Greetings, fellow Avilones. For most primary and secondary schools, summer vacation has ended and students are back in the classroom. As I arrived at my office on this day (August 22nd), the beach parking lot near the Post Office was nearly deserted, and the streets were eerily devoid of the cars that arrive early during the summer so occupants can avoid parking fees. I took a big breath and enjoyed the relative quiet of the area, albeit knowing that numerous busy weekends and an upcoming holiday still loom ahead.
I now deviate from my usual Avila Beach “news-worthy” musings to share some inner thoughts about life on the Central Coast. Having migrated here from Southern California in 1989, where I spent the first nearly four decades of my life, I sometimes forget just how wonderful and blissfully isolated we are from what goes on as “regular business” in my former Los Angeles/Orange County world. What brought me back to that reality was a somewhat recent decision to subscribe to the Los Angeles Times because I needed a greater “fix” of sports news (primarily the L.A. Dodgers), since the SLO County Tribune has decided to all but eliminate major league baseball reporting from their print publication. Please don’t urge me to enjoy my morning cup of coffee while gleaning the news online.
However, since spending $48 per month for this baseball fix alone made no sense, I began to read the various other sections containing international, national, and statewide news. The story headlines of one particular day left me sad and depressed. Among them were; “Suspect fatally shot by police was 14 years old”. “Long Beach settles suit over police shootings”. “Child’s body found in duffle bag”. “Comedian convicted of sexual assault.” “Early deaths linked to smog”. “Ex-mayor of South El Monte facing bribery charges.” And that was just in the California section of the paper! Now, that’s not to suggest that nothing bad ever happens here on the Central Coast. We clearly no longer exist in “Andy of Mayberry Fantasyland”, but life in SLO County in particular offers a protective cocoon of comfort and safety not evident in many other regions of the state. Not to appear “Polly-Anna” - I am not known to be the most positive person around - but life in Avila is truly a gift for those of us fortunate enough to live here. Sure, we all can find things to complain about. But our “headlines” are far better than most.
Okay - enough cheerleading from me and back to business. For those of you on the edge of your seats just waiting for some updates on “Foundation” projects and initiatives – here you go. The Avila Beach Public Art Project is still on target, though the public “paint-in” with artist Colleen Gnos had to be postponed until September 8th due to some technical difficulties. If you want to be part of the Avila Beach Lifeguard Tower group painting base colors on the panels, call 544-9251 or visit Colleen’s website at http://www.artsobispo.org. Next, you may recall that one of the priority projects identified at the “Foundation’s’ April community workshop was launching efforts to help raise money to repair the Avila Pier. I am happy to report that the Port San Luis Harbor District - through the leadership of Harbor Manager Andrea Lueker – is in the process of forming a 501C3 non-profit arm to help raise the money necessary to leverage large matching grants available through some federal and state agencies. Anyone interested in participating should contact Andrea at 595-5400.
Regarding the aforementioned “April community workshop”, I have to say that efforts to convene the people who expressed interest in serving on various priority project ideas has somewhat stalled. Early outreach to the folks who initially wanted to participate has not produced the results I was hoping for. But I am not giving up, and hope that the cool reception was due more to the timing of the outreach early this summer. I will be trying again this fall as things settle down.
\At the September meeting of AVAC, we were once again reminded by the Sheriff’s Department to register our cellphones for “Reverse 911” – a service designed to notify us by phone of emergency situations. While landlines are automatically in the program, cellphone users must visit the Reverse 911 Portal at www.slosherriff.org. Lastly, an idea from AVAC member Mary El Hansen elicited some interest. She wonders about the possibility of creating a “costumed character” (in the line of Smokey Bear) whose job it would be to wander the beaches during high user periods and encourage people (particularly children) to pick up litter. I kinda like the notion, and would like to hear from others interested in helping to develop the idea. You know where to find me.
That’s it for now, fellow Avilones. See you at the beach!
I now deviate from my usual Avila Beach “news-worthy” musings to share some inner thoughts about life on the Central Coast. Having migrated here from Southern California in 1989, where I spent the first nearly four decades of my life, I sometimes forget just how wonderful and blissfully isolated we are from what goes on as “regular business” in my former Los Angeles/Orange County world. What brought me back to that reality was a somewhat recent decision to subscribe to the Los Angeles Times because I needed a greater “fix” of sports news (primarily the L.A. Dodgers), since the SLO County Tribune has decided to all but eliminate major league baseball reporting from their print publication. Please don’t urge me to enjoy my morning cup of coffee while gleaning the news online.
However, since spending $48 per month for this baseball fix alone made no sense, I began to read the various other sections containing international, national, and statewide news. The story headlines of one particular day left me sad and depressed. Among them were; “Suspect fatally shot by police was 14 years old”. “Long Beach settles suit over police shootings”. “Child’s body found in duffle bag”. “Comedian convicted of sexual assault.” “Early deaths linked to smog”. “Ex-mayor of South El Monte facing bribery charges.” And that was just in the California section of the paper! Now, that’s not to suggest that nothing bad ever happens here on the Central Coast. We clearly no longer exist in “Andy of Mayberry Fantasyland”, but life in SLO County in particular offers a protective cocoon of comfort and safety not evident in many other regions of the state. Not to appear “Polly-Anna” - I am not known to be the most positive person around - but life in Avila is truly a gift for those of us fortunate enough to live here. Sure, we all can find things to complain about. But our “headlines” are far better than most.
Okay - enough cheerleading from me and back to business. For those of you on the edge of your seats just waiting for some updates on “Foundation” projects and initiatives – here you go. The Avila Beach Public Art Project is still on target, though the public “paint-in” with artist Colleen Gnos had to be postponed until September 8th due to some technical difficulties. If you want to be part of the Avila Beach Lifeguard Tower group painting base colors on the panels, call 544-9251 or visit Colleen’s website at http://www.artsobispo.org. Next, you may recall that one of the priority projects identified at the “Foundation’s’ April community workshop was launching efforts to help raise money to repair the Avila Pier. I am happy to report that the Port San Luis Harbor District - through the leadership of Harbor Manager Andrea Lueker – is in the process of forming a 501C3 non-profit arm to help raise the money necessary to leverage large matching grants available through some federal and state agencies. Anyone interested in participating should contact Andrea at 595-5400.
Regarding the aforementioned “April community workshop”, I have to say that efforts to convene the people who expressed interest in serving on various priority project ideas has somewhat stalled. Early outreach to the folks who initially wanted to participate has not produced the results I was hoping for. But I am not giving up, and hope that the cool reception was due more to the timing of the outreach early this summer. I will be trying again this fall as things settle down.
\At the September meeting of AVAC, we were once again reminded by the Sheriff’s Department to register our cellphones for “Reverse 911” – a service designed to notify us by phone of emergency situations. While landlines are automatically in the program, cellphone users must visit the Reverse 911 Portal at www.slosherriff.org. Lastly, an idea from AVAC member Mary El Hansen elicited some interest. She wonders about the possibility of creating a “costumed character” (in the line of Smokey Bear) whose job it would be to wander the beaches during high user periods and encourage people (particularly children) to pick up litter. I kinda like the notion, and would like to hear from others interested in helping to develop the idea. You know where to find me.
That’s it for now, fellow Avilones. See you at the beach!
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