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Public Invited to Study Session on Open Meeting Law

by Jack McCurdy

The Ralph M. Brown Act, commonly known as the Brown Act, is California's open meeting law, and over the years since it was adopted by the California Legislature in 1953 (Brown Act), there undoubtedly have been many claimed and actual violations of this state law governing public bodies. Residents will have an opportunity later this month to hear all about the Brown Act and how it can affect their knowledge of what goes on in their city. Read More

Some Fear New Council Was Tricked

by Jack McCurdy

It sounded simple — appointing a group of residents to a committee to look for a project manager who would oversee the planned new Water Recycling Facility, which could prove invaluable in assuring that fresh water will remain available in Morro Bay. But some are concerned that the process used to select those residents may expose the new City Council majority to political risks they were not aware of. Those risks may be possible, but that majority of Mayor Jamie Irons, Christine Johnson and Noah Smukler will have the final say over the selection of the project manager, which should provide all the protection they need. Read More

Need For Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary Clearer

by Andrew Christie, Sierra Club

At the November 14, 2012, meeting of the California Coastal Commission in Santa Monica, with the final permit for PG&E's potentially devastating high-energy offshore seismic survey hanging in the balance, the vote went the right way. The permit was denied. If the commission had voted the other way that day, our coastal wildlife and economy would have been in big trouble. Every commercial and recreational fisher on the Central Coast would literally have been out of business the next day, when the project was scheduled to commence; ordered to tie up their boats at the dock for the next 42 days. Read More

Second EV Charger Installed in Morro Bay

The Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce and the City of Morro Bay have partnered to install a new Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station subsidized by a grant through the State of California’s "ReConnect California" program. The station is located at the Chamber’s new offices at 695 Harbor Street, across the street from the Fire Station. Open to the public at the end of March, the charger has already served several EV users. Just last Sunday, a group of eight BMW EVs and their drivers congregated in Morro Bay to enjoy the weekend. One of the drivers, Jason Bartlett of Los Altos, said "one of the things that made this possible was the Chamber's charging station and the one down the street by the transit office." Chamber CEO Craig Schmidt stated "Visitors that have used the service are very pleased!  They say it’s just one more reason why they love coming to Morro Bay."

This EV charging station is the second one for Morro Bay. The first was installed near the Transit Office under the same program in June 2012. These EV charging stations are free and open to the public to recharge electric vehicles.  According the visitor logs, the first station was used more than hundred times during its first nine months of operation. Most users indicate that they “eat and shop” during the three to four hours that a typical charge requires.

The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant is funded by the California Energy Commission through EV charger manufacturer ClipperCreek. The purpose of the grant is to upgrade existing publicly available EV Charging infrastructure to the new SAE J1772 Charging standard. The grant funded 100% of this program, providing both equipment and installation services valued at $4,000 per charging unit. The cost of electricity to charge a vehicle is less than a dollar per hour and is currently paid for by the Chamber and City at each location. As demand increases, a fee may be charged to cover electricity costs and to allow users to reserve charging times.