Category: Central Coast

August 14,2014
They look like jellyfish but they are called Velella that are washing ashore in SLO County with hundreds on the beach at tiny Spooners Cove in Montana De Oro yesterday when this pic was taken. The blue-tinted gelatinous creature creatures are not an unusual sight in these coastal waters although the winds and warm ocean water may have blown them ashore in larger numbers this year. The creatures do have a stinging mechanism but is not dangerous to humans. Warmer sea temps are causing an influx of sea life from more tropical waters say experts.

August 7,2014

They’ve got the wine and the entertainment venue and now the owners of  Vina Robles west of Paso Robles will build a 102,000sf winery not far from their popular amphitheater. The project envisions a two-phase 100,000 case production winery according to a permit request from the county.

The project will be the subject of a county planning commission meeting August 28.The first phase will build around 80,000 sf of buildding including a sizable wine storage area says county planner Rob Fitzoy.

“I would say it is about a midsize production facility”

The company is owned by Hans Nef and managing partner Hans – R. Michel who have brought their Swiss heritage to California’s Central Coast. According to their website-
“I want Vina Robles to express a unique balance of European heritage and American opportunity. As individuals, we are rooted in the Old World. As winemakers, we are empowered by the New World. But both worlds bring value to what we do, and we endeavor to capture this distinction in our wines.”
-Proprietor Hans Nef
Mr Nef say that he“first discovered Paso Robles in the early 1980s and became enamored with this emerging wine country. Along golden slopes, where the Pacific coastline unfolds into rugged ranch lands and cowboy ambiance, a new generation of California winemakers was turning Paso Robles into one of the world’s most dynamic wine growing regions.
In the mid 1990s we planted our first estate vineyard and established Vina Robles as a family winery specializing in varieties that excel in the region’s diverse terroir. The vision for Vina Robles is summed up by our motto: European Inspiration – California Character.
Today, our wines are available across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, and can be enjoyed at our hospitality center in the heart of the Paso Robles wine country.”
The new winery will be located near their Hwy 46 amphitheatre / headquarters but not right next door – at the intersection of Priska Rd and Union Rd.The Vina Robles Amphitheatre featuring live shows and 3300 seats, opened in the summer of 2013 providing big name entertainment from spring through fall.

August 5,2014

Fast growing Ulta Beauty, a large beauty supply retailers coupled with a full-service salon will open new stores in Paso Robles and San Luis Obipso this fall. The Chicago based retailer will open at 2155 Theater Dr in Paso Robles, next to Ross in the Target shopping center as well as a 9500sf location in the Madonna Plaza in SLO. Construction on tenant improvements are planned at both sites. The Paso Robles site is being carved out of the former OfficeMax site and in SLO – the store will replace Big Five Sporting Goods.

A call to the Big Five corporate office has yet to be returned. However a sign posted at the Marigold Shopping Center on Broad indicates Big Five will reopen there.

The SLO Big Five store has faced a slew of new sports store completion in the market in recent years with several new openings. Nationwide, the company recently reported that same store sales declined 4.9% for the second quarter of fiscal 2014. They have 427 stores nationwide.

According to Hoovers “Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance wants to be every woman’s ultimate beauty stop. The company operates some 575 stores in 46 states. About a third of its locations are in Illinois, Texas, Florida, and California. Ulta stocks more than 20,000 prestige and mass-market products, including cosmetics, fragrances, skin and hair care products, salon styling tools, and accessories. Stores offer hair salon services, as well as manicures, pedicures, massages, waxing, and other beauty treatments. In addition to its brick-and-mortar presence, the company markets more than 11,000 products and more than 500 brand names through its e-commerce site. Ulta was founded in 1990 by Terry Hanson and Dick George.”

Morro Bay’s Bed Tax Revenue Rises

Morro Bay is seeing a steady rise in Transient Occupancy Tax receipts in the past few years. The numbers from May of this year show motel receipts of $1.96 million vs $1.73 million for May of 2013 and $1.53 million for May 2012. Occupancy of Morro Bay hotels has risen  from 53% in May 2012, to 57%  for May 2013 and 60% this May. Total tax receipts to the city that include vacation units and trailer parks have seen a steady increase of around 10% these past 2 years. With the rise in visitor activity local retailers and eateries report better traffic as well.

Plans For Brewery & Tasting Room On Suburban Rd

Move over all you wine bars – Earthwood Lane LLC has submitted plans for 2 buildings at 163 Suburban Rd on vacant land there. The larger building would be a 6335sf brewery and tasting room and a second storage and manufacturing building. The applicant went through the Architectural Review process for the new complex this past week.

SLO Foster’s Freeze Could Get Chilled

PB Companies is proposing to demolish the existing Foster’s Freeze restaurant structure along with the salon building on Marsh and Nipomo in SLO town to accommodate a new project including 10,800 square feet of lower floor commercial floor area and 22 residential units on the 2nd-4th floors. The applicant’s intent is to process a tentative map to allow for separate ownership of both the commercial spaces and residential units.

99 Cent Store Coming

Laguna Village Shopping Center’s vacant Spencer’s space will now be divided between two tenants – the Grocery Outlet and a 13,000 sf 99 Cent Store according to a city hearing.Tenant improvements should be underway in about 1 to 2 months.

July 19,2014
SLO Airport manager Kevin Bumen confirms the airport is talking to Alaska Airlines about beginning flights “to a new city” from SLO. “We are cautiously optimistic but the airline has made no announcement”  cautions Bumen who has been meeting with Alaska representatives for several months.
Alaska Airlines is the seventh-largest U.S. airline based on passenger traffic  with most of their flights on the West Coast. Headquartered in Seattle, Alaska carries more passengers between the state of Alaska and the Lower 48 than any other airline.
The betting is that SLO could be connected to a city to the north or west – perhaps Salt Lake, Sacramento, Oakland, Portland or Seattle with regular fights.
Also this week the airport reported passenger traffic for the first 6 months of 2014 – up 14.1% so far this year compared to the same period a year ago.
Bumen says traffic was impacted in June by flight cancelations to SF due to construction there with June increases held to 10.5% in part due to the SF situation.
The region is served by United and US Air (now American Air) connecting to LA,SF and Phoenix.
SLO’s growing reputation as a high tech hub may be fueling interest to connect to other West Coast technology centers like Seattle. The fastest growing companies in SLO  now include Mind Body, Digital West and Rosetta, all nourished by affiliations with CalPoly University and the talent that it generates.Over 40% of our population age 25 and above holds a college degree or higher.
No wonder CNN reported SLO one of the 100 best places to live saying “San Luis Obispo is wired in more ways than one: The area’s fiber optic lines create superior connectivity. Not surprisingly, high tech businesses flourish, as well as engineering and architecture firms.”
This month news came out that  San Luis Obispo County ranked among the top 10 in the nation for job growth for millennial workers aged 22 to 34, according to a recent analysis of 175 metro areas across the country. According to Career Builder website reported in the Tribune “In individual industries, SLO County performed best in mathematics and computer occupations and production and manufacturing occupations, posting the second highest growth rate for millennials in both industries.
According to the data, the number of millennials in computer and mathematical occupations in the county grew by 39.1 percent. Only one other metro area — Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, S.C. — had more growth, adding 39.7 percent more millennials in the computer and mathematics industry.”
As for Alaska Airlines Yahoo Finance released a report recently predicting the independent airline might be acquired noting that” Alaska Air is particularly strong in the busiest West Coast markets, especially in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Seattle. It has also begun to challenge carriers in East Coast markets, including several cities in Florida. Revenue and net income have risen steadily over the past five years. And Alaska Air often ranks highest in customer satisfaction among traditional carriers.”

July 8,2014

New Hotel Planned For LOVR & Hwy 101

A new extended-stay 116 unit hotel is in the works on Calle Joaquin,just off the Hwy 101/ LOVR interchange. The project was the subject of a city Architectural Review meeting  his month, the first step in getting construction approval. The fifty foot, 56,975 sf hotel would  be located north of the interchange and would need approval  of a rezone for tourist-related commercial uses. The same interchange already sports several hotels including Motel-6 down the block, and the newer multi-story Hampton Inn on the south side of LOVR. Rezoning the property could open the door for more hotels along this stretch of open land. Good thing they are widening the interchange starting this fall.

Los Osos Dog Park Gains Support

Plans to open a new dog park in Los Osos at Pine and LOVR got a boost earlier this month as the LOSCD heard from about 30 residents who support the project. The group is seeking CSD approval of plan by a Fresno developer to transfer water and sewer credits for the 5.5 acre parcel elsewhere in town. The developer says building on the site would be too expensive requiring  some $2.2 million in infrastructure costs before they can build. Instead, they want to donate the land to the community if the CSD allows them to build elsewhere in town. Supporter Daryl Roe says their group snowed up with their pooches to lobby for the project in front of the CSD board although the matter was not on the agenda. He hopes to hear about the CSD’s views at their next meeting August 7. “Our idea is that we could use about half the property for a dog park and allow the use of the rest for a new larger community library.” The developer has offered to clear the abandoned buildings on the acreage as part of the deal. New uses  would require far less water use than the old ones expects Roe.

Lake Nacimiento Intertie Could Provide Drinking Water For Mens’ Colony/Others

The County wants to build a1.6 mile pipeline intertie with the Nacimiento pipeline that connects to SLO to provide  an emergency water supply for users in the  Chorro Valley that would include the Mens Colony as well as Camp San Luis and Cuesta College. A 30 day comment period on the preliminary plan is open now until July 28.

SLO-Morro Bay Trail

SLOCOG is preparing a feasibility study and implementation plan for a multipurpose trail in the Chorro Valley. This trail would connect the cities of San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay, in the vicinity of Highway 1, with connections to Cal Poly and Cuesta College. Funded with a Federal Scenic Byway Grant and SLOCOG and San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay, and the County, the current exercise will decide where the trail might go, initial design of the trail, and segments that have potential to be built in the near future.

Residents Urge Dredging Of Laguna Lake

Residents near Laguna Lake in SLO are urging the City Council to consider dredging the lake to improve its long term viability at their next meeting July 15. The man-made lake is in danger of becoming marsh with reduce water quality  and now with half it normal lake level they say.One writer says fish have only a few inches to survive  currently.  The main cost is disposing of the material says former   council member David Romero.He urges pumping that material to the nature preserve northwest  of the lake to serve as soil amendment. The project has been delayed for years due to budget concerns.

Los Osos Makes List Of State’s Most Affordable Beach Town

A recent Realty Trac report puts Los Osos on the list for Top 10 Beach Towns based on housing affordability. With the rest of the top ten in Florida and Hawaii,Los Osos was the only California town to make the ranking. Nationwide, Los Osos was number 6 based on a median home value of $418,403, an average temp of 60F, 78% sunny days and 100% days of good air quality. The town also ranked high with a crime rate of grade A.The top 20 markets all had median home values below $1 million. Other California beach towns among the top 20 were Morro Bay at No. 11 along with the Southern California towns of Dana Point at No. 16, Seal Beach at No. 17, and San Clemente at No. 19.

Morro Bay Council OKs Coast Guard Plan

This week the Morro Bay City Council approved a plan to allow the US Coast Guard to move forward on formal planning for an additional location for the guard along the Embarcadero. The council approved language approving the USCG to plan to build to the south of their current site – either in the 138-139 leased site requiring relocation of the bathroom there or the city Harbor Department building if that can be worked out. Leasing the 138-139 Embarcadero spaces would allow construction of a two story, 2800sf building bringing the USCG space total to 6800 sf. The agency has indicated the long term they would like double that space in the area.

County Building Activity Up

SLO County building activity is up. For fiscal year 13/14 – through May – single family permit values are up 40%,new commercial is up 31% and total applications by number are up 42%. So far this year 327 single family homes have been permitted in the county compared to 242 for the same period in 2012/13.

County Building & Planning Opening North County Center

Obtaining a building permit in fast growing North County will be easier when a new county service center opens in Atascadero July 14. The center will be located at 6555 Capistrano Ave and be open Monday,Wednesday and Friday. The Planning and Building departments  will share space with the Clerk/Recorder and Assessor.

Morro Bay Oyster Farm Plans Expansion

With news that the US Supreme court has denied a hearing to Pt Reyes oyster farm – Drakes Bay Oyster Co., the likelihood of reduced California oyster supply is closer to a reality.  Not that Morro Bay oyster farmer Neil Maloney wishes their competitor any harm, Maloney says even with the current handfull of farms along the Pacific Coast  “we cant keep up with demand.” Maloney says his company who farms in Morro Bay estuary on some 100 acres, is applying for permits that could allow  it to increase production by 50%. He hopes to be ready in winter 2016 to take advantage of the increasing popularity of this nutritious farm-to-table food. To harvest more oysters the farm would set up a purification process called depuration.Maloney ought to know since he is trained as a marine biologist.

June 24,2014
A close look at a county’s food system is a powerful way to understand the county’s health and prosperity. The food system incorporates every county resident – from farmers who grow food, to truckers who transport it, food workers who prepare it, and everyone who buys, eats and disposes of food.

A new report assessing San Luis Obispo County’s food system links the vitality of the county’s agriculture with the health of its residents and its food businesses.
Conducted by the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) and Central Coast Grown (CCG), the San Luis Obispo County Food System Assessment examines the relationships between agriculture, regional environmental quality, human health and local livelihoods.
“We found that the county food system in San Luis Obispo is thriving with increased agricultural sales and school districts beginning to participate in garden-based education,” says Jenna Smith, executive director of Central Coast Grown. “But there are many opportunities for improvement. With excitement building around local food and improved nutrition, it’s vital for a county to see an honest accounting of where it stands in those arenas.”
In 2007, farmers in San Luis Obispo County sold agricultural products valued at $4.3 million directly to consumers, an increase from previous years. The report suggests that continued promotion of local and direct marketing of food can assist all producers, including new farmers, in entering the marketplace and bolstering the local food system overall.
Those markets will be especially important as the number of farmers in the county grows. In 2007, there were 850 more agricultural producers than 10 years prior. But the majority of farms in 2007 reported gross sales of under $250,000 per year, with nearly half of all farms in the county reporting less than $5,000 in annual sales.
“Unfortunately, we have little information available to define who these small-scale farmers are, what they are growing, how they impact local employment, and how they might interact with the local food system,” said Mary Bianchi, director of UC Cooperative Extension in San Luis Obispo County, who advised on the report. “We need a better understanding of what these farmers produce, and how they can better participate in the local food economy.”
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One potential way to increase that participation is to identify food processing and distribution capacity in the county and find ways to expand them, the report recommends.

In a parallel survey conducted by Central Coast Grown, they asked farmers and restaurant owners about the challenges to selling and buying locally.
“Our survey reinforced the findings of the SLO Food System Assessment,” says CCG director Smith. “Both farmers and restaurant owners reported a need and value for localized distribution channels.”
The report also addresses access to healthy food as a component of the county’s food system. Participation in food assistance programs like CalFresh and food distributed by food banks in San Luis Obispo County have both increased over the last decade, though overall food insecurity in the county has improved marginally.
While increases in food distribution may mean those outlets are accessing more people, it also means more people are in need of the assistance.
Beyond continued support from government food programs, the report recommends ways that increasing food access for the public and improving markets for local producers can reinforce one another. Food-focused community development strategies such as mobile markets, community farms, and farm-to-school bring agriculture into neighborhoods and schools and help close the gap between producers and consumers.

“There is a lot to gain from diversifying the ways healthy food can get into the hands of consumers. Markets can reach different individuals; schools can form relationships with different farms to build farm-to-school programs,” said Gail Feenstra, deputy director of UC SAREP and one of the report’s authors. “We’re increasingly seeing the benefits from these partnerships.”

San Luis Obispo County also faces water quality and water quantity challenges that are echoed throughout the state. Nitrate contamination from both urban and agricultural sources affects local lakes, rivers and streams. Groundwater and coastal stream resources both present significant challenges for agriculture and rural communities dependent on them for drinking water.
“Accounting for those concerns within the context of the entire food system may bring a broader scope to the discussion along with the potential to leverage the efforts of the many groups already working on water resources issues,” Bianchi said.
The Food System Assessment was conducted in partnership with the San Luis Obispo County Food System Coalition. Coalition meetings are held quarterly to discuss local food system issues and are open to the community. The report was funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture which also supports Central Coast Grown’s upcoming release of a Public Land Survey that identifies underutilized agriculturally viable land county-wide.
The report is available on the UC SAREP and Central Coast Grown websites

June 23,2014

Jobless Rate Falls To 5 Percent, Seven-Year Low

The unemployment rate in the San Luis Obispo County was 5.0 percent in May, down from a revised 5.2 percent in April 2014, and below the year-ago estimate of 6.2 percent. The 5 percent number is the lowest since May 2007. SLO County generated 2200 more non- farm jobs in the past year and 100 more farm jobs.The number of unemployed stands at 7100, less than half the number at the height of the recession in mid-2010 when the jobless numbered 14,400

State To Approve $16 Mil For LOVR Hwy 101 Interchange

The California State Transportation Commission is expected to approve $16 million to rebuild the long awaited interchange at LOVR and Hwy 101 at their meeting this week. The money will allow the city to award a construction contract in September with work beginning later this year.Completion is set for late 2016. The LOVR Interchange dates from 1962 and is recognized as the biggest bottleneck around the city. The widened bridge will have four lanes, rebuilt off ramps and improved pedestrian and bike access along both sides of LOVR.

Big Grover Beach Visitor Complex Gets Green Light

On June 11 the California Coastal Commission found “No
Substantial Issues” with the two appeals filed on the Grover Beach Lodge and Conference Center Project and thus finalized a 30-year planning process. With their public partners – the city and the State parks – the project will be constructed by Pacifica Companies and include a 150-room upscale hotel and a 11,000+ square foot conference center and restaurant. The project will also offer an enhanced public picnic area / park, and walking trails interconnecting with the existing Beach Boardwalk. The lodge,conference center is expected to generate between $11 million and $12 million annually in local spending.

Morro Bay Firm Marketing Small Avos In New Package

Marketing those small size avocados has been a challenge for growers,often costing as much to pick as they take in.But now Morro Bay-based Shanley Farm has a new approach nestling 6 baby avos in an egg carton and calling them Gator Eggs.The carton both cushions the avocados and promotes multiple sales of the smaller size fruit – an approach that seems to go over with female shoppers. The smaller servings are perfect for snacks and solves the issue of leftovers in the refrigerator from larger size avocados.

Getting Satisfaction

Paso Robles Metro area rated #2 out of 189 metro areas in the nation, with 94.1% of the residents saying they were “very satisfied with the city or area where they live. The SLO area was also rated#7 for Well Being with a score 71.4. Report from Governing Magazine.

Deli Will Take Hollywood Video Spot In Los Osos

The 3500sf space last occupied by Hollywood Video next to Ralph’s in Los Osos will finally get a new tenant after being empty four years.    Coming in is Beach Hut Deli – a 40 store chain featuring abundant sandwiches as well as beer and wine. The franchised store will be the newest location for the company based in Granite Bay.The tables are surfboards and the entire deli is adorned with beach and surf memorabilia.

Buffalo Wild Wings Replacing Taco Bell On Madonna

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the U.S. is under construction at the former Taco Bell location at 309 Madonna Road. The restaurant offers New York-style chicken wings and has more than 925 locations across the U.S. and Canada.

SLO’s Fresh & Easy Hopes To Go 24 Hrs Soon.

SLO’s Fresh & Easy grocery store hopes to be open 24 hours following an application to the city.They currently close at midnight.

Rooftop Solar Shines

Home solar panel construction in SLO County is on a tear with permits for 377 new rooftop units through mid-June compared to 216 through the same period last year. A new bill in Sacrament may help boost those numbers more cutting permitting time to just five days statewide.

Home Sales Down,Prices Up

SLO County homes sales, both new and used, fell 9.3% in May but the median price climbed 9.4% to $460,000. New home permits countywide are at 227 through mid-June with Shea Homes the top builder.Last year at this time permits for 236 new homes were issued.

May Airport Traffic Climbs 16.2 Percent

SLO County Airport saw passenger traffic increase 16.2% in May. The double digit gain has been seen since last fall. In July US Airways plans to add another flight to Phoenix over the summer.

May 27,2014
By John Lindsey

Reduced Fog May Be Factor

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — On a clear and blustery day along the Pacific Coast Highway, a group of PG&E volunteers gathered at Hearst San Simeon State Park to help restore future groves of Monterey pine trees. The blue of their T-shirts matched the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean that resembles the Caribbean Sea on this part of the coast.

PG&E employees work to transplant Monterey pine seedlings into larger pots at a greenhouse at San Simeon Park just north of Cambria along the rugged Pacific coastline (Photos by John Lindsey.)

Wearing a brown T-shirt and blue jeans, Rick Hawley, the executive director of Greenspace — The Cambria Land Trust, welcomed the PG&E employees  and gave the instructions on how to transplant Monterey pine seedlings to larger pots at their greenhouse facility. These trees will be strategically planted in the Cambria area to re-invigorate a forest that is under stress.
“Giving a voice to the natural features and critters that aren’t able to speak for themselves has given me great satisfaction,” said Hawley, who has led this non-profit organization for 26 years.
The group has accomplished a lot, including gathering and preserving one of the largest and diverse Monterey pine seed collections found anywhere in order to continue forest habitat restoration projects.

“I was amazed to see the number of PG&E volunteers who showed up at the Greenspace greenhouse and how quickly they worked,” Hawley said. The event took place on Friday (May 9).
The greenhouse was constructed with the help of a previous PG&E grant.

The Monterey Pine is native to just five areas: the Año Nuevo State Park area (San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties); Monterey (in Monterey County); Cambria (in San Luis Obispo County); and on Guadalupe and Cedros Islands off Baja California in Mexico.

Normally, the climate in these locations is quite mild with relatively warm winters and mild summers. However, when the weather does heat up something special can occur.  You see, the Monterey pine is a “California closed-cone pine,” which means it needs a fire or very hot weather to open and drop its seeds. When the temperature gets very hot, the trees emits an eerie cracking sound, like bacon frying in a pan, as the pine cones open and their seeds rotate like small helicopters to the ground. They are the fastest growing pine trees in the world but only have a lifespan of about 80 years.

Development, the ongoing drought and climate change have reduced the numbers of these trees.

“I’ve noticed a marked decrease over the years in the amount of fog along the coastline. It’s astounding how much water this provides to plants as the fog condenses on these trees and drips to the ground.”  Hawley said.
Joe Stewart, a PG&E senior program manager in vegetation management, planned this volunteer event.

“In addition to maintaining vegetation clearances and keeping the public safe, I have opportunities like this to give back to the community, as well as contribute to a sustainable environment,” he said.
This partnership between Greenspace and PG&E will hopefully allow future generations to hear the snap, crackle and pop of the Monterey pine.

May 26,2014
Growing Passenger Traffic Heats Up Search For More Flights To SLO

The latest airline passenger count from April at San Luis Obispo airport shows traffic up 17.5% from a year earlier, the fifth month in a row that  passenger numbers are up double digit. “It just shows improvement in the economy and how the local  community supports their airport” says airport manager and Cal Poly grad Kevin Bumen. “It’s a great selling point when we talk to airlines about adding more service here.”
Bumen says while there is no word from United about possible flights between SLO and Denver after a several year lobbying effort – they are  waiting around to knock on other doors. Bumen says he recently met with Frontier Airlines who also flies to Denver from Fresno and Bakersfield. Plus he is on the prowl for more. Could we get a Southwest, Alaska or SF-based Virgin Airlines who says they want to expand the number of their West Coast communities?The company flies mostly to larger cities but also some smaller ones like Palm Springs, about thew same population as SLO. They fly an Airbus 319, 124 seat jet.

Bikes Pump Up SLO Economy

San Luis Obispo, considered a mountain biking and road biking paradise, is also home to growing number of firms that make cycling their business. Global bike component maker Sram,who bought SLO-based Truvativ back in 2004, continues to expand here. Local spokesman Anthony Medaglia says “we’ll be moving into two adjacent buildings across from the airport next March with a combined 20,000 sf, more than double our current facility size.”  The buildings are under construction.The SLO Sram center here is a product development center,not manufacturing he says.”Our facility specializes in development of drivetrain components including cranksets, bottom brackets, chainrings, and front derailleurs.  We are one of eight product development centers in the global Sram organization.”
“Since then (2004) we’ve grown from just a few employees in the San Luis Obispo facility to over thirty and are continuing to add more to our team.”

Education: JG Boswell Foundation To Give $8 Mil To Cal Poly

San Joaquin Valley farmer James G Boswell’s foundation will give Cal Poly $8 million to establish the “J.G. Boswell Agricultural Research Center” at the SLO campus the college announced in the past week. Plans for the new research center include facilities such as laboratories to support sensory, food safety, plant pathology, enology and genomics. This will allow students from Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Science department to do front-line agricultural research.The Center is planned for the middle of Cal Poly’s campus, on the site now occupied by the remainder of Building 52, a decades-old science building that was partially demolished several years ago to make way for the construction of the new Warren J. Baker Center for Science and Mathematics. Construction on the $25 million Boswell Center is expected when the balance is raised. In addition to the Boswell Foundation’s $8 million pledge, Cal Poly has secured pledges of up to $5 million, for a total of $13 million.

SLO County Budget Up/Bond Rating Higher

Fitch Ratings has recently upgraded San Luis Obispo County’s Pension Obligation Bonds series making it less expensive for the county to borrow money. ”An upgrade at the end of an economic downturn is quite an accomplishment” said Jim Erb, County Auditor.
Also this month. the County announced that for the first time in years in FY 2014-15, the County is projecting a budget surplus of approximately $5.8 million. Back in 2009 there was some $30 million in red ink. County administrator Dan Buckshi says “Numerous signs, including increases in home prices, building permits, sales tax,property tax revenues, and Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT), are reflective of an improving economy. The small surplus allowed staff to recommend a budget that begins to restore, and in some cases, increase service levels to support the vision, mission, and community wide results.”

 
Embarcadero North Plan: Morro Bay Could Add Rooftop Restaurants

What do you do with that area north of the power plant in Morro Bay, now that plant is shut down? Cal Poly San Luis Obispo College of Architecture and Environmental Design have been carrying out an exercise to envision the Embarcadero North area with its uncoordinated mix of industrial uses, power plant, trailer parks ,sand dunes and open space. Three teams of students offered their vision to the city Planning Commission in May that all call for a large roundabout at the terminus of Hwy 41 and Hwy 1. All tie this access impaired area back to Downtown and the Embarcadero but offer alternative scenarios for the revitalization and reutilization of the power plant based on intensity of urban development.The most intense and wildest is leaving the landmark stacks and building a minor league stadium next to them.Nearby would be boutique hotels and rooftop restaurants  connected by green space and paths.  Lower intensity plans offer a vision of smaller visitor enterprises, campgrounds, park land and pathways that tie it all together.

Drought Hurts Farm Jobs

With a large agricultural and farming base, San Luis Obispo County has been severely impacted by the statewide drought, losing 200 jobs from December 2012 to December 2013. The job loss resulted in a negative growth rate of 3.4%. The State of California is currently experiencing the one of the worst droughts in its 163-year history, as the lack of rainfall has nearly depleted water reserves throughout the State.

Avocado Crop Will Be Down This Year

Savor that guacamole,the California Avocado Commission Pre-season estimates indicate a 2014 crop volume of approximately 300 million pounds. That compares with a 500 million pound crop last year but a comparable crop size to the 10/11 crop year.

SLO County Jobless Rate Falls To 6-Year Low

The unemployment rate in the San Luis Obispo County was 5.2 percent in April 2014, down from a revised 6.1 percent in March 2014, and below the year-ago estimate of 6.3 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 7.3 percent for California and 5.9 percent for the nation during the same period. The 5.2 percent rate is the lowest in SLO County since May 2008  – before the Great Recession.The current report says in April there were 1400 more nonfarm jobs than there were a year ago.The report says the county’s labor force has declined by almost 1% in the past year.

Foot Golf Could Help Rounds At Local Course

Like the rest of the nation’s golf courses who are seeing lower rounds of traditional golf being played,Los Osos-based Sea Pines Golf Course is experimenting with new variations on the game to attract a younger crowd. They added Frisbee Golf a few years ago and now are installing a FootGolf course in coming months.Somewhere between soccer and golf  – similar rules apply to FootGolf, except one kicks a soccer ball nine holes instead of putting a golf ball. The hole is bigger to accommodate the size of a soccer ball.There are some 25 California courses that are adding the sport this year including in Visalia and Madera in the Valley.

Mortgage Rates Fall Again

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this past week for a fourth straight week. The low rates could give a boost to the spring home-buying season, which has started slowly. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year loan declined to 4.14% from 4.20% last week.