SLO LIFE Aug/Sep 2011

SLO LIFE
magazine
+a day
in the life
deals!
Urban
Farming
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT 113
SANTA ANA, CA
Aug/sep 2011
Meet ermina Karim
journalism, NYC and the Chamber
slo life magazine | 1

2 | slo life magazine

slo life magazine | 3

| publisher’s message
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away I had no doubt that I was destined to
become Captain of the Millennium Falcon - that is, once Han Solo finally relinquished
his command.
So, when my parents came for a visit recently with a large box in tow that was
labeled “Tommy - Star Wars” I figured that the time had finally come. My mind
raced with thoughts that Han Solo must have retired and these were the top secret
instructions directing me to my ship. Was my mom actually a Jedi Knight who had
been preparing me for this day just as I had always suspected?
Turns out, the box did not contain the news I had hoped for, and there would be no
hologram message from Princess Leia pleading for my help. But, what I did find was
just as powerful: my entire childhood collection of Star Wars action figures, complete
with the pièce de résistance, the Millennium Falcon.
As my kids and I sat around the kitchen table that afternoon slowly unwrapping
the contents a lively conversation ensued. Together, we became lost in the classic
story of good versus evil; we decided whether we would rather carry a lightsaber
or a blaster (the lightsaber won by a 3 to 1 vote); we discussed the best way to deal
with Darth Vader and his friends (top answer: make them take a “time out”); and
we debated about which we’d rather have as a best buddy, a dog or a Wookie (we
decided to stick with our dog, Cannoli, over Chewbacca on this one… sorry, Chewie!).
It was an incredible scene and one that plays out in similar ways every day
throughout San Luis Obispo, the Central Coast and the whole world, for that
matter. Not the Stars Wars part, of course, but the sharing of various, unique family
traditions that resonate from one generation to the next.
One such tradition that has captured our imagination is a new twist on an age-old activity called “Urban Farming” [see page 18]. Like the
story of the Star Wars saga it is something that is shared by multiple generations, and we suspect it will only gain in popularity as others
embrace the fulfillment that comes with living off the land - even if it is in a tiny backyard in the middle of town.
I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to all of you for your ongoing support, your helpful feedback and well-wishes.
And, to our advertisers, thanks for making this incredible journey possible.
May the Force be with you!
Tom Franciskovich
tom@slolifemagazine.com
SLO LIFE
magazine
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SLO LIFE
magazine
14
Meet Your Neighbor:
Ermina Karim
34
Caring , Competent
Legal Representation
6 | Q&A
8 | Notes
18
A Day in the Life:
SLO Veg
The Way We Live:
Urban Farming
Estate Planning & Trusts
Probate & Conservatorships
IRS Tax Controversies
Personal Fiduciary Services
Associated Litigation & Asset Protection
10 | Updates
12 | Places
24 | SLO LIFE Deals
26 | Real Estate
28 | Real Estate Panel
30 | No Place Like Home
32 | To Your Health
38 | Business
40 | Voter’s Guide
42 | Local Food by Local People
44 | Community Calendar
46 | The Arts
Jed D. Hazeltine
LL.M. Taxation
Attorney At Law
“It has been a wonderful
year with the birth of my
first child. I understand
now more than ever the
importance of protecting
the people and assets that
matter most.”
Currently serving San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County.
778 Osos Street, Suite C
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
805.439.2323
www.coastfiduciarylaw.com
slo life magazine | 5

| Q & A
John Lindsey
Perhaps no one understands our local weather as well as John Lindsey. But his real talent may be in how he is able to
help all of us understand it. He is a Cal Poly graduate who spent 24 years in the Navy where he learned his craft. Our
conversation was warm and friendly with a 100% chance of dry humor…
First off, John, before we get
started, do you ever get tired
of people asking you about the
weather?
Never. Absolutely never. I knew
one weather guy that I worked
with a long time ago and people
would ask him about the weather
and he’d point at the sky and then
walk away.
What’s the single most important
thing to understand about the
weather? Is there one thing you
can point to?
The main thing that drives the
weather is the sun. Water has
about one thousand times the
heat capacity that land does.
So, when the sun shines on land
it heats up much, much faster
compared to when it shines on
water. A way to illustrate that
is to take a balloon and hold a
match under it – it pops almost
immediately, right? Take a water
balloon and do the same thing,
nothing. That’s because the water
is able to absorb the heat while
the air cannot. So, consequently,
what happens is that the land
heats up much faster and you
start developing a thermal low,
which is really a static low. The
air warms and begins to rise.
But, what happens over the
ocean is you basically produce
an area of higher pressure and
onshore winds develop. Wind is
the movement of air from areas
of high pressure to areas of low
pressure. It all comes down to
the uneven heating of the Earth’s
surface due to the differences
in heat capacity of the land as
compared to water. That’s the
driving force behind weather.
Your passion for the weather is
obvious. Is this something you
have always wanted to do?
It’s a bit ironic because I always
thought of myself as becoming
a lineman for PG&E. When I was
a young kid growing up in Santa
Rosa I remember one time waking
up at 3 o’clock in the morning and
6 | slo life magazine
the power had gone out during a
powerful storm. There were these
PG&E guys up there on the poles
working on the power lines in
horrible weather trying to restore
electricity and I just thought that
was so cool because they’re trying
to help folks by getting the power
back on. I’ve always thought,
“Wow, I’d like to do that.”
We’re curious to know, with all
the debate about climate change,
have you found any evidence of
it locally?
One of my jobs at Diablo Canyon
was to calibrate our temperaturepressure
recorders. As I was
calibrating them – this was years
ago before anyone was really
talking about climate change - I
noticed that they were always
off by three of four millimeters
every year. I couldn’t figure out
what was going on, and I thought
maybe our station was sinking a
little, maybe settling a little bit.
But what I realized was that the
sea level has been increasing by
a few millimeters each year. And I
thought to myself, “Why in the
world is the sea level increasing?”
That was the first time I had
discovered evidence of climate
change.
So, what’s your personal take on
the situation?
All of the evidence is there and
it is clearly happening. Just look
at how plants are behaving
differently and how birds are
nesting earlier and blossoms
are appearing earlier. It’s pretty
hard to deny that the Earth isn’t
warming up. So, the big debate
is are we causing it or is this a
natural cycle? And, to be quite
honest with you, nobody can say
for sure. Nobody can say with
100% certainty that this is being
caused by man or by some other
thing. However, I feel that we
probably are contributing to it.
And I also feel that it’s better to
be safe than sorry. It’s a heck of a
lot cheaper to tackle this problem
now and get on top of it rather
than waiting another decade
when the consequences can be
much more severe and much
more expensive.
Not to mention that it would
lessen our reliance on foreign
oil and increase our national
security.
That’s absolutely true and I know
that from personal experience.
While I was in the Navy I spent
a couple of long cruises in the
Persian Gulf and it almost killed
me and it did kill a dear friend
of mine. It was back in the 80’s
and it was referred to as the
“Tanker War.” Iran and Iraq
were at war with each other
and they were destroying each
other’s oil tankers in the Gulf.
The United States got involved
to ensure the safe delivery of oil
through the Strait of Hormuz.
And one aircraft, an Iraqi fighter
jet, mistook one of our ships as
an Iranian oil tanker, but it was
actually the USS Stark. It fired
two missiles at our guys and the
second one killed 37 sailors and
wounded 21 others.
Was your friend on the ship?
No, we were crewmen on a
SH-2 Seasprite (a ship-based
helicopter) and we were coming
in for a nighttime landing on
another ship, the USS Trippe. The
landing gear didn’t come down
on one side, the rotors hit the
deck and splintered into a million
pieces and we rolled over the
side of the ship splashing upside
down on the water. We sunk
quickly and it was pitch black.
I was disoriented and close to
panic because I was trapped and
knew I couldn’t hold my breath
much longer. Somehow a light
came on. To this day I don’t
know where it came from but it
illuminated the cabin. I could see
the door and I swam for it. Once
I cleared the fuselage I inflated
my life preserver. It seemed to
take an eternity to reach the
surface. When I surfaced one
of our pilots was calling out,
“Dwight, John!” My friend Lt.
Dwight Greer was never found. I
think about him every day.
SLO LIFE

slo life magazine | 7

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THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Dear SLO LIFE,
I just picked up your magazine and read
your piece on Kirby Puckett and it brought
great vibes to my day. Kirby worked for me
as a student aid when he was attending
and playing baseball at Triton College in
River Grove, Illinois. His job was to wash the
wrestling mats each day and also make sure
the wrestling team’s laundry was cleaned and
ready to go each day. Not only did he never
miss a day of work, but he also showed up
each day at practice to cheer on our team,
which eventually went on to win a national
championship. Needless to say, all the
wrestlers in the room watched all of Kirby’s
baseball games and shared in the delight of
watching him make it big. I actually took a job
in Washington state as the dean of admissions
and was able to see his second series in the
big leagues just three days after the Twins
brought him up in California. He gave me his
bat the night he went 4 for 5. Every time the
Twins came to town, I would truck over to
Seattle and hang with him and Al Newman and
anyone else that wanted to talk about Chicago
after the game!
Thanks for the great memory!
Jim Maraviglia
San Luis Obispo
YES OR NO?
Dear SLO LIFE,
Yes votes on Measures A and B would reform
pension benefits and return local control
to the city over what it pays its police and
firefighters.
If approved, Measure A would allow City
Council to negotiate reduced pension benefits
for new employees. Pension costs are
skyrocketing and will soon consume 20% of
the budget, which is not surprising since city
employees can retire at age 55 and receive
an annual pension of 81% of their final pay.
Police and fire have even richer pensions; they
can retire at age 50, and police can receive
pensions of more than $93,000 annually.
Measure B would repeal mandatory binding
arbitration, which in 2008 forced the city to
pay police officers raises of 30% to 57% over
four years at a time when inflation was just
11%. SLO police are now paid more than Los
Angeles police.
The pay raises are costing the city $2.5
million annually more than expected, forcing
extensive cutbacks in street and sidewalk
repairs, flood protection, parks and open space
projects, even police protection.
Yes votes on A and B are fair and commonsense
reforms; together they offer an
opportunity to restore local control and fiscal
responsibility.
Lauren Brown, John Ewan, April Strong
Co-chairs Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility
Dear SLO LIFE,
This month San Luis Obispo residents will be
asked to decide issues critical to the future
of public safety in our town. City Council
politicians have voted to hold a special election
with an agenda to drastically change our city.
Eleven years ago, SLO voters spoke loud
and clear when they approved the method
of collective bargaining currently used
by firefighters and police officers when
negotiating contracts. This method of
binding arbitration ensures that if the City
and the members are not able to reach an
agreement, critical public safety services are
not interrupted. This fair process ensures
that our safety as a community comes first.
SLO residents were right and still are, don’t
eliminate a process that works for our city
and leaves our safety up to the politicians.
The City Council also hopes that SLO residents
will vote to eliminate their own right to vote
on city employee pensions. Don’t give the
politicians undue power and let them take
away your vote on the services you receive.
Our community’s safety is too important for
politics. Please support your first responders
and join nurses, firefighters, teachers and
others to vote NO on Measures A and B.
Respectfully,
Erik S. Baskin
President, IAFF Local 3523
San Luis Obispo City Firefighters
Thank you to all of you: Lauren, John, April,
and Erik for sharing your views on this very
important vote. The debate over Measures A
& B has become heated at times because it
touches on very important aspects of daily life
for all of us here in San Luis Obispo, and will
primarily affect those people we most value
and respect in our community: our policemen
and firefighters. On page 40 you will find our
comprehensive “Voter’s Guide” where we

have thoroughly researched the issue and
share the facts with you in what we hope is
a fair, impartial, and balanced manner. We
feel that we owe everyone concerned at least
that much, and we hope that you will take the
time to read it carefully and then decide for
yourself.
SLO LIFE
FUN WITH PHOTOS
Dear SLO LIFE,
Great image in this month’s issue of Poly
Canyon. How can I submit an image to share?
Steve Corey
San Luis Obispo
Thanks for your note, Steve – we love the
photo you had submitted and look forward to
sharing it with our readers in the next issue!
Since we do get so many questions about how
to submit photos for the “Places” feature we
wanted to pass along some better instructions.
The best way to send us a photo is to email
a low resolution version (the file size should
be less than about 1MB) of your shot to us
at notes@slolifemagazine.com. Please make
sure you also have a high resolution version
(larger than 5MB) and that it is oriented as a
landscape shot (it should be much wider than
it is tall). If all else fails, call us at 805-553-8820
and we’ll walk you through the process.
SLO LIFE
MAGICAL WEEKEND
Dear SLO LIFE:
The end of August is always a special time for
me. I get to come back to SLO! And we get
to do some good as well. When I went to Cal
Poly, there was no Music major, and not even
a minor until my last year there. There was,
though, a personage in the form of Harold P.
Davidson. He would take fifteen young men
and each year would mold them into one of
the best dance bands around.
There was some sort of magic with the group
from, say, 1956 to 1964. We have been getting
together the last weekend of August since
1967. In 1985, we moved the meeting from
Fresno to San Luis. Mostly, it was a time of
just getting together for a BBQ. Then things
started to happen. We started to bring our
instruments, and one thing led to another.
Since 2004, we have been appearing at
the Madonna Inn for a three or four hour
dance. We pass the hat to raise funds for
our Collegians Scholarship Fund, and, in fact,
we have our scholarship winners play with
us. Madonna Inn is happy - it is one of their
busiest nights - the Music Department is
happy, and we who are in our 60s and 70s now
get to turn 21 again for a magical weekend. We
have alums come from as far away as Boston
and Montreal to play with the group. The pull
is that strong…
If you want to hear some good music, dance
to some good tunes, and have a great time,
come join us at the Madonna Inn on Saturday,
August 27th.
Jim “Gil” Gillivan
Walnut Creek
Sounds like a hoot, Gil, thanks for letting us
know about the event. We’re marking our
calendars for the 27th and will look forward to
seeing you there!
SLO LIFE
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slo life magazine | 9

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| Updates
After being featured on the cover of SLO LIFE
Magazine, local author Jay asher (Meet Your
Neighbor, June/July 2011) blogged, “I’ll admit,
it’s been fun to walk around town and have
people recognize me and come up to chat.
Because of one answer I gave in the interview,
a guy at the gym admitted that he has Vanilla
Ice on his iPod. Very few people will admit
that!” Jay’s second book, The Future of Us,
is in production now and on schedule to hit
bookshelves at the end of November.
After 39 years on the job, dave Garth (Q&A, June/July 2011)
was sent off into retirement in style with a packed house
cocktail party at the Madonna Inn. Said Garth, “I may be going
away for a while, but I’m never going to leave.”
sUzanne LindeLL’s recipe for buttermilk scones (Local Food by
Local People, June/July 2011) was a reader favorite. Although we
originally reported that Scone Sunday at the Sanitarium happens
once a week, it actually takes place once a month. Check in with
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Comments poured in about the
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June/July 2011) in the last issue.
Readers were universal in their
praise for the intrepid surf riders:
“those guys make me feel like a
whiner” was one of our favorites.
Another magical season is
now in the books for our own
hometown san LUis BLUes
(The Boys of Summer, June/
July 2011). And what a season
it was as the Blues, once again,
finished up at the top of their
division.
169 Granada Drive, Suite 3, SLO
544-PEDS (7337)
10 | slo life magazine
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slo life magazine | 11

| Places
starry Night
Park hill road
12 | slo life magazine

Late one night, Paul Bolger, a local photographer, was heading home after dropping off a friend. Somewhere on his
drive down Park Hill Road between Pozo and Santa Margarita, Bolger looked skyward to see The Milky Way dancing
tantalizingly close to the rolling hillside. The photographer pulled over and hiked around in the darkness with his
camera and tripod finally settling on a spot that would give him the proper view. After two hours of trial and error,
Bolger finally caught the perfect image by setting his camera to a 45-second exposure which allowed him to also catch
a shooting star as well as the ambient light (resembling a sunset at the top of the hill) of nearby Santa Margarita. Says
Bolger: “I focused on the telephone pole because it lends perspective and brings the photograph home to Earth.”
SLO LIFE
Do you have an amazing photo? Go to slolifemagazine.com to share it.
slo life magazine | 13

| Meet your neighbor
Meet ermina Karim
In this installment of our “Meet Your Neighbor” series, SLO LIFE Magazine sits down for a conversation
with new SLO Chamber CEO, Ermina Karim. She grew up in the Midwest while maintaining close ties to her
parents’ native Bangladesh, studied journalism in Chicago, worked on Wall Street, and traveled the world
extensively. Ermina lives in San Luis Obispo with her daughter, Aliza. Here is her story…
Let’s take it from the top, where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. Home of the rock band
Cheap Trick, and it had a great clock museum at one point. My parents
immigrated to the United States from Bangladesh. My father was a
Rhodes Scholar and he was completing his Ph.D. at the University of
Wisconsin in Madison. While my dad was there he got a job teaching
English at a small college in Rockford. My parents really loved the little
community, so when my dad finished his Ph.D. they moved there. He
passed away not long ago, but my mom still lives there in the same house
where I was born. My mother stayed at home with us until we were old
enough to go to school. She was a librarian and my dad was a professor,
so we had a sort of academic upbringing.
Were you raised speaking your parents’ native tongue in the home?
My parents spoke both English and Bengali in the home, probably more
English than most first generation families do, mainly because my father
was an English professor. For a long time he was the only non-native head
of an English department in the United States university system, so we
were a bit unusual in that way.
What was your childhood like?
Every summer we traveled. My parents weren’t wealthy but the whole
reason my mother worked was to save money for all of us to travel.
And that became very instilled in me and being able to see the world at
an early age gave me a different educational experience. I knew there
was a lot more than Rockford, but it also made me really appreciate my
hometown, too.
Where would you travel?
Every other summer we would go to Bangladesh to see family. And a
lot of my relatives lived abroad as well in Europe and in the States, so
everybody would converge in Bangladesh during those summers. At
that time there was no television there, so we had a lot of time to use
our imagination. Since there were not a lot of extra things, the whole
summer I’d read the same book over and over. My parents also had us
doing journal keeping and poetry.
Did you ever feel out of place growing up?
Rockford had a large Caucasian population and a large African-
American population, but there weren’t many people from the Indian
Subcontinent. That was probably one of the first lessons in my life in
terms of how to interact with all types of people and find commonality.
What next?
I went off to college in Chicago at Northwestern where I studied
journalism and economics. I’ve always been really inquisitive, so that
was the perfect choice for me. If you want to know more about others
and want the authority to ask those questions you become a journalist.
I also majored in Economics because I had a lot of interest in developing
countries, especially after spending time in Bangladesh. Rockford was
a very basic, standard Midwestern town. But, from an early age being
exposed to a very different way of living, and seeing the poverty that
existed, and thinking about where cultural emphasis is, and what people
value as a society - it was just very different. When I was in high school
and throughout college I did a lot of United Nations work in Bangladesh.
I had worked on projects like developing water delivery systems, and
helping women; there were a lot of projects that focused on women. And
that was my interest, but I also loved the journalism side.
Any experiences from college stand out in your memory?
My junior year I went to New York to intern for CBS Television. I was
involved in a news show with Mike Wallace. When I got to New York I
kind of found my fit. I absolutely fell in love with the city. And I felt it fit
me and my tastes. I knew that it was where I wanted to be so I went back
to Northwestern for my last year in school and I made it out to New York
a week before graduation.
How does your love for fast-paced NYC jive with embracing the SLO Life?
We have different chapters in our lives. And the one that I am in now is
certainly different than the one I was in at that time. I was in New York
from the time I was probably 22 to around 31 and it suited me then. It
was a classic situation where you grow up in smaller town and you want
to be exposed to different things and have your horizons expanded.
14 | slo life magazine
What did you do for work?
I took a job with an investment newsletter that Dow Jones published
called IDD, Investment Dealers Digest. I was hired as their IPO
continued on page 16

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slo life magazine | 15

| Meet your neighbor
“...although I didn’t think
I had roots here,
they were starting to grow.
And that’s now what I feel,
I feel rooted here.
”
left FAMiLy Aliza, Ermina and her mother
center trAveL Ermina exploring the mountains on The South Island of New Zealand
right CHEERS Ermina and Dave toast to the passing of the torch
[initial public offering] reporter. So, I went in and covered finance but
I didn’t know anything about the IPO market when I got there in June.
By August Netscape went public and that blew open this huge flood of
IPO’s and the whole financial world turned its attention to this market.
It was a crazy time, a confusing time. The IPO reporter suddenly became
an important source of information as everyone was trying to sort it out.
So, here I am, two months out of college and I had people calling me to
get information about IPO’s. Practically overnight I’m being quoted in The
New York Times, I was on CNN every Friday, on the Lou Dobbs show. Two
months earlier I knew nothing, I didn’t even know what “IPO” stood for.
That tells you a lot about financial journalism at the time [laughter]. It
was a period when things were happening very quickly and everyone was
trying to figure it out.
You also did a stint in investment banking, correct?
I accepted a job at CreditSuisse. It was the peak of the market in 1999
and they created a position for me to come in and help market IPO
deals. I did that for about four years. It was an interesting time, but it
was definitely challenging because I came on right when the IPO market
started crashing and the dot com bubble burst.
What was it like working at an investment bank? Was it a good fit?
Well, it’s hard to say yes to that question because the answer is actually
no. I’ve been very fortunate in all of my employment experiences to have
worked with some great people and have a lot of fun. What I look for in a
job is something that is stimulating where I’m learning - like a journalist.
I enjoy change. But, I also define a work experience by having a lot of
fun. That’s really important to me. And how I define fun depends on the
people I’m working with. I don’t think that culturally it was a good fit for
me. It’s very hierarchical and there’s an expectation that you not only
work 22 hours a day, six days a week, but the way that people are treated
is pretty poor. There’s a low value in how you interact with somebody
else. They just don’t treat people with respect. It wasn’t something I
could have done for a long time, I wasn’t a lifer. It just wasn’t for me.
but the money was good, i’m sure…
That’s why people put up with the poor treatment along the way. But, if
that isn’t a motivator for you then it doesn’t matter what the paycheck
looks like. Beyond your basic needs and your ability to live okay we all
know that there are many ways to earn a living and that isn’t of value to me.
Everyone can clearly recall what they were doing on the morning of
September 11th, 2001. Tell us about your experience.
I actually had a doctor’s appointment that morning and I remember
coming out of the subway to a stunningly beautiful day. As I was walking
to work there were sirens and firefighters rushing down Broadway near
the office and I could see fire in the sky. When I stepped into the office
- this was before the second tower was hit - everyone was glued to the
televisions on the trading floor. My previous employer, IDD, was located
in the World Trade Center and I had a lot of friends working there and
many of their children were in the daycare below. I was frantically trying
to call them but couldn’t get through. After the second plane hit we
were told to get out of there, go home. I lived in Brooklyn at the time
and the Brooklyn Bridge was closed so I ended up staying the night with
a hodgepodge group of co-workers. It was a seminal moment in our lives
and we formed a tremendous bond that I will never forget.
When did you finally make it home?
I was able to walk over the bridge to Brooklyn the next morning. You
could hear random radio broadcasts around town that were trying to
keep everyone informed. And, where I lived, in downtown Brooklyn, we
had so many losses because the first responding firefighters were from
my neighborhood.
So you hung in there during those tough years after 9/11 in New York.
What finally caused you to leave?
My boyfriend at the time was a journalist from New York who wanted to
become a wine maker. We decided to get married and travel the world
together. I was ready for something different and he wanted to learn
winemaking in different wine regions around the world. We spent the
first 4 or 5 months in New Zealand where we lived on a small farm in
a tiny community on The South Island. It was a pretty big shift for me
moving from a big city. When you have your own established identity
and you have a shift in your life, you get married or become a parent -
it’s challenging and we all grapple with those things. But, also it was a
fantastic experience. Afterward we went to Asia for a bit, then to Italy for
a few months and then, when we were finishing, it was really about his
career and what he wanted to be doing.
Is that what brought you to SLO?
He wanted to make pinot noir and he found a place to do it on the
Central Coast. He loved San Luis and talked me into moving here. I came
16 | slo life magazine

here sight unseen. We drove cross-country for the move. I remember
pulling into town for the first time - it was March of 2005 - and it was
a very wet winter that year. I thought, “Where are we? This can’t be
California.” It just didn’t look like the California that I had imagined, you
know, Hollywood and all those things. It was much more unspoiled and
authentic and it didn’t look like L.A. When we moved here, he went
to work at a winery and I became pregnant. In my third trimester I
pretty much had enough of doing freelance work and being by myself,
so I called the Tribune because I had heard that they were looking for
a business reporter and they were generous enough to hire me even
though I was about ready to give birth.
How did you get involved with the Chamber?
I was contacted one day in 2007 by the Chamber to tell me about
an open position they had there. They were looking for a Director of
Governmental Affairs and they thought I would be a perfect fit and asked
me if I would be interested in learning more.
The SLO Chamber of Commerce consistently ranks among the top
chambers nationwide. What makes it so special?
The Chamber is a reflection of the community we’re in. It’s the same
reason why we have more non-profits per capita than anywhere else. Just
look at the name of your magazine, SLO LIFE, it all ties into what people
here value. And we’re all highly aware of protecting it and nurturing
it. Recognizing that it’s a jewel and asking, “How do you engage in the
community?” and the Chamber is a great vehicle for so many people to
do just that. There’s a sense that you can actually accomplish something
and affect change.
how do you mean?
For example, last year I was picking up my daughter from school and her
teacher said, “Ask Aliza what her parents do for work.” And I was kind
of afraid of what she might say – you never know with a four year old.
Anyway, she said that “daddy plays with the grapes” and I thought, well,
that’s fairly spot-on [laughter]. And then I asked her what I do and she
said, “Mommy makes San Luis Obispo a better place for me to live.” It
was at the time of Measure H, so she saw me putting out signs around
town and she went with me to have t-shirts printed, but it made me think
about all the people who are so involved in truly making San Luis such a
great place to live.
When you were a little girl spending a long, hot summer in Bangladesh
with your family, reading some book over and over again, did you ever
catch yourself daydreaming about becoming CEO of the San Luis Obispo
Chamber of Commerce?
[laughter] I can honestly say that the thought never crossed my mind.
San Luis really fits me, but it took me a while when I first got here. When
I moved here I really struggled quite a bit with thoughts of, “Is this the
right place for me?” I was working from home, freelancing and I really
didn’t know anybody. It was probably about seven months after working
at the Chamber when my sister passed away and I received cards from
so many people, some people I just met briefly once or twice. But they
extended themselves in such a genuine way. They made me realize that,
although I didn’t think I had roots here, they were starting to grow. And
that’s now what I feel, I feel rooted here. I’ve had to grapple with some
important decisions, like, at one point, should I move Aliza to be closer to
her dad, who was at the time working in the Bay Area. But I thought, “No,
this is my place. This is the place for me, and it’s the right place for my
daughter.” So that makes me feel very invested in what I do day-to-day
because I’m emotionally invested in San Luis, our community.
What other lessons has living in SLO taught you?
I’ve learned that you find the family that you want. And, that has really
come about in the last couple of years living here.
It’s been great getting to know you, Ermina, and we wish you all the
very best in your new role at the Chamber.
Thank you very much. I enjoyed our conversation, as well. SLO LIFE
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slo life magazine | 17

| THE WAY WE LIVE
Urban Farming
There is nothing new about agriculture - humankind has been planting seeds in the ground for thousands of
years. But, there is a new trend gripping the Central Coast as tiny backyards are being transformed into miniature
working farms. Some families are nurturing themselves almost entirely from the earth behind their homes. In a
few cases, neighbors have banded together to develop informal working cooperatives and exchanges to share
in the bounty. To be sure, there is something undeniable, and incredibly satisfying about providing for oneself.
Yes, “Urban Farming” – which is loosely defined as “providing sustenance off the land in a non-rural residential
setting” – is here to stay, as a whole new generation is embracing the concept with an energy not seen since the
advent of the “victory garden” nearly 70 years ago. We were invited into the backyards of some Central Coast
Urban Farms and were amazed by the creativity, style and ingenuity that we found.
18 | slo life magazine

Two years ago, Shelly Boismenu and her husband Jed Hazeltine, made an incredible
discovery under their 40-year-old home on Fixlini Street: it was fig tree. The couple
promptly uprooted the struggling 6” sappling and transplanted it in their garden
where it now towers over their home at 22’ feet tall. Once a part of a fig orchard in
the area, the little tree had been clinging to life with almost no light and no water.
Observes Boismenu, “I’ve learned that things that belong grow really fast, especially
plants that are native to the area.”
Boismenu, a local therapist, who hails from a long lineage of gardeners in Upstate
New York, has transformed her backyard into a beautiful, but purposeful urban farm
complete with a wide variety of edibles. Although her family is able to consume
most of the produce, when they do end up with an overabundance she finds willing
trading partners in the neighbors who often offer up plumbs, lemons, and eggs in
exchange. Lately, the yellow, purple, and green pole beans have been a big hit.
TIP
*
Along with canning, Boismenu
recommends freezing. Last
year she had a bounty of
tomatoes, which she packed
and froze. She used the frozen
tomatoes throughout the year
as a substitute for store bought
canned tomatoes in recipes that
call for them - dishes such as
spaghetti sauce and chili.
slo life magazine | 19

| THE WAY WE LIVE
“My stepson, Nate, is five-and-half years old and my husband and I thought it was important
to teach him about where food comes from and to also try to be sustainable,” explains
Jennifer Moonjian. It turns out that little Nate is quite the up-and-coming farmer as he is
responsible for feeding the chickens, as well as collecting their eggs. And all the hard work
builds a mighty appetite in the youngster. Says Moonjian, “Usually, when it gets really quite
in the house I can find Nate outside in the garden eating the tomatoes and strawberries - he
loves being in the yard.” Currently, the family is getting a healthy serving of zucchini “with
just about every single meal” since it is a bit of a bumper crop this year, which has been good
news for friends and neighbors who have shared in the bounty.
When talk turns to the Morro Bay
Guerilla Farming Club, Taylor Newton’s
pace picks up and his words come
pouring out, each one seemingly faster
than the last. The non-profit club takes
an unconventional approach to city
beautification - they do it for free.
Recently, the mostly “at-risk” youth who
volunteer at the club have rehabilitated
the landscape in front of the police
department, cleaned up sidewalk weeds
at the Embarcadero, and spruced up
around the local library. Because of
them “random trees” around town are
watered, sidewalk weeds are pulled, and
native plants are restored. Additionally,
Newton Cultivation - a nursery owned by
Newton that doubles as the home to the
Guerilla Farming Club - includes a bird
rescue, bee hives, and a massive snapping
turtle that lives in an old reclaimed hot
tub. Says Newton, “What we do is urban
gardening to the extreme.”
Newton (far left) with a few of the Guerilla Farmers
20 | slo life magazine

Missy’s daughter, Gia,
happily joins in on the
backyard harvest.
Missy Reitner-Cameron loves her neighbors so much that she married one of them.
Reitner-Cameron and her husband, Mark Cameron, who is also her immediate next
door neighbor live in a collection of adjoining backyards in San Luis Obispo that they
affectionately refer to as “The Compound.” The couple, along with five other neighbors, are
deeply committed to their shared garden which produces a variety of fruits and vegetables
too long to list. While the garden provides ample bounty for everyone to share, it seems
that the camaraderie is just as much of a draw. And everyone brings something to the
party. One of the neighbors, Ian Farmer, owns a business called Goatscape, which, just like
it sounds, uses goats to clear away unwanted vegetation. He once put three of his goats in
The Compound to clear some growth and he has generously shared the goat waste which
has been used as fertilizer to go with the compost. Says, Reitner-Cameron, who grew up in
Los Angeles with no access to a backyard, “I cannot live without fresh summer tomatoes,
there is nothing I love more.”
slo life magazine | 21

| THE WAY WE LIVE
A chance encounter with a magazine editor
set off a chain of unforeseen events, which
has one Morro Bay neighborhood block
in a race against the clock. The group has
entered Sunset Magazine’s “One-Block
Diet” competition which culminates with
an end-of-summer block party made up
entirely of home grown food and drink. Each
of the eight families involved has taken on
a specific task including raising chickens
and goats, cheese making, beer brewing,
oyster farming, and, of course, gardening,
lots of gardening. “Team Beach Tractors” -
the name the neighbors have adopted for
the contest - find themselves locked in a
competition that is heating up against nine
other entrants. To be sure, this is “mostly
about fun and bragging rights,” John Diodati,
one of the neighbors, explains. The winning
team gets $500 and will be featured in an
upcoming issue of Sunset.
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22 | slo life magazine

*
It
has been a productive year for Marks. In addition
to the fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables coming from
the garden, here is what he’s been able to store:
60 lbs of honey
50 quarts of apple sauce
48 quarts of canned tomatoes
40 quarts of peaches
There was a time when Doug Marks had ten beehives in
his backyard in Atascadero. He had so much honey that he
would sell the excess. Today, he is down to one hive that
produces plenty for his family and leaves some leftover for
gifts during the holidays. For the most part, the insects are
docile and keep to themselves by spending their days visiting
flowers up to five miles away. Marks reckons that he spends
a total of four to five days per year tending the bees, which
includes the two days it takes to collect and store the honey.
SLO LIFE
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slo life magazine | 23

SLO LIFE dEaLS
1
2
3
4
Find the deal you like
Go to slolifemagazine.com/deals
Purchase your voucher
Print it out and take it in to be redeemed
Crushed Grape
319 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo
805.544.4449
crushedgrape.com
Crushed Grape is offering an $18 voucher for $11. Buy 1 deli sandwich and
2 drinks, and get 1 deli sandwich free.
In addition to their amazing deli, you will find wonderful homemade gifts,
farmer’s market produce, and local award winning wines at Crushed Grape.
Go to our website for details on this deal.
go to slolifemagazine.com/deals and click “buy now”
$18 value for $11
buy 1 sandwich & 2 drinks, get 1 sandwich free
Shalimar Restaurant
2115 Broad Street, San Luis Obispo
805.781.0766
shalimarslo.com
Shalimar Restaurant is offering a $20 voucher for $10 (50% off).
Shalimar represents the best in Indian cuisine, including Tandoori dishes
cooked fresh in a traditional clay oven, “Salans” (curries), vegetables, Naan
Breads, Basmati Rice and delicious desserts. Serving both lunch and dinner,
Shalimar also offers complete event catering and carry out services. Go to
our website for details on this deal.
go to slolifemagazine.com/deals and click “buy now”
$20 value for $10
50% off restaurant voucher
24 | slo life magazine

Beach Butlerz
805.878.4283
beachbutlerz.com
Beach Butlerz is offering their “Awesome Day
at the Beach” package, a $40 value for $20.
You get two luxury beach loungers and one large beach umbrella with a
table with four drink holders that surrounds the center of the umbrella.
Beach Butlerz carries everything out to the beach for you and sets it up.
This combo also includes two single-use sunscreen packets, a thorough
sand raking of a 200 square foot area around your loungers, removal of any
trash and seaweed found at your location, and an authentic Beach Butlerz
beach ball. Yours to keep! Go to our website for details on this deal.
go to slolifemagazine.com/deals and click “buy now”
$40 value for $20
50% off “Awesome Day at the Beach”
Broad Street Tavern
1127 Broad Street, San Luis Obispo
805.787.0571
Broad Street Tavern is offering a $40 voucher for $20 (50% off).
Come and experience Southern and French inspired comfort food. 16 draft
beers, an absinthe bar prepared in the traditional French method and
amazing cocktails pair well with our soups, sandwiches, daily specials and
big, hearty breakfasts. Try our appitizer specials, inclucing fried pickles!
go to slolifemagazine.com/deals and click “buy now”
$40 value for $20
50% off restaurant voucher
Rev Fitness
755 Alphonso Street, San Luis Obispo
805.264.4531
revslo.com
Rev is offering five Zumba classes (a $75 value) for just $25!
Check out this full service gym offering personal training sessions and
classes in Zumba, kick boxing, cardio hip hop, spin, pilates, tnt, piyo,
bootcamp, power walking, jump & pump, and jolt.
You do not have to be a member to use this SLO LIFE DEAL. There are no
start-up, cancellation, or hidden fees. If you haven’t tried Zumba, the craze
that is sweeping the nation, now is your perfect opportunity! Go to our
website for details on this deal.
go to slolifemagazine.com/deals and click “buy now”
$75 value for $25
five Zumba classes for $25
slo life magazine | 25

| real estate
Housing Inventories
The key to understanding real estate market trends
There has been a lot of talk lately about real estate inventories. As in,
“inventories are still too high and need to come down for prices to go
back up.”
While inventories are something that you may think of as belonging in
a store or going on a shelf somewhere, understanding how the quantity
of housing available affects the overall market is a key element that the
experts use to judge where the market it is heading.
The math is simple and it really is a classic supply-and-demand situation:
the more housing that is available (supply), the more likely it is that there
will be fewer people for those homes (demand).
During the last housing boom, many more homes were built than there
were qualified people available to buy them. In other words, supply
and demand got out of whack. It wasn’t long ago that our country was
embroiled in a construction frenzy with new housing starts popping up
daily [you can learn more about this phenomenon with our Book Review
on page 38]. While strict zoning and growth regulations kept the Central
Coast somewhat protected from overbuilding, you can look to our
neighbors to the east in the Central and San Joaquin Valleys to find some
of those consequences of growth. As farmland was paved over in favor
of tract homes and strip malls, a steady stream of new buyers entered
the market, many of them were first-time homebuyers from Southern
California and the Bay Area. As lending standards tightened and fewer of
those buyers qualified for financing, suddenly supply started outpacing
demand which is where we find ourselves today.
This dynamic was no more apparent than in the City of Stockton, which
some real estate watchers consider the “epicenter” of the housing
collapse. Today, Stockton is dealing with a massive glut of inventory,
which, of course, continues to put pressure on real estate prices to drop
further. And it’s not hard to understand why… imagine that you are going
to buy a home in Stockton. Every neighborhood is filled with many empty
homes with “for sale” and “foreclosure” signs out front. As you begin
to negotiate for one home that you like, you find another home that is
just as nice, but has been sitting for quite some time. You go back to the
first home and say, “Hey, I like your home but I can buy another one just
like it for a lot less.” The owner then drops his price to entice you to buy.
This scenario will play itself out again and again until most of the excess
inventory is sold (keep in mind, a healthy real estate market will always
include some extra inventory as people move around).
Many real estate forecasters suggest that the weak housing market
nationwide will not pick up its pace significantly until we have found
parity again with supply and demand. The famous investor Warren Buffett
says that “there are still a lot of empty homes that need to be purchased
before we can turn the corner.” Of course, foreclosures compound the
problem as they add to the existing housing inventory, so there is a bit of a
spiral that still exists and much inventory still to work through.
Fortunately for us on the Central Coast and in San Luis Obispo in
particular, we have largely escaped this dynamic [you can track these
trends in “the numbers at a glance” below] and, as a result, our housing
markets tend to fare much better than most of the rest of the country.
SLO LIFE
the numbers at a glance
Comparing the last four months to the same period last year (03/01/10 - 06/30/10 vs. 03/01/11 - 06/30/11)
Home Price
$100,000 - $500,000
2010 2011 +/- •
Home Price
$500,001 - $1,000,000
2010 2011 +/-
Home Price
$1,000,001+
•
2010 2011 +/-
1. Total Homes Sold
39 41 5.13%
57 61 7.02%
6 9 50.00%
2. Average Asking Price
•
3. Average Selling Price
$434,583 $430,001 - 1.05%
$414,114 $406,487 - 1.84%
4. Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 95.29% 94.53% - 0.76%
$668,624 $662,036 - 0.98% $1,799,200 $1,371,556 - 23.77%
$631,644 $642,213 1.67%
•
94.44% 97.01% 2.57%
$1,586,500 $1,196,111 - 24.61%
88.18% 87.21% - 0.97%
5. Average # of Days on the Market
76 114 50.00%
78 95 21.79%
116 286 60.34%
26 | slo life magazine
•
SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of RealtoRs
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slo life magazine | 27

| rEaL EStatE
ask the Experts
How do you get the most bang for your buck when landscaping?
Inspired Habitats
San Luis Obispo
Specializing in
Home & Office Organization
Feng Shui
Interior Decorating
Home Staging
Karen Strombotne
805.439.0270
inspiredhabitats.net
Ryan FoRtini
Fortini Fine Garden Builders
1) Planning - Hire a landscape professional to layout a
master plan for your landscape. A seasoned landscape
designer or landscape architect can layout, make
cost effective and aesthetic material selections, and
even help you devise a construction schedule of tasks
that you or a professional landscape company can
complete.
2) Adding Impact - Spend money on larger tree and/or
shrub species for a more mature look and feel to your
landscape. It adds instant gratification and scale to a
yard in a quicker period of time. Also by adding larger
plant material you are concentrating on a quality
versus quantity approach.
3) Take a Phased Approach - Divide your landscape
project into phases and pay as you have money
available. This is great because it allows you to evaluate
your progress and “tweak” your plans before going to
the next project phase.
4) Divide - Plant perennials and groundcovers that can
be divided as the landscape matures. As plant material
grows larger and becomes dividable, transplant the
divided material to cover larger and more expansive
areas of your planned out landscape, thus resulting in
no material costs, just your time and labor.
5) Compost - Start a compost pile using yard waste and
food scrap. This compost can be turned into mulch thus
saving the cost for expensive fertilizers throughout the
year. Turn compost into the soil a few times a year
to stimulate and supplement plant material with the
necessary nutrients for healthy growth.
By creating an environmentally-friendly garden you
can dramatically cut your maintenance costs in the
future. Regarding costly water usage, we’ve been
lucky to not have to deal with a severe draught in a
while, but in our arid West, this is something that we
always have to be concerned about. For example,
instead of a standard turf lawn, go with a California
Native grass meadow that uses a quarter of the
water and you don’t have to cut it. With no need
to cut the grass regularly, savings can be found with
reduced maintenance. Also, for the environmentally
interested, lawn mower engines are tremendous
polluters, so mowing less means less pollution
as well. And, to further reduce your water costs,
plant other native and California-friendly plants
endemic to our area and from other Mediterraneantype
climates around the world. Install a ‘smart
irrigation’ automatic control system that knows to
not water when it is raining and adjust seasonally.
Remember to buy and support local products from
local businesses. Local purchases will help keep your
shipping costs down due to less trucking and less
pollution while helping sustain the local economy.
Creating an eco-friendly garden provides habitat
for bio-diversity which helps sustain human life; a
savings beyond money.
toDD DaViDSon
Sage Ecological Landscapes & Nursery
SLO LIFE
28 | slo life magazine

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slo life magazine | 29

SALISBURY
VINEYARDS
Wine Tasting, Fine Art Gallery, Gifts
Vineyard Trolley Tours, Special Events
| No Place like home
morro Rock
By Jeanette trompeter, KSBy newS
6th Annual
Schoolhouse Rock Concert Series
August 7th, 14th & 21st
Sunday 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Free Music
Wine & Lunch for purchase
No outside food or alcohol, please
Bring the family!
6985 Ontario Road, san luis obispo
Schoolhouse in Avila Valley
on the frontage road to hwy. 101
805-595-9463 salisburyvineyards.com
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It’s called the Gibraltar of the Pacific, and if
you have traveled Highway One along the
Central Coast, you know it well. Or, do you?
We’ve done a little digging into the history of
Morro Rock. And, once again, we found more
proof that there is No Place Like Home.
It’s a monument to our past. The massive,
magnificent Morro Rock is one of the volcanic
growths along the Central Coast known as the
Nine Sisters. It is also the one most people
know by name. It’s a landmark of the little
seaside community that bears its name, and a
focal point for mariners at sea and fascinated
tourist who pass through our area.
It was Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez
Cabrillo who named the rock “El Morro” in
1542. It became a state historical landmark
in 1968.
It is more than just a massive mound of
granite in the bay; it is a nesting area for
all kinds of California birds, including gulls,
pelicans and falcons.
You can no longer climb its rocky peaks as was
once encouraged decades ago. But you don’t
have to, to marvel at its significance to this
stretch of coastline.
It may be hard to imagine, but Morro Rock
was once much larger than it is today. Though
volcanic in origin, there was no big eruption
or explosion 23-million years ago that created
Morro Rock, but it came to be through a
process called intrusion over many years.
Basically there were layers of softer rock with
cracks. The molten lava bubbled and squeezed
up through those cracks and the softer rock
eroded away. Rock “plugs” were then left
behind and Morro Rock is one of those.
Morro Rock is made up of what’s called dacite,
which a form of granite. It’s much harder
than sandstone, and much harder than shale,
but not quite as hard as the granite you find
in the Sierra Nevadas. It is great material for
building, which is why this mammoth rock has
not always stood undisturbed.
At one time Morro Rock was completely
surrounded by water, but now pieces of the
rock make up the breakwater that makes it
much safer for boats to get in and out of the
Morro Bay harbor.
The causeway that now leads out to the rock
was built so blasting crews could have easy
access to this granite source. For some 60 to
70 years, crews blasted away at parts of Morro
Rock to create smaller rocks that were then
used as building material. You can find pieces
of Morro Rock today in downtown San Luis
Obispo churches, the Avila breakwater and in
the foundations for homes up and down the
Central Coast.
Eventually, people starting taking notice of its
diminishing dimensions. “You know, people
got really concerned about how much rock
was being taken out of there and said sooner
or later we have to protect this place as a
landmark or there won’t be anything left,”
says Rouvaishyana, of the Morro Bay Museum
of Natural History.
Thankfully there is plenty of it left. And it
serves as a backdrop to a natural playground
worthy of spending some of your time. It
is a place where the waves, the wind and
wildlife provide worthy entertainment. It’s
important to do more than drive by this scenic
monument – be sure to get out and explore
the natural wonders that surround it.
Known by mariners as the Gibraltar of the
Pacific, she seems to me more like the “Mona
Lisa of Morro Bay.” Everyone who sees her
for the first time wants her picture. And like
the Mona Lisa, she looks different from every
angle.
But no matter what direction she’s catching
your eye, she always offers up magnificent
proof that there’s No Place Like Home.
Jeanette Trompeter, KSBY News anchor and reporter,
hosts the “No Place Like Home” series every
Thursday evening at 6pm.
SLO LIFE
30 | slo life magazine

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slo life magazine | 31

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32 | slo life magazine
”
Allergies are a fact of life in and around San
Luis Obispo. And, while most people think of
springtime as the allergy season - this time
of year on the Central Coast (late summer
through early fall) has become known to
allergy sufferers as the “second wave” or the
“fall flare-up.”
According to local allergist, Dr. Arthur McLean,
a combination of late season allergens, dust
mites, and the common cold (rhinovirus-c) can
lead to an allergic “perfect storm.” McLean
cites the Chinese Elm tree as one the biggest
culprits for this late season phenomenon.
At their essence, allergies are an overreaction
by the immune system to some sort of foreign
substance (allergens) that is determined to be
a threat by the body. While this physiological
reaction is crucial in the case where the
substance is truly harmful (think bacteria or
a virus), it becomes problematic when it is
something harmless, like simple tree pollen.
It’s been a busy year so far for Dr. McLean, who
claims that “this spring was one of the worst
years in terms of allergies locally” because we
had two relatively wet winters followed by
a dry, windy period, which greatly increases
the amount of pollen coming from our unique
Coastal Live Oak trees, for example.
Symptoms of allergies can vary greatly, and
are often mistaken for a simple cold or flu.
The common ones, such as sneezing and itchy
eyes are relatively easy to identify, but a sore
throat, headaches, or difficulty breathing can
be mistaken for other ailments. For those that
suspect they may be suffering from seasonal
allergies, most health care professionals will
suggest first that you try to identify and then
avoid the allergen, which for most of us is just
not possible. Treatments may range from a
simple over-the-counter daily allergy tablet,
to a high-powered shot administered by your
doctor.
There are some interesting alternatives that do
show some promise, however, such as eating
honey from a local source. We were intrigued
when we spotted someone selling local honey
from a roadside stand here in town recently.
So, we stopped to inquire about the claim on
the sign that read, “Cure Allergies.” The honey
salesman did make a persuasive argument
based on sound logic which rested on the
concept that immunity is built up over time
as very small amounts of pollen allergens are
introduced through the honey, a process called
immunotherapy.
There have been no peer-reviewed scientific
studies that have conclusively proven whether
honey actually reduces allergies. Almost all
evidence regarding the immunizing effects of
eating honey is anecdotal. But these reports
have proven persuasive enough for some
people to try to fight their seasonal allergies by
eating honey every day.
At least one informal (unfunded) study on
allergies and honey conducted by students at
Xavier University in New Orleans produced
positive results. Researchers divided
participants into three groups: seasonal allergy
sufferers, year-round allergy sufferers and nonallergy
sufferers. These groups were further
divided into three subgroups with some people
taking two teaspoons of local honey per day,
others taking the same amount of non-local
honey each day and the final subgroup not
taking honey at all. The Xavier students found
that after six weeks, allergy sufferers from
both honey consuming groups suffered fewer
symptoms and that the group taking local
honey reported the most improvement.
The study was never published, but the
anecdotal evidence in favor of honey as an
allergy reliever continues: several of the study
participants asked if they could keep the
remaining honey after the experiment was
concluded.
But, medical research says otherwise. According
to a study conducted by the University of
Connecticut and published in the Annals of
Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in 2002, no
improvement was found over those that ate
local honey compared to the control group.
We also found a skeptic in Dr. McLean, “I love
the taste of honey and it’s probably a good
alternative to sugar or other sweeteners for
many people, but it’s probably not the best
way to treat allergies.”
SLO LIFE

slo life magazine | 33

| A DAy In the lIfe
SlO Veg
by Demitria Castanon
All of us know that small businesses
are responsible for so much of the
vibrancy and diversity of our local economy.
And we have all heard tales of
the ups-and-downs
of the small business owner, but what is it
really like to live a day in the life of one?
We spent one day following
Dan Melton and Rachael Hill, the partners
behind SLO Veg, to find out.
8:42am
“One of the most difficult things for me
is getting the timing right. The produce is
not always ready when you are.” A visit
to Bautista Farms in Arroyo Grande yields
good news. The lettuce is gorgeous and
ready for harvest. Hill, who had been
concerned about the weather, is ecstatic.
7:36am
Hill begins her day with a group of local business
owners, who get together once a week before
the business day starts, to bounce ideas off one
another, share new leads, and collaborate on
projects. Today she announces that her company
has added fresh fish delivery to their service.
Next, Hill races up the Coast for a stop at
Canyon Ranch Farms in Cayucos to inspect a
new crop of red choi with owner and farmer,
Katie Otis. According to Hill, “The red choi has
an extraordinary taste that our customers are
going to love.” Hill kneels down, breaks off
another piece, holds it to her nose and takes
one more taste before declaring that she’d like
to buy all of it. A quick negotiation with Otis
takes place, and the deal is closed with a hug.
10:13am
34 | slo life magazine

11:01am
Melton has been spending the morning
packing totes at the shop with two
employees. A steady stream of local
growers stop by with their loads of
produce. As they roll in they are greeted
by a clipboard-wielding employee who
receives and inspects the produce while
making last minute notes.
1:27pm
The partners sit down for a meeting over
lunch at Gus’s Grocery where Hill excitedly
shares the news about the lettuce and the
red choi purchase. Melton inquires about the
progress of some other produce and the two
begin planning out next week’s tote selection.
The conversation then turns to scheduling
and marketiing. According to Melton, “We’re
always out in public, talking with people, so
these lunch meetings allow us to take a small
timeout and recharge for the rest of the day.”
After spending all morning at the shop,
Melton heads to the Church of the
Nazarene gym where he heard that a
basketball game had been scheduled.
A former professional basketball player
who spent two seasons in a European
League, Melton “enjoys the camaraderie
as much as the sport itself.”
12:11pm
Melton and Hill then head over
to Cal Poly farms where they
help pick garlic and wash carrots.
A couple of students jump in to
help. While there, they bump
into another visiting farmer,
whose produce they have been
considering carrying in their totes.
“These relationships are really
important because we have to
understand how the food is grown
so we can share that information
with our customers,” says Hill.
2:14pm
slo life magazine | 35

| A DAy In the lIfe
Melton and Hill are regulars at the Thursday
Night Farmers’ Market where they learn from
local farmers about how crops are progressing
and get the scoop on new produce being
planted. “We are always looking to rotate the
produce in our totes and these conversations
are a great opportunity to stay ahead of the
curve,” explains Hill.
3:08pm
Melton settles into his favorite seat at
Blackhorse Coffee on Higuera Street. Prior to
starting SLO Veg, he spent seven months at this
very spot writing the business plan. Occasionally,
he admits, he’s now spending some of his time
writing a screen play. Today, he is putting the
finishing touches on a licensing deal for their
“Farm to Fork” brand, which will allow two
recent Cal Poly grads to start a SLO Veg-type
business in the San Diego area with Melton’s
help and on-going support.
6:12pm
For the next couple of hours, Hill and
the SLO Veg employees are buzzing
around making home deliveries.
According to Hill, “This is the best
part of what we do - we love seeing
happy customers... A lot of thought
and planning goes into making these
routes efficient, as we do everything
we can to keep our carbon footprint as
small as possible.”
4:46pm
Hill rushes home to prepare for a dinner
party. “Baking is my all time passion,”
she reveals. The guests are scheduled
to arrive in a half hour and her daughter
has already set the table. Hill, who
almost never follows a recipe, makes
a last-minute alteration to one of the
dishes adding a handful of red choi.
7:03pm
peak inside
36 | slo life magazine
SLO LIFE

slo life magazine | 37

| Business
The Big short
Inside the Doomsday Machine
then divided up again into “tranches” (a fancy
Wall Street word for the splitting of a bond or
some other financial instrument) and resold to
unsuspecting Wall Street customers (pension
funds such as CalPERS, university endowments,
and other public institutions were big buyers
of these bonds). The guys on Wall Street
somehow convinced the rating agencies to give
these investments AAA ratings (the highest,
best level, meaning they were also the safest
and most unlikely to default).
The Big Short is an alarming tale told by master
storyteller, Michael Lewis, who is probably
best known for the book The Blind Side, and
lesser known for such works as Liar’s Poker,
Moneyball, and The New New Thing, among
others. Lewis’ talent is in taking an event or
phenomenon – usually dealing with difficult-tounderstand
financial matters such as the inner
workings of Wall Street, Dot Com stocks, or the
management of professional baseball – and
making them accessible to the layperson by
focusing on one obscure component. In The Big
Short, Lewis tells the story of the few people
who made vast fortunes on the demise of the
housing market.
In financial circles, to “short” something
means to bet against it by speculating that its
value is about to drop. This story profiles the
managers of three small investment groups
as they scramble to short the housing market
starting around 2005 – far before the crash.
Their research in all three cases leads them to
the cozy relationship between Wall Street and
the ratings agencies, those firms that judge
the value (or riskiness) of certain investments.
This relationship created what Lewis calls “the
doomsday machine.”
What the three savvy investors found was
that Wall Street was buying up sub-prime
mortgages (loans to “high risk” home buyers
with low-credit worthiness) as fast as they
were sold by banks, other mortgage lenders
and brokers (those who made the loans to
home buyers). The loans individually would
normally carry the lowest credit rating
(sometimes referred to as “junk,” such as “junk
bonds”), however, something “magical” took
place once they were packaged up into bonds
(a collection of many hundreds or thousands of
individual home loans bundled together) and
Whether this was a case of Wall Street tricking
the rating agencies or the rating agencies
simply being incompetent, at least from Lewis’
point of view, it seems to be combination of
the two. Reading this book, you will witness
the depths of greed that exists on Wall Street,
as many firms knew that they were selling
“junk” that was being masqueraded as AAA
bonds to their customers, all the while betting
against it (shorting) by buying credit default
swaps, which insures the bonds in the event
of a default. [Incidentally, this is what nearly
brought down the insurance giant, AIG, and
our entire financial system. As they had been
the leader in issuing these credit default swaps,
which yielded a fortune in premiums, but
when the sub-prime loans started to default
they became responsible for paying the bond
holder for their losses. This is when, for better
or worse, the Federal Government stepped in
to save AIG and allow it to make good on these
policies, creating another less understood bail
out of Wall Street]. In other words, they did
not believe in what they were selling although
they pushed it like there was no tomorrow [it
should be noted that when “tomorrow” finally
did come in the aftermath of the financial
meltdown, Michael Lewis was called to testify
before Congress where he provided some of
the most damning evidence of fraud by Wall
Street].
When two of the people in the book realize
the world economy was on the precipice - it
seemed to Lewis that they “had always sort
of assumed that there was some grown-up in
charge of the financial system whom they had
never met; now they saw that there was not.”
It is impossible to read this book and not come
away from it with some new formed opinions
about our capital markets in general and Wall
Street specifically. But, perhaps if enough of us
educate ourselves to the massive shell game
that had been going on, we can prevent this
sort of thing from happening again.
SLO LIFE
38 | slo life magazine

slo life magazine | 39

| Voter Guide
Measures A & B
There is a special election being held during the month of August
both with wide ranging repercussions for all of us. Please study this
facts, as well as represent the arguments made by both sides. If you
August 15th to cast a ballot in this election. And, all ballots must be
Pension reform – Measure A
Pensions are, very simply, payments that are made after retirement when the employee is no
longer working. They are considered a benefit to the employee and are generally negotiated and
established far before retirement.
BenefITs
Pensions help attract talented applicants because, after a certain amount of time on the job, a
retirement with residual income is possible.
DrAwBAcks
As pensions are typically a lifelong benefit, an unknown cost may be burdened on the entity
paying the pension. In the case of a government, those costs are passed on to the taxpayer.
BAckgrounD
Due to a clause written into the city charter in the 1970’s, the city council cannot reduce pension
benefits except by a vote of the citizens. The amendment created by Measure A would give the
city council the full authority to negotiate pension changes with the unions within the framework
of existing state Law. with this amendment, the city council would be able to negotiate lower
pensions for new employees and higher pension contribution requirements by all employees.
ArguMenT for A “Yes” VoTe
In 2003, the city’s pension costs were $1.8 million. This year they will exceed $8 million, and
future increases in pension costs are virtually certain. Today, a police officer or firefighter can
retire as early as age 50 and receive up to 90% of base pay as pension. other city employees can
retire as early as age 55 with no cap in their pensions - and increases are guaranteed for inflation.
Instead of paying for other city services, monies are being diverted in ever increasing quantities to
service these pensions.
ArguMenT for A “no” VoTe
The amendment created by Measure A takes control away from the voters and gives it to the
city council instead. Additionally, pensions are an important benefit in attracting and retaining
employees.
The fAcTs
Pension costs are the fastest growing part of the city’s budget and the revenues required to
sustain those payments is becoming untenable. As people are living longer lives, if left as-is, it
is reasonable to expect that the cost of pensions will absorb a greater percentage of tax payer
receipts. At the same time, it is important to understand that the city employees are making and
have made decisions based on this covenant they have with their employer.
40 | slo life magazine

here in san Luis obispo. on the ballot are two measures, A & B,
guide carefully. we did our best to distill the issues down to the
are a resident but are not yet registered to vote, you must do so by
received by August 30th.
Investment
Retirement
Insurance
David S. Nilsen
President & Chief Financial Advisor
Repeal of Binding Arbitration – Measure B
Binding arbitration is often used to quickly and efficiently resolve legal disputes. Instead of a judge
and jury, an objective, impartial third-party (arbitrator) evaluates the arguments of the two groups in
conflict and makes a binding decision, which must be accepted by both sides and cannot be appealed.
BenefITs
It is a low-cost and fast solution compared to traditional legal proceedings, and in the case of a
traditional union dispute it can award a cost-of-living increase to them without the threat of a
strike which causes losses to both sides in the form of lost income to the union members and
services to the community.
DrAwBAcks
The arbitrator must declare one side or the other “the winner” and cannot mandate a compromise
or middle ground, which tends to encourage extreme positions for the parties entering into the
dispute. since the arbitrator cannot live in the area, he or she may not fully understand the full
impact and ramifications of his or her decision on the community as it relates to either side.
1301 Chorro Street, Suite A
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
805.541.6500
ObispoWealthManagement.com
David Nilsen is a Registered Representative and Investment Advisor Representative with/
and offers securities and advisory services through Commonwealth Financial Network,
Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor, Insurance Lic. #0B50436.
TRUSTED IN-HOME CARE
Respect & Care At Home
BAckgrounD
Binding arbitration has been a part of the city charter for 11 years, and it applies only to the
firefighters and Police unions and not to the other city unions. The city entered a binding
arbitration proceeding with the Police union in 2008. At that time, the arbitrator ruled against
the city and awarded police officers a 27.28% cost-of-living increase over 4 years and dispatchers
a 32.82% increase over the same period. During those four years, the cost of living in san Luis
obispo actually increased by 11%.
ArguMenT for A “Yes” VoTe
since the arbitrator can only choose one side or the other and cannot recommend a middle ground
or compromise agreement, binding arbitration has been a money loser for the city. The additional
compensation awarded to the Police union by the arbitrator during a time of deficits has come at the
expense of other city services. The cost-of-living increases awarded to the Police union make them
among the most highly compensated department in the state.
ArguMenT for A “no” VoTe
Binding arbitration is an effective and efficient way to resolve labor disputes and ensure continuity
of vital first-responder services to the community. since, by law, california police officers and
firefighters may not strike (see “The facts” below), binding arbitration is an important collective
bargaining tool for these unions. without the threat of binding arbitration, the unions will lose
their leverage in these negotiations with the city.
The fAcTs
concerns over future work stoppages or outright labor strikes by our local police and fire
departments are not valid. Last year, The california supreme court in the case of the city of san
Jose v. operating engineers Local no. 3 ruled that, while public employees have the right to strike,
they cannot do so if the employees “perform jobs that are essential to public welfare.” In other
words, by law they may not go on strike.
SLO LIFE
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• Transportation
• Affordable Rates
• Meal Preparation
• State & Federal Compliant
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4 to 24 Hour In-Home Care
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slo life magazine | 41

Mineral SpringS
r e S o rt & S pa
GARDENS OF AVILA RESTAURANT
Introducing New Chef Pandee Pearson
| LocaL food by LocaL peopLe
fresh, Local and in Season by Jaime lewis
Farm to Table
Cuisine
I didn’t start cooking until my late
twenties when I got bored with serving
my husband frozen dinners. Given the
glory of our local farmers’ markets, it
seemed like a sin to ignore the bounty
of fresh produce at my fingertips.
This recipe comes from one of my
favorite cookbooks, Deborah Madison’s
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It
features fresh tomatoes, which I always
buy from Peacock Farms at the Saturday
morning farmers’ market. The resulting
tart is sweet, delicious, and hearty
without a speck of dairy or meat.
Fresh Flavors meets
Simple Sophistication
yeaSted tart dough with oLive oiL
Makes one 9 to 11 inch tart or pie crust,
or 6 to 8 individual galette shells.
New Dinner Menu
paired with Local Wines
Open Daily for
Breakfast Lunch and Dinner.
• Romantic Dining Room •
• Cozy Bar and Lounge •
• Private Garden View Room •
• Twilight Garden Patio •
595-7302 | sycamoresprings.com
1215 Avila Beach Drive
San Luis Obispo
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups flour, as needed
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water in medium bowl and let stand until bubbly, about 10 minutes.
2. Add oil, egg and salt then stir in the flour. (Egg contributes to the strengths and suppleness of
the dough. If you don’t eat eggs, leave it out and add an additional 3 tablespoons water with 1
tablespoon oil.)
3. When dough is too stiff to work with a spoon, turn it onto the counter and knead until smooth
and elastic, about 4 minutes. Add more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking.
4. Set the dough in an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat, cover with a towel and let rise until
doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Turn the dough out. Roll it into a thin circle and use it to line a tart or pie pan or to make a
free-form galette.
6. For individual tarts, divide it into 6 pieces, shape into balls, and let rest under a towel for 15
minutes before rolling them out.
42 | slo life magazine
Gardens of Avila Sign photo by Mike Larson Photography

If you haven’t been to
famers’ market lately,
- it’s time!
Central Coast
Farmers’ Harvest
• Fresh Picked & Locally Grown
Pesticide Free Produce
• Direct Delivery to Your Home
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tomato and red pepper tart
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
By Deborah Madison
Makes one 10-inch tart
yeasted tart dough with olive oil (see recipe)
2 red onions, finely diced
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the crust
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, preferably Roma
3 large red bell peppers
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
freshly milled pepper
2 tablespoons chopped basil
16 Nicoise olives, halved and pitted
1. Make the dough and set it aside to arise.
2. Cook the onions in the oil over medium heat until soft, about 12 minutes, stirring
occasionally. While they’re cooking, peel, seed, and finely chop the tomatoes.
3. Roast the peppers. Set aside two-thirds of one pepper and finely chop the rest.
4. Add tomatoes and diced peppers to the onions, crumble the saffron and anise seeds into the
mixture, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a little pepper. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring
occasionally, especially toward the end. The mixture should be quite thick.
5. Taste for salt and stir in the basil leaves.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough and drape it over a 10-inch tart pan.
Trim it and crimp the dough around the rim.
7. Add the filling, cut the reserved pepper into narrow strips and use them to make a lattice
design over the top. Place the olives in the spaces formed by the peppers.
8. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove and brush the rim of the crust with olive oil. Unmold the tart
onto a platter and serve.
Have a recipe to share? Go to slolifemagazine.com to tell us about it.
SLO LIFE
Eat Healthy, Eat Local
Serving
• San Luis Obispo • Avila •
• Los Osos • Five Cities •
• Nipomo •
www.sloveg.com
805.709.2780
slo life magazine | 43

| community calendar
central coast cancer challenge
august 7th
laguna lake Park
centralcoastcancerchallenge.com
Presenting the best
in professional
entertainment at the
Performing Arts Center!
WWW.CALPOLYARTS.ORG
The 2011 Central Coast Cancer Challenge is a multi-sport event, including a 22K Family Fun Cycle
– to the Bob Jones Trail and back, 50K and 100K Intermediate and Advanced Cycling – Rolling
Hills, Flat 5K Flat Open Space Trail Run, Thigh-burning 10K Advanced Morro Mountain Trail Run,
and a Children’s 1-Mile Fun Run. They will also host a Wellness Expo and a free concert featuring
The JD Project. This year’s beneficiaries are Jack’s Helping Hand and the Cancer WellFit Program,
supporting local cancer patients, survivors and their families.
Broadway by the Sea
august 13th @ 1:00pm
chapman estate, Shell Beach
operaslo.org
Celebrate summer with an outdoor concert
featuring the voices of OperaSLO’s best singers
performing the music of Broadway and more.
Arrive early, picnic with friends, bid on silent
auction treasures, stroll the gardens, observe Plein
Air painters and marvel at the breathtaking views.
art
august 26th – September 18th
SLO Little Theatre
slolittletheatre.org
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Winner of the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play, Art is a dazzling comedy about
three men and a painting that deals with questions of male friendship, intellectual
honesty, and, of course, what is or isn’t art. The three best friends debate their
interpretations of art, economics, loyalty, the values of society, intimacy and human
expectation and the debate shakes this trio’s 15-year relationship to the core.

WE ARE THE MUSTANGS
Brews & Bites
September 3rd @ 12:00pm – 5:00pm
mission Plaza
slobrewsandbites.com
Season, Group, and Single Game Tickets
on sale at the box office by calling
1–866–GO STANGS or online at GoPoly.com
Like us on
Follow us at
twitter.com/CPMustangs
www.facebook.com/CalPolyMustangs
3rd annual Brews & Bites. A celebration of local beer and music, this fest is becoming
one of the favorites amongst local beer enthusiasts. This year’s Brews & Bites will
feature 11 breweries as well as local musical talent.
Dog Training • Premium Daycare • Boarding • Grooming
FIRST DAY OF DAYCARE FREE!
173 Buckley Road • San Luis Obispo
(805) 596-0112
thousandhillspetresort.com
La Guitarra California Festival
September 9th – 11th
Spanos theatre
laguitarracalifornia.com
The 2011 Festival is a “Celebration of Guitar” featuring 20 world-renowned artists
in 16 events! With 11 concerts, 4 Masterclasses, a free lecture, dozens of guitar
maker exhibits, a guitar silent-auction, and the display of the Forderer Collection of
Rare and Historic Guitars - this will be the classical guitar event for 2011.
SPECIALIZING IN:
Gymnastics
ages 8 mo - 18 yrs
Cheerleading
Acrobatic Gymnastics
Tumble & Trampoline
ages 4 - 18 yrs
Dance
ages 3 and up
www.iflipforCCG.com
549-8408
16,000 sq ft of Fun & Fitness!
Located between DMV & Trader Joe’s
Does your dad like to read?
SLO Jazz Festival
September 24th – 25th
downtown San luis obispo
slojazzfest.org
The SLO Jazz Festival is an international music event featuring top
talent from around the globe, as well as San Luis Obispo County.
Multiple stages throughout downtown, including Mission Plaza, will
bring together friends, family, and community. SLO Jazz Festival is a
non-profit organization promoting local and world-class jazz-related
music to benefit the community of San Luis Obispo.
SLO LIFE
Send him a subscription!
slolifemagazine.com
slo life magazine | 45

THE ARTS |
Mark Sensenbach
You wouldn’t expect someone who is 6’7” to move
so gracefully in a tiny artist studio, but to “Big
Mark,” as he is known, it is second nature. He has
been “throwing clay” since he was a teenager and,
after recently selling his t-shirt screen printing
company, he has made it his sole focus. When Mark
Sensenbach is not at Cuesta College, where he is
employed as the Ceramic Arts Technician, he can
be found “tapping, bumping, and poking” original
handmade works on his pottery wheel. “I’m trying
to give the form a little movement, some character.
You can buy a perfect porcelain cup at Costco, but
there is only one like this,” he says while hoisting a
nearby handmade coffee mug. SLO LIFE
46 | slo life magazine

“We tripled our business last year and the only place we advertised was SLO LIFE
Magazine. Since we are a small company and get to know all of our customers
personally we always get around to asking them how they heard about us and, more
often than not, they say that they saw us in SLO LIFE.”
- Dan Melton & Rachael Hill, SLO Veg
“A few days after my first ad ran I received a call from a soon-to-be first-time mom who wanted to know
more about natural birthing. She told me that she had learned about me from my ad in SLO LIFE. Not
only did she become a new patient, but I received several more from the same issue.”
- Edana Hall, Holistic Midwifery Care
“We’ve been advertising with SLO LIFE Magazine
since they started out a year ago. And, in that time,
we have leased out 3 large suites to great tenants and
have greatly increased the leases of smaller offices.
Many of those inquiries came from your readers.”
- Warren Dolezal, San Luis Business Park
“When patients come to see us they
often mention our baby ad in
SLO Life Magazine. It means a lot to
us to have this exposure. Even baby
seems happier with this new found
attention.”
- Karen Scott, Karen Scott Audiology
“Not only does SLO LIFE
play an important role for
us in terms of marketing
and reaching our desired
audience, but I have to
say that they also serve an
important function in our
community. I read it and love
it and everyone else I know
reads it and loves it too.”
- Todd Davidson,
Sage Ecological Nursery
“SLO LIFE Magazine has literally transformed our business. We have never seen
someone care so much about us and our success as they do. Because of their help
our sales have increased substantially. We used to advertise everywhere, now the only
place we advertise in SLO LIFE. We cannot possibly recommend them more highly.”
- Jim & Megan Mackintosh, SLO Moped
“Everyone I know reads
SLO LIFE Magazine. People
mention to us all the time that
they see our ad. It is the ideal
vehicle to reach our audience
locally. No other advertising
platform works as well for us.”
- Darik Stollmeyer, Rev
Contact Tom to Advertise
805-553-8820
slolifemagazine.com/advertising
slo life magazine | 47

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