County, City, Scheduled to
Approve New Lease
for Operation of the
Morro Bay Library
by Jack McCurdy
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Aug. 3, is scheduled to approve a new 25-year lease of the Morro Bay Public Library to the county from the city of Morro Bay, which will clear the way for expanded library services in the building at 625 Harbor St. and which the Morro Bay Friends of the Library and patrons have been seeking.
The supervisors' action is contingent on the Morro Bay City Council approving the lease, which is anticipated at the Council's meeting on Aug. 9. The lease will be retroactive to July 1. Under the lease, the rent charged by the city to the county will be $1 a year.
The library, the community's first in its own quarters, was built by the Friends of the Library in 1985, donated to the city, leased back and subleased to the county to operate for 25 years. That sublease expired on July 8.
The county and city have been discussing a new lease for some time, but on Feb. 22 the City Council agreed to "negotiate a transition plan for the use of the Program Room to Library use." The 1,500-square-foot Program Room had been used by the city to rent for meetings of community groups since the library was built.
In his report to the Supervisors, county library director Brian Reynolds said the Program Room (also known as the Community Room) "will continue to be scheduled for general public and public agency events and meetings by the city of Morro Bay until Feb. 28, 2011. The Library will take control of the community room to be used as public library space on March 1, 2011."
The Friends of the Library has donated $15,000 that will go to the city toward the finalization of the lease agreement to help mitigate the city's loss of revenue from renting the Program Room. |
New SLO Democratic Central Committee Officers
by Jack McCurdy
New members of the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Central Committee, who were swept into office at the June 8 primary in what one called an effort to get the Committee back on track, have elected new officers of the Committee.
The new Committee chair, Pat Harris, said her goal is to see the Committee become better "organized and rejuvenated" as "a significant part of the State Democratic Party."
The election of officers on July 14 also marked the repudiation of Stew Jenkins, former recording secretary who was named in a lawsuit by Gail Wilson over her ouster from the Committee three years ago. At the July 14 meeting, Jenkins nominated outgoing chair Dennis Hughes for another term and he himself was nominated for recording secretary. Both were soundly rejected with almost no discussion.
The election of new Central Committee members on June 8 also removed incumbent John Barta, a controversial long-time Morro Bay political activist, who Wilson says was also involved in her ouster. Neither Barta or Jenkins were among those endorsed for election to the Central Committee on June 8 by the San Luis Obispo Grassroots Democracy and the Democratic Voters of the Central Coast.
Other officers elected by the Central Committee were female vice chair Susan Devine, representing the third supervisorial district; male vice chair Cory Black, representing the 33rd Assembly district; recording secretary Richard Zamora, Paso Robles Democratic Club; corresponding secretary Andrea Devitt, third district; treasurer Marilyn Armstrong, Central Coast Democratic Club; assistant treasurer Susan Stenovec, fourth district, and Cheryl Conway, Democratic Women United, as representative of the Central Committee to the California Democratic Party Executive Board.
Harris said, " I want us to be active and engaged in the state and national elections as a significant part of the State Democratic Party. I want to work with all the members to elect Democrats. We have a lot of new energy, with the new members who were just elected--and a lot of experience with those who returned as incumbents. I think we can be successful, and I think it will be an exciting year.
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Nick, a budding arborist from Visalia, takes on the daunting task of rescuing a kite from a eucalyptus tree at Windy Cove. Thierry, intrigued, looks on.
Thierry is visiting San Francisco and Morro Bay
from Thailand with his family. As you can see, the kite and Nick survived.
Peregrine Falcon image on banner by Cleve Nash
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News, Editorials, & Commentary
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