Foundation News and Views
By Rick Cohen – Avila Beach Community Foundation
Greetings, fellow Avilones. The Dog Days of Summer aren’t just when your pooch starts panting on a sweltering summer day, or when you are grilling some dogs on the BBQ. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Dog Days of Summer are traditionally the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, which coincide with the dawn rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. I imagine most of you recall last month’s 5-day heat wave, which resulted in 100+ degree days here in Avila, with very little relief at night. Raise your hand if you wish you had air conditioning, or a backyard pool in which to plunge and cool down. I suppose one solution is to jump into the ocean!
Parting is such sorrow, thus it is with sadness that I announce the departure of the “Foundation’s” Project Specialist for the past three years, Paula Dempsey, who is cutting back on the number of jobs she has been juggling for quite a while. Paula has done a tremendous job for us, and will be greatly missed. At the same time, I am excited to welcome new “Foundation” Project Specialist Stephanie Rowe. Some of you readers may already know Stephanie from her work as Administrator for the Avila Beach Tourism Business Improvement District, or from when she and husband Rick lived in Avila prior to moving to SLO. My appreciation goes to Paula and Stephanie for facilitating a smooth transition.
In a quick act of heroism following the July 4th graffiti tagging of a painted mural panel on one of the Avila lifeguard towers, to the rescue came artist Colleen Gnos and husband Che Miller. In all likelihood most of you never even saw the ugly ‘TBM’, international gang tag. The swift action of Che and Colleen to remove the graffiti within twelve hours restored the artwork to original form. Such was possible because of the coat of anti-graffiti sealer previously applied to the painted murals, along with some cleaning solvent and elbow-grease courtesy of Che. Quite naturally, this leads to fears that more vandalism could be coming our way. Public art belongs to all of us, so I hope you Avilones will help us be vigilant, and on the lookout for depraved individuals who get a kick out of destroying things. Let’s not allow the bad guys to win by taking away our pleasures.
Did you happen to notice the greeting cards display rack that now occupies a small corner inside the Avila Beach Post Office? I was delighted to see this time and travel saving opportunity to avoid trips into SLO or to South County to purchase greetings cards. How convenient! As I’ve written in the past, it’s important for us to support our neighborhood post office, which continually has to prove its financial viability to keep the doors open. So drop a few bucks there the next time you need a card. Now I wish I could enjoy a place in Avila that sells fresh donuts! It’s amazing that in the absence of a convenient establishment, my cravings for donuts grow ever stronger. Aw heck – now I need to go in search of an apple fritter!
A few months back I mentioned the “Foundation’s” 20-year anniversary, and our pending plan to celebrate that milestone by launching the first ever “Avilones of Distinction” awards. Well, that time is NOW, and we are presently accepting nominations until October 1st. If you know any Avilones you deem worthy of consideration to be recognized for their efforts to help make Avila Beach a wonderful place to live through Volunteerism, Philanthropy or Leadership, please visit our website – www.avilabeachfoundation.org – and download the nomination form and instructions. In addition to receiving community recognition, a $500 donation provided through a generous grant from Chevron will be awarded on behalf of each category winner to an Avila Beach charitable organization chosen from a list of eligible agencies.
By now, I’m sure most of you have noticed construction at the Avila Beach Bridge. Here is an explanation provided by the SLO County Dep’t. of Public Works…… ……“The SLO County Dept. of Public Works has begun a seismic retrofit project on the existing Avila Beach Drive Bridge over San Luis Obispo Creek. The bridge provides the only public access road to Port San Luis and Diablo Canyon Power Plant. A 2010 PG&E study on evacuation routes identified this bridge as a concern of potential collapse during an earthquake. The seismic retrofit will assure the evacuation route and upgrade the bridge to current codes. The retrofit elements include cable restrainers and strengthening of bridge connections, a new approach slab and stabilization at the east end of the bridge, removal and replacement of unsound concrete on the bridge supports, removal and replacement of existing asphalt on the bridge surface with a new polyester concrete deck overlay. Following the bridge retrofitting, work on the roadway will begin AFTER Labor Day. No roadway work will be done during weekends or holidays, and will occur only during off-peak hours with single-lane closures, anticipating maximum 10-minute delays. Bicycle and pedestrian traffic will be maintained at all times during construction. Work is expected to be completed by the end of 2018”.
That’s it for now, fellow “Avilones”. I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer. See you at the beach!
By Rick Cohen – Avila Beach Community Foundation
Greetings, fellow Avilones. The Dog Days of Summer aren’t just when your pooch starts panting on a sweltering summer day, or when you are grilling some dogs on the BBQ. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Dog Days of Summer are traditionally the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, which coincide with the dawn rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. I imagine most of you recall last month’s 5-day heat wave, which resulted in 100+ degree days here in Avila, with very little relief at night. Raise your hand if you wish you had air conditioning, or a backyard pool in which to plunge and cool down. I suppose one solution is to jump into the ocean!
Parting is such sorrow, thus it is with sadness that I announce the departure of the “Foundation’s” Project Specialist for the past three years, Paula Dempsey, who is cutting back on the number of jobs she has been juggling for quite a while. Paula has done a tremendous job for us, and will be greatly missed. At the same time, I am excited to welcome new “Foundation” Project Specialist Stephanie Rowe. Some of you readers may already know Stephanie from her work as Administrator for the Avila Beach Tourism Business Improvement District, or from when she and husband Rick lived in Avila prior to moving to SLO. My appreciation goes to Paula and Stephanie for facilitating a smooth transition.
In a quick act of heroism following the July 4th graffiti tagging of a painted mural panel on one of the Avila lifeguard towers, to the rescue came artist Colleen Gnos and husband Che Miller. In all likelihood most of you never even saw the ugly ‘TBM’, international gang tag. The swift action of Che and Colleen to remove the graffiti within twelve hours restored the artwork to original form. Such was possible because of the coat of anti-graffiti sealer previously applied to the painted murals, along with some cleaning solvent and elbow-grease courtesy of Che. Quite naturally, this leads to fears that more vandalism could be coming our way. Public art belongs to all of us, so I hope you Avilones will help us be vigilant, and on the lookout for depraved individuals who get a kick out of destroying things. Let’s not allow the bad guys to win by taking away our pleasures.
Did you happen to notice the greeting cards display rack that now occupies a small corner inside the Avila Beach Post Office? I was delighted to see this time and travel saving opportunity to avoid trips into SLO or to South County to purchase greetings cards. How convenient! As I’ve written in the past, it’s important for us to support our neighborhood post office, which continually has to prove its financial viability to keep the doors open. So drop a few bucks there the next time you need a card. Now I wish I could enjoy a place in Avila that sells fresh donuts! It’s amazing that in the absence of a convenient establishment, my cravings for donuts grow ever stronger. Aw heck – now I need to go in search of an apple fritter!
A few months back I mentioned the “Foundation’s” 20-year anniversary, and our pending plan to celebrate that milestone by launching the first ever “Avilones of Distinction” awards. Well, that time is NOW, and we are presently accepting nominations until October 1st. If you know any Avilones you deem worthy of consideration to be recognized for their efforts to help make Avila Beach a wonderful place to live through Volunteerism, Philanthropy or Leadership, please visit our website – www.avilabeachfoundation.org – and download the nomination form and instructions. In addition to receiving community recognition, a $500 donation provided through a generous grant from Chevron will be awarded on behalf of each category winner to an Avila Beach charitable organization chosen from a list of eligible agencies.
By now, I’m sure most of you have noticed construction at the Avila Beach Bridge. Here is an explanation provided by the SLO County Dep’t. of Public Works…… ……“The SLO County Dept. of Public Works has begun a seismic retrofit project on the existing Avila Beach Drive Bridge over San Luis Obispo Creek. The bridge provides the only public access road to Port San Luis and Diablo Canyon Power Plant. A 2010 PG&E study on evacuation routes identified this bridge as a concern of potential collapse during an earthquake. The seismic retrofit will assure the evacuation route and upgrade the bridge to current codes. The retrofit elements include cable restrainers and strengthening of bridge connections, a new approach slab and stabilization at the east end of the bridge, removal and replacement of unsound concrete on the bridge supports, removal and replacement of existing asphalt on the bridge surface with a new polyester concrete deck overlay. Following the bridge retrofitting, work on the roadway will begin AFTER Labor Day. No roadway work will be done during weekends or holidays, and will occur only during off-peak hours with single-lane closures, anticipating maximum 10-minute delays. Bicycle and pedestrian traffic will be maintained at all times during construction. Work is expected to be completed by the end of 2018”.
That’s it for now, fellow “Avilones”. I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer. See you at the beach!
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