Welcome to the eleventh edition of The Slo Coast Journal. Published online monthly, the Journal is here to bring you information specific to our part of the Central Coast. So jump in Browse, read, smile. Then come back next month for more. Want a reminder? Check below for information on how to receive an email or tweet letting you know about updates and the newest issue.
Research the Candidates Before You Vote
Given the serious issues facing our city and the varying degrees of experience of the candidates, it is vitally important to do some research and decide what qualities you value in your city representatives before casting your vote. Read More
Candidate Events
A debate will be held on Tuesday, May 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the Vet's Hall in Morro Bay. Participants will include mayoral and city council candidates. The event will be televised live on Channel 20. Submit questions to Peter Candela, Chris Christensen, or Chanel Channing.
Also, The Morro Bay Business and Community Forum is presenting a series of events to allow voters to meet and hear what candidates stand for and what they plan to do if elected. Joseph Goodwin will be facilitating. The events will take place on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m., upstairs at 801 Embarcadero. The planned schedule for May and June is as follows:
May 6--Rick Grantham for Mayor
May 13--Nancy Johnson & D'Onna Kennedy for City Council
May 20--Neil Farrell for Mayor
May 27--Jack Smith for Council and Marshall Hill for Supervisor
June 3--Katcho Achadjian for Assembly
Save the Whales Day
You are invited to attend a gathering to protest the resumption of commercial whaling. There will be simultaneous demonstrations in all coastal counties of California in a united attempt to ask President Obama to keep his promise to oppose whaling. Read More
A Sense of Whale-Being Is In Question
Concerned about the challenges facing the California Gray Whale, Representative Capps and her colleagues recently signed on to a letter which laid out their case regarding the status of the beloved gray whales. Read More
Great Shots?
Are you a local photographer with images of the Central Coast you'd like to share with our readers? The Great Shots team is always looking for photographs a cut above the rest. Join the Flickr group Slo Coast Journal Photos and submit your favorites.
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Four of the candidates seeking election to the Morro Bay City Council at the June 8 primary are in general agreement on one thing: a 2010-11 budget that may take drastic measures to balance is the most pressing problem facing the city. And they all would support some kind of cuts to cope with an expected shortfall of about $500,000 in revenues.
But the four--mayoral candidates Neil Farrell, Rick Grantham and Betty Winholtz and Council candidate Jack Smith--have widely varying views on priority changes that are needed to improve Morro Bay as a community, including: Read More
Elliott Kaser and Taryn Kalman Awarded SLCTA Scholarships
The San Luis Coastal Teachers Association (SLCTA) presented two local high school seniors with the SLCTA Scholarship for Future Teachers for 2010. The applications were judged on work experience, academics, leadership, community service, extra-curricular activities, and financial need.
Elliott Kaser, son of Vaughn and Marian Kaser, has received several academic awards and is active in sports. He is ranked 37th in his class of 194 at Morro Bay High School, is currently the varsity swim team captain, and was the varsity water polo team captain where he received the "Best Teammate Award" from his teammates. He has volunteered in the Crop Hunger Walk and has served at the Homeless Shelter. Since 2006, he has worked as a soccer referee for South Bay Soccer Association.
Kaser is planning for a career teaching history at the high school level and has been accepted for the fall at U.C. Santa Cruz and Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo.
Taryn Kalman, daughter of Frank and Terry Kalman, has received several academic awards and is active in sports and music. She is ranked 68th in her class of 350 at San Luis Obispo High School, plays first base on her softball team, rides dirt bikes, and plays piano. She has volunteered in Relay for Life and Twenty Four Hour Relay. Since 2008, she has worked more than 700 hours as a nanny for two families.
New State Policy on Power Plant Restrictions: Full of Leaks?
Morro Bay is at the forefront of statewide opposition by 30 environmental, commercial, and sport fishing organizations and some state legislators against a proposed new state policy aimed for the first time at stopping the use of estuary, bay, and ocean water to cool power plants, including the 55-year-old Morro Bay Power Plant. Read More
More Oversight of City Staff Needed
Morro Bay residents continue to call for increased Mayor and Council oversight of City staff in light of concerns regarding potential waste of public funds. Residents assert that the City's budget shortfall is a result not only of decreased revenues, but of mismanagement, and have asked that the Council pay closer attention to the procedures followed and decisions made by the staff. Read More
New Wastewater Treatment Ideas Blocked
No one likes to read about, much less think about, a "sewer plant" because it involves human waste. Right?
But when it comes to a big chunk of taxpayers' money, increases in already-high sewer rates, possible exposure to unhealthy odors, potential pollution of the ocean by discharges and wasting water that could be recycled--Morro Bay and Cayucos residents may have to think about what kind of wastewater treatment plant is going to be built to serve them--and the crucially-important alternatives that are available. Read More
Graffiti at Morro Rock
Proof that there is always a MoRon among us.
On the morning of April 25 Alice and her husband, Don Henderson, discovered graffiti on the boulders near the base of the jetty at Morro Rock. Read More
In Response
We are in a media revolution. This revolution is marked by the decline and disappearance of conventional mainstream media - the kind of news coverage that often failed to ask questions and seek answers. Read More
In Response II
Having read Janice Peters' latest "viewpoint," it is obvious to me she doesn't see the big picture nor understand the consequences of some of the City Staff's inept management practices. Read More
