Category: Central Coast

September 22,2017-

After years of talking about it, the San Luis Obispo City Council is expected to approve a plan soon to do annual dredging of Laguna Lake starting next summer. An item for approval on the council’s routine consent calendar October 17, approves an environmental notice on the project says Robert Hill, the city’s Natural Resources Manager.

“It is just the first of many approvals before we go ahead” cautions Hill

The comparatively modest plan would spend $200,000 to $250,000 annually to remove 3000-4000 cubic feet of sediment by pontoon boat, without draining the lake.

“Our original idea”called for a far bigger effort to “remove 85,000 cubic feet at a potential cost of $12 to 14 million.”  Hill says this earlier plan, due to the hefty price tag as well as the current state of city finances, “is now considered infeasible.”

“We think we can do this under a maintenance regime” even though the shallow, recreational lake, has more than 30-years of sediment build-up. Estimates are an average of three inches of deposition are laid down each year.

Hill says dredging Laguna Lake should have multiple benefits.

-Enhancing the wildlife habitat at the lake with its 100 species of birds and fish. Avoiding shallow water warming that can lead to algae issues harmful to water quality, wildlife and even dogs.

-Keeping the recreational lake navigable for the public as well as  preserving the scenic qualities important to visitors and property owners.

Hill adds that two seasons ago the lake dried-up completely for the first time in history.But last winter the Laguna Hills watershed the feeds the lake, got 40 inches of rain, leading to an overflow through this last June that fed wetlands and thirsty rangeland downstream as well.

Runoff from the Prefumo Canyon, Sycamore Canyon, and Los Osos Valley watersheds, all drain to Laguna Lake.The 110 acre lake is full again.

The dredging activity next summer is expected to take only a few weeks and Hill says “it will be a learning experience we can build on” suggesting this will be an experiment, of sorts. He expects a contractor will do the work.

At least they finally think they found a way to keep this local amenity a lake. Somehow, ‘Laguna Marsh’ does not have the same ring.

September 19,2017-

International Visitors Up In California

International visitors arriving at California’s airports are up 10.5% through midyear 2017. Domestic traveler numbers are up 4.6%. At the busy LAX airport, international passenger traffic increased 10.37% through July but domestic travelers were up by a more modest 2.9%.

The Dept of Commerce says International arrivals to the US are down 1.2% through April. Many point to a” Trump Slump” effect, the president’s harsh rhetoric and rules on Muslim travelers. But the strong US dollar may be having an effect as well.However the value has decreased recently. Whatever the case California does not seem to be feeling any negative effect based on the numbers.

SLO County Hotel Room Occupancy Down

Central Coast hotel room occupancy though July is down 1.7% says Smith Travel. Tourism is down in part due to a lack of access to Highway 1 through Big Sur after slides closed the road in two places. Sources says Hearst Castle’s Memorial Day visitation was down by 500 a day this year.

In July 2017 motel receipts in Morro Bay were down slightly compared to the same month a year ago even though the Valley had 28 days of weather over 100 degrees. For the fiscal year through June 2017, Morro Bay TOT (bed tax) rose 5.7% but San Simeon TOT was down 23.2%.

August 3,2016-

The U.S. Forest Service-Pacific Southwest Region, Fire Information has released their monthly forecast for regions of California and things are heating up in the mid state. In Central California in August, look for enhanced fire danger inland on the coast according to predictions from the agency ( see map). By September the prediction is for increased fire danger in all parts of the Central Coast as well as Sierra.

The hot weather that developed in late June continued through most of July. Temperatures last month averaged 4-6 degrees above normal over much of the area with readings over 100 degrees for several days in the valleys and lower foothills. The hot weather was accompanied by low RH across much of the interior sections of Central California. The southern part of the state generally had higher RH during the past month, mainly due to weak monsoon surges mixing with the marine layer.

Precipitation was generally below normal with the monsoon only producing one to two day events during each surge. Storm coverage and frequency, while greater than last year, could still be classified as below normal as most storms remained near the Arizona and Nevada borders. Southern California, in particular, experienced less precipitation this past July compared with other recent years.

The southwesterly flow aloft which dominated the spring, slowly shifted to more of a southerly direction during the past 30-40 days. High pressure was often located off the coast while a stronger ridge remained over the southern Rockies. This kept temperatures very warm, but the deep, sustained moisture often associated with southerly flow was absent much of the time. The monsoon started on a quite note, but as the tropics became increasingly loaded with moisture, heavy rains fell on the Southwest. But the high over the Southwest remained too far east to allow for more moisture from California.

New Baywood Dinner House Opens – Blue Heron

The long awaited opening of the Blue Heron restaurant in Baywood is here.Owned by investor and local resident Bill Lee, the former Maya eatery on 2nd street has been completely remodeled, landscaped and features both indoor and outdoor dining.

Lee, who owns the Back Bay Inn and coffee place next door as well, says he has been working on the new restaurant for two years.  “We think we have a great chef in Thomas Drahos and the best steak on the coast.”

Their new website describes the restaurant as a “farm to fork”dinner house, open Wednesday to Monday, 5 pm until closing.Blue Heron has a bar with wines and craft beers.Its posted menu includes roasted chicken, California halibut, pan seared scallop, pan seared rib-eye steak, and cauliflower souffle.

For reservations call 805.540-2828. The eatery is located at
1365 2nd St, Los Osos, CA 93402 . Website: https://blueheronbaywood.com

Baywood Inn To Add 7 Units

Baywood will see more hotel rooms as the 17-unit Baywood Inn adds another 7 hotel rooms in coming months according to county planner Kerry Brown. The addition comes as more new restaurants and galleries have opened here in the past few years.Brown says the permit should be issued for the project in a matter of days. The devlopement had been stalled largely because the sewer project and not been completed and now that is done. Water issues had stalled it as well.

June24,2017-

Fast growing DSW – Designer Shoe Warehouse – will open a store in the Madonna Plaza in San Luis Obispo this fall.

A $600,000 tenant improvement permit has been issued for the remodel of the former Sports Authority space at the shopping center. Sports Authority closed their store here last year. The storefront, between Kohls and Best Buy, is nearly 24,000sf.

DSW operates large-format shoe stores, typically around 20,000sf, offering a wide selection of brand name and designer shoes and accessories for women, men, and kids. Their key target market is style-conscious women who rate the store highly for offering a big selection.

As of May 24, 2017, DSW operates 510 stores in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The popular retailer has been on the grow in California opening in Salinas last October. While they have locations in Central Valley in cities like Bakersfield,Visalia and Fresno, they have yet to  come to the Central Coast until now. South of here, the closest DSW is in Thousand Oaks.

DSW faces tough competition from shoe retailers inside TJ Maxx, Target and the big Payless Shoe Source chain. The later just declared bankruptcy, announcing the closure over 500 stores around the country, including in Arroyo Grande.

In SLO a number of smaller shoe stores continue to do well here with the largest chain devoted to shoes at 15,000sf being Shoe Palace in Downtown.

DSW is currently marketing job openings online at the new SLO location for both floor staff and management.

The shopping center owner – Schottenstein Group – lists DSW as a tenant in the Madonna center on its website even though it has not been officially announced. The center is just now losing Sears- a few storefronts away- enabling the the owner to market that space at a higher rate, say sources.

A spokesperson for DSW did not return a phone call for comment.

In a survey released a few years ago by Market Force Information, DSW was named America’s No. 1 shoe retailer by more than 4,000 consumers polled. Nordstrom, Nike, Shoe Carnival and Famous Footwear rounded out the top five.

June 21,2017

State Awards Tax Credits To SLO-based StreamGuys

The state Go-Biz – California Competes Tax Credit Program – has awarded $250,000 to San Luis Obispo’s StreamGuy,Inc based on the company’s promise to add 19 jobs to the 23 employees they have here now. Their application says they will add the new jobs over several years by 2021. The award will be made final at the June 15 meeting of the Governor’s economic development agency committee in Sacramento.

In business since 2000, StreamGuys describes itself as an industry-leading service provider of live and on-demand streaming, podcasting delivery, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) toolsets for enterprise-level broadcast media organizations.

In related news, the same agency – Go-Biz – will make a presentation about applying for the next round of state tax credit awards in San Luis Obispo on June 28 at 9:30AM at SLO Hot House 872 Higuera, 2nd floor.

Black Hill Subdivision in Morro Bay Moving Forward

Morro Bay’s Black Hill is a favorite hiking destination that is part of the state park there. Now at its base, 16 new homes- Black Hill Villas- will be built after a 10-year battle over the project appears to be over. The applicant, Wayne Colmer, is seeking to start grading later this year, says City of Morro Bay planner Cindy Jacinth. After being approved by the city and Coastal Commission the commission was sued over the extent of habitat for endangered species.That litigation was finally settled.Now the City has filed a notice that the project will have no impact on the environment after the applicant made some adjustments to increase the habitat.

Retailer To Close At Pismo Outlet

Fashion retailer Rue 21 filed for bankruptcy protection in mid-May and announced they would close around 400 of their 1179 stores nationwide.Among the stores closing is the Pismo Beach/Five Cities location at the Premium Outlet Mall.Store employee say they expect the place to shut down by July.

Big Sur’s Esalen Makes It Official – 45 Will Lose Jobs

The owners of Esalen Institute retreat center have made their pending closure official as of May 17, filing a state WARN notice that says they will lay off 45 people employed there by July 4. The retreat has actually been closed since February after major storms caused numerous slides and a bridge to the north collapsed.  Now with the massive Mud Creek slide, the center is cut off both to the north and south connected only by little traveled Nacimiento Ferguson Rd.The New Age-oriented center typically offers over 500 workshops to some 12,000 guests on a yearly basis. The institute is said to have a long term lease on the stunning 27-acre property that overlooks the Pacific. Esalen says on their website that despite the road issues they will reopen at the end of July with a slate of workshops in August and through 2017, according to Executive Director Ben Tauber. The state Warn notice offers no timetable on staff layoffs.The notice requires that employers give a 60-day notice to the affected employees and both state and local representatives prior to a plant closing or mass layoff.

June 13,2107-

Jobless Rate Among State’s Lowest

There is nothing slow about the economy in SLO County according to new information published by the state EDD.

Not only is our jobless rate among the lowest in California – there is impressive job growth and employer demand for new workers here.

Using data collected from April 2017, San Luis Obispo’s jobless rate is among the lowest in the state at 3.3 percent, the best performance of coastal counties. Only a couple of Bay Area counties have a lower unemployment number.

The state EDD has just published the “San Luis Obispo Scorecard” with the agency acting as neutral scorekeeper for how the county’s economy ranks compared to other coastal counties.

The visual chart/report also includes the Top 15 Middle-Skill, Middle Wage Jobs for Coastal Counties and other comparisons.

According to the scorecard, there were advertisements in April for almost 4000 jobs in the county led by 2262 in the City of San Luis Obispo. Paso Robles boasted 532 job listings and the rest of the cities in the county showed triple and double digit job listings. San Miguel and Los Osos each had listings for over 50 jobs.

The EDD says Cal Poly had the most openings by employer in the county in April with190 jobs followed by Tenant Healthcare at 160, Cuesta College at 72 jobs and Dignity Health listing 66 job positions (see chart).

Among the job categories in high demand now are registered nurses at 199, with140 retail positions offered and 84 food prep jobs. There are ads for 80 maintenance and repair workers in the county and 80 tractor trailer drivers. The EDD got some of this data from the Conference Board.

The scorecard reports government remains the top employer in the county with nearly 24 thousand jobs followed by private positions in trade/transportation/utilities with some 21 thousand jobs. This category shows how the county’s economy has improved from the depth of the recession in February 2010 when this industry sported a low of 18,300 jobs here – now with 21,200 as of April 2017, just off a record high last November when there were 21,800 trade jobs.

The scorecard also offers a glimpse of where future jobs will be on the Central Coast – led by demand for registered nurses paying a median avenge of $101,728. The area needs1469 more truck drivers by 2022 says the EDD, paying almost $45,000.

Of course critics often point the relative high cost of living in SLO County and if these jobs don’t seem to pay enough – better stay in school.