Welcome to the Slo Coast Journal. Published online monthly, the Journal is here to bring you information specific to our part of California's Central Coast.
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain
The Morro Bay Mayoral Debate
Mayor Bill Yates and Joe Yukich, Candidate
Time: Sunday, June 3, 2012, 4 p.m.
Where: Manfredo Square Parking Lot, 3118 Main St., north Morro Bay.
Fare: Free hot dogs, apple pie
Ask questions: 805-772-5152
RSVP (Suggested but not necessary)
Local Cyclist Completes
100 Mile Solo Ride
Dr. Lisa J. Molin of Los Osos regularly rides her bicycle to and from work and occasionally for 100 miles. As a former, decidedly light-weight, cyclist myself I was interested in this story.
On April 20, Lisa rode 100 miles by herself. In my experience, cyclists who do "centuries" usually do so in groups. I admired this achievement and wanted to know more about it. Read More
This shot of our view of the May 2012 eclipse was taken by Jerry Kirkhart
Be a traffic calmer - don't drive over the speed limit, encouraging others to keep our roads safe.
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Peregrine Falcon image on banner by Cleve Nash |
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Chumash Tribal Objection to Morro Rock Climb
June 20 — On Friday, June 22, 2012, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), in violation of numerous state and federal laws, including those protecting nesting birds, (Migratory Bird Act) will allow the Salinan Tribe of Monterey & San Luis Obispo Counties (Salinan Tribe) to climb to the top of Morro Rock. Morro Rock is a registered Chumash sacred site, but it is the Salinan Tribe that the DPR is allowing to climb it. Reportedly, this climb is being allowed for the Salinan Tribe to conduct “ceremonial or spiritual activities” atop Morro Rock. However, the climb is being allowed against the express wishes of the Chumash people who contend that the Salinan People are not indigenous to Morro Bay (but rather the very northern end of San Luis Obispo County into Monterey County); and as such, have no legitimate right to conduct ceremonial or spiritual activities atop Morro Rock. Read More
Irons, Johnson, Smukler Win Morro Bay Election!
June 9 - It's over.
In the final vote counting Friday, June 8, Jamie Irons for mayor and Christine Johnson and Noah Smukler for city council received more than the 50% of the votes needed to win in the Morro Bay primary election, giving them a majority on the five-member council when they are seated in late November or early December. All but a handful of votes were counted, and those 63 uncounted votes could not change the outcome now.
The election of Irons, Johnson, and Smukler (the latter for a second four-year term on the council) will radically transform the council majority in terms of values, ideology, and character, all focused primarily on the public interest — the needs of residents — not mainly on business, developers and special interests as the current council and many before have been known for. Read More
City Says Johnson and Smukler Got 50% of Vote, but Questions Remain
June 6 — Amid confusion among residents about how to count the vote for City Council candidates in Tuesday's primary election, Morro Bay city attorney Rob Schultz said in a news release Wednesday that "it appears that votes received by each of the two top City Council candidates, (Noah) Smukler and (Christine) Johnson, is more than 50% of the 3,439 ballots cast thus far." Read More
Slo Coast Journal Election Endorsements
Morro Bay Mayor: Jamie Irons or Joseph Yukich
Morro Bay City Council: Christine Johnson and Noah Smukler
House of Representatives: Lois Capps
State Senate: Bill Monning
State Assembly: Gerry Manata |
Morro Bay voters face a grand opportunity to replace the majority of the City Council that favors and defers to business, pro-development, and special interests with a new mayor and two Council members who understand and are committed to the best interests of Morro Bay residents. Read More |
Morro Bay Power Plant Loses Contract to Sell Its Electricity
The power plant's future became much more uncertain with the announcement on May 30 that Dynegy, its owner, had its contract for sale of the plant's electricity to a public utility suddenly cancelled, leaving the old plant with no means for producing income for Dynegy, which is mired in bankruptcy. Read More
The Next Debt Crisis
Something's got to give. Either higher education has to become cheaper — and drastically so — or we have to stop referring to it as a great vehicle for achieving the American Dream. Earlier this year, tuition prices for all California state colleges rose nine percent. In Cal Poly's case, state funding has dropped to just 41 percent of the operating budget, so now student fees and tuition pay for about 59 percent of operating expenses. Read More
Morro Bay-Cayucos Sewage Plant Coming to A Head on June 11?
The California Coastal Commission staff is scheduled to meet with representatives of the Morro Bay City Council and the Cayucos Sanitary District board on Monday, June 11, in what could be an historic event in the history of the Morro Bay-Cayucos wastewater treatment plant. Read More |
Government Accountability Office: Nuclear Hazards Risks Outmoded?
Few nuclear power plants in the U.S. have updated or conducted adequate risk assessments since the 1990s, the Government Accountability Office found in a new report, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should analyze whether all plants should be required to develop new plans to assess natural hazards that could threaten the safety of the plants. Read More |
Concerns and Risks of PG&E's Proposed
Central Coastal California Seismic Imaging Project
PG&E's proposed seismic testing is expected to destroy fish stocks for an unknown length of time. The local fishing associations are negotiating for paid mitigation for destruction of the commercial fish stocks. No mitigation is planned for the local communities' losses or for the ocean ecosystem destruction. How much destruction of the California Central Coast's marine ecosystem is acceptable for a few more years of PG&E's nuclear power plant operation? Read More |
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Bryce Canyon
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Shutterbugs - Catherine Ryan-Hyde
I like the fact that this feature is called Shutterbugs, because I can embrace that label more easily than "photographer." I figure I spend enough time behind the lens of a camera to qualify as a shutterbug. I guess I could use the same logic to call myself a photographer, too, but I'm careful to note I'm not a professional one. I write fiction as a profession, and take photos just as a way of sharing observations. This is not false modesty. It's a kind of realism. I look at the work of professional photographers, and I know they're doing something I'm not. Read More |
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