The Land

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Serving Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito and San Luis Obispo Counties

Paul Beckett selected to Hall of Fame

Supervisors push water district process ahead County staff will petition LAFCO to form new district

By DEBORAH MILLS Of the Land

STAFF REPORT SAN LUIS OBISPO — The county Board of Supervisors are moving forward with the process of forming a water district for the Paso Robles groundwater basin. October’s vote was 4-1 in favor of directing the county Public Works Department to begin petitioning the Local Agency Formation Commission to form a Paso Robles water basin district. Supervisor Debbie Arnold cast the lone no vote. “Clearly we have many, many people opposed to forming a new district and we have many people that are adamantly about that,” Arnold said. “But that being said, I don’t think this is the role of the county to apply for a new water district.” The petition process would cost the county an estimated $350,000 and be paid through the county Flood Control and Water Conservation District. “I worry about the expense of creating a new district,” Arnold said. “The taxpayers already pay for a large county staff to do this kind of thing. I have a lot of confidence in our flood control district.” Arnold would like to see the basin landowners petition LAFCO. The public hearing lasted nearly two hours and about 30 people spoke. Neither side had a clear majority. The move comes on the heels of a September signing of AB 2453 allowing the formation of such a district. It was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 16. The supervisor’s decision came out of a water summit during the board’s Tuesday afternoon session and included updates on current drought conditions and state and local water legislation. The bill allows either the board or 10 percent of the property owners of the basin to petition to form the district. Developing

December 2014

Charles Paull, senior scientist at MBARI shows where researchers discovered the sunken ship on a map of the Monterey Bay. Tarmo Hannula/The Land

A surprising discovery

Marine researchers discover long-lost shipwreck By TODD GUILD Of the Land

MOSS LANDING — A barge that has languished for more than three decades 1,700 meters below the water’s surface in Monterey Bay was recently discovered by a team of researchers studying oceanic fault lines. The researchers, from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, announced their discovery Nov. 5. But the discovery was a fluke. They were on a weeklong research cruise to study the San Gregorio Fault, an active earthquake fault that crosses Monterey Bay. That task is infinitely more difficult than it sounds. Thanks to the complexity of peering through hundreds of feet of water, researchers estimate they have mapped less than five percent of the ocean’s floor. “We know more about the surface of Mars than we do the sea floor,” said

MBARI geologist Charlie Paull. The discovered barge, named the Umpqua II, was built in 1970. It set sail in 1982 out of its Reedsport, Ore. home and was carrying a load of dredge spoils when it ran aground near Moss Landing. It was towed offshore and scuttled, coming to rest in Monterey Canyon, a largely unexplored place that can reach depths up to 13,000 feet. The barge has since become home for a handful of sea stars, anemones, and fish, but has been mostly kept free of life and corrosion thanks to the low oxygen concentration of the deep water. The Umpqua II well may have gone undiscovered indefinitely, were it not for MBARI and its Autonomous Underwater Vehicle called the D. Allen B. Some 30 feet long, the device is torpedo-shaped and packed full of monitors, sensors and batteries. Once

SOUTH COUNTY — Every year the Western Fairs Association (WFA) selects one or two individuals to be in their Hall of Fame, and this year, Paul Beckett and Sandy Woods were selected for their dedicated efforts that have enriched the tradition of fairs and encouraged the professionalism of the industry as a whole. “I was in shock when I got the telephone call that I was selected,” said Beckett. “I am still in shock.” On Jan. 14, Beckett will attend the annual convention in Reno where he will be honored at the Industry Awards celebration where WFA presents not only the Hall of Fame recipients but they also present the Merrill Award for innovation and vision in fair management and the Barham Award for outstanding entrepreneurship. WFA is also awarding Woods, who is the manager of the Nevada County Fair in Grass Valley, the Hall of Fame award. Beckett has served for 40 years on the Board of Directors for the Salinas Valley Fair (SVF) where this year he retired from the board but is still as active as ever with the fair. Beckett’s life in South County started in the ‘60s when he worked for PGE where they had a cooking booth at the fair yearly. Shortly after his arrival he helped out with the booth and he noticed in his down time that there were Please turn to Page 4

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Adelaida Cellars celebrates 50 years of pinot noir, breaks ground on addition New hospitality center slated to grace winery’s hilltop ranch property 2015 By HAYLEY THOMAS For the Land

PASO ROBLES — It was a bright and sunny morning on Thursday, Oct. 16, as local dignitaries and the wine community gathered together for a celebration 50 years in the making. Veteran Paso Robles winery Adelaida Cellars celebrated the milestone birthday of its HMR Pinot Noir Vineyard, then subsequently broke ground on its new hospitality center, set to open in 2015. Several shuttles transported the group— From left, Dr. Liam Duggan and Elizabeth and Brett Van Steenwyk break ground on which included SLO County Supervisor Frank Adelaida Cellars’ new hospitality center, slated to open next year. The groundbreaking Mecham, Adelaida Winery Owners Elizabeth took place on Thursday, Oct. 16 and also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the winery’s HMR Pinot Noir Vineyard, planted in 1964. Photo by Hayley Thomas

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This year Paul Beckett received the honor of being on the cover of this year’s Salinas Valley Fair auction cover for his commitment of serving 40 years on the board of directors and on Friday it was announced that he is the recipient of the Western Fairs Association Hall of Fame award, which is the highest honor to receive in the industry.

Inside ...

Paso man travels for bugs

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Research vessel retired

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Water warriors honored

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Paso Robles on board with tourism

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Charles Paddock Zoo welcomes birth of red pandas

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