SLO County Locals Blog
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San Luis Obispo County is a gorgeous place to live, with a rich history and friendly people. We deal in housing, but we realize it takes more than a building to call a place home… it is the businesses, the places, and the citizens. So we took the opportunity to start a SLO County Locals blog, in which we will explore some of the best “locals” spots around the county. We will include popular businesses, outdoor activities, and events. Stay tuned!
Central Coast Lending is accredited to make home loans across the state of California, but we made our home right here in the Central Coast. We have offices in San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Arroyo Grande.
The Bay Theater and Central Coast Music: The history of theater in Morro Bay
Little known fact: human’s first words were “Did you hear…?” And the first response “Yes, but did you know…?”
I say this because the human tendency to build community by passing along news and gossip is well established. Gossip turns into rumor, and rumor doesn’t always have a strong basis in reality (kind of like that “fact” I mentioned).
The origin of the Bay Theater may vary depending on who you ask. Owner Mary Lou Jannopoulos cited the rumor that it was built in 1942 by the Army Core of Engineers to give the troops stationed near Morro Bay entertainment.
I wanted to learn more, so I looked through the wonderful website that compiles local Morro Bay stories called “Old Morro Bay.” A search of “Bay Theater” from the archives yields an entry by Vic Hansen and these lines, from a story about the local climate after Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941):
“The greatest neon event to happen in Morro Bay was the marquee at the Bay Theater… The theater was built by a strange little man that had lenses in his glasses not unlike the ends of coke bottles.”
2012 Savor the Central Coast Tickets on Sale May 1st
For more from our SLO County Locals Blog, including features of popular Central Coast businesses, events and people go HERE.
Tickets for our favorite food and wine festival – Savor the Central Coast, will go on sale May 1st. The event, presented by Sunset Magazine and San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau, will take place from September 27 – September 30 2012. Here is the LINK to the website.
The main event will take place at Santa Margarita Ranch, and according to Sunset’s Savor the Central Coast Facebook page, the Opening Night Reception will be hosted at Hearst Castle on Thursday, September 27, 2012.
Savor is one of the Central Coast’s biggest draws, and features the best wine’s and cuisine our beautiful area has to offer. Last year, tickets were $75 a day, with discounts for package deals.
La Parisienne (The French Bakery): a Morro Bay Mainstay
Breakfast sandwiches for $4 on homemade croissants and french bread? Fresh (and homemade) pastries, quiche and fruit tarts? A view of the bay? La Parisienne Bakery in Morro Bay offers fresh, quality breakfast and lunch food at the kind of prices that most people from Los Angeles pay for a single cup of fancy coffee and a dry scone in the morning.
Morro Bay Secret Gardens
Have you noticed how towns and cities advertise their history by designating an area as the “olde town”? The “e” of course, is essential for marketing purposes. An “olde town” is an appealing destination, with quaint historical surprises amidst delightful shopping and restuarants. An “old town”, meanwhile, has vacant storefronts and a lot of people who say “Pal, do I ever have a deal for you, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”
Well, on the scale of Olde to Old, Morro Bay has much more of the former than the later. As the great collection of photos in the Fuel Dock and Legends can attest, Morro Bay developed its way up from a frontier fishing village to the (relatively) civilized hybrid fishing/tourist town of 10,000 people that we have today.
One of my favorite parts about Morro Bay Olde Town is the secret gardens you can find if you look close enough. Here are some pictures of a few of my favorites:
San Luis Obispo’s Top Crop: Strawberries
The front page of the Tribune featured an interesting article today: in 2011, strawberries overtook wine grapes as San Luis Obispo County’s most valuable crop.
Over the last 10 year strawberries have come to dominate local crop production. As this nifty graphic shows, strawberry production earned just $16.8 million in 2002, and by 2011 it had climbed all the way to $179.0 million, to account for about 25 percent of the total agriculture industry.
After a difficult spring, wine grape production fell to $129.7 million.
The numbers measure only gross revenue, meaning it doesn’t take into account the costs for producing each crop.
Fore more information, including a complete rundown of SLO County’s crop report, and more on local reaction, check out the article, written by Stacy Daniels.
We have to say, we were surprised to say the least. Much of the publicity this county gets is as a wine producer, and as a prime destination for wine lovers alongside Napa. If you have ever driven out 46 around Paso Robles, or Broad Street around Edna Valley, it appears the grape fields go on forever.
It will be interesting to see what happens in a healthy year for grapes – will strawberries continue to reign supreme? Or can grapes make a comeback? Stay tuned to the battle for SLO County…
San Luis Obispo Makes Forbes List
No, San Luis Obispo isn’t one of the richest towns in the country – unless you count the outdoors as our wealth.
Thanks to SLO County Travel for pointing out that San Luis Obispo made the Forbes Magazine list of prettiest towns in America. The list had 10 towns total, and San Luis Obispo was the lone entry from California.
Solar Panels Installed at San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay Schools
As you may have noticed, four local schools are getting a makeover – of the solar panel persuasion. San Luis Obispo High School, Laguna Middle School, Morro Bay High School and Los Osos Middle School are all adding solar panels to save on energy costs.
But how did they pay for it?
For some time now, we have been hearing about cuts across the board at the School District, and we were curious how they were able to handle the installations costs.
Thanks to Brian Ghiglia of REC Solar we have an answer for you.
If you missed Brian’s guest appearance on the March 24 episode of Mortgage Matters Radio, go check it out. Brian explained a great deal about solar energy on the program, including how the District was able to undertake these projects.
To install the solar panels, the District used a “Power Purchase Agreement”, which is a fancy way of saying the schools don’t actually own the panels. A third party finances the installation project and actually owns the solar panels. This third party then sells the energy back to the school at a comparable – and often lower, rate.
This is the definition of a win-win situation. At the least, it is a cost-neutral proposal for the school, and at best, they pay less for cleaner energy.
Push for New Morro Bay Radio Station (98.7) Gains Traction
Morro Bay local Hal Abrams, voice of syndicated radio program Animal Radio, has began the FCC application process to create a community radio station for the “Bay Area” of Morro Bay, Los Osos and Cayucos.
The radio station would be based in Morro Bay on the FM frequency 98.7. Abrams emphasizes that the station would be non-partisan, non-commercial, fair, balanced, and would strive to be a mirror (cross-section) of the community.
Some ideas for radio programs involve the marine biology, surf radio, broadcasts of Morro Bay high school sporting events, community news and announcements, and talk radio with discussion about local businesses, events and politics. But really, the station can be anything the citizens want it to be.
Founding a radio station is not easy, however, and Abrams needs community help. (Click “read more” to continue reading).
The Palm Theater and the Movie Business
I sat down with Jim Dee, owner of the Palm Theater in San Luis Obispo, to talk about owning an independent cinema, the movie business, and finding success in this small community. Along the way, I learned why concession prices are so expensive and which Oscar-winning movie nearly went straight to rental.
Janice Peters: On Hollywood, Mayors, and Small-Town Life
I sat down with the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce 2011 Citizen of the Year and former mayor Janice Peters to talk movie business, community service, and small-town life. Follow the jump to find out what movie Peters played in, her proudest moment as mayor, and her endeavors to bring Hollywood to the Central Coast.