coast news

YOUR COMMUNITY IN YOUR HANDS

AVILA BEACH • SHELL BEACH • PISMO BEACH • GROVER BEACH • ARROYO GRANDE • HALCYON • OCEANO

Volume 12 • Issue 22 • December 11 - 17, 2014

page 7 page 37 page 42page 4pages 15-30

The 5 Cities Men’s Club reigned over the festivities

as the grand marshals of the 48th Annual South

County Holiday Parade in Grover Beach on

Saturday. See more photos on page 40.

Photo by Evanne Mingori

Newly-elected City Council mem-bers were offi cially sworn in last week while others said farewell

as their terms came to an end.In Arroyo Grande, write-in mayoral

candidate Jim Hill, incumbent Coun-cilman Tim Brown and newcomer Councilwoman Barbara Harmon took the oath of offi ce in front of a full house at the council chambers.

Members of the public and the coun-cil applauded the service of incumbent Joe Costello, who lost a bid for re-elec-tion after serving from 2002 to 2014.

“It has been my privilege and honor to serve on the council for 12 years

and the Planning Commission for four years prior to that,” Costello said. “I want to remind you all that when you are serving on the council, you are not just serving on the council, you also have a lot of ancillary duties that you have to perform.”

During his tenure, Costello was on theWater Resource Advisory Commit-tee, the Zone 3 Advisory Board, the Brisco Interchange Sub-committee, the county Air Pollution Control District Board, the Five Cities Fire Consolida-tion Committee and the Five Cities Fire Authority Board.

Government Leaders Sworn In

By Theresa-Marie Wilson

Elegant in A.G.

See Leaders, page 38

The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission was so swamped with an estimated

11,000 public comments regarding a proposed rail line extension to increase crude oil deliveries to a Nipomo refi n-ery, that they’ve postponed the item until February.

The Phillips 66 refi nery’s project has the potential to impact much of SLO County, as the train tracks run through Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascade-ro, over the Cuesta Grade and down through SLO, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach and the outskirts of Oceano, be-fore heading uphill onto the Nipomo

Mesa. Opposition has thus far been strongest from residents of the Mesa.

Fear not activated citizenry; local policy regarding railroad traffi c and safety is still being made in January when the Council of Governments has a joint meeting with the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board.

Three items on that Jan. 7 agenda will affect rail in the region and public com-ment is welcomed. Most notable for the meeting in the Atascadero City Hall will be a public hearing for the Environ-mental Impact Review on the Coastal Corridor Rail Improvement Project.

Rail Safety a Concern in SLO County

By Camas Frank

See Rail, page 6

Breaking the Law

Holiday Guide

Adventur-ous at the Sea Venture

A Tastel of Italy

Holiday Guide

Your Guide to Local Shopping, Dining and

Holiday Events

2 • December 11-17, 2014 • Coast News

Table ofContentsContents

Making the Best of the Drought ....... 3

Elegant Christmas in the Village ...... 4

Nipomo Burglar Suspect Arrested ... 5

Police Seek Purse Snatcher ............. 5

Photography at the Clark ............... 6

Police Blotter ................................. 7

Sanitation Opinion ......................... 8

King Harris .................................... 9

Lifestyle ................................... 12-14

Holiday Guide .........................15-30

805 Sound ..............................31-34

Dinner and a Movie ..................... 37

Local Mountain Lions.................... 39

Grover Beach Parade ................... 40

In The Black .............................41-43

Community Calendar.........10-11

Entertainment .................. 35-36

Prices Are Born Here And Raised Elsewhere

The largest inventory on the Central Coast!

Locally owned and operated for over 20 years.

The big yellow building across

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252 Higuera St, San Luis ObispoCall Us: 544-9259 or 541-8473

Bret Colhouerpublisher

[email protected]

Neil Farrellmanaging editor The Bay News

[email protected]

Theresa-Marie Wilsonmanaging editor The Coast News

[email protected]

Camas Franksection editor

SLO City [email protected]

Paul Winninghoffsports reporter

[email protected]

Gareth Kellybusiness / lifestyle reporter

[email protected]

Christy Serpaart director

Jim Bennettgraphic designer

Kathrene Tiffi ncopy editor

Kaila Lugoadministrative assistant

ADVERTISING

Dave Diazinternet, text & loyalty marketing

Dana McGrawsales manager

[email protected]

Zorina Riccisenior advertising executive

SEO [email protected]

Carrie [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

Teri BayusMichael Gunther

King HarrisVivian Krug

Evanne MingoriBetsey Nash

SLO NightwritersRay Ambler

Ruth Anne AngusAmy Joseph

Carrie JaymesErin O’Donnell

This is a publication of Tolosa Press, Inc., Copy-right 2007–2013 all rights reserved. One free copy per person. Additional copies can be obtained at our offi ces 615 Clarion Court, #2, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401. Tolosa Press makes every reasonable ef-fort to ensure the accuracy of its contents. Please notify us if information is incorrect.

phone (805) 543-6397 fax (805) 543-3698

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Coast News • December 11-17, 2014 • 3

Making the Best of the DroughtBy Theresa-Marie Wilson

NEWS

If you were looking for a silver lining in the devastating drought that California is in the midst of,

ECOSLO might have found one.The Environmental Center of San

Luis Obispo, better known as ECOSLO, is taking advantage of low water levels in area lakes and removing debris along the expanding shorelines that were in most cases previously under water. The low water levels resulting from one of the most severe droughts recorded in state history provide a great opportunity to remove the litter before the rains wash it away.

“The lake bed is so dry now that it is developing these really deep cracks,” said ECOSLO Program Coordinator Adria Arko. “Some of the debris that was struck there is now exposed. You can dig it out and get it out of the environment.”

The accumulation of trash affects the environment and endangers wildlife habitats.

“The drought is a sad thing,” Arko said. “It’s bad for the environment—the fi sh that are living there, the whole habitat. The plus side, if there is one,

is that the exposed lakebed is allowing us to remove that debris that would otherwise get stuck in the mud or wash back out with the rain. This can be eaten by fi sh and it is bad for them to digest. It really impacts the whole ecosystem.”

According to San Luis Obispo County Water Resources, Lopez is currently only 42 percent full. In January 2013, levels were at 56 percent. In October, a group of about 15 volunteers ventured out to Lopez Lake and gathered more than 300 pounds of trash and recyclables, about 12 to 15 55-gallon garbage bags, in about 2 and a half hours.

In November, a group of 35 volunteers at Santa Margarita Lake removed 360 pounds of trash that had accumulated in and around the drying lake bed and shore line. The lake is currently at 20.2 percent capacity compared to 38.6 percent at the beginning of last year.

Similar to the annual Coastal Cleanup Day, also organized by ECOSLO, cigarette butts were the most prevalent trash item found at both lakes.

“We also found a lot of fi shing line, rope, and fi shing lures,” Arko said.

“Also, a lot of beer and soda cans and bottles. Some of the cans that we found had vintage pop tabs. They were really old cans that were stuck a couple of inches down in the mud.”

In Santa Margarita, a number of plastic chairs and plastic crates were found.

ECOSLO is hosting another clean up at Lopez Lake on Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon. Interested individuals can call ECOSLO at (805) 544-1777 or meet at 9 a.m. at the payment offi ce and tell them you are with ECOSLO. Wear sunscreen and sturdy sh oes. Lopez Lake is offering free entrance for the rest of the day to folks who volunteer.

“There is so much more,” Arko said. “We covered a lot of ground, but there is so much more of the lake that we weren’t able to access.”

Working with a ranger at the lake, ECOSLO will make the lake cleanups a regular event.

“We just decided that we are going to plan these regularly and clean up as much as we can before the rain takes everything back out to the middle of the lake.”

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Future endeavors could include taking volunteers out on a boat to allow access to other parts of the lakes shorelines.

“This is a long-term project,” Arko said.

Volunteers are a vital part of the ECOSLO operation. The organization has about 2,100 volunteers on their email list, but not all of them are active. More are needed.

“They are essential,” Arko said. “All of our programs are totally dependent on volunteers. We are a really small organization. We have two part-time staff members and an active board of seven people. Everything that we do requires volunteers. They are so helpful. It is so amazing that they come out on Saturdays and pick up trash at a lake. They actually end up having a really good time.”

ECOSLO is a non-profi t dedicated to supporting and creating resilient, healthy, natural systems and lifestyles throughout the county through education, advocacy, and community building. For more information, visit them at www.ecoslo.org. ✤

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Nipomo Suspected Burglar Arrested

NEWS

County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Nipomo man accused of burglarizing the home of an

elderly couple while they slept.The burglary occurred on Nov. 28 at

a home on Olympic Way in Nipomo, according to Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla. “On that day,” Cipolla said, “the suspect broke into a house occupied by two elderly residents who were asleep at the time. The suspect had forced entry

to the back of the house and made off with several small, die-cast model cars and a purse. During the course of the investigation, video surveillance was obtained that showed the suspect and his vehicle.”

The video led to identifi cation of a suspect, Brett William Douglass, 38 of Nipomo, who

reportedly lives on Archer Way. Douglass was on probation for a drug-related conviction and Deputies swooped in on him Dec. 4, searching his car and home and reportedly recovering the toy cars and items from the burglary.

Douglass was also allegedly found in possession of a loaded

fi rearm with “a homemade silencer.”Deputies believe Douglass may be

associated with other burglaries in the area, as their search turned up several other suspicious items including laptops, watches, cell phones and tools.

He was booked into County jail for suspicion of fi rst degree burglary and investigators are trying now to connect the other items recovered to other crimes. ✤

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Police Seek Purse Snatcher

San Luis Obispo Police are looking for a man who snatched two women’s purses in Downtown

SLO, but was thwarted in his capers by a heroic citizen and his own clumsiness.

According to Sgt. Chad Pfarr, at 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, a woman was walking in the 900 block of Chorro St., when an unidentifi ed man ran past her and grabbed her purse as he went.

“As the suspect fl ed towards the Mission Plaza,” Sgt. Pfarr said, “he dropped the victim’s purse. The suspect continued running through the Mission Plaza, leaving the dropped purse behind. The victim in this case recovered her own purse.”

She was not injured in what is considered a strong-arm robbery (no weapons used).

Police arrived and started a search of the area looking for a Hispanic man about 18, when a second robbery was reported.

“This robbery,” Sgt. Pfarr said, “occurred in the 900 block of Nipomo near the entrance to the Creamery. The second victim was also a lone female walking with a handbag. The victim reported a Hispanic male — approximately 18-20-years old — ran up from behind, grabbing her bag as he passed and then fl eeing into the Creamery.”

The victim screamed that she’d been robbed and a citizen who saw what happened reportedly ran after the suspect, who dropped down into the creek behind the Creamery. But that was a dead end.

“The suspect found himself on a very steep portion of the bank to the creek with limited avenues of escape,” Sgt. Pfarr said. “The citizen ordered the suspect to bring him the stolen bag which the suspect did before fl eeing North on Nipomo Street.”

The suspect in both cases was described as a Hispanic man, 18-20-years old, 5’ 02” tall, weighing about 140 pounds, said Sgt. Pfarr. The suspect was last seen wearing a black Raider’s hat, a dark two-toned hoodie and dark pants.

“No weapons were used in either robbery,” Sgt. Pfarr said, “and there were no injuries reported.” Readers who might have information on these cases are encouraged to call SLOPD. ✤


Photography on Canvas at the Clark

Images of the Central Coast by photographer Vivian Krug-Cotton are now on exhibit and sale at

the Clark Center for Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande. Twenty percent of all sales benefi t the Clark Center Foundation to fund performing arts scholarships and grants.

Hours are Monday through Friday 12 Noon to 6 p.m., Saturdays 12 Noon to 4 p.m.. The box offi ce is also open

two hours prior to most performances and one hour before most school performances. The Clark Center is located at 487 Fair Oaks Avenue, Arroyo Grande.

Vivian’s lifelong hobby of photography has taken her around the world. She has received various awards and certifi cations for her images. She’s been awarded fi rst prize by the International Library of Photography

Also on the agenda will be selecting committee members for a “Coast Rail Coordinating Committee,” or “CRCC,“ as well as another regional steering committee involving members from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Luis Obispo. Mayor Jan Marx is the lead representative from SLO on the committee.

Peter Rogers, project manager with SLOCOG, noted that public engagement is more than welcome and with so many people interested in rail transit, they should certainly let policy makers know what their concerns are. However, he said, the SLOCOG and RTA meetings focus on capital improvement for passenger trains and increasing ridership. The coordinating committee will focus on projects between SLO and Salinas.

Prior to the postponement of its Jan. 29 hearing on the Phillips 66 rail spur extension project, the County planning commission took offi cial comments from governmental agencies responsible for environmental mitigation and other safety measures. Those comments have been in for months with the local Cal Fire offi ce having its review in since last January.

“We’re very tuned into the EIR for the rail spur project,” said Cal Fire/SLO County Fire Chief Robert Lewin,

noting that there are other areas of the County’s railroad network that have been singled out as “areas of concern” if crude oil shipments increase. Among the big concerns is crossing over the Cuesta Grade. “The Federal government has jurisdiction on rail,” Chief Lewin said. “My authority is strictly for safety and mitigation on the spur project.”

To that end Cal Fire has been sending teams to training courses with Union Pacifi c to learn how to fi ght crude oil fi res if there were accident.

Union Pacifi c has held four rounds of training this year with agencies from eight states and emergency responders all along its lines. The 3-day, 24-hour courses were held at the Association of American Railroad’s Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo. The classes focus specifi cally on the types of incidents the emergency personnel are likely to encounter in a rail-based crude oil spill, with the fi rst half of the training on pure science of the situation and more on the construction of rail cars; with hands-on training for the remaining time, said Union Pacifi c spokesman Mark Davis.

City of San Luis Obispo Fire Chief Garrett Olsen said that the City has not taken part in that training, but they’re working closely with the fi re agencies that are part of the League of California Cities on information sharing and State legislation that could improve safety. ✤

NEWS

for her work, which have been used worldwide as far away as the Post Offi ce of the Netherlands, by companies as large as Mattel and by television networks. One of her photographs is featured on a freeway sign on California Highway 101 coming into Pismo Beach. Another was used on Jim Messina’s (of Loggins & Messina, Poco and Buffalo Springfi eld fame) new CD and DVD, “Live at the Clark Center of Performing Arts”. Her photography is regularly in Tolosa Press publications and other local newspapers on a regular basis. Vivian’s work is used on the City of

Arroyo Grande Website as well as the Visit Arroyo Grande Tourism site. All her photos are for sale as prints, mugs, T-shirts, greeting cards, puzzles, and tiles. She gives more than 20% of her profi t to charity. View her work at www.photobyvivian.com you’ll see they look at the world around us with a unique view which will bring a smile to your face, evoke moods, fond memories, tell stories, or simply entertain you.

For more information contact the Clark Center at (805) 489-9444 or Vivian at (805) 458-3321 or email at [email protected]. ✤

Rail, from page 1

Tolosa Press • December 11 - 17, 2014 • 7

POLICE BLOTTER

Arroyo Grande• Dec. 4: A man wearing a beanie

and carrying a bell was staggering down the 1100 block of Fairoaks. Police were unable to locate the Schiltz faced man.

• Dec. 4: A man wearing a beanie and carrying a bell was staggering down the 1100 block of Fairoaks

• Dec. 7: Some fool in front of Albertsons was waving a knife around. He was advised not to play with knives in public, which apparently not everyone knows to do.

• Dec. 3: A caller on the 1100 block of Fairoaks reported people in the laundry and shower are who didn’t live on the premises. The area also smelled of smoke left by Mary Jane. Two females were cited for drug activity.

Cambria• Nov. 28: A disturbance was

reported at 11:35 a.m. in the 6600 block of Moonstone Beach Dr. An arrest was made when they got there at midnight, how’s that for service, eh?

• Nov. 29: Deputies responded to the 6600 block of Moonstone Beach and made another arrest for some undisclosed no doubt trumped up charge.

Cayucos• Nov. 27: Sheriff’s deputies

reeled in a suspicious pedestrian at 12:52 p.m. in the fi rst block of 11th but they let the little fi sh go.

County Jail• Dec. 1: The crime lab boys took

samples from 17 model citizens at the Parkinson Plaza — the continuing effort to clean up the lock up.

Los Osos• Nov. 27: Deputies responded at

1:17 a.m. to the 800 block of San Luis for a disturbance and they arrested the disturbing fellow for now.

• Nov. 27: A petty thief committed petty theft in the 1400 block of 5th.

• Nov. 28: Someone called in at 7:23 a.m. about a disturbance in the 1800 block of Maple. The sap was arrested and hauled to the gaol.

• Dec. 2: Deputies contacted a suspicious weed at 9:24 a.m. in the area of Bush and LOVR.

Pismo Beach• Dec. 7: A caller reported a man

washing his car with a hose on eh 200 block of Five Cities Drive. Them’s fi ghting words during a drought.

• Dec. 7: A guy in hot pursuit of someone who had stolen his bike and then drove off with it was giving the police a play by play of

directions. The suspect stopped the car and a woman got out. The caller demanded his bicycle back to which she asked which one was his. Police did catch up to the woman.

• Dec. 5: A regular “camper” was sleeping in a car in the parking lot across from Esteem. He was cited, which isn’t good for his self-esteem.

• Dec. 5: At 7:51 a.m., A caller on the 1600 block of Costa Brava reported that his ex-girlfriend was three sheets to the wind after drinking a bottle of vodka earlier. She refused to leave. It was agreed that she could stay until a friend cam to pick her up. At 8:33 a.m., the guy called back to report that little Miss Fatal Attraction had punched him in the groin a few times.

• Dec. 5: Vodka made the news again on the 800 block of Oak Park Blvd. A caller reported seeing a woman empty a cup, go to the back of her car and fi ll it with vodka before driving off. Police were unable to locate the party animal, who appeared to be in her seventies.

• Dec. 5: A caller on the 400 block of Hinds reported that he was backing out of his driveway and almost ran over a homeless man sleeping there. The homeless one, who was using a cane, (go fi gure), was gone before police got there.

• Dec. 5: A guy who had been in the hospital for two weeks came home to his home on Wadsworth and found some people in his house who refused to leave. The miscreants also stole some items while they were there.

• Dec. 5: Police were unable to locate a man who got out of his car and urinated in the caller’s yard on the 800 block of Wadsworth. He also broke a bottle before tking off.

San Luis Obispo• Dec. 5: Police were called at

12:09 a.m. Palm and Chorro for an unconscious man down bleeding from a head wound outside a Chinese restaurant, also called getting’ “ah-soh-ted.” Medics were called and he’ll have a won ton headache tomorrow.

• Dec. 5: Police got a 9-1-1 open line caw at 3:18 a.m. from a payphone at Conserve Fuel on Santa Rosa. Logs indicated all they cawed hear was “loud crows.”

• Dec. 4: Someone complained about an aggressive panhandler outside am/pm on LOVR, just what one wants fi rst thing in the am or p.m.

• Dec. 4: An alarm sounded at 7:53 a.m. in the 1000 block of Buchon. Logs indicated a resident at the DeGroot Home wanted police to respond, as she didn’t know why the alarm went off, in some regards too late.

• Dec. 4: Someone called at

8:45 a.m. from the 12300 block of LOVR because there was some blackheart transient outside Black Horse Espresso refusing to leave. Cops were called and it was “See ya latte…” At 9:24 another transient at High and Beebee was goin’ pee-pee on a building. He zipped and slipped the dragnet.

• Dec. 4: Someone asked police at 11:08 a.m. to check the welfare of a disoriented old man walking in the street at Monterey and Osos. At 11:11, they got a report from the 900 block of Vista Collados that a patient from an assisted living facility left yesterday and didn’t return, no doubt wandering around on Monterey Street.

• Dec. 4: Someone in the 100 block of Higuera called at 11:30 a.m. to report three transients loitering outside Advance America, no doubt seeking a little advance, too.

• Dec. 4: Police were called at 12:46 p.m. to the 700 block of Foothill where a drunken transient man was “trying to direct traffi c.”

•Dec. 4: Police responded at 1:11 p.m. to the 2900 block of Augusta after the break-in alarm went off at Break Through Ministries. Human error was the cause, but they will no doubt be forgiven.

• Dec. 4: Someone called at 3:41 p.m. to have police check the welfare of an old man who’d been sitting for some time behind the wheel of a parked car in a driveway at Del Rio and Descanco, as doin’ nothin’ unoffi cially becomes suspicious.

• Dec. 4: A citizen in the 4500 block of Wavertree said a remote controlled drone helicopter crashed in his or her front yard and burst into fl ames, and let’s hope they fi nd the little black box.

• Dec. 4: Someone reported two transient prize fi ghters getting ready to touch gloves and duke it out at Mission Chevron. Naturally, a 51-year-old bent fellow was tossed to the canvas for an 8-count.

• Dec. 4: Someone in the 600 block of Foothill called at 5:08 p.m. to report an unattended 3-year-old kid running down the sidewalk. Police couldn’t fi nd the little diaper rusher.

• Dec. 4: Someone called at 6:47 p.m. from the Fremont Theater on Monterey to report a crazy man across at the County Courthouse screaming and waving his arms. Police couldn’t fi nd Chicken Little. At 8:42, they got a report of a man wrapped up in blankets sleeping on the street across from the Fremont. That speed bump was rousted.

• Dec. 4: In the latest episode from Trailerwood… A citizen in the 2200 block of Higuera said a man from a neighboring space was outside yelling at him or her for some unknown boggle.

• Dec. 4: A woman called at 11:41 p.m. from Morro and Church after she saw a drunken woman walking with a man whom she seems to know towards a van, as chivalrous actions become a yet more doubtful scenario.

• Dec. 3: Police were called at 8 a.m. to Teach School on Grand because someone dumped three bags of trash at the school, which can happen when you lock the dumpsters.

• Dec. 3: A citizen in the 2000 block of Harris called to report that a fence had been pushed over onto his or her car. The posts were broken too, no doubt a late-night hit-n-spit.

• Dec. 4: A citizen called at 11:30 a.m. from the 3300 block of Bullock who said she was the caregiver for a man or woman who “deceased” that morning and her relatives were already at their home, no doubt dividing up the spoils before the poor chap is even cold.

• Dec. 3: Someone called at 2:38 p.m. from Osos and Marsh to have police check the welfare of some poor chap who stumbled and fell and was now sitting in a planter box. The klutzy swizzle stick was arrested for suspicion of being looped.

• Dec. 3: Someone at Mission Plaza said there were fi ve transients with dogs on the steps outside the church and the mutts refuse to leave.

• Dec. 3: A citizen at LOVR and Prefumo Canyon Road at 7:30 p.m. reported a college-aged man with no shirt on was dragging another young fellow also without a shirt and both future world leaders were drunk.

• Dec. 3: A man called at 8 p.m. to have police go to the 900 block of Toro and check on his 97-year-old, nearly deaf father, who no doubt wasn’t answering the phone. Then at 8:05, a woman called from the 3500 block of Emplea because she was locked inside her workplace and couldn’t get out. She eventually found the exit.

• Dec. 3: A citizen on Vista Brisa asked for extra police patrols because they apparently fear the neighbor’s son, no doubt a chip off the ol’ block.

• Dec. 3: Police were called at 11:15 p.m. to the 3000 block of Augusta to check on an old woman that keeps saying, “Bella Vista… Bella Vista…” over and over, in this week’s latest example of why we need SWAT.

San Simeon• Dec. 2: The weekly call in San

Simeon came in at 1:23 a.m. from the 19000 block of Hwy 1 for suspected criminal activity. An arrest was made, so suspicions confi rmed.


OPINION

Operations Audit of Sanitation District Will Determine Accountability Reason Enough for an Operations Audit

By Debbie Peterson, Grover Beach Mayor/ SSLOCSD Board Member 2012-2014

In 2010 a major sewage spill in Oceano originated at the Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano

and Pismo Beach sewer plant, the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District (SSLOCSD). This was just one of a decade of problems at the District. The spill was the culmination of what the Grand Jury in 2011 called ‘bad management’. The District board at the time said the Grand Jury report was “offensive.”

The fi rst sign of problems at the District was in 2005, when the 16-year trend of funding reserves every year stopped. Thereafter the plant lost $500,000 to $2,000,000 a year until 2013 when the board restructured the management team, taking the fi nances back to a positive balance.

Not only did the fi nances drift from 2005 onward, but around 2008 lawsuits started appearing, associated with equipment failures, high employee turnover, the spill, and insurance.

Following the spill, 2010-11 saw many investigations: the fi rst, considered “inept” by the Grand Jury was followed by a modifi ed County audit and a peer review. These investigations made several recommendations to the Board. Some were implemented, most were disputed.

The losses of 2005 - 2012 gobbled up reserves that some say were $12 million or more. Obscure fi nancial reports make it diffi cult to determine the amount. If the District had remained on course, annually contributing to reserves, it would now have around $16 million available to upgrade the plant.

Instead, it barely survived and must now seek grants, rate increases or bonds for needed improvements.

A good chunk of the reserves went to bungled capital projects. The major recipients of those funds were John Wallace, the Wallace Group and the District’s legal advisors, who all benefi tted fi nancially by managing the ongoing mechanical and legal problems.

When the Board restructured the District in 2013 it included an operational audit in the Request For Proposal (RFP) for management. It is standard practice in well run organizations to carry out an operational or ‘forensic’ audit during a restructuring or sale or as procedural best practice. The District board sought effi ciencies from a top to bottom, in-depth review of current and historic fi nances, systems and procedures, but subsequently refused to implement the audit. Without the audit the restructure is incomplete.

A truly independent audit by an outside expert is the only responsible action the board can take as a steward of ratepayer resources. A thorough audit will turn up any further improvements the District can make. It will bring fi nancial responsibility and closure to the cycle of the past 10 years. It will allow the District to go forward to upgrade the plant and reassure the public of the District’s commitment to fi duciary responsibility. It would include an engineering review for single point vulnerabilities to guard against future spills.

The excerpted RFP below illustrates the scope of the operational audit requested. At

the time it was presented I had researched several consultants, working out a viable proposal in which the consultant would work in $5,000 two-week increments, thus allaying the board’s assertions that it would be too expensive.

Independent of the infl uence or involvement of the Board/the District Administrator and/or the Wallace Group the consultant shall:

Complete an in-depth review of the District fi nances, including income & expenses within all accounts such as, but not limited to operations, maintenance, capital projects, reserve and revolving funds.

Review of policies, practices, procedures, equipment and plant to rule out and/or prevent fraud, waste or abuse.

Evaluate current and a minimum of fi ve (5) years of purchasing practices and procedures, including invoicing by District Administrator, engineering service providers, legal counsel and other service providers and contractors.

Evaluate plant, staff, operations and materials costs as compared to other wastewater plants and advise as to working conditions, work load and typical costs.

Suggest operational effi ciencies, cost saving opportunities, best practices and appropriate controls.

Advise on setting up systems, practices and procedures that provide fi nancial and operational information that the Board needs for responsible oversight, accounting comparison of budgets versus expenses for the last fi ve (5)

fi scal years and relevant analysis of all District accounts for Board and management use.

Team: Investigative Accountant with equivalent knowledge and experience as a CPA or forensic accountant, a seasoned accountant with experience in or with ‘Big Five’ accounting fi rms, investigative experience, experience in government auditing and familiarity with current industry technologies.

Now, in 2014 the plant is under excellent management and functioning effectively. Recent elections have brought changes to the board. Now is the time to complete the turnaround. Management cannot succeed merely by compliance with a system of internal controls. The turnaround happens from the top, addressing any matters that may be unsound.

A good forensic or operational audit will establish clear lines of accountability for controls, reduce the risk of fraud and create a more reliable, effective organization. If truly independent, it will put to rest or address lingering public concerns and allegations of malfeasance. For the Sanitation District it would also help to re-establish credibility and public confi dence, allowing the board to move forward with critical health and safety improvements.

A forensic audit will be considered at the next District Board Meeting on December 17th at 6:00 p.m. Members of the public may attend and speak during public comment on the fi rst and third Wednesdays of the month in the Arroyo Grande City Hall. ✤

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He has been an educator and administrator for the 50 years. He has been the SLO

County Superintendent of Schools for the past 16 years, and for at least half of those, has also been a regular Monday morning guest on KVEC Morning News, informing our radio audience on the local education issues of the day.

Earlier this year, Dr. Julian Crocker became news himself when he announced his retirement effective the end of this year. I asked him recently if he was a good student?

“Relatively good, thank you very much,” he replies, “since my mother was a teacher she was always quite on top of the work that I did. With her help I managed to get by. How did she help? Homework frankly; she always made sure there was time at home some kind of space no matter where we lived that it satisfi ed both the place and time at home to do homework.

“It’s a good thing parents can

do right now, that hasn’t changed,” he continues. “I’ve always liked school. It was a family business. My father was a college professor and my mother was a schoolteacher back in Tennessee.”

Dr. Crocker was an only child and was happy with that arrangement. He attended Vanderbilt University, “where I graduated, at the time, was strictly a local arts and engineering school. They had started at that point back in the early 60s an innovative program called the ‘George Peabody School of Education,’ which was a well-known teacher’s college partnered to form a masters of art and teaching degree.

“I completed that degree and it piqued my interest in teaching having had that degree, so I went

into the service and, as many people will tell you, you have interesting experiences that impact you for the rest of your life and that happened to me. I had a very fortunate assignment to the U.S. Dependent Schools, which at the time in the 60s was a large organization primarily in Europe.

So I was working as an Army offi cer there and actually got a taste of school administration, and I headed in that direction after I got discharged.”

Crocker says there have been a lot of changes since.

“I think if you went into classrooms today,” he says, “most of it would look fairly similar to the way it was 50 or 60 years ago. In most classrooms you’ll see students at their desks with a teacher, but I

think several things are different than it was when I started. One is obviously the technology, which has had a huge impact on schools. So if you were in a classroom 40 years ago you’d see a lot of textbooks. Now you see some textbooks but you also see an awful lot of electronics, personal devices, iPads, etc., so that is a signifi cant difference.

“Secondly the difference in demographics, particularly in California. Forty years ago the white population was the majority; that’s not the case now. If you look at classrooms today, you have a much more diverse population.

“The other difference, I think is very signifi cant, and which I think is ‘under the radar.’ When I was teaching we were really driven by the textbook, and the idea of standards either by the State or much less, the Federal Government, was just something no one ever thought about. We now have a national curriculum, so over those 40 years that is a tremendous difference.” ✤

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COMMUNITY CALENDARMorro Bay in Bloom is bringing

to town, Evelyn Alemanni, a judge for America in Bloom, for a presentation on “Civic Improvement as an Investment in the Future,” from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce offi ce corner of Piney Way and harbor street. Free and open to the public.

Thinking about going back to college? Hundreds of classes are being offered at the Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria for next spring semester. Many begin the week of Jan. 20. Registration is under way now and continues through Jan. 19, with many so-called “fast track” classes (eight weeks) starting later in the term. To checkout all spring classes, see the Hancock website at: www.hancockcollege.edu and click the “Class Search” link on the homepage. Search options include subject, location, instructor, number of credits, and more. For registration information, call (805) 922-6966 or toll free at: 1-866-342-5242 Ext. 3248.

Minister Dr. Neal Carlson has started a special worship service for local teenagers. Called, “Sunday Worship on Wednesday

Night,” the services will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesdays at Morro Bay High School, Rm. 304, 235 Atascadero Rd. The worship service will include guest speakers and musicians. Carlson also has “The Internet Church in the Son,” an online ministry at: www.internetchurchintheson.com. Email to: [email protected] or call (805) 995 1177 for more information.

Join friends and neighbors, make merry, and give back at holiday festivities hosted by The San Luis Obispo Collection. Nestled around the Mission and Downtown SLO, the SLO Collection brings together shopping, local restaurants, retail shops, art galleries and theatre. Upcoming events are:

• Dec. 13, noon-3 p.m. “Kids Day on the Terrace,” Court Street Terrace, Osos and Monterey Streets. Holiday music with Truth About Seafood, Jim the Juggler, and refreshments by Powell’s Sweet Shoppe and Splash Seafood & Grill. At 2:30 is a stylish, Mommy & Me, fashion show produced by White House/Black Market and Merry-Go-Round Boutique, inside the White

House/Black Market, 1074 Court St.Also, jackets, shoes, and food for the

Dambly Fund for Homeless Children will be collected at Court Street and at the Downtown Centre throughout the day.

• Dec. 19, 6-8 p.m. Jingle Belles will be caroling throughout The San Luis Obispo Collection.

Purchase the book locally at Coalesce Bookstore, Morro Bay and Parable Bookstore or online at: Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

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• Dec. 20, noon-3 p.m. Me & Bob will be rocking the Court Street Terrace with holiday music.

• Dec. 21, noon-3 p.m. a seasonal favorite, Atalanta Running (shown here), will be performing for the fi fth straight year on the Court Street Terrace.

For more information, visit www.sanluisobispocollection.com or fi nd them on Facebook.

The JCC Federation of San Luis Obispo is hosting its Annual Hannukah Downtown celebration, starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17. The evening includes a candle-lighting ceremony above the steps at the Old Mission, with songs, klezmer music, and storytelling. Immediately following will be a Hannukah party at the end of Mission Plaza with a kids’ play and schmooze zone. Candle lighting continues through the eight nights of Hannukah until Dec. 23. All nights begin at 5, except Saturday starts at 6:45. Each night is sponsored by a different local Jewish organization.

The Arroyo Grande Recreation Services Department is sponsoring a Holiday Decorating Contest for businesses and residences throughout the City. Businesses will be judged on December 17th and residences will be judged the evening of December 18. Ribbons for fi rst, second and third will be awarded in the following categories: Most Festive, Best Use of Lighting, Most Spirited, Best Holiday Display, Most Creative, Most Traditional (Residences only), and Best Window Painting (Businesses only). A Best Overall ribbon will be awarded to one participant in the business division and one in the residential division. Anyone interested in entering the contest should contact the Recreation Services offi ce at 473-5474.

Ice skating is returning to San Luis Obispo. “Winter Wonder SLO,” a 4,500 square foot, real-ice skating rink, returns to the Alex Madonna Expo Center beginning Friday, Dec. 19 and will open daily through Jan. 5. Back for a third year, the rink this time will carry a “Frozen,” theme and décor. The rink will be open daily including holidays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Season passes are $100 and good for 17 sessions, including skate rental. See: at www.winterwonderslo.com to buy online. Daily tickets are $9 for ages 12-under; $13 for 13-and up (price includes skate rental), are also available online. They will also sell tickets at the door if available. The Madonna Expo Center is located on the hill behind the Madonna In.

I t’s time to festive-up the town and Morro Bay Beautiful is gearing up for its annual Christmas Lights Contest for residences and businesses. The judging will take place Dec. 12-13 touring town and picking the winners in fi ve categories: Traditional/Religious, Best use of lights, Commercial , Children’s Delight, and Best Animation. Awards will be handed out Dec. 16 with the traditional Trolley tour to the various winners. A list of the winners’ addresses will be printed in The Bay News for everyone to drive around and admire. Call Ann Reisner at 772-8117 with nominees for the awards. They are looking for “exceptionally” decorated homes.

Seven Sisters Gallery in Morro Bay will celebrate the Holiday Artwalk from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12. Free and refreshments will be served. The new show features wearable art by Susan Terese, Rone Prinz, Rochelle Niemerow, and Elizabeth Ngo, copper sculptures by Trudi Gilliam and ceramic pieces by Janice Stone (shown here). Show ends Jan. 8. Seven Sisters is at 601 Embarcadero, Ste. 8 in Marina Square. Call 772-9955 for more information.

Everyone is invited to the 12th Annual “Away in the Manger” at Calvary Lutheran Church, 480 Monterey Ave., Morro Bay is set for 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. This event will feature more than 250 Nativity sets and scenes from all over the world. Live music and refreshments will be provided. Pianist, Ina Davenport, will play piano and organ at 1:30 followed by Christmas Carols and songs lead by the Church’s Spirit’s Voice worship team, at 2:30. Free admission. Call the church offi ce at 722-8457 for more information.

The Morro Bay Merchant’s Association, SLO Womenade, and The Circle of Friends will be holding a teenager clothing drive to help restock the Pirates’ Closet, in Los Osos. From 2-5 p.m. every Saturday, during the Morro Bay Farmer’s Market on Main Street, volunteers will be collecting pre-teen and teen clothing, accessories, and other items teens need and enjoy. The collection barrels will be at Grandma’s Frozen Yogurt & Waffl e shop, 307 Morro Bay Blvd. Collection dates are Dec. 13 and 20. Call Beverly at 704-9866 for more information.

There will be a free Christmas Breakfast on Dec. 25 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the corner of Pismo & Nipomo St. in Downtown San Luis Obispo. Breakfast includes scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausages and more. ✤

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Home prices are expected to rise in 2015. The number of sales for existing homes

is expected to also rise. This is good news for homeowners who have waited a long time for their home equity to be restored. While many owners have seen their equity re-turn since the recession, there is still a signifi cant number those who have yet to see home values increase to at least the amount at which they had originally purchased.

In a report released by the Cali-fornia Association of Realtors this week, it is summarized that “Exist-ing single family homes sales are projected to decrease 8.2 percent from 2013 and are forecasted to in-crease 5.8 percent in 2015. Also, the annual median price for 2014 is ex-pected to rise 11.8 percent year over year and will further increase by 5.8 percent in 2015.”

Home sales spiked upward in 2013 and have since decreased, however, they are on the way back up. Job growth is slowly improving and home prices will be going up at a healthy pace which is what we want to avoid another bubble. ✤

Nancy Puder is a Realtor Broker in Arroyo Grande, CA with Nancy Puder & Associates. If you have any questions or concerns regard-ing your own property, contact

Nancy at (805)710-2415 or email [email protected]. Nan-cy always enjoys hearing from you! Go to Facebook.com/Nancy Puder Realtor and “like” her page to access other real estate related articles. She always enjoys hear-ing from you! If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, whether buying or selling, call me anytime. I always enjoy hearing from you!

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Wellness for the Holiday Jet SetterBy Michele S. Jang, PT

LifestyleLifestyle HEALTHY LIVING

“Over the river and through the woods”… Many of us will be traveling far and

wide over the next few weeks to grandmother’s house and beyond. The stress of long hours in a car, cramped coach cabins, and carry-ing heavy luggage can take a toll on our bodies. There are techniques that you can perform; whether in a car, airport terminal, or airplane, that can reduce the effects of travel stress and put more happy in your holidays.

Meditate! There are many forms out there. Just do it, even if it’s just for a minute!

Breathe! This is important espe-cially when fl ying due to decreased air density at high altitudes and less oxygen being absorbed into our bloodstream. Try breathing in slow-ly through your nose for a count of

4 seconds, then slowly breathe out through purse-lips for 8 seconds.

Self massage & lymph drainage. Slowly, gently & lightly stroke your skin towards your heart. Pressure & speed of your strokes should be as if you’re massaging a new born baby. A good place to start is stroking the sides of your neck where there’s a high concentration of lymph nodes towards your heart. Cover and maintain as much body surface area as you can with your hand while stroking. Start with 25 - 50 strokes a day

Stretch when you can! Even in the smallest of places you can do the following: ankle pumps, hamstring, piriformis, quadriceps, spinal fl ex-ion/extension and gentle spinal twist. Contact our offi ce for more information.

Hydrate! Again this is especially

important when fl ying. It’s best to hydrate at least a couple days prior to fl ight. A general rule of thumb is to drink at least half your weight in ounces. Ex. if you weigh 100 pounds, drink at least 50 ounces of water a day.

Think of these fi ve techniques as your travel emergency toolkit. The effects of too much stress hormones such as cortisol can suppress the immune system, elevate blood pressure and blood sugar, and con-tribute to obesity. All of which we can take steps to reduce; especially during the hectic holiday season. ✤

Michele S Jang, PT is a physical therapist who likes to look outside the box. She has been a physical therapist for over 20 years and has extensive training in manual therapy or the use of hands to help

rehabilitate the body. Michele has been an instructor both in the Unit-ed States and abroad. She offers Free Consults on Tuesday after-noons. Michele also has a team of therapists at Spirit Winds who offer an array of expertise on ex-ercise, fall prevention, foot and shoe assessments, body mechan-ics and proper breathing tech-nique to increase awareness and healing. Michele can be reached at 805 543-5100 or [email protected]. For more in-formation please also visit www.spiritwindstherapy.com.


Professional

Service Directory

AT THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY YMCA we are committed to meeting the needs of parents by offering fun, enriching camps. Vacation camps provide a safe environment where youth participate in a variety of exciting fi eld trips & activities, and overall help develop stronger, more confi dent young people. Sign-up for spring camp at www.sloymca.org or call 543-8235 for more informa-tion.

KRIS DILWORTH,FNP, CDE is a Family Nurse Practitioner, Certi-fi ed Diabetes Educator, and Certi-fi ed Insulin Pump & Sensor Trainer. She loves what she does, and makes it a point to spend adequate time with patients to teach and help prob-lem-solve for the many challenges of diabetes. Her goal is to keep you healthy! Call the offi ce of Roger Steele, MD, for appointments in San Luis Obispo or Grover Beach. (805) 541-1671

THE ABLE CHOICE, INC. offers support and services to families and children with spe-cial needs by experts in the fi eld. Special Education Consultant Dr. Jackie Kirk Martinez and her team provide research-based dispute resolution, in-struction, and intervention for children by advising families, agencies and school districts; supporting chil-dren’s needs in home, community and school; provid-ing assessments, program development, intervention and supervision; and offering professional develop-ment. Serving children from birth through 22 years of age. Call for a free consul-tation at (805) 295-8806 • www.theablechoice.com

PEPPERTREE COUNSELNG has been providing affordable services on sliding scale to SLO County for 25 years, starting at $30 an hour. We offer individual, couples, and family counseling. We have a staff of professional counsellors who work with clients to accomplish their goals in a timely and focused manner. Our approach is eclectic incorporat-ing behavioral and cognitive techniques. For an ap-pointment or more information on our services call Larry Ratner, Ph D, at 805 235 2910 or email [email protected]. We are located at 330 James Way, #180, Pismo Beach, Ca.

BATH PLANET of Northern Los Angeles has set a new standard of both quality and affordability within the bathroom remodeling industry. With a wide selection of acrylic bath system solutions, along with cutting edge accessible options, you can have a beau-tiful yet accommodating bathroom in as little as one day. Learn more about our remodeling solutions. 1107 El Camino Real, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 (805) 574-1101 www.bathplanet.com/northernla

EDDIE NAVAR-RO PAINTING INC. can cover all your painting needs, from interior and exterior residential and commer-cial painting. Including: cabinets, deck refi nishing, stucco repair, acoustic ceiling removal, drywall repair and/or texturing, fascia removal and/or repair, pow-er washing services, and much more. We use the fi n-est quality oil and water based material that are Eco friendly. Eddie Navarro Painting Inc. takes pride in attention to detail and great customer service.Our mission statement is “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. ” Col 3:23. No matter what the project is our customers are the most important because we not only provide a painting service but we have the plea-sure of getting to know and partner with them in the care and maintenance of their home or business. 805-448-9662

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By Susan K. Boyd MS, MFT

The holiday season is here! We know, because traffi c is

more congested, stores are full of shoppers scrambling for sales, and UPS trucks are out at night delivering packages from Ama-zon.com! But isn’t this also the time of year when we get the chance to spread a little good will?

One of my favorite classic holiday mov-ies is ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, starring Jimmy Stewart. I love watch-ing this in December as it reminds me how im-portant each of us are, and how much we, un-knowingly, contribute to one another, just by the lives we live.

George Bailey is the main character in the movie. He has worked all his life at his fam-ily owned Savings & Loan and tire-lessly helped his neighbors through rough times. When his bungling relative loses a sizable bank deposit, George faces ruin and is certain he has failed everyone. Feeling des-perate, he stands on a bridge con-templating jumping into the East river so his family can collect his life insurance. However, a guard-ian angel, named Clarence, has been assigned the task of helping George. If Clarence succeeds he will be promoted to ‘Angel First Class’ and earn his angel wings. Clarence, looking like a homeless man, jumps into the freezing water while George stares down from the bridge. This compels George to forget his prob-lems and dive in and rescue Clar-ence. Clarence, throughout that night, shows George what the com-munity, and his family’s life, would have been like if George had never been born.

The plot of the movie, is what I believe, could be our story line this holiday season-helping others know their lives have value and make a difference to us. We could be earth angels intervening, guiding and coming along side those that need a

little help or encouragement. Good will might be our best gift this year!

We could offer to put up Holi-day lights on our elderly neighbors’ house, or put up their Christmas tree. When we take a basket of cookie, nuts or fruit with an appre-ciation note in a holiday card, or we call those we have neglected all year, we are really saying, “ You still matter.”

So whether we open doors for pushy shoppers, serve meals to the homeless at the Prada Center or simply sit and visit with someone who is lonely, we are sharing good will. After all, we didn’t think of it fi rst, as the Christmas story goes, the angels fi lled the sky saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”! And to all of us, and to all of you earth angels, have a happy holiday!

Susan K. Boyd is a Licensed Mar-riage & Family Therapist in pri-vate practice in SLO. She may be reached for counseling at (805) 782-9800 or by email: [email protected]. Also see www.susank-boydmft.com

Holiday Guide

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16 • December 11 - 17, 2014 • Tolosa Press Special Publication

My older brother got a Flexible Flyer for

Christmas, and I got a full case of envy. Our mother thought a similar expenditure for Gary’s sled and my new cornet made our Christmas gifts equal. Mom got that wrong. For a ten-year-old boy a lip-quivering difference separated a Flyer from a cornet.

A Flexible Flyer was the Cadillac of our sled-riding slope, sleek as a racehorse and just as fast. A cornet was work. Mom’s daily mandated practices meant suffering through the complexities of sharps and fl ats, and trying to reach the stratosphere of the unattainable high “C.” While suffering

through another practice session I could hear frolicking kids outside taking advantage of the blocked-off Main Street hill set aside for the sliding pleasure of Guthrie Center’s (Iowa) youth.

Too young to comprehend the Commandment of not coveting thy neighbor’s wife, I fully understood the meaning of the word and coveted, oh how I coveted, my brother’s gift. The day after Christmas when no one was home, Gary’s prize sled leaned against a back porch wall, rested and ready for action. An uncontrollable impulse forced me to grab its rope rein and lead the steel runner steed across our snow-covered lawn like a thoroughbred heading for the starting gate.

“Hey, is that neat sled yours?” my fi fth grade classmate, Judy Riaski, hollered from across the street.

“Yeah, well, er, kinda,” I boasted. “Wanna go for a ride?”

A four-block icy climb followed. I took the driver’s seat in front with my feet on the steering bar. Judy

climbed on behind.

W e pushed off, accelerating f a s t e r than I had anticipated and gaining more speed than I wanted. Wet snowflakes splashed against my glasses and blurred my vision. Judy clung to me and screamed in my ear. I couldn’t see; I couldn’t brake; I couldn’t control. Our thoroughbred had become a runaway. We skidded and lurched and careened, scattering hill-climbing kids like bowling pins. One fl eeing friend swung his following sled into our path. We crashed into it, hit an ice-caked curb, and went airborne. A telephone pole loomed dead ahead. I ducked to the side and took a glancing blow that sent the two

Christ�as 1947: A Lesson Taught by a Telephone Pole By Carroll McKibbin

Holiday Guide

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Tolosa Press Special Publication • December 11 - 17, 2014 • 17

find your beat

8 50 sound

Ingredients4 kiwis, peeled and sliced

into rounds2 Tablespoons coconut oil8 ounces small pieces of

chocolate (I used 63% cacao) you can use dark,

milk or bittersweet

Talley Farms Recipe

850 W. Grand Avenue in Grover Beach, CA

(805) 489-4747ronsingroverbeach.com

Succulents, house plants

&unique home

accessories

Open daily 9 am to

5 pm

beach.com

HANNUKAH DOWNTOWN

Join us for songs, games,schmoozing and holiday nosh!

Candlelighting outside the Mission

Tuesday, December 16

at 5pmParty to follow in two giant tents with a Kids Zone and

a Schmooze Zone.

Candlelighting continuesthrough the eight nights of

Hannukah until December 23. All nights begin at 5pm, except

Saturday night at 6:45pm.

Questions? Call 805-426-5465 or visit www.jccslo.com

Holiday Guideof us cartwheeling into a bank of snow. We were stunned, but in one piece. The Flexible Flyer wasn’t as lucky. The once proud sled was now a pile of kindling and two useless runners.

For my punishment Mom let me stew in waist-high, head-drooping shame. A few weeks later Gary had a new sled, one I never thought of touching. In the meantime, and with no further complaint, I practiced daily on my cornet in solitary confi nement. I went through my Bill Mason music book, lesson after lesson. But the most lasting lesson of the Christmas of 1947 wasn’t taught by Bill Mason. No, that one was taught by a forgiving mother and a very sturdy telephone pole.

Carroll McKibbin is a retired Cal Poly professor whose essays have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers. He is a long-time member of SLO NightWriters, the premier writing organization on the Central Coast.

805-489-5100

DECEMBER SPECIAL:

Free Shine Overlaywith Every Color

Edgy Cuts for Sharp People.

THE VILLAGE SALON

DirectionsMake a small slit on the side of each kiwi round and stick a popsicle stick in it. Place

the kiwi pops on a parchment covered baking sheet and freeze

until solid.

Melt the coconut oil and chocolate over a double boiler of simmering water, stirring until

melted. Turn off the heat.

Dip each frozen kiwi pop into the chocolate, letting the excess

chocolate drip back into the double boiler. Place on a baking

sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer until

hard and crisp, 10 to 20 minutes.

Kiwi Pops


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Join Us ForAway In

A MangerSaturday, Dec. 13

1:00pm to 4:00pm

Our 12th Annual Open House featuring

A Display Of Over 300 Nativities From All Over The World

Live Music & Refreshments

Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church480 Monterey Ave. Morro Bay, CA(805) 772-8457www.morrobaylutherans.org

Atascadero Winter WonderlandDec. 12th 9:00pm Snow, Santa Clause, Entertainment and refreshments. Downtown Atascadero. [email protected]

“The King is Born” Christmas Concert Dec. 12th 7pm, Dec. 13th 6pm, Dec. 14th 2:30 & 6pm Concert Features- Graceful Choir, Children’s Choir, Vocal ensemble and Orchestra. Grace Bible Church, Auditorium 100 Rodeo Drive, Arroyo Grande. Free. 489-4200

Los Osos Holiday Parade Dec. 13th 10am Los Osos Valley Road from Fairchild Way to Palisades Ave. 528-4884.

Holiday Celebration at the Railroad Museum

Dec. 13th 10am-4pmEnjoy complimentary holiday treats as you browse the new museum, complete with a kids’ area, model railroads and a 1926 Pullman Car. SLO Railroad

Museum, 1940 Santa Barbara St. SLO 548-1894

“The Grinch” Dec 13th 2 and 7 pmA performance by The Studio of

Performing Arts. Clark Center, 487 Fair Oaks Ave., Arroyo Grande. $20. 489-9444

“The Nutcracker” Dec 13th 2 & 7pm Dec. 15th 2pm Presented by The Civic Ballet of SLO. Cohan Center, Cal Poly. $18-$54. 756-4849

“What Sweeter Voices” Holiday ConcertDec. 13th 3pm & Dec, 14th The Central Coast Children’s Choir United Methodist Church, 1515 Fredricks St., San Luis Obispo.$10-$18. 464-0443 www.CentralCoastChildrensChoir.org

Vine Street Victorian Christmas ShowcaseDec 13th 6-9pm. Holiday-decorated Victorian Homes, bands, dancers, carolers, characters, cider, coffee, popcorn, cookies, roasted chestnuts and candy canes. No cars or Dogs.

Holiday Events and Celebrations Holiday Guide


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Vine St, eighth through 21st St, Paso Robes. Free. 238-4103

Menorah at the Mission and Hanukah Party Dec 16th Candle-lighting, singing, storytelling, followed by party at the end of mission Plaza. Menorah lighting each night of Hanukah (5pm every night except Saturday at 6pm). Mission Plaza, SLO. www.iceslo.com

Hanukkah Menorah LightingDec 18th 5pmJoin congregation Ohr Tzafon for lighting the menorah, singing songs, hot chocolate and cookies. Sunken Gardens, 6505 El Camino Real, Atascadero. www.congregationohrtzafon.org

Living Nativity Dec 19-32 6pmTempleton Presbyterian Church, Sixth and Main St. 434-1921

Winter WonderSLO Jiffy Lube Ice-skating RinkOpen daily Dec. 19th – Jan. 4th Madonna Expo Center, 100 Madonna Rd. $9-$13, skate rental included.www.winterwonderslo.com

Holiday Magic at the Zoo Dec. 20th 11am-2pmAnimals investigate and open homemade gifts delivered by Santa and his elves. Hot chocolate and crafts available. Charles Paddock Zoo, 9305 Pismo Ave., Atascadero 461-5080

Polar Bear PlungeJan 1st noon.Plunge attire is swimsuit and or athletic gear. Costumes are welcomes. Wetsuits are prohibited. Avila Beach Pier. www.avilabeachpolarbearplunge.com

805.473.8001

Holiday Events and CelebrationsHoliday Guide


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open daily from 11:30 – 10:00

Unique Shopping & Dining · Antiques · Historic Landmarks · Free Parking

T his Holiday season explore the Historic Village of Arroyo Grande, the Central Coast’s unique turn-of-the-century downtown village. You’ll fi nd an array of antique and specialty

shops plus fi ne dining nestled within the scenic atmosphere of historic buildings and natural beauty. ✤

Christ�as In The Village

SANTA IN THE VILLAGENov. 28th til’ ChristmasWed. & Fri. 3:00-5:30Sat. & Sun. 12:00-4:00

Holiday Guide


741 Higuera St, SLO | 805-787-0683

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Unique Gift Ideas, Candles, Spiritual Books, Jewelry, Calendars & More

Guide for Finding Perfect Holiday Gist s for Men

The pressure to fi nd the perfect gift when shopping for men this holiday season can easily

become a daunting endeavor, but with online retailers, shoppers can better search for the perfect gift with these simple tips.

Well-versed in luxury menswear, founder Denis Daly Wood curates innovative and exclusive accessories from around the world for Dalys 1895 each season. He offers the follow tips to help ease the gift buying process:

• Hone in on what he loves. Keep the recipient’s interests in mind while shopping. If the recipient spends his free time sailing or by the beach, nautical-themed cuffl inks or Caravaggio pocket squares are tasteful ways to incorporate his interests into a useful gift.

• Think outside the box. Everyone loves receiving thoughtful, one-of-a-kind gifts. Engravable items, such as sterling silver money clips, are not only useful, but should be personalized to make the gift even more heartfelt.

• Make practical purchases. If the

recipient is a frequent traveler, an overnight tote or weekender bag from Jack Spade, Troubadour, or the British Belt Company makes for a stylish and useful gift. While everyone loves a good gag gift every now and then, the most well-received gifts are tasteful and practical.

• Set a spending cap. It may be

tempting to overspend, but it is important to set a reasonable budget and stick to it. Many online sites allow you to fi lter products by price. Shoppers should use these price sorting fi lters to ensure you shop smart.

• Find versatile gifts. Finding a gift that satisfi es a number of the recipients’ interests can be diffi cult, but will ultimately prove to be gratifying. Wearable technology, like sterling silver 16GB USB cuffl inks, are a great gift that complement style and function allowing him to store his favorite movies,

music and more on-the-go.• Build in extra time. Consider

reputable online retailers to avoid mall traffi c, but be sure to take shipping time into account. If an item needs to be engraved or embroidered, build in ample time to ensure the gift arrives in time for the holidays.

• Find a retailer with a generous return policy. Even with the best intentions, gifts may need to be exchanged. Seek out a retailer which offers free returns and other customer service perks.

By being a savvy shopper this holiday season, you can ease the gift-giving process and make a lasting impression.

Shell Beach Floral Design

OPEN HOUSE December 6th 9am-Noon

805.474.9710260 West Grand Ave, Grover Beach

shellbeachflowers.biz

Flower Gift

Home

Happy Holidays From our merchant family to your family. Pismo Coast Shopping

Plaza wishes to thank our customers past and present for your support of our center for the last 20 years.

We send wish a special thanks and holiday greetings to our military

at home and abroad.

Warm regards....The Merchants and Management, Pismo Coast Shopping Plaza



5 Star Nails

ATMWells Fargo

Achilles Chiropractic

Bridge Street HouseHome Furnishings

Broadway Bagel CafeFive Star Nails

California Fresh Market and Deli

Collections Clothing Co.

Collections Rack

Curves

D.D.S Brian Hanratty

First American Title

Gino’s Pizza

Glassbox Salon

Grand Awards

KunFusion Kulinary

Harper Jo & Co.

Macie’s Floor Company

Maxwell Conn Cat Clinic& Exotics

Mission Kitchens

Pismo Beach Optometric Dr. Michael Jacobs

Pismo PickersAntiques & Collectibles

Rosa’s Boutique

Rite Aid Pharmacy

Sheng Foot Spa

SportsClips

Starbucks

Sushi Kokku

Blessings sent for a Happy and Healthy New Year

555 Five Cities Drive, Pismo Beachwww.PismoCoastPlaza.com

The Sewing Cafe

Yang-Sheng Massage

Valley Cleaners

Verizon Phone and Wireless

Shop LocallyYour Local One Stop Shopping Center, Pharmacy,

Grocery Market and Lots More!


Eat - Play - ShopBAYSIDE CAFE is a wonderful fi nd if you are looking for fresh food and something off the beaten track where the “Locals” love to eat while looking over the Back Bay. A restaurant with a casual dinning experience, great home cooked food from the farm and the sea. Homemade desserts are a must try. Open 7 days a week for lunch featuring fi sh and chips, soups, salads, sandwiches and some Mexican items. Try our dinners served Thursday through Sunday featuring fresh seafood items as well as tri tip, hamburgers, pastas and more…Dog friendly heated patio too! Located in the Morro Bay Marina directly across the road from Morro Bay State Park Campground at #10 State Park Road in Morro Bay! 805-772-1465

GRANDMA’S FROZEN YOGURT AND WAFFLE SHOP Morro Bay’s newest downtown business, GRANDMA’S FROZEN YOGURT & WAFFLE SHOP is open and offering Old Fashion specialty waffl es, Real frozen yogurt, and refreshing sorbet. Non-electronic activities are available throughout the week, including board and card games. Located on the corner of Morro Bay Blvd. & Main Street, they also provide a public restroom for downtown guests. Come and enjoy the newly created courtyard as you watch downtown come alive during the Saturday Farmers Market. Live music is available periodically. Be sure to Facebook us for daily yogurt fl avors and activity updates! Hours: 10am-7pm Sun-Thurs and Fri- Sat till 10pm. Come see us after the show! 307 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay, CA Call (805) 704-YUMM (9866)

NATIVE HERBS & HONEY CO opened a new shop in Los Osos. A locally owned beekeeping company specializing in raw-local honey, 100% pure beeswax candles, handcrafted soaps, herbal & natural skin care, gifts & Custom orders. 1001 Santa Ynez St. Los Osos (805) 534-9855. Tue.-Sun.. 12-6pm www.nativeherbsandhoney.com

SMOOBAGE, which means “something that you really love” is a delightful store that will peak your senses as you search for the perfect item or gift. You will fi nd Artistic pieces from a variety of local artists as well as a quaint store that houses a paradise of colorful palettes & textures. From leather goods to jewelry, greeting cards & a children’s section there are treasures abundant. 591 Embarcadero, Morro Bay. (805) 459-5751. Text SMOOBAGE to 56955 to Join & receive 10% OFF your next purchase!

OPEN TUESDAY–SATURDAY 10–6

805 596 0288

3566 S. HIGUERA ST. SLO

[email protected]

WWW.ZOEYSHOMECONSIGNMENTS.COM

furniture | art | lighting

fine rugs | ebay services

outdoor furniture | jewelry

Zoey’s Home consignments

Like us on Facebook

Where You Never Know WhWhWherereree YoYoYouuu NeNeNeveeverrr KnKnKnowwowWhat You Might Find!WhWhWhatatat YYYououou MMMigigighththt FFFininnd!d!d!

875 EMBARCADERO MORRO BAY, CA 805-776-5004

EMBARCA OO

7th Annual Rotar� Communit� Christ�as & Holiday Sing-Along

The Arroyo Grande Rotary Club will present the 7th Annual Christmas and

Holiday Concert and Sing-Along on Sunday, Dec.21. This special 4 p.m. matinee will be presented at Arroyo Grande’s intimate Clark Center. Attendees will be able to enjoy great regional music and dance groups while also joining their family and friends in singing all their favorite holiday songs including the crowd captivating “Twelve Days of Christmas!”

The show, “Let it Snow,” will feature a host of favorite wintery Christmas and holiday songs. Performers include the Village Carolers of Studio Sing, Sing, Sing, the Arroyo Grande High School Choir, dancers from CDMA, the Grande Bell Ringers from the ArroyGrande United Methodist Church, the Estero Brass and vibraphonist Brad Lusk. Arrangements are being made for special appearances by Santa Claus and Frosty the Snow Man. Plus, free holiday goodies and drinks

will be provided for everyone in the lobby at the end of the show.

Net proceeds from this event are donated annually to the music and arts programs of various South County schools. Proceeds from

the 2013 Sing-Along were recently donated to the Arroyo Grande High School Music Department and the Grande Bell Ringers. Grande Bell Ringers director Leonard Lutz attended an Arroyo Grande Rotary

Club meeting in late October to accept their check and discuss bellringing techniques.

Tickets for the Christmas and Holiday Sing-Along are only $12 for adults and $6 for children and students and are now available from the Clark Center Box Offi ce at 489-9444 or www.clarkcenter.org. Special family discount pricing (in advance only) allows up to six family members to attend for only $30. It is suggested that tickets be purchased in advance in anticipation of a sell out.

Local support and sponsors are still sought for this event. The organizing committee plans to secure enough sponsors to mitigate the show expenses thereby allowing 100 percent of the ticket revenue to be donated to local school music programs. A limited number of sponsorships are now available at levels from $100 to $1,000. Contact Event Chair Mary Sansone at [email protected] or 805-550-9461 to secure a sponsorship.

Holiday Guide

Holiday Treats

805.474.4068

114 W. Branch St. Arroyo Grande

........................

860 Higuera St.Downtown SLO

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The holidays can be an expensive time for decorating, entertaining and shopping.

Luckily, there are easy ways to save this holiday season, so you can spend more time celebrating and less time stressing over expenses.

CreateTypically, one of the largest

expenses during the holiday season is gifts for friends and family. Instead of spending a fortune on store-bought presents, consider creating a DIY gift.

For example, you can place dry ingredients inside a canning jar with an easy-to-follow recipe for sugar cookies or holiday pancakes for a creative, inexpensive gift.

Gift cards dressed up with a festive greeting card also makes a great present. Another option is to look for an auto-renewal program that allows you to give a practical gift like diapers, pet food and more to a recipient on a weekly or monthly basis.

CookOne of the best parts about the

holidays is baking delicious treats for the whole family to enjoy. A holiday favorite is fruit cake, so

bake up something tasty like date nut bread using simple ingredients like fl our, milk and eggs that can be bought from a discount retailer like Dollar General.

CleanThe holidays are often about

spending time with family and friends, which means you could be doing a lot more entertaining than usual at your home. Get your home holiday-ready by making a plan for house-cleaning.

Straighten up before cleaning, so the process is expedited. To save on cleaning supplies, consider buying store brands, rather than name brand products. Be sure to also add the smells of the season with scented candles and electric warmers.

CelebrateAdorning your home with

holiday decorations can really get your family in the spirit. Deals on dollar ornaments, festive garland, decorative trees and fun wreaths can help you to make your home festive without breaking the bank.

By spending carefully, you can celebrate affordably and in style,

Four Ways to Celebrate Aff ordablyHoliday Guide

Join us for refreshments & choose a gift from under our Christmas tree.

downtown - 1 N. Ocean Avenue995-3681

5:00 PMto

8:00 PMChristmas Eve Service, 6-7pmEvery Sunday, 10 am

Local knowledge and experienceis invaluable when buying orselling a home. Dale Kaiser

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community for over 30 years.

805.995.2900www.cayucos.com36 n. ocean ave., cayucos Your LOCAL experts!

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OPEN DAILY 7AM Sunday-Thursday ‘til 9pmFriday-Saturday ‘til 10pm

In the K-Mart CenterArroyo Grande

481-FISH (3474)Check out our menu at:

by giving and receiving...

For every $50 purchased in Gift Certificates, you receive a

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These days, the focus of the holidays is often on consumerism -- from gift cards to glitzy décor

to formal place settings. Whatever your religious beliefs, you may be looking for ways to incorporate more spirituality into the season and beyond.

Here are three ways to bring more meaning to the season:

• Skip the gift exchange. Instead of purchasing pricey presents for family and friends, do a letter exchange instead. Take the opportunity to tell loved ones what they mean to you. These notes of appreciation will be a lot more memorable and a lot more meaningful than a store bought item. The money you would have spent on gifts can be donated to your favorite charity instead.

• Volunteer. The winter can be an especially diffi cult time for the elderly, the hungry or the sick. While it may be a particularly busy time of year for you, try to dedicate some time in your schedule to a volunteer project that helps you connect with others in your community.

Three Ways to Give the Holiday Season More Meaning

• Be introspective. There is plenty of great literature available that can help you explore your own spirituality. One new title, “Coming Home, A Spiritual and Religious Dialogue,” by Star Chang, who has studied religious scriptures, history and spiritual books for years, delves into the teachings of the likes of Buddha, Jesus, Plato and

Muhammad. The book seeks to help readers navigate their own path by discovering which teachings apply to them and how to incorporate them into a modern lifestyle. This reading can be especially benefi cial to those looking for more meaning around the holiday season.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

41

V i s i t u s a t D O N N A S I N T E R I O R S . C O M

1069 E. Grand AvenueArroyo Grande

Mon–Sat, 10am - 6pmSunday, Noon - 5pm

805.489.8533

A new look for the

Holidays


find your beat

8 50 sound

The holiday season is well under way. Already most of our communities have had

tree lighting ceremonies and strolls through historic towns, and festive folks enjoy a cup of cider here and there while Christmas music, live or canned, fl oats through the delightfully chilly air.

It is a natural human instinct to want to gather closer to loved ones during the holidays. Whether you have family in the area, or are on your own, here are some holiday parties with live music you can enjoy to help you get into the festive mood. If you’re single, you will fi nd that other single folks are out in force this time of the year, so it’s a great time to meet new people. All of these events are free and open to the public. Please remember to support the venues that provide live music by purchasing food or drink, and please tip those hard working musicians.

Nataly Lola will be performing Christmas music at all of her gigs this month. She will be singing and playing guitar at an outdoor holiday

event on Thursday, December 11 from 5:0000-7 p.m. at Andrews and Associates Real Estate in Pismo Beach. There will be goodies, and vendors selling food and wine. The party continues at Costa de Oro Tasting Room in Santa Maria from 5– 8 p.m. on Friday, December 12. Costa de Oro is a cozy little wine bar in Santa Maria, with lots of friendly folks, so don’t be shy about making some new friends. Chef Rick always has a tasty dinner and other treats available for purchase. Nataly will also be providing Christmas music as well as other cover and original tunes at the Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach on Sunday, December 14, from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Risky Whippet will throw their annual Christmas Party at the Shell Café in Pismo Beach. This year, it’s an Ugly Sweater Party. If you wear an ugly sweater, and are over

21, your fi rst beer is free. Risky Whippet is a family band (I love chicks with guitars; mom Wendelin Van Draanen is the lead guitarist and lead vocalist) and performs mostly 80s rock, as well as many of your favorite sing-a-long Christmas songs. The band gives out prizes for trivia questions, dancing, and for

no particular reason at all. Special guest appearance by the Whippettes including Tolosa Press’ Teri Bayus.The music starts at 7 p.m. and goes until 10 p.m. This event is singles-friendly.

Two of the local blues jams will be Christmas parties, too. The Blues Masters Jam and Christmas Party will be on Wednesday, December 17 at the Shell Café in Pismo Beach, from 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. This jam will be hosted by Charlie Foppiano (Mighty Croon Dogs, Meet the Foppers). The next night, Thursday,December 18, the Real Blues Jamand Christmas Party, hosted by Ted Waterhouse (Catalina Eddy and the Blues Keys, Viper Six), will be at the Sweet Springs Saloon in Los Osos from 7 p.m. - 10p.m., and is 21 and over only. Both of these events are singles friendly.

Whatever you do, get out there and have fun! Dance if you’re able, chair dance if you can’t. Whichever holiday you celebrate, I hope it’s ahappy one for you and all you hold dear. See you on the dance fl oor! ✤

Thu 12/11 .... Cosmopolites Farmer’s Market food welcome inside

Fri 12/12 .... Nada Rasta

Sat 12/13 .... Cadillac Angels

Sun 12/14 .... Whiskey Circle

Mon 12/15 .... Toan’s Open Jam

Tue 12/16 .... TBA

Wed 12/17 .... Ras Danny Duo

Thu 12/18 .... Kenny Taylor Band Farmer’s Market food welcome inside

Strawberry WheatDirty Reapin’ BlondeFear the Reaper–AMBER

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Eat, Drink, Dance, and Be MerryThe Goddess of GrooveBy Mad Royal

find your beat

8 50 sound

3232 • • December 11 - 17, 2014 • Tolosa PressDecember 11 - 17, 2014 • Tolosa Press

Every Sunday and Monday night from 10pm to close

Drink specials all night long

Serving SEXTANT WINESon Tap

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(805) 773-1010690 Cypress St., Pismo Beachwww.harryspismobeach.com

Open 10am-2am Daily

THU12/11

FRI12/12

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MON12/15

TUE12/16

WED12/17

THU12/18

9PM-1:30

9PM-1:00

FRONT ROWKARAOKE

THE STEVE TRACY PROJECT

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7:30PM-11:30

9PM-1:00

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LIVE MUSIC THIS WEEK

782 Higuera St, SLO805.544.2200

11:00am-12:00am

Happy Hour Every Day 2-6

CORONA BUCKET(5 BEERS) ..................$15.00ALL DAY EVERYDAY

BRING YOUR TIKI KOOZIE AND GET $1 OFF ANY CANALL DAY EVERY DAY

MUNCHIESFISH TACO ...........................3.50PERSONAL PIZZA ..............3.50(PEPPERONI OR CHEESE) ONION RINGS ....................3.50SHOESTRING FRIES ........3.50SWEET POTATO FRIES ....3.50CHIPS AND SALSA ...........3.50

DRINK SPECIALS DOS EQUIS DRAFT ...........2.50STRONGBOW DRAFT ......2.50DRAFT BEERS .....................4.00WELL DRNKS ......................4.50CALL DINKS .........................5.50PREMIUM COCKTAILS .....6.50

Matt CrossTBARas Danny DuoRas Danny Duo

THU, 12/11FRI, 12/12SAT, 12/13THU, 12/18

South CountyTHE CLIFFS RESORT: 2757 Shell Beach Road, 773-5000 or cliffsresort.com.

F. MCLINTOCKS SALOON: Two locations: 750 Mattie Road in Pismo Beach and 133 Bridge St. in Arroyo Grande. 773-1892 or mclintocks.com. Live music at the Pismo Beach location every Fri. and Sat. from 6-9pm. Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Doc Stoltey play on alternating weekends.

HARRY’S NIGHT CLUB AND BEACH BAR: Cypress and Pomeroy, downtown Pismo Beach, 773-1010. Every Thu. Front Row Karaoke. 12/5 The Jammies 9pm 12/6 Shameless 3pm The Jammies 9pm 12/7 Manny English 9pm 12/8 Manny English 7:30pm 12/9 JB Rocks 7:30 12/10 JB Rocks 7:30pm 12/12 CK Solution 9pm 12/13 Legends 3pm CK Solution 9pm 12/14 Double Shots 9pm 12/15 Double Shot 12/16 The Steve Tracy Project 12/17 The Steve Tracy Project 7:30pm 12/19 Stinger 9pm 12/20 Mid Life Crisis 3pm Stinger 9pm 12/21 Manny English 9pm 12/22 Manny English 7:30pm 12/23 Rock Solid 7:30pm 12/24 Rock Solid 2:30pm 12/26 The Little George Band 9-11pm 12/27 The LG Band 3pm The Little George 9pm 12/28 Shameless 9pm 12/29 Shameless 7:30 12/30 Double Shot 12/31 The Jammie 9pm

LAETITIA WINERY: 453 Laetitia Vineyard Drive, Arroyo Grande, 805-481-1772. www.laetitiawine.com. Live Music Saturdays and Sundays 1-4pm.

LIDO RESTAURANT AT DOLPHIN BAY: 2727 Shell Beach Road, Shell Beach, 773-4300 or thedolphinbay.com. Join Three-Martini Lunch every Thurs. and Fri. from 6-9pm. Live Music Every Tues. from 5:30-6:30 and Thursdays and Fridays 6-9

MANROCK BREWING CO. TASTING ROOM: 1750 El Camino Real ste A, Grover Beach, CA 93433. Tasting room M-Th 4pm-10pm, Fri 3pm-12am, Sat noon-12am, Sun noon-7pmMONGO’S SALOON: 359 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach, 489-3639. Karaoke Tuesday and Wednesday 9pm. Live Music and dancing every Friday and Saturday at 9pm.

MR. RICK’S: 404 Front St., Avila Beach, 805-595-7425 www.mrricks.com Happy Hour Monday-Thursday 4-7pm 12/5 Indian Valley Band 8pm 12/6 Matt Szlachetka 8pm 12/7 Soul Sauce 1pm 12/12 Bobby Santacruz 8pm 12/13 Bootyshakers 8pm 12/14 Matt Cross 1pm 12/19 Shameless 8pm 12/20 Soul Sauce 8pm 12/21 Living Large 1pm 12/26 Soundhouse 8pm 12/27 Legends 8pm 12/28 Soul Sauce 1pm

SEAVENTURE: 100 Ocean View, Pismo Beach, 773-4994. www.seaventure.com Live music every Wednesday from 6-9pm in the Fireplace room. Acoustic Sundays from 3-6pm on the Deck.

TALLEY VINEYARDS: 3031 Lopez Dr., Arroyo Grande, 489-0446, talleyvineyards.com

VENTANA GRILL: 2575 Price St.

Pismo Beach, 773-0000, or ventanagrill.com. Matt Cross plays on Mon and Wed. evenings.

VINO VERSATO: 781 Price St., Pismo Beach, 773-6563 or vinoversato.com. Every Tuesday: Side Effects

CREATIVE JUICES LOUNGE 874 Guadalupe Street, Guadalupe, CA 93434, 805-219-0518 www.creativejuicelounge.com 12/6 Louie Ortega

San Luis ObispoBON TEMPS CREOLE CAFE: 1000 Olive St., 544-2100. Zydeco music, live blues, and jazz on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

CREEKY TIKI: 782 Higuera St., 903-2591. www.creekytiki.com EVERY FRIDAY Live Music Directly Following Concerts in the Plaza 12/04 Michael Keeney 12/5 Kenny Taylor 12/6 Tim Jackson 12/11 Tim Jackson 12/11 Matt Cross

FROG & PEACH PUB: 728 Higuera St. (805)595-3764. 12/04 Dave Miller Band 12/5 Dub Seeds 12/7 The Lower 48 12/9 DJ DP

THE GRADUATE: 990 Industrial Way, 541-0969 or slograd.com. Every Thu. Is

Nightlife & Clubs


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8 50 sound

1527 Shell Beach Road, Pismo Beach | (805) 295-6328Open Mon-Sat 11:00 am to 11:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am to 11:00 pm

8 Big-Screen TVs with NFL Ticket.

30 Craft Beers On Tap and Full Bar.

Country Night 8pm 18+, Every Fri “Noche Caliente” or “Hot Latin Nights” 18+, Every Sat “Big Chill” hits from the 70’s 80’s 90’s 21+ & Every Sunday is Minor Madness 8pm-11:45pm

LINNAEA’S CAFE: 1110 Garden St., 541-5888 www.linnaes.com

LUNA RED: 1023 Chorro St., 540-5243 www.lunaredslo.com 12/4 Bear Market Riot 10pm 12/5 End of Prohibition Party 12/6 Rob Larkin and Debra Windsong 12/7 Sunday Set List 3-5pm 12/11 Girls & Boys 12/12 Josh Cody 12/13 Kenny Taylor 12/14 Chris Beland 12/18 Chris Beland

PAPPY MCGREGOR’S:pappymcgregors.com or 543-KILT (5458), 1865 Monterey St. Live music is Wed./Thurs./Fri. from 6-9pm. Old Time Fiddle & Banjo Show every Wed. from 6-9pm.

SLO BREWING CO.: 1119 Garden St., 543-1843 or slobrewingco.com. 11/28 Breather Carolina 12/04 Young Dubliners 12/05 The Dead Volts 12/06 Grouch and Eligh (of Living Legends) 12/09 Tasty Treat 12/11 FMLYBND 12/12 Charlie Hunter & Scott Amendola 12/10 Ras Danny Duo 12/11 Cosmopolites 12/12 Charlie Hunter & Scott 12/13 Andre Nickatina 12/14 Hirie 12/27 Heart to Heart.

North Coast10TH STREET GRILL: 2011 10th St., Los Osos, 528-2011 or 10thstreetgrill.com.

CAMBRIA PINES LODGE: 2905 Burton Drive, Cambria, 927-4200 or cambriapineslodge.com. Entertainment every night in the Fireside Lounge.

FUEL DOCK SALOON: 900 Main St., Morro Bay, 772-8478

MOZZI’S SALOON: 2262 Main St. in Cambria, 927-4767.Friday Night: Karaoke, Saturday Night: Live Music

OLD CAYUCOS TAVERN: 130 N. Ocean Ave., Cayucos, 995-3209. Fri.-Sat.: Live music.

OTTER ROCK CAFE: 885 Embarcadero, Morro Bay, 805-772-1420. www.otterrockcafe.com Every Wed.: Karaoke, 8pm. Every Thu.: Thursday Night Spotlight, 8pm. *Closed every Tuesday 12/1 Monday Night Football Drink & Food Specials 12/4 Spotlight w/ Frankie 12/6 Renown 12/7 14th Annual Ultimate X-mas party pot-luck pro-jam 12/8 Monday Night Football Drink & Food Specials 12/12 Mike Keeny 12/13 Croondogs 12/14 Cloud Ship 12/15 Monday Night Football Drink & Food Specials 12/19 Wild Anderson Party 12/20 Bobby Santa Cruz Band 12/21 Meet the Foppers 12/22 Monday Night Football specials 12/27 Kenny Taylor Band 12/28 Stringtown Ambassadors 12/29 Monday Night Football 12/31 Lu Lu & the Cowtippers New Years Eve Bash!

SKIPPERS RESTAURANT: 113 N Ocean, Cayucos, 995-1122. SWEET SPRINGS SALOON: 990 Los Osos Valley Road, Los Osos, 528-3764, sweetspringssaloon.com. Friday and Saturday: Live music from 9pm to 2am.

TOGNAZZINI’S DOCKSIDE: 1245 Embarcadero, Morro Bay, 772-8100.

WINDOWS ON THE WATER: 699 Embarcadero, Suite 7, Morro Bay, 772-0677. Live music every Monday and Friday evening.

North CountyASUNCION RIDGE: 725 12th St., Paso Robles, 237-1425 Live music Saturdays from 5-8pm

AVION & CLAW: 6155 El Camino Real, Atascadero, 461-9463 or avionandclaw.com. Live music Thurs.-Sat. from 7-10pm.

BROKEN EARTH WINERY: 5625 Highway 46E, Paso Robles, 239-2562.

BRU COFFEEHOUSE: 576 El Camino Real, Atascadero, 464-5007. www.brucoffeehouse.com Live music every Friday from 7-9pm. 11/14 Max Martinelli 11/21 The Simple Parade November artwork from Louisa Cardinali

CAMOZZI’S: 5855 El Camino Real, Atascadero, 466-1880.

D’ANBINO VINEYARDS AND CELLARS: 710 Pine St., Paso Robles, 227-6800 or danbino.com. Every Saturday 2-4:30 pm wine and music events.

LA BELLASERA HOTEL AND SUITES: 206 Alexa Ct., Paso Robles, 238-2834, www.labellasera.com. Guitar/Vocal duo, Adam Levine and Judy Philbin play every Thurs. from 7-9pm, in the dining room/bar.

LAST STAGE WEST: Halfway Station on Highway 41 (15050 Morro Road at Toro Creek), 461-1393 or laststagewest.net. Most shows start at 6pm. 12/4 Tanner Scott 12/5 Them Tracelin’ Birds 12/6 El Segundo 12/9 The Banjer Dan Show 12/10 Bluegrass Jam Night 12/11 Tanner Scott 12/13 The Stringtown Ambassadors 12/16 The BanjerDan Show 12/18 Tanner Scott 12/19 Panga 12/20 Dirty Cello 12/23 The BanjerDan Show 12/25 Tanner Scott 12/27 Alzheimer’s Association Benefi t Dinner & Concert featuring: “The Inglishmen” w/ special guest: BanjerDan 12/30 The Banjer Dan Show 12/31 NEW YEARS EVE w/ EL SEGUNDO

PAPPY MCGREGOR’S: pappymcgregors.com or 238-7070, 1122 Pine St. in Paso Robles.

PASO ROBLES INN CATTLEMAN’S LOUNGE: 1103 Spring St., 238-2660. Live entertainment Friday and Saturday at 9:30pm.

PINE STREET SALOON: 1234 Pine St., Paso Robles. www.pinestreetsaloon.com 805-238-1114. Every Monday Open Mic. 9pm. Every Tuesday/ Friday/ Sunday Marilyn’s Karaoke 9pm. Every Thursday North County Line Up Live Music 9pm.

THE PONY CLUB AT HOTEL CHE-VAL: 1021 Pine St., Paso Robles. www.hotelcheval.com 805-226-9995. 10/31 Dorian Michael & Nicole Stromsoe 7-10pm 11/28 Louie Ortega 7-10pm 11/29 Luke Bryon 7-10pmThe Ranch: 1285 Mission St. in San Miguel, www.liveattheranch.com or 467-5047. 11/29 Chris and Nick’s “Rave Circus” 18+

SCULPTERRA WINERY: 5015 Linne Road, Paso Robles, 226-8881. Steve Key presents “Songwriters at Play” Sundays from 1-4pm. 12/7 Alice Wallace 12/14 Albert Jr. Band 12/21 Maurice Tani 12/28 Stringtown Ambassadors

VINA ROBLES AMPHITHEATRE: 3800 Mill Rd., Paso Robles, 286-3680. Check out Vina Robles Amphitheatre online for tickets, times, and pricing www.vinarobles.com.

Nightlife & Clubs

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8 50 sound

3434 • • December 11 - 17, 2014 • Tolosa PressDecember 11 - 17, 2014 • Tolosa Press

Please tell us a little about yourself and your company.

I’m thirty years old, I like animals, wristwatches, fl owers, and the word “buttons”. I’d genuinely love to talk to you. Really. I adore conversation and the opportunity to gain your perspective. I am always one to be late because I was making friends. I work for El Dorado Broadcasters in San Luis Obispo. The company itself owns three other radio stations in this market (KSTT, KSLY, and KVEC) as well as four down in Santa Maria (KSMX, KSMY, KXFM, and KSNI) and I have worked for all of them in some capacity during my tenure with El Dorado Broadcasters.

How long have you been in the business?

Twelve years. Good-ness, I can’t believe I’m saying that. A coworker, your friend and mine Scott Taylor, who I’ve worked with for the vast majority of my career and I not only learned a great deal about the biz from but is also one of the most genuine folks you’ll ever meet told me when I

fi rst started that once you’ve worked fi ve years in radio you’re stuck. And I vividly remember telling him that there’s no way I’d be dumb enough to stay in this crazy job as a career. Welp, here I am. I don’t know if I’m destined to be in radio forever but I will say after doing this job having to go and do a real job would suck.

What made you get into this fi eld?

I was doing something stupid in public. Yeah really. It was WOW

week at CalPoly and even though I didn’t really need orienting to the area I participated and I’m glad I did because I made some lifelong friends and memories. There is/was a dance in the middle of the week which was hosted and DJ’d by a local radio station. Maxwell (who is now on nights in New York!) and DJ Mel (the fi ve-footed Filipino) were on a small raised stage protected by some guys in security jackets and they played the song “Where The Party At?” by Jagged Edge featuring Nelly. Oh man do I love this song. I knew ALL the words but the best part is the Nelly breakdown in the middle and I was ready for it. I walk past the security guard with a quick nod and a notion that I needed to go on stage and I assume he either thought I was with the radio dudes, maybe he knew it was my jam, or maybe he just wasn’t compensated enough to care to stop a guy of my size. I got on stage right when the Nelly part hit and performed it fl awlessly with dance moves and everything. I hammed it up for everybody there and Maxwell just let me crush it. What I didn’t know at the time is that people weren’t supposed to go up there because you shouldn’t have people jumping and dancing around actual vinyl record players on a stage because it can cause them to skip or scratch, but luckily no harm no foul. After I was done he pulled me aside and congratulated me on my performance and said that he’d actually seen me around before (they had also DJ’d a few of the dances at my high school) and that he might have a job for me. I became a street teamer and have been here ever since.

What inspires you the most about this industry?

I don’t know about inspiring but one of my favorite parts is actually the music. I try as hard as I can to listen to as much new and different music, of all genres, as I can every week. I want to know where it’s going, where it’s been, what’s new. I want to hear things I’ve never heard before because there are so many amazing sounds that I could never even imagine being made right now. I want them in my ears.

Where do you live and where did you grow up?

I’m from here. I was born and live in SLO, my parents live in Morro Bay, my grandparents lived in Cayucos, my great grandparents lived in Nipomo… you get the idea.

What is the most diffi cult thing you have to deal with in this industry?

There’s a ton of technical stuff involved in making a radio station run so there are a lot of details to keep straight twenty four hours a day which can keep you up (and in the studio) at night or on the weekend or holidays or birthdays or when you are sick or any of the absolute worst times you can possibly think of. Yes probably that one you’re thinking of now too. But I’d say, just like any other job, the hardest part can be other people. Especially in radio there are a lot of very big egos fl ying around and they can smack into each other at times. It has taught me to take fault when I am wrong and that many times, regardless of age, position, or rank the only person you can rely on being the adult or the bigger person is yourself.

What High School and college did you attend?

SLO High class of 2002 (go Tigers) and I’m actually still attending CalPoly where I intend on taking every single class they offer. Or something like that.

If you’re having a bad day and feeling down; what motivates you get into the mood and get the energy to be on the radio?

Wow, this is a really good question. It’s absolutely something we deal with being on-air. In most formats you have to just suck it up. We use the phrase “smile when you’re talking”(or some variation) in the industry because it absolutely works to make you sound happy. Luckily in those formats what you’re saying is either more heavily scripted or formatted so that you can kind of hide behind the formality of “radio announcing”, keep your head down, and get to the end of your shift – but -- to be honest I just use it. I preach sincerity to my jocks and try to be as real as I can be on-air because you know what? Yeah, people have crap days. If I’m not having a good day why not share that with you? It’s humanizing, relatable, and frankly somewhat therapeutic. If I’m feeding you a line or being insincere you’ll know it and you’ll tune out. Just like you should. ✤

Tristan Talks


Henry and Sunny Wright. Many of the Duke’s most famous songs are featured, including “Mood Indigo”, “Sophisticated Lady,” “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good,” “Take The A Train” and many more.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse is located at 824 Main St., corner Sheffi eld St., in Cambria’s West Village.

The Cuesta College Jazz Ensemble will perform an end of semester concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12 at the Cuesta performing Arts center. Tickets are $7 students/seniors/Jazz Federation members, $12 general admission. Buy tickets online at: www.cpactickets.cuesta.edu or call 546-3198. The concert features the best of Cuesta’s small jazz groups and the favorite pieces of its Big Band. Directed by Ron McCarley.

The Pacifi c Horizon Chorus’ women of Sweet Adelines International and the Gold Coast Chorus men of the Barbershop Harmony Society are singing a concert of holiday music at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 at the United Church of Christ, 11245 Los Osos Valley Rd., in San Luis Obispo. Festivities will include raffl e for gift baskets and a special appearance by Santa Claus. Free admission but donations accepted. For more information call 528-6106.

Cuesta College’s vocal ensembles will celebrate the holidays with two local concerts in SLO and at the Hwy 1 Campus, at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Mission in Downtown SLO and at 3 p.m. Sunday Dec. 14 at the Cuesta Performing arts Center. Tickets are $7 students/seniors, $12 general admission and available online at: www.cpactickets.cuesta.edu or call 546-3198. Also available at the door. You’ll hear works by Eric

Celtic/folk/world music duo, Four Shillings Short

Suspended Motion Aerial Arts presents its Winter Showcase featuring aerial dances on silk, lyra, rope and other cirque-style apparatuses, set for 7-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 12-13 at their studio, 207 Suburban Rd., SLO. Tickets at the door are $15 adults, $10 for students, seniors and children, and free for kids under 3. Proceeds go toward the studio’s goal of relocating into a larger studio/theater space, buying new equipment, and expanding the curriculum of circus arts classes for children and adults. More than 20 aerialists of all ages will perform to music as diverse as Wainwright’s “Hallelujah,” to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off,” and more. Refreshments will be served. See: www.SuspendedMotion.net, or www.facebook.com/suspendedmotionslo for more on the troupe.

The Pewter Plough Playhouse’s Great American Song Book Society presents “Duke’s Place,” an original musical celebrating the life and work of Duke Ellington weekends Dec. 19-Jan. 18.

Preview Night is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 with tickets set at $30 and including a special after-show party with Champagne, desserts and pianist/vocalist Dave Manion in the PPP lounge. There’s also a gala New Year’s Eve party set for 8 p.m. Wednesday Dec. 31. Tickets are $130 a person and include the play, a buffet dinner and entertainment. Regular performances are Fridays-Saturdays, at 7:30 and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 a person. Group Reservations (10 or more) get a 10% discount if paid with single payment in advance. Contact the PPP Box Offi ce for reservations at 927-3877 or reserve online at: www.pewterploughplayhouse.org.

The show was written and directed by Rebecca Buckley and produced by Jim Buckley. Musical Director is Jim Conroy. The cast features (pictured left to right): Jim Conroy, Judy Philbin, David Manion, Roy

Whitacre, songs from the hit movie “Frozen,” as well as favorite Holiday tunes. Directed by John Knutson and Cassandra Tarantino.

Songwriters At Play presents two contemporary folk duos— San Francisco’s Sam Misner and Megan Smith and Central Coast favorites Erin Inglish and Dylan Johnson — in concert on Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. at D’Anbino Cellars, 710 Pine St., Paso Robles. Misner and Smith met as actors, fi rst in a Shakespeare play, and later in the musical, “Woody Guthrie’s American Song.” The two have acted in the

play over a hundred times around the

country, and began to form a musical partnership based on a mutual love of roots music, and in particular, harmony singing. Banjo player, Inglish is always coming up with new collaborations and this time, she is accompanied by bassist Johnson, a Cuesta College music professor who performs regularly with Inga Swearingen. Reservations are highly recommended at (805) 227-6800 Ext. 700. Tickets are $10. Show begins at 7 p.m. but come early for dinner (food service begins at 6 p.m.). For more information, see: www.songwritersatplay.com.

Cal Poly Arts has added two new musical shows to its lineup for early next year at the Performing Arts Center, and tickets will be on sale soon

The Pewter Plough Playhouse’s Great American Song Book Society presents “Duke’s Place”


for both. Classically trained violinist, Lindsey Stirling, will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3. Tickets are on sale now and range from $28-$58 each. The American musical group, The Piano Guys, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 13. Tickets for that show are $40-$75 and go on sale Friday, Dec. 12. Tickets for both are available at the PAC Box Offi ce, Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to curtain

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times. Call 756-4849 or order online at: www.calpolyarts.org. An Internet sensation, Stirling has entered a futurist world of electronic big beats and animation, leaping through the music industry with more than 800 million views on YouTube, Billboard chart-topping hits and sold-out tours worldwide. Last April, Sterling released a new album, Shatter Me, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard “Top 200” album charts, her

highest charting album to date. The Piano Guys, Jon Schmidt (piano) and Steven Sharp Nelson (cellist), formed in 2011 and also became famous through YouTube, posting videos of renditions and mash-ups of popular songs accompanied by high-quality video production. To date, more than 1 million people subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Celtic/folk/world music duo, Four Shillings Short, is coming to Cambria for a worship show and concert at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cambria, 786 Arlington St. The husband-wife duo of Aodh Og O’Tuama and Christy Martin will perform at 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 at the church service and then perform in concert at 3 p.m. The concert is on a donation basis

at the door. Four Shillings Short play traditional and original music

from Ireland and Scotland, Indian Ragas, folk ballads, old-time songs, on Medieval and Renaissance plus a cappella numbers on a fantastic array of instruments (over 30) including hammered dulcimer, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, tinwhistles, recorders, Medieval and Renaissance woodwinds, North Indian Sitar, Charango, bowed psaltery, banjo, bodhran, guitar, percussion, and even a Krumhorn. ✤

Classically trained violinist, Lindsey Stirling

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Dinner and a Movie

A day of wine tasting inspires your taste buds to rejoice. And when celebrating yet another trip

around the sun — my birthday — it calls for a great meal to go with newly purchased wine.

This celebration calls for an excellent chef in a stunning restaurant with an attentive wait staff and a delectable menu. The Sea Venture in Pismo Beach was our culinary destination for my birthday this year.

In the past, many of my after-work hours were spent sitting at the Sea Venture watching the waves roll in, surfers fl oating and the sunset. My girlfriends and I meet here for Mai Tai’s, Sunday brunches or just to impress an out-of-town guest. While the bar boasts one of the most seasoned tapa’s cook (Craig) and an amazing bartender (Krista), the restaurant has at its helm one of the best and brightest chefs in the area, Casey Walcott.

The entire staff here is one of seasoned professionals that truly enjoy their jobs and provide an unsurpassed dining experience. Simon Kovesdi (the restaurant manager) has always been the perfect host and has turned a blind eye when our celebratory mood was an octave louder than the rest of the diners. I am a fan.

I told Casey to surprise me and bring me what he thought I would enjoy and he was spot-on with each and every dish. Because Gary had stopped at the Apple Farm to consume a dozen Christmas cookies on the way to the Sea Venture, we both started with an appetizer — large, seared bacon-wrapped scallops, sitting atop fried Brussels sprouts with a delectable lemon aioli and goat cheese spread around the plate for visual stimulation,

as well as palate pleasing. The scallops were bigger than a silver

dollar and perfectly cooked with the essence of the sea shining through the crispiness of the bacon. We paired the dish with a bottle of crisp Barton Label Blanc y Blanc, a white blend that is a new and delicious offering from Joe Barton of Grey Wolf Winery.

Next was beef Carpaccio, cut thin and spectacularly prepared resting on mustard vinaigrette with capers dotting the top, adding a perfect blending of fl avor.

Resting beside this Heavenly dish were baby arugula leaves with shaved Parmesan and a sprinkling of Black Sea salt to enhance the fl avor. This deconstructed dish was pleasing from every perspective and we launched it into our mouths.

The next dish was a subtlety delectable, lobster Vol-en-Vent (French for everything is better between puff pastry). This amazing shell shaped and multi-layered tartlet was swollen with sautéed lobster, grilled asparagus and

cubes of fi ngerling potatoes, it sat upon a cloud of lobster cream sauce and green onions. Every bite was a perfect and rich creating a harmonious experience. We deemed it “50 shades of lobster,” likening the cream sauce to bisque and the meat inside tasty morsels of the tail of kings. It was absolute fl awlessness.

Our next main course was a large confi t of Pork Osso Bucco — a succulent meat shank from the thighbone cooked for hours in its own fat that is a favorite of any food-obsessed creature.

Add to it sheared, fried beets and carrots all resting on a puree of caulifl ower, oven roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, spinach, and thyme, can make for a very quiet table.

The amalgamation of fl avors, textures and sauces made this a most memorable indulgence. We paired this with a Turley Zinfandel and both the wine and the meat were so impressive, we were not sure if we should or could go on eating.

Dessert was a light apple Crostada tart with Sea Canyon apples baked to

a sweetness only known to apple connoisseurs, with a buttermilk vanilla bean ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Gazing out onto the Christmas tree at the end of the Pismo Pier, I was convinced I remain the luckiest girl around.

I surprised everyone and went for a second dessert. It was my birthday after all, and there was all this hearty zinfandel wine left. Nothing goes better with that than a chocolate torte. The Sea Ventures version

is a dense torte with a scoop of Doc Burnstein’s Chocolate Motor Oil ice cream, chocolate sauce and chocolate shavings. With the wine, “obsession” is too soft a word to describe my fascination with this dessert.

I was so impressed with this meal, I fl oated all the way home and booked our tickets to celebrate New Year’s Eve at this very spot (dinner has two seating’s one beginning at 5 p.m. and one at 7:30). You can call for reservations at (805) 773-3463.

I love the Sea Venture, as it is paradise and we are lucky enough to call this kind of Heaven our home.

The Sea Venture Resort Restaurant is open Mondays-Thursdays from 4-9 p.m., Fridays-Saturdays from 4-9:30 and Sundays 5-9. They are located at 100 Ocean View Ave., in Pismo Beach just three blocks from the Pismo Pier. All the restaurant specials and room information is online at: www.seaventure.com. ✤

The “Penguins of Madagascar,” starts in Antarctica with three loveable guys, Skipper, Kowalski

and Rico kids. They are kids who don’t feel like they belong with the rest of the wild penguins. They rescue an egg from seal leopards and watch it hatch.

Out comes the fourth member, “Private.” They are the basis for the penguin tribe that has made me giggle in all the other Madagascar movies.

In this movie, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with an undercover animal spy organization, “The North Wind” to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

Dave the octopus (voiced by John Malkovich) is angry that the penguins

have always received attention at the zoos, while his kind has been seen as more gross than cuddly.

He tries to destroy them in Venice, Italy, but that gets called off when some Artic region animals come in to help. A wolf named Classifi ed (Benedict

Cumberbatch), a harp seal, Short Fuse (Ken Jeong), a polar bear, Corporal (Peter Stormare) and a snow owl, Eva (Annet Mahendru) are all members of The North Wind.

In the Madagascar fi lms, the penguins are usually my favorite characters, and they have their own TV show

on Nickelodeon. I was hoping that the movie may go crazier, but instead it feels like the franchise is trying to take a step back to its roots.

Penguins of Madagascar inspires to be an origins story, a spy story,

a revenge story, a love story, and a friendship story. It manages to be all and have a good time showing us these crazy penguins. ✤

Teri Bayus can be reached at [email protected] or follow her writing and ramblings at: www.teribayus.com. Teri is also the host of “Taste Buds,” a moving picture rendition of her reviews shown on Charter Cable Ch. 10. Dinner and a Movie is a weekly feature of Tolosa Press.

Penguins of Madagascar InspiresBy Teri Bayus

Food Adventures at the Sea VentureBy Teri Bayus


NEWS

Costello thanked the citizens for the role they played during his time in offi ce.

“Without you, this community doesn’t go forward,” he said. “I also want to express my thanks to the staff, from all the line people, the police, our fi refi ghters, the public works personnel, the parks and rec people, the supervisors, the department heads, the city manager and the city attorney—everybody. It takes everybody working together for the city to move forward. It has been a pleasure to work with people here. I also want to thank all the City Council members I have served with over the years. Finally, I want to thank my kids and my wife. Their support means everything.”

Costello was presented with a plaque in recognition of his civic service.

Former mayor Tony Ferrara resigned from his post on Nov. 28 and did not attend the meeting.

Once the new council took their places behind the dais, an emotional Brown addressed an incident involving the city manager and a subordinate found in a questionable situation afterhours at city hall and the explosion of controversy that has gone on for months surrounding the event that created divisions between community members, the police department and the council.

“If we are going to heal and we are going to move forward, I think both sides of the fence need to give this council time to be successful,” he said. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride for a while, folks. We’re going to have a new city manager. We’re going to have some bumpy times. If everybody is at each other’s throats over the next six months to a year, we’re not going to get anything done. I’m hopeful that we can work together and agree to disagree when we do, but understand that it is for the best value of Arroyo Grande…. We have a choice to make. We keep talking about wanting to turn the page. The real question is, are we going to do it? The proof in that is in our actions, both mine and yours.”

Hill and Harmon thanked their supporters and expressed a hope for a return to a more positive relationship between the public and city offi cials.

“This is one community—Arroyo Grande,” Hill said. “There have been divisions here. Hopefully we can move the discourse forward.”

In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals and rookie council members Barbara Nicolls and Miriam Shah were sworn in.

Shoals was the City’s fi rst directly elected mayor serving from 2008 to 2012 before terming out for a two-year period.

“I am very humbled, I am very honored that the Grover voters have come forward and elected me to serve this great community as your mayor,” Shoals said. “It is a position that I do not take lightly. It is a privilege that I do not take for granted. I will work hard every day to make you proud of me. For those who did not vote for me, I will work hard every day to let you know that I am working hard to earn your respect and your trust.”

Presentations were made to outgoing offi cials Mayor Debbie Peterson as well as councilmen Bill Nicolls and Glenn Marshall.

City Manager Bob Perrault said it was with mixed emotions that he took on the task of farewell presentations to departing council members.

Peterson was fi rst appointed to the Planning Commission in 2005 until being elected to the City Council in 2008. She was the City’s fi rst directly-elected female mayor in 2012, but lost her bid for re-election.

“As everybody knows, she is very passionate about her work,” Perrault said. “I can tell you that by the number of emails that I would get at 2 in the morning. She contributed to a variety of different projects and helped move them along. Some of those projects are so important to the city.”

Peterson played an important role in the approval process for the upcoming Grover Beach Lodge and Conference Center, the soon-to-be installed municipal broadband network, the passing of the bond measure to perform much-needed street repairs and the completed West Grand Avenue improvement projects.

“Thinking back over 10 years of serving the City, the hope I have is that we will continue in what we have done,” Peterson said. “When I say we, I mean staff, members of the City Council, members of the commissions in the city, the businesses in our city and those who served before us, many of who are here this evening and some who are not with us anymore, and the community and other elected offi cials that we have worked with. All of us have helped create a city that is better equipped to meet the

challenges of our environment, our political environment, our environmental environment, our economic environment and our physical environment—our infrastructure.”

Nicolls began his civic tenure on the Parks and Rec Commission in 2002 before being elected to the council in 2006 and was re-elected in 2012. He termed out this year.

Perrault referred to Nicolls as a “volunteer extraordinaire” for his work outside of the council.

“It is with real mixed emotions that I have got to say goodbye,” Perrault said. “I know you won’t be too far away. I have a funny feeling I will still see you occasionally at City Hall.”

Marshall, who served previously on the Planning Commission from 2004 to 2010, chose not to run for election after being appointed to fi ll the vacancy left by Phyllis Molnar in April of 2012.

Perrault said that Marshall was appreciated for his “insightfulness and accurate thought. He really contributed to a lot of the discussions. You are really the epitome of a citizen leader because, ultimately, you stepped forward, answered the call and are returning back into private life.”

In Pismo Beach, Shelly Higginbotham took the oath of offi ce for her second term as mayor. Longtime councilwomen Mary Ann Reiss and newcomer Sheila Blake were also sworn in as councilmembers.

“I want you to know how much it means to me that you are here,” Blake said. “For all of you who voted for me as well as H-14 (development protection in Price Canyon), it was almost a leap of faith for you to do so.”

Higginbotham, who won by two votes, and Reiss, who won by 17 votes, thanked their supporters and congratulated Blake on her election.

“I am living proof that every vote counts,” Higginbotham said.

The council said goodbye to Kris Vardas, who has served for the last eight years, but lost his bid for re-election.

“You have been a tireless servant to this community,” City Manager Jim Lewis said. “Your expertise in planning and your vision will be missed. You have been a passionate and articulate representative for our community. You have been supportive of staff. You have just had a fantastic attitude in all your years of service.” ✤

Leaders, from page 1

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San Luis Obispo residents have seen bears tear through yards in the outskirts of town over

the last two years but now the SLO Police Department is warning the public about another potential menace — mountain lions.

Just before dark on Sunday, Dec. 7, a citizen reported seeing a cougar in the backyard of a home in the 300 block of Los Cerros Dr., near Bishop’s Peak. The mountain lion was scared away by a dog in the yard and ran off towards the Bishop’s Peak Natural Reserve.

Without much else to go on, SLOPD Sgt. Sean Gillham, distributed a list of safety tips (see: Cougarfund.org):

• Prominently, “If a lion is aggressive, throw rocks and sticks; yell as loud as you can. Always fi ght back and do not play dead.”

Preventative: • Be aware of your surroundings

and recreate responsibly. Consider hiking, biking and running with others.

• Supervise children and do not leave them unattended, especially at dawn or dusk.

• Keep all garbage, pet food

or food scraps indoors to avoid attracting prey.

• Keep pets and livestock in a secure area, especially at night.

• Install outdoor lighting where you walk after dark or install motion activated lighting.

• Seal off crawl spaces under deck areas to discourage cougars or other animals from bedding down under your home.

• Do not feed wildlife. Predators follow Prey!

• Minimize vegetation in your yard where a cougar could hide and avoid planting foliage that attracts prey.

• And, perhaps something that shouldn’t need to be said, “Never approach a cougar.”

During a face-to-face encounter: • Stay calm and back away slowly

and do NOT turn your back, run or bend over.

• Avoid looking like prey. Try to make yourself appear as big as possible, make eye contact, open your jacket, and raise your arms. Talk or sing to distinguish yourself as non-prey species. ✤

NEWSDealing with Local Cougars

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In the BlackTolosa Press • December 11 - 17, 2014 • 41

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Don’t We All Want The Same Things?By Michael Gunther

Our team has recently taken on the challenge of reading “The 12 best business books of all

time,” as outlined by Dan Dzombak from The Motley Fool.

We created an internal “Relentless Learners Club,” where every Wednesday at 4 we get together to discuss that weeks’ reading and then, how to apply it to our personal and professional lives.

Through reading one of our fi rst books by Dale Carnegie, titled, “How to Win Friends and Infl uence People in the Digital Age,” along with a recent conversation I had with Kevin, the youngest member on our team, I have been reminded of basic concepts as a business owner — as we are building our businesses, supporting our teams, and assisting our clients with their growth, we really all just want the same things as individuals. We want to contribute, be valued for what we contribute, and have an impact and a connection with others.

These concepts are not complex,

yet they tend to get lost in the latest management strategy, the newest employee engagement fad, or the current challenge or crisis within our businesses.

As leaders maybe it is time to step back and get back to the basic aspects of leading and infl uencing others. When was the last time you connected with your team and checked in with how they are doing not only professionally, but also personally?

How well are you truly aware or listening to the issues impacting your team’s performance?

Interesting enough, the ability to infl uence others is not about position or how forcefully you direct, but understanding and supporting those around you.

It is about a symbiotic relationship of mutual respect. It is awareness of our own vulnerabilities and how they may impact our willingness to be transparent and authentic.

The sad element is that individuals

only have two people in their lives that they can truly confi de in and trust, according to the latest research in Carnegie’s book.

As a leader, are you one of the two people in your team members’ lives that they trust and know you have their back? Don’t we all want to have true authentic relationships both at work and at home?

Bottom LineBecome an infl uencer, not just

a manager. Take a few minutes to evaluate what you want in your relationships at work and then assess how you are refl ecting this with your team.

My hunch is they want the same things you do — solid, trustworthy relationships that honor who they are. Again, it is an easy concept to desire, but a much harder one to execute.

If you operate within these parameters, you may be surprised how you can truly win friends and

infl uence others. ✤

This is another article in a series on Michael Gunther’s entrepreneurial story and how being raised in a large family and his belief in creating a growth company with a work-to-live mentality has infl uenced his career. To read the previous articles in this series, visit his blog at: www.Collaboration-llc.com. Michael Gunther’s column is a regular feature of Tolosa Press.


In the BlackIn the BlackPiemonte’s

Story and photos by Gareth Kelly

Milan, Naples, the Coliseum and the leaning tower of Pisa are all things Italian.

The boot-shaped country sticking out into the Mediterranean has given the world many fi ne things throughput history but perhaps its fi nest contribution is that of its food. Pastas, fi ne meats and cheeses, pesto, meat sauces, vodka sauces, Bolognese, sausage and tiramisu are all classic Italian faire. Luckily, after taking over an Italian delicatessen in Fresno from its original owners, who started the business in 1929, Nancy and Neil Eberwein decided to partner with long-time friends and SLO residents Sue and Gary Nichols to open their second Piemonte’s location at 1234 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

“Gary and Neil have known each other since childhood. We’ve casually talked about doing this for probably the last 15 years or so, but in the last two or three we

started getting serious about it and started looking for locations in SLO,” Sue said.

In a brand new development on this block of Monterey Street, Piemonte’s is a large, bright and airy full-service delicatessen. Offering not only the traditional Italian staples such as meats, cheeses and pastas, Piemonte’s

also offers its homemade sausage, meat sauces, pasta salads, take-home dinners and made-to-order sandwiches.

“We have 28 sandwiches to choose from on our board currently, from the Full O’Boloney to the Piemonte’s special fi lled with two kinds of salami, two types of cheese, ham and all the fi xings, as well as many options to make your own. We

make all our salads and sauces in house and we also offer catering services for your next big event with delicious deli trays fi lled with meats and cheeses and sandwich trays,” Nancy said.

With Neil holding down the fort in Fresno, Nancy has been helping the Nichols get things

rolling as they opened their doors for the fi rst time on Dec. 1. The store is now open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and, as is sometimes a rarity in downtown SLO, has plenty of free parking. Throw in some fi ne Italian grocery items stocking the shelves and you have a true Italian delicatessen for the people of SLO to enjoy. They also have an original old school butchers block on display to pay homage to their 1929 roots.

Piemonte’s is located at 1234 Monterey St., Suite 120 in SLO. At the time of going to press, the website wasn’t quite up and running, but they can be contacted by phone at (805) 548-8518 or just stop on by, Ciao! ✤

Christmas is coming, have you been naughty or nice? Share your story with Gareth and send him an email to [email protected].

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In the BlackIn the BlackBiz Briefs

Business News and AnnouncementsCompiled by Camas Frank

San Luis Obispo has snagged a title on yet another list, this time making it onto “America’s best college towns by Travel + Leisure Magazine.” The November issue of the publication talked about SLO’s Farmers’ Market, open space assets and attractions such as the Sunset Drive-In. The rankings are based on readers’ responses to the publication’s most recent America’s Favorite Places survey in which San Luis Obispo got high marks for being “just far enough from L.A. to give it a calm vibe, further enriched by the easy access to vineyards and dune-covered beaches.”

The SLO Chamber welcomed new member, Econcept Marketing Solutions with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The team at Econcept Marketing solutions will work with Yelp, Healthgrades, UrbanSpoon, and over 100 “reputation” websites to help businesses achieve a fi ve star reputation. After building up a business’ reputation, they market a positive image. They can also help upgrade business websites and to make them mobile. For more information see: www.econceptmarketingsolutions.com.

Big Brothers Big Sisters announced a partnership with Create Promotions for local events, including the Winter WonderSLO Jiffy Lube Ice Rink and Bubblyfest By The Sea, to benefi t the local charity. Holly Holliday, owner of Create Promotions and Big Brothers Big Sisters board member presented a check for $1,000 raised during the By The Sea event. Holliday said, “I feel extremely fortunate to be able to serve as a Big Brothers Big Sisters board member and give back to their amazing program through Create Promotion’s events.”

SLO based Verdin Marketing recently won fi ve 2014 MarCom Awards, for excellence within the marketing, advertising and communications fi elds. The MarCom Awards are international competitions for marketing and communications professionals, with Verdin receiving one Platinum Award, three Gold Awards and one Honorable Mention. “Our team works incredibly hard to produce the very best design, marketing and PR strategies for our clients every year. The 2014 MarCom Awards allow us to refl ect on those accomplishments and honor the commitment and creativity we put into our work,” said Verdin Marketing’s president Mary Verdin.

Pacifi c Eye celebrated its 10-year anniversary with $10,000 in total contributions to local non-profi t organizations, through the Pacifi c Eye Gives Back Challenge. Thousands of supporters from around the Central Coast participated in the contest throughout October and November. Community members cast over 15,000 votes with the top-three organizations securing the largest donations. Court Appointed Special Advocates of San Luis Obispo (CASA) secured the $5,000 fi rst-place donation in the contest with 5,382 votes. The organization advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children within the court system with the goal of ensuring that each and every child grows up in a safe, nurturing, and permanent home. With Pacifi c

Eye’s donation, CASA intends to recruit, train, and supervise more volunteers who will be able to advocate for this vulnerable population.

The Cuesta College Paramedic Program is accepting applications now for the Fall 2015 class. The program is three semesters and is held on Cuesta’s Hwy 1 Campus. The program prepares graduates to take the “Paramedic National Registry Licensure Exam,” leading to getting licensed as a California paramedic. The program begins Aug. 17, 2015, and applications will be accepted through July 31. All applications are evaluated for admission in the order they are received, with admission granted on a space available basis. Additional Paramedic Program information is on the Cuesta website at: academic.cuesta.edu/nursing or call 546-3100 Ext. 2798.

The SLO Downtown Association announced the winners of its annual Holiday Window Decorating Contest for the 2014 season. Each year, several Downtown businesses vie for the most eye-catching displays by decorating their storefront windows with creative and inspiring designs. Hoping to gain customers’ attention — and perhaps win a prize — business owners go all out in this fun competition. The contest is also held online to include a People’s Choice Award and as always, gives honors for First, Second and Third Place and Best in Theme, this year “Hula Holiday.” First Place pictured here went to Ambiance.

Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong joined President Obama, the First Lady, Vice President Joe Biden and hundreds of other university presidents and higher education leaders last week to announce new actions to help more students prepare for and graduate from college. The “White House College Opportunity Day of Action” helped support President Obama’s initiative to partner with colleges and universities, business leaders, and nonprofi ts to support students across the country. Participants were asked to commit to new actions relating to: building networks of colleges focused on promoting completion; creating K-16 partnerships around college readiness; investing in high school counselors; and increasing the number of college graduates in the fi elds of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The SLO Chamber also held a ribbon cutting ceremony last week for Central Coast Archery. “Our family is excited to bring a fully stocked, professionally operated retail archery store and indoor shooting range to the community on the Central Coast,” store owner Scott Wilson said. “We have been involved in the archery industry for nearly 25 years and now look forward to sharing our passion and love of the sport with you. So even if you have never wrapped your fi ngers around a bow string and loosed an arrow, or are interested in advancing your competitive skills, or pursuing the trophy of a lifetime, we are here to help.” For more information see: www.centralcoastarchery.com.

Send business news and announcements for consideration to: [email protected].

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