-August 27,2019-
Farmers getting more for their strawberries
California strawberry farms are not producing as many flats of the juicy berries as they did a year ago but they are getting more for every flat they sell. The National Berry Report says California has harvested 118.4 million flats of strawberries so far this year through Aug 18,2019 compared to 132.5 million flats as of the same time in 2018. But they are getting $10 a flat this year vs just $7 a flat last year. Even more impressive is the fact that organic strawberries fetched $8 a flat last year but have doubled that price this year – to $16 a flat.
Oceano Dunes getting 23 ft-tall lifeguard tower
Grover Beach will get a new 23 ft lifeguard tower built by the state in the next few years. Permitting for the project has begun. The tower is to be built on top of the existing restroom at the Grand Ave entrance, the first time there will be a permanent lifeguard station along this stretch of the popular beach. Kevin Pearce, District Superintendent Oceano Dunes District now anticipates construction to start in 2021 perhaps open for the summer 2021 season.The existing restroom below the lifeguard tower will be renovated for accessibility. The tower will be built without disturbing nearby habitat. Pearce says the station should” improve public safety at the beach”.Using binoculars lifeguards can see far down the beach, he says. The observation tower will service Oceano Dunes SVRA, Pismo State Beach, and adjacent beach operated by the city of Pismo Beach on a year-round basis.
Los Osos ‘Dive Bar’ Merrimaker changing hands
Baywood’s First Street battle finally over
Developer and Los Osos resident Bill Lee is purchasing the famed Baywood Park ‘dive bar’ the Merrimaker Tavern in a deal set to close at the end of September. Meanwhile Lee and a group of Baywood neighbors are ending a nearly three-year dispute over landscaping Lee carried out along Baywood’s First Street (yellow box in picture) . A compromise was found after the county Planning Commission required Lee to remove some shrubbery in the county right-of-way.Under an agreement he will work to replant trees and shrubs per a plan as well as put in a boardwalk to connect to the Bay. The dispute started after Mr Lee was accused of doing the landscaping without a permit launching several years of heated community meetings and legislative hearings.Look for work on First Street later this year.
A retired southern California commercial real estate company owner, Lee owns much of block in this part of town including the upscale Blue Heron restaurant, the Back Bay Inn cafe and the Back Bay Inn hotel that he wants expand. Asked what plans he has for the Merrimaker, Lee says the place is in need of repair and renovation but he wants to “make it a wonderful neighborhood bar.”
What that means for the character of the dive bar isn’t clear. Obviously Lee will strive to keep that friendly atmosphere the place is famous for. Look up the definition of a Dive Bar on Wikipedia and you will see there is photo of the Merrimaker!
One definition is a “rare place where high and low rub elbows—bums and poets, thieves and slumming celebrities. It’s a place that wears its history proudly.”
Lee’s Orange County firm,Lee & Associates was started in 1979 offering a broad array of real estate services including commercial real estate brokerage, property management, valuation, asset management and finance.The company claims to be the largest firm of its kind in North America. The company’s reach extends across the US, British Columbia and, most recently, to Europe through a strategic alliance with Gerald Eve.Mr Lee settled in quiet Los Osos rather than continue managing the company.Their real estate signs are seen across the US West.
Mr Lee has both supporters who cite his generosity and critics who complain he tries to throw his weight around. But all acknowledge he has changed the face of sleepy Baywood, bringing visitors to the area, donating a community garden and offering regular free concerts along the Bay that locals flock to.