Greetings, fellow “Avilones.” February is here, which means daylight hours are increasing, major league baseball players are beginning workouts in preparation for the 2020 season, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, Lincoln’s Birthday and President’s Day holidays, and eagerly look forward to the coming of spring. These annual rituals come with little deviation from year to year, a kind of automatic pilot exercise. Not an annual ritual is the political sparring now underway, what with heavyweight subjects of presidential impeachment and the start of Democratic primaries dominating the early part of 2020. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I cannot recall any period in my life where I felt more angst when it comes to the state of our union. I kind of miss the days before the era of the 24-hour information cycle and cable news based mostly on biased and often incendiary political commentary.
Adding to my current state of angst is some news first brought to my attention late last December just prior to my leaving the country for a cruise down the Baja Peninsula. It came in the form of an email from our renowned local artist, Colleen Gnos, notifying the “Foundation” that one of the Avila Beach lifeguard tower mural panels she created was stolen sometime earlier in the month. Argh! Why must some people be so heartless and destructive!!! It took what was likely a premeditated effort to remove the panel, which was installed with industrial quality rivets and require a special tool, and doing so at a time of day or night with little or no people around to see the crime. As of this writing we have no information concerning details of the heist, but are coordinating with Colleen, the Harbor District and Arts Obispo to seek some kind of remedy to replace the missing piece. You may recall that earlier in 2019 a couple of the lifeguard tower art panels were defaced with graffiti which, fortunately, was successfully removed by Colleen’s husband, Che. Such dastardly destructive deeds bring to question whether future public art installations in Avila should be pursued. Once again, Argh!
Moving on to other local matters, were you among the several dozen “Avilones” who attended the presentation about the pending Round-About project at the Avila Beach Drive / 101 Freeway interchange? Held prior to, and with further explanation at the January AVAC meeting, we got a close look at diagrams/models, along with a power point presentation of what is in the works for this crazy and dangerous intersection. County staff is coordinating with other agencies, including Caltrans, on this worthy but expensive undertaking. There are several steps required to bring the project to fruition, and only the first few have been completed. Most critically is the yet to be found estimated $9M-$13M cost for construction. If you are interested in learning more about the project, visit the County webpage: SLO County Avila Beach Drive at 101 Interchange Project.
As you loyal readers know, I often write about the many grants awarded by the “Foundation” since it began doing so in the year 2000, in our ongoing mission to invest in organizations and projects that enhance life in Avila Beach. What I don’t espouse about as much are the numerous activities that I refer to as “added value” to our primary purpose of grant making. These so named “added value” activities have, I believe, further contributed to the Avila Beach experience. Why do I bring this up now? Because more and more folks are becoming aware of the “Foundation” and some ask me to share more about our role in the community. So here we go – see below the list of “Foundation” hosted/supported Avila activities since 2009. And thanks for asking.
Avila Albacore Feed (2009 & 2010), Ultimate Avila Beach Getaway Survey (2010), Live Well Symposiums (2011 & 2013), Avila History & Heritage Presentation (2012), Placement of Commercial Trash Bins along Beach Railing (2012), Avila Beach Town Hall Forums (2012, 2014 & 2016), Avila Speaks Community Survey (2013), Community Matching Gifts Initiative (2013), Public Viewing Telescope (2013), Bob Jones Trail Educational Signs (2013), Avila Apple Festival (2015), Pet & People Drinking Fountain (2015), Avila Community Workshop (2016), Internet Safety Workshop (2016), Avila Beach Storytellers Event (2017), Avila Beach Lifeguard Towers Murals (2017), Public Art Murals at the Central Coast Aquarium in Avila Beach (2019), Avila Community Spotlight Event (2019).
As you can see, we do what we can to help make Avila Beach the special place it is. We welcome any ideas you may have to contribute to our efforts.
That’s it for now, fellow “Avilones.” See you at the beach.
****************************************************************************************************
Are You Ready for Some History?
Some of you may recall that several years ago the "Foundation" funded a grant for the creation of the Avila Beach Historical Tour App. Learn more about Avila Beach's colorful history by downloading the FREE Avila Beach Historical Tour App using either Apple App Store, or Android App on Google Play.
Adding to my current state of angst is some news first brought to my attention late last December just prior to my leaving the country for a cruise down the Baja Peninsula. It came in the form of an email from our renowned local artist, Colleen Gnos, notifying the “Foundation” that one of the Avila Beach lifeguard tower mural panels she created was stolen sometime earlier in the month. Argh! Why must some people be so heartless and destructive!!! It took what was likely a premeditated effort to remove the panel, which was installed with industrial quality rivets and require a special tool, and doing so at a time of day or night with little or no people around to see the crime. As of this writing we have no information concerning details of the heist, but are coordinating with Colleen, the Harbor District and Arts Obispo to seek some kind of remedy to replace the missing piece. You may recall that earlier in 2019 a couple of the lifeguard tower art panels were defaced with graffiti which, fortunately, was successfully removed by Colleen’s husband, Che. Such dastardly destructive deeds bring to question whether future public art installations in Avila should be pursued. Once again, Argh!
Moving on to other local matters, were you among the several dozen “Avilones” who attended the presentation about the pending Round-About project at the Avila Beach Drive / 101 Freeway interchange? Held prior to, and with further explanation at the January AVAC meeting, we got a close look at diagrams/models, along with a power point presentation of what is in the works for this crazy and dangerous intersection. County staff is coordinating with other agencies, including Caltrans, on this worthy but expensive undertaking. There are several steps required to bring the project to fruition, and only the first few have been completed. Most critically is the yet to be found estimated $9M-$13M cost for construction. If you are interested in learning more about the project, visit the County webpage: SLO County Avila Beach Drive at 101 Interchange Project.
As you loyal readers know, I often write about the many grants awarded by the “Foundation” since it began doing so in the year 2000, in our ongoing mission to invest in organizations and projects that enhance life in Avila Beach. What I don’t espouse about as much are the numerous activities that I refer to as “added value” to our primary purpose of grant making. These so named “added value” activities have, I believe, further contributed to the Avila Beach experience. Why do I bring this up now? Because more and more folks are becoming aware of the “Foundation” and some ask me to share more about our role in the community. So here we go – see below the list of “Foundation” hosted/supported Avila activities since 2009. And thanks for asking.
Avila Albacore Feed (2009 & 2010), Ultimate Avila Beach Getaway Survey (2010), Live Well Symposiums (2011 & 2013), Avila History & Heritage Presentation (2012), Placement of Commercial Trash Bins along Beach Railing (2012), Avila Beach Town Hall Forums (2012, 2014 & 2016), Avila Speaks Community Survey (2013), Community Matching Gifts Initiative (2013), Public Viewing Telescope (2013), Bob Jones Trail Educational Signs (2013), Avila Apple Festival (2015), Pet & People Drinking Fountain (2015), Avila Community Workshop (2016), Internet Safety Workshop (2016), Avila Beach Storytellers Event (2017), Avila Beach Lifeguard Towers Murals (2017), Public Art Murals at the Central Coast Aquarium in Avila Beach (2019), Avila Community Spotlight Event (2019).
As you can see, we do what we can to help make Avila Beach the special place it is. We welcome any ideas you may have to contribute to our efforts.
That’s it for now, fellow “Avilones.” See you at the beach.
****************************************************************************************************
Are You Ready for Some History?
Some of you may recall that several years ago the "Foundation" funded a grant for the creation of the Avila Beach Historical Tour App. Learn more about Avila Beach's colorful history by downloading the FREE Avila Beach Historical Tour App using either Apple App Store, or Android App on Google Play.
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