SLO LIFE Magazine Aug/Sep 2018

LIFE 

SLOmagazine 

LOCAL 

LEADE 

NEWS 

BRIEFS 

ON 

RIS 

NOW 

HEA 

TH 

CENTRAL 

COAST 

EVENTS 

HEALTH 

REVIEW 

BEHIND 

SCENES 

REAL ESTATE 

MBERS 

AUG/SEP 2018 

SLOLIFEMAGAZINE.COM 

MEET 

DENISE TAYLOR 

EMPATHY, FORGIVENESS 

& MOVING FORWARD 

AUG/SEP 2018 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 1

2 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | AUG/SEP 2018





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TUE SEP 25 Boz Scaggs 

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FRI JAN 18 An Evening of Classic Lily Tomlin 

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JOIN US FOR AN 

EXTRAORDINARY SEASON 

2019 

National Geographic Live! – Terry Virts 

SAT JAN 26 Herb Alpert & Lani Hall 

SUN JAN 27 

Martha Redbone – Bone Hill 

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SUN FEB 10 

THU FEB 14 

Joshua Bell 

Russian National Ballet – Sleeping Beauty 

Kinky Boots 

SAT FEB 16 Celtic Nights – Oceans of Hope 

WED FEB 20 

WED FEB 27 

TUE 

International Guitar Night 

We Shall Overcome 

MAR 12 Ladysmith Black Mambazo 

THU MAR 14 Monty Python’s Spamalot! 

FRI 

MAR 15 Jacob Jonas The Company 

WED MAR 20 Dustbowl Revival & Hot Club of Cowtown 

SUN APR 7 

Havana Cuba All-Stars 

WED APR 10 Something Rotten! 

THU APR 11 Ranky Tanky 

SAT 

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra 

Amos Lee – My New Moon Tour 

SAT OCT 20 Cirque Mechanics 

TUE OCT 23 Ballet Folkórico de México 

THU OCT 25 

SUN OCT 28 

Finding Neverland 

Svyati Duo 

SAT NOV 3 Pilobolus – Shadowland 

SUN NOV 4 

Whose Live Anyway? 

APR 13 Vitaly – An Evening of Wonders 

WED MAY 15 National Geographic Live! – Brian Skerry 

SUN MAY 19 Brandon Ridenour 

2018 

WED NOV 14 National Geographic Live! – Annie Griffiths 

THU DEC 6 

Charles Phoenix 

THU DEC 13 Tommy Emmanuel w/ Jerry Douglas 

TUE 

DEC 18 LeAnn Rimes Holiday Show 

WED DEC 19 Windham Hill Winter Solstice 

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SLO LIFE 

magazine 

CONTENTS 

Volume 

9 

Number 4 

Aug/Sep 2018 

42 

DENISE TAYLOR 

Working with HIV/AIDS patients 

has led this doctor to a life of 

empathy and understanding. 

14 

16 

18 

20 

Publisher’s Message 

Info 

On the Cover 

In Box 

10 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | AUG/SEP 2018 

26 

28 

34 

Briefs 

Check out the latest news highlight reel. 

Timeline 

We take a look at local events from the past two months. 

View 

KERRY DRAGER captured the fun, easygoing spirit of 

San Luis Obispo with a whimsical look at Bubblegum Alley.


| CONTENTS 

36 

38 

40 

52 

60 

Q&A 

While an MBA under his belt and more than 

15 years of election work is impressive in 

itself, it doesn’t demonstrate all of County 

Clerk Recorder TOMMY GONG’s passion 

and success. 

Now Hear This 

With an EP to her credit, Orcutt native 

singer-songwriter JENNY ASHLEY 

is busy preparing for her latest album 

release party. 

On the Rise 

A long list of achievements is already 

underway for San Luis Obispo High School 

senior WILLIAM HASTINGS. 

Profile 

The San Luis Obispo Leadership Program 

marks its 27th year. Here, we share the 

members who make up the current class. 

Family 

Looking for a fun way to explore 

downtown, PADEN HUGHES heads out 

on a walking tour exploring local fare. 

72 

80 

86 

Real Estate 

Look no further for insight into the local housing market 

as we share the year-to-date statistics of home sales 

for both the City and the County of San Luis Obispo. 

Health 

While not part of everyday conversation, insulin is 

critically important, so we here at SLO LIFE decided to 

take a look at how this hormone impacts our health. 

. 

Taste 

JAIME LEWIS discovers that there is one thing for sure 

about our burgeoning local ice cream scene—it tastes as 

good as it looks. 

62 

Dwelling 

Urban sophistication makes this four-level 

Brownstone house in the heart of San Luis 

Obispo home for KEVIN and DONNA LEWIS. 

94 

96 

100 

104 

Kitchen 

Taking a zucchini and corn griddlecake to the next 

level, CHEF JESSIE RIVAS adds a fun twist with fresh, 

cleaned and chopped cactus. 

Wine Notes 

Rosé seems to be taking the local wine region by storm, 

and ANDRIA MCGHEE explains why this perfectly suited 

beverage is here to stay. 

Brew 

Always one for sharing his knowledge of all things beer 

related, BRANT MYERS provides an in-depth explanation 

for what makes a lager a lager, and an ale an ale. 

Happenings 

Looking for something to do? We’ve got you covered. 

Check out the calendar to discover the best events 

around the Central Coast in August and September. 



| PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE 

Five years ago, it was an interview I had conducted for SLO LIFE Magazine that changed my life forever. 

I sat down with Botso Korisheli, who was then 92 years old, in his Morro Bay home for a conversation 

during a typical fog-enshrouded midsummer morning. There, with my voice recorder clicked on, I began the 

interview as I always do, by asking for some background information. “If it’s okay with you, Botso, let’s start 

by talking about your childhood, about where you are from.” 

Through a heavy Eastern European accent, Korisheli revealed that he had grown up in the Republic of 

Georgia when it was brought under Soviet control. Slow and measured in his speaking, he began sharing the 

story of his father, a famous actor in the capital city’s theatre. “My father disagreed with the government—the 

rule was that theatre and drama and arts should serve the politics. But, dad disagreed. He said that it should 

serve the people. And, he did not budge one inch.” 

One day, when he was a young boy, Korisheli went on his own to the theatre to watch his father perform in a 

double feature. It was late, but it did not matter because it was summer; school was out. Tucked away in the 

back corner, Korisheli’s eyes became heavy toward the end of the first show and he drifted off to sleep. When 

he awoke, the theatre was empty except for the first row, which was lined with a group of men in military uniforms. Rubbing his eyes and dismissing the 

bizarre scene as a dream, Korisheli, still half-asleep, tripped his way toward the stage. 

When he made it to the front of the auditorium, he craned his head to the right, at the very same time the man sitting in the middle of the group 

glanced to his left—in that moment, Botso Korisheli locked eyes with Joseph Stalin. Korisheli knew immediately who he was because posters of the 

Soviet dictator were everywhere. The men flanking either side of the murderous ruler sprang to their feet—a hornet’s nest animated by a piñata stick— 

they were upset that this kid had snuck up from behind so easily, and were worried about what their boss may say, or do. From backstage, Korisheli’s 

father came running out. Then Stalin took over. 

Standing behind the boy, the dictator rested both hands on his little shoulders—“I can still feel it; big hand,” is how Korisheli remembered it—while he 

spoke to his father, the actor. Solicitous of the child, Stalin leaned over to ask what he had thought of his father’s performance. Korisheli answered that 

he had liked it very much. 

Before continuing with the retelling of the story, Korisheli paused for two or three beats, gazed off toward nowhere in particular, lowered his voice and 

said, “Years later, he executed my father.” 

When he was 15 years old, Korisheli was finally allowed to visit his father in prison where he had been sentenced to death for his political views. Told 

they would have just 20 minutes before the execution, father and son held hands through the iron bars. The elder Korisheli then attempted to impart 

a lifetime of lessons and wisdom, everything he had planned to say over the many years they expected to share. “Do not go to sleep at night without 

asking yourself, ‘Did I do enough work for the day?’”… “Listen more, talk less.”… “Do not leave things unfinished. You start—make sure you finish.”… 

“Do not repeat second-hand news. Find the truth.” Then, mid-sentence, two KGB prison guards emerged and without a word ripped the actor away, 

leading him down a long hallway. 

I surfaced from Korisheli’s home that day to find the fog lifting, but my mind was anything but clear. It wasn’t so much that I heard the story; it was 

that I felt it. It was now part of me. That night with my family and our three young kids around the table for dinner, I saw everyone in a different 

light—I understood 20 minutes. 

Today, five years later, I would like to invite you to join the e-mail I will be sending occasionally, sharing the story within the story from behind 

the scenes. You can sign up for it by visiting my personal website, GrowWithTom.com to subscribe to Tom’s Bombs (“Tom Bomb” was a childhood 

nickname), and receive my next installment called “Meet Your Neighbor,” revealing how we came up with the concept for our cover feature, which 

included Korisheli, in the first place. 

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to everyone who has had a hand in producing this issue of SLO LIFE Magazine—thank you. And, most of all, to our 

advertisers and subscribers—we couldn’t do it without you. 

Live the SLO Life! 

20 Minutes 

Tom Franciskovich 

tom@slolifemagazine.com 


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Kerry Drager 

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CONTRIBUTIONS 

Have some comments or feedback about something you’ve read here? 

Or, do you have something on your mind that you think everyone should 

know about? Submit your story ideas, events, recipes, and announcements 

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

info@slolifemagazine.com 

4251 S. Higuera Street, Suite 800 

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 

Letters chosen for publication may be edited for clarity and space limitations.

Reunion 

Saturday, 

September 29 

11 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

Santa Rosa Park, SLO 

With the highest level of care in all 

of San Luis Obispo County, Sierra 

Vista’s NICU continues to provide 

compassion and peace of mind to 

local families whose babies need a 

little extra care and time to grow. 

Join Dr. Steve Van Scoy and the entire 

NICU team in celebrating 

NICU graduates. 

PARKER 

graduate 

SierraVistaBirthCenter.com 


| ON THE COVER 

A SNEAK PEEK 

BEHIND the scenes 

WITH DENISE TAYLOR 

BY VANESSA PLAKIAS 

This was a really interesting, intense experience. I had some 

awesome, deep talks with Denise. I can’t pretend this stuff doesn’t 

go on in the world. It took me out of my little SLO bubble a bit. 

Denise said her motherin-law, 

Liga (pronounced 

“lee-kah”), inspires her. She’s 

from Ecuador. During one 

of their travels there, they 

came across a children’s 

book about Mother Earth. 

The Native Incas tell this 

story about Mother Earth 

symbolized by her seashell 

tattoo. To Denise, she feels 

that she takes on this mother 

role, whether with the 

inmates or her patients. 

Denise talked about 

how she strives to 

bring out the best in 

people, even when they 

have done something 

horrendous. She then 

said something that 

I thought made a lot 

of sense, “I try to do 

this whether they are 

behind actual, physical 

bars, or in their own 

mental prison.” She 

said she wanted to 

help people find their 

best selves. 

Toward the end of our time together, after she told me about her 

brother, she said, “If we can break the cycle of revenge, an eye for an 

eye, then the world would be a better place.” I love that and feel that it 

is so true, and Denise is clearly living it. SLO LIFE 



| IN BOX 

Take us with you! 

Hey, SLO LIFE readers: Send us your photos the next time you’re relaxing in town or traveling 

far and away with your copy of the magazine. Email us at info@slolifemagazine.com 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 

CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES, FRANCE 

MARIA and TARA SOLES in Seattle on a 

mother-daughter birthday celebration trip. 

My wife, BECKY LAWSON, and I truly cherish SLO 

LIFE Magazine and its whole SLO Town perspective, 

people, small business profiles, food and SLO homes. 

When we travel we always bring our SLO LIFE with 

us to read. We can not wait till the next issue! Keep 

up the great work! 

— BRIAN T. LAWSON 

JULIAN ALPS, BOVEC, SLOVENIA 

TURKS AND CAICOS 

COOKIE KROUSS 

SANDI PARDINI 

and DEBBIE LEWIS 


BALBOA ISLAND 

DENTELLES DE MONTMIRAIL 

RENDEE DORE’, MIKI MARTIN, and SUE SODERBERG 

AFRICAN SAFARI 

SUZETTE LEES 

CLIFFS OF MOHER, IRELAND 

SLO NEWCOMERS TRAVEL CLUB 

STUTTGART, GERMANY 

RICHARD ROBLES AND LINDA PACHECO 

URALSK, KAZAKHSTAN 

AMY KARDEL 

BRYANT JOLLEY 

JULIA KNEHER 

Alumni and friends of the German School Committee 

celebrated 70 years of high school exchange between 

SLOHS and Ebelu in Stuttgart this summer. Started by 

Ethel Cooley, the program is now sponsored by the 

Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. 

TOM, LAURA, WILLIE, and BIBA KIRSCHNER 

are visiting our children’s homeland. 


| IN BOX 

You showed us! 

RATECE, SLOVENIA 

CAPE COD BAY 

MARY KOPECKY and SANDY AMBORN 

JUNEAU HARBOR, ALASKA 

JIM and MARGARET NEVILLE, JOHN and 

STEPHANIE EWAN with Slovenian cousins getting 

ready to experience the steepest zipline descent 

in the world, flying over the Planica giant hill, 

Bloudkova velikanka, the largest ski flying hill in 

the world. 

COMPOSTELA, NAYARIT, MEXICO 

MYRNA and HOWARD FABRICK 

celebrating our 60th Anniversary. 

LOCH LOMOND, SCOTLAND 

GABRIEL, JEFFREY, 

and YAZMIN SKLAR 

I’ve enjoyed SLO LIFE Magazine since its 

inception. It’s great to see articles about local 

people, places, and organizations that make San 

Luis Obispo and the surrounding communities so 

special. Thanks and continue the great work! 

SANDI SIGURDSON 


DUBROVNIK, CROATIA 

KEALAKEKUA BAY, HAWAII 

NINA HANSEN 

MAMMOTH CAVES NATIONAL PARK 

MYLES, DYLAN, 

and GAVIN PAYNE 

PAI, THAILAND 

GRETA MILLER 

PREDJAMA CASTLE, SLOVENIA 

DOUGLAS and 

NIKKI ERB 

MALAYSIA 

.MATTIA GUARNIERI with 

JACKIE, RYAN, and MIKE DUFFY 

LESLIE MONACO and ALISYA SUHAIMI 


| IN BOX 

SLO LIFE travels! 

CLIFFS OF MOHER, IRELAND 

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO 

JIMMY, WENDY, BRENDAN 

and JORRYN FORESTER 

BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII 

SASHA SHERIDAN 

and KATHY RIOS 

MAMMOTH LAKES 

MINTON FAMILY 

MARY LOU and 

RON JOHNSON 

LAKE POWELL 

ST. CROIX, US VIRGIN ISLANDS 

FIVE SLO FAMILIES 

CAL POLY STUDENTS 


MOUNT WHITNEY 

BAVARIA 

JOSH and LINDSEY 

HARING 

MOUNT RAINIER, WA 

VALENTINA PETROVA and 

her adventure yoga group at 

Neuschwanstein Castle. 

“I’M READING!” 

KIM and CAROL 

BENNETTS 

KAYLEE 

Please send your photos and comments to info@slolifemagazine.com 

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

Visit us online at slolifemagazine.com 

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

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


| BRIEFS 

$381,950 

Median cost of a home in Lehi, Utah 

where San Luis Obispo-based 

manufacturer Really Right Stuff 

announced it will relocate—“pushed out” 

according to its CEO, Joseph Johnson— 

due to the high cost of living for its 

employees in San Luis Obispo where the 

median home price is $754,500. 

“I’ve been living 

in a van for almost 

two years now. It’s 

great. Just gets 

better and better.” 

Thomas Kofron, 31, of San Luis Obispo who 

works for Cal Fire as a firefighter, and made 

it to the final round of the NBC television 

show “America Ninja Warrior,” mostly 

training by climbing Bishop Peak. 

499 

The number of votes cast in San Luis 

Obispo County for Patrick Little, a 

Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate 

who believes that the Holocaust was a 

hoax and that Adolf Hitler may have 

been “the second coming of Jesus Christ.” 

“Surprised myself 

by how emotional 

I became during 

that opening 

monologue…” 

Radio personality Dave Congalton of KVEC 

posting on Facebook after going back on air 

for the first time in two weeks, after being 

seriously injured by a car while walking to the 

Women’s March in San Luis Obispo. 


“Citywide, 

I have some 

real concerns 

with the 

direction the 

city is moving. 

Are we having 

a tradeoff 

between quality 

of life and 

quantity of 

life?” 

Tom Brown, owner of BlackHorse 

Espresso & Bakery, in an interview 

with the Tribune where he expressed 

his intention to fight the massive 

development proposed by El Segundobased 

developer Loren Riehl, the same 

person who developed 22 Chorro with 

apartments now advertised as “luxury 

student housing” and renting for $1,400 

per month per bed. Brown, who holds 

a lease on the property, plans to stay 

through 2023 when it expires. 

$1,000 

The amount of money raised on 

GoFundMe to replace “Pyrate Steve” 

Yarling’s skiff, which was stolen following 

the annual fireworks show in Cayucos. 

$267,000,000 

Total value of the 2017 wine crop in San 

Luis Obispo County, which set a new 

record and beat out strawberries for the 

second year in a row. 

10 

The number of pink champagne cakes 

the Madonna Inn makes on an average 

day, with an increase around the holidays. 

After a seven-month outage of the pink 

dye used during the baking process, the 

company announced that its supplier had 

fixed the problem and the customary color 

was back for good. 

$2.5 

million 

The amount donated by Justin Vineyards 

and Winery—a subsidiary of The 

Wonderful Co.—to Cal Poly to get its 

name emblazoned on a new wine and 

viticulture center, triggering many to 

question the ethics of the university’s 

administration, noting that just two years 

ago the winery had secretly clear-cut 

thousands of old growth Coast Live Oaks 

to make way for more of its grapes. 

“But I still feel like my 

freedom of speech 

was taken away, 

and I don’t think my 

scholarship should have 

been revoked over 

something like that.” 

Cal Poly student Bronson Harmon, who 

complained about being kicked off the 

wrestling team and losing his scholarship 

after he was caught on video making an 

obscene gesture and shouting an anti-gay 

slur during a counter-protest to the Families 

Belong Together March in Modesto. 

SLO LIFE

Common Sense For Our Neighborhoods! 

T. KEITH 

Did You Know? 

Keith was the first and last 

Cal Poly student to be elected 

to the SLO City Council. 

Paid for by T. KEITH GURNEE for SLO MAYOR | FPPC # 1406358 

Talk to Keith 

Want a yard sign? Have questions or comments? 

gurneeforslo@gmail.com or 

tkgurnee@gmail.com 

Show Your Support 

Send donations to: 

T. Keith Gurnee for SLO Mayor, 2018 

P.O. Box 15857 

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406–5857 

w w w . g u r n e e 4 s l o . c o m 

@tkeithgurnee 


| TIMELINE 

Around the County 

JUNE ’18 

6/5 

San Luis Obispo County went to 

the polls after a contentious primary 

season. The hotly contested race for 

the District 4 seat on the Board of 

Supervisors, which resulted in a lawsuit 

[see “Q&A” on page 36] went to Lynn 

Compton over Jimmy Paulding by 

just 60 votes; embattled Sheriff Ian 

Parkinson won easily over challenger 

Gregory Clayton; incumbent District 

Attorney Dan Dow beat opponent 

Judge Mike Cummins; District 2 

Supervisor Bruce Gibson avoided a 

runoff by securing 59% of the votes over 

Jeff Eckles and Patrick E.B. Sparks; 

Tom Bordonaro bested David Boyer 

to return again as County Assessor; 

Hernaldo Baltodano and Tim Covello 

were elected as judges; and Measure 

B-18, otherwise known as the cannabis 

tax, passed with 76% of the vote. 

6/11 

Grover Beach resident Lisa Irwin 

filed a lawsuit against the San Luis 

Obispo County Office of Education, 

as well as two of her former coworkers, 

claiming that she had been forced 

out of her job after reporting that 

employees had been sidestepping 

contracting requirements in exchange 

for kickbacks from construction 

companies over the past couple of 

years. Irwin claimed additionally she 

had upset administrators when she 

reported “fraudulent billing, invoice 

and credit card policies and practices 

that allowed [another employee] 

to use public funds on personal 

expenses.” Further, she asserted of the 

administration, “…[Their] practice of 

mismanaging public funds for their 

personal benefit” included altering 

invoices and other internal documents 

to “mask” personal expenditures. 

6/19 

The campaign began almost immediately after the Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to leave it up to 

the voters as to whether or not to ban new oil wells and allow fracking to take place in San Luis 

Obispo County. The vote, from which John Peschong recused himself citing the work his firm had 

done on behalf of oil companies, was largely procedural, as local environmentalists had already 

gathered 20,313 signatures, nearly 12,000 more than were needed to qualify the initiative for the 

ballot in November. Representatives from both sides of the issue spoke out passionately during 

the public comments portion of the meeting, foreshadowing the intensity of the debate and the 

massive deluge of multi-national energy company money expected to characterize the months 

leading up to the vote this fall. 

6/21 

Political leaders from each of San Luis Obispo County’s seven cities and the Board of Supervisors 

gathered together to sign a code of civility, pledging a new tone of cooperation going forward. The 

idea for the code came up when county leaders traveled together to Denver, Colorado in a trip 

coordinated by the SLO Chamber of Commerce last year. There, they learned of a similar effort 

and a movement toward civility in regional political discourse. With an effort to get more locals 

involved in the search for finding critical answers to perplexing countywide questions, such as 

how to replace Diablo Canyon’s $1 billion per year economic impact after it is decommissioned, 

the pledge is essentially a list of guidelines, which includes: listen first; respect different opinions; 

disagree constructively; and debate the policy, not the person. 

6/27 

Twin brothers and business partners, Jeremy and Joshua Pemberton, revealed they will no longer 

pursue plans to build their long-proposed Discovery SLO, a bowling and entertainment center at 

the corner of Marsh and Chorro Streets in downtown San Luis Obispo, after failing to pay rent on 

the building for more than a year. In the aftermath, the property owner, Jamestown SLO Premier 

Retail LP, in partnership with Copeland Properties, proposed a 75-foot structure that would 

include retail space on the bottom floor, office space on the second and third floors, and 55 housing 

units on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. Forty-five of the units would be studio apartments and 

ten would be one-bedrooms. Current downtown-commercial zoning allows for buildings up to 

50 feet tall, but the city’s Planning Commission may allow up to a maximum building height 

of 75 feet if the project meets at least two objectives, such as affordable and workforce housing, 

pedestrian amenities, historic preservation, or energy efficiency. 


JULY ’18 

7/12 

Following a two-year effort by the government watchdog group, Spotlight on 

Coastal Corruption (SOCC), Coastal Commissioner and Pismo Beach City 

Councilman Erik Howell was fined $3,500 for violating transparency rules by 

failing to disclose communications and for influencing matters he knowingly failed 

to disclose with people involved in projects presented to the commission. Initially, 

the SOCC sought $3.6 million in damages against Howell for committing “crimes 

against democracy” in a lawsuit alleging that he violated the Public Resources Code 

requirements at least 96 times. While Howell had argued along with the four other 

commissioners implicated that they had simply made clerical errors, the SOCC’s 

lawyer, Corry Briggs, disagreed and stated, “The way you best protect the coast is to 

protect the government… You can’t have effective long-term coastal protection that 

also respects property rights if the public does not know what’s going on.” 

7/13 

Fox News issued an apology after falsely reporting that Cal Poly was implementing 

a race-based admissions process to intentionally exclude white students. During 

the segment, the network interviewed a student, construction management senior 

and Campus Reform correspondent Roberta Martin, who claimed of the alleged 

policy, “It creates divisions where there weren’t any before,” with the words “CAL 

POLY PLOTS TO REDUCE WHITE ENROLLMENT” at the bottom of the 

screen. After a swift reaction from Cal Poly Media Relations Director Matt Lazier 

who wrote, “Cal Poly has not, does not, and will not use applicants’ race as a factor 

in admissions,” Fox News issued an apology and correction the following day. 

However, Martin continued with her false claim even after the network’s retraction, 

stating in an email to the campus newspaper, Mustang News, “The bottom line is, 

Cal Poly has set a goal of reducing the number of white students on campus.” 

7/14 

Morro Bay residents Chad and Chelsea Moore happened upon a woman who 

had been missing for a week while the couple searched for a fishing spot during a 

weekend camping trip in Big Sur. The woman, 23-year-old Angela Hernandez of 

Oregon, drove off a 200-foot cliff when she swerved to avoid hitting an animal. 

After her 2011 Jeep Patriot finally came to rest in the shallow water of a rocky, 

remote, and inaccessible beach, the injured woman was able to collect water from 

a nearby stream using a radiator hose that had been thrown from the wreckage. 

When the couple found Hernandez, they offered her food and water and while 

Chad remained with her, Chelsea climbed back up to the campground to call for 

help. Multiple first-responding agencies lifted the woman back up to the road 

above and then she was transported to a waiting helicopter, which carried her to 

Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton where she made a full recovery. 

7/17 

The City of San Luis Obispo settled a lawsuit with its Fire 

Department over an alleged miscalculation of overtime. 

In the suit, filed in federal court along with a formal 

grievance, 25 firefighters who had been seeking three years 

of back wages instead will each receive varying amounts 

of compensation up to $603. The union’s attorneys and 

consultants, however, were paid a combined total of 

$52,449. Under the terms of the settlement, the city 

also ratified a three-year contract with its firefighters 

that included a 1-2% cost-of-living increase as well as 

a 3% increase in employees’ pension contributions. The 

estimated total savings resulting from the new contract 

are thought to total $1.9 million by fiscal year 2020-2021 

when the city is expected to face a roughly $8.9 million 

budget gap. 

7/17 

A grand jury finds that the County Board of Supervisors 

has the power to unilaterally mitigate dust at the Oceano 

Dunes because a vast majority of the off-road riding area 

is on county-owned land known as the La Grande Tract. 

While residents of the Nipomo Mesa, who are often 

subjected to some of the worst air quality in the nation, have 

pressured the Air Pollution Control District as well as State 

Parks to take action, the County Board of Supervisors has 

largely avoided public scrutiny as it has mostly remained 

silent on the issue of public health. The grand jury’s report 

suggested that the county—which rents the land to State 

Parks and has been operating without an agreement since 

2013 when it expired—could simply write a new lease 

stating that because the dust has compromised the health 

and welfare of its citizens, riding is prohibited. SLO LIFE 






| VIEW 

bubblegum 

alley 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KERRY DRAGER 

Sometime in 1950, maybe it was 1951, someone walked 

the narrow passage between two buildings in downtown 

San Luis Obispo and decided to stick their “already been 

chewed”—ABC—gum against the wall. The debate rages 

on to this day as to who that person was and why they did 

it. But, the fact remains: they did. Now we do. Everyone 

does. Today, people from around the world visit Bubblegum 

Alley to contribute their own ABC artwork to the constantly 

evolving brick canvas. 

It seems that the 15-foot walls just cannot catch a break, as 

local opinions run strong in either direction. For some, it is a 

disgusting, bacteria-ridden eyesore of epic proportions. For 

others, it is a tourist mecca and a boon to the local economy. 

Those caught in the middle, simply shrug their shoulders, 

acknowledging it for what it is: an enduring San Luis Obispo 

institution, so entrenched in our history and culture that it 

has become every bit a part of who we are, as much as the 

Mission itself, or even Bishop Peak for that matter. It was 

Winston Churchill who said, “We shape our buildings; 

thereafter they shape us.” While the cigar-munching Briton 

doubtfully pondered Bubblegum Alley’s ever shifting 

composition when he said those words, there remains a lot of 

truth to his statement. 

The one thing we do know about Bubblegum Alley—the 

only thing we know for sure—is that people are fascinated 

by it. Every major newspaper has at least mentioned it at 

one time or another. Magazines abound with articles listing 

it as a “must do” while in San Luis Obispo. Television shows 

ranging from Johnny Carson to The Girls Next Door 

have had something to say about it over the years. Now, 

the Internet is filled with thousands, perhaps millions, of 

photographs, as every wayward visitor posts the classic 

shot; the one with the kids sticking their gum to the 

wall. Last year, the website VirtualTourist.com got in on 

the fun when it nominated the 70-foot walkway as the 

unofficial 8th wonder of the world. There is no end to the 

fascination, as the estimated 1.7 million wads of ABC 

gum inspire a steady year-round pilgrimage, moths drawn 

to the porch light. 

Kerry Drager is as consumed by Bubblegum Alley as the 

rest of us. With too many published books and articles to 

list, Drager is prolific. As a photographer and a photography 

teacher, when it comes to capturing images he has been 

there, done that. But, there is just something about all that 

ABC gum he could not leave alone. So one day, he talked 

his daughter-in-law, Kim, into meeting him downtown for a 

shoot. It would be a quick session, he promised. “She walked 

up wearing these really loud, colorful glasses, and it gave me 

an idea,” Drager remembers. Although he had planned for 

the typical, zoomed-out viewpoint of the alley, instead Kim 

blew a bubble. Quickly swapping out his lens for a wideangle, 

the photographer/father-in-law closed in to about a 

foot from the teal sunglasses and started snapping away in 

front of a “slightly icky section of the wall.” Then, crouching 

down and pointing upward, while zooming in to distort 

the background, Drager knew he captured it, the essence of 

Bubblegum Alley. SLO LIFE 



| Q&A 

RIGHT TO VOTE 

We were treated recently to a wide-ranging interview with San Luis Obispo 

County Clerk-Recorder TOMMY GONG. Our conversation covered everything from 

speculation about what killed Bruce Lee (topical steroids), to how to boost the 

morale of grocery store clerks (chicken chow mein), to what it’s like to be sued 

(slightly better than getting kicked in the face). Here’s some of what he had to say… 

Tommy, let’s start off by talking about where you 

are from. Sure, I grew up in a small town just east 

of Modesto called Riverbank; about 6,000 residents 

back then. My parents moved there in the early 

‘60s before I was born to open up a grocery store. 

My grandfather moved to the United States from 

China in the 1920s and got into the grocery business. 

Subsequently, all of his children took his lead and 

opened stores of their own. He came from a county in 

Southern China where many of them came over, and 

they all got into the grocery business. It used to be, if 

you drove on Highway 99 between Sacramento and 

Bakersfield and there was a Chinese grocery store, 

it was most likely owned by a member of the Gong 

family. And you could always tell when you were in 

a Chinese-owned grocery store, because they would 

have a kitchen in the back with a wok so they could 

cook for all the family members and everyone who 

worked there during the day. 

What came next? So, I grew up working at the 

grocery stores, and by the time I went off to college at 

UC Berkeley, my family had two locations. I always 

did well in school. Went on to San Francisco State 

for my MBA. When I finished, my parents were 

ready to retire and they wanted me and my other 

family members to continue. So, I ended up back 

in the family business. It’s kind of like the mafia. 

[laughter] You think you are on your way out, but 

they pull you back in. I did that for another ten years 

until around 2001 when we sold to a big grocery 

store chain. Suddenly, I found myself looking for a 

job. I had no idea what I was going to do. When I 

searched the job postings, I kept seeing notices, of 

all things, for a county elections manager. That’s how 

I got my start in elections. Of course, this was fresh 

off the 2000 presidential election with all that was 

happening in Florida. I said to myself, “How difficult 

can that be?” 

How difficult was it? Well, pretty challenging, as 

it turned out. My first election was the governor 

recall race, the one with Arnold Schwarzenegger 

and 135 other candidates. During that period, I will 

say, is when I caught the election bug. When you 

do elections, you either love it or hate it; you find 

out real fast. Holding an election is like planning a 

wedding, or a party, or an event. You do all the prep 

work ahead of time. You work with your vendors 

and suppliers to get everything lined up for that 

one special wedding day. You want everything to go 

off without a hitch, hopefully. If not, you have to be 

able to adapt and fix things as you go along. I had 

some relatable experience going into it. I think what 

sold them on hiring me for that first job was when 

I talked about how I organized events on behalf of 

Bruce Lee’s family. 

How did you get involved with them? As a kid, we 

were the only Chinese family in town, and although 

I never felt discriminated against, there was nobody 

else that looked like me. So, when Bruce Lee came 

up in the ‘70s, it was like, “Wow!” When I went 

off to UC Berkeley, which was one of his old 

stomping grounds, there were still people living 

there who had been trained by him. By the time I 

graduated from Cal, I had met all of Bruce Lee’s 

major students. I developed a passion to learn 

more about his art and continue on. By the late 

‘90s, there was a lot of confusion in the martial 

arts community about what it was exactly that 

Bruce had taught, so his widow, Linda Lee, 

called together all the students to say, “Let’s try 

to figure all this out.” Out of that initial meeting, 

we formed a group that became the Bruce Lee 

Foundation. I became a founding board member, 

organized its events, as I mentioned, and became 

their official videographer where I would interview all 

of his remaining students, which led to me writing a 

book about the evolution of Bruce Lee; how his art 

evolved, how his philosophy evolved. 

Okay, speaking of martial arts, how did it feel to 

be sued by Supervisor Lynn Compton during the 

recent election? [laughter] Oh, yes, okay. I knew you 

were going to ask me about that. I remember looking 

at the reports and seeing that Lynn was ahead by a 

very slim margin. Then, in the next-to-last report, 

Paulding passed her up, going ahead ever so slightly. 

Finally, she was up by 50 votes or so. Then it came 

time to process the leftover ballots, the provisionals 

and the mail-ins where people forgot to sign the 

envelope, and in some cases, there were eight of them, 

where the signatures did not appear to match. There 

are provisions in the law for you to send them a letter, 

so they can come in and we can remedy the situation. 

But, it has to be completed within eight days of the 

election. The law states very clearly, “The elections 

official shall liberally construe in favor of the voter.” 

So, in this case, where we were not delaying the 

counting process, not delaying the certification—we 

actually finished four days ahead of schedule—then 

why not? By all means, if they have the right to vote, 

then we’re going to do whatever we have to do to give 

them the opportunity. And, at the end of the day, my 

job is to defend the rights of the voters. SLO LIFE 


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| NOW HEAR THIS 

JENNY ASHLEY 

Virginia Woolf claimed that all women need rooms of their own, spaces where they feel free to 

create, and for local singer-songwriter Jenny Ashley, that room is her white minivan. 

BY DAWN JANKE 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICHARD FUSILLO 


Album release party . Dunbar Brewing Public House . Santa Margarita . September 13 

enny Ashley began writing songs in her car, almost 

clandestinely, as a respite from working motherhood. 

She recalls, “There was a time that I felt trapped—I 

was trying to live a writer’s life, dedicated to writing 

two-to-three hours a day for almost a decade, and I 

was teaching, and I had little babies at home, and I Jcouldn’t really go anywhere unless I could get there 

via stroller.” Since she lived in a small home with three toddlers, 

she would escape to her minivan when everyone was asleep, and she 

would write songs and sing. “I bought a hand-held recorder and 

secretly recorded more and more songs.” Ashley’s musical training is 

as a singer in the church band and “that one year, all these songs just 

came pouring out of me,” she says, “but I cannot read music, so I did 

everything by ear.” 

It was actually before Ashley had children when she wrote her first 

song. “One day, when I was preparing for class, I was looking at some 

poetry, and in one of my books, I saw ‘Funeral Blues’ by W. H. Auden, 

and I just heard it as a song. I sang it aloud—the entire song—and 

it was magic,” she says. “I was with friends later that night, and I 

announced that I had written a song and sang it for them, but that was 

it. Then I got pregnant, had kids, went into survival mode, and stopped 

being creative for several years.” 

Ashley kept that song, “Stop All the Clocks,” in the back of her head, 

humming it to herself here and there, but she never recorded it. In fact, 

she didn’t think of professionally recording any of her music until she 

met another local singer-songwriter, Jon Bartel. “I knew this guy Jon, 

who was in a band,” explains Ashley, “and he was writing his own music, 

and he was a church person, too, so I emailed him and let him know 

I was also writing songs.” The chance Ashley took by opening up and 

sharing her music with Bartel changed everything. 

Ashley says, “For a long while, it was me in my minivan with my 

melody and my lyrics. I needed someone to turn my ideas into full 

songs.” Bartel and Ashley began exchanging audio files: Ashley 

sharing her words and melodies, and Bartel writing guitar parts. Their 

first recording was “Hooks,” and according to Ashley, it was totally 

homegrown: “I couldn’t sing loud because we were recording in his 

guest room with his kids sleeping and his wife grading papers in the 

adjacent room.” Ashley and Bartel proceeded to record four songs over 

the course of a year, and during that time Bartel built in his garage 

what became Northwall Studio, an important addition to the county’s 

recording studio scene. “The last songs we recorded for my EP were in 

Jon’s new studio.” 

Ashley’s EP, Sidecar, is named after the San Luis Obispo restaurant and 

bar. “That was the place my husband and I frequented—we were always 

going to Sidecar and talking out our problems,” says Ashley. “It was a 

vulnerable time in our lives,” she adds, “and Sidecar became the place 

for us.” One of the songs on the album even proclaims, “Meet me at 

Sidecar; I think I’ve found what we’re looking for.” 

The EP release party, held at the Dunbar Brewing Public House in Santa 

Margarita in February of 2016, was the first time Ashley and Bartel 

performed her music together for an audience. “I had been singing in the 

church band for 20 years, and I am a Cal Poly professor, so performance is 

no problem, but I am not a seasoned musician with tons of experience, and 

three days before the event I lost my voice,” she says. “I didn’t talk for three 

days, and I did all these herbal remedies, and I got my voice back, and it was 

fine. We rehearsed for the first time an hour before the show, but I take it as 

a good life lesson: just keep going.” 

Since then, several personal changes have resulted in more freedom for 

Ashley, and she just keeps going; now she is pursuing another side of her 

creativity, photography, which has brought her a lot of acclaim, including 

features in galleries in California and Mexico. “I’ve gone through some 

drastic changes and have really come into my own skin. I now give myself 

permission to write a song or take a picture, whereas for a long time I 

blocked my creativity,” says Ashley. “I took baby steps towards less asking 

for permission and more telling the people in my life, ‘This is what I am 

doing.’” Ashley declares that she has wanted to create art for so long, and 

she finally feels empowered. 

She also credits Bartel for supporting her musical pursuits. “I have grown 

a ton and am giving myself permission to make music without constraint,” 

she states, “but Jon makes everything I write sound better.” The two 

continue to collaborate, most recently on her upcoming album, “Foreign 

Cinema,” which Ashley explains was written in her minivan on a trip to 

and from San Francisco. “I went on this trip, and the entire car ride I was 

processing life, romanticizing about times and events, thinking through 

what was weighing heavy on my heart, and it all came to me as I was 

driving alone. I sat in silence and heard the songs.” 

Unlike her EP, which fit neatly into the alt country genre, Ashley is pleased 

that “Foreign Cinema” represents a bit more of her rock ‘n’ roll vibe, and 

the Orcutt native seems even more pleased that the album is purely local. 

“All the songs were written here, it was recorded on the Central Coast, and 

the imagery will be local, too, with album photography shot at the Palm 

Theater and Giuseppe’s,” she says. The album also 

will feature Ashley’s photography, something 

about which she is really excited: “I wanted to 

do the cover art myself because it gave me an 

opportunity to combine my love of photography 

with my love of music—to articulate this broader 

sense of my artistic vision.” 

With an album release party scheduled for 

September at Dunbar Brewing Public House, 

Ashley looks forward to performing “Foreign 

Cinema” for an audience. “Live music is art 

being made as it goes—it is embodied art.” 

And then what’s on the horizon for Jenny 

Ashley? “I’m going to return to my minivan 

and let it all take shape.” SLO LIFE 

DAWN JANKE, Director, 

University Writing & Rhetoric 

Center Cal Poly, keeps her 

finger on the pulse of the 

Central Coast music scene. 


| ON THE RISE 

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 

William Hastings 

With interests ranging from law to Latin, music 

to philosophy, seventeen-year-old San Luis 

Obispo High School senior WILLIAM HASTINGS 

is on the final countdown to blastoff. 

What sort of extracurricular activities are you involved in? Boy Scouts, piano 

performance, jazz quintet, band, mock trial, chess club, Latin club, winter 

percussion, National Honor Society, and jazz band. 

What recognition have you received? Top Ten GPA, Golden Tiger Award, 

Staff Creed Award (Emerald Bay Staff Member Award), two-time runner-up 

for best Prosecuting/Defense Attorney (Mock Trial), National Merit Scholar 

(National Hispanic Recognition Program), Samsung American Legion 

Scholarship Finalist (results of national level pending), Boy’s State attendee. 

What are your other interests? I enjoy hiking, making music, listening to 

music, watching films, taking supplemental classes, swimming, lifting, working. 

What is important to you outside of high school? The relationships I have 

with all the wonderful people I have in my life and trying to experience and 

learn as much as I can. 

What career do you see yourself in someday? I’d like to pursue a career in 

either law or business in the future. Both judicial and economic functions have 

always fascinated me. I’d love to explore and contribute to either field to further 

my understanding for the benefit of posterity. 

What has influenced you the most? Alan Watts once said, “Dream the dream 

of living the life that you are actually living today.” This quote has influenced 

how I live out every single day of my life. 

If you could go back in history and meet anyone, who would it be? I’d love to 

meet Friedrich Nietzsche, Alan Watts, or Jordan Peterson (still alive) so I could 

better understand their life philosophies and better implement their teachings 

into my life. 

What do you dislike the most? I really dislike excuses—there’s no reason for 

anything to get in the way of one’s goals. I myself am guilty of allowing them to 

obstruct me, but I’ve been concentrating on trying to minimize the frequency 

in which that occurs. 

What do you want people to know about you? I’m always open to meeting 

new people and experiencing new things. 

What schools are you considering for college? I’ll be applying to UC 

Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, University of Chicago, Yale, and Claremont 

McKenna. SLO LIFE 

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| MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR 


RIPPLE 

EFFECT 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY VANESSA PLAKIAS 

It has been twenty years since DENISE TAYLOR moved to San Luis Obispo 

when her husband accepted a professorship at Cal Poly. Prior to the relocation, 

they were in the Bay Area, where she gained clinical experience treating HIV/ 

AIDS patients. Once here, she quickly put those skills to use at the California 

Men’s Colony, which, at that time, was one of the only prisons designated for 

inmates afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Taylor continued to develop her specialty in this 

area when one day, a transgender inmate appeared at the prison hospital needing 

hormone replacement therapy. She did not hesitate to pick up the assignment 

saying, “How hard can it be? I’ll do it.” Word spread beyond the prison walls, and 

before long, she became the go-to doctor for the Central Coast trans community. 

Now, she is committed to her work with a non-profit called Tranz Central Coast 

and counts around 100 regular patients from the area as part of her practice. 

Additionally, she cares for another 150 or so local HIV-positive patients during 

the one day per week she works at Community Health Centers. Behind the work 

she does to support our local LGBTQ population runs a deep well of compassion, 

empathy—and forgiveness. Here is her story… 



kay, Denise, let’s start from the 

beginning. Where are you from? 

I grew up in Manhattan Beach. 

It was a community not too 

much unlike San Luis Obispo. 

I was actually brought up as an 

Evangelical Christian—the whole 

thing, church three times a week, Obible thumping, church camp. Graduated from Mira Costa High 

School, then Occidental College. Did a year abroad in Germany and 

came back home for the summer before going off to medical school. I 

had been back for about a month when my brother, Bo, he’s two-anda-half 

years younger than me, went to the beach one day with a friend. 

It was September 29th, 1984. They met a couple of girls there who 

asked for a ride home. They lived in Compton. And, Compton back 

in the ‘80s was not a great place to be. It was the middle of the day, so 

they dropped the girls off; then they stopped at a liquor store to get 

something to drink. They saw some guys in another car out front who 

were smoking pot. They went over and asked them, “Oh, hey, do you 

know where we can score some weed?” 

What did they say? There was a discussion about it and then the guys 

in the car said, “Yeah, we know where we can get you some. Follow 

us.” So, Bo and his friend got back in their car and followed these 

guys to a house where they picked up a third guy, then they headed 

to another place—a street corner. When they stopped, they told my 

brother and his friend, “Okay, give us the money, wait here, and we’ll 

be back with your stuff.” So, the one guy takes off and my brother and 

his friend are hanging out with the other original two guys, who are 

now thinking, “Oh, wait, how are we going to get rid of these guys 

who are looking for weed now? They don’t realize that my buddy 

just stole their money and is not coming back.” So one of those guys, 

who was in a gang, had a gun in the car. He’s thinking he’d use it to 

scare them off. So, he went to get the gun, which was some sort of 

handmade pipe gun, a poorly made thing, as it turns out, with not a 

great trigger. He walks toward them, pointing at them and says, “Get 

going.” Bo turns around and says, “What?” The gun goes off, striking 

my brother in the chest. 

Wow. It was a Saturday afternoon and we were all just sitting around 

at home with some friends. That’s when my brother’s friend came 

running up to the door and said, “Bo’s been shot!” We’re thinking, 

“What the heck? What are you talking about? This is Manhattan 

Beach, that sort of stuff doesn’t happen around here.” So, we called the 

hospital and they said, “You need to get here right away.” Everyone 

loaded up into two cars, my family and our friends, and I remember 

my mom kind of trying to laugh it off saying, “Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. 

He’s just going to have some crazy story to tell us someday.” When 

we arrived at the hospital, they pulled us aside and said, “We tried to 

revive him, tried to sew up the hole in his heart. We couldn’t revive 

him. I’m sorry to tell you, he’s dead.” 

I cannot imagine… Yeah, it was surreal. Just complete shock. 

Unbelievable. My mom was sobbing. I just couldn’t understand what 

was happening. He was so young, just 19. I mean, my own kids are 

about his age now; one a little older, one a bit younger. Honestly, 

I don’t know how my mom ever got out of bed again. It’s just 

devastating. My parents had been divorced by this time, so I was the 

one to call my dad. When I finally said the words, “Bo is dead,” that’s 

when I lost it. I couldn’t stop crying. My dad was so confused, he kept 

repeating, “What are you saying? What are you saying?” It just made 

no sense. Bo’s friend went back to recreate the scene for the police and 

they caught the guy the next day. He never denied it. He said he didn’t 

mean to do it, that it was an accident. At the trial, the family was 

allowed to speak before the sentencing. I said, “Well, he should have 

life without parole because we have to live our whole lives without my 

brother, and that only seems fair.” He was sentenced 25 years to life. 

So, then you went on to become a doctor working in the prison 

system? That’s right. It was ’97 when I started working at the 

California Men’s Colony. After about the first six months or so at the 

prison, something occurred to me as I was providing medical care to 

the inmates. We would chat as I was treating them, and invariably 

I would ask them, “Oh, what are you in for?” A lot of them were in 

for murder. And, I remember thinking, “They’re remorseful. These 

guys are working [at jobs within the prison]. They seem to be nice, 

friendly guys.” It occurred to me that they may not be too dissimilar 

to the man who killed my brother. I had actually forgotten his name, 

so I looked it up—Ronnie Fields. I didn’t think too much about 

it until four or five years later when I started a hospice program 

at the prison. We trained inmates to come into the hospital to sit 

with a dying inmate. They would actually hold vigil 24 hours a day, 

rotating shifts every four to six hours until the person passed. These 

were really motivated inmates who were trying their hardest to give 

back, to make amends. Hearing their stories touched me a lot. It 

was around this time that I heard a story on the radio on the way to 

work about a woman who started going to death row to visit the man 

who had killed her parents. In the interview, she talked about how 

these conversations were helping her, as well as helping the inmate. I 

realized it was something I had always wanted to do—meet Ronnie. 

How did you do that? I wrote him a letter. I wanted to meet him. I 

wanted to see if he was sorry. I wanted to know if he was on a path 

of self-improvement. I wanted to give him the opportunity, because I 

knew that the men I worked with, especially in the hospice program, 

would’ve given anything to have been forgiven or even just to have 

the chance to really express how sorrowful they were. Because I work 

in the prison system, it took me a long time to get permission to send 

that letter. When I finally did, I kept it short. It said something like, 

“My name is Denise Taylor. I work at CMC. I think you’re the man 

who killed my brother, Jonathan Bo Taylor. I would like to come and 

visit you and talk to you, if that is possible.” His letter came back 

quickly and it said, “I’m ashamed to say that I am that person. And 

I’m so sorry. It would be hard to have to face you, but anything you 

ask. I feel like I have to grant you that.” The day of my visit, we shook 

hands and he said, “Can I just tell you what happened that day?” His 

version of what took place was basically the same one I had believed 

over the past 20 years—it was an accident. He did not mean to shoot 

my brother. He wanted to scare him off. He said he was sorry and 

told me what he had been doing in prison. Then he started telling me 

about his life. 

What did he have to say? Turns out he had also had a lot of loss; his 

mom had died, his brother died. His sister, who he was closest to, 

died. He had a couple of brothers, and they were also in prison. He 

told me that my letter was the first letter he had received in several >> 


years. No one had visited for probably a decade. So when my letter 

arrived, he said they came around, and they’re like, “Oh, Ronnie, 

there’s mail for you.” And he’s like, “What?” So, I just kind of dropped 

this little bomb into his life. At the end of the visit I said, “Well, I’d 

like to come back to see you again, maybe with my mom and my dad.” 

And I said, “I’ll keep writing to you, if you’d like.” He said, “Yeah, I’d 

like that.” So, I told my parents what I had done. For many years my 

dad had been very angry and my mom was super sad, but had finally 

moved on with her life. When I talked to them about it, my dad was 

actually very interested in getting in touch; I think he really needed 

to hear Ronnie say that he was sorry. But my mom said, “I just don’t 

want to open that door again.” 

So, what happened next? As it turned out, there was a parole board 

hearing coming up six months later where he would petition for his 

release. I told Ronnie, “We’ll come and tell them that we’re satisfied 

that you’ve shown remorse; that you’ve done enough time in prison. 

And, that as far as we’re concerned, there is no reason to keep you 

here.” We thought that maybe he should have a chance to live a life 

on the outside, and hopefully do some good in the world. We kept 

showing up at the parole board hearings every year or two. It wasn’t 

that we said, “We insist he be released,” instead we just kept saying, >> 


“ 

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“We’re satisfied that justice has been served.” So, the last hearing we 

went to, December 2016, they granted him a date. He was released 

from prison a little more than a year ago now, last April. 

Can you tell us about that day? When he got out, he called me. I 

said, “Oh, I’m so excited for you; you’re out! How is it? Did you see 

your family?” He actually has grandkids and great-grandkids. He had 

some kids as a teenager, before he went to prison, and his family had 

grown. I went down to L.A. a few months later, in July, to meet him 

for the first time outside of prison. One of the things I wanted to do 

was to go back to the place where my brother had been shot. I had 

never been there. I thought, “You know, I think going there with him 

just felt like some sort of closure.” I know it made Ronnie uneasy. He 

didn’t really like it. But he said, “Well, if you need to do it, I’ll go.” 

There were some new buildings there, so we couldn’t really do much, 

except stand on the corner. I thought about my brother and hoped he 

would find what I was doing to be the compassionate, loving thing 

to do, me forgiving Ronnie. I can’t say for sure if that would be the 

case or not, but Bo was just accepting of everybody. He did not have a 

prejudiced bone in his body. He probably would’ve believed in second 

chances. He wasn’t exactly a perfect kid, and he got into a fair amount 

of trouble, so I think he would’ve appreciated what I was doing— 

giving Ronnie a second chance. 

And, what do you think he’ll do with that second chance? It’s hard 

to say. I know he talks to his grandkids about staying out of trouble. 

But, I mean, he’s still in an environment that is so difficult for most 

of us living here to even begin to understand. For example, before we 

went to the corner where my brother was killed, Ronnie’s girlfriend 

called. He was talking to her, and the conversation sounded kind of 

strange, so I asked him, “Oh, what was that all about?” He said, “Oh, 

my family’s so worried.” I said, “What are they worried about?” He 

replied, “They think you’re going to hurt me.” I said, “Why would I 

hurt you?” He answered, “That’s the way they think. If somebody does 

you wrong, you’re gonna do them wrong.” He said, “I keep telling ‘em, 

‘You don’t know this lady. She’s a nice lady.’” I said, “Let me get this 

straight. They think I’ve worked for 13 years, writing you, visiting 

you, when none of them ever wrote to you or visited you, and went 

to all those parole hearings just to get you out of prison, so I could 

shoot you?” I said, “Wow.” And Ronnie said, “Oh, don’t worry about 

it.” He told me they said, “Before you get into that car with her, make 

sure she doesn’t have a weapon.” That just surprised me, because I was 

thinking quite the contrary, that they would say, “I wish we could meet 

this nice woman who let Grandpa out of jail.” [laughter] 

Do you maintain contact now? Since that first visit, I talk to Ronnie 

on the phone every couple of months or so. Just to check in. I feel 

like a big sister in a way now, offering a little guidance when I can. I 

go down to L.A. a fair amount for different things, so during a recent 

visit I picked him up and took him out to lunch. I wanted to hear 

about what’s going on in his life. He’s working, and he’s got a car. He’s 

seeing his family and just trying to figure things out with them again. 

>> 



Denise Taylor and Ronnie Fields meeting 

for the first time outside of prison. 

Photo by Katya Cengel 

A couple of his grandkids are in gangs and he said that he keeps 

telling them, “Don’t bring those guns around me; you guys shouldn’t 

be doing this.” One of the things he told me that I really took to 

heart, he said, “It’s hard to be around you, because it reminds me of 

one of the worst things I ever did.” It reminds him of all the pain he’s 

his grandkids. And we’re Facebook friends. So it’s the occasional 

pictures, the occasional phone calls, the occasional lunch, that sort 

of thing. I’m glad that he’s doing well and I will do what I can to 

maintain the connection. I always think about the ripple effect, you 

know the idea where you toss a pebble in the water and the ripples 

I always think about the ripple effect, 

you know the idea where you toss a pebble in the 

water and the ripples radiate out. 

inflicted on me and my family. And I remember thinking to myself, 

“Yeah, I’m going to pull away a little bit. I’m not here to save him. I’m 

not the hero in the story. I just did what I do, and he did his part, and 

now he’s out, and now he’s got a family that he needs to connect with.” 

How do you see things going forward? I don’t want to be a constant 

reminder of the past. I hope that he is able to put the past behind him 

and move on and live his life; have a job, have a car, have a girlfriend, 

go out to dinner, fix a meal—the things that we all take for granted. 

And so, yeah, that’s the kind of stuff we talk about. He tells me about 

radiate out. I think about that concept a lot with the work that I do 

with the prison hospice program. I think about it when I am caring 

for inmates, treating them with respect and decency, and hoping that 

that person can then find the strength to treat another person with 

a little more decency, too. Same with the LGBTQ community and 

my trans patients; you just never know how what you say is going to 

resonate with somebody in the same way the story I heard on the radio 

resonated with me, or how this article may resonate with one of your 

readers. It’s hard to say, it’s really all that any of us can do—create 

those little ripples. SLO LIFE 


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| PROFILE 

INTRODUCING CLASS 27 

Each year, Leadership SLO, the San Luis Obispo-based non-profit, assembles a cohort of 36 participants with 

backgrounds ranging from law enforcement to teaching, everyone from bankers to bakers, to come together from 

all four corners of the county to take part in the ten-month program. With a focus on further integrating its 

graduates into the community, its alumni include politicians, educators, non-profit leaders, and entrepreneurs of 

all shapes and sizes. Each month, the classmates engage in one particular area of focus for an entire day, ranging 

from the arts to farming and beyond. The program kicks off with a three-day off-site retreat and ends with the 

completion of a class legacy project; notable examples include the sundial at the Botanical Gardens and trail 

construction work on the Johnson Ranch Loop. As the current class heads into the homestretch of the program’s 

27th year, those interested in joining the next session are encouraged to apply at leadershipslo.org before the end of 

September. This year’s class, Class 27, just like all of the others before it, is made up of a collection of individuals, all 

with unique hopes and dreams and histories. Here is a little snippet from each of them… 

Brigette Adell Parzych 

Adell Arts 

Visual Artist 

I love to paint—watercolor and 

acrylic—craft, and work with 

mixed media art; and just about 

anything outdoors: hiking, 

jogging, boogie boarding, and 

biking. Someday I hope to see 

a cure for all people with Type 1 

diabetes, including my son. 

Keith Aggson 

City of SLO, Fire Department 

Deputy Fire Chief 

I have been a firefighter for 31 

years, since my senior year in 

high school. I love what I do. If I 

could do anything else, I would 

choose to live in several dozen 

major cities for a month at a time, 

twice a year, to experience a 

wide range of different cultures. 

Pedro Arias Lopez 

Big Sky Café 

Server & Manager 

I am happy in my life, and 

I think this transmits to my 

job. I sometimes joke that my 

hobbies are to clean my house 

and cook for my family. At 

the same time, I like to work 

hard. It may sound crazy, but 

someday I would like to have 

my own business. 

Melodie Beard 

Self-Employed 

Attorney-at-Law 

I’ve traveled extensively with 

my choir and we once had an 

audience in Slovenia that was 

very anti-American, until we 

started singing. After the concert, 

we were able to meet just as 

people. Someday, I hope to have 

the willpower to give up sugar. 

Audrey Bigelow 

SLO Museum of Art 

Donor Relations Manager 

I’m a diehard San Francisco 

Giants fan. I obsess over 

baseball. Eventually, I would 

like to be involved in something 

that focuses on women in sports 

at all levels and work toward 

shining a spotlight on what they 

can and already do accomplish. 

Michael Boyer 

Digital West 

Chief Operating Officer 

As an infant, I was adopted into a 

large white family. I was blessed. 

I was raised in the wilderness of 

Alaska, without running water, 

electricity, TV, or even telephone 

service. My dream is to do what 

I can to help as many who need 

help as possible. 



Steve Burnside 

Clever Ducks 

Business Development & 

Marketing Director 

My dad was a professional 

musician in the ‘70s and ‘80s, 

and I saw all of the good and 

bad that came with that lifestyle. 

I watched as my family has been 

broken, and then reconciled in 

those depths. One of these days, 

I will finish my Ph.D. 

Deanna Cantrell 

City of SLO, Police Department 

Chief of Police 

If a career in law enforcement did 

not work out, my alternate plan 

was to be an art teacher. I paint, 

I draw, and I write. I grew up in a 

home with a lot of violence and 

poverty, but along the way, I 

found rodeoing and can still rope 

and ride pretty well. 

Julianna Cementina 

Native Trails 

Event & Project Manager 

I became a runner five years 

ago when I found out that 

Disneyland offered 5k races 

through the park. Recently, I 

ran a half-marathon through 

Disney World. I also love to 

sing, cook, and taste wine. 

Someday I would love to go to 

culinary school. 

Earl E. Conaway, III 

Earl E. Conaway, III, APLC 

Owner/Attorney 

Some of my favorite memories 

include hiking in Patagonia and 

sleeping under the stars in the 

Serengeti. But, now, as a new 

father, my dream is that my 

child grows to be a successful, 

contributing human who grows 

up to be whatever he wants to be. 

Brian Conner 

Kingdom Building Solutions 

Architect 

I like to play golf. Actually, I 

received a full-ride scholarship 

at the University of Michigan 

to be a caddie. Someday, I 

hope to see my three kids 

reach their dreams, and then 

I’d like to shoot my age in golf 

and head off to retire to a 

tropical location. 

Keith Dunlop 

Morris & Garritano Insurance 

Director of Compliance & 

Human Resources 

I’m an active cyclist and 

backpacker. When not exploring 

local roads and trails, I am either 

in the mountains or planning 

my next excursion. I also have 

a passion for photography, 

and previously worked as a 

professional photographer. 

Jason Curtis 

Cuesta College 

Dean of Sciences & Mathematics 

I love soccer, so I watch a 

lot of English soccer and 

play fantasy soccer. I used to 

referee and hope to get back 

into it. My wife and I also love 

to travel and would like to take 

a cruise around the Galapagos 

Islands someday. 

Amity Faes 

Pacific Premier Bank 

VP/Premier Banking Manager 

After graduating from 

college, my now-husband and 

I traveled for seven weeks 

through Fiji, Australia, and 

New Zealand. Someday, I 

would love to travel through 

Europe. For now, I love to hike 

and spend time at the beach 

and with friends and family. 

Michael Foote 

SESLOC 

Branch Manager 

Growing up, I was more active 

in music and extreme sports. 

My goal now is to own a home 

in the same community that my 

family and I work and attend 

school. This seems like a small 

thing, but it continues to be a 

challenge for my peers and me. 

Gabriel Granados 

County of SLO, Behavioral 

Health Department 

Behavioral Health Specialist 

I have a cat with one eye named 

Willie after “The Goonies” pirate. 

During my free time there are 

so many things I like to do: 

play piano, guitar, write, read, 

run, weight lifting, pretty much 

anything outdoors, and spend 

time with family and friends. 


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Vanessa Igel 

Parker Sanpei 

Account Executive 

Being a part of the Speak 

Up forum was an incredible 

experience, and I hope to host 

more of them. One hundred 

women came together to take on 

their fear of public speaking with 

grace and gratitude. They made 

friendships, bonded, and found 

their voice. 

Courtney Kienow 

Cal Poly 

Director of Community Relations 

When I was growing up, my 

dad ran marathons. I never 

conceived that I could one day 

accomplish anything like that, 

but I built up my distances and 

trained through the winter—I 

hate being cold—and did it. And 

then another, under four hours. 

David Kramer 

Lockheed Martin Space Systems 

Project Engineer Assoc. Manager 

Being selected for battalion 

command in May 2009 was 

an incredible honor that I will 

never forget; it resulted in the 

huge responsibility for leading 

500 people into combat 18 

months later. After my fouryear-old 

goes off to college, I 

want to travel. 

Jano Kray 

Self-Employed 

Information Technology & 

Security Consultant 

I have moved 32 times so far in 

my life. My father was a dreamer 

and a renaissance man who 

pursued his dreams with the help 

of a loving wife who created 

“home” wherever we went and 

encouraged him in—well, almost 

all—of his endeavors. 

Ryan Lawrence 

Movement Arts Center 

Owner/Director 

When I was 24, I moved to the 

Netherlands where I lived for 

eight years becoming fluent in 

the language. My wife is Dutch 

and our children were born 

there. One day, I would like to 

go on an epic surf adventure, or 

do a solo hike in the Sierras. 

April Lewallen 

San Luis Obispo County YMCA 

Chief Operations Officer 

I’ve got a tortoise named 

Sprinkles. I enjoy golfing, 

wine tasting, yard work, and 

home improvement projects. 

Someday, I would love to be 

able to buy an old building and 

remodel it, making it my home. 

Chris Lehman 

City of SLO, Water Resources 

Recovery Facility 

Interim Plant Supervisor 

I’ve got a lot of hobbies, 

including winemaking and 

tasting, guitars, and cars. I 

also enjoy gardening, and day 

trading. My dream is to one day 

bring a product, or maybe a 

business, to market that makes 

peoples’ lives better. 

Jenny Luciano 

Big Brothers Big Sisters 

of SLO County 

CEO 

Over the years, I have raised 

more than $70 million for 

non-profits here in California. 

For six months, I once lived on 

a dairy farm in Luxembourg. 

One day, I want to start a 

successful goat dairy farm and 

make artisan cheese. 

Mavis “Toto” Masuecos 

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center 

Group Director, Laboratory & 

Pathology Services 

I was born in the Iloilo Islands of 

the Philippines. We were very 

poor with almost nothing to eat 

some days. We couldn’t afford 

clothes so my mother would 

sew our own clothes. I’m very 

blessed, and will never forget 

what it was like back then. 

Alex McClure 

Unanimous AI 

Vice President of Product 

My dream is that my children 

want to spend time with me when 

I am old one day. Also, I want to 

create billion-dollar businesses 

and sow their profits back into 

endowment funds of non-profits 

that I care about. 


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Kristie Merkousko 

Lindamood-Bell 

Center Director 

I played competitive ultimate 

Frisbee for ten years and 

have won a few national 

championships and have 

travelled all around the country 

for tournaments, and to Italy, and 

Japan to compete. I completely 

burned myself out, but loved 

every minute of it. 

Megan Mitchell 

Wacker Wealth Partners 

Wealth Advisor 

I played volleyball in college 

for North Carolina University, 

and our team made it to the 

NCAA tournament three times. 

I was also nominated for NCAA 

Woman of the Year in 2013. But, 

I am best known for my ability to 

cure hiccups 95% of the time. 

Kristen Rambo 

Stand Strong 

Executive Director 

My goal in life is to make some 

major headway in the struggle 

to end violence against 

women. I’m still working out 

exactly what that looks like. 

On a personal level, I want to 

get back to Africa and travel 

to a bunch of places I haven’t 

seen yet. 

Hannah Roberts 

Thrive SLO 

Psychologist & Co-Founder 

My favorite quote is from 

Einstein: “I have no special 

talent. I am only passionately 

curious.” I grew up in Michigan 

in a farmhouse built in the 

1800s. There was nature all 

around and I loved running 

through the fields and climbing 

trees in the forest. 

Anthony Salas 

Epic Entertainment 

Visionary & Director of 

Awesomeness 

I once attempted to live the 

rock star lifestyle for a while 

and played with some bands 

that toured around. Now my 

dream is a little different. I want 

to travel around and visit each 

baseball and football stadium 

in the country. 

Elise St. John 

Cal Poly 

Visiting Scholar 

I run for my sanity, so I’m not 

sure it counts as a hobby. But, 

I also love to read, draw, hike, 

and travel. Someday I hope 

to become conversational 

in Spanish, or some other 

language I can use frequently 

to communicate with others. 

Fatma Spanton 

Cal Poly Corporation 

Director of Conference 

& Event Planning 

I love to travel, paddleboard, go 

golfing, and wine tasting. I also 

love to read, and I’m really fast, 

often finishing a 600-page book 

(in either English or Turkish) in a 

couple of days. Eventually, I hope 

to spend a year volunteering for 

a peace organization. 

Leann Standish 

Foundation for the Performing 

Arts Center 

Executive Director 

My parents were high school 

sweethearts and remain lovingly 

committed to each other today— 

four kids and seven grandkids 

later. I have a lengthy bucket list 

of travel destinations. I would 

also like to return to running, 

perhaps a half marathon. 

Elizabeth Thompson 

Claiborne & Churchill 

Outside Sales Manager 

I was adopted from Seoul, 

South Korea and came to the 

U.S. when I was four months 

old. Recently, I returned to 

Korea for the first time. It was 

an amazing trip. I met my 

foster mother, who cared for 

me until I was adopted—many 

tears, gifts, and pictures. 

Maggie von Stein 

Savvy Leadership Academy 

Founder & CEO 

I was born prematurely, and 

was so small that I could have 

literally fit into the pocket of the 

doctor’s shirt. They actually flew 

a specialist in from Pakistan to 

close the three-inch gap in my 

esophagus. My case was written 

up in a medical journal. Now, I love 

to hike, travel, and dance. SLO LIFE 


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| FAMILY 

WALKING 

TOUR 

BY PADEN HUGHES 

A 

t times, it feels like America 

has become a country of 

convenience and hurry. 

Even when I go to Costco, I 

drive around and around the 

parking lot just waiting for a 

spot to open up ten feet closer to the entrance. 

The other day, it was genuinely hot in San Luis 

Obispo and I wanted to go to Avila Beach, only 

to return home 30 minutes later, because parking 

was “impossible.” Impossible, or did I just think 

that because to park would have meant a quarter 

of a mile hike with a toddler? With no dad 

to carry all the items required to be ready for 

anything... forget it. 

But when we slow down enough to actually stroll 

somewhere, it’s peaceful. Since moving into a house 

seven blocks from downtown, my husband and I try 

to start off the rare evening we spend alone together 

with a walk to Higuera Street. In the beginning 

it was such a novel idea, it felt romantic. 

While walking is the first ingredient for a blissful 

experience, I would argue the second is taking in 

the city’s culinary flavors. If you haven’t heard of 

Taste of SLO - Walking Food Tours, this article 

is dedicated to you. 

A three-hour tour—walking two miles, enjoying 

no less than five famed local restaurants—allows 

you to try everything from wine to beer, tacos to 

Santa Maria style barbecue, all capped off with 

local gelato. The only way to top this is to max 

out the tour with all your favorite people. It’s a 

unique and fun experience. 

The Taste of SLO - Walking Food Tour is the 

brain child of Angee Johnson, a self-proclaimed 

foodie, who has been in the food and wine 

industry for years. Bonus: she loves the San 

Luis Obispo community and prides herself on 

finding hidden gems in town and sharing 

her insight. She’s laid-back, friendly, and 

genuinely happy to get to know new people 

and share her love of food and SLO with 

them: “My tour isn’t about taking people to 

what is common and known. I’m curating an 

experience on what is something you might 

miss if you didn’t have a personal guide. All 

of Taste of SLO’s current destinations have 

a story that ties in with SLO beautifully. 

Stories of passion and hard work, dedication 

and integrity, and making people happy. 

That’s what I want to share with my guests.” 

We started our tour at 1:00 p.m. at Old San 

Luis BBQ Co. for food and beer. Johnson 

artfully kept us on time without making us 

feel rushed. We felt informed and anticipated 

the next culinary experience, but she also 

knew when to let us just talk and laugh. From 

there we walked through downtown, stopping 

along the way at places like The Vegetable 

Butcher and House of Bread. These are 

venues I have certainly been to, but somehow 

Johnson made them feel new and fresh. Even 

the dishes served 

were unique. It 

was an awesome 

experience, with 

lots of food and, of 

course, walking. 

Tickets are $85 per 

person with alcohol 

served and $75 

for nonalcoholic 

beverages served. 

Attire is casual 

and walking 

shoes are highly 

recommended. All 

ages welcome. SLO LIFE 

PADEN HUGHES is 

co-owner of Gymnazo 

and enjoys exploring 

the Central Coast. 


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| DWELLING 

east meets 


west 

SPREAD PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW CARVER 

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVE GARTH 


Kevin and Donna Lewis spend a lot of time on the 

East Coast—a lot. 

It all started when their oldest daughter, Caitlin, 

now 27 years old, received a letter as a senior at San 

Luis Obispo High School. In the upper left-hand 

corner there was a crimson-colored logo, a shield. 

The letter was heavy, more like a small package. As 

it turned out, all of that hard work paid off. She was 

going to Harvard. 

Next up was Kenna, the middle child, who is now 

24 years old. She graduated from Cal Poly and soon 

found work in Washington, D.C. with an association 

specializing in preserving food quality as it makes 

its way to wherever it needs to go. With a decidedly 

unsexy name—Global Cold Chain Alliance—it is the 

ultimate in “farm-to-fork.” Still, D.C. is a long way 

from San Luis Obispo. 

By the time the baby of the family, 21-year-old Joelle, 

started filling out college applications, the Lewises 

knew that an empty nest was imminent. The five acres 

in the old country club neighborhood had served the 

busy, growing family well, but it started to feel like too 

much. The big house was quiet for the first time, and 

the pool was not getting much use. After they helped 

Joelle settle into her dorm room at Emerson College 

in Boston, Kevin and Donna knew it was time. 

Although both lifelong Californians—Kevin originally 

from Simi Valley, Donna growing up in Orange >> 


PASO ROBLES SAN LUIS OBISPO SLO SLEEP & COMFORT SANTA MARIA 

2361 THEATRE DR 

122 CROSS ST 

189 CROSS ST 

1158 W BETTERAVIA RD 

805 238-6020 

805 543-6600 

805 269-6600 

805 348-1000 

AUG/SEP 2018 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 

APPLIANCE CENTER SLEEP CENTER OUTDOOR LIVING KITCHEN DESIGN 

65

County—through their daughters, the couple began 

to develop an appreciation for the East Coast and, 

particularly, for its architecture. Walks around Boston’s 

leafy neighborhoods, through Washington, D.C.’s 

cobblestoned Georgetown, and along New York 

City’s hallowed streets, where Caitlin currently works 

in the mayor’s office, continued to point toward one 

undeniably timeless structure—the Brownstone. 

Reaching back three centuries, we now know that 

early America was shaped by sandstone, which was 

an inexpensive, readily available building material. 

Quarries dotted the East Coast, each unearthing 

rock with slightly different variations in composition 

and color, but most of it was some shade of brown— 

hence the name Brownstone. As the population 

moved west and cities like Chicago began to boom, 

buildings called Greystones sprouted up all around 

Lake Michigan—buildings carved of Indiana 

limestone, which, you guessed it, is gray in color 

(it should be noted here that “gray” is the common 

spelling for the color in the United States, while 

“grey” is used in England). Greystones are to Chicago 

as Brownstones are to Manhattan as Cape Cods 

are to Massachusetts and as California Bungalows 

are to, well, California. Every place, it seems, has its 

own architecture. That is, if you go far enough back 

in time, to a day when we pulled whatever was most 

convenient, most abundant, out of the ground and 

shaped into the structure we call home. 

Today, if it can be dreamt, it can be built. The real 

estate developers of our time are the dreamers, and >> 


ARCHITECTURE 

LANDSCAPE 

INTERIORS 

New Brisco Road development in Arroyo Grande. 

GIVE BACK 

“We make a living by what we get. 

We make a life by what we give.” 

-WINSTON S. CHURCHILL 

Will Ruoff collaborating with Julia Ogden, CEO of Habitat 

for Humanity San Luis Obispo County. 

One of our firm’s core values is to GIVE BACK. To 

this end, we are committed to building community 

through pro-bono and discounted fees for non-profit 

organizations. We are currently working with Habitat 

for Humanity of San Luis Obispo County on eight new 

single-family homes on Brisco Road in Arroyo Grande. 

This net-zero project will be built with significant 

volunteer hours as well as the sweat equity of the new 

homeowners. To learn more about our local Habitat 

Chapter see their website at www.hfhsloco.org. 

TENOVERSTUDIO.COM 


locally one of those dreamers is a guy named Rob 

Rossi. From the Fremont Theater to the Avila Beach 

Golf Resort, two of the many properties he owns, 

there are not too many corners of San Luis Obispo 

County that Rossi has not at least thought about, 

wondering how it could be molded and shaped. 

When he considered what to do with the slice of 

land in downtown San Luis Obispo, on Marsh Street 

near the corner of Santa Rosa, he thought back to 

the iconic Brownstones. Fellow real estate developer 

Andy Mangano agreed and expanded upon the 

idea after he bought the property. Researching the 

architectural style and history, he knew that actually 

using sandstone was not feasible, however replicating 

the look, capturing its essence, could be done through 

creative use of wood framing, steel supports, and 

structural foam with a concrete finish. With the vision 

in place, and an understanding for how to build it, 

he turned to local design firm RRM Design Group 

to come up with a plan. Brownstones, of course, are 

not something you see on the Central Coast, and that 

was the whole point. Something unusual, unexpected. 

Teetering on whimsical, but with urban sophistication. 

Something different, but also familiar. 

And, that was exactly what the Lewises were looking 

for—something different, but also familiar. Not the 

five-acre ranchette on the edge of town, but a four-level 

Manhattan-style townhouse in the middle of San Luis 

Obispo that could be buttoned up in a moment’s notice >> 



for a quick trip to visit the girls on the other side of the 

country. Something within walking distance to work, 

and restaurants, and coffee shops. A place where you 

can feel the city’s pulse, listen to its heartbeat. 

Kevin and Donna Lewis signed on to purchase the 

first of seven Marsh Street Brownstones and moved in 

well before construction was finished. “We lived with 

the guys like they were our family,” Donna remembers 

now with fondness of the gaggle of subcontractors 

filing in and out of their four-level home from dawn 

to dusk for weeks on end. But today she is reflective, 

talking about the connection she feels to the East 

Coast, her daughters, as well as to San Luis Obispo, 

and her work—her commute to RPM Mortgage 

where she is the branch manager is precisely one block 

away, while Kevin’s office, where he is a real estate 

appraiser, is a half-block the other direction—is made 

possible by the Brownstone now standing in the most 

inconceivable place, where the East and West Coasts 

meet and come together as one. SLO LIFE 

The Lewis home will be on the 17th Annual 

“Homes of Distinction” Tour presented by the 

Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo on Sunday, 

September 16th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets 

are available at slorotary.org. 


Locally Owned and Operated 

— Serving san luis obispo county for over 15 years — 

(805) 489-6979 

Audiovisionslo.com 


| SLO CITY 

REAL ESTATE 

BY THE NUMBERS 

laguna 

lake 

tank 

farm 

cal poly 

area 

country 

club 

down 

town 

foothill 

blvd 

johnson 

ave 

Total Homes Sold 

Average Asking Price 

Average Selling Price 

Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 

Average # of Days on the Market 































2017 

36 

$701,592 

$690,603 

98.43% 

23 

2017 

14 

$780,699 

$773,493 

99.08% 

23 

2017 

17 

$818,647 

$799,059 

97.61% 

31 

2017 

7 

$1,097,414 

$1,066,350 

97.17% 

48 

2017 

48 

$724,423 

$716,559 

98.91% 

51 

2017 

33 

$720,256 

$709,050 

98.44% 

27 

2017 

35 

$782,386 

$781,471 

99.88% 

36 


30 

$803,350 

$793,862 

98.82% 

22 


8 

$882,000 

$872,527 

98.93% 

23 


15 

$974,780 

$934,681 

95.89% 

19 


12 

$1,278,240 

$1,236,165 

96.71% 

48 


30 

$905,577 

$900,874 

99.48% 

68 


24 

$928,675 

$922,433 

99.33% 

20 


35 

$909,403 

$904,789 

99.49% 

35 

+/- 

-16.67% 

14.50% 

14.95% 

0.39% 

-4.35% 

+/- 

-42.86% 

12.98% 

12.80% 

-0.15% 

0.00% 

+/- 

-11.76% 

19.07% 

16.97% 

-1.72% 

-38.71% 

+/- 

71.43% 

16.48% 

15.92% 

-0.46% 

0.00% 

+/- 

-37.50% 

25.01% 

25.72% 

0.57% 

33.33% 

+/- 

-27.27% 

28.94% 

30.09% 

0.89% 

-25.93% 

+/- 

0.00% 

16.23% 

15.78% 

-0.39% 

-2.78% 

*Comparing 01/01/17 - 07/24/17 to 01/01/18 - 07/24/18 

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS ® 



Help Us End Hunger In 

San Luis Obispo County 

Please join in helping RPM Mortgage and the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo 

County in their efforts to end hunger. RPM will donate $100 for every loan closed 

by the San Luis Obispo and Atascadero branches beginning Hunger Awareness Day, 

June 1st, 2018 through June 1st 2019 with a goal of raising $25,000. 

Donna Lewis 

Branch Manager/Senior Loan Advisor 

NMLS #245945 

805.235.0463 

donnalewis@rpm-mtg.com 

www.rpm-mtg.com/dlewis 

Dylan Morrow 

Loan Advisor 

NMLS #1461481 

805.550.9742 

dmorrow@rpm-mtg.com 

www.rpm-mtg.com/dmorrow 

Kim Gabriele 

Senior Loan Advisor 

NMLS# 263247 

805.471.6186 

kgabriele@rpm-mtg.com 

www.rpm-mtg.com/kgabriele 

Ken Neate 

Loan Advisor 

NMLS# 373607 

925.963.1015 

kneate@rpm-mtg.com 

www.rpm-mtg.com/kneate 

Valerie Gonzales 

Loan Advisor 

NMLS# 1082998 

805.550.4325 

vgonzales@rpm-mtg.com 

www.rpm-mtg.com/vgonzales 

1065 Higuera Street, Suite 100, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 

5805 Capistrano Avenue, Suite A, Atascadero, CA 93422 

LendUS, LLC dba RPM Mortgage NMLS #1938 - Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the CA Residential Mortgage 

Lending Act. | 11365 | Equal Housing Opportunity. AUG/SEP 2018 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | 73

It’s here. 

A loan that 

lives up to your 

profession. 

Low down payments for doctors, 

nurses, attorneys, CPAs, dentists, 

veterinarians, and pilots.* 

• No mortgage insurance 

• No down payment on loans to 

$850,000 

• Low down payment on loans up to 

$1.5M 

• Purchase and rate/term refinance for 

primary residence 

Contact me today to learn how our 

Professional Loan program can help 

you get into the home you want. 

| SLO COUNTY 

REAL ESTATE 

REGION 

Arroyo Grande 

Atascadero 

Avila Beach 

Cambria/San Simeon 

BY THE NUMBERS 

NUMBER OF 

HOMES SOLD 

2017 

161 

214 

7 

82 


174 

203 

7 

84 

AVERAGE DAYS 

ON MARKET 

2017 

61 

59 

118 

81 


51 

43 

59 

72 

MEDIAN SELLING 

PRICE 

2017 

$755,465 

$539,920 

$1,079,668 $1,306,728 

$678,737 


$763,745 

$574,194 

$747,191 

Cayucos 

32 

32 

108 

102 

$1,124,969 

$1,124,516 

Creston 

9 

6 

104 

74 

$850,111 

$721,000 

Grover Beach 

102 

73 

45 

46 

$527,921 

$527,969 

Los Osos 

70 

93 

29 

30 

$582,484 

$637,069 

Ben Lerner 

Mortgage Advisor 

NMLS 395723 

805.441.9486 

blerner@opesadvisors.com 

1212 Marsh St., Suite 1 

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 

Morro Bay 

Nipomo 

Oceano 

Pismo Beach 

74 

128 

26 

70 

69 

179 

26 

85 

63 

58 

53 

46 

61 

52 

51 

72 

$667,423 

$628,266 

$448,454 

$1,091,451 

$701,303 

$666,054 

$498,615 

$980,820 

Paso (Inside City Limits) 

265 

228 

44 

34 

$481,402 

$497,514 

Paso (North 46 - East 101) 

30 

35 

50 

41 

$474,645 

$493,603 

Paso (North 46 - West 101) 

58 

71 

95 

83 

$486,058 

$643,873 

Paso (South 46 - East 101) 

31 

30 

63 

70 

$659,321 

$806,550 

© 2018 Opes Advisors, A Division of Flagstar Bank 

Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender 


211 

183 

35 

38 

$753,037 

$942,212 

* Borrower must open a checking or savings account with Flagstar to participate. Eligible borrowers 

include: a Medical Resident (with educational license), Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of 

Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Dental Medicine or Surgeon (DMD), Doctor of Optometry (OD), 

Doctor of Ophthalmology (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Doctor of Podiatric Medicine 

(DPM), Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Attorney, Certified 

Public Accountant (CPA), Veterinarian, and ATP (Airline Transport Pilot). With an adjustable-rate 

mortgage (ARM), your 5/1 loan will have an initial fixed-rate period of 60 months and your 7/1 

loan will have an initial fixed-rate period of 84 months. After the fixed rate period, your interest 

rate will adjust up or down according to market rates at the time of the reset. Rate is variable 

after the fixed-rate period and subject to change once every year for the remaining life of the 

loan. 

This is not a commitment to lend. Programs available to qualified borrowers. Subject to credit 

approval, underwriting approval and lender terms and conditions. Programs subject to change 

without 74 notice. Primary | SLO residence LIFE only. MAGAZINE Restrictions may apply. | AUG/SEP 2018 

Santa Margarita 

Templeton 

Countywide 

12 

69 

1,615 

8 

65 

1,577 

*Comparing 01/01/17 - 07/24/17 to 01/01/18 - 07/24/18 

42 106 $364,917 $444,250 

73 86 $719,760 $779,500 

55 52 $634,973 $691,521 

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS ® 

SLO LIFE

Serving the Central Coast since 1964 

805-544-8000 

hamonohd.com 

SAN LUIS OBISPO INVESTMENT PROPERTY 

Immaculate small older home has numerous updates and very well 

maintained, currently rented for $1600 per month with this home is a 

duplex of two studios built in 1990. Priced competitively at $890,000.00 

Call Jason Vork for more information at 805-440-4593 

Lic#390619 

Jason Vork 

DRE 01031282 

805-440-4593 


SPONSORED 

THE MATTHEWS 

On The Ground At Hotel Serra 

Meet Shaun and Beverley Matthews, the hands-on, 

career hoteliers of Hotel Serra. SLO residents since 

2011, they joined the development team of Garden 

Street SLO Partners LP in 2014. Together with local 

development partners Alex Pananides, Pat Smith, 

Hamish Marshall, and Chuck Braff, the Matthews 

formed the management company, Serra Hotels & 

Resorts. As experienced operators, they bring all 

aspects of luxury hotel, restaurant, and spa services 

and are renowned in hospitality circles for their 

successful development and reimagining of several 

landmark properties. 

Beginning with Sir Richard Branson’s private island 

resort in the British Virgin Islands, Necker Island, 

they further honed their skills with Aman Resorts 

and their own boutique property in the Cotswolds, 

U.K. The Matthews went on to establish, and for 

ten years manage, the pre-eminent North American 

hideaway, Twin Farms in Vermont. Earning its Mobil 

Five-Star status in just its second year of operation, 

Twin Farms went on to achieve multiple accolades, 

including the Zagat number one rated hotel in the 

U.S. At Ballyfin, the Matthews were engaged to work 

in tandem with the restoration team to conceptualize 

the guest experience and create the operational 

program for one of Ireland’s most architecturally 

significant neoclassical estates. 

“We have created and operated a diverse collection 

of groundbreaking projects around the world but for 

the longest time looked forward to the day we could 

settle in SLO and do what we do best, right here in the 

place we love the most,” explains Shaun Matthews, 

Co-Managing Partner. “Along with our partners, Hotel 

Serra has provided us the opportunity to bring a worldclass 

hospitality experience to San Luis Obispo.” 

“Downtown San Luis Obispo is more than ready for a truly iconic hotel that 

reflects the area’s unique local character,” adds Beverley Matthews, Comanaging 

Partner. “Since joining the development team, we have maintained 

an unwavering focus on every detail of the project and how it might impact the 

guest experience. We believe this passion, coupled with our appreciation of 

the unique resources California’s Central Coast has to offer, will ensure that 

Hotel Serra comes to life with a subtle, magical, and unpretentious quality to 

be enjoyed by all who visit.” 

The attractive human scale of Downtown San Luis Obispo is none-more 

evident than on the recently renovated Garden Street with its charming 

collection of independent, locally-owned and operated businesses. 

Hotel Serra, located at 1125 Garden Street between Marsh Street and Higuera 

Street and opening in early 2019, is excited to become the latest addition on 

this much loved historic street. 

For more information, please visit hotelserra.com 

The People of Garden Street 

AMANDA STEPHENS 

OWNER, GARDEN STREET GOLDSMITHS 

My spirit animal is: an owl. 

Favorite movie quote: Gravity works. 

Dream Car: Any nicely built mid-sixties muscle car 

sleeper. But probably the top of my list would be a 

1965 Mustang coupe. 

I secretly want to: base jump from the moon. 

I wanted to grow to be: a nature photographer. 

Comfort food: chocolate. 

GARDEN STREET - The Heart of Downtown San Luis Obispo 


SPONSORED 

STYLE MEETS FUNCTION 

Forget about everything you thought you knew about recliners 

because the American Leather Comfort Recliner is going to 

blow your mind! Along with a clean, contemporary feel, you also 

get all of the functionality of a recliner, without sacrificing style. 

Come in and we’ll go over the many different available options. 

Starting at $2,499 // San Luis Traditions 

748 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 541-8500 // sanluistraditions.com 

ORGANIC STYLE 

Our one-of-a-kind statement ring features an amazing example 

of dendritic agate, showcasing its plant-like inclusions. The 

dendritic agate is a completely natural stone with graceful 

inclusions caused when mineral traces from neighboring 

rock seep into layers within the agate. We have accented the 

matte 18K yellow gold setting with twelve sparkling Canadian 

diamonds. Modern classic jewelry. Made fresh daily. 

$2,885 // Baxter Moerman // 1128 Garden Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 801-9117 // baxtermoerman.com 

COFFEE & GIFTS 

These classic diner mugs are a throwback to our 

favorite vintage mugs, and are perfect for your 

coffee at home. These mugs feature custom artwork 

on one side and the classic Scout logo on the other. 

Black print on creamy white ceramic make for a 

timeless mug for your collection. Holds 10.5 oz. 

$12 // Scout Coffee Co. 

1130 Garden Street and 880 E. Foothill Boulevard 


(805) 439-2253 // ScoutCoffeeCo.com 

TIMELESS BRONZE 

Hotel Serra is proud and fortunate to have engaged local designer, Ian Saude, to 

execute the interior design for this groundbreaking project. Among the many custom 

pieces created by Saude are these beautiful, hand-beaten bronze tables that bring 

both function and elegance to the sumptuous hotel rooms. They are also available 

for purchase at his San Luis Obispo showroom at 3982 Short Street #110. 

Hotel Serra Coming Soon //1125 Garden Street, San Luis Obispo // hotelserra.com 

BIG & BOLD—LIGHT & FUN 

Our Trellis bangle bracelet grows leaves of diamond. Perfect for summer 

this bracelet can take you from casual days to elegant evenings. Using 

both yellow and white gold, it will go with everything you love. With over 

a carat of fine diamonds, we’re sure that this one will grow on you. 

$6,500 // Marshalls Jewelers 

751 Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 543-3431 // marshalls1889.com 

SWEET BY NATURE 

After 20 years, it’s finally back—and better than ever! 

Aveda’s newly formulated Cherry Almond shampoo and 

conditioner leaves hair touchably soft, shiny and full of 

weightless bounce. Made the way nature intended (98% 

naturally derived) with a cherry blossom and omega-rich 

almond oil blend. 

Shampoo 8.5oz $17.00, Conditioner 6.7oz $17.00 

Salon62 // 1112 Garden Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 543-2060 // salon62.com 



ORA DI CENA 

The Italian words, “ora di cena” mean one thing: 

it’s dinnertime! If you are ready for something 

different, something special, something you 

will never forget, then try our Osso Buco, a 

veal shank dish that originated in Milano and is 

served with a saffron risotto, unforgettable yet 

steeped in tradition. 

$45 // La Locanda 

1137 Garden Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 548-1750 // lalocandaslo.com 

SPONSORED 

PURE STYLE 

Ulla Johnson Rhita classically handembossed 

leather saddlebag. Sassy 

suede tassels, macramé strap and 

polished brass hardware. Handmade 

in Peru. This bag will provide a 

smooth transition into all seasons— 

truly a “MUST HAVE!” 

$248 (Original Price $895) 

Finders Keepers Consignment Boutique 


(805) 545-9879 

slofinderskeepers@gmail.com 

GOURMET AND GO 

Stop in and fill a basket with goodies 

for a great day exploring this 

fantastic place we call home! Our 

cheesemongers will help you select 

a few cheeses and decadent bites 

that are perfect for a wine tasting, 

picnic or beach day. All of our cheeses 

and products are made in old-world 

traditions and sourced from the most 

delicious places around the globe. 

Contact for Pricing // Fromagerie Sophie 


(805) 503-0805 // fromageriesophie.com 

OUR FAVORITE 

Local artist John Landon made these 

awesome mugs for us, and for less 

than ten bucks you can take a piece of 

the café home with you. Our favorite 

mugs are available in-house, or at our 

online store (linnaeas.com). Rosemary 

Shortbread not included. 

$9.95 // Linnaea’s Cafe 


(805) 541-5888 // linnaeas.com 

RISE AND SHINE 

For serious coffee drinkers, that first cup of 

the day has to be excellent. Leaving no stone 

unturned in creating the finest guest experience, 

Hotel Serra has partnered with a local coffee 

roaster to customize an in-room pour over 

program. Guests can enjoy such excellence 

without leaving the comfort of their room. 

Hotel Serra Coming Soon 


hotelserra.com 

IGNITING PASSION 

Out of the mines of Mashewa in north 

east Tanzania and custom cut in San 

Luis Obispo county by the award 

winning Phillip Youngman, this 18K 

ring features an exquisite 5.72 carat 

merlot-wine color Passion Flower 

cut natural zircon with diamonds and 

deep blue sapphire accents. A unique 

elegant statement. 

$6,450 // Garden Street Goldsmiths 

1114 & 1118 Garden Street, San Luis Obispo 

(805) 543-8186 

GardenStreetGoldsmiths.com 



SPONSORED 

professional career was ahead of me?” 

Jeff was not happy about leaving SLO for San Jose. Not much of a 

city guy, he wasn’t looking forward to the move, nor actually the job 

itself. So he thought it might be a good excuse to hang around a 

little longer until he could find work in a more amenable location. 

Or maybe something else he could do here. That six months 

stretched out to thirty-seven years, and Jeff couldn’t be happier 

with his choice. 

MARSHALLS JEWELERS 

Founded in 1889 by Manuel Marshall, an Azorean immigrant, 

Marshalls Jewelers is the oldest store in San Luis Obispo. In 

continuous operation since that time, there have been only four full 

owners—Manuel, his son Art Marshall, cousin Clifford Chapman, 

and currently Jeff McKeegan. 

It wasn’t at all in the plans for Jeff to be in the jewelry business. As 

a recent Cal Poly graduate, he was headed off to start a career 

when he experienced one of those serendipitous events than can 

change the course of your life. 

“Having some extra cash, I headed into Marshalls Jewelers where I 

had my eye on Lalique’s iconic Angelwing champagne glasses. Mr. 

Chapman had come out to see who this long-haired, unshaven kid 

was who was buying something so exquisite. That started a weeklong 

conversation that ended in a job offer, which I thought was 

pretty funny—why would I take a clerk’s job in a retail store when a 

“I had worked in the catalog department of the old downtown Sears 

where I had met and gotten to know many of the local families. 

Warm and welcoming, by the time I came to the jewelry store, I 

felt more like a local myself. Many of the same folks that I already 

knew were customers there, and I realized that I had fallen in love 

with SLO not just because of the place—it was the people.” 

One of the most rewarding things about working at Marshalls Jewelers 

has been the generations of locals that the store has served. 

“Nothing will make you feel your age like creating an engagement 

ring for the child of a couple that you did the same for 25 years 

earlier,” Jeff says with a laugh. “But it also brings you joy. I have 

personally worked with as many as four generations of the same 

family in my time here. Some of whom have never actually lived 

locally, but consider us the family jeweler.” 

Marshalls has always been a true “jeweler,” not just a retailer. “We 

all started at the bench to learn basic repair techniques. Most of us 

were not suited to it, but we came to understand what was involved 

in working with the metals and stones. I am lucky to have had one 

of the best bench jewelers to work with over the last 25 years— 

Shawn Denny. His talents make my visions—and our customer’s 

dreams—come true.” 

And Jeff’s dreams as well. “I couldn’t be more grateful for my good 

fortune to have been a part of this community all these years.” 

The Dogs of Garden Street 

PROGRESS REPORT 

As Garden Street moves closer to being 

completed, Hotel Serra would like to thank all 

of our neighbors for their continued support and 

combined efforts towards truly making this the 

best street in Downtown SLO. Over the past few 

weeks, the team at Hotel Serra has been busy 

making improvements not only to Garden Street 

but to the surrounding walkways and crosswalks. 

Work on the two historic buildings that will become 

the hotel entrance and the restaurant, Brasserie 

SLO, continues, and the recent installation of 

the rooftop pool went off exceedingly smooth 

and garnered a very positive response. Most 

importantly, Garden Street is now fully open! 

Indi // Australian Kelpie + Labrador Retriever // 1 1/2 years old 

Indi loves hiking and playing frisbee at the beach and 

dog park. She is an official greeter at Baxter Moerman 

Jewelry, and can be found sleeping in the sun or greeting 

passersby. If you see Indi in front of the store ask her for 

a high-five or a paw shake. 



| HEALTH 

Everything You 

Didn’t Know 

About Insulin 

here is no doubt about it: our bodies are complicated machines. For every occasion, there is a 

hormone. When we watch a scary movie and something jumps out onto the screen, we get a huge 

surge of adrenaline. That’s the stuff that gives us the superhuman strength to fight off that scary clown 

or to run away from it—or him, or whatever that thing is. But, what do we know about the hormone 

Tthat joins us every time we put something in our mouth, our ever-present dining partner, insulin? >> 

recommended 

reading 

We gleaned the information for this article from 

the new book written by Dr. Jason Fung called 

“The Diabetes Code.” While the items below have 

been distilled down to their essence here for easy 

consumption, the concepts are, of course, much 

more complex than presented. We are simply 

passing along what we have learned. We are not 

doctors, so be sure to consult with one, or pick 

up Dr. Fung’s book for a deep dive into the world 

of insulin, and to learn why he believes that Type 

2 diabetes is reversible, and the reason it is not. 

Spoiler alert: there’s a lot of money in it. 



#2 

YOU CAN THANK 

INSULIN FOR YOUR 

LOVE HANDLES 

#1 

WE NEED INSULIN TO LIVE 

It used to be that Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. What is a hugely 

inconvenient, and potentially dangerous, disease today—especially for 

so many of the children it afflicts—can now be managed with the use 

of synthetically manufactured insulin. Until 1921, when the Canadian 

physician named Frederick Banting first discovered insulin, Type 1 diabetics 

did not live long. A year after his revelation, the first patient, a 14-year-old 

boy wasting away on his deathbed, received an insulin injection and his 

blood glucose immediately dropped to near-normal levels. Without insulin, 

we cannot metabolize our food, or more accurately, we cannot access its 

energy. Today, insulin is a multi-billion dollar business, and growing quickly 

as it is increasingly prescribed to Type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetics. 

Following a meal, we have sugars floating 

around in our veins as the end result of the 

digestive process, and the pancreas is alerted to 

start pumping out insulin from an area known 

as the islets of Langerhans. The hormone, now 

loose in the bloodstream, then unlocks the 

receptors found in our muscle tissues, as well as 

our internal organs, allowing the sugars—the 

fuel—to enter and provide its energy. When 

we eat a Twinkie, we feel an immediate burst of 

energy because of the insulin frantically shoving 

as much sugar as possible into every available 

receptor. This, of course, is what we call a “sugar 

rush.” When our tissues become full of sugar 

and start overflowing, insulin then takes the 

excess glucose and pushes it instead into our 

fat cells. Dr. Fung uses a metaphor to explain 

the concept: When we come home from the 

grocery store, we first load everything into the 

refrigerator (our muscle cells), but once it is full, 

and there is no more space available, we have to 

go out into the garage to put the excess in the 

freezer (our fat cells). 

#3 

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS 

CONFUSE INSULIN 

Much has been said about the pros and cons of substituting artificial 

sweeteners for sugar, but often left out of the conversation is the 

fact that it confuses the pancreas, releasing huge amounts of insulin 

when we ingest them. The issue is that our bodies sense the hypersweetness 

and assume that we just ate a case of king size Kit Kat 

bars when, in reality, all we did was tear open a packet of Splenda 

and dump it into our coffee. Just so you know, Splenda is 600 times 

sweeter than sugar, which baffles our bodies, since there is nothing 

naturally occurring that comes close. The extra insulin released into 

our veins packs away any sugar floating around, but since there is so 

much more of the hormone than what is required, our blood glucose 

levels drop precipitously, which then triggers a signal in our brains 

that we are hungry, which is why eating more, sometimes a lot more, 

is a common side effect with artificial sweeteners. >> 


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ATTENTION 

ATHLETES 

#4 

FATS DON’T MAKE YOU FAT 

TRAIN WITH FORMER 

PROFESSIONAL 

ATHLETES 

FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL 

US AT INFO@REVSLO.COM 

Ever wonder why your aunt lost all that weight eating nothing but bacon and butter? The 

answer is simple: she did not trigger much of an insulin response with her high-fat diet. It’s the 

bagel, not the cream cheese, that makes us fat. Bread is high in carbohydrates, which are very 

quickly converted to sugars during the digestive process, while the fats in the cream cheese 

slow absorption down and follow a different pathway (it’s more complicated than this, but 

essentially fats do not become sugars, while only a portion of proteins do). This then explains 

why the Keto Diet has become so popular with diabetics. By eating mostly fats, a moderate 

amount of proteins, and limited carbohydrates (in the form of high-fiber, slow-digesting 

vegetables), the body’s requirement for insulin is dramatically reduced, which makes it much 

easier to control. Particularly for Type 1 diabetics, who have to “chase” blood sugar spikes after 

meals with injections, this makes life much easier. 

#5 

TOO MUCH INSULIN 

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It’s no different than the coffee drinker who needs two cups after a while to get 

the same jolt of energy, because over time he has become resistant to caffeine. 

When we constantly subject our bodies to massive spikes of insulin—“I’ll just 

have one more dinner roll”—our tissues, over time, become resistant to its efforts 

to unlock the door for the blood sugar to enter. This is what happens to Type 2 

diabetics and is the reason why the disease used to be called “adult onset diabetes.” 

It takes a while for resistance to develop. Twenty years ago, Type 2 diabetes was 

unheard of in children. Since that time, there have been millions of diagnoses with 

many more considered pre-diabetic. With the ubiquity of sugar consumption, in 

all its many forms, our insulin surges throughout the day to keep pace, and we 

not only get fat, we also become insulin-resistant and, therefore, diabetic. This 

phenomenon is then accelerated when we treat Type 2 diabetics with insulin, 

something that is becoming increasingly common, which, of course, creates a 

positive feedback loop, effectively perpetuating the cycle. SLO LIFE


| TASTE 

ICE CREAM 

worth screaming for 

A new wave of ice cream purveyors has hit SLO County, 

and the classics are just as good as ever. 

BY JAIME LEWIS 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER OLSON 

According to the National Dairy Foods Association, the average American 

consumes more than 23 pounds of ice cream per year, which is a whole lot of 

scoops. Here in San Luis Obispo County, we’ve always enjoyed excellent, locally 

made ice cream, but a few new purveyors are shaking things up by tinkering with 

the process, the ingredients, and the format. >> 

JAIME LEWIS is a world 

traveler, and food writer, who 

lives in San Luis Obispo. 


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ROLL’D ICE CREAM 

COMPANY, SAN LUIS OBISPO 

“It kind of started with Instagram,” says owner Xavi Fajerdo. It’s 

Thursday night in downtown SLO, and the buzz around this 

new style of ice cream is palpable. 

Indeed, rolled ice cream treats like those coming out of Fajerdo’s 

shop are made for Instagram—as is the shop itself, which is 

light, bright, and boasts a wall of mason jars brimming with 

colored sprinkles, begging me to pull out my phone and shoot. 

That compulsion I have is absolutely by design, says Fajerdo. 

He explains how he dropped out of college five years ago and 

started his own social media marketing company, how a new 

style of rolled ice cream out of Thailand was “blowing up” on 

Instagram, and how he and his business partner thought SLO 

could use a new, different kind of ice cream shop. 

The process for making rolled ice cream starts with a liquid 

cream base that’s mixed with a flavor syrup on an “ice griddle.” 

Mix-ins are then added and chopped up, then painted across 

the griddle before being chiselled off in a curled shape, placed in 

a cup and dressed up with toppings. My son opts for the “Poly 

Pebbles” ice cream, which mixes Fruity Pebbles cereal into a 

vanilla base flavored with strawberry syrup, topped with gummy 

bears, whipped cream, and more Fruity Pebbles; my daughter 

goes for the Oreos & Cream concoction. They both go gaga. 

Being someone who remembers rotary phones and remoteless 

televisions, I am amazed that a business could be built around 

its potential for Instagram-ability, not the other way around. 

But the concept has worked, as testified by a regular line out 

the door since Roll’d opened and a steady stream of ice cream 

photos on their Instagram account... including mine. 


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DOC BURNSTEIN’S ICE CREAM LAB 

ARROYO GRANDE, SLO, AND SANTA MARIA 

Growing up in South County, I remember what a treat it was 

to visit Burnardo’s Ice Cream in the Arroyo Grande Village. It 

turns out the founder of Burnardo’s, Chuck Burns, taught Doc 

Burnstein’s owner Greg Steinberger how to make ice cream. 

I meet Steinberger in the original Arroyo Grande parlor, founded 

in 2003, with its circling model train and polished wooden booths. 

He kneels to talk with my kids, and tokens for free scoops spill out 

of his pockets. 

Steinberger explains that Doc Burnstein’s regularly outperforms 

heavy hitters like Haagen-Daaz and Ben & Jerry’s in blind 

taste tests because those brands skimp on the cream—the most 

important ingredient. “We beat them all,” Steinberger says with a 

grin. “It’s so heartwarming.” 

Even with its expansion into three ice cream parlors and a 

production facility in Grover Beach, Doc Burnstein’s manages to 

give back over ten percent of its earnings to the community, whether 

through Make-A-Wish, pint-for-pint blood drives, or through 

school and educational programs. The newest flavor to the company? 

Unicorn Swirl, a flavor invented by a Make-A-Wish child with white 

cake ice cream, pie crust chunks, and a strawberry swirl. 

When it comes time to make a selection, my son goes for a 

seasonal flavor, Red, White & Blueberry (vanilla with berries) 

while my daughter chooses bright blue Bubblegum. Both are 

extremely pleased with their choices, and start to hit a sugar-high 

just as Steinberger and I wrap up. 

“Sugar ‘em up and send ‘em home!” he says, waving goodbye. 

“That’s what I always say.” 


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NITE CREAMERY, 

SLO AND SANTA MARIA 

Much like Roll’d, the vibe at Nite Creamery is young, hip, and earnest. It’s also, 

again, highly Instagram-able, with gleaming surfaces and bowls overflowing with 

ethereal liquid nitrogen. 

“I’d say eighty percent of our customers come in for the photo opportunity,” says 

Nino Eng, who owns Nite with his wife, Cheryl, “But they come back for the taste.” 

The Engs explain how their ice cream starts as a base that’s frozen while it 

churns, thanks to the effects of a quick blast of nitrogen. “There’s no air whipped 

into it, no rough or crystal-y consistency,” Nino says. “It’s just pure, creamy, 

and smooth, sort of like gelato, but without the fat content.” He adds that the 

process takes only half a minute. 

Nitrogen ice cream isn’t the Engs’ concept (similar shops can be found on the East 

Coast, in the Bay Area, and L.A.), but they’ve developed their own process for 

making it. Remarkably, they require no freezers in the shop. “Everything is made 

fresh, right in front of the customer,” says Nino. 

Like at Doc Burnstein’s, the perfume of freshly-baked waffle cones hangs on the 

air at Nite Creamery, but their cone is a bit different. Called “Nite Puffs,” these 

waffles are inspired by cones in Hong Kong, which are bubbly, soft, and toasted 

golden brown. 

My daughter sees someone with a “Saturday Cereal”—puffs bulging, sprinkled with 

Frosted Flakes and wafting an aroma of Cap’n Crunch steeped in milk —and shoots 

me a pleading look. We order one and I snap a quick photo before she quietly chips 

away at it. 

“Do you eat a lot of these ice creams?” I ask. Cheryl winces. “Sometimes two scoops 

a day,” she says. “It’s really bad.” Nino admits to eating his fair share of ice cream, too. 

When I eventually glance back over at my daughter, she is down to a few creamsoaked 

puffs and looking a little ill. “Did you like it?” I ask. She looks up and smiles 

wide. “It was sooooo good, Mama.” 



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| KITCHEN 

CACTUS CORN 

GRIDDLE CAKES 

Pan-fried cactus roasted corn zucchini fritters are stuffed full 

of late summer veggies and make a satisfying vegetarian main 

dish or the perfect addition as a complement to any meal. 

BY CHEF JESSIE RIVAS 


JESSIE’S TIP: 

For a slightly different taste, 

substitute okra for the cactus. The 

slimy juice of the okra works just 

like the cactus juices. Serve the corn 

cakes with a basic charred tomato 

!sauce or peach chutney. 

CACTUS CORN 

GRIDDLE CAKES 

¾ cup cactus petals cleaned and diced (about the 

size of the corn kernels) 

1 cup cooked or grilled corn cut off the cob 

¼ cup grated zucchini 

3 Tbs minced scallions 

1 tsp kosher salt 

3 Tbs corn meal 

3 Tbs all-purpose flour 

3 Tbs buttermilk 

2 eggs 

¼ tsp hot sauce (Tapatio or Tabasco Chipotle) 

¼ - ½ cup vegetable oil 

In a large bowl add cactus, corn, zucchini, 

scallions, and salt. Mix and stir often for about 10 

minutes, allowing the vegetables to release their 

natural juices. Add flour and cornmeal and fold 

in until fully incorporated. Add eggs, buttermilk, 

and hot sauce. Fold all ingredients just until 

incorporated. Let stand at room temperature for at 

least 10 minutes, up to one hour. 

In a 10-12 inch fry pan or skillet add part of the 

oil and heat on medium for 3-4 minutes. Cook the 

cakes in batches. Add 2 Tbs of mix, one at a time 

and flatten slightly with 

back of spatula, leaving 

enough space between 

the cakes for turning. 

Fry on both sides until 

golden brown. Remove 

from pan and transfer 

to a paper-lined plate to 

absorb the extra oil. Add 

more oil when necessary 

JESSIE RIVAS is the owner 

and chef of The Pairing Knife 

food truck which serves the 

Central Coast. 

to the pan allowing it to 

get hot before cooking 

more cakes. SLO LIFE 


| WINE NOTES 

Pretty in Pink 

Rosé is undeniably photogenic. Most appreciate its beauty when seeing it sitting 

on a table basking in the sun. But, surely this drink is more than just a pretty face. 

BY ANDRIA MCGHEE 

Rosé has grown in popularity in the 

U.S. over the last couple of years. Even 

the café Seeds in downtown San Luis 

Obispo has a frosé on the menu. Why 

the desire for all things rosé? My 

answer: it’s the middle man. Neutral. 

Think: Switzerland. Like a white wine, it’s nice, light, 

and easy to drink. It also has a similar flavor profile to a 

red wine, making it interesting. It fills in a gap to a wide 

spectrum of wine. 

Let’s talk about its bones. What makes rosé pink? It’s 

not a beauty school dropout, though Danny Zuko would 

probably welcome a glass of this stuff. It gets its color from 

the process. If we were making any wine, we would first pick 

the grapes and squeeze out the juice by pressing or crushing 

them. The next step depends on the type of wine you would 

like to make. For a white wine, remove all the skins, seeds, 

and stems before doing anything else to the juice. For a red, 

you leave skins, seeds, and sometimes the stems. All these 

parts of the grape that are left in add different flavors to the 

red wine and it also gives the wine its color, like a coffee that >> 


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is being cold-brewed. The longer the winemaker keeps the skins in contact with the 

juice, the darker the wine becomes. Can you guess where I am going with this? 

You got it: rosé is somewhere in the middle. Generally, the juice for rosé only ages 

with the skins for a short time, depending on the color and flavor that the winemaker 

seeks. Therefore, we have a range from light to dark. Popular rosés in the south 

of England are mostly light pink, where in contrast, a winemaker I met near La 

Rochelle, France, loves the passion invoking dark red rosé. Most rosés here on the 

Central Coast are a medium pink or even light peach in color. 

As for the taste, the range of flavor depends on the winemaker and cannot always be 

determined by their appearance. The flavor spectrum goes from guava to watermelon, 

strawberry to cranberry. White Zinfandel, which is pink in color, made a name for 

itself in the ‘80s and was widely popular in that era. It lost its fan base because its 

sweetness left too many belly aches in its wake. Now, the rosé that is turning out on 

the Central Coast, and all over the world, is rarely saccharine. 

Where is its place on the Central Coast? You can expect a rosé at nearly every 

winery you visit. They will enhance your range of cuisine from sushi to barbecue. 

Stores are lining the shelves with a wide scope of rosés, as well. For a couple of my 

favorite recent tastes, try Malene Rosé (peach in flavor). It pairs gorgeously with 

the goat cheese and balsamic Brussels sprouts found on the menu at Taste in San 

Luis Obispo. Lovely quick-chill can options include Tangent Rosé (raspberry) and 

Essentially Geared Rosé (strawberry). I can never resist 

Halter Ranch Rosé and, always a staple, Rabble Rosé, both 

from Paso Robles. You may already have spotted this one 

by its beautiful artwork depicting a shipwrecked bay with a 

mermaid in the foreground—Niner Winery Rosé (melon) 

actually subtly smells of a rose when you first lift it to your 

nose. It gets a nice pink color from 

pinot noir grapes. 

Even though rosé started out as a 

trend, it is finding its place here on 

the Central Coast as a permanent 

resident. Instead of falling by the 

wayside like the White Zin of 

the ‘80s, I see it giving options 

to those who may crave another 

choice. It is a great “in-betweener” 

red, that has a little less punch; a 

white that has a bit more depth. 

We have amazing local wines from 

deep reds to mild whites, and now 

we have another wine to add to 

our Central Coast catalog. SLO LIFE 

ANDRIA MCGHEE received 

her advanced degree on 

wines and spirits from 

WSET in London and enjoys 

travel, food, wine, and 

exercise as a means to enjoy 

those around her. 


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| BREW 

BEER 

101 

BY BRANT MYERS 

At this point in the craft beer revolution, So, with over one hundred unique beer categories, how does one start to understand 

most of us have stumbled into a few beer the complex family tree of fermented grain variations? Let’s start at the top. 

styles that are completely unique. Even 

the most diehard Budweiser drinker can Like most things in life, it’s so simple, yet so complex. Even now, while you’re reading 

tell you the difference between a Stout this article, you can split your day into two parts—daytime and nighttime—but try to 

and a Hefeweizen, although the average go deeper and now you’re talking astronomy. Well, that escalated quickly. While most 

craft beer geek would have a hard time brewers aren’t astrophysicists, they do know that there are two basic beer categories 

pointing out which is a Kvass or a Gruit. that define nearly all beers made—ales and lagers. The basic difference also being as >> 


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simple as two fundamental differences during the brewing process—temperature and 

yeast. Let’s delve into these deeper because after all, beer knowledge is beer appreciation. 

Lagers are the most common beer style in the world, so let’s start there. What is so 

interesting to me about this fairly mundane fact is that they are more expensive to 

make than ales, yet they usually are the cheapest beer on the market. Go to your local 

beer purveyor and it’s highly likely that anything in a twelve-pack for under $15, in 

a 24-ounce can for $2, or a $6 six-pack will be in the lager category. The reason they 

cost more to make can be found in the root of the word lager, the German word 

lagern, “to store.” Lager yeast works best at colder temperatures, ideally just above 

freezing, so the brewing vessels need to be actively cooled, which requires specialized 

equipment and utilizes precious storage space that can be used to brew more batches. 

Anyone who has baked can tell you that yeast loves heat. Activate dry yeast with 

warm water, cover the bowl, place it in a warm area, bake bread in an oven. So, the 

result of cold yeast is naturally slower growth. 

can be fermented near room temperature, typically within 

a week. My theory is that this allows them a larger budget 

for adding the green goodness that is hops. That’s probably 

wrong, but fun to think about. Ale yeast strains typically 

have more esters, which give them unique aromas that lend 

themselves better to the addition of hops, fruit, or spices. 

Take the aforementioned Hefeweizen, a classic style of 

Bavarian origins that uses a yeast strain, which produces 

unique flavors of banana and cloves with some spiciness, 

bubble gum, or notes of apples. How about a West Coast 

IPA with no added fruit, but phenolic characters of melon, 

mandarin, or mango? Combine with the addition of hops, 

which complement those yeasty aromas, and you’ll have 

a really big and unique beer that 

becomes balanced as a whole. 

So, what does this additional time, effort, and unique yeast strain create? Bottom 

fermented yeast strains that make lagers are devoid of the naturally aromatic qualities 

we get from ale yeast, which results in beers that we perceive as “clean” or “crisp” 

with marketing departments having a field day with superlatives like “cool” and 

“refreshing.” Light beers fall into this style, but they contain an enzyme that helps 

break down starches into sugars, producing a higher alcohol content that then gets 

diluted with water. That reminds me of a classic joke about the similarities of drinking 

light beer and having intercourse in a canoe, but no time for that now. Let’s talk 

about lager’s counterpart. 

Although ales are not brewed as prolifically worldwide, they do have a special 

place in the hearts of craft beer drinkers and brewery owners. They can be made 

fast, they can be made inexpensively, they can have a ton of flavor, and they can 

be experimented with heavily. Ale yeast works best at the top of the vessel and 


So, next time you belly up to the bar 

and can’t decide what to order, just 

remember that it all comes down 

to two simple choices—ale or lager. 

Now, you can order with confidence 

as you proclaim, “I’ll have a lager!” 

as you spin around on your barstool 

like you’re in a western movie. They’ll 

look at the back of your head in 

confusion, but you know you just 

made life a whole lot easier. Now, 

spin back around and actually place 

your order, because life is never that 

simple, and neither is beer. SLO LIFE 

BRANT MYERS is owner 

of Hop On Beer Tours, a 

concierge service for craft 

beer enthusiasts along the 

Central Coast.

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| HAPPENINGS 

GOLD FEVER 

The Great American Melodrama brings the Old 

West to vibrant, hysterical life in Gold Fever at 

the Rough and Ready by Neil LaVine. The show 

is a loving spoof of traditional melodramas, with 

plenty of opportunities to cheer the hero and 

boo the villain. 

Through September 16 // americanmelodrama.com 

AUGUST 

CONCERTS IN THE PLAZA 

Concerts in the Plaza features 

musical genres across the spectrum 

from reggae to rock, blues to 

jamgrass, soul, California roots 

rock and more at Mission Plaza in 

Downtown San Luis Obispo every 

Friday through September 14th from 

5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Local vendors sell 

snacks and food for hungry concertgoers, 

while Firestone Walker Brewing 

Company and Chamisal Vineyards 

supply beer and wine for purchase. Be 

sure to bring your own reusable cup or 

purchase a commemorative Concerts 

in the Plaza tumbler. Non-alcoholic 

beverages are provided, as well. No 

outside alcoholic beverages or pets are 

allowed and this is a non-smoking event. 

All concerts are free to the public. 

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON 

THE WAY TO THE FORUM 

Broadway’s greatest farce is light, fast-paced, witty, 

irreverent, and one of the funniest musicals ever 

written. The production takes comedy back to its roots, 

combining situations from the time-tested, 2000-yearold 

comedies of Roman playwright, Plautus, with the 

infectious energy of classic vaudeville, incomparable 

music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and the hilarious 

book by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove. 

August 10 – September 9 // slorep.org 

BROADWAY BY THE SEA 

Summertime on the Central Coast 

means Opera San Luis Obispo in 

Shell Beach with the annual outdoor 

Americana classic Broadway by 

the Sea. In perfect harmony with 

musical selections, this classic all 

happens at the renowned Chapman 

Estate—a gorgeous seaside manor 

and exclusive location offering some 

of the most breathtaking ocean 

views in California. Arrive early, 

picnic with friends, bid on auction 

items, stroll the gardens, and observe 

plein air painters. 

August 12 // operaslo.org 

LINEUP 

August 3 . Damon Castillo Band 

August 10 . Bear Market Riot 

August 17 . Truth About Seafood 

August 24 . Diego’s Umbrella 

August 31 . The JD Project 

WHALE ROCK WINE DOWN TOURNEY 

This premier tournament is held to appreciate the 

beautiful disc golf community on the Central Coast 

and beyond. The addition of multiple divisions will 

fit all disc golfers. The round is capped off with a 

barbecue along with local wine and beer tastings. 

August 11 // castorocellars.com 

September 7 . The Mother Corn Shuckers 

September 14 . Moonshiner Collective 

downtownslo.com 


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BLUEGRASS, BLUES, AND BUFFALOS 

Join Dirty Cello, a San Francisco-based blues and bluegrass band, and 

Miss Leo and her Bluegrass Boys, a traditional string band with a fresh 

and unique Central Coast sound, for a night of music at Lazy Arrow 

Adventures in Santa Margarita. 

August 18 // 3rdbluegrassbluesbuffalo.brownpapertickets.com 

DUNE RUN 

Enjoy a 5k Run, 5k Walk, and 10k Run through scenic Central Coast dunes. 

Hard-packed beach and soft sand dunes create a fun combination for all ages. 

An awards ceremony will immediately follow the end of the race. 

August 25 // groverbeach.org 

DANCIN’ 2018 

The Academy of Dance presents 

Dancin’ 2018. Dancers from 

beginner to professional take over 

the Performing Arts Center stage to 

showcase their talents. 

August 26 // pacslo.org 

Dr. Arnie Horwitz 

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS 

Are you feeling overwhelmed 

and confused? I can help. 

Specializing in 

- Relationship Conflicts - Parenting & Self-Esteem 

- Separation and Divorce - Personal Life Planning 

- Grief and Loss - Career Uncertainty 

Therapy/Counseling/Coaching 

Dr. Arnie Horwitz • 30 yrs. Experience 

805-541-2752 

www.doctorarnie.com 


| HAPPENINGS 

SEPTEMBER 

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STRAWBERRY TEQUILA FESTIVAL 

Held at El Chorro Regional Park, the festival 

will be filled with strawberries, live music, 

tequila tastings, margaritas, craft beer, and fun 

activities for the entire family. The day will 

revolve around great live music—including 

salsa, reggae, rock, and cumbia. 

September 8 // whsfnow.org 

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POPS ON! 

Sit back, relax and be swept away by 

classic and film favorites performed by our 

beloved local orchestral musicians led by the 

inimitable Michael Nowak. Featured guest 

artist, Damon Castillo, and a special visit from 

San Luis Obispo favorite, Inga Swearingen. 

September 2 // orchestranovo.com 

AVOCADO & MARGARITA 

STREET FESTIVAL 

Enjoy a Morro Bay celebration featuring the 

California Central Coast’s love for wonderful 

flavors and tasty culinary dishes. This day 

shines a spotlight on our region’s amazing 

fresh-off-the-tree delicious California 

Avocados and provides high-quality premium 

margaritas, street faire entertainment, live 

music, specialty foods, and the highly sought 

after Grove, where chefs indulge guests in 

a step-above-the-rest mouth-watering and 

tantalizing avocado-themed dishes. 

September 8 // avomargfest.com 

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APPLES AND HONEY FESTIVAL 

The Apples and Honey Festival is 

a great way for the community to 

celebrate the fall season and learn about 

and bring in the Jewish New Year with 

community. Held in Downtown San 

Luis Obispo Mitchell Park, over 40 

local artisans will be in attendance. 

September 16 // jccslo.com 

HOMES OF DISTINCTION 

Guests will have an exclusive look 

into five beautiful and unique homes 

as the Rotary Club of San Luis 

Obispo presents the 18th Annual 

Homes of Distinction Tour. Each 

home has a unique ambiance where 

architecture, décor, and landscaping 

tell the stories of their lives. 

September 16 // slorotary.org 

STILL FROTHY SURF FESTIVAL 

This festival is an exciting and unique 

three-day event at the Pismo Beach 

Pier designed to motivate the youth in 

California to get off of their computers 

and video games and go surfing. 

September 22 – 23 // stillfrothy.com 



View our newest Distinctive Collection offering: 2885SeeCanyon.com 

HAVEN 

PROPERTIES 

To learn more about our Distinctive Collection listings 

visit www.havenslo.com/distinctive

SLO LIFE Magazine Aug/Sep 2018

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