Welcome to the Slo Coast Journal. Published online monthly, the Journal is here to bring you information specific to our part of the Central Coast—from Los Osos to Big Sur.
"The notion of a free press, of an institution that monitors those in power and those who wish to be in power, that ferrets out truth from lies, that draws public attention to the pressing issues of our times, is a cornerstone of a liberal democratic theory."
Robert McChesney in the Political Economy of the Media
New Lease
for Operation of the
Morro Bay Library
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. Page 2
Morro Bay Mutual Water
Morro Bay Mutual Water Company, a PG&E affiliate located on Morro Bay Power Plant (MBPP) property, supplies water to the PG&E substation and the Dynegy power plant. Discussion of a permit request at the May 3, 2010 Morro Bay Planning Commission meeting was the first time most Morro Bay residents had heard of the facility, which had requested a Coastal Development Permit for the abandonment of a well, and the drilling of another to replace it. Read More
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Adrienne Harris, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administrator in Washington D.C., has been named director of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program. She will assume her duties on November 1.
The National Estuary Program (NEP) describes itself as a collaborative organization that brings local citizens, local government, non-profits, agencies and landowners together to protect and restore the physical, biological, economic and recreational values of the Morro Bay National Estuary. It was established in 1995 after Morro Bay was designated a national estuary and receives a significant portion of its funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which also provides technical support.
Her appointment was made by the Bay Foundation, a non-profit corporation with an all-volunteer board of trustees that directs the NEP.
Harris earned a bachelor of science degree in natural resources and environmental science with an emphasis in biology and water quality from Purdue University and a master of environmental management degree with a concentration in coastal environmental management from Duke University.
She was policy team leader and program analyst in the Office of Management and Budget at NOAA, a federal agency focused on the condition of the oceans and the atmosphere.
She succeeds Dan Berman, who resigned last March after seven years in the position. He accepted a position overseeing fisheries/watershed monitoring near Trinidad in Humboldt County.
Michael Multari, who preceded Berman, will continue to serve as interim director until Harris assumes her duties.
Summertime and, at CCSD, They're Uneasy. . .
While the actual summer season has been quite cool thus far, things are showing signs of heating up at the Cambria Community Services District, quite apart from the budget issues. Beyond the uneasiness about whether the federal credits or funding for desalination will materialize in time for the proposed test wells project or the project as a whole, for that matter, there are some new developments. Read More
Current Events Swirl in Cambria's Santa Rosa Creek
Recently a presentation about the preliminary draft of the Santa Rosa Creek Watershed Management Plan was made to stakeholders by facilitator Stephnie Wald of Central Coast Salmon Enhancement. She stressed more than once that it was designed to be a starting point from which stakeholders, all of whom are participating on a voluntary basis, could proceed to add or to subtract elements as they felt necessary. Read More
Growth Through Development
Insufficiently-controlled development has left Morro Bay and neighboring communities with depleted public water supplies, crumbling infrastructure, and reduced public services. It has been shown that despite myths perpetuated by developers, revenues generated by development are less than the costs of servicing it. Read More
Black Hill Villas Project Decision
A proposed plan to build 16 two-story houses and a two-story duplex on three acres in a section of Morro Bay, a development that could increase the sedimentation of the Morro Bay National Estuary through graded soil flowing into nearby Chorro Creek and into the Estuary, has been blocked by a Superior Court decision resulting from a law suit filed by Save the Park, a group of Morro Bay residents. Read More
New SLO Democratic Central Committee Officers
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. Page 2
Slo Coast Journal Endorsement
The Central Coast has a golden opportunity to elect a state Senator who will reach out, listen to and actually get things done for this area, long neglected by our representatives in Sacramento. It's easy to get the invaluable one we need: everyone should vote for John Laird in the special election on August 17. Read More
Update on the Morro Bay - Cayucos Waste Water Treatment Plant
The Morro Bay-Cayucos plan for a multi-million dollar new wastewater treatment plant seemed to be headed down the right road toward a fair consideration of traditional and advanced designs—an investigation that could save residents significant amounts of money in sewer rates and other costs for many years to come—until the joint agency last month hired a project manager, which has some wondering whether it has taken a wrong turn. Read More
