctor Major says. Annually, the screening finds that about 9% of the kids have vision problems. Without the screening, these problems could be missed. In fact, the screenings have been so effective that meeting a thirdgrader with a high first-time prescription most likely means that her family is new to the area, because our kids’ vision is being corrected from the time they enter preschool! (Extension of the screenings to the very young became possible after the passing of Prop. 10, known as the First Five.)

And that’s the whole point. “The first years of life are when it’s particularly important,” Doctor Major says. Lazy eye, for example, is highly treatable at that age. “You don’t want to see a fourth-grader who cannot read only because she cannot see well,” Doctor Major reasons.

“Many young kids are thought to be autistic when their only problem is that they’re far-sighted,” he explains. “When kids cannot see well, they go around touching things, and they don’t look at people. But then a child gets glasses, and the next day he isn’t autistic anymore!”

And then, there’re the school nurses. They are the third crucial element in the arrangement that makes the whole program work. Nurses help coordinate the schedule, assist in the van and make sure that the parents follow the doctor’s recommendations. “The program cannot work without the school nurses. They’re our heroes,” Doctor Major says. And he has a point: each screening identifies 25-30 kids who need further attention. It falls on the school nurse to do a follow-up with the families so that the kids get the care they need.

The screening days can get hectic, but for the kids they’re usually more fun than frenzy. “Students like going on the van because we show them a video—to give them something to look at in the distance. And both the optometrists and the volunteers are very patient and nice,” Judith Grier, a school nurse from San Luis Obispo, explains. “The nurses and the teachers like the Lions Club’s program because we see that it works.”

“This program is like a dinosaur,” Doctor Major laughs. “I was fortunate to come to this area when the idea of community service was very strong, and the doctors’ work was community-based. We need to keep it going. As long as I’m around, I’ll make sure it does,” he adds.

For more info, go to www.slolionseyes.org

There’re several zip codes around the country where schools invite doctors for check-ups. In our county only Lucia Mar School District could possibly afford to do so, but even then, there’s no guarantee that the doctors would respond. Meanwhile, our children’s eyes are being checked in preschool, kindergarten, first, third and fifth grades!

During the screening period (which usually begins in September and lasts until the Thanksgiving) a doctor sees close to 300 kids a day. The success rate of the screening is extraordinary: over 90% of those referred for further evaluation discover that they do indeed need medical attention. (In comparison, at places where screenings are done by an optometric technician, rather than a doctor, there’s a high number of false alarms.)

At the screening, doctors perform an acuity test, making sure that the child’s eyes work as a team. They also look for signs of far- or near-sightedness. They can even detect learning problems.

By now, the process is so well-choreographed that the doctors know well in advance when they’ll be needed. The screening always begins in the North, and, after moving through every town in the county, finishes in Atascadero. The members of the Atascadero club have always played an especially important role: they’ve provided, equipped and fixed the trailer for the exams—and it’s not a small job: “We wore out three trailers already,” Doctor Major admits.

According to the Atascadero Lions Club’ secretary Larry Bryant, his club has fifteen members, but they’re all really committed to helping the kids. “In Atascadero alone, we screen over 1800 students a year,” he says.

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travel/volunteer teaching

good morning teacher! how are you?

By Will Jones

I

was in Siem Reap, Cambodia, to visit Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most extensive Hindu/Buddhist temple complexes on earth. One stop in a three week tour of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, I fully expected Angkor Wat to be an early highlight, and it didn’t disappoint. Arriving before sunrise on New Years’ day, watching the ancient temple appear in the early morning light, and spending the day visiting other magnificent temples is an experience I will never forget. But it was accompanied over the next few days by two additional experiences that forged equally indelible memories.

While sitting at the computer in the lobby of the Bliss Villa Guest House where I was staying, I saw a poster advertising the opportunity to volunteer as a teacher at a rural Buddhist school. The owner and operator of Bliss Villa, an American named Don Bonner, helped support Angkor Buddhist Corporation School, and after a brief conversation with him I enthusiastically agreed to spend January 2nd teaching English to children between the ages of 10-16.

The next morning Don, two orange-robed monks, a traveling companion and I boarded noisy tuk-tuks and bumped along dusty red dirt roads for 30 minutes. Habitations of all descriptions, vegetable gardens, rice paddies, cattle and water buffalo were the most prominent features of the landscape. We arrived to find a small, open air pavilion and three dirt floor and palm frond classrooms on a narrow strip of land receding about 50 yards from the roadside. Across the road was a rough field for recreation and a palm-roofed open walled kitchen where the locals prepared lunch for the monks.

I was escorted to my classroom after a brief orientation about the curriculum by the gentle, soft-spoken monks. The second I entered, roughly fifteen beautiful, beaming children stood at attention, raised their hands in an attitude of prayer and respect, and, in perfect unison, greeted me: “Good morning teacher! How are you?” Eighteen months removed from a long career in secondary education, imagine the smile that spread across my joyous face and the warmth that filled my heart at this welcome.

With a small instruction booklet, a dry erase marker, a beat up white board on a rickety easel and a lot of imagination, I taught four fortyfive minute English classes. By the end of the day my students knew a lot about my family, the names of the items of clothes I was wearing, and in a leap of instructional faith, synonyms, like “pretty” and “lovely,” both used in reference to my wife, Melinda.

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in the paranoia of a mad man. I stared for a long time at the group photograph of a teacher, his wife and their six children, all victims. Teachers, doctors and other professionals were primary targets of Pol Pot’s Maoist Agrarian Revolution. I learned that the guards and interrogators, many of them still in their teens, feared the same fate as their victims if they didn’t carry out orders.

can have the same effect. I am an optimist by nature. Given the right circumstances, I believe people will choose to do the right thing.

I am not ignorant of the daily and historic examples of this not being so, but I can find as many examples that prove otherwise. Teaching at the Angkor School fortified my certitude about human nature. Visiting Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh challenged that conviction. giggled with delight when I overreacted comically to their mispronunciations or when I encouraged and rewarded them by drawing stars beside their work. Sadly, I also learned that the two beautiful young girls with shaved heads had recently lost their father, their appearance a part of their mourning.

My biggest reward came at the end of the day when the students gathered around to thank me and ask if I would be their teacher the next day. No, I said, but thank you. I will remember you forever.

Kevin Clark, a good friend and accomplished poet who teaches literature and writing at Cal Poly SLO, ends his emails with a quote from poet Eavan Boland: Poetry begins where certitude ends. One way in which art promotes personal growth is by presenting something familiar in a new way, a way that challenges “our absolute certainty or conviction that something is the case.” Experiences in real life

Tuol Sleng was once a primary school and a high school. In April of 1975, Pol Pot, the dictatorial leader of the Khmer Rouge, converted the school into a detention center dedicated to interrogation, torture and execution.

Through June of 1978 over 20,000 prisoners occupied what was then known as Security Office 21. Only seven survived. Those who did not die at the prison were trucked to the killing fields on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and immediately executed. Nationwide, nearly 2 million Cambodians lost their lives.

During an excellent tour conducted by a young Cambodian university student, I became familiar with the many ways in which the prisoners were abused and murdered. I saw the ankle locks used to immobilize the victims and the barbed wire strung across the upper floors to prevent suicide by jumping. I gazed at the photographs (see photos on this page) of the detainees and saw that they were just everyday citizens caught up

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The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was opened shortly after Pol Pot’s overthrow in 1979. According to the somewhat fractured English of the Tuol Sleng pamphlet, “Keeping the memory of the atrocities committed on Cambodian soil alive is key to build a new strong and just state…and plays a key role in preventing new Pol Pot from emerging in the lands of Angkor or anywhere on earth.”

I hold two images in my mind: the eager, joyous smiles of the students I taught in Siem Reap, and the desperate, terrified looks of the doomed Tuol Sleng detainees only a generation ago. In the end, the pure, energetic voices of those children greeting me with “Good morning teacher! How are you!” and the hope they engender, triumph over the horrors of S-21 and keep my hope for the future alive.

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music

north county’s diverse musical offerings and inviting venues

By Dawn R. Starr

I

magine listening to a jamming quintet in a bucolic winery setting or an upbeat trio playing standards while relaxing by a fireplace in a Tuscan setting. Now imagine doing these things right here on the Central Coast. Northern San Luis Obispo County is rife with talented musicians performing in cozy bars and wineries overlooking vineyards or alluvial hills. Many of the local musicians previously or currently tour nationally and internationally with well-known bands, work as studio musicians, and/or compose and arrange for everything from commercials to rides at Disney theme parks. This article will provide a sampling of the many varied local music offerings and venues. It is impossible to provide a complete list of the many talented local musicians, so only the names of the groups and their key leaders will be described here.

When not playing guitar or bass with the Steve Miller band, Kenny Lee Lewis enjoys playing with the local band, the Barflyz. The Barflyz is a cabaret-style quintet led by Kenny Lee Lewis with his blazing guitar finger work and his effervescent wife, Diane Steinberg-Lewis, on keyboards. They play everything from pop, blues, cool jazz, standards, and bebop. The musicians have played with some of the biggest names in the business which shows in their performance. They have played at Hearst Castle and most recently at D’Anbino Vineyards and Cellars tasting room in Paso Robles. The D’Anbino tasting room is widely regarded by local musicians as the best venue in which to perform due to the attention to acoustics and welcoming ambience by the owners, John D’Andrea and Carmine Rubino, who had prior award-winning professional careers in recording, film and television.

Also performing at D’Anbino’s as well as other locales are the Royal Garden Swing Orchestra and the Kings of Cool. The Royal Garden Swing Orchestra (RGSO) is in their 27th year of using their “big band” sound to play tunes from the swing era to modern classics. Under the deft and energetic leadership of Dr. Warren Balfour, the six-piece brass and sax sections jump, jive and wail. Dr. Balfour eagerly shared with this writer his enthusiasm for the music and musicians of the RGSO. The band earned enthusiastic accolades from the late Jane Russell after they played at her 80th birthday. He has played professionally with such artists as Jerry Lewis, Debbie Reynolds, and Manhattan Transfer. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Cuesta College and is an active adjudicator and clinician at major music festivals in the western United States. The Kings of Cool harkens back to the days of the Rat Pack. Vocalists Chad Stevens, Brett Mitchell, Steve McAndrew and Bobby Horn entertain with their vocal harmonies and repartee.

All are accomplished musicians and vocalists in their own right, but together their chemistry is even more enlivening. Go to www.danbino. com to see their upcoming events. Additional information about the Royal Garden Swing Orchestra is found at www.rgso.com.

Jody Mulgrew declares his voice is his primary instrument. A selfproclaimed “crooner” he writes “songs with a nod to classic song styles from yesteryear.” During a recent solo performance at the Pony Club in downtown Paso Robles, he quietly began amidst the din of audience conversations. His poignant rendition of folk songs and limber Hank Williams-style vocals gradually grabbed the crowd’s attention.

Patrons at the Pony Club can relax around the zinc-topped horseshoeshaped bar or, in the summer, on the inviting outdoor patio. See www. jodymulgrew.com.

Jody Mulgrew photo by Jacob Mendez M A R C H

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Dawn Lambeth’s elegant vocals are inspired by music from the 1930s and standards. Her warm, soothing style invites listeners to travel with her to what seemed to be simpler times. Also a talented swing pianist, she sometimes plays while singing or is backed by the Usonia Jazz Band with her husband playing trombone. Dawn performs locally at wineries, national music festivals and at international venues. Dawn is on a brief hiatus following the birth of her second child but plans to be performing again soon. See www.dawnlambeth.com/about.cfm.

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include Scottish, Celtic, surf and banjo. There are also a number of North County wineries which regularly feature local musical talents, typically solo vocalists playing guitar or keyboards. Wineries currently providing music offerings include Pear Valley, Sculpterra, Vina Robles, Castoro, Asuncion Ridge (in their downtown Paso Robles’ tasting room), with Calcareous offering a summer series. Music is typically weekend afternoons or evenings. Event details can be found on their individual websites.

Barflyz

Adam Levine is a local guitarist, songwriter, and arranger, who performs with several groups on the Central Coast. Adam noted, “My group Human Nation is my main thing,” with roots in jazz, blues, Latin and funk and influenced by world rhythms. The band, which includes keyboards, sax, clarinet, flute, steel pan, electric and acoustic bass, drums and percussion, will be announcing their upcoming concert schedule to coincide with the release of their first CD this March.

Before moving to Paso Robles, Adam performed on live and recorded television shows, as a studio musician, and wrote and performed commercials for major corporations. Adam also plays locally in two trios, one aptly named the No Ego Amigos, which features everything from Stephen Foster’s music to pop. The other (unnamed) trio plays soft rock, samba, and standards. One of the trios plays each Thursday starting around 6:30 p.m. in the Bellasera Hotel where one can enjoy the Tuscan fireside ambience. See www.Human_Nation.com.

Ted Waterhouse describes himself as “a songwriter-guitarist-singer.”

With his weathered voice, he performs such genres as blues, country, folk, rockabilly and swing-era jazz. He performs with local groups the Blue Souls, Swinging Doors, Viper Six, including a blues jam at Haven Wine Bistro in Atascadero which attracts a bevy of talented musicians.

Contact Ted at edcat@aol.com to receive his performance schedule.

The Pour House Paso Robles serves their own crafted beers along with non-local sourced beers and local hard ciders. Their casual, friendly atmosphere showcases a wide array of musical styles “from bluegrass to blues, covers or original music.” Other musical offerings

Kings of Cool M A R C H

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HOME/OUTDOOR

Events

earth day food and wine festival

By Sherry Shahan

T

Chefs will be on hand to discuss their culinary creations, and grape growers and wine-makers also mill around.

According to Executive Director, Kris Beal, “The idea unfolded as a way to connect those who consume food with those who produce it while recognizing agriculture’s relationship to Earth Day. After all, who’s more earthy than farmers?”

People have been making and drinking wine since the Neolithic period, around 8500-4000 B.C., and the process doesn’t seem to have changed much since then. In the opinion of many people in the industry, winemaking is a simple process based on the knowledge of each vineyard’s specific location—its soil and how each varietal interacts with it. That’s how grapes reveal their true character.

he 7th annual Earth Day Food and Wine Festival will take place on April 20th at Pomar Junction Winery in Templeton on a hilltop overlooking lush vineyards.

The event is the brainchild of the Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT), a nonprofit network of 300 growers, wineries, consultants, researchers, and natural resource professionals dedicated to promoting sustainable winegrowing on the Central Coast.

Once again, over 200 farmers, grape growers, vintners and chefs will come together to serve out-of-this-world pairings of award-winning wines with one-of-a-kind dishes, all prepared from locally grown fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, olive oils, chocolate, and more.

sloeyemd.com info@sloeyemd.com

A veritable ABC of Central Coast wineries will be represented at the festival—from Adelaida Cellars, Baileyana and Castoro Cellars down the line to Zenaida Cellars—approximately 48 wineries in all. Likewise, there will be pours for every taste bud: robust reds, blush pinks, oaky and non-oak whites. While these days some people like to pair this with that, the crowd here isn’t snobby. As one person said, “What’s wrong with drinking what you like to drink with what you like to eat?”

It never takes attendees long to discover the booth belonging to Negranti Dairy and Artisan Creamery. Owners Wade and Alexis Negranti will be on hand to serve sheep’s milk ice cream, reminding us that back in the good old days all food was fresh.

Our FOcus is On YOu.

TerrY Kaiura, M.D. is a board certified ophthalmologist specializing in corneal diseases and laser vision correction. She has served on the Medical Advisory Board for the Eye Bank for Sight Restoration directing initiatives to improve corneal tissue donation and preservation.

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“When I’m making ice creams and cheeses, it’s gratifying to know I’m using the milk from that morning,” Alexis says. “To know it came from the ewes I care for everyday.”

Since sampling ice cream is similar to wine tasting, she suggests beginning with what’s lightest and finishing with the most robust flavors: 1.) Raw Honey 2.) Lemon Lavender 3.) Vanilla Bean. 4.) Black coffee, the final taste, is a crowd favorite.

A Retirement Facil HOME/OUTDOOR 23

riculture research farm-workerof outreach (Sustainability in Practice) Certified wines, Even though theandprospect moving m programs in our community.” behind the scenes tours, and gourmet future, you owe it to yourself to learn h slider pairings.”

Premiereliving Admission begins own at 1pmhome and is limcarefree in your for man ited to 300 guests. General Admission is 2pm.

Last year’s festival attracted over 1,000 Tickets: http://earthdayfoodandwine2013. visitors from as far away as Florida and eventbrite.com/# Or call (805) 466-2288.

New Hampshire, and yet it generated less than two lbs. of trash. The food is served on For weekend schedule, directions, and other inrecyclable and compostable plates It’s a fact ofand lifePaso that asformation, we getvisit older, Pristine is fully www.earthdayfoodandwine.com Robles Waste Disposal provides appropriate some day-to-day tasks become too licensed and insu containers. “We’re proud to host a zerowaste event,” Executive Director Kris Bealon our own. That much to handle All of our worke said. “The funds raised go to sustainable ag-

You Don’t Have to Move

Feel Safe and

doesn’t 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 chec Care that helps San Luis Obispo and drug test, giv • 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.

Nearby McPhee’s Grill barbecues lamb hamburgers and Trumpet Vine Catering offers a variety of pickled foods. Last year Two Little Birds Bakery created corn and flour tart shells for Thomas Hill Organics, who filled them with Bengali spiced pork and Peacock Farm cucumbers.

Duncan Palmer, owner of Porter’s Gourmet on the Go, prepares dishes created with local, seasonal ingredients and serves them from San Luis Obispo’s first gourmet food truck. “It’s gourmet good,” Chef Palmer says, “Not gourmet fancy.”

Central Coast Brewing also serves from a truck. Only the back is filled with barrelaged beer.

Fitting an Earth Day event, the sound stage is powered by the sun, compliments of Pacific Energy Company. Local band Guy Budd and the Gypsy Souls will entertain with a mesh of old-style blues and hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll. Budd himself has shared the stage with legendary greats B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite and others.

“The Earth Day Food and Wine Festival is one of the premiere culinary events in San Luis Obispo County,” said attendee Kathie Matsuyama, Watershed and Natural Resources Coordinator at the GuadalupeNipomo Dunes Center. “And that is saying a lot, because we have become a hot spot of California food and wine events.”

Event Coordinator Kyle Beal Wommack has been the energizer bunny behind the scenes for all seven years. When asked what’s new this year she said, “‘Slip and Sliders,’ a progressive brunch at selected Edna Valley wineries showcasing SIP

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HOME/OUTDOOR

at the market

By Sarah Hedger

First time on the market since 1932! The longest single-family-owned-property in one of SLO’s best neighborhoods can finally be yours! A hidden pocket nestled less than a mile from both downtown and Cal Poly, this area has been called Banana Hill (for it’s sunny and mild micro-climate) and Professor’s Row (as it was the go to for the university’s early staff). The home its self is a true example of Spanish Revival style, retaining many of the original charming details including a wide picture window, hardwood floors, fireplace, decorative nooks, and doors with glass knobs. A generously sized lot offers space to play and park, a majestic oak tree, and a tranquil view. Seize this once in a lifetime opportunity to finetune this classic into your forever-home, or invest in a prime location property. www.611Park.com Asking $499,000.

San Luis Obispo. New Listing. This home has been remodeled over the past few years and now boasts a wonderful kitchen with all new cabinetry, appliances, and counter tops. The hardwood floors have recently been refinished and compliment the changes. New windows were installed, the floor plan was opened up, interior & exterior paint and finally the landscape was changed. It’s in a great neighborhood within approximately half mile to downtown San Luis. Backs up to a park and almost at the end of a cul-de sac street www.535EllenWay.com Asking $475,000.

Johnny Hough Owner / Broker

(805) 801-5063

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

Two Recipes: Fresh Cauliflower pumpkin salad with Lemon and Feta Tropical coconut Banana Muffins

M

arch is here and Spring is near! So much goodness to greet us, come Spring at our local markets.

As the air warms, the strawberries ripen, the apples linger, and the citrus fruit continues to tempt our taste buds. In the vegetable department, the likes of asparagus, beets, broccoli, fennel, and new season garlic find their way into our baskets.

A good friend often says, “So much food, so little time…” This is indeed the case in Spring!

During Spring our tastes begin to shift from heavier, heartwarming dishes, to lighter, fresh meals. This month is a special month as there are two recipes to enjoy. The first is Fresh Cauliflower Pumpkin Salad with Lemon and Feta. Shocking it isn’t by now to see a seasonal salad in this column. I could not resist, as it seems to be my taste buds making the important decisions! This salad began as a craving for a fresh, new salad, yet the first salad of the season can be a challenge—to hit the right spot—the one where your taste buds jump for joy (almost right out of your mouth), your eyes light up as it tastes the season—straight up. Well, I accepted the challenge and went straight to one of my favorite go-to dressings for inspiration.

But, it didn’t work. Then I mixed it up and tried different greens, different textures, and alas, serendipitously (this is how the good ones happen), this salad came about. Don’t be deterred by its rawness as I was not a raw cauliflower (or pumpkin) fan, but for some reason it just works. So I made this salad all week, and have been referring to it as my “Coming out of Hibernation” salad, as this seems to be what happened when I ate it. Or, this is what happened to my taste buds when I ate it. I took the salad to my chair in the sun, put my feet up and declared it just right. The key to this salad, aside from fresh seasonal ingredients, is the size of the bits of cauliflower and pumpkin. I put the cauliflower through a mandolin with a julienne attachment, resulting in pea-size pieces. If you don’t have one, chop finely or even a pulsing in a food processor would work (better too small than too large). The pumpkin can be substituted with butternut squash or carrots.

The inspiration for Tropical Coconut Banana Muffins came recently when I challenged myself to refrain from sugar for 40 days. I figured this was a sensible challenge as it seemed my sweet tooth had gotten out of control (fruit and dark chocolate over 70% was still allowed).

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fresh cauliflower pumpkin salad with lemon and feta

Fresh Cauliflower Pumpkin Salad with Lemon and Feta

3 cups cauliflower, chopped into pieces smaller than ½ inch 2 cups pumpkin, peeled and grated (butternut squash or carrot would work as well) 2 green onions, finely minced 1 small bunch flat leaf parsley (enough for 1/2 cup), finely minced 1 good lemon, juiced (enough for 1/3 cup fresh juice) 1/4 cup good olive oil 1/2 cup this season’s walnuts, roughly chopped 1/2 cup + feta (ewe’s milk is first choice as the tart flavor is great for this salad) 1-2 tsp good quality sea salt Fresh ground pepper Toss all ingredients in bowl and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed. Let sit for 10 minutes for the flavors to meld, then enjoy!

Serves 4.

tropical coconut banana muffins 1 extra ripe banana, mashed 2 T. neutral oil 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (such as almond or rice or soy) 1 tsp apple cider vinegar Tropical Coconut Banana Muffins

During the 40 days we had friends visit and I was looking to make a hearty muffin that was still light. Thus, with little sugar, they are nutrient dense, while being packed with flavor. I thought my efforts would come to a halt when I discovered I was out of eggs, but remembered ground flax seeds can be used instead at times, and they work like a gem here. Thus, a delicious, gluten free, wheat free, grain free, dairy free, (refined) sugar free, egg free muffin. What’s left? I asked the same thing and was relieved to discover…a light, delicious, tropical muffin. Enjoy!

1/2 cup passion fruit or other tropical fruit puree (or ¼ cup apricot fruit spread) 2 T. ground flax seed (flax meal) 1 cup almond flour 1 1/2 cups dried shredded coconut 2 T. coconut flour 2 T. tapioca flour/starch 1 tsp each, baking powder and baking soda 1/2 tsp sea salt

Bill Mott

Loan Officer / DRE Lic #01359516

805.234.5081

bmott@bankofcommercemortgage.com www.bankofcommercemortgage.com

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line or spray 9 muffin tins.

Place banana in large bowl and mash until pureed. Add oil, non-dairy milk, vinegar, (tropical) fruit puree, and ground flax.

Give a good mix and let sit for 10 minutes for flax to emulsify the mixture. In the meantime, place almond flour, coconut, coconut flour, tapioca starch/flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt in a small bowl and give a good mix to thoroughly incorporate. Add to wet mixture and give a good stir. Let sit for 5 minutes as the coconut flour needs this. Give a final mix and spoon (or use an ice cream scoop) into prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top and somewhat firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let sit in tins for another 15 minutes to firm up. *Makes 9 muffins

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HOME/OUTDOOR

slo county art scene Adrienne Allebe: Between dreaming and waking

By Gordon Fuglie

which has one of the largest art departments in the CSU system.

She earned the MFA in 2004.

But timing can be everything. While studying under “old school” biomedical illustrators using traditional art tools, Allebe (pronounced All-ah-bee) discovered that long-venerated handwork was being supplanted by emerging digital media. Publishers increasingly were looking for “time and space” animation to dynamically portray organisms and human anatomy and this new technology held no interest for Allebe. So it was good-bye practical career skills, hello to fine art.

Adding painting and drawing to her curriculum at CSU Long Beach, Allebe obtained a hybrid art education encompassing traditional applied illustration, rendering, and color theory and painting. A fine art faculty member selected her for a teaching assistant, giving the young artist valuable experience in course preparation, pedagogy and constructive criticism.

L

os Osos artist Adrienne Allebe is a hometown girl who refutes the familiar American nostrum “you can’t go home again.” The phrase derives from Thomas Wolfe’s novel whose plotline demonstrates that once you have left your small town or provincial backwater city for the sophisticated metropolis, you can’t return or re-integrate into the narrower confines of your previous way of life.

Born in Los Angeles, Allebe’s parents moved to the Central Coast in 1988 when she was nine. Reaching college age, she ventured south to UC Santa Barbara to study art and art history, earning the BA in 2001. Desiring a practical course of study in bio-medical illustration, she enrolled in graduate studies at CSU Long Beach,

Upon graduation in 2004, Allebe applied for teaching positions.

Meanwhile, back in Los Osos, her parents saw a posting in The Tribune for the part-time art teaching pool at Cuesta College and forwarded the notice to their daughter. She applied and was immediately hired—going home again to contribute to the artistic life of students and the community. Allebe currently teaches two courses per semester, covering Beginning Drawing, 2-D Design, Art Appreciation and Portfolio Presentation. Four years after her Cuesta appointment, she also was hired to teach two courses per quarter in the Department of Art & Design, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo—a locally rooted career.

As an emerging artist right out of graduate school, Allebe developed her style, a kind of Pop Art version of biomorphic surrealism, distinguished by eruptions of radiant artificial colors. Technically, she combines washes of liquid color (30%) with tightly rendered

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27

“Even Bad dreams Are Better Than No Dreams At All”

Prismacolor pencil (70%) on paper. Her earliest works have an otherworldly landscape feeling, incorporating/combining various biological forms from nature. Allebe describes her work as a quest to fabricate a transformed world. She says this approach ultimately goes back to her childhood fascination with ghost stories, science fiction and horror movies—genres where reality is altered. As a teenage artist, she was fascinated by Salvador Dali, (1903-89), and also was spurred by the popular fantasy illustrations of Frank Frazetta (1928-2010).

Allebe, however, bypassed Frazetta’s trademark barbarian warriors with steroid enhanced physiques, as well as his unsettlingly endowed, scantily clad, zaftig female subjects. Instead, she drew upon his tight

color coordination, sense of drama, fierce animals, elemental compositions and areas of explosive action. Viewing her earlier melodramatic and colorful works on her website can be something of a trip, and this experience might be best accompanied by listening to the electronic music of Tangerine Dream.

Allebe’s most recent works have become more toned-down, shimmering, patterned visions that suggest dream states. Even Bad Dreams are Better than No Dreams At All is structured in a double pattern of fluid waves contrasted with rigid geometric zigzags. Disembodied female arms reach into the scene, perhaps the probings of the subconscious. A Frazettaesque device of concentrated drama is at lower left, an egg/heart around which

“Two Hearts Beat As One”

writhes a serpent. Devotees of psychologists Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung could have a field day interpreting this anxious symbolically potent image.

In Two Hearts Beat as One, Allebe creates an imageless “dream field,” leaving the viewer to impose his/her own vision upon the dynamic abstract composition. A rich brown pattern is overlain on a light tan background that is “spiced up” by flickering rose and orange hues that undulate across a screen of compressed triangles. In this work, the artist uses a liquid masking solution to create a phalanx of sinuous, ghostly, flame-like forms that dance across the picture plane. That Two Hearts has a meditational, trance-like feel is no accident.

Allebe told me her newest works seek a realm between life and death, an intuited spiritual zone. This direction was brought on by an untimely death in her family a few years back. It can be seen in her works from 2011, which have an iconic sensibility and are composed of intense spheres of luminosity and energy. One thing remains consistent from her earliest works to the present: an uncompromising devotion to craft and deep respect for her artistic media.

Later this year, Allebe’s work will appear in “Thresholds,” an artist-organized exhibition at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art from October 4 – November 17. SLOMA is at 1010 Broad Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. www.sloma.org.

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COMMUNITY

Our Schools more time in school

By Dr. Julian Crocker, County Superintendent of Schools

W

hen we look at other industrialized nations, we find that students spend more time in school than in our country. The difference can be much as 20 to 30 days a year or even more. Since we often are compared with other countries in terms of student achievement, this issue of time in school is often cited as one of the reasons for higher student achievement in these countries. The assumption is that more time in school equates to more student learning. It is ironic that at a time when some of our school districts are having to reduce time in school for students because of inadequate funding, there is also increased interest in increasing the amount of time that students spend in school.

This issue of time in school is also an interest of the U.S. Department of Education. The Department has recently announced a grant for five states, not California, to substantially increase the amount of time that students spend in school by 300 hours. This equates to as much as 40 days a year based on the instructional day for students in our county. The effect of this additional time would be to have school in session all year and eliminate what we now call the “summer vacation.” There is an option for the states to use the additional time to extend the existing school day or to include Saturdays as a regular school day in order to add the additional 300 hours. There are 40 schools in the five states receiving the grant including Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee.

The purpose of adding more instructional time for students is to increase student achievement and to be more competitive internationally. The additional time would presumably also allow some students to become proficient in areas in which they are currently weak. It is certainly true that our academic expectations for all students have increased over the past 20 years, not only in rigor, but also in breadth of knowledge and understanding. However, the amount of instruc-

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tional time has basically remained unchanged. California now has a minimum of 175 days for students with the amount of instructional time during the day increasing from 3 hours in kindergarten to 6 hours in high school.

A common complaint from teachers recently, and rightly so I believe, is that they do not have sufficient time to cover the material with the rigor that is expected to meet our state academic standards. However, cost is a major reason why districts have not added additional school days. Adding days means also adding to the work year of the teaching and school support staff, which is the major expense in a school district. For our county, adding an additional 300 hours of student time would require approximately a 35% increase in existing budgets. The expense of this endeavor is why the federal government is providing grant funds for these 40 schools to determine the impact of increased time on student achievement.

There are three basic ways to extend the instructional time for students:

Extend the School Year Additional time could be gained by simply adding days to the school calendar. By using this method of adding the 300 hours of time, California’s school year would jump to 215 days from the present 175.

Accounting for weekends and legal holidays, students would have about 20 days for “vacation” in a year.

Extend the School Day A second option is to extend the school day. High school students are now in school almost 7 hours, so extending the day by another hour would still leave 15 days to be added somehow. This option also presents problems with scheduling athletics and other after-school activities.

Extend the School Week Another option for adding time in school for students is to use Saturdays as an instructional day. Local districts have used this option temporarily in the past to provide remediation for students. Several Asian countries have a 6 day school week for students. Adding a day to our present 36 week school calendar would use about 90% of the additional 300 hours.

As with any proposal to improve education, its success will be determined to the degree that improved effective teaching occurs. If instruction is not effective, simply adding more time will not help.

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COMMUNITY

Masonic Center

peter champion follows footsteps of R.E. Jack

By Marilyn Darnell

Knights Templar SLO Installation

Peter Champion, Master of the Masonic Center, SLO is pictured with the tall black hat.

Master Champion immediately follows Master Bettencourt, from whom I received my invitation to attend the installation of officers for the Masons of the York Rite, Cryptic and Knights Templar.

Each of the groups is lead by a dozen officers that take care of such things as their treasury, record keeping and offering of prayers.

Knights Templar SLO Installation

P

eter George Champion was installed as Master of the Masonic Center in San Luis Obispo following in the footsteps of a number of historic leaders of the city with R. E. Jack among them. Mr. Jack is memorialized by his fellow Masons for his leadership as Master in 1894 and 1895 at King David’s Lodge #209. The cornerstone of the Free & Accepted Masons home was laid in 1913.

Masons of the State of California follow the York Rite. Sir Knight Marshall from southern California installed the 2013 board.

Members of the York Rite are called Companions. Companion Marshall proclaimed the officers duly installed and bestowed on Master Bettencourt the title of Past President in recognition of his leadership.

Officers of the body of Cryptic Masons were installed, each being addressed as Illustrious. Members of the York Rite can be a Cryptic Mason. Council 38 of San Luis Obispo installed Peter G. Champion as their Illustrious Master.

Mr. Champion rose to Solomon’s seat like all masons, by executing his duties and leading his life ever aware of the example that he is setting and by acknowledging in prayer and actions that he is an instrument of the Almighty, while developing his moral and ethical virtues.

Court is held in the Grand Lodge Room steeped in symbolism from top to bottom. Rich wood encompasses the room fit for a king. The Master sits in the east, a throne fit for King Solomon, while his court sits around him ever ready to step in where needed and symbolically guarding the north, west and south.

Working with the community is paramount, and among their efforts are their fiscal assistance to Hawthorne Elementary as well as their annual recognition of police and fire personnel in appreciation for their service.

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Freemasons Installed

Masonic Lodge, SLO

A spirit of welcome and openness was shown from the moment I stepped off the elevator when Robert (Bettencourt) introduced me to those standing near, including Jan Champion, whose husband was to be installed as the new Master. We quickly became bosom buddies and felt the significance of our attendance.

I admit I witnessed the prevalent shadow of secrecy felt towards masons first hand when I made mention of my invitation to others.

So, I am delighted to report here in word and photo the warm and open reception I received. What is true is that to be a Mason is to be a member of a fraternity, and like all fraternities they possess aspects unique to the membership.

Christian Masons can join still another group called the Knights Templar. The Knights carry a sword and wear a hat with plumes as part of their garb while moving with some precision and cadence like soldiers do. In the tradition of Mr. Jack and others, each knight bonded himself ceremoniously as a battle buddy to another.

As Lodge #209 maintains its fraternal traditions, they are mindful of social changes that have taken place over time. In an effort to share the richness of their traditions and recognize the importance of family and women, they extend invitations and plan activities to include them. Families and spouses were recognized for their generous support of the masons.

In 2009 the membership decided to commit to their historic downtown location and make necessary and meaningful changes to beautify and make practical additions, such as the elevator. It is the preservation of historic buildings such as this and the Jack House that enrich our community. Although the Masons own the entire building, their center is on the 2nd story and tenants occupy the street level.

The Masonic Center is reached by private elevator or by the beautifully handcrafted wooden staircase that will soon be adorned with new carpet as a part of the remodeling and beautification befitting this edifice.

Their library sits adjacent to the stairs where the history of the lodge dwells in volumes and photographs. Robert Edgar Jack’s photograph is among the lineage of leadership gracing the walls, and the history of his membership is assembled within its space.

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The Cornerstone at the Masonic Lodge

Manuputy, which is a series of 4 murals brought together as one uniting the elements of masonry and its symbolism.

Masonry is steeped in pageantry, regalia, ritual and symbolism through color, actions and accessories which are all depicted in this unique and fine work.

Masons come from all walks of life and Peter Champion has combined his writing talents with knighthood by having authored Masonic Trivia and Curiosities, while his 2nd book about the history of the Masons in our area is due out in October.

Speaking of October, the 20th is the date to save for the 100th anniversary, Master Champion announced in his opening remarks. In the meantime, it’s down to business with lots of planning and organizing.

His fellow Masons can rest assured it will be a celebration for the annals, as Companion and Knight Champion has proven his abilities by now accepting the role as Master of King David’s Lodge No. 209 of San Luis Obispo.

The dining room is embellished by the commissioned work of Carol & Richard

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COMMUNITY

history

SLO City Hall and Fire Department, located where Charles Shoes is today, burned in 1938.

fire!!!!

just one word can generate terror and thrills

By Joseph A. Carotenuti

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ust how does one word generate both terror and thrills at the same time? The wail of sirens peaks everyone’s curiosity … especially since the mere sound hints of potential disaster and heroism. In its earliest history, San Luis Obispo provided numerous opportunities for both. The alarm may have been from a clanging bell or the shouts of panic, but fire—or more accurately the dread of fire—is central to local history.

Here’s the story.

Only lawlessness in the 1850s eclipsed fire in the earliest lore of this community. Indeed, “fire” is a key element in understanding the evolution of any pioneer settlement. Most every history of the Mission is sure to point to a fire of 1776 that destroyed almost everything.

However, THAT fire was not in THIS church but in crude structures of poles, brush, and mud with dry tule roofs … easy pickings for a flaming arrow or two. The worst fire in the current structure was in 1920 … but that will be another story.

From its genesis, the mission settlement depended upon the creeks.

For cooking, cleaning, irrigation or sanitation, water meandering through the area was an essential resource. Hardy pioneers hauled water in buckets to store in barrels to fend off fires. However, dousing fires a bucket at a time was slow and ineffective. The combination of wood construction and gas illumination (first introduced in 1875) was a guaranteed recipe for disaster. The “fiend” (sometimes with human help) burned everything—homes, stores, hotels, stables, fields—even the firehouse bell tower.

The early residents did not find blazing buildings particularly exciting or glorious. Records indicate little organized attempts to curtail fires until March 1874 when some 20 men formed Fire Company #1 and

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petitioned for an appropriation from the town’s Board of Trustees. In late April, a small budget was suggested as a fire fund but the Board did not agree and the matter was tabled. Another petition in May met with the same results.

While officials were resistant to funding an organized fire program, they agreed to purchase fire equipment using funds raised by the volunteers. The progress of the fire “department” was one of volunteers (and families) raising money to purchase equipment. In October, authorization was made to “purchase five hundred feet of good Fire Hose, together with the necessary copplings (sic) and nozzles, also a Hose Cart.” The equipment was kept in Marshal E. B. Major’s custody.

By the beginning of 1875, there were discussions for a structure to house the equipment with an invitation for bids to purchase a lot.

Any structure would also serve as a Town Hall. Six bids were received including a lot as a donation. All were rejected. Instead a separate shed to house equipment “not to cost more than $200.00” was built on Morro Street between Monterey and Palm Streets. Four years later, a Town Hall included the first fire station.

In February 1876, the Marshal turned over to a reorganized fire company the community equipment. Foreman Edwin F. Sanborn was acknowledged as the only volunteer with fire department experience.

While the group was authorized to buy “1 truck, 200’ rope, 1 dozen

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Chief Engineer with Jacob Staiger and Frank McHenry as First and Second Assistants. There was no separate department budget and the City (incorporated in 1876) needed to approve every expense. Both fires and ways to prevent them grew as the Rescue Hook and Ladder Company #1 asked to be admitted as “a Company of the Department” the next month.

The Andrews fire in Downtown SLO.

Problems in addition to fires were far from resolved as fire now became involved with bureaucracy. The Chief Engineer found it necessary to suspend the Rescue Company volunteers for “disobedience.” An incomplete record indicates the men didn’t respond to a call for practice. The impasse was resolved when the volunteers gave assurances they would attend drills but the Chief was to give advance notice.

Hydrants along Monterey Street for use by the men pulling apparatus through the mud and graveled streets extended prevention efforts. Human power was replaced in 1890 by horses pulling “engines” to a blaze announced by the frantic clanging of a fire bell mounted in the tower above City Hall. Frustration was not uncommon when there was a lack of water, but joy when the blaze was squelched—only to realize that what the fire spared, the fire hose and water often destroyed.

Favorite images of the men and equipment were taken in front of the first City Hall. The Fire Department had a permanent home on first floor. Volunteers above could slide down a pole (after 1894) to any equipment and horses that were led into suspended harnesses to save time. Unfortunately, fire maintains its own speed and whoever heard the fire bell might run along with the brigade and all would watch a structure burn to its foundation.

In the early days a fire became a community event to help and observe.

spanners, ½ dozen axes, 1 dozen leather buckets, 2 heavy hooks and rings” and anything else “absolutely necessary,” volunteers eventually paid the bill.

Nonetheless, fire suppression was becomingly a civic necessity. Some six months later, Good Will Fire Co. #2 petitioned as a separate entity but the Trustees agreed to the new unit as part of the Fire Department. The Tribune was most supportive of the new organization as the first one was “virtually dead.” With no meetings or practices “for months,” all the equipment was eventually transferred for use by the men of Good Will.

Fires are not civic celebrations but dangerous and destructive. Yet the fascination and excitement bring a catastrophe face to face with any community’s finest. Hopefully, we can pause long enough to hear the hoof beats, the men running amid the shouts and cries of so many fires so many years ago. We might also feel the anguish of those who lost everything. Restored early equipment are treasured mementos of the past, but, sadly, the forgotten volunteers are the civic heroes for those we know today.

Today, chasing a fire truck on its way to an emergency (most often a medical call) is frowned upon—but we can at least imagine the days when a fire was a community’s most terrifying and fascinating event!

CONTACT: jacarotenuti@gmail.com

What some might consider as the beginning of a civic Fire Department was the appointment on April 29, 1878 of Henry Gimbal as

Fire equipment today

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Weaving threads of resilience and advocacy: The power of social work

By Shelley Kilcoyne, MSW

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esilience—“the ability to recover readily from depression, adversity, or the like; buoyancy.”

Our hospice patients and their loved ones tirelessly demonstrate this ability in their living, dying, and grieving processes. We honor the resilience of our courageous patients and families. And during this Social Work Month, March 2013, we honor social workers throughout our agency and county, and celebrate this year’s theme “Weaving Threads of Resilience and Advocacy: The Power of Social Work.”

Social workers witness, often daily, how daunting life’s tragedies and obstacles can be. We also witness the bravery and determination of individuals and families as they face these challenges and work to achieve their goals and regain buoyancy.

In end-of-life care, social workers are a vital component of the hospice team providing resource connection and emotional support for the dying, their loved ones, and our professional staff. Each patient and family receives individualized attention according to their specific needs. Our medical social workers visit new patients within five days of their start of hospice services in order to answer questions, get a feel for urgent and longer-term needs, make referrals to community programs, and provide counseling and emotional support to patients and their families during this difficult time.

Many people comment about hospice work, “How can you do it? …

It seems too heartbreaking.” The truth is, it can be heartbreaking.

But more than that, I experience this work to be heart opening.

What an honor it is to enter into people’s lives during their most vulnerable times and be entrusted with their raw emotions, their rich relationships, their riveting life stories, their hearts! What an honor to enter their homes and offer a helping hand, a listening ear, a shoulder in their time of need. And to be inspired and transformed by them, their insights, their advice, their resilience … and ultimately, by the moment that is often the most silent but profound … their surrender. Truly, it is a privilege to share in the lives of our patients and families and engage in this sacred, heartopening work.

May the threads of resilience, buoyancy, the ability to readily recover, be woven through your days; and if they’re ever evasive, reach out to a social worker or other helper and we’ll do our best to help you find them.

This monthly Hospice Corner is sponsored by Hospice Partners of the Central Coast. Shelley Kilcoyne is a Medical Social Worker at Hospice Partners. For more information, call (805) 782-8608.

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MARCH CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 43

STATEPOINT CROSSWORD THEME: AMERICAN LITERATURE ACROSS 1. Sweeney Todd’s weapon 6. *Recluse from “To Kill a Mockingbird” 9. Dumbfounded 13. *”Fear of Flying” author Jong 14. Unit of electrical resistance 15. Groom, to a bird 16. Brightest star in Cygnus 17. Anonymous John 18. Shadow 19. Covered with scabs 21. *F. Scott Fitzgerald’s mysterious millionaire 23. Nada 24. Circle overhead?

25. Douglas ___ 28. Lowest brass 30. Catch in a net 35. Bad day for Caesar 37. Grey, of tea fame

39. Spanish saint 40. Church section 41. *Poe’s talking bird 43. Bucolic poem 44. Chirp, as in bird 46. *”Twilight” series, e.g.

47. “The farmer in the ____” 48. Bonnie and Clyde’s doing 50. Mythical bird, pl.

52. Without professional help, acr.

53. Sound of impact 55. Tint 57. *T. Williams’ fading Southern belle 60. *J.D. Salinger’s young cynic 63. Pilaff or plov 64. ET carrier 66. Unbroken 68. Dadaist Max _____ 69. Rip off 70. Savory taste sensation 71. Kind of moss 72. Affirmative English rock band 73. Torn down

DOWN 1. *Like Stephen Crane’s Badge of Courage 2. Mars, to the Greeks 3. Brass component 4. Home to largest mammal 5. *John Updike’s “______, Run” 6. *Stephen King novella “The ____,” adapted into “Stand by Me” film 7. Exclamation of surprise 8. The end 9. They’re missing from Venus de Milo 10. He played Sergeant Joe Friday 11. Suggestive of supernatural 12. Piece of evidence 15. Capers or charades 20. Gloomier 22. Brewpub offering 24. *John Updike’s alma mater 25. *Harper Lee’s Atticus _____ 26. Gem State 27. Live it up 29. Bleats 31. *Occupation featured in “The Help”

32. Terminated 33. They’re found at checkout 34. *Truman Capote’s party girl 36. Garden starter 38. Toy block 42. Jack Black’s “_____ Libre” 45. Blow out the candle, e.g.

49. Sigma ___ Epsilon 51. S 54. Shylock’s practice 56. Swelling 57. ____ Straits 58. Arm bone 59. Cat-headed Egyptian goddess 60. Gremlins 61. Timeline divisions 62. What one goes by 63. ___ rally 65. *Wicked Witch of the West to Dorothy Gale 67. Jack-in-the-box part

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palm street perspective Thank you, good-bye and good luck

By SLO City Councilman, Andrew Carter

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y the time this article appears, I will have resigned my seat on the San Luis Obispo City Council and will have begun a new career as City Administrator in Guadalupe.

It is with sincere regret that I give up my council seat. It has been an honor serving the citizens of San Luis Obispo. It has been the most rewarding experience of my professional life. But the reality is that serving on council does not include a full-time salary even though it does require a full-time commitment. I have four children, two in college, two still to attend, and my personal finances have taken a terrible beating the last four years. I simply couldn’t afford to continue to serve.

So I am taking my commitment to public service in a new direction.

That is to move from elected office to city staff. I am honored to have been chosen by the Guadalupe City Council to be their City Administrator. I will try to serve that community as well as I have served this one.

Join The Magazine of The Central Coast More than 600 high traffic locations for pick-up throughout the Central Coast.

Reach all the SLOcals & beyond!

now online at www.slojournal.com

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For Advertising Information Call 546-0609

www.slojournal.com · 654 Osos Street · San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

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In 2010 and 2011, I led the charge for Measures A and B. Measure A enabled pension reform. Measure B ended binding arbitration. Both passed by 3-to-1 margins. Using these tools, Council negotiated new labor contracts in 2012 which will save the City over $3 million a year.

For the first time in five years, we have money to spend for the things that we in San Luis Obispo believe in—open space, bicycle paths, a new skate park, neighborhood quality, the downtown, traffic relief, infrastructure maintenance, economic development, and the fight against homelessness. The key reason we have this extra money is the fiscal reforms Council accomplished.

This is my legacy. I’m proud of it.

The four remaining Council members have decided to hold a special election to fill my seat. Some believe they should have appointed someone in order to save the $65,000 cost of an election. Council made the decision it did because there wasn’t a consensus candidate to appoint and because they believe in the value of democracy. It’s hard to argue against the viewpoint that the people should decide.

I don’t know yet whether I will endorse someone in the race. What I do know is that I will be looking to see where each candidate stands on fiscal responsibility. It’s not something that is done once and then is over with. It’s an on-going mission. It’s a particularly important mission since Council will most likely seek to renew Measure Y in 2014. That’s our special half-cent sales tax add-on.

I’ve always believed in Measure Y. I supported it when it passed in 2006. I support it now, but I’ve also always believed that Council must display on-going fiscal prudence if we expect our citizens to renew it.

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It took me three times to get elected to Council. I ran in 2002 and 2004, losing both times. In 2006, I was elected. In 2010, I was reelected. When I began my political career, my primary interest was affordable housing. I was also concerned about neighborhood quality.

I remain committed to both, but what I’ve become known for is my focus on fiscal responsibility. Council members run for many reasons, but what they all inherit is responsibility for the City budget.

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Although I’m off to Guadalupe, I will continue to live in SLO. It’s a 35-minute commute. I invite you to visit. Guadalupe is a wonderful community with a rich history. It’s a family-friendly community. It’s a proud community. It’s an affordable community. It’s possible to buy a home there for less than $200,000! There are a few too many empty storefronts on Rt. 1 right now, but we’ll fix that. We’re close to the dunes and the food is fantastic.

Thank you for electing me to office and letting me serve you. Goodbye and good luck!

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March 2013

W hat ’s U p Downtown B usiness Spo tlights

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t last. The final-final-final “90% off plus take Meeting on April 24 from 6 – 8 PM at the SLO another 20% off all holiday merchandise” Museum of Art. While it’s still a ways off, please sales are over and SHORTS are in the windows. mark your calendars now if you would like to (I inquired about the math on that particular attend and learn more about the workings of sale and was informed it was ‘up to.’) But yay, the Downtown Association and provide your even though you might still need a coat for perspective and suggestions for consideration in the next month or so, shorts in the windows the plan’s development. (An informational ad will Downtown mean it’s almost “sprummer” around appear in next month’s issue of the Journal Plus.) here, signaling we’ll ratchet up into our major earer in time, Concerts in the Plaza planning promotions and event season and get ready for Cash, CMSM, has begun and by the time this goes to print, some great fun. (Sprummer? You know, that blurry Deborah Executive Director bands will have been selected for the series distinction of Central Coast weather between April that begins June 14 (a bit later than usual) and and August and why we wear layers.) runs every Friday through September 6. We’re always s well, behind the scenes, we’re working on both a excited about this promotion that, since 1996, has been a two-year work plan and an update of our Strategic tremendous success, drawing thousands of people weekly Plan, the last update of which is about five years old. A into the Downtown and serving as a model for almost lot has changed if you look back at what’s gone on with every other community in the county (or anyone who has the economy/life/world since 2007. So we’re due for an a patch of grass and an electrical outlet for that matter). overhaul and will be looking at not only current conditions e also offer tons of fun at the Thursday market and business trends but also what we can anticipate future starting this month with the Bunny Trail Downtown modes of business and Downtown management will where children (and their parents) are invited to hunt for require. iscussion of Downtown’s future and public (your) input will be the focus of a special Town Hall

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On the Cover: Nobunny doesn't love E. Bunny! Kids of all ages love to pose with E. and then head out for handouts from Downtown businesses on the Downtown Bunny Trail. This year's event is Thursday, March 28 at Thursday Night farmers market; get a treat bag and event map at the information booth on Chorro and Higuera and fill your bags with goodies from more than two dozen businesses. Photos with E. Bunny at 770 Higuera (Jim's Camera alcove) starting at 6 PM. Photo by Deborah Cash

Bunny Trail Downtown M a rc h 2 8 t h - 6 : 0 0 - 8 : 3 0 p m

Hop the Bunny Trail in Downtown SLO during Thursday Night Promotions Farmers’ Market, visit local businesses and collect candy!

Pick up your treat bag and map of participating businesses at the corner of Chorro & Higuera streets.

Don’t forget to take your photo with E. Bunny in the alcove of Jim’s Campus Camera at 770 Higuera Street!

Sponsored by:

More information: (805) 541-0286 or www.DowntownSLO.com

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over the years we’ve provided the video to and worked Easter treats in Downtown businesses during the market with more than 200 communities around the world on March 28 from 6 – 8 PM. Sponsored by Sean M. Lee wanting to emulate the success of our event. Interestingly, Broker, GRI. THE REAL ESTATE COMPANY, the event as I strolled the market with my features photos with E. Bunny and Valley friends, they recognized free treat bags and maps available at several of the sellers (one food and the Information Booth. several produce vendors) from their hen, over the next month or own town. Small world. so, look for Health and Fitness astly but not leastly, I’d like Night, Main Stage Entertainment to introduce our newest staff and Mother’s Day Flower Giveaway, member Jennifer Behrens. A Cal Law Enforcement Night, Public Poly graduate, Jennifer will serve as Works Night and Downtown Brown’s the Downtown Birthday at the market. (Calendar Association’s available online at Promotions www.DowntownSLO.com) Assistant ctivities like these are one reason working on we get so much interest from Valley visitors! Main Street Hanford guests tour the all the aboveother communities about hosting market and take some notes! mentioned similar events in their downtowns. events and has, Recently a group from Main Street Hanford in the San as a previous intern and seasonal Joaquin Valley took a field trip over to meet with us about staffer, worked with the Downtown our market and take a tour. Actually, Hanford started its Association over the past year. We Jennifer Behrens, own market in the late 1990s after purchasing our video, are happy to have Jennifer on our Promotions Assistant “How To Have A Farmers Market In Your Town.” And, due team. to the event’s success and growth and the “growing pains” o there you have the long—and SHORTS—of it… therewith associated, organizers were looking for pointers around Downtown. from their SLO mentor that we are happy to share. In fact,

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S p o t l i g h t s venture into this class, you will have the opportunity to be involved in an Intuitive Healing Session that will help cultivate inner peace of body and soul. The mission of Start Healing Now, Steinicke says, “Is to help people achieve inner peace, and by doing so, we can increase world peace.”

Start Healing Now

Alexandra Steinicke, Owner 697 Higuera Street 805-602-7711 www.StartHealingNow.com

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nner peace can be yours, here and now.

Feel a healing embrace as you step inside the new Downtown business, Start Healing Now. Alexandra Steinicke, owner and specialist, opened her business on July 1.

Prior to moving to the Central Coast in 1991, Steinicke trained to become a metaphysical Christian minister in San Francisco at the Church of Natural Grace. Her training as enabled her to reach people through psychic readings, intuitive healing methods, clairvoyant practices and community meditations.

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ecome a part in creating a positive shift towards world peace by contacting Steinicke today. Her offers don’t stop there; Steinicke is also licensed to perform marriage ceremonies and burial services and can be contacted at (805) 6027711. By appointment only. Start Healing Now is located at 697 Higuera Street, Suite A, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.

By: Lacee Nordstrom

ach Wednesday at 7 PM, Steinicke offers community meditation classes for only a $10 donation. Once you helping customers find the right pair of flip flops for them. “We talk with the customer and see what they will be wearing and how they will wear the flip flops,” Callisch said.

Flip Flop Shop

Scott Callisch, Owner 858 Higuera Street (805) 548-1858 www.facebook.com/FlipFlopShopSlo

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ocated in the former site of the House of Bread, the Flip Flop Shop fulfills a niche special to the Central Coast. Tourists, college students, kids, beach lovers and all those desiring a “relaxed frame of mind” will enjoy the impressive 22-brand selection the Flip Flop Shop offers including Sanuk, Roxy, Olukai and Havaianas.

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ooking for the perfect pair of flip flops for a day at the beach, a night on the town or for everyday use? Scott Callisch, owner of the Flip Flop Shop, invites you to stop by and “free your toes” from the confinement of traditional shoes.

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he Flip Flop Shop, a franchise based in Atlanta, GA, opened its first location in San Luis Obispo in March of 2012. Although there are various locations throughout the country and state, Callisch thought Downtown San Luis Obispo was an ideal location to open his Flip Flop Shop store.

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allisch and his employees understand people wear flip flops for different reasons and are enthusiastic about

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he Flip Flop Shop is open 7 days per week. For more information, visit the store located at 858 Higuera Street, call (805) 548-1858 or you can find them on facebook.

By Erin Gray

Beagle and Badger represents the pair well: a confident, loyal and successful team.

Littlejohns, represented by the Beagle, said “Ian [the Badger] is gruff and not very chatty…and I am very chatty, so it works out.”

Beagle and Badger Marketing and Design Co.

Drew Littlejohns, (right) Ian Smalley, (left), Owners 1075 Court Street, Suite 208 (805) 458-5165 www.beagleandbadger.com www.facebook.com/ BeagleBadgerMarketingAndDesignCo

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eaching new customers and clients is an integral part of a successful business. Establish a strong business identity and watch your business grow with the exceptional knowledge and creative work of Beagle and Badger Marketing and Design Co. Specializing in search engine optimization, graphic design and brand building, and web design and marketing, Beagle and Badger is a digital marketing firm located in Downtown San Luis Obispo.

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usiness partners and good friends Drew Littlejohns and Ian Smalley

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stablishing and maintaining excellent client-business relationships are a top priority at Beagle and Badger. “Our business is relationship-based. Enjoying what we do and enjoying the clients we work with means better results,” said Littlejohns.

Along with creating good relationships, the business provides outstanding customer service by traveling to client offices to meet with clients or perform work.

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o matter the size of a business, that Beagle and Badger products are “like a permanent investment to a business, instead of a one-time build,” Littlejohns noted, also mentioning that clients tend to retain 80-90% of Beagle and Badger work.

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ave an idea you want to develop?

Contact Beagle and Badger today!

pened the first-time business in July of 2012. Describing

By Erin Gray each of the owners’ personalities, the business’ name

THE BULLETIN BOARD two new books for former slo resident

Former SLO resident and Journal Plus writer, Melissa Abramovitz has published two new books. ABC’s of Health and Safety (Guardian Angel Publishing). Health and safety are important for children, and it’s never too early for them to learn about these topics. In this picture book, delightful rhymes take kids on an A-Z journey through everyday health and safety habits. From active aerobics to hearthealthy-habits to zoo zone zeal, this ABC book introduces health and safety basics in a fun way. Her second book is titled, A Treasure Trove of Opportunity: How to Write and Sell Articles for Children’s Magazines (E&E Publishing). Many people dream of becoming a published author, and some submit manuscripts for many years with no success. This accessible, comprehensive guide provides the keys to breaking into print or enhancing an already successful career publishing magazine nonfiction for children and teenagers. From finding ideas to doing research to crafting query letters to writing and marketing exciting, age-appropriate articles, this book explains it all clearly and completely for aspiring and established authors. For more information or purchase go to melissaabramovitz.com

svmc and twin cities hospital honored

CIGNA has awarded Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and Twin Cities Community Hospital each with Center of Excellence designations for 2012. Both Central Coast hospitals earned the designations based on their strong commitment to high quality patient care and efficiency measures that exceed nationally recognized standards. In addition to the COE program, CIGNA grants enhanced quality designations to indicate superior patient outcomes based on treatment effectiveness for various surgical procedures and medical conditions. Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center received recognition for: angioplasty, cesarean section, disc surgery, hip replacement, knee replacement, orthopedic back surgery and spinal fusion. Twin Cities Community Hospital was recognized for: cesarean section, knee replacement and vaginal delivery.

casa awarded $10,000 grant

CASA of SLO County has received a grant from the John Lindahl Foundation in the amount of $10,000. John Lindahl was a man who cared about children and wanted his legacy to reflect his commitment to supporting the well-being of children. The funds received will be used to screen, train and supervise community volunteers assigned by a judge to advocate for a child in the foster care system. Visit http://slocasa.org/Library/Documents/slo-casamedia-kit.pdf for more information.

st. patrick’s day dinner

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 501 Fair Oaks Avenue, Arroyo Grande is hosting a corned beef and cabbage dinner, with all the trimmings and dessert, on March 16th from 4 - 7 p.m. in the parish hall in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Dinner tickets, ranging in price from $4 for children under the age of 13, $7 for seniors and $8 for adults are available at the door on March 16th or in the church office during business hours. Raffle tickets are being sold for three cash prizes.

Winners need not be present.

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jack’s helping Hand donation

Recently, local nonprofit organization Jack’s Helping Hand received $10,000 in generous donations from two very different sources. Both Chevron and the Florence McFarlane Martin Memorial Foundation donated $5,000 each. The foundation’s donation went towards the Mommy and Me Little Swimmers program, while Chevron’s donation was for general assistance. Since the organization relies solely on donations and sponsorships, donations like these help to continue providing services and assistance to children with special needs all over San Luis Obispo County.

Auto shop calls for Children’s book donations

Rizzoli’s Automotive wants to ensure local children have all the books they need to succeed. Many families who struggle financially do not have books at home for their children to read, but children who read books at home regularly have a higher success rate in school, according to the National Education Association. Rizzoli’s is collecting books for all reading levels at both of its Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo locations. The books will then be donated to Raising A Reader program and Altrusa of the Central Coast. Anyone who brings in a donation will receive $10 in “Rizzoli’s Bucks” to use towards service. For more information, call (805) 541-1082 in San Luis Obispo or (805) 922-7742 or visit www.RizzolisAutomotive. com. For more information about Raising A Reader or Altrusa, visit www.sloccf.com or www.altrusaclubcentralcoast.org.

volunteers needed at literacy council

The Literacy Council for San Luis Obispo County has an ongoing and urgent need for volunteer tutors. Our 2-part, Tutor Training Workshop will take place on Saturday March 16th and Saturday March 23rd, at the Literacy Council’s office, 995 Palm Street, SLO County Library, from 9:00am to 3:30pm. A $25 enrollment fee is required at your first session. For more information or to sign up, please call 541-4219.

slo nightwriters writing contest

SLO NightWriters, the premiere writing organization on California’s Central Coast, is now accepting submissions for the 2013 Writing Contest. Entries must include the first line “A perfect storm” or be based on that theme. The categories are: Short Story/Memoir (750 word limit) or Poetry (40 line limit). Entry fee is $10 per entry.

Prizes of $200 first, $150 second, and $75 third will be awarded in each category as well as certificates for Honorable Mention. Blind judging by published authors, teachers, librarians and laureates.

Submissions due by March 31st. Complete Rules and Format Guidelines are found at: www.slonightwriters.org. Have questions?

Contact us at nightwriterscontest@gmail.com.

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Journal PLUS MAGAZINE OF THE CENTRAL COAST

Call 546-0609 for Advertising Information M A R C H

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locals honored helping superstorm sandy victims big brothers/sisters celebrates 1600th match

Coinciding with National Mentoring Month, Big Brothers Big Sisters of SLO County is celebrating a milestone of matching its 1600th local child with a mentor, since opening in 1995. Six-year-old Ethan looks forward to exploring local hiking trails, visiting county museums and learning about dinosaurs with his new Big Brother, Ken Frye.

Ken says, “Making a difference in these kids’ lives is one of the most important things we can do.” Indeed, Ethan and the 1,599 other children who have participated in the program are more likely to graduate, less likely to use violence and better equipped to become positive contributors in our community, because of the valuable developmental assets that are gained through spending one-to-one time with a positive role-model. Every “Big” in SLO County can be proud of his or her part in this achievement. For more information on volunteering or contributing to Big Brothers Big Sisters, call 7813226, or log onto www.slobigs.org.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the American Red Cross of SLO County hosted a reception recently to thank 18 local Red Cross volunteers, and five PG&E employees, who deployed to the East Coast to help with Superstorm Sandy relief efforts.

In the days following the hurricane, PG&E sent more than 250 employees and 100 pieces of equipment to assist Con Edison and the Long Island Power Authority with restoration efforts in New York. Over two weeks, PG&E employees worked 16-hour days helping to restore power to thousands of customers in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island. To date, the American Red Cross Central Coast Region has sent 59 local volunteers to assist in critical relief and recovery efforts. Attached photo from left: Paul Deis, Red Cross EMS Manager; Barry Allen, Diablo Canyon Power Plant Site Vice President; Mike Casiday, PG&E Restoration Troubleman from Templeton; SLO Police Chief Steve Gesell; Jeff Power, PG&E Restoration Troubleman from Santa Maria; Mike Chavez, PG&E Restoration Troubleman from SLO; Ian Parkinson, SLO County Sheriff; and John Ashbaugh, SLO City Councilman.

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paso robles wine country alliance donation

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The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance awarded $3,000 to Partnership for the Children of SLO County in support of children’s dental services offered at their non-profit dental clinic, La Clinica de Tolosa. The award will help cover un-reimbursed costs of dental care at the clinic and represents a portion of funds raised at three Wine Alliance auctions held in 2012. The proceeds were gifted to multiple charities supporting healthcare, education and greater community services. For more information about the PRWCA go to www.pasowine.com, or call 239-8463. For more information about La Clinica de Tolosa go to www.clinicadetolosa.org.

Fhmc receives million-dollar donation

French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) is pleased to announce the receipt of a generous $1,000,000 donation from the Copeland family. James and Sandra Copeland and Thomas and Pamela Copeland, longtime SLO residents and recognized business leaders and philanthropists, are avid supporters of the community and have given generously in many ways over the years. The family says supporting not-for-profit community health care is important to assuring access to quality health care for future generations. This donation will be used to support a multimilliondollar hospital expansion project that will bring increased patient capacity, needed upgrades and leading-edge technology to the now 40-year-old facility.

big donation to food bank

Thanks to the largest-ever donation-matching gift in the organization’s history, the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County raised nearly $60,000 in the recent KCOY-TV Hope for the Holidays Food Drive. The $20,000 dollar-for-dollar single donation helped generate 280,000 nutritious meals for SLO County from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The funds helped fill the bellies of the estimated 44,000 people in need countywide, 40 percent of which the Food Bank says are young children of working families living in or close to the poverty level and 12 – 15 percent are seniors. As word

Frank other businesses got out about the donation-matching program, jumped on the band wagon and the donations far exceeded the $40,000 amount we had hoped to raise. If you are in need of help or for general questions about the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County, call (805) 238-4664. To learn about upcoming fundraisers or to stay updated, please visit their Facebook page “SLO Food Bank” or go to www.slofoodbank.org. To make a donation, call (805) 238-4664, visit the website or send a check to P.O. Box 2070, Paso Robles, CA 93447.

Free senior health care screening

Community Action Partnership, Adult Wellness & Prevention 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.

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Iftiniuk chosen as honorary chair for arthritis

The Arthritis Foundation proudly announces that Alan Iftiniuk, President and CEO of French Hospital Medical Center, will serve as Honorary Chair for the 2013 San Luis Obispo Arthritis Walk. The walk will be held on Saturday, April 27 at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Iftiniuk returns for the second year as Honorary Chair and joins the Arthritis Foundation in celebrating a change in this year’s Walk location from Atascadero to San Luis Obispo. The Arthritis Walk® is the Arthritis Foundation’s signature event that raises funds and awareness nationwide to find a cure for arthritis and related diseases. Participants walk as individuals or in teams in honor of a friend, colleague, or family member with arthritis. The event features entertainment, a health expo, food, beverages, prizes and arthritis education. For more information or to register for the San Luis Obispo Arthritis Walk, visit ccarthritiswalk.org or call the Central Coast office at 805.563.4685.

antique show raises funds for local nonprofit

The Three Speckled Hens Antique Show continues to showcase great antiques while raising funds for charities on the Central Coast. A portion of the gate sales from each show are donated to charity, and at their last show, Three Speckled Hens chose to benefit local nonprofit Jack’s Helping Hand. A grand total of $1,700 was donated to Jack’s Helping Hand from their past show, and the organizers were so inspired by the mission of the nonprofit, they have chosen to support it again for their upcoming show on May 4 and 5 at the Paso Robles Event Center.

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Christopher meadows paramedic scholarship Local EMT and paramedic student, Patrick Patton has been selected as the 2013 recipient of the Christopher Meadows Memorial Paramedic Education Scholarship. Patton is currently enrolled in the Central Coast Paramedic Program at Cuesta College and works as an emergency medical technician at San Luis Ambulance Service. Patton and other local paramedic students applied for the $3,000 memorial scholarship, which is awarded annually to Central Coast EMS workers pursuing paramedicine careers. This is the fourth year that the scholarship has been awarded.

new task force on public safety Sheriff Ian Parkinson and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) jointly announced today the formation of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff ’s Task Force on Public Safety. The Task Force was established through a donation of $75,000 from PG&E to the Sheriff ’s Advisory Foundation.

The goal of the Task Force will be to raise public awareness, increase collaboration and communication to establish San Luis Obispo County as the Most Prepared County in Disaster Preparedness & Response in the Country. “We strive to be the safest county in the country and this new task force gives us a great opportunity to be better prepared and responsive in case of emergency,” said Sheriff Parkinson. “With PG&E’s generous donation, we are able to be a leader in planning for any and all types of emergencies.”

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THE BULLETIN BOARD Bridget ready honored Jack’s Helping Hand Founder Bridget Ready will soon receive the prestigious Public Service Award from Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Chi State Personal Growth and Services Committee. The committee presents this award once a year to a California resident with outstanding public service. Bridget will accept the award at the Chi State Convention banquet in the Los Angeles on May 4. This award recognizes a man or woman who makes an outstanding contribution in any public service arena as a volunteer or professional in business, industry or government.

Bridget Ready, who founded local nonprofit Jack’s Helping Hand along with her husband Paul in 2004, has demonstrated outstanding public service by working to meet the unmet needs of the special children of the Central Coast who face daily challenges. Jack’s Helping Hand, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization, was created in honor of Paul and Bridget Ready’s youngest son Jack, who passed away in 2004 at the age of three.

Since it was founded, Jack’s Helping Hand has established and provided community programs that enable and empower families, professionals and the broader community to meet the unique unmet physical, mental and medical needs of special children and adults who have not attained the age of 21. The organization relies solely on donations and sponsorships to assist special children in need. To donate or for more information, please call (805) 547-1914, e-mail jhh@jackshelpinghand.org, or visit www. jackshelpinghand.org.

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charlene rosales to lead slo chamber government affairs

The SLO Chamber of Commerce announced recently that Charlene Rosales has been named its director of governmental affairs. Rosales will lead the Chamber’s legislative efforts, including representing business community issues to city, county and state government. “Charlene brings a wealth of community leadership, deep relationships and local understanding to represent the local business community,” said SLO Chamber President and CEO Ermina Karim. “Her experience in the nonprofit sector along with her depth of business knowledge and of the legislative workings in the county and state will serve as a huge benefit to our members.” Rosales comes to the Chamber after eight and a half years at the United Way of SLO County, where she spent the past five years as chief operating officer. As a community leader, Rosales has experience in operational activities in the public and private sectors and vast experience in community action and volunteerism. She served three terms as chair of SLO City’s Human Relations Commission and was a member of the City’s Economic Development Strategic Plan steering committee, served as a legislative ambassador for the American Cancer Society and served on the boards of the SLO County YMCA, the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo Daybreak and has been active with many other organizations. Rosales also brings a deep understanding of Chamber operations, goals and staff, having served two terms on the SLO Chamber board of directors, two years on the Executive committee, serving as chair of the Evaluation committee, and being an active member of the Chamber’s legislative committees.

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COMMUNITY

eye on Business

OH, THE PEOPLE WE MEET

By Maggie Cox, Barnett Cox & Associates

O

ne of the benefits of being in business is meeting people as part of my job. And while there is a predictable group of associates and colleagues that have become friends, there are the others who don’t fit a traditional mold but in their own way have a profound influence.

David Jaurequi is just such a person. David recently retired after 28 years in government service, the last eight and a half as the custodian at the SLO Main Post Office on Dalidio Drive. I got to know him over the last few years during my early morning stops at the Post Office, and the care and commitment David brought to his job never ceased to impress me. He took a custodian job and worked it far beyond what was expected and in doing so, made a lasting impression.

Those four years were followed by 14 for the Postal Service in Bakersfield, where he rose to the position of lead mechanic, supervising a 10 person staff. He said he took the Bakersfield job because it was “closer to home”—he worked a crazy schedule that allowed him to be home and with his family Wednesday nights and then Friday through the weekend.

Here’s how it would go. 7 a.m. at the Post Office and David would be on the job, usually in the lobby, broom in hand. Morning pleasantries and friendliness were pro forma, and then he’d toss in more. “You got more packages?”

Off he’d go to my car to help unload. Need a priority mail sticker? To the back to nab one for me. And if the mail chute was jammed from mail yet to be sorted, David would take packages and walk them to the back—saving me a return trip to get the job done.

People like David Jaurequi deserve our accolades and admiration. He’s someone who through his life has chosen to do what is best for others; who’s persevered and worked like a dog and continued to improve himself. He speaks freely of his gratitude for family and health and job and friends. He is a perfect example of someone doing the right thing when no one is looking. David is off now to

And then in 2004 when the opportunity arose for a job change to custodian and a relocation to SLO, David grabbed it. The new position was a big change for him, but it was a job he made his own. It allowed him more time to enjoy his family and brood of grandkids (now up to 7). And it was a job that gave people like me the chance to get to know this great, unassuming guy.

David grew up in the Central Valley, the son of migrant workers, with a Mexican mother and a Basque father. He is fluent in Spanish.

David joined the US Army, did basic training at Fort Ord, went to jump school in Fort Benning, and joined the 82nd Airbone as a paratrooper. With his wife and three tiny kids in tow, he spent a year in Korea. He returned stateside and built a military career with a specialty in auto mechanics.

After the Army, David completed two AA degrees and rose to be a master mechanic for a number of local auto dealerships. He parlayed his skills into a position with the Postal Service in San Jose. For four years he commuted weekly to his Bay Area job, travelling home on weekends so his wife and children could stay home in Santa Maria.

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David Jaurequi

grandpa fulltime and enjoy his auto restoration hobby. In his retirement wake he leaves a rich tradition of a custodian who showed that every job counts and every person has impact. Thank you, David. But my mornings just won’t be the same.

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