Life Morro
JULY 2015
Bay
Everything Morro Bay
New members join Tourism Board
Inside ... Morro Bay to host 2015 Special Olymians 3 Spooner Ranch House 4 Muncie at Otter Rock 5 Christmas in July 6 MBNEP Poetry winners 8 Wine Tasting 11
By RUTH ANN ANGUS For Morro Bay Life
Historical Society Morro Bay set time capsule burial
Photos by Allyson Oken
By ALLYSON OKEN Of Morro Bay Life
History will come to life thanks to the Historical Society of Morro Bay, who for the city’s 50th anniversary will be burying a time capsule to be unearthed for the Centennial anniversary. The capsule is slated to be buried Friday, July 17. To facilitate the collection of living history the HSMB partnered with co-sponsors the Morro Bay 50 Celebration Committee and the City of Morro Bay. The plan for the day is to host a burial ceremony and Old Fashion Ice Cream Social from 3 to 5 p.m. at Morro Bay City Park, located on the corner of Morro Bay Bulverde and Harbor Street. HSMB treasure Roger Castle, HSMB president Linda Estes, HSMB Board Director Glenn Silloway and John O’Brien with Morro Bay 50th have joined forces
Sheila Ward with Coast Mounted Assistance has been a member on and off since 1976. Lea Geronimo has been a member for two years, Marlon Geronimo has been a member for two years, Rachel Boddeker has been a member for six years, Lynda Roeller has been a member for 13 years and Gretchen Moreno has been a member for 23 years. They all come out on a regular basis to ride, patrol and maintain Montaña de Oro State Park.
Coast Mounted Assistance
Providing State Park services since 1973 By ALLYSON OKEN Of Morro Bay Life
For 42 years the Coast Mounted Assistance non-profit volunteer group has been providing valuable services to California State Parks, regulated by the California State Parks Volunteers in Parks Program (VIPP) and partnered with the Central Coast State Parks Association. The CMA boasts about 55 local members and horse owners that volunteer their time to maintaining Montaña de Oro State Park. This park is made up of 8,500 acres of land and has more than 50 miles of trails on some of the most picturesque land on the Central Coast. Vice President of the group Rachel Boddeker
said that this is one of the most rewarding groups to be a part of because it is such a blast and they really get to help out. “We all love being a part of CMA,” she said. “For many of us, riding is a way of life and we get to enjoy it with each other while out maintaining and patrolling this beautiful property. We use tools and trim back brush and it is done on horseback and on foot.” CMA works to maintain the trails, patrols trails and works with its many partners in the community to provide these services and also act as emergency response support to rangers, search and rescue teams and the California Highway Patrol. Please turn to Page 7
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Keeping Morro Bay safe
MBPD and city, ban spice and roll out new app By ALLYSON OKEN Of Morro Bay Life
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Monthly publication dedicated to covering everything in Morro Bay, CA.
Photos by Allyson Oken
This is an example of what a post looks like on the app’s back end, accessible to all officers at the station.
Morro Bay Police Department in conjunction with the City of Morro Bay are working hard to maintain the high quality of life in the city by offering a new free downloadable mobile app and by introducing an ordinance to ban the sale and possession of synthetic spice and bath salt drugs, which took effect June 12. They’re also working to make sure the community knows about the rules from leash laws and the use of safe and sane fireworks. Police Chief Amy Christy expressed excitement at having this new mobile app to open the lines of communication,
providing officers on the beat more information and even improving response times in an emergency. “This mobile app is really great and we are the first department in the county to roll this out,” she said. “This is a great app that many departments across the state and country are beginning to use. It allows people to take pictures of what they see, from vandalism to minor thefts, and even report suspicious noises and activity. It not only opens the lines of communication with the people we serve, but gives the department the opportunity to respond quickly to minor
The hotel industry is in Fred Reed’s blood. Reed grew up in the Bay area and worked at his father’s business, Fred K. Reed & Associates, where he learned the ins and outs of managing hotel properties, opening new hotels particularly at the time the High Tech industry was taking off. So far in his career Reed has overseen properties as far south as Ridgecrest and as far north as Humboldt. He worked in San Francisco in 2000 and then Carmel and opened and managed the Marriott Courtyard in Paso Robles in 2006. Now he takes over at the newly renovated Inn at Morro Bay and Reed has big plans for this inn that sits on the edge of the estuary. The Inn has an opened-up lobby that reaches to an expansive waterfront view in the lounge. It totally changes the ambiance of the place. “We hope to have music on the deck,” Reed said, “or perhaps a barbecue pit. We’ve hired an excellent chef and will offer specials to attract tourists and locals. There are lots of plans. We are just working thing out now and our overall vision is to be an asset to the town.” Reed decided to join the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID/ BID) Board of Directors. “I’ve only been to one meeting,” he said, “but I’ve had experience on boards like this.” Reed was responsible for setting up the BID in Paso Robles. He feels the board is being asked to do a whole lot of things that have nothing to do with hospitality. “I do care about downtown,” he commented, “but don’t think the TBID board needs to be focused on downtown revitalization. We can help, but we need to be focused on hospitality.” This sentiment is echoed by Roger Corwin, Manager of the Embarcadero Inn, and also a new TBID board member. Corwin has been in the hotel business for 40 years and worked his way up in the industry from housekeeper to manager. He has worked at several local hotels in San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach. He came on as manager for owner Karen