SLO LIFE Oct/Nov 2017
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<strong>SLO</strong><br />
<strong>LIFE</strong><br />
agazine<br />
LOCAL<br />
ART<br />
NEWS<br />
BRIEFS<br />
MARKET<br />
TRENDS<br />
HEALTH<br />
HOT HOUSE<br />
LOFT SPACE<br />
FAMILY<br />
HARVEST<br />
OUTDOOR<br />
VENTURE<br />
AMERICANA<br />
OUND<br />
slolifemagazine.com<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
MEET<br />
MIKE DURIGHELLO<br />
BREWING SUCCESS<br />
& MINDFUL GROWTH<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 1
2 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 3
Ride <strong>SLO</strong> Transit<br />
FREE<br />
Rideshare Week <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 2 - 6 | Monday - Friday<br />
slotransit.org<br />
4 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
FIND YOUR PLACE<br />
IN THE PERFECT PLACE<br />
This Beautiful Ocean View home is located at Las Ventanas in Pismo Beach. Built in 2016, this<br />
newer home has all the amenities you could want including a very spacious open floor plan<br />
with incredible views. Offered at $1,025,000.<br />
PRESENTED BY:<br />
Rodessa Newton<br />
Owner/Broker<br />
WWW.TRIAD<strong>SLO</strong>.COM 805.544.5500 REAL ESTATE GROUP<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 5
It’s Our Turn<br />
HELPING VETERANS WHO HELPED US<br />
“To come here and find friends and find a<br />
home—it’s really awesome. They’re getting<br />
what they deserve after all this time.”<br />
Sean Houle, the property manager at Rancho<br />
Gardens in Santa Maria, reached out to<br />
CAP<strong>SLO</strong>’s Supportive Services for Veteran<br />
Families to see how he could help vets. Now<br />
seven once homeless veterans from the Korean<br />
and Vietnam wars have shelter.<br />
Sean Houle<br />
PROPERTY MANAGER<br />
(805) 782-4730 ssvf.capslo.org<br />
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Funded Program<br />
1930 Monterey Street<br />
San Luis Obispo<br />
805.544.0500<br />
800.441.4657<br />
SandsSuites.com<br />
Meeting Rooms Available<br />
Amenities Include: Hi-Speed WiFi, Stage, Podium, Easel, Whiteboard, PA<br />
System, Digital Projector, Speaker Phone, Large Flat Screen HD TV, Beverage<br />
Service, ADA Accessible Facility, Ample Parking and more.<br />
Board Room . Accommodates up to 25 guests<br />
1/4 Room . Accommodates up to 36 guests<br />
1/2 Room . Accommodates up to 72 guests<br />
3/4 Room . Accommodates up to 120 guests<br />
Full Room . Accommodates up to 150 guests<br />
Call for<br />
pricing<br />
and<br />
availability<br />
6 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
GENERAL BUILDING CONTRACTORS . LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS<br />
805.704.7559 License 731695<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 7
Live the <strong>SLO</strong> Life!<br />
8 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
Men’s S, M, L, XL<br />
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 9
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
magazine<br />
CONTENTS<br />
Volume<br />
8<br />
Number 5<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>/<strong>Nov</strong> <strong>2017</strong><br />
38<br />
MIKE DURIGHELLO<br />
We sat down with this high-energy<br />
entrepreneur to find out what<br />
makes him tick.<br />
14<br />
16<br />
18<br />
20<br />
Publisher’s Message<br />
Info<br />
On the Cover<br />
In Box<br />
10 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
30<br />
32<br />
34<br />
Briefs<br />
Check out the latest news highlight reel.<br />
Timeline<br />
We take a look at local news from the past two months.<br />
View<br />
With not a single ATV in sight, photographer BETH SARGENT<br />
captures the magic of the dunes at sunset.
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 11
| CONTENTS<br />
36<br />
48<br />
50<br />
Q&A<br />
Newly appointed City Manager DEREK<br />
JOHNSON discusses his vision for the<br />
future of America’s happiest place.<br />
Music<br />
THE NOACH TANGERAS BAND infuses<br />
Americana folk rock sound in their first full<br />
length album.<br />
Dwelling<br />
Dubbed the Cal Poly Lofts, the renovated<br />
Blackstone-Sauer Building proves to be an<br />
inspiring space for students looking for a<br />
place to call home.<br />
74<br />
76<br />
80<br />
82<br />
84<br />
Storytellers’ Corner<br />
New York Times bestselling author FRANZ WISNER<br />
explains the importance of editing and shares his best tips.<br />
Insight<br />
We discuss the implications of Cal Poly’s record-setting<br />
freshmen class and what it means to San Luis Obispo.<br />
Outdoors<br />
Exploring the driftwood scene of the Central Coast in its<br />
natural beauty, SHAWN TRACHT enjoys a blissful day<br />
with mindful intent.<br />
Arts<br />
While it’s not often that economics and arts are<br />
mentioned in the same sentence, BETTINA SWIGGER<br />
talks about how the two are linked locally.<br />
Taste<br />
Traveling the coast from Morro Bay to Pismo Beach<br />
JAIME LEWIS has just one thing in mind—finding the<br />
perfectly prepared burger.<br />
58<br />
64<br />
66<br />
68<br />
Real Estate<br />
We share the year-to-date statistics<br />
of home sales for both the City and the<br />
County of San Luis Obispo.<br />
On the Rise<br />
Combining her love of dance and her<br />
passion for public speaking, San Luis Obispo<br />
high school senior GRETA CARLSON is<br />
sure to keep shining into the future.<br />
Family<br />
Looking for a family-friendly adventure,<br />
PADEN HUGHES takes a trip to the<br />
See Canyon Fruit Ranch and discovers<br />
the perfect way to spend a day.<br />
Health<br />
Always trying to find a healthier way to live<br />
and eat, we give intermittent fasting a whirl<br />
and share our results.<br />
12 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
92<br />
94<br />
96<br />
Kitchen<br />
When the conversation turns to harvest, you know it must<br />
be fall and no dish better embodies the season than a<br />
curried pumpkin soup. Luckily for us, CHEF JESSIE RIVAS<br />
shares his favorite way to prepare a hot bowl.<br />
Brew<br />
Microbrews are back and the Central Coast is seeing a<br />
boom of brewers open and ready for business. Always in<br />
the know, BRANT MYERS stops into one of the newest<br />
spots to break onto the scene, 7 Sisters Brewing.<br />
Happenings<br />
Looking for something to do? We’ve got you covered.<br />
Check out the calendar to discover the best events<br />
around the Central Coast in <strong>Oct</strong>ober and <strong>Nov</strong>ember.
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 13
| PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE<br />
Stick Shift<br />
Every year, around this time, I get an overwhelming urge to gather firewood. The feeling bubbles up from<br />
somewhere way down deep inside my DNA; it’s primal.<br />
The other day, I talked my kids into joining me for my annual pilgrimage. We piled into my truck, a<br />
20-year-old Ford F150 with a manual transmission, and headed west where the woodpile waited. As we<br />
arrived, it was clear that we were first going to have to haul away a mound of trash in order to get to the<br />
fireplace-worthy stuff. The kids groaned with the realization that Dad’s request for “just two hours” of their<br />
time had doubled, at least, now that a trip to the Cold Canyon Landfill was also involved.<br />
“Look,” I pointed out, “if we all work quickly this should only take a few minutes.” Surveying their faces in<br />
the same way a ship captain would have during an 18th-century Atlantic crossing, I realized the very real<br />
potential for mutiny, so I added, “Plus, you know, we are going to be driving right past the In-N-Out in A.G.<br />
on the way to the dump.” The mood changed instantly—it was 11am, and Double Doubles were now on the<br />
line. “Can we go there, Dad?” I swung the truck around, dropped the shifter into “R” and backed up. Twisting<br />
my body and craning my neck, I offered, “Yup—and if you guys work hard, I’ll buy you whatever you want.”<br />
It was a gorgeous early fall day; the sun was casting longer shadows than it had just a month before. The mighty Pacific checked in for good measure<br />
with a gentle whisper. My door creaked and moaned as I reached in to click on the playlist I had cued up for the occasion and from the truck’s speakers<br />
Pearl Jam matched my kids’ frenetic pace. “Dad,” my youngest asked, “can we really get anything?” Without hesitation I answered back, “Anything.” In<br />
rapid succession, my daughter declared that she was going to order a vanilla milkshake, and my boys would be going for chocolate and strawberry. The<br />
work went by quickly; the whole time Eddie Vedder kept us company with his raw, tribal screams: spin, spin / spin the black circle…<br />
With a full load, we folded ourselves back into the cab. Spirits were soaring in anticipation of oozing special sauce, Animal Style. My still-gloved right<br />
hand reached for the ignition and turned the key clockwise. Click, click, click. My heart sank as I realized that my obsession with 90’s grunge had drained<br />
the battery. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere and would not be going anywhere anytime soon. In-N-Out for dinner, maybe, but not lunch. The<br />
news hit hard; really hard. The workers were unhappy and would surely unionize as a result. I phoned everyone I knew to be within a five-mile radius<br />
of our location. No luck. As a last resort, I dialed AAA. Their annoyingly chirpy operator informed me that a tow truck would be by in the next two to<br />
three hours. It was then, in a wave of desperation, that it hit me: wait a minute, we have a stick shift!<br />
“Everybody out,” I ordered; “I’ve got an idea.” I explained that if we could get the truck moving fast enough, I could put it in first gear, pop the clutch,<br />
and we could jump start the old Ford ourselves. They were in disbelief that something like that could actually work, but grasped onto the tiny glimmer<br />
of hope now dangled before them. I lined the kids up at the tailgate and demonstrated how I wanted them to push. Looking like a football coach,<br />
minus the whistle and clipboard, I said, “You’ve got to bend your knees and put your back into it, like this.” I gave it everything I had, barely budging the<br />
hulking two-ton amalgamation of Detroit-made steel. “We’re going to have to work together on this, doing it all at once, pushing as hard as we can. If<br />
we can just get it over this hump the rest is downhill.”<br />
The first shove did nothing. Not a thing. With my shoulder now nested into the void of the open driver’s side door, I shouted out, “Push!” An inch was<br />
gained and the truck rocked back again. “Push!” This time two inches, and then a retreat. “Push!” Three inches, and back. “Push!” Four inches, and now a<br />
4,000-pound ticking metronome. After a dozen or so successive tries, momentum took over and the tires exited the rut and began to roll downhill. I ran<br />
alongside as it gained speed and jumped in behind the wheel, tromped down the clutch, turned the ignition to “On,” shoved the stick out of neutral and<br />
into first, and then popped the clutch.<br />
Vrrrrroooooooooooommm!!! The aging workhorse roared back to life. Glancing up at the rear-view mirror, I could see my kids running behind me as if they<br />
were a trio of offensive lineman trailing their speedy running back down the open field, knowing that it was their blocks that set him free for his glorious<br />
touchdown scamper. Pumping their fists, they high-fived, laughed, whooped and hollered. For good measure, I sped out into the nearby open field and<br />
spun a celebratory donut, gunning the engine and launching a plume of Central Coast topsoil heavenward—my version of an end zone dance.<br />
I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone who has had a hand in producing this issue of <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> Magazine and, most of all,<br />
to our advertisers and subscribers—we couldn’t do it without you.<br />
Live the <strong>SLO</strong> Life!<br />
Tom Franciskovich<br />
tom@slolifemagazine.com<br />
14 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
TILE SHOWROOM & NATURAL STONE SLAB YARD<br />
SHOWROOM HOURS MON-FRI 10-5, SAT 10-3 SLMARBLE.COM, 5452 ENDA RD<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 15
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
magazine<br />
4251 S. HIGUERA STREET, SUITE 800, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA<br />
<strong>SLO</strong><strong>LIFE</strong>MAGAZINE.COM<br />
info@slolifemagazine.com<br />
(805) 543-8600 • (805) 456-1677 fax<br />
PUBLISHER<br />
Tom Franciskovich<br />
CREATIVE DIRECTOR<br />
Sheryl Disher<br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS<br />
Paden Hughes<br />
Dawn Janke<br />
Jaime Lewis<br />
Brant Myers<br />
Jessie Rivas<br />
Shawn Tracht<br />
Franz Wisner<br />
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS<br />
Blake Andrews<br />
Patrick Patton<br />
Vanessa Plakias<br />
Beth Sargent<br />
CONTRIBUTIONS<br />
Have some comments or feedback about something you’ve read here?<br />
Or, do you have something on your mind that you think everyone should<br />
know about? Submit your story ideas, events, recipes, and announcements<br />
by visiting us online at slolifemagazine.com and clicking “Share Your Story” or<br />
emailing us at info@slolifemagazine.com. Be sure to include your full name<br />
and city for verification purposes. Contributions chosen for publication may<br />
be edited for clarity and space limitations.<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
If you would like to advertise, please contact Tom Franciskovich by phone<br />
at (805) 543-8600 or by email at tom@slolifemagazine.com or visit us<br />
online at slolifemagazine.com/advertise and we will send you a complete<br />
media kit along with testimonials from happy advertisers.<br />
SUBSCRIPTIONS<br />
Ready to live the <strong>SLO</strong> Life all year long? It’s quick and easy! Just log on to<br />
slolifemagazine.com/subscribe. It’s just $24.95 for the year. And don’t<br />
forget to set your friends and family up with a subscription, too. It’s the<br />
gift that keeps on giving!<br />
NOTE<br />
The opinions expressed within these pages do not necessarily reflect those of<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> Magazine. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole<br />
or in part without the express written permission of the publisher.<br />
CIRCULATION, COVERAGE AND ADVERTISING RATES<br />
Complete details regarding circulation, coverage and advertising rates,<br />
space, sizes and similar information are available to prospective<br />
advertisers. Please call or email for a media kit. Closing date is 30 days<br />
before date of issue.<br />
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR<br />
info@slolifemagazine.com<br />
4251 S. Higuera Street, Suite 800<br />
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401<br />
Letters chosen for publication may be edited for clarity and space limitations.<br />
16 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 17
| ON THE COVER<br />
A SNEAK PEEK<br />
BEHIND the scenes<br />
WITH MIKE DURIGHELLO<br />
BY VANESSA PLAKIAS<br />
Mike gave me a tour.<br />
The first stop was their<br />
keg storage, and then we<br />
went into this massive<br />
walk-in refrigerator.<br />
Kombucha is everywhere!<br />
And, there is a process<br />
for everything from<br />
brewing and shipping<br />
all the way down to<br />
cleaning. Although it<br />
appeared to be so carefree<br />
and artsy, there was<br />
definitely business going<br />
on there.<br />
All of their personalities seemed to mesh so well. They were a<br />
bunch of characters, finishing each other’s sentences, and just<br />
balancing each other out. It’s wonderful to be around, the energy<br />
is contagious. They had customers coming in and out the whole<br />
time I was there and the phone was ringing off the hook. It was a<br />
beehive of activity in that place. I wanted to get a shot of the four<br />
owners together, but it was hard to pull off because it was so busy.<br />
We had to sneak it in quickly.<br />
Upstairs is their office,<br />
and I say “upstairs,” but<br />
it is more like “up ladder”<br />
because you have to scale<br />
this really steep ladder<br />
to get up there. I was so<br />
nervous climbing it, but<br />
they are all maniacs. They<br />
literally run face first<br />
down this thing. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
They have guitars, punching bags, and they have a collection of<br />
hot sauce, because if you are late to work you have to take a shot<br />
of hot sauce; that’s the punishment for showing up late. They are<br />
definitely very playful, they keep it fun, and happy.<br />
18 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
Meet a few of the 700+ members of<br />
our caring Sierra Vista family.<br />
Physician Referral Line:<br />
(844) 677-5929<br />
1010 Murray Avenue<br />
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405<br />
SierraVistaRegional.com<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 19
| IN BOX<br />
Take us with you!<br />
Hey, <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> readers: Send us your photos the next time you’re relaxing in town or traveling<br />
far and away with your copy of the magazine. Email us at info@slolifemagazine.com<br />
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE<br />
DOLOMITES, ITALY<br />
JUDY and WALT BREMER<br />
Our magazine traveled by Gondola up to the top of<br />
Heavenly Mountain.<br />
— TAYLOR, GABRIELLE, MARTY, & BRYAN DAVIS<br />
ALASKA<br />
LAKE SUNAPEE, NEW HAMPSHIRE<br />
PIPER went to Phil’s pre-school program and we loved the<br />
article about him. NORA hopes to be doing Junior Guards<br />
with him next summer. Thanks for a great local publication.<br />
JEFF, SUMMER, HUNTER, and MADI LONG, with KEN<br />
and JUDY RIENER, took a chopper ride to Meade<br />
Glacier during an Alaskan cruise.<br />
KUTUH, BALI, INDONESIA<br />
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK<br />
CORDELL, MARLEY, and AUDREY CONOVER<br />
ANDREW JONES and JULIE NURMINI enjoying the<br />
family temple on the Bukit. Selamat Hari Saraswati.<br />
20 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 21
| IN BOX<br />
GRAND CANYON<br />
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA<br />
MAKENA and KAILANI SWITHIN<br />
IRELAND<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> OAK LEAVES ROLLER HOCKEY<br />
COSTA RICA<br />
Sisters MARGE GIST and JANET LAURSEN visiting<br />
their ancestral home.<br />
SOUTH KOREA<br />
Hello from El Tumbo de las Olas in Costa Rica.<br />
THE WOOLPERT FAMILY enjoying the pura vida<br />
lifestyle and the magical chaos of friends and<br />
family in the jungle!<br />
AFRICA<br />
After spending a year in <strong>SLO</strong>, we are now back to Ulsan,<br />
South Korea, with <strong>SLO</strong> Life. HYESUE and EUNSUE at<br />
Tongdosa in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosan near<br />
Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.<br />
THE SCIOCCHETTI FAMILY<br />
22 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
Sponsors<br />
As a community, you grabbed the bull by the horns and brought CowParade to town.<br />
As artists, you hooved it against deadline pressure, creating fun talking pieces. And<br />
as donors, you helped wrangle in over $250,000 for various charities. A year ago this<br />
month, 101 crazy cows descended on <strong>SLO</strong> County for a prolonged public grazing, leaving<br />
a herd of spectators with wide smiles and lasting memories. Thank you, everyone!<br />
Artists<br />
San Simeon Lodge<br />
Cambria Tourism Board<br />
Robin’s Restaurant<br />
CowParade <strong>SLO</strong><br />
Town of Harmony<br />
Harmony Valley Creamery<br />
Visitors Alliance of Cayucos /<br />
Shoreline Inn / Happy go Smile/<br />
Negranti Construction<br />
Windows on the Water<br />
Morro Bay Tourism Bureau /<br />
City of Morro Bay<br />
Gardens by Gabriel, Inc.<br />
Los Osos / Baywood<br />
smart72<br />
Avila Beach Golf Resort<br />
Pismo Beach CVB<br />
Nipomo Tourism Alliance / Trilogy at<br />
Monarch Dunes / Monarch Club /<br />
Monarch Dunes Golf Club<br />
J.B. Dewar<br />
Paso Robles Inn<br />
CMSF Heritage Foundation<br />
Parker Sanpei<br />
Halter Ranch Vineyard<br />
Oso Libre Winery<br />
Sextant Wines<br />
J Dusi Winery<br />
San Marcos Creek Vineyard<br />
Ranchita Canyon Vineyard<br />
Umpqua Bank<br />
Castoro Cellars<br />
Visit Atascadero / City of Atascadero /<br />
Debbie Arnold<br />
Ancient Peaks Winery &<br />
Santa Margarita Adventures<br />
Cal Poly - Creative Services<br />
Cal Poly - CAFES<br />
Cal Poly - Animal Science<br />
Cal Poly - Experience Industry<br />
Management<br />
Cal Poly CAFES Class of 2020 Donor<br />
La Lomita Ranch<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> Chamber<br />
Modelo / Central Coast Distributing<br />
French Hospital / City of San Luis Obispo<br />
/ ARTS Obispo<br />
San Luis Obispo TBID<br />
Mission College Prep. Donor<br />
Man One Jr.<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> Brew<br />
California Mid-State Fair<br />
RRM/Terre Verde Environmental<br />
Hotel SERRA<br />
Daylight Home, Lighting & Patio<br />
Peter Orradre Family<br />
French Hospital<br />
Cattaneo Bros.<br />
Crystal Springs Water<br />
Oasis Associates<br />
UPS<br />
Cole Chrysler, Jeep, Mazda<br />
Barnett Cox & Associates<br />
Left Coast Tees<br />
O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling<br />
Got You Covered<br />
Farm Supply<br />
The Allen Family<br />
Animal Care Clinic<br />
KSBY-TV<br />
The Land Conservancy of<br />
San Luis Obispo County<br />
La Lomita Ranch<br />
True Myth Winery<br />
HWY 101 Communications<br />
The Rossi Family Foundation<br />
Madonna Inn<br />
Lin Mercer<br />
Melody Rose Lara<br />
Tish Rogers & Patrick Dennis<br />
Mary Clark-Camargo<br />
Karen Floyd<br />
Paso Robles Art Association<br />
Carol Paulsen<br />
Gayle Rappaport-Weiland<br />
David Nakayama<br />
Michelle Watson<br />
Natallie Saia<br />
Gregory & Jane Siracusa,<br />
Jeff Odell & Don Doubledee<br />
Ted Emrick & Morro Bay<br />
High School Students<br />
Maggie Ragatz<br />
Dave & Kyle Doust<br />
Douglas Turner<br />
Wendy Hiller<br />
John Cuevas<br />
Douglas Turner<br />
Deprise Brescia<br />
Donna May Jeffery<br />
Karen Floyd<br />
Nipomo High School<br />
Brom P. Webb<br />
Liberty Continuing High School<br />
Ken & Rod Gouff, Christine Sedley<br />
Lauren Goldenberg<br />
Paso Robles Children’s Museum<br />
Virginia Viera<br />
Jack Foster<br />
Brandy Maynard<br />
Roberta Miller<br />
The Passionate Hearts<br />
Kerry Donlon-Bowen<br />
Lin Mercer<br />
Randy Gilman<br />
Templeton High School<br />
Jim Trask<br />
Susan F. Schafer<br />
Larry Kappen<br />
Grizzly Youth Academy<br />
Mission College Preparatory<br />
San Luis Obispo High School<br />
Cal Poly Creative Services<br />
Student Design Team<br />
Annierose Seifert<br />
Cal Poly Dairy Science Alumni<br />
Deprise Brescia<br />
Bouba Boumaiz<br />
Garet Zook & Shae Somma<br />
Missy Reitner & Neal Breton<br />
Juliana Martinez<br />
Shirley Hazlett<br />
Douglas Turner<br />
MCP Art Students<br />
Man One<br />
Dylan<br />
Jerry Scott<br />
Carla Cary<br />
Amy Mckay<br />
Sharon Harris<br />
Roberta Miller<br />
Tisha Smith<br />
Robin Smith<br />
Carla Cary & Christine Curtis<br />
Lauren Goldenberg<br />
Lois Keller<br />
Gini Griffin<br />
Dennis Bredow<br />
Donna Mary-Brunet<br />
Lin Mercer<br />
Chloe Millhauser<br />
Melisa Beveridge<br />
Labri Ferreira<br />
Carol Paulsen<br />
Garet Zook & Shae Somma<br />
Sara Lane<br />
Debbie Gedayloo<br />
The Children at Jack Ready<br />
Imagination Park<br />
Kelly Asuncion<br />
Shelly Corwin<br />
Leigh Rubin<br />
Visit cowparadeslo.com to read more about our amazing artists, sponsors, OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> and | <strong>SLO</strong> charities. <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 23
| IN BOX<br />
ALASKA<br />
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO<br />
DEAN and<br />
KATHY MEYER<br />
GUAM<br />
DENNIS and CHERYL FERNANDEZ on the stairs of the<br />
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe,<br />
New Mexico on our 49th Anniversary.<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> CAT<br />
I love your magazine and its whole <strong>SLO</strong> Town perspective<br />
(People Profiles, Food, Great <strong>SLO</strong> Homes). I have lived<br />
in the city of San Luis Obispo for the last 37 years (Class<br />
of ‘96 Cal Poly). I recently traveled to Guam and brought<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> Life with me for the long plane ride over. Always an<br />
excellent read! I am in the Army and work at Camp Roberts.<br />
I always give my current copy to visiting Soldiers for event<br />
ideas while they are in <strong>SLO</strong> County working or visiting.<br />
Please keep up the good work.<br />
— BRIAN LAWSON<br />
SWAKOPMUND, NAMIBIA<br />
RUSTY MARKS<br />
and KOLETTE RUSH<br />
This is my cat, Meow. When we adopted her from<br />
Woods we noticed that she had a unique pattern<br />
on her fur. If you look carefully you can see “<strong>SLO</strong>”<br />
on her side. She is very friendly and we love her.<br />
— MOLLY, AGE 11<br />
24 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 25
We helped more<br />
people purchase<br />
a home in 2015<br />
and 2016 than<br />
any other lender<br />
in San Luis<br />
Obispo County.<br />
| IN BOX<br />
You showed us...<br />
ATHENS<br />
GALICIA, SPAIN<br />
THANK YOU!<br />
NICOLE PAZDEN<br />
NETHERLANDS<br />
Help when you make the most important<br />
financial decisions of your life.<br />
KURT and SUSAN PACHECO<br />
in front of the Cathedral of<br />
Santiago de Compostela after<br />
walking the Camino de Santiago.<br />
JAN, CARRIE, and VICTORIA<br />
WILSON at the Van Gogh<br />
Museum in Amsterdam.<br />
KETCHUM, IDAHO<br />
WEISER, IDAHO<br />
Ben Lerner<br />
Mortgage Advisor<br />
NMLS 395723<br />
805.441.9486<br />
blerner@opesadvisors.com<br />
1212 Marsh St., Suite 1<br />
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401<br />
opesadvisors.com<br />
© <strong>2017</strong> Opes Advisors, A Division of Flagstar Bank<br />
Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender<br />
26 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
PATTY and DAVID THAYER in<br />
Weiser, Idaho just prior to the<br />
total eclipse of the sun!<br />
Catching the total solar eclipse.<br />
— MALIA, JOHN, ELLA, ADDIE,<br />
AND ZOE WADDELL
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 27
O P E R A S A N L U I S O B I S P O P R E S E N T S<br />
Giacomo Puccini’s<br />
MADAMA<br />
BUTTERFLY<br />
A CITYWIDE ARTS COLLABORATION<br />
Central Coast Children’s Choir<br />
Civic Ballet San Luis Obispo<br />
Deyo Dances<br />
Opera San Luis Obispo<br />
Studio @-Ryan’s American Dance<br />
Directed by Edna Garabedian<br />
Choreographed by Andrew Silvaggio<br />
Opera San Luis Obispo<br />
Grand Orchestra & Chorus Conducted by<br />
Brian Asher Alhadeff<br />
SATURDAY<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 14, 7PM<br />
SUNDAY<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 15, 2PM<br />
2<br />
0<br />
1<br />
7<br />
PERFORMING ARTS CENTER<br />
SAN LUIS OBISPO<br />
| IN BOX<br />
POPPI, ITALY<br />
THE MOORE FAMILY watched the<br />
sunset over the castle on a hill: the<br />
Castle of the Counts Guidi in Poppi, Italy.<br />
NORTH CAROLINA<br />
KATHY MCCAREY, MARY VICKERS,<br />
and CAROL SANDERSON standing<br />
in front of the historic Mast General<br />
Store, circa 1883 in Valle Crucis.<br />
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE<br />
PARIS, FRANCE<br />
AJ, ADDIE, and<br />
AVERY SCHUBERG<br />
JEROME, ARIZONA<br />
DYLAN and EVAN AQUINO<br />
JEAN and JOHN HYDUCHAK<br />
Tickets: www.pacslo.org<br />
Mon-Sat 28 | <strong>SLO</strong> 12-6pm <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE 805.756.4849<br />
| OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
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include your name, city, state, phone number or email address (for authentication purposes).
COMPLETE YOUR HOME<br />
WITH DESIGNER HARD W OOD AND AREA RUGS<br />
LEGNO BASTONE’S ROMA<br />
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I A N S A U D E<br />
ADORNMENTS FOR LIVING<br />
MON - WED: BY APPOINTMENT | THUR - SAT: 10AM - 5:30PM<br />
3982 SHORT ST. #110 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93401 | 805.784.0967 | IANSAUDE.COM<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 29
| BRIEFS<br />
189<br />
The number of days it took for the San Luis<br />
Obispo County Sheriff ’s Office to ban the<br />
‘torture chair’ following the revelation that<br />
Andrew Holland, a 36-year-old Atascadero<br />
resident, had been strapped to the restraint<br />
for 46 hours straight and died as a result<br />
of a blood clot that formed in his leg,<br />
which the coroner characterized as “natural<br />
causes.” Despite assurances from Sheriff<br />
Ian Parkinson that restraint chairs were no<br />
longer used at the jail, records showed that<br />
his office signed off on policies that included<br />
its continued use in March. Later, in July,<br />
the county awarded Holland’s family a $5<br />
million settlement. The Holland family, who<br />
called on Parkinson to resign over the death<br />
and the “blatant cover-up” that followed,<br />
plans to donate the settlement to advocate for<br />
mentally ill people caught up in the criminal<br />
justice system. A similar case in Oklahoma,<br />
involving the death of a 58-year-old man who<br />
had been restrained to a similar chair, resulted<br />
in its sheriff and five others being arrested for<br />
second-degree manslaughter.<br />
“Beware of<br />
misleading and<br />
sensational news<br />
headlines.”<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> County District Attorney Dan Dow<br />
complained on Facebook after reading an<br />
article in the Tribune that reported the fact<br />
that the FBI was investigating the Sheriff ’s<br />
Office concerning its treatment of inmates<br />
at the County Jail—something that many<br />
residents suggested Dow himself should<br />
have been doing.<br />
114°<br />
Temperature in San Luis Obispo on<br />
September 2nd—the hottest day ever in its<br />
recorded history.<br />
“I saw him<br />
choking and did<br />
the Heimlich<br />
maneuver—two or<br />
three abdominal<br />
thrusts.”<br />
Will Stewart, a student at Sacramento<br />
State, who had been sipping a cup of coffee<br />
while waiting to interview for a paramedic<br />
internship, said after saving the life of a man<br />
who was choking at Coastal Peaks Coffee on<br />
South Higuera in San Luis Obispo. In case<br />
you were wondering, Stewart also nailed the<br />
interview and landed the internship.<br />
50<br />
The number of years Cuesta College<br />
President Gil Stork will have been with the<br />
community college when he retires in June.<br />
“Hi Friends! BIG<br />
NEWS: I’m formally<br />
announcing my<br />
candidacy for<br />
the office of<br />
of <strong>SLO</strong> County<br />
Supervisor…”<br />
Arroyo Grande native, Jimmy Paulding,<br />
announced on his Facebook page his<br />
intention to run against Lynn Compton<br />
for the 4th District seat on the Board of<br />
Supervisors. Paulding is a lawyer who<br />
had been a registered Republican up<br />
until 2011 when he changed his party<br />
affiliation to Democrat.<br />
“We are a victim of success.”<br />
Cal Poly president on the massive increase<br />
in the size of the <strong>2017</strong> freshman class—<br />
estimated to be about 1,000 larger than<br />
planned—a 28% increase over last year.<br />
[see page 76 for more on this issue]<br />
“When acting in official<br />
capacities, faculty and<br />
staff are prohibited<br />
from endorsing,<br />
soliciting, encouraging<br />
or participating in<br />
religious expression or<br />
activities with students,<br />
on campus or at schoolsponsored<br />
events.”<br />
One of the new rules adopted by the San<br />
Luis Coastal Unified School District in<br />
response to an anti-homosexual letter to the<br />
editor published in the school newspaper<br />
from former <strong>SLO</strong> High teacher, Michael<br />
Stack, who said, among other things, that<br />
“gays deserve to die.”<br />
74<br />
Number of years after World War II ended<br />
that the remains of Pfc. George Bernard<br />
Murray finally returned to his hometown<br />
of Oceano. Murray, a First Class Marine,<br />
was killed in a battle on a remote Pacific<br />
Island, and will be buried in a grave<br />
next to his mother, Edith, at the Arroyo<br />
Grande Cemetery.<br />
“We’re not criminals!”<br />
An oft-repeated refrain heard from San<br />
Luis Obispo County protestors who showed<br />
up to express their outrage outside of<br />
Congressman Salud Carbajal’s Marsh Street<br />
office after Donald Trump announced his<br />
intentions to end DACA, an Obama-era<br />
policy that protects young people brought<br />
into the country illegally as children. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
30 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 31
| TIMELINE<br />
Around the County<br />
AUGUST ‘17<br />
8/3<br />
The official cause of death was released by the San Luis Obispo County<br />
Sheriff ’s Office claiming that the 20-year-old woman, Baylee Gatlin, who died<br />
at the Lighting in a Bottle music festival at Lake San Antonio had overdosed<br />
on LSD. But, the coroner, who reports to the sheriff, was immediately<br />
challenged as experts shared that it is extremely unlikely to ingest a fatal<br />
dosage of LSD. Gary Alan Walter, the Tulare-based coroner, who worked on a<br />
contract basis for the sheriff, has a checkered past, including receiving a DUI<br />
on the way to perform an autopsy, as well as issuing a series of controversial<br />
findings, including the case of Andrew Holland, the 36-year-old Atascadero<br />
man who was strapped to a plastic restraint chair for 46 hours at the County<br />
Jail. During his time working under Sheriff Ian Parkinson, the state has been<br />
attempting to suspend or revoke his medical license. Parkinson’s spokesman,<br />
Tony Cipolla, claimed that they “had been attempting to hire a full-time<br />
pathologist,” but noted that there were a shortage of candidates and “simply<br />
no alternatives.” A little more than a month later, the sheriff was able to hire<br />
Dr. Joye Carter, a triple-board-certified physician with more than 30 years of<br />
experience in forensic pathology.<br />
8/16<br />
Despite spirited opposition from the neighbors, the <strong>SLO</strong><br />
City Council voted to move forward with plans for a<br />
bike pathway that would connect downtown to Foothill<br />
Boulevard. To make way for bike paths that are protected<br />
from traffic by planter beds, curbs, and posts, the city<br />
would remove parking on one side of Chorro Street<br />
and one or both sides of Broad Street. Currently, about<br />
330 bicyclists traverse the corridor each day, but the city<br />
believes that number would increase substantially if a<br />
safer path is provided. Those who spoke during the public<br />
comment section were mostly divided on the plan, but the<br />
residents whose street parking would be disrupted were the<br />
most passionate in their arguments. The total cost of the<br />
project is expected to be around $280,000 and is slated for<br />
completion by 2019. Approximately 62% of the money will<br />
come from a state transportation fund.<br />
8/7<br />
After seven-and-a-half years as San Luis Obispo’s city manager, Katie Lichtig<br />
announced that she will be moving to Santa Monica to become its new chief<br />
operating officer. Prior to her role here, Lichtig was the assistant city manager<br />
of Beverly Hills and city manager of Malibu. Despite receiving praise from<br />
current council members, her tenure with the city was not without controversy:<br />
many in the community claimed her annual compensation—$321,021—was far<br />
too generous; and, earlier this year, after a $70,000 expenditure on an outside<br />
investigator, she was disciplined for her role in the “sexy firefighter video” aired<br />
at the <strong>SLO</strong> Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Dinner. Her departure leaves<br />
behind an anticipated $8.9 million dollar budget shortfall in four years due<br />
to rising pension costs and lower than forecasted tax revenues. The <strong>SLO</strong> City<br />
Council looked internally for her replacement and tapped Derek Johnson [see<br />
page 36] to become the new top administrator.<br />
8/10<br />
The San Luis Obispo Architecture Review Commission approved a plan<br />
submitted by developer Nick Tompkins for a three-story, 45-foot-tall<br />
mixed-use building at the corner of Monterey and Santa Rosa Streets.<br />
Previously, Tompkins had submitted a proposal for a 75-foot-tall structure<br />
that included a hotel and residential housing, but withdrew it after receiving<br />
mixed reviews. The approved project will include 21,198 square feet of<br />
office space, 2,985 square feet of retail space, and 2,195 square feet of<br />
restaurant space with no residential housing units. The amount of parking<br />
included—21 spaces—was half of what the city normally requires because<br />
Tompkins added bicycle parking as well as on-site showers and lockers for<br />
those who choose to bike to work.<br />
8/29<br />
Popular Cal Poly student, Kennedy Love, 22, a third-year<br />
landscape architecture major, was killed while riding his<br />
bike down Foothill Boulevard. Although he was wearing<br />
a helmet, had his bike lights turned on, and rode within<br />
the bike lane, he was hit by a 17-year-old girl from Los<br />
Osos who had been drinking. After she collided with Love,<br />
instead of stopping to help, she and her friend left him<br />
lying in traffic and fled the scene. She then abandoned<br />
her vehicle and called for a ride home. Police officers later<br />
found her car in a nearby neighborhood and traced it to<br />
her residence where she was apprehended. At the corner of<br />
Foothill and Ferrini, a “ghost bike,” a bicycle painted white,<br />
was locked to a street post, and flowers began accumulating<br />
as a memorial to the life of Love.<br />
32 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
9/1<br />
More than 70% of San Luis Obispo residents voted “No” in a special<br />
election concerning a citizen initiative calling for the repeal of the<br />
Rental Housing Inspection Program and replacing it with a new<br />
“nondiscrimination in housing” policy, although the city council had<br />
already repealed the program in April. The authors of the initiative,<br />
former city councilman Dan Carpenter along with local attorneys<br />
Stew Jenkins and Dan Knight—together prodded the city council<br />
to spend $160,000 to hold the special election —pushed landlordfriendly<br />
Measure B-17, as it came to be known, despite objections<br />
from city officials who claimed it would have created loopholes that<br />
would have effectively undermined housing programs to assist the<br />
poor, minorities, and elderly.<br />
SEPTEMBER ‘17<br />
9/6<br />
The Downtown Concept Plan, first initiated in 2015, was ratified by<br />
the <strong>SLO</strong> City Council. The plan, drafted by a team of local designers<br />
led by Pierre Rademaker, outlines a blueprint for what downtown San<br />
Luis Obispo will look like in 25 years by addressing societal trends,<br />
such as shopping, living, and transportation habits. Key concepts<br />
include: drop-off zones on every block for ride sharing services, such<br />
as Uber; new parking structures; higher medium-density housing<br />
and smaller dwelling units; expansion and upgrades to the city’s arts<br />
and entertainment corridor; upgrades to Mission Plaza that include<br />
a splash pad; new shopping plazas and pedestrian and bike-friendly<br />
pathways; and more mixed-use developments with commercial space<br />
on the ground floor, and residential units above. Going forward, the<br />
implementation of the plan will depend on a variety of factors, such as<br />
funding, regulatory approvals, and prioritization.<br />
9/12<br />
In a move that many locals claim was long overdue, the County Board<br />
of Supervisors asked Parks and Recreation Director Nick Franco for a<br />
plan to clean up and manage the picturesque 55-acre clifftop property<br />
near Avila Beach known as Pirate’s Cove. The long-abandoned park,<br />
which boasts some of the most spectacular views in the world, has been<br />
overrun with refuse and has become a hotbed for illicit activity, frequently<br />
a problem spot for local law enforcement. While the request for a plan is<br />
widely viewed as a positive development by proponents, it is important<br />
to note that no money has yet been allocated. Once the plan is presented,<br />
the Board will be required to give their approval to financing the<br />
upgrades, which will likely include a restroom, garbage cans, signage, and<br />
a paved parking lot, as well as its ongoing operations.<br />
9/14<br />
Over the objections of Air Pollution Control District officer Larry<br />
Allen, who noted, “After six years, the temporary controls put in<br />
place for the emergency permit process have not been effective<br />
really at all,” the Coastal Commission approved a new five-year<br />
dust mitigation plan for the Oceano Dunes, which includes more<br />
of the same efforts used in the past: wind fencing, vegetation, and<br />
hay bales. Meanwhile, Nipomo Mesa residents claim that they are<br />
forced to breathe some of the worst air in the country and continue<br />
to suffer maladies ranging from asthma to lung cancer and are<br />
encouraged to remain indoors on many days.<br />
9/19<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> City Council unanimously approved the development<br />
known as Avila Ranch, off of Buckley Road near the airport<br />
on the south end of town. The neighborhood, thought to break<br />
ground in two years, will include 720 new homes of varying sizes,<br />
a 15,000-square-foot commercial center, as well as maintaining<br />
about 35% of its land as open space. The developer, Andy<br />
Mangano, will be responsible for the $7 million extension of<br />
Buckley Road, which will connect it to South Higuera. Homes in<br />
the new subdivision will range in price from $200,000 to $750,000<br />
with most of them in the $350,000 to $650,000 range, in today’s<br />
dollars. Although marketed as a “workforce housing project,” just<br />
67 of the 720 homes fall under the city’s inclusionary housing<br />
program and only 25 fit the technical definition of “workforce<br />
housing,” which is designated for those making between 120 and<br />
160 percent of the median income locally. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 33
| VIEW<br />
OTHERWORLDLY<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH SARGENT<br />
“Photography, for me—it just means everything,” Beth Sargent says,<br />
reflecting on her craft. “It’s really, really important in my life. You<br />
know, you hear people say these big, dramatic things like, ‘It’s my<br />
soul’s purpose,’ but, it really is to that level for me.”<br />
Sargent marks the genesis of her obsession when she was just a kid,<br />
11 or 12 years old. “I remember stealing my parents’ Kodak Brownie<br />
camera when I was in the sixth grade.” But, it was 2008 when the<br />
doors swung wide open, and the proverbial horse left the barn. That<br />
was the year she bought her first digital single lens reflex (SLR),<br />
a Canon. Sargent had been watching the digital product improve<br />
for years, but it was close to a decade ago that she remembers it<br />
surpassing the old film-based equipment, in terms of both versatility<br />
and quality. “I never thought about film again,” she marvels.<br />
With her trusty 7D Mark II always at her side, the Nipomo resident<br />
sees the world as though she were watching it through her camera’s<br />
viewfinder. Everything, every moment, is a still image waiting to<br />
be captured, whether it is a carefully planned outing or a bit of<br />
serendipity, chancing upon an unfolding landscape, or an encounter<br />
with one of her favorite subjects, a bird of prey, hawks and eagles.<br />
Catching news of a big storm on the horizon, however, is when<br />
Sargent’s soul begins to vibrate at a higher frequency. And, it was<br />
one particular deluge back in 2010 that she still clearly recalls to this<br />
day. There was no doubt in her mind where she and a couple of her<br />
shutterbug friends would be the second the dark clouds began to<br />
drift off and the sun turned in for the evening: the Oceano Dunes.<br />
The composition you see here is actually an amalgamation of three<br />
images shot in rapid succession in a process called High Dynamic<br />
Range, or HDR. Sargent and her companions trudged the soggy<br />
sand for about a mile from the entrance and waited patiently for<br />
the drops to stop falling. She wanted to see what the rain would<br />
do to the dunes, figuring it would leave behind artwork similar to<br />
the smooth frosting you sometimes see on wedding cakes. There<br />
was a brief moment when it all came together. The skies parted,<br />
the sun descended, the sand held its shape, and Sargent snapped<br />
away. Of the park, one of her favorite Central Coast subjects, the<br />
photographer says, “The Oceano Dunes themselves, they’re, and I<br />
really don’t know how to say this—they’re otherworldly.” <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
“<br />
You know, you hear people say<br />
these big, dramatic things like,<br />
‘It’s my soul’s purpose,’ but, it<br />
really is to that level for me.<br />
34 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
”
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 35
| Q&A<br />
METAMORPHOSIS<br />
Newly appointed San Luis Obispo City Manager DEREK JOHNSON, stopped by<br />
the office for a wide-ranging conversation that spanned everything from how<br />
he met his wife (she worked at his favorite Isla Vista coffee shop) to his passion<br />
for surfing (if there is an exotic international break somewhere, chances are he’s<br />
surfed it) to his two young daughters and his twenty-year yoga practice. Here are<br />
some of the highlights from our conversation…<br />
We always like to start from the beginning, Derek.<br />
Where are you from? I was born and raised in<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ato, California. It was a working-class part of<br />
Marin County. Lots of police officers, firemen. A<br />
lot of people commuted in to San Francisco. That<br />
was back when getting to the city took 20 minutes<br />
and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge cost just 25<br />
cents. My family ended up there because both of my<br />
grandparents were in the military; my grandfather<br />
was a colonel in the Air Force and my grandmother<br />
was a major in the Army. Much of the Pacific<br />
operations [during World War II] were based there<br />
in the Bay Area, so after the war that’s where they<br />
settled; bought a house. I grew up in the same house<br />
my mom grew up in. <strong>Nov</strong>ato, when I was growing<br />
up, in a lot of ways reminds me of San Luis Obispo<br />
now. People knew each other; strong family and<br />
community values.<br />
And, what about college? I went to school at<br />
UCSB, my degree is in environmental science.<br />
When I graduated in the early 90’s there weren’t<br />
many jobs available because we were in the middle<br />
of a recession, so I stuck around and worked on<br />
a grant with one of my professors to build vernal<br />
pools. I did a habitat restoration project for the Isla<br />
Vista Recreation & Parks District, and one thing led<br />
to another and a few years later at the ripe age of 25,<br />
I became the general manager of the district. I ended<br />
up staying there for about ten years. Isla Vista [I.V.]<br />
is interesting because it’s an unincorporated area,<br />
the only elected government they have for I.V. is the<br />
Rec & Park District, so our slogan was “More than<br />
just parks.” We did parks and recreation programs;<br />
we cleaned trash off the streets; we worked with the<br />
county and the university on redevelopment projects;<br />
we did a lot of stuff that was outside the role of a<br />
traditional parks and recreation district.<br />
Tell us about your famous neighbor in I.V., the<br />
singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. He lived next<br />
door and his band would come over to practice in<br />
his garage. The band was called Soil, and it was just<br />
loud, obnoxious music. My bedroom faced the garage<br />
where they practiced, sometimes late into the night.<br />
So, I’d get out of bed and go over and pound on the<br />
door. So, I’d pound on the door—bam, bam, bam—<br />
and I’d yell, “Guys, shut up! Jack, keep it down, man!<br />
I’m trying to sleep!” He’d eventually open the door<br />
and say, “Oh, sorry about that, Derek—we’ll unplug<br />
the amp.” You know, it was just a typical I.V. band;<br />
lots of noise, lots of dissonance. They weren’t that<br />
awesome. But later, after Jack’s first album came out,<br />
which was mellow, acoustic, I teased him about it,<br />
telling him that part of his success was because of me<br />
yelling at them at all hours of the night. [laughter]<br />
You’re really into cycling. What have you<br />
learned from the sport? You know, that’s<br />
an interesting question. I think about the<br />
peloton a lot. The peloton is a group of<br />
cyclists working together in a pack, sharing<br />
the load. In that setting, you learn a lot<br />
about peoples’ behaviors and how they<br />
operate, how they think. So, riding in<br />
Santa Barbara I always felt like everyone<br />
was flashy and wanted to show off. They’d<br />
try to ride away from you and be macho.<br />
In Santa Cruz, where we lived for a few<br />
years, the peloton was sort of disorganized; people<br />
didn’t work that well together, it was kind of a<br />
free-for-all. I noticed that the first time I rode<br />
here that people were working together, willing to<br />
share. I’d show up in Santa Barbara or Santa Cruz<br />
for the first time and I’d get the “Spandex stare<br />
down,” but here everyone was like, “Hey! How’s<br />
it going? You’re new to town? Awesome, come<br />
ride with us!” That was the first time I realized<br />
that this is a pretty cool place. People are willing<br />
to share the work, they’re communicative, they’re<br />
friendly, they’re welcoming.<br />
Let’s close by talking about the city’s pension<br />
problem. How’d it come to be? After going through<br />
the recession, our investment fund with CalPERS<br />
has gone from 100% funded down to where it is<br />
now in the 60% range. We’re talking about one of<br />
the largest pension funds in the world. It moves<br />
slowly. There is no way they can invest their way<br />
out of this math problem. On top of that, you have<br />
changing demographics. A few years ago, the city<br />
had 1.7 employees for every retiree. In five to seven<br />
years, we are only going to have 0.6 employees<br />
paying into this thing for every retiree. So, it comes<br />
down to demographics and the loss of CalPERS’<br />
investment. Don’t forget, though, we’ve got another<br />
big challenge on the horizon, which is navigating<br />
through the planned closure of Diablo Canyon, and<br />
making sure that we have a solid economic base as<br />
this region loses 1,500 head of household jobs. I also<br />
want to make sure we are meeting our climate action<br />
goals of having a carbon-neutral city. And, beyond<br />
that, it is important to me that we are maintaining<br />
a city where people still know each other, even<br />
through the planned growth and development. I<br />
want to make sure that whatever metamorphosis the<br />
community undergoes, people still have a connection<br />
to each other, and to this place. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
36 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 37
| MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR<br />
38 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
KING OF<br />
KOMBUCHA<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY VANESSA PLAKIAS<br />
A little more than four years ago, MIKE DURIGHELLO sold his first keg of<br />
kombucha, which had been brewed in a San Luis Obispo garage that doubled as<br />
his bedroom. Today, he has grown the business, along with his three partners, to<br />
the point where it is poised to take over the top spot as California’s largest on-tap<br />
kombucha maker. His company, Whalebird Kombucha, and its unique culture, is<br />
as innovative and eclectic as the product it sells. Here is his story…<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 39
Alright, Mike—let’s take it from the top. Where are<br />
you from originally? Yeah. Okay, so I was born in<br />
San Francisco and raised in Marin County. I spent<br />
a lot of my time outside, just kind of around the<br />
neighborhood; there was a lot of open space. So, that<br />
occupied me a lot. I was a runner and a swimmer primarily growing up. Those are<br />
the two things that I did pretty regularly. So, swimming and running and then<br />
a lot of hanging out with friends outdoors. We did things like paintballing and<br />
building forts. I played water polo in high school. I was basically very active from<br />
a young age and was really into endurance activities. I like to stay moving.<br />
How’d you do in school? I was an average student. I was into sports, but health<br />
and wellness wasn’t really on my radar. My parents weren’t hippies; they worked,<br />
and we were on the standard American diet, basically; meat and potatoes, a<br />
lot of conventional foods. Carbs were in; fats were out. Veggies were there, but<br />
maybe just 10% of the meal. Then I ended up going away to school in Santa<br />
Cruz, UCSC.<br />
Go, Slugs! [Laughter] Originally, I wanted to be a marine biologist, I pursued<br />
that for a while. I got into diving to really explore the water and go deep and<br />
see it up close. Then I started working in a lab and that was<br />
when I realized that it wasn’t for me. I was spending all my<br />
time weighing out these little creatures, dehydrating them,<br />
identifying them. It was just very tedious work. I was like,<br />
“Geez, this is boring!” I wanted to be out, working with my<br />
hands like the old Cal Poly motto, “Learn by doing.” Anyway, I<br />
graduated in 2009 and went to work on a coffee farm in Costa<br />
Rica, in this little town called Agua Buena.<br />
That is a different track, for sure. What exactly did you<br />
do there? I taught English. Then I stayed down for another<br />
three months and continued to teach while also picking coffee<br />
beans. That was a really great experience. Before then I had no<br />
idea what a coffee plant even looked like. And I got to see the<br />
whole process from planting to caretaking, to harvesting, to all<br />
of the processing that goes behind removing the coffee bean<br />
from the fruit; and then the drying process, and eventually the<br />
roasting, and the packaging process. It’s backbreaking work;<br />
more power to those guys, I don’t think I could do it day in<br />
and day out. You know, I was only doing it for a few months,<br />
40 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
picking coffee. You’re putting it in these giant “canastas” or baskets<br />
that you have around your neck. And, in that basket you’re carrying<br />
something like 15 or 20 pounds of fruit. And it takes you about<br />
an hour to pick that much. And you’re getting paid by the basket,<br />
something around 450 or 500 colones, which is about a dollar. I was<br />
making around $1.50 an hour.<br />
How did you end up here on the Central Coast? My friend was<br />
living here, going to school at Poly. So, I came down here and started<br />
working a restaurant job. I was working 16-hour days bussing tables<br />
at Spy Glass Restaurant for the breakfast and lunch shift, then at<br />
Custom House in Avila Beach for the evening shift. At the time, I was<br />
living in a house with five girls; my room was the garage, which I had<br />
to myself. I liked working in restaurants because I was tired of being<br />
in the classroom, tired of all that theoretical stuff, academia and book<br />
learning, which I’m not really very good at; but I did get myself fired<br />
from a couple of places for, you know, insubordination and eating on<br />
the job, things like that; things I deserved to be fired for. [laughter]<br />
How long did you do the restaurant thing? I worked in restaurants<br />
for around three years or so, making my way up to a server, which was<br />
a little upgrade, when my friend says, “Hey, we should start a business<br />
together.” We started looking at doing a little juicing company that we<br />
figured we would set up as a booth at Farmers’ Market. So, I’d work<br />
late in the restaurants—by now I was doing some bartending, too—<br />
and then I’d get up early the next day and start looking into the juicing<br />
business. What was the overhead? How much is a commercial grade<br />
juicer? What’s the shelf life of this stuff? How do you keep it fresh?<br />
We learned that you needed to consume the juice within an hour [of<br />
juicing] to get the maximum benefits from the live active enzymes. We<br />
started seeing a lot of roadblocks and began brainstorming other ideas;<br />
that’s when I remembered kombucha from my college days around ten<br />
years earlier.<br />
Talk about that. My friend Carson, who’s a phenomenal surfer, took<br />
me out surfing one day. And after we got out of the water, he let me<br />
try some of his kombucha. I remember that I couldn’t pronounce it<br />
right. I asked him, “Hey, what are you drinking there?” Naturally, I was<br />
really interested because this guy is an amazing surfer and I wanted to<br />
do whatever he was doing. So, he’s drinking this weird tonic that I had<br />
never heard of and I tell him that I wanted to learn more about this<br />
stuff, “kam-bu-cella,” I just couldn’t pronounce it for the longest time.<br />
It was just so foreign-sounding to me. What? “Kam-boo-chee.” But,<br />
I tried it and I hated it. It was absolutely horrible. It was sort of apple<br />
cider-y, very tart, it had this funky fermented flavor to it; just terrible.<br />
It kind of reminded me a little bit of the first time I had beer, when I<br />
snuck a sip of my dad’s beer when I was younger. I remember saying<br />
the same thing at the time: “This is absolutely horrible—how can<br />
anybody drink this stuff?”<br />
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Okay, then why isn’t that the end of the story? Well, what happened<br />
was that I noticed this weird sort of elevated sense of clarity and<br />
mental energy later that day. I realized that I felt really good, super<br />
clear-headed. So, I tried it again later, this time it was a mangoinfused<br />
flavor, which tasted really good. I immediately went out and<br />
bought three or four more bottles of the stuff. It was making me feel<br />
great, and I had this laser focus when I was studying. I could go for<br />
three or four hours in the library without a break, and without food.<br />
It wasn’t long before I was drinking three bottles a day, and at $5 a<br />
pop I was spending $15 per day on my kombucha habit. That was<br />
not sustainable, so I started experimenting with it and really paying<br />
attention to how I was feeling and realized that I only really needed<br />
one to maintain optimum energy levels and curtail my appetite. It<br />
wasn’t like coffee where you spike then crash mid-afternoon. I found >><br />
design + construction<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 41
that I could go all day with consistent energy and amazing mental clarity<br />
on just one $5 bottle of kombucha.<br />
So, fast-forward ten years, you started thinking about doing it as<br />
a business? Yes, that’s right. The ingredients are pretty basic. There’s<br />
relatively low overhead. It’s got a long shelf life. If we don’t sell it right<br />
away, it can last for months at a time. And that’s due to its low acidity<br />
as well as the robust culture inside the bottle. It doesn’t allow for other<br />
things to encroach and grow, like mold and things like that. So, I started<br />
diving in and really looking into it. I didn’t know how to make it and<br />
around January, it was January 2012, Molly, this girl that I had worked<br />
with at Café Roma had just returned from Spain where she was studying<br />
wine and viticulture. So, over an acaí bowl at Sally Loo’s I was telling her<br />
about kombucha and she’s like, “You know, I’ve been wanting to do that,<br />
too. And I know how to make it.” I said, “Great—let’s do it!”<br />
A business is born. We were making it in my garage and being just<br />
ridiculous—using water from my garden hose—we had no idea what<br />
we were doing. We were just flying by the seat of our pants, making it<br />
up as we went along. We had no concept of temperature control and<br />
how much to start your batch with in terms of how much starter culture<br />
to use and when to add the flavoring. Do we add the flavoring before<br />
fermentation? Do we add the flavoring after fermentation? What do<br />
we flavor it with? Are we flavoring with juices? Are we dry steeping<br />
things? Through a lot of trial and error we learned how to do it, and<br />
along the way we developed our own unique product. We use dried<br />
and steeped ingredients in our kombucha instead of juice. So in one of<br />
our best sellers, for example, there’s no juicing at all. It’s hibiscus, rose<br />
hips, blackcurrants, dried blackcurrants, dried raisins, Jasmine green tea,<br />
and we start with the base of black tea. That’s how all of our kombucha<br />
is made; we start with the base of black tea, organic cane sugar. We<br />
essentially make a sweet tea that is fermented. We have our kombucha<br />
culture—just wild yeast in bacteria. It ferments for 30 days. And then<br />
those dry-steeped ingredients are added to the final product for about<br />
24 hours. And during that time that it’s steeping, it’s chilling, and it’s<br />
carbonating, and then we transfer it straight to a keg so that it can be<br />
served on tap.<br />
Tell us about your first sale. We started selling our kombucha in the<br />
spring of 2013—at first we called ourselves Komplete Kombucha—<br />
downtown [San Luis Obispo] at Bliss Café. It was our ginger sarsaparilla<br />
flavor. You know, we weren’t even going to do it—sell the kombucha, that >><br />
42 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 43
is; we just weren’t confident in our product. I remember walking into<br />
the café and the owner, David, was there. He said, “Mike, where’s the<br />
kombucha? We need it. I’ve been telling everyone about it and they’re<br />
starting to ask about it.” I told him, “We’re just not ready.” Basically, the<br />
honest answer was that we were not at all confident in our product. I’ll<br />
never forget it; David put his arm around me and said, “Mike, you are<br />
never going to have a perfect product. It’s never going to be perfect. I<br />
put out stuff all the time that I know that I still need to work on; you<br />
need to take that leap of faith, put it out there; some people may not like<br />
it, but they know you are small; they’re going to love that there is a small<br />
kombucha maker here in town; they will support you, give you feedback<br />
and make it better.” I said, “Alright, I’ll bring you a keg tomorrow.”<br />
So, what happened? Almost immediately they started selling out<br />
of the stuff. We were running out of kombucha left and right. Our<br />
understanding of customer service was so poor. I was delivering kegs on<br />
my bicycle. And we had no clue when it came to production. We had<br />
no idea how much kombucha we were supposed to make. Our timelines<br />
were fuzzy at best. We knew generally how long it would take. And,<br />
without proper temperature regulation in our fermentation chamber, we<br />
would get product that’s twenty days to make when it was hot outside.<br />
And if the temperature dropped, and we didn’t have a heating element in<br />
there keeping that constant temperature, it might take, you know, thirty<br />
days; or, if it was really cold out, it could take forty days.<br />
How did that go over with Bliss? Even though they were running<br />
out all the time, sometimes they’d go for a week at a time without<br />
kombucha, they were stoked. Their customers loved the product and<br />
they were giving us the feedback we needed. They’d tell us, “People are<br />
wanting more ginger and less sarsaparilla; or more carbonation or less,”<br />
or whatever the case was. So, after spending about four months or so<br />
tweaking the recipe and dialing in our production processes, we picked<br />
up our second client, Kreuzberg Coffee, which was ironic because it was<br />
one of the places I got fired from.<br />
Oh, boy… Yeah, and I didn’t fare much better this time around, at least<br />
at first. We continued to have problems with production and keeping<br />
a steady supply. They’d run out of kombucha and get mad at us when<br />
we couldn’t deliver; and we’d apologize. All along the way we kept<br />
getting better at what were doing. But, there was a turning point in<br />
our understanding of delivering on time and having specific delivery<br />
schedules. That wasn’t until several years later. Up until that point we had<br />
done well just sort of winging it. We had expanded into the Yoga Centre,<br />
Roxanne’s Café, we were in MindBody, where I worked for a short time, >><br />
44 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
On the Bluff at SeaCrest OceanFront Hotel in Pismo Beach<br />
Live Music: Rio Salinas featuring Louie Ortega<br />
Central Coast Wine, Beer & Food Tasting<br />
$40 adults 21+ ($50 at the door) | $10 ages 4-20<br />
TICKETS: WWW.UNITEDWAY<strong>SLO</strong>.ORG<br />
Classics in the Cohan<br />
P E R F O R M I N G A R T S C E N T E R<br />
Andrew Sewell, Music Director<br />
Opening Night<br />
OCTOBER 7, <strong>2017</strong> I 8 PM<br />
Bion Tsang, Cello<br />
................................................................<br />
Lilburn I Aotearoa Overture<br />
Dvorák I Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104<br />
Brahms I Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73<br />
................................................................<br />
Classics 2<br />
NOVEMBER 11, <strong>2017</strong> I 8 PM<br />
Jubilant Sykes, Baritone<br />
................................................................<br />
Gershwin I An American in Paris<br />
Copland I Fanfare for the Common Man<br />
Bernstein I West Side Story Symphonic Dances<br />
................................................................<br />
For tickets go to pacslo.org<br />
<strong>2017</strong>·2018 SEASON<br />
805.543.3533 • slosymphony.org<br />
“<br />
Graham made me feel confident that I could trust his judgement and expertise to get my home<br />
sold in an efficient and stress free manner. I knew that he would get the job done.<br />
– Gabriel Miller, San Luis Obispo<br />
graham @ ccreslo.com<br />
805.459.1865 | CalBRE #01873454<br />
www.ccreslo.com<br />
3196 South Higuera Suite D, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 45<br />
”
left to right Dustin Oswald, Jacob Pritzlaff,<br />
Mike Durighello, Lee Wilkerson<br />
too, just to keep the bills paid. We were seeing really good growth, but<br />
we really didn’t understand the value of delivering on time; it was more<br />
like, “We’ll get to it when we get to it.” We just really didn’t get it—until<br />
we started working with High Street Deli.<br />
Details, please. They taught me, in particular, a very valuable lesson. We<br />
were giving them very vague delivery windows. And they told us once<br />
before that they wanted us to give them next-day deliveries, or at least<br />
be very concrete with when we would be delivering to them. They’d call<br />
up and place the order and say they needed kombucha for the weekend,<br />
or tomorrow, or next Tuesday, or whatever it was; and they already had<br />
the conversation with us a couple of times before. They said, “Hey, we<br />
need you guys to be more prompt.” Anyway, they had placed an order a<br />
few days prior when I get a text message from the manager there. We<br />
had just missed another delivery. The text read, “We’re done. Come pick<br />
up your stuff.”<br />
Ouch. Me, being a naïve business owner, I just got really mad. I went<br />
over there and I yelled. I said basically, that they were in the wrong and<br />
that we had told them that we’d get it to them as fast as we could. But,<br />
again, I didn’t give them a specific day and time that I was going to do<br />
it. They’re used to working with distributors that are prompt and provide<br />
excellent customer service, which is what they need to run their business<br />
effectively. So, I went in there and gave them a piece of my mind<br />
and was in the wrong, 100%. I took my kegs out of there. I ended up<br />
apologizing to them later. I think they realized at the time that I was just<br />
a young start-up and didn’t know what I was doing. Ever since then we<br />
are very deliberate with customers, telling them exactly when—what day,<br />
what time—we will be delivering. It was a very, very valuable learning<br />
experience and I’m glad that it happened early on. I’m really thankful to<br />
Doobie, the owner over there, and Eric, for being who they are. I love<br />
their sandwiches to this day, even though they don’t serve Whalebird<br />
Kombucha there. I’m so grateful to those guys.<br />
So, what’s next for the company? We’ve finally got our [stuff ] together<br />
and have gone from a little start-up in my garage to a commissary<br />
kitchen and then to our own commercial space where we are now.<br />
We’ve grown to the point—adding 40 new accounts very quickly—that<br />
we bought the space next door to increase our production, which is<br />
nice because we have plenty of room to continue to grow. We’re as far<br />
south as Los Angeles now and we’re looking to expand into Northern<br />
California. We want to be the top on-tap kombucha in California. That<br />
is a goal of ours, but we’re not going to grow faster than our means allow.<br />
We’re not interested in working 24/7. We want to make the appropriate<br />
hires, bringing in the right people, and keep the company to ourselves.<br />
I’m not interested in selling a part of the company to an outside investor<br />
because I don’t want us to lose what we’ve created; I don’t want to give<br />
up a 10% interest, for example, and have someone come in that has<br />
influence on what we are doing and how we are doing it. At the end of<br />
the day, the first goal, the most important goal, is that we’re all happy.<br />
I want to have a really good time, and enjoy the ride. And I want to<br />
continue moving forward, doing it our way. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
46 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 47
| NOW HEAR THIS<br />
UPCOMING SHOWS<br />
10/6 - 10/7 . Paso Robles Inn . Paso Robles<br />
10/7 . Harbor Festival . Morro Bay<br />
10/9 . Beer at the Pier . Back Bay Cafe . Los Osos<br />
12/8 . The Siren . Morro Bay<br />
12/9 . Whiskey a Go Go . Hollywood<br />
48 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
THE NOACH TANGERAS BAND<br />
Local singer-songwriter Noach Tangeras stopped her car on the shoulder of the PCH to write the<br />
single “Big Sur.” She describes it, “As I was driving, I was hearing the beginning of the lyrics in<br />
my head, and I had to stop and write them down.” “Big Sur” won first in the country-Americanafolk<br />
category at the 2016 New Times Music Awards, the second award for Tangeras, whose other<br />
original song, “Walkin’ Out Your Door,” placed third in the R&B/Blues category in 2015.<br />
BY DAWN JANKE<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK PATTON<br />
ongs seem to come to<br />
Tangeras sporadically: “I<br />
might be in the kitchen, or<br />
anywhere, really, and I’ll hear<br />
lyrics and melodies in my<br />
head. I feel it coming on for<br />
whatever reason, and I just<br />
write. “Big Sur” captured a<br />
fleeting moment in the great<br />
outdoors, and other songs<br />
Smight be inspired by poets<br />
like Shakespeare or Walt Whitman. Even a bad day at<br />
work can make it into one of Tangeras’ songs: “When I<br />
have a bad day, I write it out.”<br />
Originally from the small, cornfield-splattered town<br />
of New Haven, Indiana, Tangeras started playing<br />
the flute in grade school and was raised amidst a<br />
musical family—her dad performed in a Norwegian<br />
blues band and her mom sang in the choir and played<br />
guitar. During her college years at the University<br />
of Maine, Tangeras started taking guitar lessons.<br />
“Learning how to play guitar enabled me to write<br />
my own music,” she explains. “I had always loved<br />
literature and poetry, but not until I learned the<br />
guitar did I put the two together.”<br />
Tangeras has been performing as a singer-songwriter<br />
for the past twelve years, whether in coffeehouses near<br />
the University of Maine or at bars in Alaska during her<br />
summers as an outdoor recreation and whale-watching<br />
guide. She played, too, during her winter ski seasons in<br />
Colorado. Clearly, Tangeras is filled with wanderlust<br />
and takes her music with her where she goes.<br />
When Tangeras landed in Morro Bay in 2011, she<br />
did so to work as a fisheries observer, but after three<br />
years, she realized it was time for her to pursue a<br />
music career full-time. Since 2014, Tangeras has<br />
been building her business as a musician. She sends<br />
venue-booking agents links to her music, secures<br />
performances throughout the county, and is taking<br />
her time to build a profile. She explains, “It was hard<br />
starting out; I have had to work hard to establish<br />
a name for myself. There are like 365 bands in this<br />
county, and everyone wants to know: What makes<br />
you special?”<br />
There’s clearly a lot that makes Tangeras and her band special. As she explains<br />
it, “I think the band has a distinctive sound because of the harmonies I have<br />
with fellow vocalist and keyboardist Rachel Santa Cruz.” Santa Cruz is a<br />
seasoned musician in her own right, having performed for years with her dad,<br />
local musician Bobby Santa Cruz. Tangeras continues, “A lot of fans mention<br />
how well we sound together, and I really like singing with Rachel because her<br />
voice is incredible.”<br />
The band, which formed about two years ago, also includes Adam McAlexander<br />
on electric guitar and Jeremy Lemen on cajón drum and bass guitar. “The four of<br />
us have played around town for years now—we would show up at the same open<br />
mic nights and sit in on each others’ sets. We eventually made a serious band out<br />
of it,” says Tangeras. She adds, “Adam performs really nice Led Zeppelin-style<br />
lines and Jeremy can come up with some innovative stuff on the cajón; plus, he’s<br />
a really talented bass player.”<br />
While their current live line-up doesn’t include the bass guitar, Tangeras says<br />
that the band is working on a set with a drum kit instead of the cajón; “And in<br />
those instances Jeremy will play bass,” she says. Specifically, the band is preparing<br />
the drum kit and bass sound for their opening set at the Whiskey a Go Go in<br />
December: “We’re opening for Missing Persons and are changing things up.”<br />
Whether Lemen is on cajón or bass, the soul of the band remains.<br />
Tangeras describes the band’s sound as Americana with influences of rock,<br />
country, folk, and blues. “People always say I sound like Janis Joplin, and she’s<br />
definitely one of my main influences,” she says. “I also like Credence Clearwater<br />
Revival, Dolly Parton, Grace Slick, and Patsy Cline.” Tangeras’ musical tastes<br />
may vary, but her favorite song to sing is a Joplinesque rendition of Kris<br />
Kristofferson’s iconic “Bobby McGee.” She says, “I just love Janis, and that song<br />
really resonates with me—the vocal style and the soul behind it.”<br />
The Noach Tangeras Band is currently recording its first full-length album at The<br />
Sauce Pot studio in San Luis Obispo and intends first to release a six-track EP,<br />
possibly by the end of the year or early in 2018. The<br />
album will include the previously recorded, awardwinning<br />
tracks “Big Sur” and “Walkin’ Out Your Door”<br />
along with new, original songs featuring a diverse,<br />
more upbeat sound and a rock influence.<br />
For Tangeras, the dream fulfilled is one in which she is<br />
touring the world performing her songs. As she puts<br />
it, “I quit my job and am focused on taking my music<br />
career as far as it will go.” Her main goal for now is to<br />
get her music out to as many listeners as possible. “I<br />
know I don’t have control over how fans will feel about<br />
my music,” she says, “but I’m putting my consciousness<br />
into my songs and hoping I trigger a feeling. Then I<br />
know my music is doing its job.”<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
DAWN JANKE, Director,<br />
University Writing & Rhetoric<br />
Center Cal Poly, keeps her<br />
pulse on the Central Coast<br />
music scene.<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 49
| DWELLING<br />
LOFT LIVING<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BLAKE ANDREWS<br />
50 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 51
52 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
L<br />
ast year, 36 local students moved into the<br />
newly renovated Blackstone-Sauer Building<br />
at the corner of Chorro and Monterey in<br />
downtown San Luis Obispo, a space dubbed<br />
the Cal Poly Lofts.<br />
The Lofts, made up of studios, 1-bedroom,<br />
and 2-bedroom configurations, range<br />
in rent from $900 to $2,000 per month<br />
and are designed for entrepreneurially<br />
minded students who would benefit from<br />
its close proximity to the <strong>SLO</strong> Hothouse.<br />
The Hothouse, which serves as a business<br />
“incubator” providing services and support to<br />
fledgling start-ups, is operated by Cal Poly’s<br />
Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.<br />
It had recently relocated from its original<br />
location at 955 Morro Street to where it<br />
is now, above Ross Dress for Less at 872<br />
Higuera Street.<br />
Copeland Properties owns the space and<br />
developed the hip, urban-style residences,<br />
which it has leased to Cal Poly for a base >><br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 53
ent of $412,000 per year. Cal Poly then<br />
manages and operates the property as its only<br />
student housing off-campus. The rent generated<br />
by the students falls about $100,000 short of<br />
covering the total cost of the apartments, so the<br />
university subsidizes the difference.<br />
Each space is fully furnished and includes a<br />
complete kitchen, air conditioning, a private<br />
courtyard with bike racks, and a community<br />
laundry area. The renovation, completed<br />
as part of Copeland Properties’ Chinatown<br />
projects, sits atop the lululemon athletica store<br />
on Monterey Street, across from the Mission,<br />
giving students a unique view of the Mission<br />
Plaza, the creek, and its surroundings. New<br />
hardwood flooring is found throughout, as<br />
is tasteful use of classic tiling. The spaces<br />
are functional, yet imaginative and it is not<br />
hard to envision being inspired to create “the<br />
next great thing” while living there, which, of<br />
course, is the whole idea. >><br />
54 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
Creating more of what you want for your home!<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 55
The spaces are functional,<br />
yet imaginative and it is<br />
not hard to envision being<br />
inspired to create “the next<br />
great thing” while living<br />
there, which, of course,<br />
is the whole idea.<br />
BLAKE ANDREWS is a<br />
native to San Luis Obispo<br />
and owner of <strong>SLO</strong>tography.<br />
56 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 57
| REAL ESTATE<br />
BY THE NUMBERS<br />
Median Sales Price<br />
City of San Luis Obispo (2008 - <strong>2017</strong>)<br />
Median Sales Price<br />
County of San Luis Obispo (2008 - <strong>2017</strong>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Total Number of Homes Sold<br />
City of San Luis Obispo (2008 - <strong>2017</strong>)<br />
<br />
Total Number of Homes Sold<br />
County of San Luis Obispo (2008 - <strong>2017</strong>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Total Inventory of Homes<br />
City of San Luis Obispo (2008 - <strong>2017</strong>)<br />
<br />
Total Inventory of Homes<br />
County of San Luis Obispo (2008 - <strong>2017</strong>)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS ®<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
58 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
“<br />
Lisa Combs at San Luis Obispo Realty, worked tirelessly for almost a year to find our<br />
‘dream home’. Her cheerfulness, persistence, and attention to detail made our eventual<br />
purchase possible. We recommend her without reservation!<br />
Lewis and Sandra Soloff<br />
Atascadero<br />
The team at SAN LUIS OBISPO REALTY makes dreams come true!<br />
SAN LUIS OBISPO REALTY<br />
805-544-9161<br />
WWW.SANLUISOBISPO-HOMES.COM<br />
”<br />
441 MARSH STREET, SAN LUIS OBISPO<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 59
| <strong>SLO</strong> CITY<br />
REAL ESTATE<br />
BY THE NUMBERS<br />
laguna<br />
lake<br />
tank<br />
farm<br />
cal poly<br />
area<br />
country<br />
club<br />
down<br />
town<br />
foothill<br />
blvd<br />
johnson<br />
ave<br />
Total Homes Sold<br />
Average Asking Price<br />
Average Selling Price<br />
Sales Price as a % of Asking Price<br />
Average # of Days on the Market<br />
Total Homes Sold<br />
Average Asking Price<br />
Average Selling Price<br />
Sales Price as a % of Asking Price<br />
Average # of Days on the Market<br />
Total Homes Sold<br />
Average Asking Price<br />
Average Selling Price<br />
Sales Price as a % of Asking Price<br />
Average # of Days on the Market<br />
Total Homes Sold<br />
Average Asking Price<br />
Average Selling Price<br />
Sales Price as a % of Asking Price<br />
Average # of Days on the Market<br />
Total Homes Sold<br />
Average Asking Price<br />
Average Selling Price<br />
Sales Price as a % of Asking Price<br />
Average # of Days on the Market<br />
Total Homes Sold<br />
Average Asking Price<br />
Average Selling Price<br />
Sales Price as a % of Asking Price<br />
Average # of Days on the Market<br />
Total Homes Sold<br />
Average Asking Price<br />
Average Selling Price<br />
Sales Price as a % of Asking Price<br />
Average # of Days on the Market<br />
2016<br />
49<br />
$651,671<br />
$643,946<br />
98.81%<br />
37<br />
2016<br />
29<br />
$739,448<br />
$732,852<br />
99.11%<br />
41<br />
2016<br />
23<br />
$760,378<br />
$750,237<br />
98.67%<br />
19<br />
2016<br />
16<br />
$1,316,500<br />
$1,262,281<br />
95.88%<br />
65<br />
2016<br />
64<br />
$676,074<br />
$669,692<br />
99.05%<br />
32<br />
2016<br />
34<br />
$799,424<br />
$784,059<br />
98.08%<br />
40<br />
2016<br />
48<br />
$785,516<br />
$770,923<br />
98.14%<br />
46<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
45<br />
$691,184<br />
$681,838<br />
98.64%<br />
23<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
19<br />
$801,094<br />
$793,574<br />
99.06%<br />
23<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
23<br />
$808,604<br />
$797,043<br />
98.57%<br />
30<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
12<br />
$1,182,317<br />
$1,132,779<br />
95.81%<br />
57<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
63<br />
$694,703<br />
$686,978<br />
98.88%<br />
48<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
34<br />
$718,061<br />
$707,055<br />
98.47%<br />
27<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
39<br />
$769,397<br />
$768,551<br />
99.89%<br />
33<br />
+/-<br />
-8.16%<br />
6.06%<br />
5.88%<br />
-0.17%<br />
-37.84%<br />
+/-<br />
-34.48%<br />
8.34%<br />
8.29%<br />
-0.05%<br />
-43.90%<br />
+/-<br />
0.00%<br />
6.34%<br />
6.24%<br />
-0.10%<br />
57.89%<br />
+/-<br />
-25.00%<br />
-10.19%<br />
-10.26%<br />
-0.07%<br />
-12.31%<br />
+/-<br />
-1.56%<br />
2.76%<br />
2.58%<br />
-0.17%<br />
50.00%<br />
+/-<br />
0.00%<br />
-10.18%<br />
-9.82%<br />
0.39%<br />
-32.50%<br />
+/-<br />
-18.75%<br />
-2.05%<br />
-0.31%<br />
1.75%<br />
-28.26%<br />
*Comparing 01/01/16 - 09/21/16 to 01/01/17 - 09/21/17<br />
SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS ®<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
60 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
Not All Lenders<br />
are Created Equal<br />
Let the RPM San Luis Obispo Team’s years of experience,<br />
personalized service and outstanding reputation work for you<br />
Start a conversation with us today<br />
Donna Lewis<br />
Branch Manager/Senior Loan Advisor<br />
NMLS #245945<br />
805.235.0463<br />
donnalewis@rpm-mtg.com<br />
www.rpm-mtg.com/dlewis<br />
Dylan Morrow<br />
Loan Advisor<br />
NMLS #1461481<br />
805.550.9742<br />
dmorrow@rpm-mtg.com<br />
www.rpm-mtg.com/dmorrow<br />
Brandi Warren<br />
Senior Loan Advisor<br />
NMLS# 290534<br />
661.332.2074<br />
bwarren@rpm-mtg.com<br />
www.rpm-mtg.com/bwarren<br />
Kim Gabriele<br />
Senior Loan Advisor<br />
NMLS# 263247<br />
805.471.6186<br />
kgabriele@rpm-mtg.com<br />
www.rpm-mtg.com/kgabriele<br />
Ken Neate<br />
Loan Advisor<br />
NMLS# 373607<br />
925.963.1015<br />
kneate@rpm-mtg.com<br />
www.rpm-mtg.com/kneate<br />
Lou Escoto<br />
Loan Advisor<br />
NMLS# 274721<br />
805.904.7724<br />
lescoto@rpm-mtg.com<br />
www.rpm-mtg.com/lescoto<br />
1065 Higuera Street, Suite 100, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401<br />
LendUSA, LLC dba RPM Mortgage NMLS #1938 - Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the CA Residential Mortgage<br />
Lending Act. | 6381 | Equal Housing Opportunity<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 61
| <strong>SLO</strong> COUNTY<br />
REAL ESTATE<br />
REGION<br />
BY THE NUMBERS<br />
NUMBER OF<br />
HOMES SOLD<br />
AVERAGE DAYS<br />
ON MARKET<br />
MEDIAN SELLING<br />
PRICE<br />
2016<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
2016<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
2016<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
Arroyo Grande<br />
250<br />
235<br />
52<br />
58<br />
$681,101<br />
$764,235<br />
Atascadero<br />
254<br />
289<br />
44<br />
54<br />
$484,160<br />
$547,740<br />
Avila Beach<br />
31<br />
12<br />
95<br />
86<br />
$1,064,113 $1,063,333<br />
Cambria/San Simeon<br />
120<br />
112<br />
96<br />
79<br />
$685,268<br />
$689,012<br />
Cayucos<br />
27<br />
46<br />
98<br />
118<br />
$1,023,979 $1,052,354<br />
Creston<br />
7<br />
11<br />
136<br />
95<br />
$858,714<br />
$794,182<br />
Grover Beach<br />
129<br />
137<br />
35<br />
43<br />
$486,080<br />
$518,625<br />
Los Osos<br />
123<br />
88<br />
51<br />
31<br />
$592,737<br />
$590,639<br />
Morro Bay<br />
115<br />
105<br />
59<br />
64<br />
$649,010<br />
$692,600<br />
Nipomo<br />
177<br />
180<br />
48<br />
57<br />
$598,711<br />
$632,575<br />
Oceano<br />
34<br />
36<br />
44<br />
51<br />
$409,826<br />
$448,444<br />
Pismo Beach<br />
96<br />
98<br />
74<br />
50<br />
$963,320 $1,079,526<br />
Paso (Inside City Limits)<br />
362<br />
348<br />
52<br />
42<br />
$447,046<br />
$481,704<br />
Paso (North 46 - East 101)<br />
30<br />
37<br />
54<br />
47<br />
$530,265<br />
$472,253<br />
Paso (North 46 - West 101)<br />
74<br />
72<br />
87<br />
96<br />
$573,699<br />
$496,566<br />
Paso (South 46 - East 101)<br />
36<br />
41<br />
94<br />
67<br />
$583,883<br />
$663,082<br />
San Luis Obispo<br />
325<br />
264<br />
40<br />
35<br />
$741,204<br />
$760,536<br />
Santa Margarita<br />
15<br />
15<br />
47<br />
35<br />
$317,533<br />
$405,933<br />
Templeton<br />
90<br />
84<br />
98<br />
70<br />
$695,975<br />
$741,762<br />
62 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
Countywide<br />
2,232 2,153<br />
*Comparing 01/01/16 - 09/21/16 to 01/01/17 - 09/21/17<br />
55 54 $599,921 $641,771<br />
SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS ®<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 63
| ON THE RISE<br />
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT<br />
Greta Carlson<br />
This seventeen-year-old San Luis Obispo High School<br />
senior is looking forward to a bright future and is ready<br />
to pack her bags for the next great adventure.<br />
What recognition have you received? At <strong>SLO</strong>HS I have received three Golden Tigers and have<br />
been on multiple honor rolls for maintaining a high GPA. In my freshman year I became involved<br />
in FFA (Future Farmers of America) and since then have been a state finalist multiple times in<br />
public speaking competitions. I was awarded 4th in state for Creed Recitation Competition in<br />
2015, 4th in state for an agriscience project based on food waste in 2016 and 2nd in state for an<br />
agricultural issues project on recreational cannabis in the ag industry in <strong>2017</strong>. Most recently, I<br />
have been named State Champion for Prepared Public Speaking for my speech on food waste and<br />
will be travelling to Indianapolis this fall for the national competition.<br />
What sort of extra-curricular activities do you participate in? I am involved in FFA, Harvard<br />
Model Congress, Link Crew, and the Superintendent’s Student Senate through <strong>SLO</strong>HS.<br />
However, I dedicate most of my time to FFA and am involved in public speaking competitions,<br />
fundraising committees, and leadership positions within the program. Outside of <strong>SLO</strong>HS, I am a<br />
member of the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo as well as the San Luis Jazz Dancers.<br />
Who has influenced you the most? My mom has, hands down, been one of the greatest<br />
influences in my life. She continually supports my decisions, ambitions and crazy schedule,<br />
while managing a life of her own. Beside that, my mom always has a different perspective on<br />
life and everything that accompanies it, which, in turn, has allowed me to see the world in a<br />
variety of ways.<br />
What is your favorite memory of all time? By far, my favorite memory was when I was cast<br />
as the lead role of Clara at age eleven in the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo’s Nutcracker. The<br />
entire audition was a bit of a blur, but I vividly remember standing in front of my director, Drew<br />
Silvaggio, and him pointing to my friend, Madison Price and I, announcing our roles as Clara.<br />
It was surreal. There were a lot of tears, hugs, and smiles right after that.<br />
What else is going on with you lately? Besides managing my senior year, I am focusing on<br />
researching more into food waste, sustainable agriculture, and consumer education to prep for<br />
Nationals. As I have discovered inspiring movements and campaigns that have made impacts<br />
on thousands, I decided it is time for me to contribute to a solution. Recently, I have launched<br />
an Instagram account (Eat It, Don’t Waste It) to raise awareness about food waste, highlight<br />
successful reduction campaigns, and encourage everyone to be conscious of the issue. I am excited<br />
to see where this project goes in the next little bit.<br />
What is something most people don’t know about you? I have been a travel fanatic my entire<br />
life, for sure. When I was nine years old I travelled to Australia by myself to visit family and<br />
at fifteen I spent five weeks in Boston for a dance program. As a family, we have travelled to<br />
nine countries total (some multiple times) and I have truly fallen in love with exploring new<br />
cultures, cuisines, and traditions. I definitely want to pack up my bags and spontaneously move<br />
to somewhere in Europe for a few years.<br />
What schools are you considering for college? Cal Poly, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa<br />
Barbara, Colorado State, Western Washington, Oregon State, among others. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
Know a student On the Rise?<br />
Introduce us at slolifemagazine.com/share<br />
64 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 65
| FAMILY<br />
SEE CANYON<br />
FRUIT RANCH<br />
Life is at its sweetest and most innocent,<br />
perhaps, when viewed through new eyes. I<br />
have heard some variation of this statement in<br />
the past, but I never really understood it until<br />
becoming a mother. My husband and I love<br />
nothing more than watching our seven-monthold<br />
daughter’s focused gaze intensify when<br />
she tries a new flavor for the first time. She<br />
loves fruit, so we thought about how we could<br />
incorporate some tasting into a family outing.<br />
I started asking around for recommendations<br />
locally, and one name kept coming up again<br />
and again: See Canyon Fruit Ranch.<br />
BY PADEN HUGHES<br />
Ready to explore?<br />
From San Luis Obispo: head south on<br />
Highway 101 and exit San Luis Bay Drive.<br />
Turn right onto San Luis Bay Drive and<br />
then turn right on See Canyon Road.<br />
Continue approximately 1.5 miles, passing<br />
Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards, the See<br />
Canyon Fruit Ranch will be on your right.<br />
66 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
Treat Yourself for <strong>2017</strong>!<br />
Nestled into a little sunny patch within See Canyon,<br />
which lies between San Luis Obispo and Avila<br />
Beach as the crow flies, we had visited the<br />
impossibly quaint apple farm once before for a<br />
wedding, but up to this point it had not occurred<br />
to us that it was also the perfect spot for a familyfriendly<br />
adventure. That all changed very quickly.<br />
We passed through the rustic front gate and felt transported to a bygone<br />
era. Our visit began by exploring the manicured grounds: perusing the<br />
farm stand, taking in the romantic orchards, and lingering among the<br />
serenely landscaped gardens. Every vantage point offered impossible views,<br />
from the “love tractor” to the weatherworn gazebo, with the whole scene<br />
embraced by the surrounding hillsides blanketed with coast live oaks. The<br />
natural beauty engulfed us in a hard-to-explain way that felt both calming<br />
and restorative to body, mind, and soul.<br />
We were greeted cheerfully by owner Susie Kenny, a fifth-generation San<br />
Luis Obispo native. Also known as “Mama Kenny,” this warm, friendly<br />
mother of eight is the very embodiment of hospitality and nurturing care.<br />
She and her husband, Paul, have been running the Fruit Ranch for 20<br />
years, and she’s prone to declaring that she has been “blessed in order to<br />
be a blessing.” The Kennys were introduced to the area in 1976 when they<br />
were married in the canyon. They went on to raise their eight children at<br />
the 21-acre ranch—originally founded in 1894—where their grandkids are<br />
now often seen scurrying about. The love and attention to detail put into<br />
the Fruit Ranch over the years is obvious at every turn. In addition to the<br />
heirloom variety apples, which are mostly dry-farmed, the venue is also<br />
used for weddings and community events.<br />
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With such passionate leaders at the helm, it wasn’t surprising to learn the<br />
ranch hosts over 29 local school field trips each year designed to make<br />
farming come to life for children. Mama Kenny is a natural teacher and<br />
shares her knowledge of apples and the bees that accompany them, guiding<br />
school children on a role-playing adventure she calls “hive life.” We loved<br />
the homegrown honey and were thrilled to learn that it takes 556 bees<br />
flying 35,890 miles to create just one pound of honey—understanding all<br />
of the effort involved made it taste that much sweeter.<br />
The pride taken in their little farming operation was evident when<br />
interacting with their mostly Cal Poly student-workers in the farm stand,<br />
who guided us through a tasting of the fresh, seasonal varieties and<br />
cheerfully sliced samples of the day’s harvest. Organizing the tasting from<br />
tart to sweet, we quickly settled on our favorites: Honeycrisp and Golden<br />
Delicious. We were also blown away by the pear we sampled—it was our<br />
daughter’s clear winner.<br />
The day of our visit was sunny and warm with a gentle breeze from nearby<br />
Avila Beach, and we spent most of our time there taking in the quiet<br />
solitude offered by the recently trimmed lawn,<br />
lazing around munching on our freshly picked<br />
apples—the whole thing was therapeutic, to say<br />
the least.<br />
See Canyon Fruit Ranch offers apple tasting,<br />
apple cider, honey, picnic lawns, and the added<br />
benefit of being technology-free by default as<br />
there is no cell phone reception. This, in part,<br />
adds to the experience where people, human<br />
connection, and nature are prioritized. We<br />
highly recommend this spot for families looking<br />
for a respite, a little getaway, and to enjoy the<br />
countryside during our local apple season. For us,<br />
our only regret was that we did not bring a picnic<br />
lunch and stay a bit longer. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
PADEN HUGHES is<br />
co-owner of Gymnazo<br />
and enjoys exploring<br />
the Central Coast.<br />
www.slogreengoods.com<br />
OCT/NOV 111 <strong>2017</strong> South | <strong>SLO</strong> St. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> 805 MAGAZINE 543 9900 | 67
| HEALTH<br />
Intermittent Fasting<br />
We recently heard from a friend here on the Central Coast who has claimed to be getting great results from<br />
something she calls “intermittent fasting,” or IF, so we thought we’d look into it. As it turns out, IF is trending,<br />
particularly among the Paleo community—those who adhere to a low-carb, relatively high-fat diet in an effort<br />
to approximate the way it has been thought that humans ate thousands of years ago. The only problem is that<br />
oftentimes our ancestors didn’t eat at all.<br />
Think about it: for<br />
millions of years, when<br />
our forbears were<br />
hunting and gathering,<br />
if we didn’t make<br />
the kill, spear the fish, gather the nuts, or<br />
find the berries, we just went without. A<br />
surprising series of metabolic pathways kick<br />
in when our bellies rumble. Ketosis, which<br />
literally means “fat burning” becomes the<br />
norm and our bodies, which expend around<br />
half of their energy digesting food, are able<br />
to focus on healing by discarding dead and<br />
worn-out cells through a process called<br />
autophagy, or “self-eating.” The benefits<br />
that come with ketosis and autophagy can<br />
accrue from an IF program where the period<br />
one eats is reduced down to an eight-hour<br />
window, for instance, which may mean<br />
skipping breakfast or eating an early dinner.<br />
One example, is swallowing your last bite of<br />
dinner at 8 p.m. and not eating again until<br />
the next day at 12 noon.<br />
Want to learn more?<br />
Check out “The Complete Guide<br />
to Fasting” by Jason Fung, MD.<br />
This text is often considered the<br />
bible of fasting.<br />
The question of when to eat is as important<br />
as what to eat, according to advocates of IF.<br />
The preeminent guru of the movement,<br />
Jason Fung, MD, wrote what is considered<br />
the go-to read on the subject, a book called<br />
“The Complete Guide to Fasting.” His<br />
work outlines three different approaches,<br />
including intermittent, alternate-day, and<br />
extended fasting, and goes into great detail<br />
about each one, supplying lots of research<br />
along the way. If you are interested in giving<br />
fasting a try, first make sure you are in good<br />
health, and please see your doctor if you<br />
have any questions or concerns. Beyond<br />
that, the most important thing to know is<br />
this: if at any point you do not feel well,<br />
eat! Beyond this simple rule, there appears<br />
to be a lot of myths and misinformation<br />
concerning fasting, so we will address the<br />
main ones here, which have been adapted<br />
and condensed from Dr. Fung’s book. >><br />
68 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 69
Myth No. 1<br />
YOUR BODY WILL GO INTO<br />
“STARVATION MODE”<br />
The idea that metabolism slows down in response to fasting—not<br />
eating anything at all—has been proven untrue in multiple studies;<br />
however, and somewhat counterintuitively, experiments testing<br />
daily caloric reduction have been shown to reduce metabolism<br />
dramatically. For example, several studies demonstrate a 25% to 30%<br />
lower basal metabolic rate (BMR) when subjects’ caloric intake was<br />
shifted from 2,500 to 1,500 per day. Scientists are unclear as<br />
to why this happens, although some surmise<br />
that it evolved with early humans during<br />
periods of famine. In other words, when we<br />
didn’t eat at all, we needed more energy to go<br />
out and find food; therefore, our metabolism<br />
kicks in to keep us going.<br />
Myth No. 3<br />
IT CAUSES LOW BLOOD SUGAR<br />
If you fast longer than about 36 hours, you deplete your glycogen—sugar<br />
stored in your muscles—and the liver takes over and begins a process called<br />
gluconeogenesis, which involves taking fat and converting a part of it into<br />
glucose, or sugar. Additionally, humans are unique in the animal kingdom for<br />
their brains’ ability to run on ketones—fat fuel—as well as glucose. Again,<br />
a look back at our ancestry may provide some clues: imagine if we became<br />
blubbering idiots after 36 hours without food? It was our intellect that<br />
allowed our species to climb to the top of the food chain; otherwise we’d be<br />
answering to lions and tigers, oh my. >><br />
Myth No. 2<br />
YOU WILL BURN MUSCLE<br />
While it is true that your body will eventually turn to protein<br />
oxidation, or burning its muscle for fuel, this only happens as<br />
a last resort. The human body has massive amounts of energy<br />
storage in the form of fat and many of us can go a month or<br />
more before the body runs out of fuel and starts looking around<br />
for other things to burn, like muscle and connective tissue. The<br />
longest known fast lasted 382 days, when a twenty-seven-yearold<br />
Scottish man, who weighed in at 456 pounds, under the<br />
supervision of his doctor dropped down to 180 pounds while<br />
maintaining his muscle mass. In fact, many of those studied<br />
during their intermittent fasts actually showed an increase<br />
in muscle mass because the body increases its production of<br />
growth hormone—in some cases by 50%—during periods when<br />
no food is consumed.<br />
70 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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Myth No. 4<br />
IT DEPRIVES THE BODY OF NUTRIENTS<br />
PERSONALIZED GROUP FITNESS<br />
and INDIVIDUAL TRAINING<br />
There is no evidence of this during an IF protocol; however, it is advisable for anyone<br />
embarking on a longer fast to supplement with a daily vitamin. Many practitioners suggest that<br />
a pinch of Himalayan pink salt in a glass of water takes care of many of these issues (including<br />
any dizziness that may occur). The Scottish fellow who fasted for over a year straight did with<br />
just water and a daily multivitamin. Of course, for obvious reasons, pregnant women and<br />
children should not fast, which goes along with the traditions of the world that do practice<br />
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72 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
Myth No. 5<br />
IT’S JUST CRAZY<br />
It’s true that fasting is a lost art that runs counter to our three-square-meals-a-day culture, but<br />
there are too many benefits to ignore, such as: improved mental clarity, lost weight, lower blood<br />
glucose, better insulin sensitivity, increased energy, and decreased inflammation. Throughout<br />
history fasting was used as a cure for sicknesses and disease. Ancient Greek philosophers used<br />
fasting as way to think more deeply. And, American icon Mark Twain, a practitioner of fasting,<br />
once wrote, “A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best<br />
medicines and the best doctors.” <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong>
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| STORYTELLERS’ CORNER<br />
EDITING<br />
HOW TO MAKE THE CUT<br />
BY FRANZ WISNER<br />
Isaw the framed document at Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park, New<br />
York. The red pencil edits caught my eye.<br />
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in world history, the United<br />
States of America was simultaneously and deliberately attacked by naval and air<br />
forces of the Empire of Japan,” read the typed draft speech.<br />
But Roosevelt had crossed out a few words and added several others to create a new<br />
sentence: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States<br />
of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of<br />
Japan.” With a few strokes of his pencil, FDR made an average sentence iconic.<br />
Editing is the underrated and often overlooked partner to a successful writing effort. It’s the<br />
John Oates of Hall & Oates. We are all guilty of not giving our writing the same editing<br />
attention we afford our initial words. I can’t go for that.<br />
So, fight the tendency to treat editing as an afterthought. Your writing is your baby. You<br />
should shower it with care at every stage.<br />
The following are a few simple editing tips to whip your writing into shape, whether you’re<br />
penning a novel, or a speech, a short story, or a magazine column.<br />
First, it’s important for writers to broaden their definition of editing, to see it as more<br />
than basic proofreading. Editing can be just as rewarding (and time consuming) as the<br />
writing itself. Look at filmmakers. They spend as much time in the editing room as they<br />
do on set. Many of them prefer this part of the process. It’s where they can turn individual<br />
performances into a collective work of art.<br />
Editing is where you can shape your words and sentences into something memorable and<br />
moving. See it as a puzzle. You have all the pieces. How can you best assemble them?<br />
If you’re editing your own work, avoid editing while<br />
you write. Writing is tough enough as it is. You don’t<br />
want to do anything to stifle your creativity. Let the<br />
words and ideas flow as best you can. Get that first<br />
draft down on paper, no matter how awful you think it<br />
may be. You can make it less awful later on.<br />
This begins with setting aside sufficient time for<br />
editing. I prefer mornings, when my mind is clear. As<br />
Ernest Hemingway advised, “Write drunk, edit sober.”<br />
Pick an optimal time during the day, turn off your cell<br />
phone, and give your writing the editing care and focus<br />
it deserves.<br />
The first edit I conduct is a simple, structural one.<br />
Does my writing have a logical beginning, middle, and<br />
end? Do I grab a reader’s attention at the get-go, make<br />
him want to read on, then lead him to a satisfying<br />
conclusion? If not, is there a way to add pieces, cut<br />
superfluous sections, or reorder the parts to improve<br />
the whole?<br />
Next, I edit for flow. I go on a hunt for anything that<br />
can bog down my writing, including:<br />
• Hard-to-follow story arcs;<br />
• Excessive background or description;<br />
• Long, clunky sentences;<br />
• Passive sentences;<br />
• Or sentences with similar structures;<br />
• Words I wouldn’t use in everyday conversations;<br />
• Corporate jargon;<br />
• Clichés and generalities;<br />
• Lack of emotion (notice how quickly we read<br />
through conflicts);<br />
• Too many tangents or too lengthy ones;<br />
• Repetition and redundancies;<br />
• Weak transitions<br />
I also scour the pages for instances where I hit the<br />
reader with summaries instead of action. “Show don’t<br />
tell” is a mantra you will hear ad nauseam in any<br />
writing class. That’s because the advice is essential.<br />
Finally, I undertake a series of pinpoint edits for<br />
targeted changes. With the help of a computer, these<br />
revisions can be completed in short order.<br />
FRANZ WISNER is the<br />
founder of The Bestsellers<br />
Group, which provides<br />
brands and individuals with<br />
storytelling assistance from<br />
bestselling authors.<br />
In many ways, editing is the art of listening to yourself. It’s<br />
calling B.S. when necessary, or prodding your mind to dig<br />
deeper when your story demands it.<br />
For longer works, consider hiring a professional editor.<br />
Relatives and close friends don’t count. Most will be<br />
diplomatic, not wanting to jeopardize a friendship. Your mom<br />
will love anything you send her. Your writing doesn’t need<br />
diplomacy. It needs an honest eye.<br />
I cringed the first time I worked with a professional editor.<br />
She took a blow torch to my manuscript. I stashed the copy<br />
in a drawer for several days and pouted. Then I pulled it out<br />
and began to examine the edits one by one. They made sense.<br />
A realization hit me. “This woman is making me seem much<br />
smarter than I am!” I’ve enjoyed working with editors ever since.<br />
For example, I do an adverb check, auto-searching for<br />
all words that end in “ly.” Most can be eliminated. I do<br />
a passive verbs edit where I search for all the sentences<br />
that contain words like “is,” “was,” and “were.”<br />
Strengthen those wimps wherever possible.<br />
I also keep a list of banned words. These include<br />
stinkers like “actually,” “really,” and “very” as well as<br />
words I use far too much, including “narrative” and<br />
“spot-on” of late. A quick document search helps me<br />
absolve my literary sins and a handy thesaurus pulls<br />
me out of my word rut.<br />
“Editing is easy,” a fellow writer advised me long ago:<br />
“Just take everything you write, cut the boring stuff,<br />
keep the rest.” <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
74 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 75
| INSIGHT<br />
BOILING THE FROG<br />
As Cal Poly welcomes the largest freshman class in its history, many permanent residents<br />
are left wondering: How many more students can San Luis Obispo handle?<br />
BY TOM FRANCISKOVICH<br />
There is a classic parable<br />
concerning a frog and a pot of<br />
water. It goes something like<br />
this: if you toss a frog into a<br />
boiling pot it will immediately<br />
leap out, but if you place a<br />
frog into a pan of lukewarm tap water and slowly<br />
crank up the heat, incrementally over time, it will<br />
obediently linger until the water bubbles over<br />
into a boil and it turns belly-up, dead. The lesson,<br />
of course, is that the frog hangs around in the<br />
ever-increasing heat because it never feels enough<br />
discomfort at any one time to do much about it—<br />
until it’s too late.<br />
Many longtime residents on San Luis Obispo’s<br />
north side did feel the temperature click up<br />
from “medium” to “high” this fall as Cal Poly’s<br />
this year is welcoming its largest freshman class—ever. As a result of a slip-up in its admissions<br />
office related to the elimination of an early decision admissions program, Cal Poly, rather than<br />
rescind those acceptances, elected to double-up students on campus. So, for example, a fourperson<br />
dormitory suite has been reconfigured to house eight.<br />
The same mathematical error plagued UC Santa Cruz two years ago, but its hands were tied<br />
by a lawsuit filed by a local activist group known as CLUE (Coalition for Limiting University<br />
Expansion) as well as the City and County of Santa Cruz. The result of that litigation, which<br />
was eventually settled out of court ten years ago, was that UCSC had to cap their enrollment<br />
and house many more of its students on campus. As heartbreaking as it was to would-be<br />
freshmen, UC Santa Cruz was forced to send out letters saying basically, “We’re sorry, but we<br />
screwed up.” And, they did so because they were compelled by the settlement to prioritize the<br />
health and wellbeing of their host city over the feelings of recent high school graduates.<br />
Much has been made of Cal Poly’s new 1,475-bed freshman dormitory known as Housing<br />
South, or its new Chumash moniker, yakʔityutyu; but, with the continual incremental enrollment<br />
increases, the complex, which is due to open next year, has already been more than filled in the<br />
time it has taken to build it. Long held up by the university as an example of moving toward its<br />
San Luis Obispo’s ratio today is one Cal Poly<br />
student for every two permanent residents<br />
freshman class increased in size by 28% over last<br />
year, nearly 1,000 more students than planned.<br />
Further exacerbating frustrations is the university’s<br />
new policy prohibiting freshman from bringing<br />
their vehicles with them to campus—while a<br />
commendable and worthwhile goal according to<br />
many—it is not working out very well in practice,<br />
as residents in the vicinity of the college see a swell<br />
of cars beyond the normal level wedged into their<br />
neighborhoods. Traffic throughout city streets,<br />
as a result, appears to be much heavier this year,<br />
too. But, it’s hard to tell from one year to the next<br />
because, like the frog, it’s just another in a long<br />
series of incremental changes.<br />
76 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong><br />
stated goal of housing 65% of its students on campus by 2035, it appears that next year when<br />
it opens, the percentage of students living on campus may actually dip below 30%. Last year,<br />
the rate of students housed on campus dropped from 37% to 34% and, while the hard data will<br />
not be known for sure until later this month, it appears that this year somewhere around seven<br />
out of every ten Cal Poly students will require housing somewhere off-campus. In other words,<br />
despite the continually reassuring rhetoric, we’re heading in the wrong direction.<br />
Every year, although there was a slight dip last year, enrollment goes up; at least that has been<br />
the trend when the admissions numbers are averaged over a period of time. Although grumbles<br />
are heard throughout the community, like the frog, the pain so far has not been felt acutely<br />
enough to actually do anything about it. In 2006, a group of residents in Santa Cruz who<br />
comprised its CLUE organization decided that enough was enough. UCSC was growing too<br />
fast and the student-to-permanent-resident ratio was out of whack; it had just surpassed one<br />
student for every four permanent residents—by comparison, San Luis Obispo’s ratio today is<br />
one Cal Poly student for every two permanent residents—and their city council was reluctant to<br />
Despite its verbal commitment to a “steady state do anything to upset the university. Because UCSC, nicknamed “the city on the hill,” like Cal<br />
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 77
| INSIGHT<br />
raising funds (total cost, all-in, ranged from $25,000 to $50,000), hired a lawyer and served the<br />
chancellor papers.<br />
The timing of the suit was key, as it came during the finalization of UCSC’s Long Range<br />
Development Plan creation, coincidentally, at about the same stage where Cal Poly is now with<br />
its Master Plan. Legally, the suit challenged the university on three issues: housing, traffic, and<br />
water. At first, according to CLUE members, although individual Santa Cruz City Council<br />
members were reluctant to get behind the lawsuit as they each had their own relationships with<br />
university administrators to protect, they finally got caught up with the “silent majority” of local<br />
residents who saw the logic of limiting campus growth as UCSC and its bottomless appetite<br />
for more students was eroding quality of life around town. Traffic had gotten out of hand, the<br />
housing market was untenable, and serious water questions were unanswered. Over time, both<br />
the City and the County of Santa Cruz joined the lawsuit, which was finally settled out of court<br />
with the help of a mediator. The net result: UCSC’s enrollment was capped at 19,500 students.<br />
And, two-thirds of them were required to be housed on-campus.<br />
CLUE members who were involved in the lawsuit share that the settlement was not a panacea,<br />
not a silver bullet, but what it did do is bring some certainty, some clarity, and provide a<br />
framework for the City of Santa Cruz to begin to plan a way out of its own housing crisis. In<br />
other words, the city’s single largest demand factor into its local housing market, overnight, went<br />
from an unknown to a known quantity. It was the equivalent of a business shifting its biggest<br />
input cost from a variable to a fixed expense. Of course, Santa Cruz, much like San Luis Obispo,<br />
remains a desirable tourist and retirement location, but people moving in for those reasons are<br />
much fewer and easier to predict. That sort of demand is more manageable than someone at the<br />
university saying, “Oops, I just added 1,000 more people to town—my bad.”<br />
a “b”)—shouldn’t Cal Poly be required to take<br />
more responsibility right now? Shouldn’t our city<br />
council be holding the university’s feet to the fire<br />
when it comes to infrastructure, traffic, emergency<br />
services, housing?<br />
Asking these sorts of questions, ironically, or any<br />
sort of question concerning Cal Poly, one runs<br />
the risk of being labeled “anti-student.” The two<br />
things, however, are not mutually exclusive. Is it<br />
really in the best interests of students to shoehorn<br />
four of them into a dorm room made for two?<br />
Isn’t it hypocritical to enroll students knowing that<br />
there are not enough faculty members to provide<br />
the classes they will need to actually graduate in<br />
four years? Isn’t it unfair to send them out into a<br />
hyper-competitive off-campus rental market in their<br />
second year where they will stand in line with a<br />
hundred of their classmates at a rental open house,<br />
and can expect to pay $1,000 a month for a place to<br />
sleep in a shared bedroom?<br />
This autumn feels different than any other in recent<br />
history. The city’s infrastructure has been stretched<br />
to a tipping point; already maxed out, nearly 1,000<br />
The truth is, San Luis Obispo already has all of the workforce<br />
housing it needs. The only problem is that instead of it being rented<br />
to teachers and cops, it is rented to Cal Poly students.<br />
To its credit, Cal Poly has bent over backward for its massive incoming freshman class this year;<br />
and the people working valiantly in its housing office should be commended. But—and this is a<br />
very big “but,” and a question that no one seems to be asking—what happens to those students<br />
next year? The university has a policy of requiring freshman to live on campus during their first<br />
year, but next year they are on their own. They will need to go out into town and find themselves<br />
a place to live. Let’s do the math together: assuming an average of five students per house…<br />
1,000 students divided by five… that’s 200 homes. In other words, we are talking about nearly<br />
half of the housing units in the newly approved San Luis Ranch development. And, because<br />
there are 1,000 more students than had been anticipated, how likely do you think it is that those<br />
kids will get the classes that they need to actually graduate in four years? Cal Poly does not have<br />
a good track record in this area; a recently completed state audit found that its administration<br />
grew by a whopping 50% between 2007/2008 and 2015/2016, with an increase to teaching staff<br />
in the single digits. It simply does not have the educational resources to get students graduated<br />
on time as it is, so how will a 28% increase in its freshmen population make that situation better?<br />
Meanwhile, the City of San Luis Obispo continues to push for new housing developments<br />
in search of a solution for its housing crisis—at the same time largely turning a blind eye<br />
to the single largest source of demand—Cal Poly. City council members, for some reason,<br />
are reluctant to look beyond developers' slick marketing brochures when it comes to this<br />
issue. The truth is, San Luis Obispo already has all of the workforce housing it needs. The<br />
only problem is that instead of it being rented to teachers and cops, it is rented to Cal Poly<br />
students. The real question—the only question—is: Why is housing Cal Poly’s ever-growing<br />
student population the city’s problem? Especially considering some of the Category 5<br />
headwinds in the forecast—an expected $8.9 million budget shortfall to the city’s budget<br />
in four short years, plus Diablo’s closing up shop and taking 1,500 head-of-household jobs<br />
with it, leaving an annual economic impact locally of about $1 billion (that’s billion with<br />
souls have been added overnight. Traffic is worse<br />
than it has ever been, local reservoirs have more<br />
demands on them than ever, and housing is at a<br />
breaking point. Instead of holding the university<br />
accountable, however, the city’s response again and<br />
again, is to continue to soak in the nice, cozy pot<br />
of warm water. There is no doubt about the fact<br />
that the futures of Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo<br />
are inextricably linked—they always have been.<br />
For all intents and purposes, the two institutions<br />
are married. There is a reason that starry-eyed high<br />
school juniors race home to fill out their Cal Poly<br />
admissions applications after attending Farmers’<br />
Market on Higuera Street. The same does not<br />
happen following a visit to CSU Dominguez Hills.<br />
And, it is not implausible that San Luis Obispo<br />
without Cal Poly would be known as “Bakersfieldby-the-Sea.”<br />
But, for a marriage to work, there<br />
has to be a natural give-and-take. For too long<br />
the city has played the role of the permissive<br />
spouse, willing to continually turn a blind eye to<br />
its partner’s transgressions, letting just a little more<br />
slip by each time. At some point, someone has to<br />
take a clear-eyed look at the little bubbles forming<br />
and ask the question: “Is it getting hot in here, or<br />
is it just me?” <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
78 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 79
| OUTDOOR<br />
California<br />
Driftwood Dream<br />
Meditative, calm, and wondrous, and as cool as a California summer<br />
day. Thoughtless, timeless, and yet, an expression of pure architecture<br />
that combined rugged design with precision mathematics. A day,<br />
lost on a beach somewhere with endless possibilities, and yet, no<br />
priorities—that was our day building a driftwood hut.<br />
BY SHAWN TRACHT<br />
After meandering aimlessly up Highway One, my daughter and I stumbled upon<br />
a stretch of coastline that was riddled with large, beautiful strands of driftwood<br />
branches. With no plans, no cares, and work left a hundred miles away, nothing<br />
was the goal, nothing except time to focus on my daughter, time to let go, time to<br />
be a kid again, time to create something, or nothing... whichever came first.<br />
The walk down the long beach consisted of holding hands with my six-year-old, making funny<br />
faces, and skipping over sticks and seaweed like only a first-grader could. That’s what made her<br />
smile, that’s what made me a kid without a care. It was giggles and laughs with a little girl who<br />
wants to be just like dad, yet wants dad to be just like her. It was, “Dad, let’s race!” And, “Don’t let<br />
the water touch your feet!”<br />
Before you knew it, we were all the way down the beach at a cove that was protected from the<br />
northwest winds, beaming with sunshine, and covered with driftwood that would become the building<br />
blocks of our daydream. Daddy and daughter, builders of a future home together, right on the water...<br />
a California driftwood dream.<br />
And isn’t that the point of it all, living in the dream, while dreaming, yet truly grasping reality in these<br />
timeless moments?<br />
My daughter looked at me and asked where to begin. “Dad, which pieces of wood should we get first?”<br />
After a soothing sigh, another deep breath, and a gaze out at the open ocean, I spoke mindlessly from<br />
the heart, “It all starts with a good base, Darling. Have patience to build slowly and with a purpose for<br />
something that will last. Choose wisely, and be in no rush to move into the future too fast. The goal<br />
is the journey. Being done just means you’re done, but the journey is what<br />
we long for. The building is the best part. It’s the experience we dreamed<br />
about, not just the finished product. So let’s breathe, take our time, look up<br />
at the ocean, laugh, and wander... wander through wood and possibilities<br />
of our dream hut we’ll build together.”<br />
And so we hopped around our little world there, on that beach, lost in the<br />
moment, meditating in patience, examining each driftwood log—which<br />
would become our solid beam structures to build our beachside manor?<br />
And of course, in soft reflection, the epiphany swept me up, the<br />
building of our driftwood hut was more a lesson in life than it was<br />
about building a structure on some beach. It was more a lesson about<br />
friendship and the tools to find a good companion someday than it was<br />
about building a hut out of driftwood. It was about building a home,<br />
not just building a house. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
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80 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 81
| ARTS<br />
THE BUSINESS OF ART<br />
How Creative Nonprofits Drive the Economy in <strong>SLO</strong> County<br />
BY BETTINA SWIGGER<br />
To live the <strong>SLO</strong> Life is to experience a daily embarrassment of riches.<br />
The fresh fruits and vegetables, the weather, the small town friendly<br />
attitudes, and the scenic vistas imbue this area with a quality of life<br />
that cannot be measured by traditional metrics. The same is true for the arts and<br />
culture community here, with our whimsical public art, stately performing arts centers,<br />
hundreds of visual artists, active live music scene, and a reputation as a cherished<br />
destination for internationally-acclaimed musicians and artists.<br />
But all of those attributes can be difficult to measure. Sure, the arts make us feel good,<br />
but it is close to impossible to quantify something that is so subjective. It’s not like you<br />
can put a dollar value on the warm fuzzies and spiritual enrichment that come from<br />
experiencing the arts. Until now.<br />
It turns out that it is possible to measure the impact of the arts, at least as they relate<br />
to our local economy. And in San Luis Obispo, that number is a whopping $27.7<br />
million each year.<br />
According to a recent national study by Americans for the Arts, arts spending—$13.7<br />
million by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and an additional $14 million in<br />
event-related spending by their audiences—supports 916 full-time equivalent jobs,<br />
generates $16.8 million in household income to local residents, and delivers $2.8<br />
million in local and state government revenue.<br />
The study was a collaborative effort involving 28 participating nonprofit organizations,<br />
dozens of volunteers, and audience surveys of more than 900 individuals. The study, called<br />
Arts & Economic Prosperity, is the fifth iteration of a nationwide effort coordinated<br />
by Americans for the Arts. This is the first time the San Luis Obispo County arts<br />
community has participated, and the results show that the arts mean business.<br />
“Having real dollars behind us is a game-changer,” reflects<br />
Arts Obispo Executive Director Angela Tahti. “Arts jobs<br />
are jobs and this study proves it. The many people behind<br />
the arts productions—the artists, the staff, the volunteers,<br />
and the donors, are so creative and inventive. They vote, pay<br />
taxes, and make our community more vital. Now we’ve got<br />
metrics to go along with countless stories of art’s goodness.<br />
The national study also demonstrates that when we invest<br />
more, we get more.”<br />
For years, those of us who work in the arts, support the arts,<br />
and are passionate about living in communities where arts<br />
opportunities are abundant, have been aware of the intrinsic<br />
value of the arts. But the results of this study send a strong<br />
signal that when we support the arts, we not only enhance<br />
BETTINA SWIGGER is<br />
Executive Director of<br />
Festival Mozaic, co-host<br />
of the weekly public radio<br />
program KCBX In Concert,<br />
and a lifelong arts advocate.<br />
our quality of life, but we also invest in San Luis<br />
Obispo County’s economic well-being.<br />
Now, more than ever before, the arts are not a frill.<br />
Rather, they provide both cultural and economic<br />
benefits along with real jobs for real people,<br />
whether they are residents or visitors to the region.<br />
The arts enhance community and neighborhood<br />
development; attract new businesses and young<br />
professionals; draw tourism dollars; and create<br />
an environment that entices skilled, educated<br />
workers and builds a robust 21st-century workforce.<br />
It is fiscally sound policy to invest in the local<br />
arts infrastructure. Nonprofit arts organizations<br />
are proud members of the business community,<br />
employing people locally, purchasing goods and<br />
services within the community, and are deeply<br />
involved in the marketing and promotion of their<br />
respective cities.<br />
Furthermore, the arts drive tourism and retain<br />
local dollars. The survey results show that tourists<br />
who come to <strong>SLO</strong> County to attend arts and<br />
cultural events stay longer than non-arts tourists<br />
(an average of three or more days) and spend an<br />
average of $67.48 in the local economy per day,<br />
not counting the price of admission to their events.<br />
And the arts keep dollars in our local economy as<br />
well, encouraging residents to participate in local<br />
arts events and spend their discretionary dollars<br />
locally, instead of traveling to other areas for<br />
entertainment.<br />
This survey is just the beginning of what I hope<br />
will be an ongoing conversation about how to<br />
support a robust and thriving arts community.<br />
Now is an important time to talk about how<br />
we can collectively advocate for more cultural<br />
resources, whether that means additional municipal<br />
sources of funding, private foundations, corporate<br />
philanthropy, or enhanced coverage in the press.<br />
The arts mean business, and this is a business that<br />
shows no signs of slowing down. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
82 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 83
| TASTE<br />
Burgers<br />
<strong>SLO</strong> County doesn’t mess around when it comes to America’s National Dish,<br />
but what makes a burger great? More than meets the eye, it turns out.<br />
BY JAIME LEWIS<br />
Bring up the subject of burgers and it seems everybody’s a critic. Whether they’re<br />
talking about the meat, seasoning, size, condiments, bun, toppings, price, service,<br />
ambiance or all-around approach, even the meekest of Central Coast residents<br />
will brazenly hold forth about local offerings of this quintessential American dish.<br />
I have no interest in being a food critic. To me, food is<br />
a source of pleasure and nourishment, a gateway into<br />
the soul of a culture and the people who prepare it.<br />
I’m much less interested in going into deep analysis or<br />
pitting burger-à-burger than in hearing a good story<br />
of risk and redemption.<br />
Fortunately, our local burger joints are much more<br />
than the sum of their beef and buns. The four<br />
restaurants I profile here each sell outrageously<br />
flavorful burgers, but they also proffer plenty of<br />
warmth, authenticity and heart, too. And that’s<br />
something no quantity of Yelp! stars can capture.<br />
JAIME LEWIS is a world<br />
traveler, and food writer, who<br />
lives in San Luis Obispo.<br />
Flavor Factory<br />
“We make everything ourselves,” says Dawnelle Pollard, who owns and<br />
operates Flavor Factory in Morro Bay with her husband, Adam, and children,<br />
Riley and Camille. “We grind our own beef fresh every day, and make our<br />
own pickles, soups, and desserts.”<br />
The brains behind another Morro Bay institution, Taco Temple, Adam<br />
and Dawnelle sold that restaurant in 2015 and set out to create a series of<br />
seriously delectable burgers. Many of the same touches remain from Temple<br />
days, though, including surf art, classic rock on the stereo, and a commitment<br />
to fresh, fresh, fresh.<br />
When Dawnelle brings out a Crispy Green Chile Burger ($12) for me to<br />
try, the sight of it piled high and oozing with cheese makes the red-blooded<br />
American inside me giddy. Dawnelle explains that they roast anaheim chiles,<br />
bread them in crushed saltines, stuff them with cheddar and fry them to top<br />
a glorious burger on an Edna’s Bakery pretzel bun. I dig in and feel the crisp<br />
snap of chiles, the eggy chew of the bun, the crumble of the meat, which is<br />
a blend of chuck, brisket and bacon (yes, bacon). Right out of the gate, the<br />
Central Coast’s got serious burger game.<br />
84 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 85
Beach Burger<br />
Just a block away from the beach in Oceano,<br />
five-year-old Beach Burger is situated on Pier<br />
Avenue, where trucks, toy-haulers and RVs<br />
line up to cruise the dunes. The brightly-lit<br />
restaurant has a vacation vibe, reminding me<br />
just how lucky we are to live where others<br />
come to play.<br />
Owned by the same family that owns Laguna<br />
Grill in <strong>SLO</strong>, Beach Burger’s claim to fame<br />
is its cheese-stuffed patties, all of which are<br />
ground and formed in-house. “The cheese<br />
inside makes a big difference, adds a lot of<br />
flavor,” says manager Emily Del Toro, noting<br />
that, yes, another slice of cheese is also slapped<br />
on top of the burger as it’s assembled.<br />
I order the Mushroom-Avocado Burger ($9)<br />
and, at first bite, taste the parsley, garlic,<br />
onion powder and steak sauce mixed into<br />
the patty. I also feel the crispy surface of the<br />
Edna’s Dutch crunch bun, complementing<br />
the creamy avocado and slick, garlicky sauteed<br />
mushrooms. And those juices: they dribble to<br />
my elbow. By the end, I’ve eaten just half my<br />
burger and used seven napkins. Noted.<br />
86 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 87
Brooks Burgers<br />
“This is slow,” says owner Luke Brooks, gesturing<br />
to the packed dining room at Brooks Burgers, just<br />
north of the Pismo Beach Outlets. “It’s been an<br />
amazing year.”<br />
I ask him about the sign outside that says Brooks<br />
Burgers was established in 1968; he shares that<br />
his grandpa had a burger joint near Fresno, and<br />
his family still owns a cattle and meat plant in the<br />
Central Valley. Here’s where Brooks’ specialty lies:<br />
in control over each burger from pasture to plate.<br />
“We’re able to get a better-quality burger patty at<br />
an affordable price,” he says of the blend of grain<br />
and grass-fed beef used at the restaurant.<br />
Indeed, the price is right at Brooks’ Burgers, where<br />
$8 gets you a Huevos Rancheros Burger like mine,<br />
a pink patty topped with scratch-made piquant<br />
chile verde, a fried egg, and a drizzle of Tapatio,<br />
all encased in a shellacked brioche bun (also from<br />
Edna’s Bakery).<br />
When I ask Brooks what sets his burger apart,<br />
he points to the quality of the patty, the custombaked<br />
buns, and a third factor: love. “There is<br />
a connection between love and food,” he says.<br />
“It’s not something mundane. It’s an important<br />
ingredient and it’s often overlooked.”<br />
88 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 89
Sylvester’s Burgers<br />
The icon of Sylvester’s is a smiling cartoon burger with a wild<br />
look in its eye and sauce falling haphazardly out of its bun.<br />
“Our whole thing is ‘Big, Hot ‘N Juicy!’” says owner Brian<br />
Englund of the brand’s unforgettable tagline. “The sauce is what<br />
we’re known for.” It’s such a force to reckon with, in fact, that<br />
Englund contracts with Edna’s Bakery (do you see a theme?)<br />
to bake an extra-absorbent bun, and offers a designated “wash<br />
station” on the patio.<br />
To illustrate the popularity of Sylvester’s three locations—the<br />
original Los Osos spot, Atascadero and Oceano—Englund says<br />
he sold a total of 130,000 pounds of beef in 2016. I visit the<br />
original for the true burger shack vibe, with colorful old booths<br />
and faded customer photos papering the walls.<br />
Manager Adele Ventimiglio brings out my Hana Burger ($9.25<br />
for 1/3 lb), topped with fat pineapple rings, teriyaki glaze, bacon,<br />
and a slathering of Sylvester’s sauce. I attempt to eat ladylike<br />
bites while talking with Englund and we both start laughing;<br />
sauce is on my nose, my chin, and pooling in the palms of my<br />
hands. After eating just one-third of the rich, delicious treat, I<br />
tally my spent napkins: 15, for the win. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
90 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 91
| KITCHEN<br />
PUMPKIN SOUP<br />
Silky smooth and wonderfully warm, a steaming bowl of<br />
this comforting soup on an autumn day, with its subtle curry<br />
flavor, lets the season’s squash take the starring role.<br />
BY CHEF JESSIE RIVAS<br />
92 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
Local harvest<br />
DELIVERy<br />
PUMPKIN SOUP<br />
2 Tbs butter<br />
2 Tbs olive oil<br />
2 yellow onions diced<br />
½ tsp minced garlic<br />
1 tsp ground ginger<br />
1 lb sugar pumpkin peeled and diced<br />
1 ½ 1b butternut squash peeled and diced<br />
3 ½ cups chicken stock<br />
1-2 Tbs red curry paste<br />
4 oz half & half<br />
6 oz coconut milk<br />
3 oz toasted pumpkin seeds (salted)<br />
In an 8 quart stockpot heat the butter and oil on<br />
a medium flame. When butter and oil start to<br />
sizzle add the onions, ginger and garlic. Simmer<br />
for 2-3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and butternut<br />
squash and sauté for 4-5 minutes until light golden<br />
brown. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.<br />
Reduce the heat and simmer until the pumpkin<br />
and butternut squash is<br />
tender. Add the curry<br />
paste, half & half, and<br />
the coconut milk.<br />
JESSIE RIVAS is the owner<br />
and chef of The Pairing Knife<br />
food truck which serves the<br />
Central Coast.<br />
Purée the soup, in<br />
batches until smooth.<br />
Return the soup to<br />
the stockpot. Heat to<br />
desired temperature<br />
and season with salt<br />
and pepper. Top your<br />
servings with the<br />
roasted pumpkin seeds.<br />
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OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 93
| BREW<br />
SPOTLIGHT: 7 SISTERS BREWING<br />
BY BRANT MYERS<br />
Stepping into the newly opened 7 Sisters Brewing, you’re<br />
immediately greeted by a massive and vibrant mural<br />
depicting the namesake mountains of San Luis Obispo’s<br />
dearest mountain range covering an entire wall from<br />
floor to ceiling. Look close enough and you’ll find a pink<br />
square denoting Madonna Inn to the East and you can<br />
follow the winding gray line of Highways 101 and 1<br />
leading all the way to the most iconic of the Sisters, Morro Rock, and the<br />
three gray blocks of the stacks to the West.<br />
This latest brewery to open up, just off of Tank Farm and behind Trader<br />
Joe’s market, is the dream of brewer/founder Steve Van Middlesworth.<br />
Looking down the barrel of his 30th year with the U.S. Air Force, Van<br />
Middlesworth is going to realize his 25-year passion of homebrewing the<br />
way many others have—by sharing years of experience with the masses.<br />
As we sit down to talk about the mindset of a brewer, he describes his<br />
craft as “science, art, and magic” combining the rigors of biology and<br />
chemistry with creative recipes and the sacred dance of yeast and grain<br />
sugars to make delicious beer. As a career environmental engineer, Van<br />
Middlesworth is also very proud of his work toward sustainability in the<br />
brewing process. Utilizing a one-container brewing technique he can<br />
drastically reduce the operation’s footprint with his low-water-use system<br />
and low-energy tankless heaters. A versatile four-barrel brew house<br />
allows him enough capacity to make a portfolio of beers to be enjoyed<br />
continuously in addition to one-offs that follow seasonality or just his<br />
whim on that particular brew day.<br />
Paying homage to the county that Van Middlesworth calls home along with<br />
Emily Taylor, the self-proclaimed “Director of Look and Feel,” whose love<br />
of spices and herbs hide nuanced hints of the bounty <strong>SLO</strong> offers in both<br />
their brews and their food. One beer they previewed before opening was<br />
the Bishop Peak Blonde with sage and lemon officially hitting thirsty lips at<br />
the 8th Annual Brews and Bites in the Mission Plaza earlier in September.<br />
What really hit the spot as temperatures soared into the high triple digits<br />
still holds true during their soft opening just a couple of weeks later. Already<br />
a quaffable beer to begin with, the subtle hints of earthy sage and zesty<br />
lemon make this a brew to enjoy any day of the week. As the temperatures<br />
drop and the sunsets get earlier, keep an eye out for their darker offerings<br />
such as browns and stouts. The spicy Chili Brown is out now and I<br />
recommend ordering some hearty cheeses to accompany the heat.<br />
Subdued Belgian yeast strains can be found in their Table Beer and<br />
Hollister Peak Belgian with pink peppercorns. The former, a very easy<br />
drinking small beer clocking in at 4% alcohol content for those who like<br />
their suds on the lighter side, and the latter, an approachable Belgianstyle<br />
beer akin to a Single with fruity esters coming from the classic<br />
yeast strains and a subtle heat of the pink peppercorns. Fun fact: they are<br />
not actually peppers but closely related to the cashew and mango trees,<br />
thus giving them less of a pepper bite and more of a chili and fruit flavor.<br />
They were also fermented in Central and South American chicha, a type<br />
of fermented “beer.” The more you know! Also on draught was their<br />
Morro Rock Kölsch with cucumber and lime. One of my favorite styles,<br />
this twist saw a big nose of cucumber up front and then the lime coming<br />
through more as the beer warmed up. It’s always so fun to see how a beer<br />
can change even with just a few degrees difference.<br />
Come hungry because their locally sourced food offerings from artisans<br />
such as Central Coast Creamery for cheese, House of Bread for their<br />
baked goods, and Spice of Life for extra kick, all go through the kitchen<br />
and directly out to your table. Grilled<br />
cheese sandwiches are the cornerstone of<br />
the menu, even offering one on a skewer in<br />
your michelada. The charcuterie plate, large<br />
enough to be shared with friends, comes<br />
replete with more meat, cheese, nuts, and<br />
fresh bread than is fit for a meal. However,<br />
my favorite has to be Taylor’s house-pickled<br />
vegetables or pink pickled eggs. Chat<br />
up 7 Sisters’ passionate general manager,<br />
Cameron Pelissier, for recommendations<br />
on beer and food pairings as you discover<br />
San Luis Obispo’s newest hot spot. As Van<br />
BRANT MYERS is owner<br />
Middlesworth says, beer is an “experience<br />
of Hop On Beer Tours, a<br />
concierge service for craft enhancer” so grab some friends, soak up a<br />
beer enthusiasts along the<br />
cozy evening on their patio and make an<br />
Central Coast.<br />
experience of your own. <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong><br />
94 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
Brewed in San Luis Obispo, California Since 1988.<br />
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 95
| HAPPENINGS<br />
OCTOBER<br />
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*SPECIAL PROMOTIONS ARE LIMITED WITH SPECIAL TERMS<br />
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DETAILS. ©<strong>2017</strong> HARVEST MANAGEMENT SUB LLC, HOLIDAY AL<br />
MANAGEMENT SUB LLC, HOLIDAY AL NIC MANAGEMENT LLC<br />
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CITY TO THE SEA<br />
The City to the Sea half marathon<br />
course is a point-to-point race that<br />
starts in downtown San Luis Obispo.<br />
The course winds through the city, takes<br />
runners along scenic backroads, and ends<br />
alongside the Pacific Ocean in the coastal<br />
community of Pismo Beach benefitting<br />
Cuesta College athletes.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 8 // citytothesea.org<br />
FESTIVAL MOZAIC<br />
Internationally renowned artists<br />
present concerts in spectacular venues<br />
on the Central Coast. This weekend<br />
explores three centuries of chamber<br />
music’s artistic progress including<br />
Mozart, Chopin, and Prokofiev.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 20 - 22 // festivalmozaic.com<br />
RABBIT HOLE<br />
Becca and Howie Corbett have<br />
everything a family could want,<br />
until a life-shattering accident<br />
turns their world upside down<br />
and leaves the couple drifting<br />
perilously apart. Rabbit Hole<br />
charts their bittersweet search for<br />
comfort in the darkest of places<br />
and for a path that will lead them<br />
back into the light of day.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 6 – 22 // slorep.org<br />
MADAMA BUTTERFLY<br />
Japan’s red sun rises in San Luis Obispo<br />
with a new Grand Opera production<br />
of Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece,<br />
Madama Butterfly. Enjoy a pre-opera<br />
talk one hour before curtain at each<br />
performance.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 14 - 15 // pacslo.org<br />
SCARE FARM<br />
Each year the San Luis Obispo<br />
Future Farmers of America host<br />
a community-wide event to<br />
promote agriculture awareness and<br />
Halloween fun for locals.<br />
<strong>Oct</strong>ober 21 // sanluisobispoffa.org<br />
96 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 97
| HAPPENINGS<br />
NOVEMBER<br />
SENIOR DISCOUNT . Mon & Tues 10 to 2 . $15<br />
HARVEST ON THE COAST<br />
Take in the transcendent sights, scents,<br />
and flavors of this signature season<br />
through a rambunctious extravaganza<br />
of local food and wine. The weekend<br />
includes a winemaker’s dinner, the<br />
Grand Tasting and Wine Auction, and<br />
winery open houses.<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ember 3 – 5 // slowine.com<br />
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1351 Monterey Street . San Luis Obispo<br />
(805)783-2887 . clippersbarber.com<br />
TANGO BUENOS AIRES<br />
The acclaimed company of 25 dancers<br />
and musicians will perform an<br />
experiential journey into the culture<br />
and spirit of Argentina as part of their<br />
successful international tour. Free<br />
pre-show lecture begins at 6 p.m.<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ember 14 // pacslo.org<br />
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MORRO BAY TRIATHLON<br />
Swim the bay, ride historic Highway 1,<br />
and run on the hard-packed sand, the<br />
beach, boardwalk, dirt roads, and paved<br />
roads. Come out to Coleman Park and<br />
enjoy some of the finest multi-sport<br />
terrain on the West Coast.<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ember 5 // morrobaytri.com<br />
NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY<br />
LUNCHEON<br />
Join the Association of Fundraising<br />
Professionals, San Luis Obispo Chapter,<br />
as they honor their philanthropists and<br />
volunteers with Tim Bennett, retired<br />
President of Harpo Productions, as keynote<br />
speaker and Scott Daniels as emcee.<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ember 16 // afpsloco.afpnet.org<br />
SANTA’S HOUSE IN MISSION PLAZA<br />
Santa Claus has come to Downtown San Luis<br />
Obispo. Visit jolly Saint Nick at Santa’s House<br />
in Mission Plaza and have your photo taken<br />
with him.<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ember 24 - December 24 // downtownslo.com<br />
98 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>
OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong> | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | 99
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100 | <strong>SLO</strong> <strong>LIFE</strong> MAGAZINE | OCT/NOV <strong>2017</strong>