SLO LIFE Jun/Jul 2014

SLO LIFE 

magazine 

SWINGING 

FOR THE 

FENCES 

ON THE 

RISE 

HEALTH 

WORDS TO 

LIVE BY 

BEHIND THE 

SCENES 

HEATING UP 

SUMMER 

OUTDOOR 

LIVING 

AFTER 

HOURS 

NOW HEAR 

THIS 

slolifemagazine.com 

PRSRT STD 

U.S. POSTAGE 

PAID 

PERMIT 113 

SANTA ANA, CA 

MEET 

BILL 

OSTRANDER 

ADVENTURE, PASSION 

JUN/JUL 2014 & POLITICAL ACTION 

JUN/JUL 2014 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 1

2 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | JUN/JUL 2014




| CONTENTS 


magazine 

JUNE/JULY 2014 

8 PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE 

10 ON THE COVER 

12 INFO 

14 IN BOX 

18 VIEW 

20 TIMELINE 

22 Q&A 

24 MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR 

30 ON THE RISE 

34 OUT AND ABOUT 

36 MUSIC 

58 

68 

36 

38 DWELLING 

46 CITY REAL ESTATE 

48 COUNTY REAL ESTATE 

50 WHAT’S HOT NOW 

52 TASTE 

57 AFTER HOURS 

58 SPECIAL FEATURE 

66 ARTIST 

68 EXPLORE 

70 HEALTH 

76 KITCHEN 

78 HAPPENINGS 


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2014 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 7

| PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE 

Smart Trade 

I was a heart broken seven-year-old kid growing up in the San Joaquin 

Valley the day I sounded out the words one-by-one in the headline 

appearing on the Visalia Times-Delta sports page explaining that 

beloved San Francisco Giants second basemen Joe Morgan was being 

traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for some no-name pitcher… a guy 

named Mike Krukow. 

When he first took the mound, I looked for—and found—every reason 

to not like Krukow. Each time he walked a batter I became more and 

more convinced that he was, in fact, a good-for-nothin’ bum. While Joe 

Morgan and the Phillies were stacked with an all-star cast who were 

laughing their way toward winning the National League pennant, the 

Giants were aimlessly struggling to get out of last place. 

But, it’s almost never statistics that win the hearts and minds of baseball fans; it’s usually the small stuff that is mostly 

imperceptible to those who do not follow the game. The way a ballplayer wears his pants, chews his gums, or prepares for 

an at-bat carry as much weight as a slugging percentage or an earned run average. The more I watched “Kruk” handle his 

business on the mound, the more I liked him. 

The following season, I talked my parents into buying me a TV to catch the Giants broadcast out of Fresno. While they 

were adamantly opposed to the idea, I eventually wore them down like a long-reliever chewing up scoreless innings. For my 

birthday that year, which always falls right around opening day, I received a brand new twelve-inch black and white boob 

tube. The gift came with heavy restrictions, however: no more than an hour a day and absolutely no viewing after bedtime. 

“Okay, sure—no problem,” I said with fingers crossed behind my back. 

I found the perfect spot in my bedroom where the set’s rabbit ears picked up everything KMPH was sending southward 

through the Valley. Before the game started each night, I would spread out the baseball cards of all the starting players. 

After studying their statistics and analyzing the match-ups, I invariably drew a familiar conclusion: Yep, the Giants are 

going to win! So, I would watch for an hour, usually getting me to the third inning or so, brush my teeth, say “goodnight” 

to the family and tuck myself in with my head spinning, wondering if the runner had been stranded on third. After tossing 

and turning for a while, I would tip-toe across my room and carefully click on the TV to catch the last few innings. I don’t 

think my parents ever caught on, and if they did, they never said anything—it was usually still too hot to sleep at that hour 

in our old, un-airconditioned house anyway. 

Krukow, who was a standout at Cal Poly, has been a constant in my life since those magical endless summers thirty years 

ago. Following the trade he settled in San Luis Obispo where he and his high school sweetheart raised five children. It was 

shortly after his career as a pitcher ended that Kruk returned to the Giants as a broadcaster. Most nights, as we tune into 

MLB.tv to catch the Bay Area broadcast, it is surreal to see my kids, who are now ten, nine, and five-years-old, watching 

Kruk call the game. And, it was certainly a thrill to have the opportunity to recently interview him for our story in this 

issue [see “Mike Krukow Reflects” on page 58]. I felt like a kid again as I peppered the former 20-game winner with 

questions like, “Who were the toughest guys to get out?” (his answer: Tony Gwenn and Pete Rose); but mostly I marveled 

at the brilliance of trading away Joe Morgan. 

I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone who had a hand in producing this issue of 

SLO LIFE Magazine and, most of all, to our advertisers and subscribers—we couldn’t do it without you. 

Live the SLO Life! 

Tom Franciskovich 

tom@slolifemagazine.com 


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| ON THE COVER 

A SNEAK PEEK 

BEHIND the scenes 

with Chris Bersbach 

ill Ostrander invited me out to his Los Osos Valley 

ranch to do the photos for this issue. We built our 

studio to make the cover image in his huge wooden 

barn, which provided shelter from the afternoon 

winds that rip through the valley. Thanks to his experience 

working in Holllywood, he was a natural in front of the camera, 

so we nailed the cover shot with a couple rolls of my twelveexposure 

film stock. After we had the cover in the bag, he took 

me out on a tour of his ranch, including his hayfields and grazing 

land, where we made a few more wide-angle images to showcase 

the expansive views of the valley from the hillside ranch. 

BWhile we were shooting, Ostrander talked to me about the history 

of his ranch, the cattle he raises, and the reasons he’s committed to the 

Citizen’s Congress that he’s organizing. I think that his thoughtfulness 

and focus come through in the photographs that we made, and I hope 

SLO LIFE’s readers get that same sense when they read his story. 

10 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | JUN/JUL 2014 

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

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| SLO LIFE IN BOX 

You said it... 

Sincere thanks to Tom Franciskovich for his article, 

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tournament last month. As 

I was driving to a meeting on the day of their 

game against Wichita State, I tuned into 

AM radio to catch part of the action. The 

first half had just ended with the top-ranked 

Shockers up 32-13 over the Mustangs, 

and the broadcaster filled the airtime by 

interviewing Cal Poly athletic director Don 

Oberhelman. The broadcaster was amused 

by how the national sports media had such 

limited knowledge and understanding about 

the university—many had never heard of 

it, or confused it with Cal Poly Pomona— 

so he asked the athletic director about it. 

Oberhelman then said, “We want to take 

San Luis Obispo out of Cal Poly. Our name 

is not Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, it’s just 

Cal Poly… Cal Poly Pomona is Cal Poly 

Pomona… but we’re just Cal Poly, and that’s 

what we want to be known as.” My feelings 

of goodwill for the basketball team rattled 

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Luis Obispo out of Cal Poly?” I thought to 

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Loved your article Failure to Communicate in the Apr/May issue of SLO LIFE. 

I knew they had a lot of land but didn’t realize it was 9,678 acres, yet they are 

proposing to build their dorms on Slack and Grand Avenue. It will be like WOW 

Week every night with freshman walking up and down Grand Avenue at all 

hours. Sure something to look forward to isn’t it?! 

I love the woman who said this is not a college town - this a town with a college 

in it. How true. 

Thank you for a great article. 

—JOAN SALES

In your article Failure to Communicate about the controversy over the 

proposed location of new dorms at Cal Poly, you say that “It is time to get 

serious about this issue....” Well that needs to start with you educating yourself. 

In the article you cavalierly suggest that the new dorms could be located on “... 

the vast swaths of land now used mostly for agriculture near the Highland Drive 

entrance” to campus. You make it sound as if the agricultural uses of these 

lands are no more important than the parking lot uses of land that you mention 

elsewhere in your article. This land along Highway 1 and Highland Ave. is Cal 

Poly’s only prime (class 1) agriculture land, and is used as laboratories for classes 

that fulfill part of Cal Poly’s core mission. Cal Poly does have a great deal of 

land, but most of it is rolling rangeland, and not prime cropping land. 

Building on this land as you suggest would seriously hamper our ability to teach 

our classes, and so decrease the quality of our agriculture programs. This is 

what has happened in Silicon Valley and elsewhere in California: Some of the 

best farmland in the state has been built on, and so taken out of production 

forever. Our food has to come from somewhere. We can build elsewhere, and 

preserve this precious resource. 

You have a significant forum, please educate yourself before making 

suggestions that will be taken up and promoted by uninformed people. This 

land is not just being used for agriculture, but being used as laboratories to fulfill 

part of our core mission, and as we see it, as important to Cal Poly as Physics or 

Chemistry laboratories. 

Thank You 

—DAVID W. HANNINGS 

Professor Emeritus 

Horticulture and Crop Science Department 

Cal Poly 

As I prepare for traveling to Long Beach for the CSU Board of Trustees 

meeting, I am re-reading some of your articles I have saved in recent months. 

You have personalized the challenges we face with your writer’s own 

experiences. But especially moving was the family not being able to move in 

because they couldn’t compete with students. A house in our neighborhood 

recently sold, and the flyer reported “present rental income of $4,600 a 

month”! It sold very quickly. 

My Dad accepted a teaching position at Cal Poly in 1946. He came out of Iowa 

State University, had never been to California and was sold on the basis of a 

picture they sent showing the surrounding hills. (It should be noted that he had 

multiple other opportunities based on an education in electronics and electrical 

engineering.) So I was born here, and grew up when SLO was REALLY slow. 

My first home was on the side of the mountain under the “P” back when there 

was faculty housing. Dad eventually built a house on Henderson, doing all of the 

work himself. We took care of Dad when he was dying of Parkinson’s disease 

and moved back into the neighborhood when we retired. The owner vs. rental 

occupancy percentage continues to shift and we have more and more large 

groups of campus-housed students roaming the streets looking for parties. The 

noise, acts of vandalism and indecency, drunk and injured students collapsing in 

yards—the list goes on. We are going to speak at the Trustee meetings. I don’t 

expect them to change their minds, but at least our voices will be heard. Thanks 

for listening! You “get it” and so many others do not. 

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The article by Tom Franciskovich, Failure to Communicate, is the voice of 

wisdom that would work if we were dealing with a level playing field, but 

unfortunately, we are not. We have to remember that all public schools, be 

it Cal Poly, Cuesta College or the School District, answer to the State or the 

County, not to the City, and this gives them an enormous edge over us, so 

they don’t listen to the community. Skewed equality always promotes abuse. 

Therefore it is up to the community to find ways to protect itself. For this, the 

City needs to be a great deal more assertive and more creative than it has been 

for the last thirty years. 

Let us not forget that San Luis Obispo was not built around Cal Poly. On the 

contrary, Cal Poly was a small obscure school that took advantage of what the 

City had to offer in order to grow and become a university. Because they did 

not provide enough housing for their students, they (as well as Cuesta College— 

don’t forget it) took over more and more of our housing stock to the point that 

less than 38% is now in the hands of resident owners. In the north part of town, 

it often drops to 25%, and rents for the 75% are ridiculously inflated. How can a 

city like this attract new families? 

Something must be done if we care about SLO, therefore I suggest that we look 

at other college towns who have successfully managed to control the invasion 

of students into their neighborhoods. Berkeley has created huge parking permit 

districts that they strictly enforce; East Lansing, Michigan, forbids parking on 

any street from 2 am to 6 am, and even denies the authorization of new rentals 

in areas where neighbors desire restrictions. Loading zones have also been 

placed where any school comes in direct contact with a neighborhood. We need 

to implement similar measures that will protect our resident homeowners. 

As for rowdy Cal Poly and Cuesta students, if the SLOPD enforced its own rules 

and gave citations when they receive phone calls from irate neighbors, the 

rowdiness would soon come to an end. Unfortunately, year after year, less than 

15% of the complaints result in citations. 

—ODILE AYRAL, PH.D. 

Professor Emeritus 

Cal Poly 

Two weeks after the article Failure to Communicate published, former San Luis 

Obispo Mayor Ken Schwartz presented a petition signed by 28 past mayors and 

council members to the city council asking them to improve its communications 

with Cal Poly regarding future student housing. And, in a speech on May 2nd 

where he outlined his vision for year 2022, Jeffrey Armstrong, president of Cal 

Poly, said that in addition to raising the four year graduation rate to 75% (it 

currently stands at 31%), he committed, “To increase collaboration, we pledge to 

meet with the city and county on an annual basis, and informally more often, to 

share our plans, our ideas, for facilities, for growth, as we move together.” 

The Q&A article in the April/May issue appears to be a tacit endorsement of 

Mr. Dow as your District Attorney candidate of choice. Perhaps it should have 

appeared under the heading “Political Advertisement.” While fully recognizing 

your right to print whatever you wish, a sense of equity on your part should 

have prompted a similar, facing page featuring Mr. Covello. Our county is 

fortunate to have two candidates for this office that appear to be well-qualified 

but that have different managerial styles. Both deserve careful consideration by 

the electorate. Your bias does not advance this process. 


—BILL BOWER

Willing to Serve 

| Q&A 

After eight years as Deputy District Attorney, Dan Dow is seeking a promotion. In 

what is shaping up to be a close race in the June election for the office, Dow and 

his colleague Tim Covello will square off to replace District Attorney Gerald Shea, 

a 16-year veteran of the 95-person SLO County department. 

So, Dan, how did you get your start? I joined the 

Army and they said, “We need linguists right now 

and we think based on your scores you’d be good at 

learning languages. We want you to be an Inte ligence 

Cryptological Linguist and we’re going to teach you a 

foreign language.” So, after getting my security clearance 

stuff done, they sent me to the Defense Language 

Institute in Monterey. They said, “We’re going to assign 

you a Category 4 language,” which happened to be 

Korean. I was there for a year. It wa studying eight 

hours a day. The language is fascinating, but I never, as 

a youngster, would have said, “Hey, I wan to go learn 

Korean.” I just wasn’t exposed to it. But because of the 

Army, it opened up a whole new set of life experiences 

and it was very rewarding. 

What do you remember about your time in Korea? 

I grew up in Maine—Korea was like Maine, probably 

even colder though—quite a bit colder, but an absolutely 

beautiful country. The elderly people, particularly way 

out in the villages where they still remember the Korean 

War, would treat you so well being an American soldier. 

I remember one time when we broke down in the 

middle of an extremely cold winter night. The trailer 

that we were pulling behind our truck had the wheels 

lock up; they were litera ly frozen shut. So, we found 

a discarded tin can on the side of the road and filled 

it with diesel fuel. Our idea was to light it on fire and 

place it underneath the axle, thinking it might warm 

it up enough to unfreeze so we could then start to 

ro l again. I took forever, but we fina ly got it lit. My 

partner then stood up quickly and slipped on some ice 

and the flaming diesel fuel went flying out of his hand 

and landed in the rice paddy nex to the road. So we’re 

jumping around in the field trying to stamp it out when 

this elderly woman—it must have been about 3 o’clock 

in the morning a this point—comes out of this little 

house wearing only a nightgown; it was probably 15 or 

20 degrees below zero. She brought us a hot pot of coffee 

and proceeded to thank us for our service. Here we were 

practically setting her crop on fire and she’s making us 

coffee and thanking us. 

When were you first exposed to the criminal justice 

system? I was 32 and in my second year of law school 

when I received a 24-hour notice that I was being 

deployed again. They told me initia ly that I was going to 

Iraq; but the Army said, “No, we’re actua ly going to send 

you to Kosovo.” I was on a human intelligence team. We 

were responsible for finding war criminals, looking out 

for people that had been previously identified and had 

never been brought to justice. So we were looking for 

them, actively going out into the communities, talking 

with the Serbian population, talking with the Albanian 

population, developing friendships and relationships, 

and all the while, hopefu ly, co lecting good information 

so that we could find the bad guys, the people who had 

committed the war atrocities. We were also looking for 

other crime that was tangentially related to that, like 

the smuggling of weapons into the country. We would 

be gathering inte ligence so that we could track and, 

hopefu ly, find these people, while also doing our bes to 

maintain the peace between the Kosovar Albanians and 

the Serbian populations that lived there. 

In the DA’s office you have developed a reputation 

for your work on sexual assault and domestic violence 

prosecutions. Why focus on these areas? 

These are very, very serious and important cases; and I 

find them rewarding because they’re cha lenging. But, 

I also know that you can’t make anything better for the 

victims, so you do everything you can to vindicate what 

happened and suppor the family, suppor the victims 

that are there, help ease the burden tha they have, and 

make sure that thei rights are protected; and make sure 

tha the process goes forward and you achieve a just 

outcome. And a lot of prosecutors don’t really care for 

those cases because they’re complicated. And when I 

say complicated, it’s because they have so many different 

competing dynamics. If you think about it, a victim of 

an intimate partner crime is often so emotiona ly tied 

to the perpetrator tha they have a hard time separating 

themselves from the abuser. You’re dealing with people at 

a very critical time of need in their lives. 

But, your work in this area was interrupted a few years 

back, correct? Yes, if somebody is in the National Guard 

or the Reserves, and they get ca led up, you’re subject 

to a Federal Order. So, in 2010 I had orders from the 

President of the United States that said, “Captain Daniel 

Dow, you’re being ordered and ca led to active duty and 

you have to drop everything else you’re doing and go off 

to war.” It was a tough year for my family. My daughter, 

Chloe, was five years old, and my son, Jed, was 

three. We did a lot of Skype, and I missed them like 

crazy. My wife was 100% supportive, and has been 

for the 21 years we’ve been married. It was definitely 

an experience. You know, I wouldn’t necessarily say 

anybody wants to go off to war, but when you’ve been 

trained to do what you do and you know that your 

comrades, your brothers and sisters at arms, are overseas 

doing what they’re doing, you feel like that’s where you 

can contribute the most. So I’m glad, in that context, 

that I had the opportunity to serve. I’m eligible to retire 

from the Army in June, so no more deployments for 

me. My commitment is here to this office. 


I am writing to let you know that I read 

your Q&A article regarding Dan Dow. I 

am hoping and expecting that you will 

be giving equal coverage to the other 

candidate for District Attorney, Tim 

Covello. 

I look forward to seeing the article. 

—JOAN BELO 

I was quite disappointed to open my SLO Life Magazine today to see the Q&A 

section on page 22. I turned the page in search of the other candidate’s Q&A 

page, only to find that it was not there. As you know, there are two candidates 

for this position. Tim Covello has lived and worked in the DA’s office in this 

community for over 20 years. 

The Q&A section is a wonderful way to highlight interesting community people, 

but it should not be used as a vehicle to provide free advertising for a candidate 

in a hotly contested race. SLO Life Magazine basically gave free advertising for 

only one of the candidates for DA and gave the appearance of endorsing one 

candidate over the other. 

Tim Covello needs to be provided equal opportunity to be heard. If you already 

have plans to highlight Mr. Covello in your next magazine, I apologize. If not you 

need to do so. 

SLO Magazine needs to do the right thing here. 

—DAWN TURNER 

Although it may have appeared differently, we do not have a position on the 

District Attorney’s race, other than to be thankful that San Luis Obispo County 

has two incredibly talented, capable candidates appearing on the ballot. We had 

intended to give equal time to Tim Covello and did invite him to appear in the 

Q&A feature of this issue, but he declined our invitation citing a concern that it 

may not be delivered to all of our readers in time to help his campaign. Going 

forward, we will be sure to publish a side-by-side candidates forum as we have 

done in the past in order to avoid such timing issues. 

Please send your comments to info@slolifemagazine.com 

Follow SLO LIFE on Facebook: Visit facebook.com/slolifemagazine 

Visit us online at slolifemagazine.com 

Letters may be edited for content and clarity. To be considered for publication your letter must 

include your name, city, state, phone number or email address (for authentication purposes). 


| VIEW 

HISTORY ON THE HILL 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM TAPSCOTT 

A few days before he graduated from Cal Poly 

in 2011, Tim Tapscott talked one of his 

photography friends into joining him in 

shooting the last scenes he would capture during 

his time living in San Luis Obispo. Grad school 

in Colorado would have to wait until the pair 

made a trip to the boarded-up building on the 

hill. He had been interested in the history of the 

place, fascinated by the rumors. 

The facility opened as an orphanage in the 

1920’s, and eventually became a tuberculosis 

unit for the old general hospital, and finally 

ended as a juvenile detention facility called 

Sunny Acres. Rumors abound concerning 

what has been going on there since its official 

closure. Recently, Transitions Mental Health 

Association (TMHA) purchased the property 

and expects to renovate it for its fourth act: 

permanent housing for those struggling with 

mental illness. Although it expects the process 

to take between five and eight years, TMHA 

envisions 35 studio apartments for its clients. 

But, on that chilly “pitch black” night in early 

June, Tapscott and his friend lugged their 

equipment up the hill to set up for a long, 

30-second exposure. “I really couldn’t see the 

building at all,” recalls Tapscott, “I was more 

guessing where it was.” At around 10 o’clock, 

Tapscott set up his camera on the tripod and 

tripped the shutter for the long exposure. 

Although the young photographer customarily 

prepares extensively for a shoot, he admits that 

very little forethought was put into this one. 

And, with the exception of the sepia filter that 

was added in Photoshop, very little retouching 

was done after the fact. Describing the scene as 

“very eerie,” Tapscott remembers the sounds he 

heard coming from the building that night… 

“something banging around, faintly.” 

The image that you see here is his last known 

photograph during his time in San Luis Obispo. 




| TIMELINE 

Against the backdrop of a quickly 

dwindling water basin, the California 

State Office of Legislative Council ruled 

that the proposed Paso Robles water 

district is constitutional. Following 

the decision, Assemblyman Katcho 

Achadjian vowed to move forward with 

his legislation, AB 2453, which would 

create a board of directors comprised of 

both property owners and directly elected 

residents in the district. 

60% of the property owners 

in Arroyo Grande, Grover 

Beach, and Oceano rejected 

the Five Cities Fire Authority 

(FCFA) request for a $66 per 

year property tax hike. The 

FCFA, which formed in 2010, 

had seen its budget rise from 

$3.4 million to $4.3 million 

over the last two years. In 

2012, the FCFA had received 

a FEMA grant and used the 

one-time funds to hire six new 

firefighters. The funds expire 

later this year leaving the 

agency in financial limbo. 

Pismo Beach City Council settled a lawsuit brought on by Madison, 

Wisconsin-based group Freedom from Religion in conjunction with 

a member of Atheists United San Luis Obispo by agreeing to no 

longer begin its meetings with a prayer, eliminate the volunteer city 

chaplain position, and pay the plaintiff ’s attorney fees totaling $47,500. 

A few weeks later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 in a separate 

but similar case that the town of Greece, New York was allowed to 

continue to start its council sessions with a prayer. 

In front of one of the largest crowds to ever attend a 

meeting, SLO City Council, by a 4-to-1 vote, decided 

to not ban marijuana dispensaries or restrict outdoor 

growing. Councilman John Ashbaugh said at the 

meeting attended almost entirely by opponents to the 

legislation, “The only way I would pass this is if I had 

too many hits on the bong.” The issue came to a head 

after the City had received multiple complaints from 

neighbors of a downtown resident who was growing a 

dozen six-foot tall marijuana plants in his backyard. 

The City of San Luis 

Obispo installed seven 

parking meter-like 

donation stations 

downtown which 

accept cash and credit 

card donations for 

homeless services. 

Contributions to 

the machines go 

directly to The Prado 

Day Center. The 

innovative “Change 

for Change” program 

had been in the works 

through a coordinated 

effort between the 

City, SLOPD, and 

the Downtown 

Association for more 

than a year. 

april 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 


The Community Action Partnership of San 

Luis Obispo County (CAPSLO) announced 

that it partnered with the SLO Regional 

Transit Authority to jointly purchase 9.7 

acres at 40 Prado Road near Highway 101 

to build its long-sought homeless services 

center. Construction on the overnight facility 

is expected to begin late next year and will 

replace both the Prado Day Center as well as the 

Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter. The following day, CAPSLO made 

more news by announcing that it is transitioning to a sobriety-based 

program and will no longer serve drug and alcohol addicted clients. 

The California State University Board of Trustees 

approved Cal Poly’s plan to build the controversial 

1,475-bed, seven building student housing complex 

on the south side of campus near a neighborhood at 

the intersection of Grand Avenue and Slack Street. 

Building is expected to begin at the end of next year 

and should be ready for the 2018/2019 school year. 

Citing alcohol-fueled disturbances at Cal Poly graduation 

ceremonies in past years, Mayor Jan Marx and Cal Poly Vice 

President for Student Affairs Keith Humphrey sent a letter to 

the Downtown Association asking that they assist in urging 

bars to end the practice of opening at 6am on graduation day. 

The bar owners politely, but firmly declined the request, stating 

that they will continue to open early for students on those days. 

Former Atascadero Citizen of the Year, Kelly Gearhart, 

pled guilty to fraud in a Los Angeles federal courthouse 

in connection to his real estate development activities. 

The 53-year-old, who had been living in a commercial 

building in Ohio, scammed Central Coast investors out 

of $20 million. His conviction carries a minimum of 

11 years in federal prison, but Gearhart will learn the 

actual length of time he will be required to serve when 

he is formally sentenced on December 29th. 

More high-temperature records are broken around the Central 

Coast as heat waves bake the drought-stricken landscape twice in 

the month of May. Los Osos, which is often covered in fog during 

that period, hits 103 degrees on May 14th, Morro Bay registers 102, 

and Cambria checks in at 100. 

may 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 



| Q&A 

Becoming the CEO 

Just over a year ago Monica Grant was installed as the new CEO at the 

YMCA of San Luis Obispo County. We caught up with her recently to ask 

her about how she went from a musican-comic to the chief executive... 

You spent eight years at the YMCA in Honolulu. 

How does it compare? There are many aspects of 

living here that remind me of my time in Hawaii. 

There are a lot of parallels. There’s that experience 

of people coming in from the mainland and 

crashing and burning, or wanting to come in and 

change the place because they think that no one 

knows what they are doing. So having been there, 

and Hawaii’s a very complex place, I really had to 

raise my social IQ to be successful there. You have 

to come in and be able to assess pretty quickly. Just 

like any small, tight-knit community where there is 

a lot of history, you get sized-up before people will 

jump on board. They want to see that you are going 

to stick around; they want to see where your heart 

is; and what your motivations are. They want to see 

where you’re coming from; what are your ethics? 

Are you here for yourself, or are you here to really 

help and be a partner? 

Is this the job you always wanted? Actually, I 

wanted to be an artist. I was a musician-comic. 

Basically, I was a bad folk singer and probably 

not much better as a comedian. It was during the 

eighties when I had sort of a two-track career. I was 

working at the Y during the day and performing 

on nights and weekends. I did three albums on 

my own label and toured pretty extensively. It was 

such an incredible experience. When I hit 40, I sort 

of saw the writing on the wall. I decided to hang 

it up and really focus on my non-profit career. I 

never thought I would be a CEO—I call myself 

an “accidental CEO.” One day the CEO at the 

Honolulu Y said to me, “It would really please 

me if you ever thought about becoming a CEO.” 

That really stuck in my brain like, “What are you 

nuts?” But, then I started a masters program in 

organizational leadership. And one day I said 

to myself, “Why aren’t I doing this?” If I really 

think about what I am passionate about, it’s about 

helping organizations become better. I love the Y, 

so why am I not doing it instead of just studying it? 

Why don’t I actually be a leader myself? 

Tell us about your spouse, Colleen. How did you 

meet? I was living in Sonoma County at the time, 

struggling as an artist, struggling to make ends 

meet working in a non-profit. I had a couple of 

friends who were property owners; they were very 

smart about real estate. They kept telling me, “You 

have to own real estate.” I figured I would be a lifelong 

renter, but they motivated me and inspired 

me. I found a realtor—Colleen—and she helped 

me find a house. After escrow closed I invited her 

to do some volunteer work with me, and the rest is 

history. That was 14 years ago now. I like to say that 

I got the realtor with the house. We had a marriage 

ceremony a couple of years after we met—we’re not 

legally married yet, but hope to do that this year— 

we had all of our family there, about a 100 people, 

and our moms walked us down the isle. It was very 

cool. I feel very lucky. 

And what about your family? Having parents 

who were immigrants definitely shaped me. My 

mom is German, she lived in Germany through 

the war, and my dad was Czech. I certainly was 

not alone on Long Island where I grew up. There 

were many immigrant families like that there. My 

parents had a real appreciation for what was here 

in this country. There was a gratefulness. They 

would get very upset, very offended, if someone 

spoke negatively about the United States because 

they knew what we had here. And they had a very 

strong work ethic. They both had very challenging 

situations during the war for different reasons. I 

think they developed a certain fortitude also—you 

didn’t quit just because things were hard. That sort 

of perseverance certainly has come in handy for me 

over the years. 

How was your childhood different—are kids too 

plugged in today? My take is that kids are kids. 

Times change, families change. Circumstances 

change. Many peoples’ circumstances changed 

dramatically during the recession. Technology 

or no technology, that’s just the reality. I know 

that kids are very adaptable. What I have found 

to be true is that there is something to meeting a 

kid where they live. Technology is a mechanism 

and platform for that, but fundamentally it’s 

still about connecting with each other. We have 

a program where kids use technology to learn 

how to make films and do graphic design; it’s 

awesome. And it’s a form of expression through 

technology. I believe that kids are not just leaders 

down the road, they’re leaders today. And we 

see kids doing incredible things at younger and 

younger ages that are very socially responsible. 

There is a real global awareness. Kids today 

are much more savvy about the fact that we’re 

a global village. I think that’s the plus side of 

technology. I feel very optimistic and positive 

about the upcoming generations. SLO LIFE 


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| MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR 


Leading 

the Way 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS BERSBACH 

A few years ago, BILL OSTRANDER experienced 

a life-changing “visceral response” to a Supreme Court 

decision. It was the Citizens United v. Federal Election 

Commission ruling that led him down a path founding the 

Citizens’ Congress. After a diverse career that included 

acting, philanthropy, farming, and construction, he now 

spends his time focused on one issue: campaign finance 

reform. And, as the director of the non-partisan group, he 

recently hosted the first national assembly of the congress 

at The Cliffs Resort for a three-day conference. He lives in 

San Luis Obispo with his sons, who are 14 and 17-yearsold, 

where, in addition to taking on the status quo, he 

grows hay and raises cattle. Here is his story… 


Let’s start from the beginning, Bill. Where are you from? 

I grew up in the Midwest and we had a family farm, but my father 

went back to school. I was very proud of my dad. He graduated top 

of his class—numero uno—and he became an electrical engineer. I 

continued to work on the family farm and so forth; and then when I 

left home, I went to Hollywood. 

Did you grow up dreaming about becoming an actor? 

No, I’d probably seen like six movies in my life before I left Indiana. 

I never really did theatre or anything like that. It was just—the 

Midwest was not a good fit for me. It’s rather sterile, creatively. I 

just didn’t fit there. It didn’t feel good. I don’t know exactly what 

motivated me. I could talk about psychological, subconscious 

motivations. I think that it was—it was really trying to reinvent 

myself. It just was a very uncomfortable fit for me, so I left right 

after high school. 

You were having some success—why not stick with it? 

I just got to a place where I felt like it was stunting my growth 

as a human being. Sitting around, waiting for the phone to ring 

was just not my idea of being engaged. So, I read a book called 

“Cry of the Kalahari,” which was written by a couple of people 

that went to the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa to study 

how lions survived for ten months out of the year without water. 

I was motivated by their book and I thought, “These people are 

engaged every single day, and that’s what I want.” I’ve always 

eschewed security and comfort in favor of adventure and passion. 

I decided that I was going to Africa and I saved money for a 

while—a couple years, actually. I ended up in the Northwest 

corner of Namibia, what they call Damaraland, where there are 

approximately 130 black rhinos that still roam. They are more 

or less the last free-ranging population of rhinos in the world. 

There’s always a threat of poaching, so I joined up with a small 

I’ve always eschewed security 

and comfort in favor of 

adventure and passion. 

Did you just hop a bus to Los Angeles after graduation? 

I moved there indirectly. I actually went up to Seattle first because, 

in sort of keeping with a repressive attitude the Midwest can have 

on individuality and creativity and stuff like that, it would have been 

rather arrogant to go straight there. There was a certain conceit in 

saying, “Yeah, I’m going to go to Hollywood and be in the movies.” 

There’s a conceit to that that I just wasn’t really ready to face, so 

I went to Seattle in an indirect route to Hollywood and I stayed 

there for about six months. I sold clothes and drove a bulldozer. I 

got a job at a high-end suit shop. The owner there asked me what 

I wanted to do with my life and I said, “I want to be an actor.” He 

said, “Well then what are you doing here? You need to be down in 

Los Angeles where you’re actually going to classes and you’re in the 

environment—that’s what you should do.” So, I saved a few bucks—I 

had $150 and a beat-up old Pinto, and I drove down to Los Angeles. 

The week after I arrived, I managed to get a movie. Basically, I was 

a glorified extra, but I did have my own speaking line. It was a film 

starring Joey Travolta. That was my start and I worked for about 

ten years in movies. A lot of people know a film that I did called 

“Christine.” Remember the movie about the car—the Stephen King 

novel? I played the part of the bad guy. I did a number of projects, 

and then I started to write and direct. I wrote and directed a few 

things—small things. 

organization who was going to be sending a volunteer out there to 

help them in their efforts to protect the black rhino. 

How’d it go? 

When I got there, I realized that none of the jobs assigned to me 

were relevant. After about a week there, I said, “Look, I really 

want to get out there and do something to help.” The people at 

the organization said, “We just spent two hours trying to figure 

out how we were going to use you.” I was like, “Two hours? I 

spent two years of my life saving money preparing to come here. 

You took two hours to figure out what to do with me?” I was 

so mad, but it’s like, what can you do? So, these two ladies said, 

“Okay,” and took me in a little bakkie—which is African for small 

truck—about 450 kilometers away to a place called Twyfelfontein, 

which means “fountain of indecision,” or “doubtful fountain.” I 

was dropped off there along a dry riverbed with a month’s worth 

of food and a sleeping bag. No telephone, no radio, no bicycle, no 

car, no people. There was a spigot for water and shower facility, 

and a long drop, and that was it. The flies were dive-bombing my 

eyes—as only African flies can do—and these people got back 

in their truck and drove away. I was supposed to do community 

development. It was a very dark time for me. I thought, “What the 

hell did I just get myself into?” 


So, there you are doing good work in Africa… 

Finally—I don’t remember how long I’d been there, maybe a few 

weeks—this Damaraland man came by in his old Jeep. He was a 

wonderful guy who spoke English, African, German, and Quaqua. 

He was in this sort of khaki outfit. I said to him, “Helius, I was told 

when I was coming here that there were these jobs for me, and clearly 

none of those jobs are things that I can do that would be of any help 

to the rhinos.” I basically just turned to him and said, “How can I 

help you?” I was very, very sad. I was like, “What am I doing? What’s 

happening here?” I was very humble and he turned to me and he just 

looked at me and said, “First of all, welcome to Namibia. You are my 

brother.” Then we started to talk, and with him I began to understand 

the Damaraland culture. So, I traveled around with him doing what I 

could to help the people I met there. 

But, now you’re here. What brought you back? 

Well, I met a woman in South Africa, and I married her. She had a 

child, and so I asked her, “Do you want to go to the United States, or 

stay in Africa?” She said, “United States,” and I said, “Okay.” So, all 

of sudden, I’ve got a family to support. I really did not want to live 

in Los Angeles, but I knew I could generate some income there. I 

had been a self-funded volunteer in Africa and it effectively cost me 

around $50,000 to go there. But, I didn’t want to raise a family in Los 

Angeles, and had decided that I wanted to farm again so I contacted 

a group called FarmLink, which is like a dating service for farmers 

and aspiring farmers. Essentially, they match older farmers who are 

looking to retire, yet have no descendants, to younger upstart farmers 

who don’t have the resources to get going. So I connected with them 

and I decided to come up to Cal Poly and take a refresher course in 

dairy science. That’s when I discovered San Luis Obispo. It was a real 

visceral hit like, “Ah, this is a cool place.” I just felt really good about 

it, so I told my wife at that time—we’re divorced now—I said, “Gee, 

I got a great hit from this place. This place is pretty cool.” She had 

her heart set on a move to Pennsylvania where we’d found a farm. 

It was a 160-acre farm up on a hill with a 200-year-old farmhouse, 

a rather bucolic setting. We moved there and it was just an absolute 

nightmare—absolute nightmare. 

What made it such a bad experience? 

Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. Just everything 

went wrong. Our son died—we had a two-and-a-half-year-old son 

who was killed. He was playing on a pole vault mat while his older 

brother was at soccer. My sister-in-law was standing very close to 

him and all these kids were jumping up and down on the mat, and 

this aberration of a wind gust came along, and it chucked the mat up 

in the air and threw everybody off of it. My son landed in just such a 

way on the back of his head that it severed the connection from his 

brain to his heart and his lungs. He died instantly. Everybody else got 

up and brushed themselves off, and my son was dead. It was just an 

absolutely freak accident. If his trajectory would have been just a half 

a degree off in any direction, or if he’d have been in any different level 

of his takeoff, he’d be here today, or maybe he’d be paralyzed, but he 

would be here today. It took me five years to find passion after that. 

After just failing in Pennsylvania and just not being—it all, it just was 

the completely wrong area to be in; we just didn’t feel good about 

it. I came back to Los Angeles to do some work to try to get some >> 

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esources again. I tried reminding my wife that I thought San Luis 

Obispo was a really good place and we ought to go up and take a look. 

We came up here and managed to borrow some money to buy a house. 

Did you find work here? 

No, I continued to work in Los Angeles. I drove back and forth quite 

a bit and also worked for people in the entertainment industry— 

building houses and stuff. I started to do really well in construction and 

began buying real estate and farm ground and started reinvesting in 

agriculture and other real estate projects. It got to a point where I could 

leave Los Angeles behind. But, some things weren’t working out for me 

emotionally; and then the recession happened, and I just decided it was 

time for me to rethink where I was going—a midlife crisis in a good 

way, I think. We had a big project up in Paso Robles that we were in 

the midst of and, all of the sudden, the bottom fell out of the economy. 

We just didn’t have any options. The banks wouldn’t renegotiate loans, 

and the recession lasted much longer than we thought. It was a lot of 

things like that, and then we went through a very tough divorce, but 

finally came out okay on the other side. I’ve been farming for the last 

few years; it wasn’t meant to be my vocation, it was more meant to be 

an avocation. It is very difficult to make a living off of farming at all, 

anywhere, but particularly here as sort of a start-up, but I’ve done all 

right. I don’t know that this as my highest and best use forever, but it 

was the right thing to do at the time. 

Was your “highest and best use” found in the ashes of the 

imploded economy? 

Well, in many respects, every tree and bush you pass on these roads 

are part of your journey. I wouldn’t say that the recession portion of 

it necessarily was a provoking experience, but I have to think that, in 

part, because of it, it made me more aware of other things. The last 

five years have been pretty tough times, but the real catalyst for me 

started in 2010 with the visceral response that I got from the Citizens 

United Supreme Court decision. The ruling basically stated that 

corporations were allowed to use general treasury funds for election 

communications. They regarded them as independent expenditures, 

meaning that they are not supposed to be coordinated with the 

campaign or the candidate themselves. Of course, that’s a complete 

farce. The Supreme Court essentially ruled that money was equal to 

free speech. 

So, what is your prescription for fixing this? 

Well, there’s a complex answer to that question, because it is not any 

single one thing, there’s a plural approach. When a bill comes about— 

let’s say one of the more sweeping bills that we’ve had in the last 

decade—the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulations bill. More than 3,000 

lobbyists were hired by the banking industry to go in and try to water 

down that bill, or try their best to kill it, which they knew they couldn’t 

do because it was so popular with people during the Wall Street crash 

that they knew they couldn’t stop it. So, what they wanted to do was 

shape it. When you have 535 legislators—435 in the House and 100 in 

the Senate—and they have appointments about every 15 minutes with 

the lobbyists coming into their office. Now you’ve got six lobbyists—six 

lobbyists for every representative in Washington, coming in and saying, 

“Alright, now hold on now, let’s talk about this. You’re going to ruin the 

economy. You’re going to ruin the financial sector. You’re going to do 

this; you’re going to do that; this is going to be bad for the American 

people.” They hammer them like that, and hammer them, and hammer 

them. Eventually, these representatives, many of them are very 

intelligent people, many of them are very sincere people, and so forth; 

but they can’t know everything about everything. They have to depend 

on other people to get their information. 

Why don’t you just send your representatives a letter? 

A representative has 760,000 constituents, approximately; so if you 

and I write a letter, where does it go? It goes to an intern who is 

working for free. He goes through and opens the mail and then sends 

a reply like, “Okay, and here’s your response. Thank you.” Why that’s a 

critical thing to understand is that the Congressional Research Service 

documents that the average legislator spends about 60 percent of their 

time fundraising. Three out of five workdays are spent fundraising. If 

they’re spending 60 percent of their day talking to people who they 

have to get money from—and most people cannot write the kind 

of checks that they need—it’s a very, very, very small percent of the 

population. They end up basically being an audience for—60 percent 

of the time—the people whose interest don’t necessarily align with 

the other 99.9 percent. Then there’s the issue of lobbying itself. The 

average person that works on Capitol Hill, when they leave the Capitol 

and go work for a lobbying firm, their salary goes up 1,400 percent. 

Our government has become more and more involved in personal 

policy for rich men, whereas we should think of our public servants as 

representing our highest ethical standards. What’s happened, though, is 

it’s become a portal for personal enrichment for people. 

I think a lot of people would agree with you, but what can you do 

about it? 

There was a group of us that started trying to pass a resolution in our 

community, which we did in September of 2012 in the City of San 

Luis Obispo, to get our city to instruct our federal representatives to 

craft some sort of legislation to give the power back to the legislatures 

by regulating money in elections. What we found was that once 

we talked to all the supervisors; we’d talked to all the city council 

members; we’d talked to every representative in the area that we could 

find, more or less; we found that we were just pushing rope around. It 

was just frustrating. We were doing all the things we were supposed to 

do in the typical system of little soldiers on the big battlefield having a 

movement, or passing some sort of legislation that required a massive 

amount of public participation, because this is being fought against 

some major, vested interests. So our group had a meeting and I said, 

“In my opinion, we have three choices. One is to continue to behave as 

we’ve been, as little foot soldiers, and having our meetings, and blah, 

blah, blah, blah, blah—continuing to talk locally, but really not having 

a very profound effect. Two, we could look into supporting a candidate 

who would run on these issues and create a platform and sort of make 

it part of the dialogue. Or three, we could create an organization to 

facilitate a national conversation on this issue.” So we formed the 

Citizens’ Congress, and we’re talking to people in Washington where 

these decisions are being made. It’s the same amount of energy that we 

were putting in locally, but at the end of the day, we’re going straight to 

the top. It’s kind of like sitting at a stoplight—you’re trying to go, but 

you’ve got all these cars ahead of you. But this issue just cannot wait 

any longer, so we decided to go to the front of the line. SLO LIFE 


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| ON THE RISE 

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 

Gregory Conti 

As a seventeen-year-old Mission College 

Preparatory High School co-valedictorian and 

one of five children, Gregory Conti has spent 

his high school career involved in gymnastics, 

campus ministry, as well as playing music. 

Tell us about some of your achievments. I am a National Merit 

Commended Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, Level 9 

Gymnast with eight years of competition experience, and Kairos 

(Senior Retreat) Student Leader. 

What is your favorite memory of all time? The last time I got eight 

hours of sleep in one stretch. 

What career do you see yourself in someday and why? Engineering 

research and development, because I enjoy math and science 

more than any other subjects and desire to use my talents to build 

something tangible and improve the livelihood of those around me. 

What is important to you outside of high school? My family, Catholic 

faith, and gymnastics teammates because they have made me strive to be as 

responsible, selfless, committed, and good-humored as possible. 

Who has influenced you the most? My parents because they have set the 

example of love and complete self-sacrifice that I aspire to emulate. 

If you won $1 million, what would you do with it? I would use it to pay for my 

education, and then I would use the rest to start a scholarship fund in my parents’ 

name to honor the sacrifices they have made for my education, and so that other 

students would not be discouraged by the price of a solid college education. 

What is it that you look forward to most? Leaning as much as I can because 

knowledge is power, and power gives the opportunity for improvement. 

What do you dislike the most? When someone is so convinced of their ideas that 

they can’t or won’t look at an issue from any other perspective. 

Where are you headed next? I will be attending Notre Dame this fall and plan 

to study chemical engineering. I’ve heard they have something called seasons 

in Indiana. SLO LIFE 

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| ON THE RISE 

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 

Tristram Wilson 

As an eighteen-year-old Mission College Preparatory 

High School co-valedictorian and one of four 

children, Tristram is driven by his interest in 

astronomy, space, flight, and technology. 

Tell us about some of your achievements. I’ve been given the Mission Prep 

department awards in Spanish, Social Studies, Science and Math. I am an AP 

Scholar with honors as well as a lifetime member of the California Scholarship 

Federation. My robotics team won the engineering award at Marine Advanced 

Techology Education (MATE) robotics regional my sophomore year, and 

4th place overall this year. 

Where have your interests led you? An interest in engineering led me 

to join the VEX and MATE robotics clubs at my school. The challenge 

in VEX is to build robots for competition. MATE also has task-specific 

competitions, but is conducted underwater. I served as chief electrical 

engineer for MATE and president of VEX for my sophomore and 

junior years, and as an advisor my senior year. These duties gave me the 

opportunity to set up electrical control systems and learn organizational 

skills and teamwork. 

What is important to you outside of high school? I am an amateur 

astronomer and use an eight-inch Dobsonian Orion GoTo telescope. Although 

at this point visual astronomy is my main interest, I have also done some basic 

imaging using a CCD camera. 

What has influenced you the most? I grew up in a household with three older 

brothers and my dad had a workshop with a lot of machine tools. There was 

always a project in progress with something being constructed or deconstructed, 

and occasionally blown up. My family emphasized learning, and we were all 

expected to set goals for ourselves, achieve them and do our best. 

What’s something most people don’t know about you? I was born and lived in 

rural Idaho until I was 15 years old. I have done a fair amount of self-learning 

at home, including mastering the basic skills of computer aided design and 

3D printing. This led to the design and manufacture of a prototype telescope 

robotic dust cover for which a patent is pending. 

What is your favorite memory of all time? We had a tradition in Idaho of 

setting off really loud fireworks. This could be very creative with three older 

brothers, and was a lot of fun. SLO LIFE 


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| OUT AND ABOUT 

CENTRAL COAST 

The Revival of Edna 

Back when stagecoaches and steam trains were the main modes of transportation, townsites grew up around their stations, 

and one of them was right along what is now at the intersection of Highway 227 and Price Canyon Road in the Edna Valley. 

BY JEANETTE TROMPETER, KSBY NEWS 

Long before there were acres of 

vineyards and sprawling ranches 

in Edna Valley, there was a 

community here known simply 

as Edna. “Back in the day, this was the town. 

This was the town of Edna, and everything 

surrounding it was part of this original 

townsite,” says Amy Griffith of Sextant Wines. 

An old, tin edifice built by John Tognazzini in 

1906 now serves as the tasting room for Sextant, 

but the building once housed the town of Edna’s 

general mercantile downstairs with a hotel and 

dance hall upstairs. The bones of the old dance 

hall stage still exist in what is now office space 

for the winery. An old farmhouse Tognazzini 

built in 1908 for his family still stands, as well. 

Today that farmhouse is a place where travelers 

can escape to the Central Coast and go back in 

time. There is also a little cabin on the property 

that has quite a history. “Oh goodness,” giggles 

Griffith. “Well, we call it the crib; the children 

of the Tognazzinis actually slept in there and the 

parents slept in the back of the general store. But 

as time moved on, the cabin was taken over by 

the ladies of the evening,” she explains. 

Edna definitely has a history, but who or what 


inspired the name of the town is a bit of a 

mystery. “Edna is kind of elusive,” says Griffith. 

“Edna may be the woman in a painting in the 

house, or she could be a racehorse, or she could 

be someone’s daughter, someone’s mother, a nun. 

We have no idea actually where that came from.” 

The most likely eponym is the granddaughter 

of the original owner of the townsite, Lynford 

Maxwell, a farmer from Pennsylvania who 

founded the town in 1894. 

Old Edna thrives today largely because it was 

rediscovered in the 1970’s by a man who loved 

its history and saw its potential as a hub of 

activity. It was his daughter, Pattea Torrance, 

who made it her mission in the late 1990’s to 

restore the whole place. “This riding wheel was 

built by my father, ‘The Duke,’ in the 70’s for my 

mother because she wanted to get away from all 

these kids she had,” Torrance laughs as she takes 

me inside a traveling wagon, which looks like 

something in which gypsies would have traveled 

from town to town. “My mother needed a little 

place she could go to write poetry, sing songs, 

and watch the moon go both up and down. She 

wanted to get away from it all. My father built 

this within a day after seeing gypsies down in 

Pismo Beach,” she says. 

Torrance’s dad was intrigued with artists, 

musicians, and wanderers. She is intrigued 

with preserving memories of the past through 

restoring history’s remnants and giving them 

new life. There are traces of her story and the 

area’s past all over the place. 

Old Edna today is a resurrection of and a 

tribute to the heydays of the Wild West and the 

free-spirited characters who inhabited the valley. 

While Edna might have been a hub of action 

at the turn of the 20th century, these days the 

vibe of Old Edna is all about kicking back and 

slowing down enough to absorb the magic of the 

town that helped put this lovely corner of the 

world on the map. “Those were Edna days then. 

These are Edna days now,” says Torrance. “It’s a 

happy place to be.” 

Old Edna hosts free, self-guided walking 

tours. Follow the signs and townsite maps to 

discover the area’s hidden historical artifacts 

and treasures. SLO LIFE 

Jeanette Trompeter, KSBY News anchor and 

reporter, hosts the “Out and About with JT” 

series every Tuesday evening at 6pm.


| MUSIC 

NOW HEAR THIS 

Riding the Bus 

BY DAWN JANKE 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPENCER SARSON 


See Próxima Parada live: 

June 12 at the Torch Club in Sacramento 

June 27 at Claiborne & Churchill Winery in San Luis Obispo 

July 4 at Concerts in the Plaza in San Luis Obispo 

July 6 at Talley Vineyards in Arroyo Grande 

July 31 at Marilyn’s on K in Sacramento 

Stream their album at proximaparadamusic.com 

Próxima Parada 

left to right 

Andy Olson 

Kevin Middlekauff 

Bryson Bailey 

Nick Larson 

Young and dynamic, the Próxima Parada boys are 

more than the sum of their musical notes. All four 

band members are Cal Poly graduates who came 

together in 2012 and made making music their first 

priority. But they do other stuff too: pianist Nick 

Larson, a Kinesiology major with minors in Spanish 

and philosophy, works as a substitute teacher for the 

county; guitarist Bryson Bailey, also a Kinesiology 

major, is a scribe in the Emergency Room at Sierra 

Vista; bassist Kevin Middlekauff majored in biology 

and now works as an analytical chemist testing 

water; and drummer Andy Olson graduated with a 

degree in Graphic Communication and is a freelance 

graphic designer, but he also worked at Hakuna 

Matada Bee Company, safely relocating beehives and 

swarms from local businesses and homes. Larson 

adds that Olson is an avid climber, and Middlekauff 

explains that Olson will “climb all the way to love.” 

I bet after the success of their indiegogo.com 

campaign earlier this year, the band felt they did 

climb all the way to love, especially given the 

outpouring of community support they received. 

They created their fundraising campaign back in 

February and were hoping to raise $15,000 so they 

could record a full-length album. The community 

so widely championed them that they ended up 

raising $18,600. Próxima Parada definitely has a 

buzz about them. 

I first heard the buzz last fall when their show at 

SLO Brew was announced, and I first encountered 

their music in early March when the band performed 

at a Herman Story Wines pick-up party. By that 

time I was already slated to interview them for this 

article, and when I heard their bluesy, soulful sound 

on that sunny day, I was stoked to learn their story 

and share it with SLO LIFE readers. 

I met the band at Speak Studios in San Luis Obispo 

where we sat down for a chat and some laughs (well, 

it was less chat and more laughs, actually, and the 

experience was quite uplifting). One thing I learned 

was the origin of their band name—I thought it 

surely had some romantic backstory but discovered 

that despite being world travelers, they chose the 

name “Próxima Parada” after hearing the phrase over 

and over again on a SLO Transit bus, “La próxima 

parada is the next stop.” 

But for Larson, Bailey, Middlekauff, and Olson, 

it’s clear there is no stopping. Indeed, the band 

has come a long way since their first performance 

at a local donut shop in the Winter of 2012. By 

Fall 2013 Próxima Parada solidified their roles 

and teamed up with Vince Cimo at Speak Studios 

to get serious. Olson says, “Cimo’s equipment 

helped us identify our sound,” which they define as 

California Soul Folk. 

Bay Area music blogger Brian Gagliardi said this 

about the band’s sound: “Próxima Parada reminds us 

all that no turntable or synthesizer can ever strike the 

same chord in our souls like a live performance that 

features harmonica, guitar, keyboard, bass, trumpet, 

and mandolin.” I couldn’t agree more. 

Just as they strike chords in our souls, SLO County 

has struck theirs. All California natives, the band 

members have called San Luis Obispo home since 

they began attending Cal Poly about eight years 

ago, and they’re committed to giving back to the 

community that has generously supported their 

music. They’ve performed at a number of events in an 

effort to support local organizations such as the SLO 

Food Bank, Transitions Mental Health Association, 

and The United Way. Most recently, the band took 

a break from recording to perform at San Luis 

Obispo’s 12th Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes 

event, an international men’s march to stop rape, 

sexual assault, and gender violence. 

In the 1970’s, Cat Stevens asked us to ride on the 

peace train; Próxima Parada wants us to join them 

for a ride too, and with each next stop, they are 

committed to sharing what they refer to on their 

website as “Operation Spread-Joy.” To be sure, these 

four are moving onward and upward, a phrase Larson 

explains is thematic for the band. With their debut 

album out in July, Larson, Bailey, Middlekauff, and 

Olson are climbing all the way to love, and we’re 

following right behind them. SLO LIFE 


| DWELLING 


BACKYARD BLISS 

Organic Evolution 

Back in 1995, when Steve Carlson was 

searching for a home to buy, he knew 

one thing: he wanted a California 

Spanish-style bungalow from the 

1930’s. After a lot of patience and 

many dead-end leads, one finally came on the market. 

Located on Meinecke Street in San Luis Obispo, Carlson 

and his wife now observe that it is the neighbors, and 

not the impossibly hip coved ceilings of the bungalow— 

something he now calls a “silly prerequisite” of his house 

quest—that makes their home the refuge it has become. 

It would have been impossible to forecast almost twenty 

years ago that Carlson, a native to San Luis Obispo and 

a Cal Poly graduate, was actually buying into a close-knit 

community as much as he was acquiring real estate. But 

today, four relatively small homes—after an addition, the 

Carlson home is 1,500 square-feet—sitting on relatively 

small lots have created what amounts to a city park in their 

collective backyards. 

As we wander around and through the properties one 

afternoon, Carlson launches into a long history of the 

various people who have come and gone over the years. 

One was once a tenant of the place next door who then 

bought the house on the other side. Another was a 

younger family who are now empty-nesters. And so on. 

It was a “real communal spirit” as Carlson describes it 

that led the neighbors to declare “let’s just try to keep it 

as open as possible.” The idea was to enjoy the interaction 

with each other while also respecting one another’s 

privacy. The result has been an interesting experimentation 

in modern backyard living. 

One of the great things about living in a small house 

according to Carlson is that, “it encourages you to get out 

and make the outside livable and palatable.” Carlson and his 

wife, Louise, who grew up in New Zealand, did not have 

a grand plan for their property. Instead, Carlson describes 

it as an “organic evolution” where the goal was to reuse 

and salvage as much as they could from the existing yard. 

On many weekends during the early years, neighbors from 

all four houses could be found working together outside, 

discussing ideas, sharing tools, and lending a helping hand. 

The days were often capped by an evening barbeque with 

each neighbor bringing a dish to share. Although most of 

the heavy lifting has long since passed, the outside remains 

central to the livable-ness of the homes, and on occasion 

the neighbors still dine together out back. >> 

[ ] 

BEFORE With nary a focal 

point in site, the landscape 

was flat, dry, and uninspired. 


A practical reason for the liberal planting in their backyards 

is that the homes are situated on a street that hosts a 

significant amount of traffic. The road noise has been 

dampened significantly by design. One of the neighbors 

makes the centerpiece of his backyard a perpetually running 

fountain. The water feature drowns out the noise and is 

easily heard from the neighboring yards. 

But, it is the clever use of “small spaces within a small 

space” that creates interest and intrigue for the visitor. The 

backyard gardens are all curved and designed to create 

distinct areas. The Carlsons, for example, have framed out 

a dining area with carefully manicured boxwood shrubs. >> 


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Although there is so much sensory stimulation, the focal point, if 

there is one, is the outdoor stove nestled into the exterior of the 

Carlson home, just off the main patio. Here the family eats many 

of their meals and huddles around the fire during cold nights. 

Scanning the yard, it is difficult to tell where one lot ends and 

another begins. And that is exactly the idea. “When I explain 

to people what we have done, they are often caught off-guard 

by it. For other people, it immediately strikes a nerve and they 

say, ‘Wow, that’s great. I love it!’ But then they usually ask, ‘Can 

you do that?’” 

Poet Robert Frost wrote that “good fences make good neighbors,” 

but Carlson is genuinely puzzled by the interest people have in 

the homes’ lack of fences. He observes, “I think sometimes we 

just take the traditional way of living for granted, but there is 

always a different way.” SLO LIFE 


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| SLO CITY REAL ESTATE 

by the numbers 

laguna 

lake 

tank 

farm 

cal poly 

area 

country 

club 

down 

town 

foothill 

blvd 

johnson 

ave 

Total Homes Sold 

Average Asking Price 

Average Selling Price 

Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 

Average # of Days on the Market 































*Comparing 1/1/13 - 5/20/13 to 1/1/14 - 5/20/14 

2013 

23 

539,515 

529,869 

98.06 

70 

2013 

9 

691,644 

692,933 

100.17 

11 

2013 

14 

573,571 

569,785 

99.64 

30 

2013 

6 

832,333 

820,250 

98.27 

105 

2013 

18 

594,292 

578,833 

97.67 

60 

2013 

15 

608,853 

593,060 

98.33 

58 

2013 

12 

594,317 

590,468 

99.48 

17 

2014 

23 

623,730 

610,091 

97.92 

58 


9 

760,644 

744,888 

98.05 

50 


16 

605,797 

595,364 

98.54 

35 


6 

964,500 

929,000 

96.72 

90 


13 

722,615 

713,615 

99.14 

37 


24 

687,442 

675,264 

98.09 

36 


9 

679,989 

651,538 

96.04 

89 

+/- 

0.00% 

15.61% 

15.14% 

-0.14% 

-17.14% 

+/- 

0.00% 

9.98% 

7.50% 

-2.12% 

354.55% 

+/- 

14.29% 

5.62% 

4.49% 

-1.10% 

16.67% 

+/- 

0.00% 

15.88% 

13.26% 

-1.55% 

-14.29% 

+/- 

-27.78% 

21.59% 

23.29% 

1.47% 

-38.33% 

+/- 

60.00% 

13.84% 

13.86% 

-0.24% 

-37.93% 

+/- 

-25.00% 

14.42% 

10.34% 

-3.44% 

423.53% 

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS 

® 



It’s a Seller’s market. 

If you would like to know the 

value of your home in today’s 

market just give me a call. 

Relax. Let us do the work. 

For the best Real Estate 

Search Site look here. 

Bruce Freeberg • Realtor # 01771947 

444 Higuera Street, 3rd Floor • San Luis Obispo • CA 93401 

(805) 748-0161 • www.BruceFreeberg.com 

1930 Monterey Street 


805.544.0500 

800.441.4657 

SandsSuites.com 

Meeting Rooms Available 

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Call for 

pricing 

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| SLO COUNTY REAL ESTATE 

by the numbers 

Helping you with 

your Real Estate 

needs here on 

the Central Coast 

with knowledge, 

experience 

& integrity! 

REGION 

Arroyo Grande 

Atascadero 

NUMBER OF 

HOMES SOLD 

2013 

110 

130 


93 

125 

AVERAGE DAYS ON 

MARKET 

2013 

75 

70 


78 

67 

MEDIAN SELLING 

PRICE 

2013 

455,500 

380,250 


569,000 

417,500 

Michelle Braunschweig 

Broker Associate 

Lic #01736789 

Avila Beach 

Cambria/San Simeon 

3 

52 

7 

44 

10 

102 

41 

94 

745,000 

490,500 

795,000 

568,250 

805.801.1734 

michelle@realestategroup.com 

Cayucos 

Creston 

14 

2 

20 

2 

105 

13 

71 

27 

577,500 

477,500 

752,500 

506,500 

Office Lic #01320707 

Grover Beach 

48 

32 

68 

72 

349,500 

382,500 

Los Osos 

68 

51 

51 

48 

348,000 

410,000 

Morro Bay 

49 

58 

58 

85 

392,500 

485,000 

Nipomo 

84 

74 

90 

68 

458,500 

488,750 

Specializing in Avila Beach 

Oceano 

16 

21 

77 

62 

342,500 

393,000 

805-900-6000 

www.7svr.com 

Pismo Beach 

Paso (Inside City Limits) 

53 

160 

36 

140 

68 

62 

79 

60 

600,000 

345,000 

662,500 

375,000 

Paso (North 46 - East 101) 

23 

27 

46 

54 

310,000 

319,000 

GO 

Paso (North 46 - West 101) 

Paso (South 46 - East 101) 

42 

27 

24 

22 

127 

80 

151 

92 

267,000 

410,000 

307,500 

389,500 

GO 


Santa Margarita 

121 

6 

129 

6 

80 

79 

50 

64 

589,000 

284,950 

653,251 

441,250 

SOLAR ELECTRIC AND WATER HEATING 

805.466.5595 

solarponics.com/slolife 

Lic:391670 Since 1975 


Templeton 

Countywide 

36 

1,044 

37 

948 

*Comparing 1/1/13 - 5/20/13 to 1/1/14 - 5/20/14 

63 78 437,500 467,500 

74 69 416,000 475,000 

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS ® 


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| SLO LIFE WHAT’S HOT NOW 

BEACH INSPIRED 

Get ready for summer with these gorgeous driftwood 

accessories. Perfect for decorating your home —inside or 

out. Driftwood crabs, seahorses, birdhouses, and hearts 

are also available. 

lobster $29 // peace sign $32 // San Luis Traditions 

748 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 541-8500 // sanluistraditions.com 

SUMMER! 

GET SET FOR 

CELEBRATE SUMMER 

Experience a huge selection of colors and styles of handblown, 

recycled glass imported directly from artisan glass 

blowers in Jalisco, Mexico. Whatever your drink of choice 

may be, this glassware will ensure it’s a festive one. 

$5 + // Luna Rustica // 2959 Broad Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 546-8505 // lunarustica.com 

PULL UP A CHAIR 

When it comes to 

sustainable sophistication, 

there’s nothing finer than 

the solid bamboo furniture 

line from Greenington®. 

These exquisitely contoured 

bar stools mark the pinnacle 

of style and comfort. They 

come in a natural or dark 

walnut finish and are also 

available in counter height. 

$189 + // Bambu Batu 

1023 Broad Street 


(805) 788-0806 

bambubatu.com 

DOWN BY THE SEASHORE 

Made from sand, these these gleaming glass sculptures 

of seashore life are sure to turn heads. Sizes are 

approximately 5-to-8 inches. No two are alike, and 

the colors vary. Hand-made by the pros at Seattle 

Glassblowing Studio. 

$145 - $275 // Fiona Bleu Gallery 

900 Embarcadero, Morro Bay 

(805) 772-0541 // fionableugallery.com 

WELCOME HOME 

Explore the Chilewich collection of durable indoor/outdoor mats. 

Available in a wide array of styles and colors, they will enhance your 

interior and exterior spaces, while providing functionality underfoot. 

$50+ // Hands Gallery // 777 Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 543-1921 // handsgallery.com 


BORING NO MORE 

Whether he’s choosing his first ring or picking out an 

updated band for an anniversary, with several different 

handcrafted band styles to choose from using recycled 

golds and platinum, you’ll find hand-engraved organic 

patterns and textures that set him apart from the crowd. 

$1,190 - $1,735 // Baxter Moerman Jewelry 

1118 Morro Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 801-9117 // baxtermoerman.com 

DRESS IT UP 

You don’t have to go 

to Hawaii to feel like 

you are there. You can 

find the iconic Jam’s 

World clothing made 

in Hawaii since 1964 

right here in San Luis 

Obispo. This amazing 

fabric is 100% rayon 

(natural fiber) that will 

wash and wear over 

and over again. Great 

for hot weather at 

home and on vacation. 

Other styles available. 

$129 // Apropos 

1022 Morro Street, SLO 

840 11th Street, Paso Robles 

(805) 784-0664 

shopapropos.com 

CLASSIC STYLE 

The latest bags and wallets from New York designer Jack 

Spade debut just in time for graduation and Father’s Day. 

In addition to classic leather pieces, check out new designs 

that marry form with function, like this Tech Oxford slim 

brief—constructed from a proprietary performance fabric 

inspired by timeless menswear styling. 

$ 78 - $548 // Ian Saude // 1003 Osos Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 784-0967 // iansaude.com 

DRINK UP 

Get inspired by Mother 

Nature with the new 

Wood Collection by S’well, 

featured in a smooth Matte 

Finish. For every Wood 

bottle sold, their partner, 

American Forests, will 

plant one tree. Keeps your 

beverage cold for 24 hours 

and hot for 12. 

$35 - $45 // Assets 

853 Monterey Street 


(805) 781-0119 

sloassets.com 

MERMAID KISSES 

Explore the fantastic selection of Sea Glass necklaces, 

earrings and key chains inspired by the sea and colors 

of the sunset. Also showcasing exotic shell and beautiful 

pearl jewelry, perfect for this summer’s lifestyle. 

$14 - $36 // Turn To Nature 

786 Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 540-3395 // turntonature.com 


| SLO LIFE TASTE 

CENTRAL COAST 

FLAVOR 

1. Summer on the Central Coast 

means that all your favorite fruits and 

vegetables are now in season. SLO Veg 

will source the best of the bunch and 

deliver them straight to your doorstep 

just in time for dinner. 

$27.82 - $40.66 // SLO Veg 

(805) 709-2780 // sloveg.com 

2. Stop by Novo for Wine Wednesday 

from 5:00pm – 7:00pm and enjoy 

complimentary wine tasting. Featuring 

wine from the following: June 4th 

Filipponi Ranch Cellars; June 18th 

Sextant Winery; July 9th Wild Horse 

Winery; July 23rd Verdad Winery. 

1 

Novo Restaurant and Lounge 

726 Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 543-3986 // novorestaurant.com 

2 

3. Luna Red is known for its small 

plate focused menu, however the new 

summer menu includes large meat 

dishes, meant to be shared with your 

table and accompanied by side tapas. 

Featured in this photo is an 18-ounce 

prime rib eye, grain fed and USDA 

certified natural black angus. Pair 

with sides such as local crispy spuds, 

cheesy mac and a seasonal grilled 

artichoke and you’ll have a meal the 

whole table will love. 

$39 // Luna Red 

1023 Chorro Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 540-5243 // lunaredslo.com 

4. From Paso Robles, Verdelho is 

a summertime favorite that is an 

extremely tasty wine with aromas 

of lemon, melon, peach, and apricot. 

Slightly off dry, the mouthfeel is full 

and intense but also light. 

3 

$22 // Wild Horse Winery & Vineyards 

1437 Wild Horse Winery Court, Templeton 

(805) 788-6300 // wildhorsewinery.com 


4

SHOP THE SLO LIFE WITH THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COLLECTION: INFUSING NATIONAL SHOPS WITH 

SLO SPIRIT · OP-ED BY DOMINIC TARTAGLIA OF DOWNTOWN SLO · OUT OF POCKET 

IN THIS ISSUE 

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 · SUMMER, 2014 


SLO SUMMER 

The San Luis Obispo Collection brings together world-class shopping, the 

city’s finest restaurants, upscale retail, museums and theater, and sits 

adjacent to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. San Luis Obispo, named 

the Happiest City in America, is the cultural hub of the Central Coast, 

which embodies the California lifestyle and offers locals and visitors alike 

historic architecture, sweeping vineyards, pristine beaches, charming 

beach towns and mountain ranges, and is home to Cal Poly University. 

Please enjoy the SLO Merchant, our new community newsletter. 

INFUSING NATIONAL STYLE WITH NATIVE SPIRIT 

Sommer, Sara, and Nora—managers of Sephora, Pottery Barn, and Barnes & Noble —meet to discuss how they bring the SLO spirit to their national shops. 

Take a walk through downtown San Luis 

Obispo, and you can’t help but feel the 

Central Coast vibe with its sunshine, ocean 

breezes, and strolling shoppers. Therese Cron, 

property manager of the San Luis Obispo 

Collection, wondered how SLO’s downtown 

district manages to feel so local while still 

delivering such a diversity of regional and 

national shopping? She invited Sommer Pezzi, 

Sara Boller, and Nora Johnson—managers for 

national powerhouses Sephora, Pottery Barn, 

and Barnes & Noble—for a lunch meeting at 

Palazzo Giuseppe to talk about how they infuse 

their national shops with SLO spirit. 

Sommer, Sara, and Nora found their ways to the 

Central Coast from regions as far flung as Guam 

to as nearby as Morongo Valley, but they all share 

a passion for California’s local culture. Sommer 

has lived in Shell Beach for more than fourteen 

years. She calls her staff at Sephora “amazing” 

and encourages them to challenge themselves 

daily to provide Sephora’s clients with a sense 

of home. Sara—a true local—has been in San 

Luis Obispo since she started Cal Poly in 1989. 


She was a store manager and footwear buyer 

for local favorite Copeland Sports. When that 

business sold, she transplanted her local spirit 

straight into the heart of SLO’s new Pottery Barn 

location. Nora—the Centeral Coast’s most recent 

transplant—lives in Atascadero. She believes 

that bookstores are the heart of a community, 

and one of her favorite things is working with 

Central Coast schools, hosting book fairs and 

field trips, keeping school reading lists in stock, 

and giving away free books through Barnes & 

Noble’s Summer Reading Program. 

All three managers agree that making a personal 

connection with local clients is the key to mixing 

local spice into the national brew. Sommer loves 

thinking out of the box when she’s assisting 

her local clientele, treating clients as if they are 

friends—and indeed, she says, many clients do 

become friends. As Therese concluded from 

their discussion, “San Luis Obispo has all the 

amenities of a world-class shopping destination, 

but with much better weather and relaxed, 

happy managers who really love what they do.” 

Pictured right: top to bottom: Sommer, Nora, Sara 

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SAN LUIS OBISPO: WHERE MEMORIES ARE BORN 

An op-ed piece by Dominic Tartaglia of the SLO Downtown Association on what makes experiences memborable in downtown San Luis Obispo. 

At the San Luis Obispo Downtown 

Association we are in the business of 

creating unique experiences for our residents 

and guests that are just as memorable as the 

smell of fresh cut grass and a Santa Maria style 

BBQ. SLO’s downtown has a rich diversity of 

businesses, friendships, and backgrounds 

as well as the stories that go along with 

so much local character. These kinds of 

personal connections transform a Thursday 

night Farmers’ Market into an experience as 

memorable as a first kiss or the last taste of 

a barbequed rib that you still dream about. 

While the kiss and the rib are the focal point 

of the memory, the ambiance surrounding 

that moment is what makes the experience 

memorable. Providing this sense of place and 

community is something the SLO Downtown 

Association takes very seriously. 

Today, walking through downtown San Luis 

Obispo you can still see the buildings that 

this town was built around: Mission San Luis 

Obispo de Tolosa, the Anderson and Wineman 

Hotels, and the Creamery for example. When 

San Luis Obispo developed, Downtown was 

the cultural center for many miles and those 

buildings were the foundation for many 

people’s businesses and fondest memories. 

My dad recalls, as a young boy, bouncing 

down a country road toward the Downtown 

Creamery to deposit the family farm’s milk. 

The careful preservation of the buildings 

and local economy are the keystones of what 

created the atmosphere that has drawn guests 

from around the world to our neighborhood 

for many years. 

While putting lights in trees creates an 

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experience for visitors, it’s really just teeing 

up the chance for the next set of memories and 

stories to be shared with future generations 

of the “Great Downtown San Luis Obispo.” 

As a neighborhood we take pride in keeping 

the streets clean and inviting, much like 

people take pride in keeping their front yards 

manicured and green. We do this because we 

want people from surrounding neighborhoods 

to feel welcome and safe when they visit, and 

we hope to see them often. This simple act of 

sharing our shops and businesses with the rest 

of the community is the result of generations 

of cultural exchanges among neighbors. In 

turn, those exchanges create a hub for the 

community where rich experiences happen 

and fond memories are born. For 39 years the 

San Luis Obispo Downtown Association has 

played host to countless parades, markets, 

concerts, events, and warm summer nights, 

and we look forward to many more years to 

come where our traditions can become your 

fondest memories. Visit downtownslo.com to 

learn more. 


When I was a kid, I collected things related to 

travel: restaurant matchbooks, postcards, 

even airline luggage tags. Fueled by an assortment 

of swizzle sticks from a globe trotting aunt 

collected at the dawn of the Jet Age, this penchant 

for squirreling away cool stuff has served me well 

as Creative Director for Jamestown. I encourage 

all my team members to make note of the things 

that inspire them, and we compete in a friendly 

competition to bring in the next chip of tile or 

swatch of fabric that will end up in Jamestown’s 

FASHION & HOME GOODS 

Abercrombie & Fitch 

abercrombie.com 

Banana Republic 

bananarepublic.com 

Chico’s 

chicos.com 

Express 

express.com 

GAP 

gap.com 

Ian Saude Gallery 

iansaude.com 

Moondoggies Surf Shop 

moondoggies.com 

Pottery Barn 

potterybarn.com 

Solstice Sunglass Boutique 

solsticesunglasses.com 

Sunglass Hut 

sunglasshut.com 

Urban Outfitters 

urbanoutfitters.com 

Victoria’s Secret 

victoriassecret.com 

White House Black Market 

whitehouseblackmarket.com 

FOOD 

Bali’s Yogurt 

805-594-1172 

Bull’s Tavern 

facebook.com/bullstavernslo 

Chinos Rock & Tacos 

chinorocks.com 

California Pizza Kitchen 

cpk.com 

latest big development. The Creative & Marketing 

team’s main task is to create brands for Jamestown 

developments. Not only are we charged with 

building the brand identities themselves, each with 

a logo, website, and an array of printed collateral; 

we are also challenged to extend those brands 

in all kinds of ways, including signage, fixtures 

and furnishings, colors and trims, façades, and 

the creation of brands-within-brands for events 

and specialized activities. Everything inspires us: 

the felted coaster under our bourbon at the local 

Jamba Juice 

jambajuice.com 

Palazzo Giuseppe 

palazzogiuseppe.com 

Pizza Solo 

pizzasolo.com 

Sal’s Paradise 

slosals.com 

SloCo Pasty Co. 

slocopastyco.com 

Splash Cafe Seafood & Grill 

splashcafe.com 

Starbucks 

starbucks.com 

SERVICES 

Sephora 

sephora.com 

Salon Lux-Aveda 

salonlux.com 

SPECIALTY 

The Apple Store 

apple.com 

Barnes and Noble 

barnesandnoble.com 

Cal Poly Downtown 

calpoly.edu 

The Movie Experience 

themovieexperience.com 

Open Air Flowers 

openairflowersslo.com 

Papyrus 

papyrusonline.com 

Powell’s Sweet Shoppe 

powellsss.com 

IN PLAIN SIGHT 

Man-about-town George Krauth dishes on the fashions, flavors, designs, 

and décor he discovers as he travels the globe tracking trends as Creative 

Director for Jamestown. 

pub, the color of the sky over San Francisco Bay 

in September, the ribbon on a tote bag we found 

at the gift show in Paris. We pin our inspirations 

to vision boards that we’ve created for each of 

our brands. This encourages us to brainstorm in 

plain sight. It’s pretty amazing, as a new brand 

develops, to let your eyes drift from a tattered old 

signal flag you pinned to the board months before 

to the bright blue brand it inspired at a property 

like One West Victory. Visit Jamestownlp.com for 

more inspiration. 

4 


AFTER HOURS | 

WHEN THE WORKDAY IS OVER 

Inspired by Tradition 

Surfing and bagpipes are not customarily mentioned in 

the same sentence. But Ryan MacDonald, who lives 

in the Edna Valley just outside the city limits of San 

Luis Obispo, rolls those two words from his tongue 

just as smoothly as he dons his custom-made kilt. 

When MacDonald was growing up in the tiny 4,000-person 

mountain town of Sonora, which is near Yosemite, he took his 

Scottish heritage as seriously as he did the high jumping event 

for his high school track team. When his grandfather passed 

away during his junior year, he was overcome by the idea of 

learning to play the bagpipes. “I set a goal for myself,” recalls 

MacDonald. “I would return to my grandfather’s gravesite one 

year later to play a tribute to him.” 

The bagpipes are a notoriously difficult instrument to learn, and 

up to that point the high schooler had no musical background 

of any sort. In addition to their technical challenges, the 

bagpipes require a tremendous level of physical strength, 

which makes the instrument’s learning curve that much more 

daunting. But MacDonald was committed—spending his free 

time learning the unorthodox instrument as well as studying 

everything he could about his family’s history. 

At the one-year mark, his sister gifted him with a custommade 

Scottish “clan kilt” with their particular branch of the 

MacDonald family’s tartan (or pattern) woven into the wool. 

He played his heart out at his grandfather’s gravesite and then 

came down out of the Sierras to attend Cuesta College where 

he would continue his high-jumping exploits. 

One day his friends asked him if he would like to join them 

surfing, and the young bagpiper was hooked immediately. “I 

don’t know what happened exactly,” he shares through his 

flowing facial hair, “but I said to myself right then and there, 

‘I want to work at a surf shop at all costs.’” After seven years at 

Pancho’s Surf Shop in Pismo Beach, the twenty-seven-year-old 

MacDonald is now the manager. He regularly shows up early 

to hit the surf next to the pier and has been known to wander 

around the boardwalk jamming on his bagpipes where he 

reveals, “people are usually tripping out” at the music. 

As part of the musical group known as Central Coast Pipes 

& Drums, MacDonald and his bagpipes are in high demand. 

“People come up to me after I play and often become very 

emotional and tear up as they share their connection to the 

bagpipes. They’ll say, ‘Wow, that reminded me of my grandfather 

or my mom.’” Pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts he 

then adds, “For me, it’s about carrying on that tradition.” SLO LIFE 

[ ] 

GETTING IN TUNE MacDonald warms up for a 

nearby gig after his shift ends at the surf shop. 


| SPECIAL FEATURE 


Mike Krukow 

Ref lects 

BY TOM FRANCISKOVICH 

on life, family 

and baseball 

When San Luis Obispo resident MIKE KRUKOW walks 

into a room his enthusiasm is palpable, and it carries over 

into everything he does. The former San Francisco Giants 

pitcher remains in the game he loves as a broadcaster— 

with a style all his own. 


The Miami Marlins have arrived 

in town for a three game series 

and San Luis Obispo resident 

Mike Krukow is already in fullform 

two hours before game time. Rising from 

his chair overlooking the field at AT&T Park in 

San Francisco, he extends both arms and shouts 

out to the visiting broadcast booth next door, 

“Hey, where you guys been?!” He gestures at 

his watch in mock disbelief. The once sullenfaced 

Floridians shake their heads in laughter, 

“It’s great to be back, Kruk,” one retorts, now 

wearing a broad smile. 

As a nine-year-old grammar school student, 

Krukow sat patiently waiting for the recess 

bell to ring one day while his teacher droned 

on about different types of jobs. “She told us 

about blue collar workers and white collar 

workers,” he remembers. When class finally let 

out, Krukow pondered the color of his future 

collar as he and his classmates got another 

baseball game going out on the playground. 

After school that day he went home and told 

his mother, “I don’t want to wear any collar, 

Mom—I want to be a baseball player.” 

Childhood was a series of baseball games, one 

following another. Before long, Krukow was 

the big man on campus at San Gabriel High 

School. With his sweetheart, Jennifer, in the 

stands cheering him on, rumors began to swirl 

that some Big League clubs had interest in 

the young catcher. Krukow’s collar-less future 

was within reach when it was announced that 

the California Angels had selected him in the 

32nd round of the 1970 Major League Baseball 

Draft. He declined, and instead came up to San 

Luis Obispo where he enrolled at Cal Poly and 

joined baseball team. 

Fortunes shifted when Krukow moved from 

behind the plate to the top of the mound. 

As a pitcher, the Cal Poly Mustang posted 

a 1.94 earned run average, which is a record 

that stands to this day. It was not long before 

the same Major League scouts that had been 

analyzing his abilities as a catcher, began to 

sing his praises as a pitcher. The Chicago Cubs 

snapped up the prospect in the 8th round in 


1973 and, after paying his dues in the minors, 

Krukow was called up to pitch at Wrigley Field 

in 1976. Following a solid six years of duty for 

the Cubs, he was traded to the Philadelphia 

Phillies. A year later, the Phillies called the San 

Francisco Giants to talk them into swapping 

second basement Joe Morgan for Mike Krukow. 

When Krukow unpacked his bags in the 

clubhouse deep in the bowels of Candlestick 

Park, he found himself with a team in 

transition—to use baseball parlance, the 

Giants were “rebuilding.” Recognizing the 

need for good leadership within the team, 

the powers-that-be elected to hold on to 

their ailing infielder, Duane Kuiper, who had 

recently blown out his knee but was now an 

important insurance policy since Morgan was 

in Philadelphia. Since Kuiper’s role was more 

of a spot starter and pinch hitter, he spent a lot 

of time on the bench. And, as Krukow was a 

starting pitcher who played every fifth day, the 

pair found themselves together in the dugout 

often. Krukow initially dismissed Kuiper, “I 

thought he was a jerk,” but eventually became 

intrigued with his commentary during the 

game. Before long, the two were cracking 

themselves up with funny observations, mostly 

of other ballplayers, as they called the game for 

their teammates from inside the dugout. 

While Krukow was bouncing around from team 

to team and logging big miles on the road, his 

high-school-sweetheart-turned-wife, Jennifer, 

held down the fort in Pasadena, near their 

old stomping grounds and, most importantly, 

close to the couple’s parents. The Krukows 

were busy with their young family and both 

sets of grandparents played an essential role. 

Eventually Krukow began hosting an annual 

charity golf tournament in San Luis Obispo. 

Those annual trips morphed into two-weeklong 

family vacations. “After a while, it was like 

a slap in the face—why don’t we live here?” The 

Krukows had been sobered by the public school 

situation in Pasadena and viewed a move to the 

Central Coast as the best shot for their children. 

“It was the greatest thing we ever did,” explains 

Krukow. “The quality of life, the quality of 

public school education, the security.” 

>> 

KRUKTIONARY 

After a lifetime in baseball, Mike Krukow 

admits that “very little of what I say is 

original—I’m just bringing it from the 

dugout to the broadcast.” Wherever 

it came from originally, his lexicon is 

hugely popular with Giants fans and 

rather unconventional in the world of 

sportscasting. Here is a small sampling 

from the “Kruktionary”… 

GRAB SOME PINE, MEAT 

When the opposing team’s hitter strikes 

out. This is Krukow’s signature line and 

his voice can be heard in the Electronic 

Arts video game “MVP Baseball” when a 

strikeout occurs. 

BALL DUDE 

The Giants place volunteers in full 

uniform, usually men in their 60’s or 

70’s, in front of the bullpen in the foul 

territories on either side of the field 

to protect the catcher, who is looking 

the other way, from wayward foul balls. 

Krukow calls them “ball dudes” and likes 

to comment on their fielding efforts. 

TOO MUCH BOILER, 

NOT ENOUGH SHIRT 

A fan with his stomach protruding from 

below his t-shirt. During a blowout 

when the game has gotten out of hand, 

and frankly no longer very interesting, 

Krukow and his partner Duane Kuiper 

are known to go on for several innings 

good-naturedly poking fun at fans. 

SEABISCUIT LIKES BEER 

Krukow observed a fan wearing a huge 

horse head costume and a Giants jersey 

swilling a brew in the stands. A classic 

Krukow commentary. 

BRING A GLOVE, GET A BALL 

Krukow insists that fans bring a their 

gloves to the ballpark and is relentless 

when a gloveless spectator misses a 

foul ball.


But, while Krukow was able to shake off signs 

from his catcher—if he wanted a curveball 

while his catcher wanted a fastball, the pitcher 

always had the last say—this was not the case 

with his mother-in-law. “She was pissed,” 

Krukow states flatly remembering the day he 

broke the news that he was taking her daughter 

and her grandchildren and heading for greener 

pastures in San Luis Obispo. “She didn’t talk to 

me for two years.” The silent treatment finally 

ended during a Thanksgiving visit when she 

grabbed the lanky pitcher by his throwing arm, 

pulling him toward her within whisper distance 

to say, “You made the right choice.” His in-laws 

eventually followed the Krukows finally settling 

in Arroyo Grande. Krukow’s parents, however, 

took a different approach. “When I told them 

we were moving, they said, ‘We’re coming 

with you,’ and proceeded us to San Luis by a 

couple of months.” The Krukow clan was then 

complete, fully relocated on the Central Coast. 

In 1986, Krukow had posted an incredible 20 

wins and was selected to pitch in the All-Star 

game. The following season Krukow was a 

key component in the Giants’ championship 

run—they lost to the Cardinals in the National 

League Championship Series that went seven 

games. (Krukow won the fourth contest and 

pitched a complete game.) But, it was during 

those years that he began to notice something 

was not quite right. His arm was not recovering 

like it once had. The next couple of years were 

punctuated by stints on the disabled list, and in 

the fifth inning of a game against the Atlanta 

Braves on June 11, 1989, he felt a pop in his 

shoulder. A month later Krukow underwent 

arthroscopic surgery to repair his torn rotator 

cuff. He officially retired in March of the 

following year. 

With his baseball career over and a houseful 

of young kids to raise, Krukow looked to make 

a career change. The Giants had offered him 

a job as their pitching coach. “I told them I 

couldn’t do it. I’ve got to get back to my life. 

I’ve got four kids, and my wife’s pregnant. I 

need to be home.” Krukow tried his hand in 

the restaurant business by joining up with a 

former teammate to operate a group of Central 

Coast establishments including This Old 

House in San Luis Obispo and the SeaVenture 


Restaurant in Pismo Beach. Then, the following 

year, in an ironic twist of fate, Joe Morgan—the 

same Joe Morgan who the Giants had traded 

for Krukow back in 1982—was in the broadcast 

booth calling games. It turned out that Morgan 

could not make it to 15 of the home games 

during the season and they were looking for a 

stand-in. “Could you fill in, Kruk?” the caller 

from the Giants front office inquired. “I was 

miserable away from the game, like a fish out of 

water in the restaurant business. My wife told 

me to do it.” 

“There’s magic here every night,” Krukow 

says as he points from his spot in the booth 

toward the diamond. “And it’s a great feeling 

to have someone listen to what you have to say, 

something that you are so passionate about. 

You don’t know how long it’s going to last. You 

take every day like it’s going to be your last 

one.” With his signature thick head of white 

hair moving along with the breeze coming 

off McCovey Cove, Krukow pauses briefly 

to reflect on his own comment. His family 

has experienced tremendous loss recently, as 

Jennifer’s parents and brother all passed away 

during the last 18 months. 

Down below, the distinctive sound of cracking 

bats can be heard from the field as the Giants 

take their turn stepping into the batting cage. 

Occasionally a ball sails over the fence. A 

smattering of fans flank the lower reserve seats, 

hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite 

player. Giants All-Star catcher, Buster Posey, 

steps up to the plate and cheers go out with 

each one of his line drives. Krukow changes the 

subject, sharing the secret to Posey’s success: 

balance on the front foot, inside-out-swing, 

taking what the pitchers give him, before 

returning to talk about his wife. “She’s had a 

really tough road lately, we all have. And just 

about the only thing that makes her happy 

these days are the grandkids.” 

All five of their children are now involved in 

separate careers away from the Central Coast: 

Jarek, 34, lives in New York and works in sales; 

Baker, 30, is a manager at Graybar and lives 

in Reno with his wife and two children; Tessa, 

>> 

KRUKTIONARY 

HARVARD OF THE WEST 

This is how Krukow refers to his alma 

mater, Cal Poly, during broadcasts. 

GAMER BABE FROM 

HALF MOON BAY 

A couple of years ago Krukow spotted 

a group of moms decked out in orange 

and black for a game on Mother’s Day. 

Off the cuff, he admiringly declared that 

they were “gamer babes from Half Moon 

Bay.” The name stuck and now identifies 

female fans who “wear the colors and 

know what’s what.” 

JIMMY JACKIN’ AROUND 

Wasting time, not paying attention. “The 

pitcher keeps Jimmy Jackin’ around with 

the rosin bag.” 

CAN OF CORN 

Any easy-to-catch routine fly ball. 

UGLY FINDER 

A foul ball that rockets into the dugout. 

COORS LIGHT, THE WORLD’S MOST 

REEEEEFRESHING BEER 

A unique take on the Giants beer sponsor 

and reportedly Krukow’s favorite brew. 

I WANNA GET THAT, I WANNA GET THAT, 

I WANNA GET THAT! 

Repeated three times quickly and 

excitedly during a broadcast after 

announcing some new item available 

in the Giants dugout store. 

DEAD BIRD, DUCK SNORT, TEXAS LEAGUER, 

THING OF BEAUTY 

Krukow alternates these descriptions for 

a bloop single, which is a hit, usually off 

a broken bat, that should have otherwise 

been an easy out.

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28, found love in Australia where she lives 

with her boyfriend and works as a Crossfit 

trainer; Chase, 26, tends bar not far from the 

stadium in San Francisco; and Westin, 24, also 

in San Francisco, is a professional ballet dancer. 

Krukow’s pride is palpable when discussing 

his kids, and he reflects upon their upbringing 

in San Luis Obispo where they attended Los 

Ranchos Elementary, Laguna Middle School, 

and SLO High. “With a big family you kind of 

go up and down a bit financially. We almost lost 

the house like three times, but we always felt 

like we were the richest people on the planet 

because of how we lived and the air we got to 

breath, the environment, the schools. It’s an 

amazing place to live.” But, just as they did 

baseball with others. He has been active in the 

Bay Area where he can be found donating his 

services to emcee non-profit events. Closer to 

home his annual charity golf tournament, at 

its high water mark, raised close to $30,000. 

He has also been a key supporter to Cal Poly 

Baseball, which he often references in his 

broadcast. In addition to supplying valuable 

items for the Mustang Madness auction—he 

once donated a ball signed by Barry Bonds— 

he has lent his name to the premium season 

ticket holder area at Baggett Stadium, which 

is known as “Kruk’s Klubhouse.” Some may 

also remember Krukow dispensing pitching 

advice to local youngsters as he donned his full 

uniform at Sinsheimer Stadium while parents 

...we always felt like we were the richest people on the 

planet because of how we lived and the air we got to breath, 

the environment, the schools. It’s an amazing place to live. 

ELIMINATE ME, KRUK! 

In a game against the Minnesota Twins 

on June 14, 2005, Krukow watched with 

amusement as fans there asked their 

broadcaster, Bert Blyleven, to circle them 

on his telestrator. Krukow developed 

his own spin on the “Circle Me, Bert” 

routine by “eliminating” spectators, or 

whiting them out, when he caught them 

talking on a cell phone during the game 

or failing to hand over a foul ball to a 

nearby child. Eliminating fans caught 

on with viewers in a big way and soon 

spectators were showing up at the park 

with signs that read, “Eliminate me, 

Kruk!” After his television station began 

selling sponsorships for the eliminations, 

the whole thing died down. Now, Krukow 

saves it for special occasions. 

when they pulled up stakes in Pasadena while 

beginning their family, the empty nested 

Krukows are on the move again. This time, 

the lure of the grandkids has enticed them to 

relocate to Reno. Krukow describes the decision 

as the “most emotional thing” he has gone 

through. “How do you go to Reno from San 

Luis Obispo? Are you kidding me?” 

From the very first time he first took the 

mound at Wrigley Field where he retired the 

first seven batters he faced as a rookie, Mike 

Krukow has been winning the hearts and 

minds of baseball fans. Only now, it’s not his 

fastball, it’s his quick wit, keen sense of humor, 

and encyclopedic knowledge of the game. The 

Emmy Award-winning 62-year-old broadcaster 

references Vin Scully, the 86-year-old play-byplay 

announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers 

as reason for a lot more baseball ahead. “I was 

extremely lucky to have a second life in this 

game, and I’ll continue to do this until I can’t 

get on the plane anymore.” 

The gratitude Krukow feels for his two acts 

in the Big Leagues shows up in his charitable 

works and his desire to share the magic of 


stood by anxiously checking their watches as he 

continued talking ball with the kids well beyond 

the scheduled stopping time. 

Krukow calls growing up in baseball “the 

Reader’s Digest version of life” where 

everything revolves around the game. Players 

forever remain nine-year-old versions of 

themselves. And, maybe that’s where the 

magic he describes comes in. Maybe it 

is his youthful exuberance for the game 

that fans find as appealing as his ability to 

breakdown the complexities of the pitcherbatter 

contest. Or, is it his uncanny ability— 

usually during a blowout—to spot a kid in 

the crowd struggling to eat an oversized ice 

cream cone? Krukow has been known to 

describe the scene in great detail over three 

or four innings, and make a lopsided game 

enjoyable. In many ways, with his positive 

attitude—he does not hesitate to compliment 

the other team—his love for the game, and 

his light-hearted humor, Krukow symbolizes 

everything that is right in baseball. And, 

although he will no longer reside in San Luis 

Obispo, he vows to return often; and, as he is 

found of telling fans who faithfully tune into 

every broadcast, “We have dinner with you 

six months out of the year.” SLO LIFE 

1.94 

Krukow’s earned run average 

record still stands at Cal Poly. 

LOCAL BASEBALL 

Three of Krukow’s four sons played for 

the San Luis Obispo Blues. Jarek and 

Baker were both catchers, and Chase 

was a pitcher. Baker went on to play 

for the University of Nevada where the 

switch-hitting catcher also spent time 

as the team’s designated hitter.

Annual Food event at SLO Natural Foods 

SLOW MONEY SLO supports 

Local Food and Farm Businesses 

Come enjoy food and learn how to give 

or get support for food and farm at the 

SLO Natural Foods New Location! 

SLO NATURAL FOODS ANNIVERSARY EVENT! 

Local Food Vendors, Store Specials and More! 

FREE EVENT . JUNE 22nd . 11 - 3 pm 

2494 VICTORIA AVE 

SLO (OFF BROAD @ CAUDILL) 

The new SLO Natural Foods store was made possible 

by SLOW MONEY SLO Peer to Peer Loans 

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| ARTIST 

388 

words 

with Paso Robles-based sculptor Dale Evers 

I sold my first sculpture out of a gallery in Cambria 34 years 

ago. It was a wood-carved blue whale. Since then I’ve sold 

over 20,000 sculptures—some of them in the six-figures— 

but I’ve never reached the thrill of that first sale. The feeling 

I had that day was almost child-like realizing that I had 

created something that somebody else really valued. 

I grew up Catholic and I always tripped out on all of the 

amazing art in church. When I was eight or nine-years-old my 

father caught me whittling a piece of wood with some steak 

knives, so he bought me a set of carving tools. My dad kept 

helping me along with my hobby, and by the time I was twelve, 

I was doing full-blown busts, like Beethoven, in wood. It was 

kind of rough, but not bad for a kid. 

Twenty-five years ago or so I sculpted a table that I called 

“Dolphin Duet” and I knew it was a winner, so I made a bunch 

of them. I took an ad out in Architectural Digest, a half-page ad; it 

cost me everything I had in the bank. I think it was about $10,000 

back then. It was just a huge gamble, but it ended up paying off. I 

sold out of the tables. They just took off. 

When I was in Hawaii a 

praying mantis landed on my 

shoulder. It looked me square 

in the eye and with a British 

accent it said, “Me and my 

cousins are your future.” So, 

after being all-in with marine 

art, I got pulled into insects, 

which represented a big 

career change for me. I started 

studying everything I could 

about insects. I learned they 

could eat their body weight in 

an hour—or something along 

those lines—it takes me at least 

three hours to do that. 

” 


I think people try to build a lot of hype around 

their art. They try to say it represents something 

or another and they get way out on a limb. A 

majority of artists overcomplicate what is basically 

a simple process. I think that people like to 

embellish and wear round glasses and Versace 

turtlenecks and sip cappuccino and postulate, if 

you will. I’m not part of that camp. 


Welcoming Chef Gregg Wangard to 

GARDENS RESTAURANT 

SAN LUIS OBISPO SYMPHONY 

MICHAEL NOWAK, MUSIC DIRECTOR 

Sycamore is happy to announce Gregg Wangard as the 

new Executive Chef of Gardens Restaurant 

featuring Spontaneous Garden Cuisine 

Receive a Complimentary 1/2 Bottle of Wine with your 

next Gardens Restaurant meal. Use offer code ChefGregg. 

Not Available Friday or Saturday nights. Not vaild with any other offer, discount or promotion. Valid now through July. 

1215 AVILA BEACH DRIVE . SAN LUIS OBISPO 

(805) 595-7302 . SYCAMORESPRINGS.COM 

LABOR DAY WEEKEND 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 2014 

AVILA BEACH GOLF RESORT 

GATES OPEN 2:30PM · CONCERT AT 4PM 

FOR TICKETS CALL 543-3533 OR 

VISIT SLOSYMPHONY.ORG 


| EXPLORE 

LOCAL GOLF SCENE 

For the Love of the Game 

BY PADEN HUGHES 


Always looking for a 

new way to experience 

outdoor fun, my 

husband and I made a 

commitment earlier this year to pencil 

in daytime dates. Our most recent 

interest—golf. 

The first time we played, we tried a 

version of “best ball,” which to my 

understanding means no matter how 

poorly you hit your golf ball, you can 

pick up your ball and shoot from your 

teammate’s better shot. This is probably 

the best way to learn golf because 

you consistently advance, you have an 

opportunity to practice using different 

clubs at different angles, and you keep up 

with the more skilled golfers. 

Truly feeling up to par with skilled 

golfers takes time, for sure. And, if you’re 

like me and hate to stink at anything, you 

understand how sheer stubbornness can 

set in early on in an attempt to perfect 

your game. At first, I cared about just 

two things: keeping my head down and 

making contact with the ball. I can’t 

explain the joy I felt when I actually nailed 

it: I hit that golf ball airborne and straight! 

I can happily say after time I noticed 

improvement in my game—and I’m 

known to stick with things if I see even 

the slightest amount of improvement. A 

friend of mine who manages golf courses 

says, “No matter how frustrating a game 

can get, there is always that one perfect 

shot that keeps you coming back.” 

So, I kept coming back to golf. But even 

with improvements, after having played 

soccer and other fast-paced sports, I 

wasn’t convinced that golf was engaging 

enough to warrant owning my own 

clubs. Surprisingly, I now regularly find 

myself on a golf course with my own set 

of bright pink Wilson Hope golf clubs 

(which benefit Breast Cancer Research 

Foundation), a pink polo, and a white skirt. 

And now, my husband and I have a 

favorite short course in the area: the 

Challenge Course at the Monarch Dunes 

Golf Course in Nipomo. This 12-hole, 

par-three course is the perfect distance 

for new players, yet it also adds the 

challenges of small lakes, dunes, and sand 

traps. The $16 per person player fee is 

accessible for beginners who might feel 

reluctant to pay over $50 for a round. 

Additionally, the Challenge Course is 

not as busy as the 18-hole “Old Course,” 

which means newbies have time to 

practice their swings and not feel like the 

group behind them is waiting impatiently 

or trying to pass them. 

Truth be told, I used to believe that golf 

was either for male executives looking to 

network, or much older couples looking 

to get some exercise. I’ve come to realize 

that golf is a sport for everyone. While it 

takes time, practice, and focus to improve, 

golf is also one of the more relaxing, 

centering, and enjoyable activities I’ve 

experienced. SLO LIFE 

Challenge Course Green Fees 

Public Rate $16 

Public Replay $10 

Members Rate $12 

Members Replay $10 

DIRECTIONS 

FROM NORTH 

Take the 101 South Freeway 

Exit Willow 

Turn right on Willow 

Turn left on Via Concha 

Turn right on Trilogy Parkway 

Take an immediate right into 

Monarch Dunes parking lot 

FROM SOUTH 

Take the 101 North Freeway 

Exit Willow 

Turn left on Willow 

Turn left on Via Concha 

Turn right on Trilogy Parkway 

Take an immediate right into 

Monarch Dunes parking lot 

Graham’s Community Outreach 

San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce 

Community Development Committee 

San Luis Obispo County Habitat for 

Humanity 

Public Relations Committee Chairperson, 

SLO Association of Realtors 

Local Government Relations & Grievance 

Committees, SLO Association of Realtors 

Graham Updegrove 

Broker Associate 

CA BRE #01873454 

Why Choose Graham? 

“We were first time home buyers and 

Graham was more than helpful. He was 

patient and really listened to what our 

needs were. Graham did not push us and 

offered guidance that was non-judgmental 

and informative. He was timely and 

approachable which reduced our stress 

level. We could not have been happier with 

our experience working with Graham and 

now have a place to call our own.” 

– Anthony & Liz Graves 

805.459.1865 

graham@slohomehelp.com 

JUN/JUL www.slohomehelp.com 

2014 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 69

| HEALTH 

resilience 

GET MORE 

What is it that allows some people to be knocked down 

by life and come back stronger than ever, rather than 

letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve? 

Most people define resilience as the ability to 

bounce back from adversity, but few realize 

that it is made up of a number of different 

skills and abilities. It’s about the ability to deal 

with difficulty through being adaptable and creative. It is not denying 

difficulty, but working through it. When we lose resilience we become 

rigid in our thoughts, narrow in our emotions, and unable to see that 

we have choices. 

In his best-selling book, The Resiliency Advantage, the late Al Siebert, 

PhD, writes that “highly resilient people are flexible, adapt to new 

circumstances quickly, and thrive in constant change. Most important, 

they expect to bounce back and feel confident that they will. They 

have a knack for creating good luck out of circumstances that many 

others see as bad luck.” 

Read on to discover the most powerful ways to boost your resilience. 

FIND FUN AND HANG ON TO HUMOR 

Kids have enthusiasm in abundance, but as we age, societal and 

organizational pressures quietly tell us that having fun and being 

serious don’t go together. Not surprisingly, zest is a strong predictor of 

work and life satisfaction. “Playful humor enhances survival for many 

reasons,” writes Siebert in The Survivor Personality. For one thing, he 

notes, “Laughing reduces tension to more moderate levels.” In addition, 

having fun helps you socialize, provides an outlet for learning and 

creativity, and has great health benefits. 

TAKE CONTROL OF WHAT PUSHES YOUR BUTTONS 

Use this four-step process when you are unhappy with a reaction you 

had, or simply want to find a new way of looking at a problem. This 

technique is based on the work of Drs. Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, 

and can help you better understand why you react the way you do to 

certain situations. First, describe factually what pushed your buttons 

(who, what, where, when); second, write down your reaction—both >> 


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what you did and how you felt (I felt angry and yelled); third, write 

down exactly what you were thinking in-the-moment during the 

challenge; and fourth, ask yourself whether your reaction helped or 

hurt your ability to find a solution. If you find that your reactions are 

harming your leadership ability, relationships, or other aspects of your 

life, target your thinking, which is where we have the most control. 

OPEN YOUR HEART 

Being of service to others is a powerful way of stoking resilience. 

“In studies, researchers found that serotonin—the neurotransmitter 

associated with feelings of happiness and well-being—is used more 

efficiently by people who have just engaged in an act of kindness,” 

explains David Sabine, PhD, a clinical psychologist. 

Acts of kindness, and the serotonin boosts that accompany them, 

have a cumulative effect. “Once you’ve added these things to 

your life in a consistent way, the benefits become exponential, 

so that in times of difficulty you’ve got this well of resiliency to 

draw upon,” says Sabine. 

Acts of kindness can be formally organized, like regularly volunteering 

in a soup kitchen. Or, Sabine says, they can be “as simple as getting out 

there and finding people to smile at or speak an encouraging word to.” 

It’s worth noting, though, that receiving and appreciating kindness 

from others may be just as important as offering it up, because gratitude 

turns out to be an important part of resiliency, according to clinical 

social worker Darcy Smith. 

When adversity strikes, gratitude for the things that are going right 

in your life helps put tragedy in perspective. “I often recommend that 

people start a 30-day gratitude journal,” she says. “Or get a few of your 

friends together and start a gratitude blog. I did that about a year ago. 

Every day we each blog about three things we’re grateful for.” 

Another strategy for building gratitude comes from Barbara 

Fredrickson, PhD, the author of Positivity. Called “un-adapting,” it 

involves consciously drawing attention to the positive things in your life 

that you may have started taking for granted. “Our emotions typically 

respond to dramatic changes, but a lot of good things—a roof over 

your head, the ability to feed your children, a career you enjoy—are 

stable. As a result, they fade into the background. So what you can do is 

deliberately draw your attention to them.” 

She cites a study in which researchers asked married couples to 

“un-adapt” by thinking of how they might not have met—if one had 

decided not to go to the grocery store that day or had turned down the 

blind date, for example. “Then the researchers compared the couples 

who imagined not meeting to a group of couples who instead were 

asked to tell the story of how they did meet,” continues Fredrickson. 

“Later, when quizzed about their satisfaction in the marriage, the 

people who thought about how they might not have met reported more 

satisfaction. Without un-adapting, the couples might have thought, 

‘Well of course we met, we were destined to be together,’ which is a 

recipe for taking each other for granted.” 

According to Fredrickson, when you take stock of how things might 

have been otherwise, instead of just how they are, you’re using strategic 

positive thinking to increase gratitude, which then builds resiliency. 

PUMP UP YOUR POSITIVITY 

“In our research program, we found that the daily repertoire of emotions 

of people who are highly resilient is remarkably different from those who 

are not,” says Fredrickson. 

Resilient people are characterized by an ability to experience both 

negative and positive emotions even in difficult or painful situations, 

she says. They mourn losses and endure frustrations, but they also find 

redeeming potential or value in most challenges. 

When not-so-resilient people face difficulties, Fredrickson notes, all of 

their emotions turn negative. If things are good, they feel good, but if 

things are bad, they feel horrid. 

Resilient people, on the other hand, tend to find some silver lining 

in even the worst of circumstances. While they certainly see and 

acknowledge the bad, Fredrickson says, “they’ll find a way to also see 

the good. They’ll say, ‘Well at least I didn’t have this other problem.’” 

She notes that this is different than succumbing to Pollyanna-ish denial. 

“The resilient person isn’t papering over the negative emotions, but 

instead letting them sit side by side with other feelings. So at the same 

time they’re feeling ‘I’m sad about that,’ they’re also prone to thinking, 

‘but I’m grateful about this.’” Being optimistic isn’t always being happy. 

It’s taking the challenges that life brings your way and saying, “I’m not 

going to let this get me down.” 

But what if this sort of well-balanced emotional response doesn’t come 

naturally to you? You can change that, says Fredrickson. But it will 

mean challenging your reflexive thoughts, and your self-talk.“Thinking 

patterns trigger emotional patterns,” she explains. “So to change 

emotional patterns, sometimes what we need to do is curtail our 

negative thinking and stoke our positive thinking. 

“Say you find yourself ruminating on negative thoughts,” she says. 

“For instance: I’ll never succeed in my career. Ask yourself, ‘What’s 

the evidence that I’ll never succeed?’ You might say, ‘Well, there’s this 

history of success and this history of failure.’ How does that add up to 

never? It’s a matter of getting really literal about the kinds of blanket 

statements we have in our self-talk.” >> 


“Early to bed, early to rise, 

work like hell and advertise.” 

- Ted Turner 

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Because of built-in survival mechanisms, our brains are naturally 

wired to pay more attention to negative events than positive ones. 

But in reality, we experience positive events with much greater 

frequency. One key to building resiliency, says Fredrickson, lies in 

noticing and appreciating those positive experiences whenever and 

wherever they occur. 

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF 

Good health and a regular routine of healthy habits are foundational to 

both mental and emotional resilience. 

Daily habits count. When you’re caught up on sleep, eating well and 

keeping stress levels low, you’ll be less fragile and less likely to fall into 

unhealthy patterns following a serious setback or tragedy. 

But our physical resilience also depends heavily on our baseline mental 

and emotional well-being. And one of the best ways to nurture that, 

says Carol Orsborn, PhD, author of The Art of Resilience: 100 Paths 

to Wisdom and Strength in an Uncertain World, is to take regular 

mental breaks. “It could be something as formal as a regular meditation 

practice,” she says, “or it could simply be letting yourself daydream.” 

Research shows that our brains are surprisingly active in moments when 

we appear to be doing little. PET and MRI images of the brain “at 

rest” show that, in fact, there is significant activity in the brain regions 

associated with decision-making, memories and the processing of 

emotionally significant events. 

When active, this “default network,” uses up to 30 percent more 

caloric energy than other parts of the brain. Researchers surmise that 

energy is being used to process all the experiences and information 

we’ve taken in, and to develop new synaptic connections. In turn, 

those synaptic networks improve our ability to solve and respond 

to problems. Mental breaks and relaxation also help keep stress 

chemicals at bay, reducing the likelihood of feeling, or becoming, 

overwhelmed and reactive. 

Two other key self-care factors that help nurture resilience: spending 

time outdoors and surrounding yourself with people you enjoy. 

Research suggests that spending just 20 minutes outside in nice weather 

leads to “more expansive and open thinking,” writes Fredrickson—a 

pro-resiliency mindset. Other studies have shown that time in nature 

helps combat anxiety and depression, improves immunity, and lowers 

levels of inflammatory chemicals in the body. 

A similarly convincing body of research shows that strong social 

connections increase our resilience in the face of illness. One 2006 study 

of nearly 3,000 nurses with breast cancer found that those with ten or 

more friends were four times more likely to survive the disease than the 

nurses without close friends. 

VISIT revslo.com FOR 

MORE INFORMATION! 

755 Alphonso Street 

[off Broad Street] 

San Luis Obispo, Ca 93401 

805.439.1881 

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BUILD SELF-EFFICACY 

Remember the children’s book The Little Engine that Could? The 

phrase the engine kept uttering was, “I think I can, I think I can.” That 

is self-efficacy—your ability to believe you can accomplish what you 

want to accomplish. The tendency to remember and dwell on only the 

times when you’ve failed or done less than your best often thwarts your 

ability to remember what you’ve accomplished. To build your selfefficacy, 

keep a journal of “wins.” Write down all of the times in your life 

when you have exceeded expectations, accomplished tough goals, and 

were in control of your life. Review this list often and keep adding to it. 

Encourage your kids to start building their list now. In addition, don’t 

be afraid to start small. Small victories create momentum, which is a great 

foundation from which to succeed at more complicated tasks. SLO LIFE 


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magazine 


| SLO LIFE KITCHEN 

SUMMER COOKOUT 

Grilled Tri-Tip 

with black bean and fresh corn salad 

Whether you’re at the beach, the lake, or relaxing in the backyard, nothing says summer like 

barbeque and local chef, Jessie Rivas, shares his recipe for a Central Coast favorite. 


! tender, 

Jessie’s Tip: 

to ensure that the meat remains 

always cut against the grain 

CENTRAL COAST FARMERS’ HARVESTS 

DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS 

GRILLED TRI-TIP WITH 

BLACK BEAN AND 

FRESH CORN SALAD 

Tri-Tip 

3-4 lb tri-tip trimmed of all silver skin 

and most fat—leave some fat for flavor 

2 Tbsp cooking oil 

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

2 tsp garlic powder 

2 tsp onion powder 

2 Tbsp New Mexico chili powder 

salt and pepper to taste 

Combine dry ingredients for the rub, set 

aside. In a large mixing bowl combine oil 

and Worcestershire sauce. Add tri-tip and 

marinate for one hour. Place tri-tip on a 

sheet pan and rub with dry ingredients. 

Remove tri-tip from sheet pan and grill 

approximately one hour turning every 

fifteen minutes on indirect heat. 

Black Bean and Fresh Corn Salad 

4 cups homemade black beans, rinsed, 

drained 

6 – 8 ears of corn 

4 – 5 Roma tomatoes diced, seeded 

½ medium purple onion, finely chopped 

3 Tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes 

1 bunch of cilantro coarsely chopped, save 

a few sprigs for garnish 

2-3 limes 

olive oil 

salt, pepper and chili powder 

Cut corn off the cob and sauté with butter, 

salt and pepper in a hot pan until slightly 

toasted. Fold all ingredients together. Add 

juice of 2-3 limes, olive oil, salt, pepper and 

chili powder to taste. 

Assemble 

Slice tri-tip 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick cutting 

against the grain. Place tri-tip on deep 

serving platter fanning out the slices and 

spoon the black bean and fresh corn salad 

over the center. Garnish with cilantro 

sprigs and cubed avocado. SLO LIFE 

Fresh Picked & Locally Grown 

Pesticide Free Produce 

Weekly or Bi-weekly Delivery 

No Contract Required 

SERVING 

San Luis Obispo | Avila | Los Osos 

Five Cities | Nipomo 

sloveg.com 

805.709.2780 


| HAPPENINGS 

Dog Training • Premium Daycare • Boarding • Grooming 

FIRST DAY OF DAYCARE FREE! 

173 Buckley Road • San Luis Obispo 

(805) 596-0112 

thousandhillspetresort.com 

Errands 

for Elders 

Gift Certificates Available 

• grocery shopping 

• senior well checks 

• transport to appointments 

• house & pet sitting and more 

We’re committed to helping you! 

Jane Broshears, owner 

805.748.5137 

janebroshears1@gmail.com 

www.errandsforelders.org 

Business Portraits :: Product :: Headshots 

Commercial :: Editorial 

805.448.2841 

www.christopherbersbach.com 

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JUNE 

SAN LUIS OBISPO CONCOURS 

A showcase featuring a collection of the most beautiful and exceptional vehicles 

in California including antique and classic cars, hot rods, race cars and one-of-akind 

vehicles. Food, wine, beer, and music come together for a day of enjoyment. 

June 6 - 8 // sanluisobispoconcours.com 

CONCERTS IN THE PLAZA 

Thousands of people flock to downtown 

San Luis Obispo every Friday for a free 

family-friendly concert in beautiful 

Mission Plaza. 

June 13 – September 5 // downtownslo.com 

ROLL OUT THE BARRELS 

Enjoy Barrels in the Plaza 

followed by a two-day passport 

to more than 20 wineries offering 

wine and food pairings, live 

entertainment, exclusive specials, 

wine tastings and more. 

June 19 -22 // slowine.com 

Hot Shaves • Cold Beer • ESPN • Quality Service 

Monday - Saturday 10am-6pm • Sunday 11am-4pm 

1351 Monterey Street . San Luis Obispo 

(805)783-2887 . clippersbarber.com 


AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY 

Set on the plains of modern day, middle-class 

Oklahoma, the Weston family members are 

all intelligent, sensitive creatures who have 

the uncanny ability of making each other 

absolutely miserable. 

June 20 - 21 // slolittletheatre.org 

LAKESIDE WINE FESTIVAL 

The Lakeside Wine Festival 

will feature 80 participating 

wineries, culinary creations by 

local chefs, artist showcases and 

live music. Proceeds will benefit 

Charles Paddock Zoo and local 

community projects. 

June 28 // atascaderochamber.org

MUSIC DIRECTOR 

JULY 

1 

2 

3 

SUMMER 

MUSIC FESTIVAL 

JULY 17-27, 


4 

5 

6 

Immersive. 

Interactive. 

Intimate. 

INSPIRATIONAL. 

7 

8 

9 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 

FestivalMozaic.com 

phone: 805.781.3009 or toll-free 877.881.8899 

BLUES BASEBALL FIREWORKS 

Since 1946, Blue’s Baseball has been 

a tradition of San Luis Obispo. This 

family-friendly setting offers plenty 

of games and activities for the kids, 

as well as a concession stand and beer 

truck. The fireworks show will begin 

immediately following the game. 

July 3 // bluesbaseball.com 

SEVEN SISTERS CRAFT BEER 

& MUSIC FEST 

Billed as an epic outdoor experience on 

California’s Central Coast, the 2nd annual 

summer event expands to three days with 

camping, music, tastings and more. 

July 11 - July 13 // sevensistersfest.com 

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SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL 

Enjoy live, outdoor Shakespeare and 

other classic plays on the Central 

Coast of California. Grab low-back 

chairs, blankets, family and friends, 

pack a picnic and take in live theatre 

under the stars. 

July 10 - August 2 

centralcoastshakespeare.org 

ROCK TO PIER FUN RUN 

Brian Waterbury Memorial Rock to 

Pier Fun Run and Rock’n Around 

the Pier Half Marathon is open to 

participants of all ages and abilities. 

July 12 - 13 // leaguelineup.com/rock2pier 

PRESENTING THE BEST 

VARIETY OF PROFESSIONAL 

ENTERTAINMENT 

AT THE PAC ! 

CALPOLYARTS.ORG 

FESTIVAL MOZAIC 

This summer, thousands 

of attendees will enjoy 

chamber music, orchestra 

and educational concerts 

led by Scott Yoo in historic, 

spectacular venues and in the 

county’s many scenic wineries, 

parks and gardens. 

July 17 – 27 // festivalmozaic.com 

SHALIMAR 

INDIAN RESTAURANT 

Lunch Buffet 

Mon - Sat 11:30am - 3:00pm $9.99 

Monday Dinner Buffet 

5:00pm - 10:00pm $10.99 

Sunday Brunch 

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805.781.0766 | shalimarslo.com 


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A PAYNE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION 

GALLERY LOCATION 

1039 Chorro Street, San Luis Obispo 

The HAVEN PROPERTIES GALLERY LOCATION offers the many visitors and residents 

of San Luis Obispo County a window into life and real estate on the Central Coast. 

View our listings and learn about real estate opportunities from beach houses to 

vineyard estates and downtown condominiums. 

Visit us 7 days a week and view our exclusive exhibit of artwork by Robert Reynolds. 

EXCLUSIVE AFFILIATION 

Main Office: 1212 Marsh Street, Suite 1 | Gallery Location: 1039 Chorro Street 

San Luis Obispo, California 93401 

805.592.2050 | inquiries@havenslo.com 

HavenSLO.com

SLO LIFE Jun/Jul 2014

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